RP:Destruction Begets Construction

Gualon Plaza, Gualon

Overhead, you might notice a black dragon disappearing over the smoldering ruins that lay to the left of the grand plaza. The dragon dipped below the skyline and disappeared into the arena, prompting a crowd of street urchins lingering in doorways opposite to the destroyed building to crowd into the streets. Tristram approached the plaza after a few minutes, straightening his tie as he made his way to the ornate bronze tree. An older orphan ran up and offered him his pack of cigarettes, which he accepted, as well as removing the cigarette from behind the ear of the orphan before he could run off. He stuck it in the corner of his mouth, pulled out his lighter, and lit the thing before he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized his destructive handiwork next door.

Iintahquohae felt her idea of landing just outside of Gualon on Penquettki was a much better decision after she caught a glimpse of something else airborne within the plaza's boundaries. She wasn't quite sure how authorities in the area might feel about a large creature flying overhead to simply drop the woman off (she assumed they'd probably not take too kindly to it - that and Penquettki had a knack for unintentionally causing trouble at times), so after leaving the couatl behind she walked the rest of the way. Perhaps visiting Gualon was a bad idea, came Iintahquohae's immediate thought at the sight of a building that looked like it must've very recently seen better days. Spotting a dragon should've prompted that thought, but for whatever reason it didn't. Oh well. Iintahquohae liked to wander, and since she was already present she figured she might as well do so. Tristram is quick for her to spot, but she pays him no mind and merely walks around, observing, and hopefully not getting in the way.

Skylei :: Gualon makes Skylei uncomfortable, hell, it puts her right on edge. If it's not the sight of a dragon overhead or the distinct smell of the swamp to the north, it's the presence of the pack of urchins, whom the half-elf could have sworn were eyeing her for a good few minutes to see if she had anything worth stealing. She doesn't, unless they're willing to take the coat off her back or a couple of copper coins out of the depths of its pockets. She's almost grateful as they amass and pour down on the male when he enters the plaza; she feels as though the eyes that have been bearing down on her now find other focus. She doesn't offer Tristram more than a cursory glance as she adjusts the scarf around her neck to keep the cold out. He was nothing to her, if they wanted to mug him for all he had then so be it. This man in his fancy tie likely had more money than she; though he appeared strangely at ease with the street urchins. Her eyes don't even find Iintahquohae as she wanders round the square. Instead the half-elf casts her eyes to the sky, folds her arms across her chest, taps a booted foot once, twice, three times, and mutters something unintelligible about someone always being late. She's growing impatient.

Tristram spotted Iintahquohae about the same time an orphan ran up and pulled him down to whisper in his ear -- something about some kind of 'dragonish snake thing' at the city outskirts. "Probably a couatl," Tristram answered lowly, diplomatically, and he scruffed the orphan's hair as he sent him on his way. "Usually lawful good, with emphasis on lawful and not always on good, yeah?" He grinned and the kid ran off to tell the city's watch to stand down for the coat tail..thing. He lifted his hand to Iintahquohae as she wandered the plaza. "Heya. Glad you make it down to Gualon after all." He held his sleeve up, with the newly mended button still intact. "Good as new. Holding up like a champ this time." He glanced Skylei's way as she approached the plaza, noting the orphans who took an interest in her. There was a momentary heated conversation about her coat between two adolescents, which Tristram put an end to with a pointed dirty look. He noted her impatience, and, ever the nosy one concerning the affairs of his city, he greeted her with a crooked grin as he questioned, "Are you looking for someone? Maybe I can help?"

