A New Beginning, But Not on an Empty Stomach (Open)

[Rusty]

5th Brightening 1st Cycle Melora, in the Season of Winter, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum.

Although the temperature of the desert would be considered mildly warm in other regions of the Empire, having grown up in the deserts of Arakmat his entire life, the short haired Dorin gave thanks for his heritage as he watched a human here or an elf there pull a cloak tighter to their bodies as the breeze picked up slightly. Rusty was walking through the Bazaar, alone for the first time in the desert capital city. He had just said his good-byes to his pack, and now faced the life he had chosen without assistance or direction. As he wandered, almost aimlessly through the Bazaar, he found a copy of The Mirage before the scent of spices, cooking meat and fresh baked bread seemed to lure him like a siren's song to the Desert Oasis Cafe.

With the local publication of Arakmat's news tucked firmly under his arm, Rusty made his way to the restaurant. The closer he got, the more his nose decided to inform him of what had to be some of the most delicious food in the Empire. The smells were familiar; he had been treated to eating at this particular establishment on very rare occasions when his pack was experiencing an abundance of wealth. The sight of the establishment was unfamiliar to him, but the smells told him that he was indeed at the same place he had eaten at before.

Rusty entered the cozy establishment. For a brief moment, the Dorin simply closed his eyes and took in the smell of so many mixing ingredients and let his mind wander back in time in a moment of nostalgia. However, he only allowed himself this brief moment of reminiscence before approaching the counter. He glanced only briefly at the menu before making up his mind.

He quickly ordered the Shawarma of lamb on a platter. Slightly familiar with the practice of the Desert Oasis, Rusty found himself a seat with his back to a wall. While he waited for his order to be brought to him, he opened his copy of The Mirage and perused its contents.

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Valanthia didn't eat out particularly often -- it was much easier usually just to have things either sent to the Sand Castle or prepared there -- but she was in sort of a "sampling the local color" mood this brightening, and so she'd headed down to the Desert Oasis Cafe. The half-vysstichi consul had never been there, but it was supposed to have good food, and this seemed like as good a time as any to try it.

She stepped into the establishment, leaving Umbrosus outside with a fond rub of his belly, and slid into a chair in the corner. After frowning at the menu for a minute, she requested the cucumber &c. salad; she wasn't that hungry, and it was supposed to be one of the house specialties after all.

As she waited for her food to return, she glanced around the cafe. There wasn't anyone here she immediately recognized. A dorin in the seat by the wall, however, was holding something that she was familiar with -- a copy of The Mirage. She'd glanced through it when it first came out, secretly pleased just to see her name in print, but it occurred to her that it might be a good idea to look at it again, just to see if she was going to need to change anything in the wording should she need to request workers for the Consulate again next season.

She stood, and approached the table. Quietly, and very politely, she spoke to the dorin. "Pardon me, sir...when you're finished with the Mirage, would you...would you mind if I had a look at it? I'd be happy to...to give you a few crowns for your trouble if you'd like."

[Rusty]

As Rusty skimmed the paper over, he read bits and pieces of the local government's affairs. Few, if any political stories, interested him; therefore, he skipped reading most of the stories in print. However, on topic caught his eye. The article mentioned something about the dead rising in the desert and adventurers disappearing after trying to combat their presence.

Before he could read further, a half-Vyssie woman approached him. Although he was somewhat familiar with the city, Rusty couldn't recall who this woman was. His first instinct was to ignore the woman due to her heritage. However, he noticed she wasn't a full blooded dark elf, and she was being rather polite.

Wary of her motives, Rusty figured there couldn't be any harm done by sharing a simple newspaper. Nodding, he replied, "As soon as I'm done with this article I've got no objection to sharing it with you. Take a seat if you like; I wouldn't mind a bit of company if you're not too busy." After that had been said, Rusty quickly finished the article about the rising dead. He folded the paper, and handed it over to Valanthia.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, but I had to finish that particular piece . . . it could easily affect my pack. I'm Rusty."he stated rather plainly, but it wasn't hard to tell that an air of worry hung over the Dorins head after he'd finished his reading.

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

"Thanks," Val said. As far as these things went, the reaction she got from the dorin was fairly encouraging, and she took the proffered seat at the table. The girl made no move to interrupt him as he finished whatever article it was that had him so engrossed. When he had finished, she accepted the paper with another murmured word of thanks.

"A pleasure to meet you, Rusty," she said, nodding politely. Something was bothering him, and though the facial expressions of dorins were not something on which Val could be considered an expert, even she could plainly identify the note of worry. "I'm...my name is Valanthia L'Evienne."

