The Marquis and Spider

Shorty · August 31, 2007, 08:37 PM

-=| The Marquis and Spider |=-

Description:

On the western side of the Piazza del Mare dwells the popular The Marquis and Spider Cafe and Inn. A large sign with a man and a spider hung above the two entrances to the Marquis and spider. The building was white and lined with shadetrees in it's patio area. It stands four stories tall is split into two separate parts- the Cafe and Inn. There were two entrances- one entrance for the inn and the other for the Cafe.

The Cafe

The First floor is dominated by the cafe. Tables were set up outside along the Piazza where people would meet for their breakfast and drink the dark, strong coffee prized by the Chelseannans. The Cafe was clean and full of sound as it attracted a range of people- families, the elite, and it was known as the favorite haunt of the students at the Conservatorio. Every darkening the house band of violins and cellos would play traditional Celsiannan tunes while the famous soprano Ines Piera would sing ballads over candlelight.

The Inn

The top three floors contain rooms for the tourists of Chelseanna. The check-in desk was busy and efficient. Pay the money and soon stewards would carry a persons luggage to the the appropriate room. Each story denoted a different level of oppulance and service.

Second Floor- Standard room. One bed, clean and with laundered sheets. No frills.

Third Floor- Upscale suites and personal rooms. The Suites have three rooms- two bedroom, a balcony and one common room. The rooms are gilded, spacious, and have bouquets of flowers everyday. Also included is room service.

Fourth floor- Penthouse suites, the best of everything. Statues of Diana, soft pillows, incense, a personal attendant and guide assigned to you. The balconies oversee breathtaking views of the Harbor or the Piazza.

Goods & Services:
Cafe-

Drinks-
Cafe- (stong and dark coffee)- 2 sp
Bicerin- (coffee, hot chocolate and whipped cream)- 6 sp

Wine List-
Marsala- (amber color, complex aroma, Strong alcohol flavor- Island favorite)
Fine (aged less than a year) Marsala- 1 gc/ glass- 10/bottle
Superiore (Aged 2 years) Marsala- 2gc/glass- 20/bottle
Soleras Riserva (aged 10 years)- 10gc/glass- 100gc/bottle

Chianti- (red, inexpensive, and potent.)
Fine (aged less than a year)- 7 sp/glass- 7gc/bottle

Brunello- (red, powerful and complex- must age longer than the Marsala, and is the most expensive of all the Celsiannan Wines)
Superiore Riserva (aged 5 years)- 10 gc/glass- 100gc/bottle
Soleras Riserva (Aged 10 years)- 20 gc/glass- 200gc/bottle

Food-

Feast of the Seven Fishes (35gc/person)

Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce – Squid stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, water/milk, and egg. The stuffed squid baked with a tomato sauce, cheese and olive oil.

Fried Smelt – Smelt, bite-sized fish, deep-fried with a salt and pepper seasoning.

Deep Fried Breaded Oysters – Oysters deep friend and breaded, typically rolled into a ball before frying.

Deep Fried Fish/Shrimp – Fish/Shrimp dipped into batter and placed into deep fryer. Dish is typically served with lemon and/or cocktail sauce.

Linguine with Clam Sauce – A mildly spicy dish that combines Linguine pasta served with tomato sauce and cooked clams.

Marinated Eel – Bite-size cut eel deep fried and seasoned with salt and pepper marinated, after being fried, in a garlic, balsamic vinegar, and sugar sauce.

Baccalà – De-salted, by soaking water, cod cut into bite-sized portions, pan fried until brown; and served with tomato sauce and pasta.

Whiting – Baked Whiting fish seasoned with salt, pepper, and drizzled olive oil. This dish can either be served with fish being whole or sliced into chunks.

House specialties-
Risi e bisi - rice with young peas- 2gcs
Gnocchi con la ricotta – Potato dumplings with ricotta- 5gcs
Pitta coi pomodori - pita bread with tomatoes- 4gcs
Tonno alla Chelseanna- tuna marinated in white wine, lemon, garlic, rosemary and broiled, then served with pan-seared sardines- 5gcs
Agnello alla pastora - Lamb with potatoes- 7 gcs
Zuppa di cozze all Tarantina - mussels steamed with peperoncino, garlic, tomatoes, white wine and garlic- 4gc

Inn:

Second Floor Room- 10gc/night
Third Floor Room- 50gc/night
Third Floor Suite- 150gc/night
Fourth Floor Penthouse- 350gc/night

NPCs:

Antonio Marquis Owner

Secrets :

