Sandy's Dress
Tenebrae - Tuesday, March 03, 2015, 10:21 PM
-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A07: Lower Alexandria Market District *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-
Just west of the Northern Highbridge and east of the arena, commerce blooms. Noisy and bustling, most anything may be purchased here for a price. Vendors from all cultures sell their wares from exotically colored carts, and the smells of different nations and far-off city-states mix with local ones from Alexandria and its riverbanks.
For all its commerce, visitors are advised to keep hold of their purses. Even the merchants possess a certain, cunning look. Most are positioned at carts or stalls as opposed to a formal storefront, with trade here being mobile, and visiting from all parts of the world.
Though the quality of goods suffers here compared to Upper Alexandria, the options are more diverse. Too, the oversight of the Watch is slightly less, and during times events are held at the Arena, chaos abounds. After dark, the square becomes a hangout for bards and other entrepreneurs whose business is best conducted by night; the shadows at the edges of the square often contain furtive figures engaging in their own brand of business.
Beneath the dark clouds over head, in brightly colored clothes, a dark man wanders into the district. He seems to be checking over his dagger casually. With bow and shield on his back and sword at his side, Bahken is clearly and adventurer.
Mikilos dosn't bump into things. Which may sound easy for most people, but they're not trying to read a large imposing looking text while walking down the street. Then again, most people also don't have a pair of mage lights hovering near their shoulders either. So it can pretty clearly be said that Mikilos isn't most people.
"Gods damn it, Myrana. This is ridiculous. How do you even WALK in these skirts?!" Sandy is tying hard not to kill herself, moving with Myrana down the street. She looks like she might do it anyways. Stumble. Stumblestumble.
Karelin comes out of the Fernwood, stretching, hands over his head. He takes a long, spine-pooping moment, then wiggles his fingers and starts laughing. "Sandy. How long are you going to fucking wear that shit?"
Bahken smiles as he sees Sandy, his good luck charm. Always bet against her and almost always win. Yep. He pauses to take in the sight of Mikilos though, stepping out of the way incase the book is steering his his direction.
Mikilos blinks and peers around absently, having heard the cry of a harpie. Oh, wait, just Sandy. "Two weeks, if I recall the bet correctly. Though she might get some time off for good behavior and an agreement to attend a spring ball."
Myrana has her arm through Sandy's; it looks very picturesque (because visually swears are as invisible as farts) and it allows the equally short half-elf to surrepticiously support the stumbling woman. She's dressed in a deep chocolate walking dress with a black-trimmed bustle and shiny jet buttons all up the high collar and the long sleeves up to the elbows, and also a hugely smug smile. "I win," she says, just reminding. You know. Cause she's so nice. SO NICE. "Stop treading on it, that's how. Hello!" She greets the familiar faces.
"I AM NOT ATTENDING ANY BALL!" Sandy yells at Mikilos. She glares at Myrana, "I can't HELP that. It's too long! It gets under my feet and these freaking SHOES..." She growls it out.
Myrana says, "Well its -my- dress and we're the same height so it can't be too long!"
Karelin is all smiles and laughter. "Myrana, did you find an Oxley in your bath again? Because you're taking out some very deep seated aggression here."
"As a matter of fact, I -did!-" Myrana exclaims, horrified. "How did you know? It was awful; I almost broke all the windows again."
Bahken blinks at the screaming Sandy, then looks around. Apparently the bad luck charm knows all these people.
Myrana waves to Bahken. "Hello!" She greets politely.
Mikilos smiles at Sandy, quite content in his trousers. Robes may be formal, but damn they're a pain. "Myrana, you really need to stop breaking windows. Even my magic can only put the parts back together so many times before there start to be noticiable flaws."
Bahken smiles at Myrana and offers her a return wave, "Hello.." he says stepping closer to the group as he tucks the blade away. No reason to appear threatening.
Karelin opens his hands. "Intuition. It's either that, or something horrible like a Garnak." He shrugs. "I may do other things now, but I can still spot," he gestures at Sandy, "the telltale signs."
At the mention of garnaks, Myrana was about to say something, but stutters instead.
"...you know what, Myrana. Why don't you just arcane lock your apartment? You know, with MAGIC?" She gives her a glare, then says to Mikilos, "Just shut up." Bahken is acknowledged with a grunt.
Karelin ignores Sandy when Myrana reacts like that. "Oh, fuck me." It's said with feeling. "Do I need to make sure everything is still sharp?"
Mikilos shrugs. "Oxleys. If you lock the door, they'll just break down the wall. Or come in though the rat hole, like the horrible vermin they are."
Bahken looks between the folks and asks, "Garnaks?" noticing tht Myrana had a distinct reaction. His attention shifts to Karelin since she's not stuttering and in the know so she might be able to explain.
"Ugh. Garnaks. I always hear about them," says Sandy, wrinkling her nose. She looks grossed out by Myrana's tale of an Oxley in her bath. "Did you at least steam clean your bath?" she asks.
"I er..." Myrana shakes her head and clears her throat, flushing. "Er--" Then Bahkhen asks about Garnaks and Myra siezes on that like a Avoiding The Subject Professional. "They're Hob vampires," she says, clearing her throat. "A-and I would lock my apartment but I'm not a wizard! I can't just wiggle my fingers and cast stuff that -doesn't- blow up." SHEESH.
Myrana says, "I haven't -touched- my bath."
Myrana says, "I need a new bathtub."
Myrana says, "Whole new bathtub."
"Arvek-nar necromancer vampires. We pulled down their temple when we liberated Blar." Karelin's explanation is succinct. He focuses on Myrana. "What happened?"
Mikilos listens paciently. "What sort of new tub would you like? If we plan out the support structure first, we could maybe put in a cozy solid stone tub that will hold the heat for a nice long soak, but still scour clean easily."
