The Midnight Sun

Indil's sojourn to the Free City had taken over a fortnight of hard travel, during which time she'd only had traveler's food, hard waybread and cheese, for sustenance. While she had been able to subsidize her meals with small game brought down by blue-fletched arrows, hunting had been sparse in the lands she'd traversed; there were no plump chickens in the wild.

The Elf knew her mouth was watering as Skarlet approached with the steaming platter and she felt a smile crease her face. To the watching eye, the expression softened her angular features nicely. Indil masked her desire to dive into the meal by opening the leather pack on her thigh and once again pulling out her coin purse.

"This looks truly delicious, thank you." she says to the waiting hostess. She then pulls out a few coins from her pouch--more than the meal's cost, but not extravagantly so. "I believe this is how much I owe you, yes? The remainder is yours, for your service."

She waits to ensure that her count is correct before pulling out her belt knife and beginning to slice into the juicy chicken and warm bread, sliding one atop the other. She eats cleanly and efficiently, but not quickly. As she mops up vegetables and gravy with a chunk of the rich, dark bread, she savors the best meal she's had in weeks.

"Thanks! Glad to work with you." she said and raised from the chair, smiling and waving goodbye to Naoki before exiting the room. In front of the door was the fella, she had met this morning. "Oh, hey. You can go in now." she said and walked down the stairs. Madame Naoki really was a busy woman. Gosh, there were already so many people here.

Skarlet was scurrying around serving drinks and food. She was probably really busy, but if she would look at Leona, she would show her the necklace with a purple gemstone around her neck and smile.

As she was about to enter the inn, she suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine. Ugh, what was that? She couldn't say, but she had the feeling something bad or nasty was about to happen. Walking by Cecil and glaring at him, she went upstairs and saw Akanor lying in front of her room. He was reeeeally dirty. And he was wagging his tail, like he did, when he had done something bad.

"Oh, what is it this time?" she asked and he got up on his paws, ran towards her and tried to lick her hands. "Ewwww. No. You're all dirty and smudgy. What, did you wallow around in something again?" she said annoyed and sighed.

Well, she had to take a bath anyway. And before they departed, it was probably best to bathe him, too. So she opened the door and stepped inside, walked straight to the bathroom and started the procedure.

   Seeing Leona exit the room, and slightly disappointed she didn't notice him hovering there, Whir decided to take his chance at speaking with this Madam Naoki. Walking into the room he scanned the posh appointments. He didn't see Madam Naoki immediately in the room, but Kevin had told him that she was speaking with people remotely, so that made sense. How that was supposed to work, he wasn't sure.

   The chair and table in the middle of the room seemed purposeful. The large glass sphere on top of the table was interesting. It slightly warped the scenery refracted through it into odd shapes, and cast interesting light rays on the table covering.

   "Hello? Is there where I speak with Madam Naoki?"

In response to Whir’s inquiry, the clouded orb sitting on the table begins to resolve its mist into shapes. Over the course of a few seconds, the head and shoulders of Madame Naoki make themselves visible.
She takes a moment to look at Whir, and allow the image to stabilize on her end before speaking, “It is indeed, and you are. To whom do I owe the pleasure, and what business do you have with me?”

Carefully, Cecil pulls three gold coins off the top of the stack, and places them to one side. Then taking the top one of this smaller stack, he holds it up to examine it, stroking his beard contemplatively. The big trouble with gold coins, and the reason that The Midnight Sun has instituted its token system, is because gold coins come in all shapes and sizes. Some are thicker than others, or have larger diameters or holes in them. Though the ‘standard’ exchange rate for the sort of gold coins that are most common in Isra is one to two Suns, the sort of gold coins that Indil placed on the counter seem to be slightly larger, and by extension, more valuable. If Cecil were the exchange clerk, he would conduct a series of weight, volume, and carat tests to determine the exact worth of the coin.

However, as Cecil, (and not the exchange clerk), he eyeballs it, and thinks it probably about fair to take three coins, and give Indil a single Sun as change. Which is exactly what he does, placing the gold coin back onto the smaller pile, and adding a single Sun token to the top of Indil’s larger stack.

Then turning to the rack of keys behind him, Cecil selects one hanging from a hook labeled ‘3’. It is very similar to the brass-emerald key he provided to Imud, save for having a small ‘3’ embossed on the end, instead of a ‘4’.

“I am indeed aware of most of the work available in Isra. The lowest hanging opportunities are over on the north side of the city, helping to construct those Dawnfire Forges they’re working on. That’s just menial labor, though. I imagine a woman such as yourself is looking for higher paying, or more noble job than carrying stones. In which case...”

He gestures in the direction of Imud’s poster, and peers over to read some of the text.

“Collecting a few of these more valuable ingredients could easily leave you set for a long while. To be honest, I’m not quite sure where you might find any of these things, my knowledge is essentially limited to Isra, but you could probably ask around. There are plenty of well-traveled and knowledgeable individuals hanging around out there.”

He nods in the direction of the double doors leading back out into The Sun proper.

“Alternatively- or additionally, you might also consider- depending on if you intend to make Isra your home or not, inquiring at The Citadel to perhaps secure a position in the government, or visit our very own Madame Naoki, up on the second floor. She’s very good at finding positions for individuals, even those as incapable and feeble as myself. Over the past few years of being under her employ, I have no complaints. You seem very capable, and I don’t think you’ll have much trouble finding work, here, or anywhere else.”

Cecil flashes Indil a cheery grin, and whisks away the three gold coins he separated from the stack.

Indil watches closely as he sorts out her coins, nodding approvingly when he returns the Sun. The exchange seemed honestly made and she gave him a pleased nod while tucking away the remaining coins.

"Then you are as informed as I had hoped." She hums in consideration as Cecil begins describing the local work, following his gaze to Imud's poster and reading it closely. Some of the items listed wouldn't be too terrible to acquire while the others... well. She wouldn't want to stark looking right away, though, since she had only just arrived in town. She listened closely as he began to list things more to her interest, pausing at the mention of Madame Naoki. An unsolicited opinion was oftentimes the most honest... she shrugged mentally and considered the inkeeper.

"This Madame Naoki seems intriguing and, at the very least, someone that a newcomer would be very wise to make the acquaintance of. It is a shrewd leader that can place each member of their company according to their strengths, and the prosperity of this establishment demonstrates your own inarguable capability." She says, eyebrows raised as if to beg him to differ. It was, although simple, the longest speech she'd made at once in some time. Moving forward, she cleared her throat lightly and asked, "Where upstairs might I meet with her? I would however like to at least somewhat refresh myself before a potentially auspicious interview."

Indil copies his back-to-business manner as she picks up her room key.

"Very well, thank you for your time, sir."

She nods a polite farewell and steps away from the desk, bouncing her room key in hand. Desiring to rinse off the worst of the travel grime, she turns and makes her way through the establishment and upstairs to her assigned room. Counting down the doors until her own, she stops before the third and slides the golden key into the lock and turns it until a faint click of tumblers is heard.

Opening the door, Indil can't help but release a soft groan of pleasure at the sight of the very comfortable looking bed and the bathing suite beyond. Figuring she has some time before looking into Madame Naoki, the Elf undresses quickly, leaving her weapons by the bed, and heads towards the bath for a nice and relaxing soak.

After receiving his change, six suns, and room key Imud had gone to his room in order to bathe, rest, and recuperate. Now rejuvenated, Imud had returned to the dining room of the Midnight Sun in order to enjoy a nice hot meal. If anyone had come about the quest the staff would surely point them in Imud's direction.

(Lysanna Vermilion )