Iintahquohae turned her attention toward Tristram once he greeted her, then turned to properly face him and stepped over. "I figured I might as well go on a walk around here. Well, fly first. Walk second." She pointed toward the city's outskirts. "I kept my ride out there. I figured she might not be welcome." A gigantic, winged, lime green snake wasn't really something people wanted to run into, she assumed. Spotting his sleeve and the button prompted a very brief smile to appear, and she nodded. "I don't imagine you'll need to pop them off again to get my attention," Iintahquohae replied, before casting a glance at the nearby orphans and Skylei, but her attention was leaning more toward the orphans. It seemed that her curiosity taking a mini tour of Gualon and was gone. Her pockets weren't full of anything interesting save for a few coins in one of them. A gloved hand reached in and gently palmed one of the coins while she considered tossing them their way.

Skylei would have been pleased to know that her paranoia was not in vain. It's a damn nice coat after all, with just the right number of pockets and dark enough that it made her look almost mysterious; that's a definite good thing. Fortunately however, for the sake of her nerves, she doesn't overhear the near-argument between the two miniature ruffians. Eyes are still cast to the heavens as though she is expecting rain to break forth at any moment and so she misses the grin that accompanies Tristram's greeting. Eyes drop down to him and offer him more than the initial cursory stare. Sky was never taught that it was rude to stare and so, she does just that before blinking and offering an uncomfortable grin, "Uh… it depends. I was supposed to meet a guy here. Said he could get something for me, and then never showed." Sky rolls her eyes and fiddles uncomfortably with the ends of her scarf. They're already ragged and the fabric frayed; it's a nervous habit of hers that she simply cannot control, "Kind of shady looking, y'know, your standard rogue type, I think; can't say I ever saw his face." Sky points up at the tree with a lazy hand, "Said to meet him here, today and give me what I requested and I've been here waiting…" the half-elf pauses for dramatic effect before huffing her way through the last part of her dull and sorry tale, "Must've been a good couple of hours now. Last time I ever do business with anyone I meet in Gualon." After inadvertently insulting the entire city, out of the corner of her eye she spies Iintahquohae throwing coin to the youngsters that litter the plaza still. With a wrinkle of her nose she offers what she thinks is friendly advice but simply makes the scholar seem like a snooty bitch, "Don't encourage them, or the next thing you'll know, they'll be rooting through your pocket's looking for more."

Tristram glanced toward the city gates and offered Iintahquohae an easy grin. "Aha. So you are the owner of this dragonish snake menace. We're a little gun-shy about dragons around these parts. A lot of the orphans wound up orphans on account of fast and loose politics by.." He cleared his throat, "..encroaching parties, including other dragons. But they won't bother your friend there, and if she doesn't destroy anything, she's welcome inside. If she's bound by magic, tell her to stay out of the arena, though." He turned back to Skylei, missing Iintahquohae's gesture as he addressed the half elf at the end of her story, which he found rather droll. "Shady looking, standard rogue types. I wish I could help, but that covers half the population here, minus my greener friends, who are also shady and roguish in their own right." He flicked some ash from his cigarette and took a drag before dropping his hand down to his side, keeping the smoke from circulation by their faces. "What is it you're trying to find?" He glanced at the orphans, circling now like sharks in sheep's clothing at the flash of a bit of coin. "Would you jokers knock it off?" He gave one a playful thwack on the back of his head. "Go do something useful. Stop being enabled by handouts, honestly."

Iintahquohae ;; "More that I'd gladly give," she said to Skylei, after giving her a sidelong glance. "I do the same for the little ones in my city." Though there was usually warmer clothes and things tossed into the mix, so Iintahquohae felt a pang of guilt for coming unprepared. Granted, the things she made specifically for Cenril's orphans and impoverished weren't as high of quality in terms of material as what she used for clients, but she made sure that it was just as warm and would last just as long. It was probably the only bit of philanthropy her family partook in that she actually enjoyed. The thought of explaining that entered and left her mind quickly, however, partially because it wasn't really anybody's business and partially because there were more orphans approaching. With no interest in Skylei and Tristram's conversation, she scanned the area and did a quick headcount of the orphans she could see, then felt around in her pocket. Enough for two each? Probably. She produced a pair coins from her pocket, and continued performing little coin tricks for the orphans nearest her, then tossed them in the closest one's direction before grabbing another pair and tossing them to the other. If more approached, she'd merely repeat the process again. Might as well make it amusing while she did it, Iintahquohae guessed.

