Lay of the land.(open)

[Dimnersti]

Brigtening 4, Melora, Spring Era II of the Celestine Mandate, E XIV Post Fractum.

If Dimnersti were going to take advantage of the ripe opurtunities in paxia he would first have to get a feal for the city and its situation. To that purpose his first move after entering the gates was to simply move about the city and take note of all the details he could. Well second thing, if he didn't stable storm quickly he'd iritatedly nip at his shoulders and hair, such a tempermental creature, The idea was to start from the gate and move in a circular route tracing what was left of the city wall and then moving inward.

Takeing a moment to lower the hood of his cloak and shake the dust that invaribly acumulated during travel loose from his hair and clothing, not that it was any particular improvment, his clothing while of quality make had the simple design of your average commoners clothing, just a simple water proof cloak, light blue tunic, simple pants, and the soft leather gloves that he nearly always wore. Blending in made any sort of information gathering far easier, and considering the handicap his race provided, he needed to utilize what little advantage he could.

Once moving the first order of buisness was to get a handle on the state of the infrastructure, how many buildings were intact, just how intact they were, how many of the relevant resources had been scavenged and recycled. From there he would have to get a hold of where the population had centered, its demographics and needs. Then it was to gossip with some locals to get a feal for what his potential competition had been doing as well as find individuals who may be of potential use.

With his finances and properties in the state they were, it was important that dimnersti quickly restore his financial situation. Getting a hold of a large chunk of paxia's reborn economy would be a large step toward this.

OOC: edited, a lil clumsy, but thats not a major change I guess.

[Striker]

Although a mercantile powerhouse before the arrival of Narim’s invaders, the remnants of Paxia were without any sense of pride or glory. The opulence that had once been attached to the city’s reputation was no longer existent, but this was not to say that the future of the handicapped realm was not left for the taking…

The eastern district of Paxia, where the dark elf would have been herded to upon passage through the dilapidated winged gates of the city, included the most populated area of activity and the safest district in the city. Hundreds and hundreds of tents were dispersed about what had once been the slums of Paxia, and these tents were perceivable in an array of different colors and sizes. Many citizens could be seen filing through the rows and columns of the makeshift homes of the newfound residential district, tending to mundane activities or rummaging through the wreckage for any kinds of supplies.

Sometimes the citizens met with success, but most of the time they returned to their tents famished and hungry.

Over the course of the grueling winter and the reborn spring, however, some storefronts had been erected complements of several ambitious entrepreneurs and daring businessmen. One of the largest of these was the Limelight Tavern, one of the few fully enclosed buildings in the area, and as always, the verdant glass windows were discernible from long distances away.

Other stores such as B&D’s Anvil and the Housing Complex could be seen as well, though these noticeably lacked complete walls on whichever side or massive lacerations in the foundations –the likes of which made perceiving the inner contents of the facilities quite easy.

And finally, the Aedile’s Office –and the center of governmental activity- was clustered near the rightmost ‘wall’ of the eastern district. Surrounded by skeletal shells of other buildings that had once neighbored the Aedile’s, the Office was composed of many wooden planks unceremoniously nailed to the outer portions of the walls to cover gaping holes and sides that had been missing subsequent of cannonball fire or spellcraft. There were two levels, though the uppermost seemed proportionally smaller to the bottom half and it was a wonder that it had not fallen through to the groundlevel.

Other than the already established ‘businesses’, there were hundreds of shells of buildings available on the market. Many had taken advantage of the generous deals at the Aedile’s Office whereas others had been more adventurous and sought out pieces of land in the more dangerous and isolated western district that included the heavily battered arena and the scorched vineyards.

No one, however, had dared venture northwards in fear of encountering pockets of surviving orcish marauders.

