Haze of the Future(Closed for Cherubian)

[Cherubian]

"Who said I wanted to start up a shop of my own?" I reply, still grinning. "You think I want to keep up with all the buerocratic and bookkeeping hassle? No, not really my cup of tea."

Pausing for a second, to let that sink in, I add. "Unless you need special approval from the syndicate for every new employee" and that would be news for me "then why not keep it simple? I take up your spot behind the counter, maybe after putting on something more appealing to the eye" briefly I look down at my dust covered clothes tailored mostly for endurance on the road. "You think the random passerby can tell the difference between me running my own shop and me running yours for you? For them a new face likely means a new deal, and that's that..."

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

"It's a small community, everyone knows everyone here. Mr Cart especially would know if you were working for me and he would certainly make life hard. I really just wish that I could find out why he hated me so much." The baker explained. By this stage he had almost completely packed up and stepped out of his stall after locking the main shutter.

"I need to go home and think. My wife will be very unhappy with the news but she already knows whats been happening. It was nice meeting you, my name is Nolan by the way. If you need help for anything else or just want to talk, feel free to stop by at my home. I live down that street; third house in." Nolan gives you a forced smile and begins walking away.

 

[Cherubian]

Somehow I feel sad for the friendly but currently understandably depressed baker, and so I am quick to fall in step besides him. Even the whacky idea of consoling him in a more special way went out the window at the mention of his wife. No, that would only add to his troubles now.

"So assume..." I therefore start to speak as we make our way to his dwelling "... someone would be willing to look into this Mr. Cart for you, where would be a good spot for that someone to start if he were new to this town?"

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

He looks at you incredulously at first then nods in understanding.

"To be honest I'm not entirely sure. I suppose you could start at his place of work. Unfortunately the Kalnite mine is at least a few days walk, the syndicate uses convoys every week to get their workers to and from the mine. The convoy only takes about a day to get there. Failing that I suppose you could always just confront Mr Cart himself, though I wouldn't recommend it; as you've seen he is quite difficult to deal with." Nolan opens his suggestion.

 

[Cherubian]

"Hmm..." Gentle fingers rise and begin to slowly massage my chin "... so what you are saying is that he is currently on leave, to relax and have a good time before being carted back to the mine for another tenure underground."

This was changing things. I do not have any inclination to visit that mine, especially since according to the description it is in the middle of nowhere. But maybe I won't have to.

"If that is the case ... my guess would be he will spend the evening enjoying himself. Drinking included, maybe even heavy drinking. And alcohol can make a man talkative..."

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

"You are right, he is currently on leave. Though I cannot confirm nor deny exactly what he does in his spare time, I suppose he would relax like any other man from the mines" Nolan agreed.

He stops In front of a small little unit on the street and places his hand on the door knob. He looks at you with thankful admiration.

"Well, this is my home. I feel bad asking you to help me, I cannot offer you much as reward, everything I earn is to help feed my family. The best I can do is offer you an assistants position if this whole mess is sorted out. I completely understand if you walk away from this." He explains wholeheartedly.

 

[Cherubian]

"Don't worry too much about that..." I smile at Nolan as one of my hands gets to briefly rest on one of his shoulders. Time to part ways for now, it seems.

"I will see if I can have a look into this, and if I find something you will find a way to pay me, I have no concerns there. But say, are there many watering holes in this town? Ones our Mr. Cart would be more likely to frequent?"

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

Nolan looks at your with an amused smile.

"There's only one bar in town. It's at the end of the main square, owned by Sheila I believe. Don't let her looks fool you though, she may seem rough around the edges but deep down shes a lovely girl. Good luck" He tells you, Nolan is just about to pass through door and close it before his head quickly pops back around.

"Oh one last thing, I never caught your name." He adds.

 

[Cherubian]

Sheila again. And yet another good reason to spend the evening at her place. It seemed almost as if fate - if such a thing existed - had conspired to bring me there, so maybe I should just accept the inevitable.

"You are right, i have not." I reply with a wicked smile, and for a few seconds I keep up the pretense of withholding that information, before I add with a softening of my features. "I am Bianca", sticking to the name I made up for Joe.

With that I wait for the door to close behind Nolan before I turn back towards the market. A bit of fruit would go together well with the bread, as long as it is affordable.

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

Upon your return to the market place you can see that most of the crowds have moved on, presumably to continue on with their days. You spy a fruit stand on the opposite side of Nolan's bread stand, the selection isn't particularly wide but you do spot the usual common favourites; apples, bananas, oranges.