Skylei finds herself craving a smoke as Tristram takes a drag from his cigarette. As she continues in her frustration "I was hoping that wouldn't be the case but this damn place is near as bad as Rynvale for commerce." Her hands continue to fumble through her pockets, turning over coin, string, strips of paper and all other manner of useless items. No smokes. Sods law. With a sigh, Sky lifts her eyes back up to Tristram and pulls a slight grimace, as though she is ashamed of her next words "I mean, it makes commodities that little bit easier to get hold of sometimes but it doesn't help when my damn dealer disappears off the face of the planet with my money in his hand!" Finally she would answer the elusive question; what is it that Skylei's been searching for all this time? If he was hoping for something exciting, he was going to be disappointed. "It's a book. A bloody rare book, at that." A hand reaches up and pushes through her hair in frustration as she scans the plaza once more for this mysterious rogue. Her eye finds no one but Iintahquohae handing out coin. She rolls her eyes and offers her one final remark on the matter,"It's your loss then, love." Another sigh, a hand pressed to her forehead and the half-elf makes a request of Tristram, given he's naught but a stranger "I don't suppose you've got a spare." She gestures in the direction of the cigarette, "I'm all out."

Tristram shook his head as the orphans scrambled around, but he saw the older ones ease out of the crowd, leaving the younger ones, the ones that hadn't been employed by the city, or Tristram, or weren't yet old enough to earn any income, to linger by Iintahquohae. They laughed at her tricks, and ones that had already gotten a coin passed them back toward the fringe of the dwindling crowd to those that hadn't gotten one yet. One of them was close to Skylei, fingering the frayed ends of her scarf, but without any real mischievous motive behind it, just quietly admiring. Tristram offered Iintahquohae a gracious smile. "You have a good heart." He watched her with the orphans until Skylei addressed him again, and he listened to her carefully, marking the information about Rynvale. Rynvale had once been an excellent area for commerce, what with the rampant smuggling trade and numerous, though hidden ports of call. "A book, eh?" He glanced toward the ruins of building and shook his head. "I used to have a decent library. But I'm afraid Gualon is currently without a literary selection unless you count the children's books in the orphanage. But I doubt that's what you're after. But if you give me the title…" he paused to dig out his pack of cigarettes, flipping the top open to offer one to both Skylei, and then Iintahquohae, "…I can spread the word to be on the lookout for it. My friends here are pretty good at … finding things, when they put their mind to it." He took out his lighter and held it out.

Iintahquohae didn't care too much for what she viewed to be snide comments from Skylei, and continued tossing around her coins until there wasn't any left in her pockets. It wasn't much of a loss for her anyway. She could easily make what she just handed out back. Her hand felt around within her pocket once more in order to double check that she had gotten rid of all of her coins, and her hand closed around a stone. She ran her fingers over its facets in effort to figure out which one it was then tugged it out. A bit of tumbled rose quartz that was probably left over from a client's costume. It wasn't worth much in all honesty, but she tossed it to one of the remaining orphans. It was rare for her to give a genuine smile that didn't disappear in an instant, but she gave one to Tristram and nodded slightly. "I'd give more, but I'm afraid I didn't plan ahead." She usually carried a bit more cash than necessary when she stepped out of the shop for the day. The cigarette he offered her is declined with a shake of her head. "No thank you. Smoke isn't too good for clothes," Iintahquohae said.

