The Midnight Sun

The clerk raises an eyebrow, unsure of Imud’s intentions. Does he intend to exchange the box of dust for tokens now, or later? If he’d like to perform the exchange later, how does he intend to pay for the room? Or is he referring to another sort of business? She decides to voice her confusion, and ask directly what Imud would like to do. As the exchange clerk, she can’t give him a room at the Inn, he would need to see Cecil about that.

“... So, would you like to negotiate a price for this box of dust now, and receive payment in tokens, or…?”

A heavily armored griffin, mounted by an equally heavy armored woman, alighted almost impossibly gently to the flagstones in front of the Midnight Sun. Immediately upon landing, small children began to crowd around the griffin, preventing the rider from dismounting until she had tossed a couple coins to the beggar children. She couldn't see her favorite of them in the crowd, but she was likely scrounging up a meal some where. She was sympathetic to the plight of these poor children, but there was only so much she could do in her present position. Maybe if she ever made Knight-Captain she could do more, but until then she would just need to be satisfied with the few coins she did give up. They ran away to chase each other for the money she had tossed them, and she chuckled softly to herself. While not normally a place to leave a mount unattended, no criminal was stupid enough to attempt to steal a Dawn Rider Griffin, especially from in front of the Midnight Sun. It was a good way to lose a hand, and then your head. She would have a waiter bring a big steak for her best friend. It was the least he had earned.

She turned and entered the Midnight Sun, heading straight for her usual spot at the bar. She spent most of her off-duty evenings here, she had few friends to speak of in the city, and no family. She would need to report to Madame Naoki before she had more than a single drink, but she needed to get her own thoughts in order first. She raised an arm to get the bartender's attention as she examined her surroundings.

If it's not drilling new recruits it's having a new bartender. Still, she'd give him a chance to prove himself.

"Alright Allen, here's what I need from you, first off, I have a rather hungry griffin outside who needs 2 pounds of beef, medium rare, get one of the experienced waiters to do it, they know how to approach St. George. I need a stiff drink, surprise me with whatever drink you make best. Finally, I am going to need temporary use of a room for a long-distance conversation with my sponsor. Whew, that was a lot. Got it? We'll deal with my dinner after that." She flashed a dazzling smile at the young lady as she finished her list of orders. She had it down to a science.

Allen’s mouth becomes an increasingly thin line as Elizabeth rattles off her demands. The last customer had simply asked for a glass of milk. Still, he makes a mental note of each thing she said, and nods several times.

“Y- yes, Miss.”

He nods a few more times for good measure, before sputtering off to find one of the more senior members of the wait staff. From afar, it’s difficult to make out the words of their conversation, but Allen’s body language looks pleading, and the senior bartender sternly gestures back toward Elizabeth, and trundles off to get the beef.

Reluctantly, Allen stands again before Elizabeth, but instead of addressing her again, turns his back to consult the wall of bottles. She had asked him to mix a drink. The question then becomes ‘Which drink to mix?’. Allen thinks back to earlier in the week, when Kevin had taught him how to mix Heartbreak. He could try that. But if he makes a mistake, this woman would probably die. As difficult a customer as she is, Allen isn’t quite that malicious. Not to mention, an accident would probably cost him more than just his job. Hm. He would simply have to wing it.

Choosing a few bottles based simply on which ones seem interesting, he sets to work. After a few careful minutes of pouring and shaking, he sets a tall glass down before Elizabeth. He hesitates for a moment, and then garnishes it with a slice of orange. The liquid inside is an undulating hue of orange, and smells vaguely like some manner of exotic fruit.
Allen nods once, putting on a confident face, and silently praying to his deity of choice that his concoction is to Elizabeth’s liking.

Realization dawns on the clerk as Imud demonstrates the purpose of the dust.

“Oooooohhhh. ^{I see}. Yes. Hmm.”

Considering the box with a new eye, she carefully moves it to a simple scale sitting elsewhere on the desk. Though she would have preferred to take the dust out and measure its volume, a rough approximation would have to do. After fiddling with the weights for a moment, she roughly approximates how much dust must be within.