[Dimnersti]

Dimnersti took carefull note of the existing buisness's as well as the buildings left behind, focusing specificly on the larger ones, the level of repair was only a secondary thought, they could always be patched until opurtunity to properly repair came. but any goods braught into the city, or efforts at repair or development would require a secure storage, a single large location was most easily defensible from the swarms of paxians who picked through the ruins for survival. A displaced populace was so often the greatest deterant to its own recovery after all.

the vinyards caught his intrest, it would be a fine gift for the daughters, and with as upset as they were with him, gifts and other signs of good will were desperately needed, but it was perhaps a tad ambitious for the moment. It was true if he didn't move quickly someone else would likely make their claim first, but one had to be carefull not to overextend themselves, one poorly planned move and all the plans could crumble around him, sure he could use loans to cover, but Dimnersti had a certain loathing for loans. The arena also sparked a mild amount of intrest, specificly in that tiny portion of his mind that actualy worried about the D'rinishad, it would work well with some of the other buisness's the house held claim to, but house concerns were always a minor concern barely noticed in the back of his mind.

Property wise his major concern were the docks, but out of shop ponce that he was, he wasn't particulary fond of heading into the more unstable portions of the city just to secure the current state of repair for the docks. It wasn't entirely necisary anyways, docks were fairly easy to repair so even if badly damaged it would still be a worthwhile purcahse to make. The docking fee's for a busy port would provide a great deal of profit, not to mention the potential savings for any ships he may have running by not having to pay docking fee's himself.

A breif mental note of promising adress's Dimnersti moved toward the second goal of the day. Pulling his hood up and taking the slouching apearance of one who was worn and beaten he began picking his way through the city remnants towards the mass of tents that the majority of remaining citizens called home. With the slow somewhat shambling walk dimnersti began to move through the massive camp. While it was as he assumed, mostly men, there was still a small population of women and children remaining in the city. That provided a host of profitable directions to take. So many men to work base construction and the like, a fair amount of money flooding into the city, and no place for them to spend this money. The man who provided that would come out quite well indeed. It was just a matter of figuring out what luxuries the locals were looking for.

The basic city wide demographics out of the way, it was about time he moved to the third goal of the day. Shifting out of his stooping stance and somewhat downtroden manner he began looking for a likely target able to provide local gossip and needs.

[Striker]

At the foot of a gradual slope in the landscape, the ‘City of Tents,’ as it was oftentimes called, was arranged in surprisingly organized rows and columns. The tents comprised of various sizes, shapes, and colors, but it seemed as if the upper echelon of Paxia was indistinguishable from the lower class. If anything, the invasion of the orcs had amalgamated the social hierarchy, blending it together and uniting people who otherwise might never have interacted before.

As the two suns of Telath remained in their zenith at this point in the afternoon, the Vysstichi would be exposed to the sight of hundreds of people milling outside of their makeshift homes and tending to the once mundane duties that were now essential for their survival. Many draw strings had been attached from tent to tent, shouldering recently cleaned and wet clothes or even belongings that failed to fit inside the limited space of each tent.

To Dimnersti’s left, five women were huddled around a large basin of water, scrubbing viciously at articles of clothing submerged in foaming water before raising the garments and shaking them dry. Each woman was outfitted in basic, insignificant attire, sleeves rolled up to their elbows as they continued to hover over the laundry so easily dirtied in dusty Paxia.

Situated a short distance behind them, there were many children at play, chasing each other in circles around tents or disappearing into the flaps of their homes and emerging afterwards once their playmates passed by. Their faces were flecked by smiles this brightening, a sight that had become more common with each passing day. The food storages had amassed as of late with the recent economic boom in industry –of course, there was not nearly as much food as there used to have been, but for the most part the fewer-than three thousand refugees were happier and more content given Paxia’s gradual transformation.

Even the Aedile’s office had patched a few holes in its walls…

Opposite the women, there were three men sitting cross-legged around the embers of a dying fire. They seemed oblivious to the fact that the flame was dissipating as their attention was honed upon a large deer that lay dead beside them. Having already divided the spoils of the catch, the three humans continued to work at the deer’s hide, shedding its skin and discarding scraps that were considerably worthless or not valuable to them. One of the hunters was a peculiarly large Rhargn garbed in nothing more than a pair of olive-green trousers. His rugged brown facial hair covered his cheeks and his chin and it spilled messily over his head and down to his ears.