Skylei doesn't notice the orphan fingering the ends of her scarf for a good few moments until her own hand makes its way back to the frayed fabric and instead finds little fingers. Instantaneous shock causes Sky to almost jump and the orphan to pull a face. Sky wants to tug her scarf away from the child and tell them to get lost. Instead, wracked with a little bit of inner guilt from Iintahquohae's generosity and her own snide and snarky nature, she unwraps it from her own neck and passes it to the child. She's ruined the fabric already, she tells herself, and needs a new one anyway; this is not generosity. "Now scram," she would mutter to the child, who takes off and re-joins the group of peers. Then she would turn back to Tristram and take the cigarette with a quiet murmur of thanks. Placing it in her mouth and reaching out for the lighter, she is quickly able to take the drag she needs and finally set her nerves to rest before bothering to answer his question, "I've no idea where he sources the stuff from. Likely Rynvale, that's why he's a skeez like the rest of them." Another drag is taken in quick succession of the last before Sky drops her arm to her side. She would finally address his offer of… some kind of assistance in her quest to find this book, "It's only a little thing. I believe it's called 'Runic Translations of Past Ages. Volume 6.'." Sky rolls her eyes and has to steel herself from taking a third drag of that cigarette, "If any of your friends happen to come across that, or the sleezeball who has my money then I would be eternally grateful."

Tristram nodded his acknowledgement to Iintahquohae and he snapped the pack closed after Skylei had taken hers to slide it back into his pocket. He waited for her to hand him back his lighter, flicking some ash from his sorely neglected cigarette in the meantime. "Smoke isn't too good for a lot of things, truth be told." He glanced Skylei's way and grinned. "I suppose Runic Translations of Past Ages, Volume Four's, no good?" Not that he had that either. "I'll put the word out." He glanced toward the ruins as something cracked and settled in on itself. "Do any of you know any masons by any chance? I'm looking to … rebuild something that was once very important to me."

Skylei hadn't even realised that she was still in possession of Tristram's lighter. It's only as she lifts her hand to sweep her hair from her eyes that she realises it's still locked in her grasp. With an embarrassed bite of her lip she holds it out to him, "Sorry." Another quick drag on the cigarette and a flick of the building ash on the end follows as the half-breed finds her nerves growing ragged again. Eyes can't help but scan the plaza one last time; it's always one last time. It's a lost case, she knows that deep down, but the eternal optimist cannot help but hope that this mysterious man and this book that she longs to have in her possession, "Volume Four I have. As do I have all of the other volumes. Save for the sixth and it is driving me to near insanity and forcing my work to a standstill." She admits awkwardly before tapping her finger against the cigarette again, out of force of habit rather than necessity. As for stone masons, "Venturil recently underwent some development, did it not? Chartsend too, though…" Sky pauses and looks around the plaza taking in the architecture, "that's likely not your kind of style." A roll of her shoulders and she offers a response equally unhelpful as Iintahquohae's "I don't know really."

Tristram offered Iintahquohae an appreciative smile and nod. "That'd be great. Before I can even think about interiors, I've got to have an exterior … something." He frowned at the mass of work he had to do. Why was it destruction so much easier than building again? After demolishing the usurper's headquarters, he had to start again from the ground up. He nodded to Skylei at receipt of the information she offered. "That's helpful. I can start there. As long as skilled laborers are still present, they'll still be available for hire."

Iintahquohae nodded. "Naturally. She," her head tilted in Skylei's direction, "may be more help to you finding a builder than I would be, honestly. Like I said, I do interiors." The folks that built her shop might be available though, if she knew where they were. She'd keep the thought in mind, and spoke to Tristram again. "You wouldn't mind if I brought some things for them," she indicated to the orphans, if any were still around, "next time I drop by, would you?"

Skylei shrugs and makes mental note to mention it on her return to the coastal city, "I can mention it to the powers that be if you want? Sure they could put me in contact with them - and the you can find out if they did a decent job because the last thing you need is a shoddy build." Sky rolls her eyes once more, continuing in her trend of being critical towards everything and everyone. She pauses and realises that she is missing one critical piece of information if she is to put the man and the labourers in contact; if that is even in her power, "So, you've got a name? Can't just direct people to the guy in the tie in Gualon, can I?"