Factoid:

Secrets :

J'lyara · September 28, 2007, 10:40 PM

♥♥♥
The Beginning of Spring (II), in the Month of Immanis, Era XIV
The 2nd Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne

For a moment she was undecided, standing outside the tree-lined patio of The Marquis and Spider. The lure of a place to wash up after being out to sea, as well as the comforting thought of a bed to rest on tugged at her such that Dara found herself inching closer to the entrance of the Inn. But, she reasoned, she wouldn't have that bed for long if she didn't first find some sort of employment. Trying her best not to feel stressed so that it wouldn't affect her appearance anymore than it already had, Dara quickly made up her mind and turned toward the cafe entrance.

It seemed a fine establishment and appeared to be having a prosperous business day, which gave Dara hope that there might be a position open waiting tables. Merging into a wave of tourists moving through the doors, Dara smoothed her brown skirt and fluffed her bright red ponytail, giving it some extra bounce. A hasty pinch of her cheeks to make herself look rosey, and she was standing inside the busy cafe. A smile sprang to her lips as she took in the ambience of Celsianna's finest.

“Oh, I can certainly live with this,” she whispered to herself, thinking no one could hear her, wide hazel eyes scanning the patrons before settling to the task of finding someone who looked at least somewhat in charge. Likely, she had the look of a lost puppy even though it most certainly wasn't the look she was going for.

Tarot · November 5, 2007, 03:54 PM

The cafe was a busy place at any time of the brightening, tourists drinking and dining next to the bards from the Conservatorio (loud) and the unmistakeable fencers from the Delot academy (loud, plumed and moustached). It was all about the atmosphere in this city, and the owners here knew it all too well. J'lyara herself was beautiful and confused enough to pass for a tourist, herself, and the 'risk' that every lone and pretty female tourist ran while on Chelseanna was to be constantly wooed by either the bards or the fencers - or both at the same time. On good brightenings, neither party demanded satisfaction on the other.

Antonio Marquis thankfully spotted our woman before any of the bolder and more inebriated patrons did. He was a thin man, the kind of man who was married to his job, dreamed about his job, ate his job and breathed his job. One could suspect he had started working while in his mother's womb. "Ah, serale, signora," he said, flashing a quick look at other three table and scanning them for signs that the customers were ready to place their orders. There was something vaguely mechanical about the way his eyes roamed.

"Is signora alone? Then I would suggest Table 5, over there, quiet and personal, you can see the port too, our best table if I say so myself. Or maybe Table 11, if you can wait just a little bit," he literally scanned the table and its occupants, gauging exactly how long it would be before the customers stood up and left.

J'lyara · November 7, 2007, 04:51 PM

Well, she was a tourist too wasn't she? The thought of taking up the tall, handsome man's offer of a table in the busy cafe set her mind to wandering down the path of indulgence. Large, hazel eyes watched dainty glasses of Celsianna's finest Brunello being raised to festive lips and the endless sea of chatter and loud music was arresting to the senses.

Blushing some as she shook herself from her reverie, she turned her gaze back up to him and smiled, wishing for all the Empire that her vibrant red waves weren't so mussed from the windy trials of sea travel and that her drab, neutral-colored clothing were just a little more lively in color. She moved a hair closer to him and spoke not terribly loud but loud enough so that he could hear her where perhaps none else could with in the surrounding bustle.

“Actually, Sir...I'm new to the island but...I think I intend to stay for longer than many of the patrons currently here. To do that, I'd need to be gainfully employed and I was hoping that you might have need of an extra pair of pretty hands while making visits to the Cafe extra special for every person who walks through those doors.” Her eyes were just short of flirtatious as she dragged her attention from his face and glanced back toward the entrance, which seemed to supply an endless stream of revenue.

It caught her off guard sometimes how easily she slipped into flirting with men she found attractive, and even without having uttered an untoward word. She held up her small, soft hand to him in greeting, “If I may introduce myself, Dara Hollet...very much at your service.”

Tarot · November 12, 2007, 11:48 AM

Antonio Marquis was a man, but he was also a natural born working beast of burden. The offer intrigued him from both points of view. The woman was undoubtably beautiful and had that air about her that was sure to draw customers like flocks of seagulls. "Antonio Marquis, owner of the Marquis and Spider, enchanted to make your acquaintance, Miss Hollet."

"I see... Chelseanna is a magical place, signora... it's stolen quite a few hearts. You should visit House Doni when you've got some time. Noble house from way back and one of only three remaining ones, not far from the Porto, it's open to the public seven months an era now. They have this statue in the mansion and legend has it that if you touch it you'll come back to Chelseanna once more. Anyway..."