The other two men, much smaller in size, seemed to be listening to the barbarian man as he chortled out several indistinguishable statements to them. They did laugh every now and then, though, leaving any surrounding observers to surmise that the three were good friends and having a relatively joyous time.

[Dimnersti]

The high spirits demonstrated by the citizens was both suprising and not. If humans didn't rebound so quickly they never would have managed to take the leading role within the empire as they had, they were kind of like dogs, their endless energy helping to raise the spirits of those around them. If only the lightborn could learn to simply use that energy instead of letting it overcome them they'd not have sunk as low as they had.

While the women washing their clothing were likely a far greater source of gossip and local news, they were also far more dificult to work with, their fragile lives eaking an existance in what was left of the city, their families and fear of his race would make any dealing with them nearly imposible.

The three hunters were the best bet, though perhaps a bit of a gamble as it was dificult to fully guage just how they'd react to him. Taking a few carefull steps closer he picked up a bit of conveniant wood and tossed it onto the fire. "You know if you save those lil left over bits, you can boil it down into a pot of eternal soup, with as little as we have you cant afford to waste even the smallest scrap these days." he said quitely in the common tongue. Eternal soup was the last refuge of the poor, a pot of water with whatever scraps of food you could scavenge dropped in and kept at a slow boil all day, with more water and more scraps being included every day. it wasn't always all that good, but it was the best way to milk every last bit of nutrition from what little you had. Dimnersti himself was guilty of having a pot dedicated to it in his tent as well.

[Striker]

Several of the women paused from their duties to appraise the intruding dark elf. And although they lowered their eyes as he passed, it was self-evident from the rigidity of their motions that they were conscious of the Vysstichi’s presence at all times. Dark elves were not a common lot around Paxia even with Har’oloth and Hon’elgg being situated so closely, and given the invasion of the orcs, the Paxians had become even more skeptical about the darker races.

The children, too, ended their play as Dimnersti strode through the campsite. Their stares were wide-eyed and curious, and they did not appear to be self-conscious despite their blatant gapes. One of the toddlers, though, opted to shriek as he tripped behind his older brother, huddling at the base of the older boy’s leg for safety.

The three men huddled around the fire, however, were far calmer than their counterparts. The largest of the hunters looked upwards from the leg of deer in his lap as Dimnersti tossed a piece of wood into the fire which shortly set ablaze as the flames licked at the dry wood. Dipping his head appreciatively –though uncertainly- the Rhargn glanced to his two comrades who looked at him with quizzical stares.

“Eh, move aside boys. Make room. Come on now!” He scolded, and the two feebler humans frantically separated to clear a spot for the dark elf. “If yer up for showin’ us Vyssie, I’d say you’d just about earned some for yerself if you’d like...” the Rhargn suggested.

[Dimnersti]

Glancing breifly at each of the smaller humans, eyes taking carefull note of any small buldges or pouches that may conceal weapons, dimnersti moved to take the offered seat by the fire. "Well its nothing particularly special, you just gather up those scraps and dump em in a pot oh water, then you scrape in whatever else ya can find, be they left overs from another meal, bits of vegitation, what have you." he said whilst plucking a leaf from a nearbye 'weed' and holding it up. It had a somewhat bitter taste but when mixed in blended well with meats

"That meals done, you just cover the pot, next day, you add a lil more water and dump in whatever scraps ya got that day, that way you scrape every bit of worth from what ya got. cant be afording to waste even a tiny bit things bein what they are. Sides, most stuff will just disolve down in there eventualy, grissle fat, whatever it all melts over time." he spoke in a bit of a peasents dialect, a habit he'd picked up while dealing with the comoners, they found it more comforting he imagined.