Tristram gestured to the plaza for Iintahquohae's benefit. "By all means. But I would request that you ask them to do something for you in return. Have them act as a courier. Tell them to bake you a loaf of bread. Just so long as they do something for you. It teaches them not to expect something for nothing. They can't live their whole lives on handouts because they were dealt one bad hand. You know?" He took a drag from his cigarette and extinguished it near the base of the ornate tree. He collected the stub and pocketed it. He grinned Skylei's way and straightened his tie. "You probably could, really. Not many in these parts who wear one except myself. But I'm Tristram. Tristram Darkeheart. I'm not hard to find." He added with more than a hint of pride, "This is my city."

Iintahquohae nodded. "Of course. I do the same with the ones I help out in Cenril." She shoved her hands into her pockets again, this time to keep them warm instead of fishing around for loose coins. "I'd imagine there's an orphanage nearby where I could find them? I'll make sure to visit."

Skylei grits her teeth as he states that Gualon is his city. She's definitely insinuated at least once that everyone in the city is an idiot or a thief and that these street urchins are naught but an annoyance. Skylei has a serious case of foot in mouth syndrome though, fortunately, she's managed to negotiate this conversation without causing any serious offense; a rare and pleasant surprise. She takes another nervous drag on the cigarette in her hand before offering any form of response, "Well, Tristram Darkeheart, man in the tie, I'll be sure to throw your name in there. Undoubtedly that'll have more sway than a simple description; if you are who you say you are." The last bit is a tease of sorts. The pride in his voice is unmistakable; this must be his city or else he is a strange and seriously deluded man who has utterly convinced himself of that fact. Sky gives him the benefit of the doubt and her own name to boot, "Sky Lucindio, should you ever need to know."

Tristram pulled a pocket square out of his pants pocket, since he was without his sports coat, and he reached up to polish one of the brass leaves of the tree. "The orphanage is down Arena Avenue, just there." He gestured to the street to the south. "But they'll find you, trust me. And I'm sure they'll offer you any and all manners of service once they realize your next round of charity doesn't come with no strings attached." He frowned at the leaf he'd been polishing. It seemed to have developed some kind of patina, which meant whoever was responsible for its polishing wasn't … polishing, or being responsible. He glanced Skylei's way after a moment, and he grinned sheepishly at his accidental lapse in manners, too lost in pride for his city than to remember to ask for her name in return. She was gracious enough to provide it anyway. "I do need to know. Sky Lucindio. Lucindio rings a bell. At any rate, thank you for your help. Both of you." He nodded to both seamstress and half-elf. "It really is greatly appreciated. I have a meeting I have to run to now, but you are welcome to stay if you like." He glance Skylei's way. "Or if you think that ne'er do good is ever going to show up with the elusive volume four."

Iintahquohae took Tristram's directions to the orphanage as her cue to go, Besides, work in the shop that day was light enough for her to pick up a few other things to work on, so she might as well get a general list together before heading back. Penquettki wouldn't mind waiting. She lifts a gloved hand to wave at both Skylei and Tristram as she walks past them. "Nice meeting you, Miss Lucindio, and nice seeing you again, Tristram. See you around." Her hand returns to its pocket and she's off.

Skylei would stay. "You never know, eh?" She'd likely stay for another hour yet in the naïve hope that the elusive book would fall into her hands as though the gods willed it. It wouldn't. There's no doubt in her mind that, for now, it's a lost cause. The eternal optimism strikes again. She'd raise a hand to both parties and then take a few steps towards the edges of the plaza, dodging orphans as she did and bringing that smoke to her lips every so often until it's down to naught but a stub.

Tristram waved to Iintahquohae as she took her leave. "See you around, Stitch. I'll be in touch about our arrangement." Re: The Governor's New Clothes, et al. He lingered with Skylei for a few minutes before he started off to better inspect the building he'd left in ruins. "Good luck, Sky." He shooed some of the orphans. "Go on. Go find your brothers. I need some help clearing out this mess, yeah?"