Bahken concentrates for a moment.. "Vampires.. don't they need to be invited to enter the residence of another?" he asks curiously.
Myrana looks guiltily at Karelin and clams up, shrinking down a little into her hunching shoulders and holding her breath.
"Nnnnnnothing?" Myrana squeaks.
Myrana says, "D-do they?"
Snady just sort of eyes Myrana now. She folds her arms across her chest. Just eyes her. And eyes her more. She seems flighty, after all, and thus suspicious.
Karelin just looks at Bahken. "Does that matter, truly, when they get make someone gouge their own eyes out by looking at them and throwing death magic?" He looks back at Myrana, and folds his arms. "Do I need to buy a bottle of your booze from you to grease this conversation?"
Mikilos mmms. "'Vampire' is actually a bit of a catch-all term for a range of nercomatic beings. For some, the sancity of a private domicile is sufficant to keep them at bay. More powerful vampires" he glances with a frown to Myrana "don't give a damn and just come in anyway."
Bahken looks back at Karelin, "I imagine ANY of their weaknesses would matter under the right circumstances." He gives a slight bow to Mikilos, "I bow before the more informed..."
"I um," Myrana stutters again, wilting under the glare from Karelin and looking crestfallen at Mikilos' assertion. "Well, I uh, you know a few years back ran into one," she says, delicately and a little shiftily. "Its b-been on my mind? Yes. But eh! Em. I do rather like copper tubs; I can heat them myself quite nicely. I don't know if the floor would hold up under a stone tub, you know? It'd crash through for sure and brain a customer."
Mikilos blinks. "That's why we make a stronger floor..."
Karelin just looks at Bahken. "So, you keep going on imagining." He turns back to Myrana. "Great. You see one recently?"
Myrana turns pink as a rose. Bingo! "NO." She lies, and just very obviously (and loudly).
Bahken blinks at Karelin for a moment, then lets his attention shift to the others.
Mikilos smiles very sweetly to Karelin. "-IF- miss Myrana had seen a vampire recently, it would mean there was a powerful undead within the city recently. And that would be a major cause for general alarm and public panic. But since there is no panic and we have two wars to be alramed about already, there obviously was no vampire. So instead of spending time on what obviously didn't happen and we would be unable to do anything about even if it did, let's move on to a different topic, shall we? For example, what sort of dress do you think Lady Sandiel should wear to the spring ball? I'm thinking something floral based, like giant petals sewn together."
"...No," says Sandy, pointing at Mikilos. "Just no." Sge glares at him for a long oment, then says to Myrana, "You are a very bad liar, Myrana," solemnly, then to Bahken, "Don't mind him," a gesture at Karelin, "He's grumpy."
Mikilos nods acceptingly to Sandy. "No petals. Coils of ivy, then?"
Karelin just looks at Mikilos. "Oh, spare me. That logic is ridiculous." A glance at Sandy. "Please to meet you pot, my name is kettle!"
Bahken blinks at Sandy, and laughs as Karelin raises his point before he can voice it. He shrugs at Karelin, "Though her grumpiness seems to have less malice."
Myrana realizes this could go very very poorly for her. In fact it is probably about to... and that's when it happens.
It.
The one, ONE time that she is happy to see an Oxley. She catches sight of the two Oxleys out of the corner of her eye over Sandy's shoulder; they're carrying a big crate of something doubtless illegal or at least immoral between them in a crabwalk out of an alleyway.
"Hey!" She shoots a hand up in a wave, and slips past Sandy and catches up with them. "Hey Finneous hold on a second!" And grabbing onto his arm, she escapes the conversation in possibly the most desperate fashion possible. Finneous is so startled by his unforseen good fortune that he drops his end of the crate and causes his brother to pitch right on top of it with a huge crash of glass before Myrana drags him down the street by the elbow.
"Neither does his. He's perfectly friendly once you get past the scars and jaw-twitching," say Sandy to Bahken, gesturing at Karelin, "I do not drink tea," she informs Karelin, solemnly. Then to Myrana, she points and laughs. "She's actually escaping towards the Oxleys. Ahaha."
Mikilos frowns at Karelin. "And -that- is why we don't talk vampires. It causes people to actually -welcome- Oxleys. And that's just -wrong-."
Karelin looks at Sandy. "This is on you. If there's a fucking Garnak around, we need to know. You and I need to know." He gives her a significant look.
Mikilos sighs, frowning at Karelin. Then looks to where Myrana has fled, then back to the Korite before sighing. "I doubt Barntos was physically in the city. An agent of an agent who had no idea for whom they were working, most likely. If he did come in person, he left weeks ago."
Karelin gestures to Mikilos. "Garnaks are bad enough; Barntos is worse, but that's something else entirely."
"How is that on /me/?" says Sandy to Karelin, frowning at him. "I don't know the first thing about Garnaks!" She sniffs, then eyes Mikilos. And Myrana.
Bahken nods, "Speaking of something to drink, I'm going to go somewhere warm to get a drink. You all have a nice night.."
Mikilos shrugs to Sandy. "I blame your lack of ability to walk in a proper dress. Try kicking at the hem as you step foreward. It helps, a little."
Karelin grins at Sandy. "You play dressup with her, Sandy. You worm it out of her."
Bahken has left.
"Dress up," says Sandy, shocked. "I do no such thing. I lost a BET! That's DIFFERENT!" She points a finger at Karelin.
"Sandy," Karelin opines, "You know I'm right."
Mikilos shrugs. "So make more bets. You'll lose plenty of them."
Myrana has left.
Karelin has disconnected.
"I hate you both," declares Sandy, and then whirls to depart. The skirts give her sufficient flounce.
"Good! You do better when you're annoyed and kicking at the dress!" Mikilos smirks.