While speaking he never failed to keep his eyes on those around him, though it was just casual glances as he spoke, his eyes keeping track of small details, as well as his companions around the small fire he also tried his best to keep his eyes on those without the fire, many of whom watched him nervously. There wasn't any particular threat, but a vysttichi didn't live long, on the surface or in his homeland if he didn't develop a bit of paranoia after all.

[Striker]

The hunters, although initially dumbfounded by the dark elf’s explanation, eventually caught onto the Vysstichi’s logic. “Well ye ‘eard him lads, go set s’om water!” Laughing haughtily, the largest of the hunters kicked one of the others in the bottom, an act that caused the smaller man to grumble momentarily before scrambling off to comply with his leader’s bidding.

As the remaining trio waited for their comrade to retrieve the necessary pot of water, the leader rocked back and forth on his bottom, intermittently planting a hand against the earth to stabilize himself. “So uh…tell me, Vyssie, whatsa elf like yerself doin’ here? I mean, yer kind certainly don’t come about here often?” He asked, pointedly glancing around to the disheveled tents and dilapidated structures encompassing them. Shrugging his broad shoulders, the hunter continued to skin the leg of deer situated in his lap.

Meanwhile, the other hunter was far less gregarious than the giant Rhagrn. Short and stocky, the human almost resembled a dwarf except for his proportionally sized hands and feet. Never letting his eyes off of the dark elf, the hunter kept a stone-cold expression upon his face at all times.

[Dimnersti]

"Does it seem all that unlikely for one of my ilk to lurk about the ruins of a city? Seems to me the lawless lands of the ruin would be like a sirens call for one who lived in shadows." he said leaning towards the fire a small glint in his eyes as he slowly glanced between the faces of the humans.

"heh, or at least that is far more plausible sounding than the reality of it. Who ever heard of a vyssie merchant eh?" He said as he leaned back letting out a breif chuckle. "I'm actualy just trying to familiarize myself with the city for now, get to know the citezens, what they need, what may be profitable, take advantage of gaps left after the attack. heh, far crueler in their way than those things braught up by the intial image." he continued his amusemnt aparent. Though through the jokes and laughter his eyes kept carefull watch on the movements of those around him. Their feet and hands specificly, any attack or sudden movements would require them to shift their position, an instant indication of any potential danger.

The atempt at humour while somewhat out of place, was an attempt to break the tension. Living in the situation they did, most people would find themselves under a great weight of stress and worry, humor had a way of disarming them and aleivating that pall if only for a moment, and they were far more likely to share information freely if that were the case, though he had to be carefull, the smaller of the men looked a lil agressive, there was the small risk that they'd go the other way, though hopefully the larger man would take care of that should it arise.

[Striker]

“Aint many shadows ‘round ‘ere…” the large Rhargn dumbly commented. As if to emphasize his point, he looked around to the field of tents, much of which was illuminated by firelight via torches, lanterns, etc. For the most part the citizens of Paxia had done an excellent job of restoring light to this decimated section of the city; not only did it discourage would-be aggressors from using the darkness against the Paxians, but it also enabled the civilians to move about freely and confidently. And of course it also facilitated acuter watchfulness from the guards who were able to see more clearly regardless of the time of day.

The barbarian never turned his eyes away from the dark elf as he spoke. He seemed to be studying the Vysstichi intently, gauging whether or not he trusted the alleged entrepreneur’s words A Vysstichi merchant? On the surface? Now the Rhargn had certainly seen everything. But then again, he had also seen the army of orcs appear out of nowhere. Was it that implausible that an elf of the darker races candidly sought business here in Paxia? From this logic, at least, the Rhargn supposed not. Even more importantly, though, was how he could profit from this fortuitous encounter.

“So yer a merchant huh?” He asked, tossing another twig into the fire to sustain it. “My boys n’ I used to work in the exportin’ business, er, carryin’ lumber and stuff onto the boats fer one of dem merchants from Prime.” Sharing a proud look with the other hunter who had remained silent throughout the course of the conversation, the Rhargn grinned, “If yer needin’ some muscle ever, maybe we can work somethin’ out eh?” He chuckled faintly.