This was always the interesting part of any first-time conversation that Val had with anyone. Her last name, of course, was instantly recognizable, it being the same as the Regent's and all. But she herself was reasonably well-known here in Arakmat; she was the Imperial Consul, after all, and that made her one of the most highly-placed Imperial officials in the province. How people reacted to that information was unpredictable, especially because they often weren't expecting the name to be attached to a melancholy-looking half-vysstichi who didn't even appear to be out of the racial equivalent of her teens.

"What's...what's the item of concern to your pack...if you don't mind me asking?" the girl inquired. She looked at the dorin's face, wondering just what it was that had him so obviously down.

[Rusty]

When Valanthia introduced herself, a mild look of surprise crossed his face. Rusty wasn't exactly sure which position the woman held, but he knew that she was a high ranking government official. Her last name alone, told him that she was important- being related to the Regent and whatnot. The Dorin took a look about the room, instinctively looking for body guards or other possible threats; even though he highly doubted there being any chance of the two of them being involved in an altercation, the instinct to know what possible threats were around had caused his reaction.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Valanthia." Rusty replied. The response was polite, but at the same time truthful. Even if he didn't completely trust her due to her heritage, so far she was proving to be agreeable company.

When she inquired about what was troubling him, Rusty pointed to the folded paper he had recently handed to her. "There's an article in there about the dead rising in the desert. Apparently, it's gotten fairly bad. Adventurers sent haven't come back . . . my pack roams the desert hunting food. It's just . . . I worry about them." He paused, but continued saying, "I need to find the militia house. It's either that, or simply venture into the desert alone . . . and that's simply madness."

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Interestingly, there weren't any bodyguards present in the room. Unlike most people in her position, Val often went out alone. Umbrosus was waitingoutside, of course, but among the massive canine's unusual properties was his ability to quite literally disappear when he was in the shadows, and so even if one were looking through a window, he would be out of sight.

She nodded somberly as he spoke. Val had heard the rumors too, although she didn't know what to make of them. Anything that threatened the safety and security of the province was her concern. The desert was a wild and a lonely place, and even in the best of times it seemed to her that it would be an easy place for an adventurer to meet with misfortune.

"I can see why that would...would be troubling. And you're right...I don't think venturing out into the desert alone to face that sort of thing would...would be the best idea. I'm sure you could find someone among the...the city guard, or somewhere like that who would be willing to help though. Perhaps even the Sultan. I don't think anyone wants to...for there to be trouble outside the city. It's bad for everyone, even the...the people who don't go outside of Arakmat."

Val was not a military person -- although Kella, her personal assistant, was, or at least had been. But if the average citizen was worked up over this particular turn of events, then it might be worth her time to poke around and see who exactly would be able to offer some assistance.

[Rusty]

Rusty nodded at her words. For the moment, it seemed that the both of them saw eye to eye on the subject. She understood his concern for his pack and the dangers of traveling the desert alone; he understood her concern for the city and its citizens. His ears twitched slightly at her mention of the city guard or possibly the Sultan offering help.

"My first course of action, will have to be to seek out the militia house. Hopefully, I won't have to look much farther than that for assistance. You mentioned something about the city guard; do you think they would be willing to spare either guards or equipment to aid anybody trying to keep the province safe?" Rusty replied, asking questions of his own. He had completely forgotten about his appetite by now, and was seeking answers to questions he hadn't thought of until Valanthia had decided to ask to borrow his copy of The Mirage.

OOC: Sorry for the short post; I'm on vacation and don't have much time.

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Val's salad arrived at this point, and she gave the appropriate coinage to the waitress. It looked good, certainly, although at this point she was rather preoccupied with the current conversation.

"I'd...figure they'd be willing to help. Problems like this affect...affect everyone, and especially if it's cutting into trade, you'd probably be able to...to get assistance. I'm not involved much with the military, and I don't know much about the...about the specific structure of the city guard; I do know, however that...that the Legion in these parts is actually under the command of the Sultan himself, and that the safety of...of the region is a great concern to him. If you don't get a response from the guard, I'd...I'd strongly consider contacting the Sultan directly." There was an intense concentration in her gray eyes.

"Out of curiosity, is your...your pack based near the city, or further into the desert." Exactly how dorin society was structured was still something she wasn't entirely sure of, though she had learned a few things in the course of her posting to Arakmat. She had some idea that a pack's location wouldn't be fixed, but it still would probably have some generalized territory to it -- but she wasn't certain, and couldn't be without asking.

The girl paused and put a bite of her salad into her mouth. It was quite good, really -- sweet and crunchy and extremely fresh-tasting, even in the winter. The people who had recommended this Cafe seemed to have been right on the mark.