It was not like Antonio to get off-topic and he chastised himself. If Dara could have this much of an effect on him, there was no doubt she would do wonders with the customers. "One of my waitresses quit just last cycle and I need someone to replace her. Pay's twenty Crowns a cycle plus room and board here at the Inn. You could start immediately." He flashed her a smile and simultaneously calculated that Table 2 was close to the yellow zone of impatience. They definitely needed some more personnel here.

Palacrisis D Jones · November 12, 2007, 04:52 PM

Tenth brightening of Cryxatum, Summer in the Second Era in the reign of Milo L'Evienne. Era XIV after the Aethergem fracture

The address had puzzled him “The Marquis and the Spider” what the blue hells of Jorel was that supposed to mean? But a question made to the locals had pointed him in the right direction and although distracted as he was he could not help but admire the inn and café. Under normal circumstances it would be an ideal place to spend some free time and a perfect base for some well needed relaxation but Palacrisis was a man on a mission.

Six candle marks ago he had been sitting in his gloomy office in Imperia and now with aid of his sorcerer he was standing on the front step of the premier inn of Chelseanna.

He had no idea where J’lyara was or why she had chosen the strange named inn as a place of contact but it was his only clue. Thus with the taciturn Arakmatian in tow he rang the bell on the reception desk and enquired after rooms from the pretty girl behind the counter..

No I am not sure how long we are staying….. We will take a third floor suite for a cycle with an option to extend if you have such a room available. ….Sign the register, of course ….. Is there anything else we require? Yes indeed there is……I am looking for someone a beautiful woman with hair like flames in the sunset who has written to me from this address. ….I know her as the lady J’lyara D’Jones but it is entirely possible that she is known by another name……..She was my wife but the fates have conspired against us…. .

The conversation was hard on Palacrisis having to air ones private business with a chit of a girl did not go well with the governor but needs must when you are desperate.

J'lyara · November 13, 2007, 03:55 AM

Antonio Marquis

Dara's large hazel eyes lit up with intrigued delight as Antonio began to tell her about the statue standing inside of House Doni. She'd only been on the island a short time but already she was beginning to feel its magical effects. She'd begun to feel more relaxed than she had in a long while and surely feeling relaxed would do wonders for her complexion, she mused. “Well then, it is most certainly at the top of my list for places to visit now that I'm here.”

Her head bobbed up and down gently as his talk ventured toward an offer of employment, and with it came an immense sense of relief that made it's way to her face in the form of a radiant smile. “Oh, Mr. Marquis, you'll not regret it, I'll make sure of that!” Being offered a roof over her head and food for her tummy was more than she could have hoped for and it seemed that her new life had officially begun. Of course, she still longed for the one she'd lost but until she could find it again she would embrace the one she had.

Dara's gaze followed his to Table 2 and she looked up at her new boss curiously. “If you'll tell me the brightening's specials, perhaps I could get started right now? Those customers over there look especially thirsty.” And they did indeed have that tell tale look of annoyance on their faces at not having been served yet.

J'lyara · November 13, 2007, 05:35 AM

Palacrisis D. Jones

It was her brightening off of work and though she loved her job waiting tables in the Cafe, she didn't want to be indoors, not when there wasn't a cloud in sight. She'd peeked out her window the moment she'd awakened to find that there was no rain. No rain usually meant she could while away the time near the fountain in the Plaza, sketching tourists as they gawked over the beauty of the city. But not this brightening. She'd been curious since her boss had first mentioned it about the statue in House Doni and so she'd planned to make time for it this brightening and go to see for herself if this mysterious legend had any merit. It also served as a decent distraction that she was starting to remember more about her life before the accident and that she'd sent a missive to her former husband of her whereabouts. If she didn't get out, she'd drive herself to insanity wondering if he'd come for her.

Don't be too disappointed if he doesn't, she told herself, he's married to another now after all. Thoughts of him spending happy brightenings with his new wife put an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, thus the reason she craved distraction at all. Nell and Milo's arrival in the City had given her just the push she'd needed to start on the road to recovery. She was grateful to them and had missed them the very first brightening they'd left the island to return to their numerous duties. Their children had been a constant delight to J'lyara while she'd had the chance to play with them and it made her yearn silently for a child of her own. Would she ever have one of her own now? It wasn't likely without a husband.