By now the third hunter had returned with a pot of water which he set over the fire. Returning to his seat next to the dark elf, he nervously scooted away a few inches. “Well, go on, lets see about that stew you was talking about.” he bade the dark elf.

[Dimnersti]

First dim used a stick to carefully rearange a clear spot near the fire to set the pot of water on, given ideal circumstnaces he'd arange some rocks to hold it with some bent coles slid beneath. as is, simply setting it next to the fire and rotating the pot once in a while would do the job. It settled and the water slowly heating he first pulled a small knife, slowly as not to alarm those around him, and chopped the left over chunks down to smaller chunks, he had no concern with shape or size, just small edible chunks. Those in, he pulled a portion of his days gatherings out of his small pack. It was only a few small things, he wasn't going to waste all his food on this lot after all. A couple small tubors, a bit of sage, some carrot and a few other plants that while edible, weren't what many would choose to eat, be it because of a somewhat bitter taste, or a nature that led most to beleive it a simple weed. That in, he pulled a small bottle of cheap booze, pouring a small bit into the water.

"Thats about it, you could take the time to worry about taste, or texture or any of the like, but given the situation I imagine most are more worried bout simply havin a meal to eat and not to worried about prefrence or flavor. You just dump in what you can, then end of the night, throw a cover on, tomorow, you add more water and throw in whatever you find that day. At the very least it gives the kids something to do, you show em a few edible plants and let em spend the day hunting out what they can. Is better than just haven im play in the rubble all day, and everyone needs to feal as if their doing something." he said puasing to stir the pot with his blade, wiping it off on a bit of cloth tucked into one of his pockets.

"Well muscle is something the city currently needs in plenty. Magine you'll be able to find yourself more work than you could actualy do, what with all the rebuilding, supply gathering, cleaning, etc. Services I'll need as well as anyone else in the city. Now with all the crowns you'll probly pull in, seems more like I should be offerin to help you, need anything in particular just give me a yell and I'll see what I can do about getting it for you. As you may be able to guess, I have acess to a few supliers and sources other merchants may not."

Women and booze were the most likely things they'd be needin. Dim could likely provide either, even if he had to simply rent a wagon and buy booze in nexus or vortex. And women he'd likely be able to offer soon as well. Once his ships arived one would be set aside for a somewhat more 'traditional' trade. The women in the city needed crowns as well, and it was safer to do with someone watching your back and with a steady place to take their clients, than it was to risk it alone. Alone they were just likely to end up used and discarded, mistreated or at worst outright killed.

[Striker]

Eagerly watching the pot of stew, the two smaller hunters licked their lips hungrily as the third attempted to practice self-restraint –something that he failed to do when his chiseled abdomen began to growl. Only Ioannes knew how long these three had been hungry. Game had been scarce in the ruins (unless one liked orc meat) and supplies had been difficult to come by as well. No one, at least not anyone with a tidbit of common sense, dared to invest in Paxia given its current condition. After all, the seasons had already demonstrated that those bold enough to remain as entrepreneurs in the ruins were as poor as the three hunters around this fire by now.

The times hadn’t been kind.

The water had been drawn from a manmade well situated in the heart of the land of tents, and thus it was bitterly cold and would take some time to come to a boil. Subsequently, the hunters casually leaned back on their hands, watching the lid of the small pot and anxiously awaiting its rattle. The Rhargn, the largest of the hunters, looked again to the dark elf as he explained the multiple avenues of service that he could provide for the three men. “Sounds like somethin’ to look forward to then.” He said, flashing a surprisingly polished grin as he clapped his two comrades rather brutally upon the backsides.

