Semael enjoyed a few sips of his mild spiced cider after watching Neh-tohon leave the inn's common room. The warmth of the drink seemed to soothe his nerves regarding the harsh encounter with the Sharug's.
"Another one handsome?" says Vanessa just over his shoulder, with the decanter ready. Semael had been here long enough that he now recognized most of the servers. Vanesse seemed to hover too much for his taste.
"No thanks, I'm heading out on some errands." Semael politely put the small mug on the clearing tray that Vanessa had resting on her left hand at shoulder. She stepped back to let Semael through, ensuring her breast just barely brushed his arm. She was also much too eager and not nearly picky enough. Without looking back, Semael left the inn.
There was so much to do before getting back to the Sharugs. The offer had been ludicrous, there must be other reasons they had even considered making it. First, was to figure out why the Sharugs would be so interested in a bone reading shop.
Semael abhors mystics. Most are quacks or frauds, and the few others are dealing with powers they can't possibly understand. The Gods have the right to grant miracles and supply prophecies, and no others.
The display window at the shop was sparsely decorated with cheap black cloth and the skulls of some small animals, probably rats. There were some shiny glass beads of red and smokey gray scattered among the skulls, and a few hanging on thin lines from the ceiling.
Upon opening the door, a small windchime sounded. The entrance was blocked by a black curtain enclosing a small space, leaving the entry barely large enough for 2 people and concealing the entirety of the shop.
Before Semael could proceed through the curtain, a very wide, armed man appeared. His chest was bare, and you could see the muscles bulging. "What are you looking for?" he asked in a surprisingly normal voice.
"I'd like to get a reading of my bones please." Semael replied, as unassuming as possible. He cowered a bit and let his eyes shift, which was the response he believed the man was looking for. It didn't feel natural.
The man turned, buying every bit of Semael's act, and hollered, "Agatha... Customer." Then turned to Semael, "Wait here while she gets ready."
Semael expected him to leave through the curtain, but instead he just stood, staring up at Semael's 6'4" frame. He didn't let Semael's height play any part in his threat assessment. The few minutes passed slowly. There were the muffled sounds of movement behind the curtain, but they were obviously attempting to keep it quiet.
After some minutes of discomfort, an airy female voice came through the curtain. "Well Thurg, show our customer in, I can't read the bones while he's out there you silly goose."
Thurg turned and parted the curtain, revealing a practically empty shop. There was a round table with a black velvet table cloth in the middle of the room. One chair sat on each side of the table, with one occupied by a rotund woman in a bright orange mumu. She had many necklaces hung around her neck, but none with any mystical symbols.
Thurg escorted Semael all the way to his seat, and waiting until he sat down before assuming his post next to the curtain. Semael noticed there were three other very large men in the room. It seemed overkill for a simple mystic.
"Well, well, well, a Deva. That is most interesting. I've heard readings on Deva's can be especially hard to interpret due to their lifecycle, but we'll see what we can do" Agatha said jovially. She took many small breaths while talking, breaking each phrase up with multiple tiny gasps, each one causing her chins to bounce.
"Let's get started right away, I have an appointment not long from now" she said, producing a small red velvet bag from a fold in her dress. "Is this your first time dear?" She asked.
"Yes. Well, in this life" Semael replied, attempting to act a touch nervous.
"Well, let's see what's in store." She opened the bag and turned it over just above a large, white bowl in the middle of the table, letting the small bone shards bounce around at the bottom. Then she produced a flagon, which must have been resting near her feet. She opened the container and poured a dark red liquid into the bowl. It looked like blood, but it smelled like wine thickened with corn starch.
The liquid and small bones sloshed around the large bowl as Agatha poured to nearly the point of overflowing. "The bones adjust better in the cyclops skull if they have more fluid." Agatha plainly stated when the flagon was empty. Semael was more surprised that he actually believed the bowl was the top of a cyclops skull.