Even with this estimate, the value is hard to guess at. After another momentary pause, she names a figure confidently, which should- by her estimation, be a fairly generous price. She doesn’t get the impression that she’s being swindled, and remembers her instructions to always attempt to secure possibly one-of-a-kind items like this one. If the figure isn’t quite high enough, the clerk will continue to negotiate as far as Imud sees fit, and eventually end up providing him with a substantial sum of tokens in a small pouch. Due to the base-ten nature of the internal currency, it isn’t very difficult to carry large amounts of; a short stack of Novas is exchangeable for a small fortune.

Leon led his horse up on foot and tied it to a post, keeping a cautious eye on the griffin lingering outside. Who brings a bestial mount such as that to a bar? He shook his head at the folly of others, patting his horse on the neck. The mare lipped at his sleeve and shied anxiously away from the creature, the smell of such an apex predator making her skittish.

He fetched his coin purse out of the saddle bags and made for the door, pushing it open. The atmosphere was overwhelming for a moment, he was told that this place was a popular place for newcomers to the city, but the street vendor who said so failed to mention how popular. He scratched at his grey stubble and frowned before going further in and trying to catch the eye of a server.

Leon gave the hostess a smile and gentile nod, not quite a bow. This was not the sort of 'scene' he was used to and Skarlet was not dressed in the way of the women of his hometown. He couldn't deny that it was an appealing outfit on her, though he was too sober and self-restrained to fully 'drink in' the sight. Isra was proving, at first look, to be every bit as cosmopolitan as he was told.

"I'll take wine for now," he said, his precise tone revealing a current of discomfort running through him. "I haven't been to a moneychanger yet, I hope foreign coin is alright?"

Leona chuckled. "Yes, Cecil has already told me that you're a really important person in Isra. It's nice to meet you, too." she said and smiled.

The mentioning of her 'posterior' made her cheeks flame up from embarrasment and a little anger. Why that little ...! Well, no more fudge for him.

Leona cleared her throat and tried to act as if she hadn't heard that last part. "Hmm. So you want to know things about me. I'm not sure where to start." she said and thought about it. She also wasn't sure what to tell her and what not. Should she tell her, that she part of a tribe, who give their children in the custody of dragons? That she was raised and trained by one? That this dragon just vanished one day and she has been searching for him ever since?

"Hmmmm. Well, I was born far south from here in a land similar to this, but it's much hotter and we got a lot more sand than dirt. I am a member of a tribe, who live their lives among dragons. They exist in symbiosis with each other. Of course there are small disputes sometimes, but we don't kill each other or anything. Anyway, from time to time specially picked infants are chosen to be raised by one of these dragons and there they learn exceptional skills and receive remarkable equipment. They never get told, who their real parents are. But most of the times, they don't even want to know, because they have their dragon as a parent." she explained. Although it was probably clear, that she was one of those children, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Well ..." she said after a short pause, where she was lost in memories, "and I've been travelling around for almost 8 years now. I earned money from all different kinds of jobs to stay alive. I am primarily a fighter, so most times it were jobs like guarding this and that or smoothing down differences, you know, that kind of work. Although I guess I don't really look like it, I think I am a pretty good warrior. But I still have a lot to learn." she said, hoping it would be the kind of thing Madame Naoki wanted to hear.

Unsure what to do, Leona just sat there and pressed her lips together.

Leona suddenly felt her heart rate increase. That didn't sound good. She didn't know what to expect, but this kinda sounded like Madame Naoki wasn't really excited.

She tried to think of something that made her protrude. But she was still so young. And her training had been interrupted. She hadn't been even close to the end. In fact they had just started to train any skills regarding combat and tactics, before he suddenly vanished.

"Ehm." she said and desperately tried to think of something. "I-I know a little magic. It enhances my abilities in combat. But I didn't really had the chance to perfect any of them. I am proficient with most weapons, though. But I do prefer to fight with swords. Buuut... you see, it always depends on the enemy you're facing. I am also a pretty good archer. My equipment is down in my room." she said, thinking about fetching it. Anything to improve her chances of success.