J'lyara knew now that she had noble blood coursing through her veins and that she had important matters to get back to but she couldn't yet bring herself to leave the relative comfort and safety of the island. Nell and Milo both had been thorough in relaying the pertinent details of her life to her and she'd even taken the liberty of writng much of it down. Quite frankly, she was afraid to go back to Taralon, the city she was born in, or to Prime, the city she was raised in, when she couldn't remember what she was supposed to remember. Another wave of anxiety rolled through her stomach and she turned away from the window to dress for the brightening's activities.

And it wasn't long before J'lyara was descending the stairs and entering the reception lobby heading toward the front doors. It happened to be at the precise moment Palacrisis was checking in but because the Inn always had a line in front of the reception desk, she paid it no nevermind and whizzed past him, her long legs moving purposefully behind the skirt of a vibrant green and yellow island summer dress, a sultry flowery fragrance drifting in the air in her wake. Her hair was much longer than he'd remember, arresting red waves cascading free down her back, golden hues shining through now that she'd been kissed by the suns. Her skin was shades darker giving her an exotic islander apperance.

Upon closer inspection, a couple of double takes perhaps, Palacrisis wouldn't be able to miss the fact that his J'lyara was quite alive and well and about to disappear into the streets of Chelseanna.

Palacrisis D Jones · November 13, 2007, 08:20 AM

“I am sorry sir” the receptionist was saying “but it is company policy not to discuss any details of either staff or guests with another person. You must understand that people come here to relax in privacy and unless you are a member of the security services we are instructed not to reveal personal details.”

Pala could feel his legendary temper building inside but held it in check , The girl was only doing her job he reminded himself . He thought for a moment about using the line “do you know who I am?” but that was always in Pala’s book a particularly silly attack.

Instead he leant over the desk and asked for pen and parchment , he would write a short note to the regent and his wife announcing his arrival and requesting an audience, perhaps that way he could find J’lyara.

A few swift pen strokes later he had addressed the note and was about to write the short paragraph when his companion tapped him on the shoulder and as his head turned he saw Hassan’s finger pointing towards a svelte red haired woman in green and yellow disappearing through the main lobby door.

His heart told him before his brain registered, he could feel it thumping in his chest. His throat was dry his eyes drank in her fast vanishing form and his limbs seemed temporarily paralysed. The unfinished note lay on the reception desk and as his hand slipped to his mouth to stifle the cry that was his next reaction the ink bottle spilled obliterating the embryonic communication.

Palacrisis did not notice he was transfixed like a loon unable to move

“Go after her man” his companion whispered and that order galvanised him into movement. He felt like running across the lobby and pulling her into his arms but good sense prevailed over his racing emotions. J’lyara had lost her memory and some great sweaty lout of a man manhandling her might frighten her.

He took a deep breath straightened his crumpled doublet and nodded to Hassan “Finish off here please I will be back the gods know when.”

Into the warmth of a balmy evening his eyes flicking left and right trying to gain another glimpse of the lady. Yes there she, was passing a bench set out in the square in front of the tavern her hips swaying as she sauntered through the crowds of locals and tourists alike. Pala curbed his impatience and slowed to a ten yards behind her watching every movement.

Flowers, sir pretty flowers for a lady! the girl at the stall called out to him and on impulse he bought a bunch of multicoloured blooms handing over gold coins probably twice their value in his rush to keep J’lyara in sight.

A tall man with a touch of silver in his hair wearing a crumpled white shirt and dark doublet and trousers with knee length boots. Hardly the clothes for a tropical paradise but he had not had time to change his clothes since that fateful letter had arrived in Imperia that very morning. However personal grooming was not on his mind, clutching the blooms he quickened his pace to catch up with J’lyara.

She was standing by a fountain which gushed cool water from a display of leaping dolphins.

Palacrisis stopped in front of her and with his heart leaping smiled

"Serale my lady, one as beautiful as you deserves flowers. " he said with a lump in his throat

"J’lyara we know each other although you may not remember me, allow me to introduce myself …I am Palacrisis !”

J'lyara · November 13, 2007, 03:27 PM

When she turned to face him, the man she'd vowed to love and cherish eras ago in Taralon, the first thing she noticed was his eyes. All the people milling about the Piazza seemed to recede into a non-existant background.

OOC: continued here...

Tarot · November 22, 2007, 10:42 AM

Antonio Marquis nodded hastily, though somehow he knew he would not be blessed with J'lyara's presence for a long time. The beautiful ones never lasted long. Someone always seemed to give them offers they could not refuse. "Well then, as for today's specials..."