The bones within the bowl jostled for position while the liquid settled, then finally came to rest. One in particular caught Semael's eye. The wine had colored the cracks in the bone, making it look vaguely like a noose.
"Ok" Agatha said, attempting to scoot her chair in while being thwarted by her girth, "Let's see what's going on in there."
She stared in silence for a long minute, with no sound but the wheezing of her breath. The other four men in the room looked like they couldn't be any less interested.
"I see an island. You are a very lonesome man. You keep yourself aloof from any companionship as the tide of life slowly wears away at your resolve.
Oh, and next to that a bubble. Your hopes will be dashed, over and over again. You have no chance of success in any major endeavor in your life.
I also see a cake. There is a surprise waiting for you in the near future.
And finally, and I'm sorry to say this, but I see a noose." At that instant, she sits up straighter, looking Semael directly in the eye. Sweat begins to show on her forehead. Her breathing is deep and full, and without interruption she says, "I see you on one platform next to a very high wall. There is a hooded man standing on another platform hear yours. The hooded man pulls a lever, you drop, and your neck snaps. Azriel. Azriel. Azriel."
She gasps then, placing both hands on the table. They shake ever so slightly.
"Your reading is done" comes a gruff voice behind Semael. He had been so entranced in the last part of the reading that he hadn't noticed the man come up behind him. The chair was pulled out and Semael was escorted to the exit near the rear of the shop. Agatha didn't move or say a thing.
Upon entering the alley behind the shop, the sounds of the Sharug forge next door pulled Semael the rest of the way out of his stupor. He had learned some important information. The shop was obviously a front for something else. Did the Sharug's know that? Were they looking for more than simply expanding the shop?
In his haste to return to the inn and talk with his friends, Semael walked right past Neh-tohon on his perch, watching the Sharug shop. Even had he been in a state of full awareness he would have had a hard time seeing him.
After returning to the inn, the next step would be going to the courthouse to find out more about the bone reading shop.
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branchandroot
Re: AM 6-26-1043
Date: 2010-07-03 07:14 am (UTC)Semael enjoyed a few sips of his mild spiced cider after watching Neh-tohon leave the inn's common room. The warmth of the drink seemed to soothe his nerves regarding the harsh encounter with the Sharug's.
"Another one handsome?" says Vanessa just over his shoulder, with the decanter ready. Semael had been here long enough that he now recognized most of the servers. Vanesse seemed to hover too much for his taste.
"No thanks, I'm heading out on some errands." Semael politely put the small mug on the clearing tray that Vanessa had resting on her left hand at shoulder. She stepped back to let Semael through, ensuring her breast just barely brushed his arm. She was also much too eager and not nearly picky enough. Without looking back, Semael left the inn.
There was so much to do before getting back to the Sharugs. The offer had been ludicrous, there must be other reasons they had even considered making it. First, was to figure out why the Sharugs would be so interested in a bone reading shop.
Semael abhors mystics. Most are quacks or frauds, and the few others are dealing with powers they can't possibly understand. The Gods have the right to grant miracles and supply prophecies, and no others.
The display window at the shop was sparsely decorated with cheap black cloth and the skulls of some small animals, probably rats. There were some shiny glass beads of red and smokey gray scattered among the skulls, and a few hanging on thin lines from the ceiling.
Upon opening the door, a small windchime sounded. The entrance was blocked by a black curtain enclosing a small space, leaving the entry barely large enough for 2 people and concealing the entirety of the shop.
Before Semael could proceed through the curtain, a very wide, armed man appeared. His chest was bare, and you could see the muscles bulging. "What are you looking for?" he asked in a surprisingly normal voice.
"I'd like to get a reading of my bones please." Semael replied, as unassuming as possible. He cowered a bit and let his eyes shift, which was the response he believed the man was looking for. It didn't feel natural.
The man turned, buying every bit of Semael's act, and hollered, "Agatha... Customer." Then turned to Semael, "Wait here while she gets ready."