A middle aged couple are in charge of the store, at the moment they are dealing with a young female customer and as you approach you begin to hear snippets of their conversation

"I'm sorry dear but the price has gone up, apples are six Kals per kilogram now." The female shopkeeper explained.

"But mama only gave me five. Why did the price go up?" The young girl asked.

"It's the syndicate dear, they've been raising the rent on the market place, we have to adjust our prices accordingly." She replied sadly.

"Okay. Take these ones back." The girl looked worried now. The shopkeeper leaned in closer, you could barely make our her words.

"I'll give it to you for the old price just this once, but next time you'll have to tell you mama to bring more." she whispered. The girls eyes opened widely in excitement and she nodded happily before handing over the money.

"Run along now dear or you'll be late for school." The girl gave her one last smile and bolted of down the street. The male shopkeeper murmured under his breath after she left.

"Hush yourself Brian, we've known that girl since she was a wee babe. I can't stand the thought of the poor girl starving." She gave the man a cold stare which he ignored. By this point the woman noticed you waiting on her.

"Hello there, are you interested in anything?" she asked politely.

 

[Cherubian]

I should no longer bother. This is a dog eat dog world, only the strong survive and if someone else is having trouble it only means it is not my trouble. Better stay focussed on looking out for myself, that will be difficult enough if I want to get further than low paid worker. Or bar wench. But despite all these oh so true and rational thought I can not avoid feeling a slight uncomfortable pang when witnessing the scene at the fruit stand. It just seemed unfair that the good, honest, hard working people were always the one trodden on. Almost like it was a law of nature. And the current oppressor turned out to be the syndicate.

Not too much I can do about it, though. Yeah, sure, incite a big revolt, fat chance of that succeeding. If only that Ambrosia place was more than a myth. And even if it were real, its only a matter of time until someone starts the first power grab.

All that won't help the fruit sellers, though, and I even doubt it interests them a lot. "I'd like to buy some fruit" I therefore state, rather obvious. "Nothing big, just for a quick meal though. A banana and an apple would be fine."

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

The woman gives you a kind smile and picks out the fruit that you requested. Behind her back you notice the man appraising your fine form, he even has the indecency to wink at you when he catches your eye. Though not young by any means, he still seems quite attractive and even well built.

"That will be two Kal's love." The woman tells you as she hands out the fruit

"Don't often get such small orders, if I were to guess I would say you are a traveler of sorts." She adds.

 

[Cherubian]

"Two kals for two pieces, when a whole kilogram of apples is a mere six kals?" I immediately blurt out my surprise at the apparently rather high price of my small order. Before that I had even smiled back at the rather openly inquisitive man behind the counter, but that is gone now, replaced by an expression of surprise.

"Yes, I am a traveller new in this town, but that does not mean I am filthy rich."

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

The woman seems quite taken aback at your outburst but then quickly recovers.

"Forgive me, I'm afraid that is the minimum cost for single piece of fruit as our currency system doesn't allow for smaller amounts. This does mean that you can have more of each fruit for the same cost. Though I'm not sure if you wish to carry so much." She explains. The man steps closer to the counter, though you would think him annoyed by your outburst he doesn't seem the least bit fazed, if anything he seems even more interested.

"Now, now ladies there's no need to fight over fruit. How about we make it one Kal, that is the lowest we can go." Brian interrupts with a gentle but deep voice. As he speaks his eyes rake your body from top to toe, the woman doesn't seem to notice and just stares back at him in confusion.

 

[Cherubian]

Just like the woman - his wife likely? - I pretend to not notice the rather intense scrunity my body currently is subjected to.

"That sounds fair enough" I finally reply, my hand already reaching for my purse. Well, a bit overpriced still, I would think, but now at least it is in the realm of the affordable.

Finally my fingers reappear, now a single Kal stuck between thumb and index finger, and I extend my arm towards the woman while I try to be as friendly as possible. "I'll take them for one Kal, if you agree."

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

The woman looks at the coin and eyes the male again. With a resounding sigh and shrug she accepts your payment and hands over the two pieces of fruit.

"It seems we have a deal. If you're not leaving to soon, you should stay in town till the Half-moon festival, its always an exciting time." She exclaims.

Without the woman's knowledge the man gives you another wink and brushes the tip of his tongue over the edge of his lips with an obvious innuendo.

 

[Cherubian]

"Oh, I hadn't even known about it until now" I reply, showing some excitement although maybe not as much as the woman behind the counter. Taking both fruits from her I immediately lift the apple to my lips and take a first big bite, all the while pretending I had not noticed the man's continuing signals, if only for his wife's benefit.