“Yea, we’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout startin’ a huntin’ service.” one of the other hunters replied. Casually poking at the fire, he drew back one of his sleeves to avoid the touch of the dancing embers. His forearm displayed an incredible number of veins, indications that he, like the others, was accustomed to the rigorous lifestyle demanded by their profession. It hadn’t been easy for any of them, but at least those like the hunters, that is, those with useful trade skills, had been capable of surviving on their own and without as much trouble as less proficient citizens like the women or children.

“So what kinda business ya startin’?” the last of the hunters asked the Vysstichi. He seemed more trusting now that the dark elf had demonstrated how to conjure his special stew,

[Dimnersti]

"Well, am a fisherman mostly, so will predominantly be exploring various related ventures, Though I'm looking at some other options as well, Whatever brings a profit pretty much, since its good for me, its good for the city." he said with a slight shrug. There wasn't much reason to go into any detail, and while they may seem the sort who would go for the more 'unsavory' ventures, but apearances were often deceiving.

"A hunting buisness is a good idea, food is one of the many necesities the city is currently lacking, and even once the city gets back on its feet, people always need food. Not to mention the furs." He'd actualy considered hunting to help provide himself some aditional income as well, but it wasn't something he held any great deal of experiance with and it just wasn't a habit of his to do such lowly things himself anymore.

"Hmm, to think about it, perhaps we could work togethor a lil on this, I'll likely have to hire a wagon anyways to go to nexus and back in order to purchase various suplies, I could easily take furs and other materials to sell."

[Striker]

The Rhargn’s eyes intensified as Dimnersti spoke of the possibility of a future arrangement, one that would ensure that the three hunters had food on their plates for the forthcoming months. The previous winter had been perilous for all of the Paxians, and many of them, even if fed, had lost their homes, families, and belongings due to the severity of the snow storms. Some, like the three hunters, had even been forced to start over from the beginning. Stability was something that everyone in Paxia wanted –in any form.

“You’re a fisherman?” one of the other hunters asked, quirking a brow as he stirred the contents of Dimnersti’s soup. Checking on the simmering cauldron occasionally, the hunter wafted in the smells of the cooking pot, a smile flitting casually across his rugged features.

“Never heard of a fishin’ Vyssie…” the third man said, looking questionably to the Rhargn who merely shrugged his broad shoulders. Both men chuckled. Sure, dark elves were generally renowned for their savagery, but few people ever imagined them as anything other than bloodthirsty cutthroats. “But then again ain’t ever heard of this soup either…”

The hunter’s jest elicited a wild chuckle from the Rhargn who merely clapped his companion on the back. “Aye, me neither.” He said before looking back to Dimnersti. The light in the Rhargn’s gaze never waned as he stroked his hairy chin. He seemed interested. “My boys n’ I could get them furs for sure. We know a couple others who might be interested too. What sort of income are we talking’ here?” Obviously oblivious to the finer details of entrepreneurship, all eyes fell to Dimnersti in hopes of receiving a handsome response.

[Dimnersti]

"Its a simple practical trade, can be done at night and most anywhere within the empire. And its not that unusual for a vystichi, there are underground lakes, and the haru leith that populate them have a unique taste that many favor. Though admitedly both things were rare leaving the haruleith as a bit of a rarity, and surface fish even rarer since trade with the surface was limited, and the simple dificulties of transporting them fast enough that they remained fresh.

In truth, dimnersti had no real clue what sort of 'income they were talking about' he'd never dealt in furs before, then again it was essentialy just extra income tacked on top of the simple food providing service. "Well, it depends on the furs, if its filled with arrow punctures, or stained with blood, its not likely to bring in a great deal of profit. Then again, simple leather is in fairly high demand right now, what with the rather turbulent nature of the empire these days, everyone is looking at a lil extra protection while they travel, and is no shortage of young men and women looking to try their luck as a caravan guard or mercinary in the hopes of making their fortunes. so they cant make simple leather armor fast enough." He said, tilting his head slightly. It was an evasion, but one that would hopefully impress an image of profitability on them without making any specific promises.