Semael expected him to leave through the curtain, but instead he just stood, staring up at Semael's 6'4" frame. He didn't let Semael's height play any part in his threat assessment. The few minutes passed slowly. There were the muffled sounds of movement behind the curtain, but they were obviously attempting to keep it quiet.
After some minutes of discomfort, an airy female voice came through the curtain. "Well Thurg, show our customer in, I can't read the bones while he's out there you silly goose."
Thurg turned and parted the curtain, revealing a practically empty shop. There was a round table with a black velvet table cloth in the middle of the room. One chair sat on each side of the table, with one occupied by a rotund woman in a bright orange mumu. She had many necklaces hung around her neck, but none with any mystical symbols.
Thurg escorted Semael all the way to his seat, and waiting until he sat down before assuming his post next to the curtain. Semael noticed there were three other very large men in the room. It seemed overkill for a simple mystic.
"Well, well, well, a Deva. That is most interesting. I've heard readings on Deva's can be especially hard to interpret due to their lifecycle, but we'll see what we can do" Agatha said jovially. She took many small breaths while talking, breaking each phrase up with multiple tiny gasps, each one causing her chins to bounce.
"Let's get started right away, I have an appointment not long from now" she said, producing a small red velvet bag from a fold in her dress. "Is this your first time dear?" She asked.
"Yes. Well, in this life" Semael replied, attempting to act a touch nervous.
"Well, let's see what's in store." She opened the bag and turned it over just above a large, white bowl in the middle of the table, letting the small bone shards bounce around at the bottom. Then she produced a flagon, which must have been resting near her feet. She opened the container and poured a dark red liquid into the bowl. It looked like blood, but it smelled like wine thickened with corn starch.
The liquid and small bones sloshed around the large bowl as Agatha poured to nearly the point of overflowing. "The bones adjust better in the cyclops skull if they have more fluid." Agatha plainly stated when the flagon was empty. Semael was more surprised that he actually believed the bowl was the top of a cyclops skull.
The bones within the bowl jostled for position while the liquid settled, then finally came to rest. One in particular caught Semael's eye. The wine had colored the cracks in the bone, making it look vaguely like a noose.
"Ok" Agatha said, attempting to scoot her chair in while being thwarted by her girth, "Let's see what's going on in there."
She stared in silence for a long minute, with no sound but the wheezing of her breath. The other four men in the room looked like they couldn't be any less interested.
"I see an island. You are a very lonesome man. You keep yourself aloof from any companionship as the tide of life slowly wears away at your resolve.
Oh, and next to that a bubble. Your hopes will be dashed, over and over again. You have no chance of success in any major endeavor in your life.
I also see a cake. There is a surprise waiting for you in the near future.
And finally, and I'm sorry to say this, but I see a noose." At that instant, she sits up straighter, looking Semael directly in the eye. Sweat begins to show on her forehead. Her breathing is deep and full, and without interruption she says, "I see you on one platform next to a very high wall. There is a hooded man standing on another platform hear yours. The hooded man pulls a lever, you drop, and your neck snaps. Azriel. Azriel. Azriel."
She gasps then, placing both hands on the table. They shake ever so slightly.
"Your reading is done" comes a gruff voice behind Semael. He had been so entranced in the last part of the reading that he hadn't noticed the man come up behind him. The chair was pulled out and Semael was escorted to the exit near the rear of the shop. Agatha didn't move or say a thing.
Upon entering the alley behind the shop, the sounds of the Sharug forge next door pulled Semael the rest of the way out of his stupor. He had learned some important information. The shop was obviously a front for something else. Did the Sharug's know that? Were they looking for more than simply expanding the shop?
In his haste to return to the inn and talk with his friends, Semael walked right past Neh-tohon on his perch, watching the Sharug shop. Even had he been in a state of full awareness he would have had a hard time seeing him.
After returning to the inn, the next step would be going to the courthouse to find out more about the bone reading shop.