"Do tell, what is this festival about?" I continue to inquire, my voice slightly muffled from the sounds of me chewing.

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

The woman's face lights up at your interest.

"I'm glad you asked. The half moon festival falls on a very special night when the haze seems to lift and you can see the night sky perfectly. It only happens once a year and coincides with a half moon. Nobody knows why but we celebrate because it's almost as if our troubles disappear along with the fog. It's also the one time that the syndicate lifts the curfew and some of the other restrictions as well." She explains heartily.

"Its quite a wild night." The man chimes in giving you another suggestive look.

"Not for us, certainly for the younger ones though." The woman adds. The man seems unfazed by her comment.

 

[Cherubian]

Now that is definitely new. The Haze lifting, if even for a night? I had heard about the skiy and the stars in stories, of course, but to see them for myself?

It must be a very local phenomenon, though, as I did not know of any other place where this happens. Apparently I am not as far-travelled as I like to think. But thi sis definitely a reason to stay. Back to the present though.

"Why not for you?" I reply with a grin and a wink towards the woman "I am sure your husband would be happy to celebrate that night with you in any way you wanted. I will definitely stay and have a look at this."

My thoughts are already trailing off, and somehow some of my thoughts manage to get shaped into words as I ask "Do you know of other places where this sort of phenomenon happens? The Haze lifting, I maean?"

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

She smiles warmly at your response.

"I'll not claim to be an expert on the matter, nor whether it occurs anywhere else. All I know is that it happens here at a very specific time. Some believe it to be the work of God. One night free of all sin, other more educated folk would tell you a grand tale about science between the moon and earth." She explains with various gestures toward the sky. She leans in closer her voice taking on a different tone.

"I believe it doesn't matter. All that matters is , for one night and one alone we bear witness to something wonderous and beautiful, something to cherish amongst the pain and suffering." She adds, her eye deep and meaningful. After a brief moment she stands up straight again.

"You're right of course, my Husband and I do share the moment in a more private setting. The party is far too loud and unruly for us older folk." She looks at her husband with loving eyes, he returns the gaze briefly and even takes a hold of her hand.

"Speak for yourself dear. I've still got a bit of swing left in these bones." He replies slyly. She gives him a slight nudge at his childish antics.

 

[Cherubian]

"All the better" I promptly reply "your wife will surely cherish that swing" To that I add another wink for both of them as I lift my free hand for a friendly good-bye wave.

Already moving to turn away I let my eyes wander the closer surroundings to find a spot where I might sit and eat my freshly bought meal.

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

In the center of town you spy a small wooden stage, at this time no one else is using it. This would be the most convenient location to sit and enjoy your meal. The bread your purchased earlier is no longer as freshly hot compared to when Nolan presented it to you but still pleasant enough. The fruit, though not of high quality is probably the best you could get this day in age.

Some folk passing by note your presence but most of them continue about their business. Syndicate guards patrol and other carts like the one you arrived in also breeze by. The only group that truly captures you attention is a large congregation of white robed travelers methodically surrounding a lavishly decorated cart, you don't recognise any of the symbols adorning the side of the carriage but you can tell by its escorts, the contents must be important.

 

[Cherubian]

Well, it is not overly befitting to deeply and noticeable stick my cute little nose into everything crossing my path. Not even to mention that my time is too limited to do this.

Still, at the moment I have nothing better to do, and as I sit on the vacated stage, slightly hunched forward, apple in one hand and the piece of bread in the other while I am slowly chewing the food my sight stays focused on that intriguing cart. There is nothing else to watch, after all, and i might be able to pick up a few more clues while finishing my meal.

 

[DungeonsOfDread]

Dm

The group you spotted passes on only after a brief stop. The rest of the day seems to pass on uneventfully, the citizens of this town go about their business as normal and you don't note anything of further interest.

As the sun slowly dips below the horizon the streets become busier as the town folk finish their day jobs. You spot a familiar face in the distance; Joe is waltzing toward the main square but you can't tell if he has spotted you yet.

 

[Cherubian]

The sun is setting, and still I have no place to sleep tonight. Which leaves me two options. Either make the acquaintance of someone really quick who would be willing to let me stay at his place, or take up Joe's offer and work at Sheila's place for now. The latter seems the safer alternative, although it implies that I have to keep my end of the bargain. I have endured worse fates.

So I get up from my sitting position, reaching for my bag to sling it over one shoulder, and begin to walk towards Joe.