Basic Poison (Mod please)

[Nozas]

Late night, Brightening 3 of Immanis
Spring of Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum
Paradigm: Twelve New Constellations Discovered


It was in the late darkening, when the streets were supposedly tranquil, and the denizens supposedly be in their bed, that a pale elf—who had just finished his tedious job of the day—meandered in solitude round the supposedly empty streets of Imperia. Yet all these suppositions were by no means applicable in a city as that of Imperia. Nozas knew it.

He was draped in his dark cloak with his countenance completely shrouded in the shadow of hood, and beneath his cloak, he wore his usual white clothes and a sword belt, to which was attached a sheathed shortsword. The cloak was held tightly around his body, as another hand of his was resting on the grip of sword hidden underneath; having his weapon readily at hand boosted his courage to further its course. Imperia had been known for its perils after all, particularly at night.

The elf was heading for the Hope Street Market in hope that he could find a poison trader there that could steer him to a poison master. But whether those stalls were still operating now at this candlemark was very dubious, and most likely not. Could poison shop make an exception though? Or did it just operate openly in the market during the daytime like did other shops? Wouldn’t such trade be more suitable to be practiced at darkening?

[Theying]

A shrin eyed his quary. He twitched ever so slightly as he waited in the shadows. As the pointed-ear one moved, the wise and stealthy shrin snuck after him. The shrin was a smart shrin, much smarter than the pointed-ear one.

Without warning the shrin stopped. The pointed-ear one seemed to be thinking about something. That wasn't good. Thinking was good for shrin, and bad for others. The shrin decided to destract him, the pointed-ear one must not know.

"What'cha doin'?" The wily shrin asked, still from the shadows. The voice was high and squeeky, but the place where it was coming from was not exactly visible at this time.

[Nozas]

Nowhere on Telath was safe, and it was even more so in Imperia, if not the worst of all. One instant, he thought he was alone, and then the next instant, he had already been kept in company by an eager and willing interloper of dubious altruism. Nozas had expected the worst, as he first stepped out of his house. But when the perplexing voice reached him out of nowhere, he was still agitated to no lesser degree than would one feel offhand.

The ever-suspicious elf instinctively drew back, hopefully to a lighter place, where if the shrin chose to strike, it would not go unnoticed. “Reveal yourself, stranger!” he asked instead, spontaneously in response to the question, while not really expecting the shrin to do as he wished. He tightened his grip on the handle of his hidden shortsword; should things went wrong or suspicious, he would strike.

However, to think of the situation in a different way, this lurker might be able to guide him to his intended destination—who knows? For under his impression, a poison master was always with people as covert, unpredictable and malicious as these. After a short while and still facing the source of voice, he had decided to answer him in a proper way with muffled voice, “I am looking for a poison crafter, a poison master or whatever you may call him.”

[Theying]

Aha... This pointed-ear one seemed to think that he was special. The wise and smart shrin wasn't going to give up any advantage with this one. He didn't need all of them, but there was something entertaining about having this pointed-ear one on edge.

"No," the replying squeak came from a different cardinal direction. While the elf had found a more or less open area, this are was mostly empty. If things came to blows it was unlikely that anyone would come to Nozas' aid. "Wha'da wanna do that for?"

[Nozas]

The elf frowned at the response given, not surprised by the response itself, but rather from the fact that this time the same voice came from a different direction than what he had previously presumed. He would rather part with his money than having himself being fooled in this way.

Letting out a sigh, “What do you want, stranger?” he couldn’t help to ask, as though he had completely succumbed. That was of course not true; it was just a subterfuge to which he resorted, gauging from his very limited ability. Should the voice came again from the same direction, he would not wait for him to finish his words and charge with his shortsword. That was a big gamble, but still, much better than to be completely under the grasp of his foe, like a naked man.

To further distract him, before the lurker was given a chance to respond, the elf answered, “I want to be trained in the art of poison making, and the ways to exert the full advantages of poison.” This was true, as Nozas knew deceitful words would not work as well as truth under a circumstance as this. He wanted him to ponder over his answer, and then he would have a chance!

[Theying]

There was a high pitched sound that Nozas might or might not know was a Rodenti snicker. It was from off to one side and down, almost as though it was coming up from a basement or underground tunnel. There must be some kind of access to some place down very close by.

"That's all?" the smart and stealthy Shrin inquired. "You're easy to please, ain't'cha. Well, come'n down."

[Nozas]

He heard the snicker, surely he did! An elf as sensitive as he was, surely would not have missed it! He heard it, but not to the extent that he could associate it with a Rodenti snicker, just not so far yet. The pale elf's countenance changed, no long was it carrying a suave smile like it always was; and if the Shrin was curious, it was exactly like one of whose last garment had been stripped off.

Yet, this sneaky fellow seemed to have something more to say, something more constructive and informative, or so it seemed. Nozas could hear clearly this time that the voice was emanated from underground. Carefully, he tracked the source of hideous voice, and slowly he groped for his way in the darkness, while not letting go his vigilance. That was his only choice now.

[Theying]

There was a large stone ajar. Down below there was dim light coming from the crack. Really dim light, it wasn't enough to normally see by, more like reflected moonlight than anything created by a torch or fire. There were also a number of odd animal and insect sounds coming from down there.

The wise and cunning shrin was definately down there. Nozas could feel it. There was the occasional sound, the kind made by someone who wanted to be heard and needed to make a concious effort to do so. Who could possibly know was was down there without actually going in? What wonders might this shrin offer?

[Nozas]

Nozas’ acute elven eyes had not miss the dim light. That anomalous light might not be strong enough to serve to illuminate his way, but it was sufficiently a hint to where the elf should head: a guide, nonetheless. As he went closer to the stone, the freakish sounds of strange animals became more and more audible that for one instant they made him to hesitate before he finally made up his mind and trod boldly and determinedly downwards.

He could feel the presence of that stranger somehow, out of his intuition. When this strange feeling arose, there was hardly any who could resist obeying the urge to believe it, and subsequently to act in accordance with it. But Nozas was not so easily driven, unless there were more supplements to what his intuition led him to believe. These supplements did exist though; they truly did!

Yes, for now the elf could hear the blatant sound the shrin made. He slowly approached the source of voice, while carefully unsheathing the shortsword and getting it ready to be used. The stranger’s intention had not been revealed and Nozas was not going to let himself victimized so easily without even struggling to turn the tide.