Another New Start

[Pseudonym]

"Eh...That author wasn't kidding, this place is hard to navigate." Yisiil sighed, tucking the map back into his sleeve as it would do him no good at this point. He had to face it, he was lost. If he just had been more careful...No, that was the fault of the waitress, not him. Glassware wasn't meant to be filled quite that high. At least she could have avoided the one costumer with all the paper maps.

Inner fuming aside, he needed to find something to do. Getting here had taken most of his traveling funds and he wasn't making the trek back home before seeing the capital. Of course that meant he had to find his way out of here first.

A quick hail to a passerby got no response and Yisiil huffed inwardly. He may look tattered, but he just wanted to get quick directions. Oh well. He decided to try his luck and set off in a random direction. There had to be someone willing to strike up a conversation, even a short one.

[Mera]

Sitting in the darkness of the maze-city,a small, child-like figure was waiting, watching. She wanted to meet someone new today, knew she would. She knew the maze inside and out, backwards and forewards. She was young and sharp, and she loved to help people. So when a man walked by who looked totally lost, she bounded out to meet him. "Hello there, mister! Are you new to our maze-I mean city?" she greeted.

[Pseudonym]

The fallen angel stumbled a bit before he ran into the girl who appeared rather suddenly to his distracted mind. The height difference didn't help much either.

"Ah. New to the maze, yes." Yisiil cleared his throat softly to cover up his near trip as his gaze moved to the girl. Blinking a few times as if he was trying to focus his eyes properly, he decided there could be no better chance for him than this.

"You live here...?" The way he trailed off was the only implication it was a question and not a random statement. "I was hoping to spend a few days here and indulge in a bit of tourism but I seem to be incapable of finding anywhere to do so."

[Mera]

"Of course I live here. Hmm...I'm Torhment. Who are you? I can take you to the major points you'd probably like to see," she grinned, and walked backwards in front of him, her hat jiggling a bit.

[Pseudonym]

"Yisiil." His answer was short, but he did his best to keep it from sounding too unkind. He was asking a favor, he reminded himself, and while he was just expecting to get directions, a guide would give him much more opportunity to ask about the city on the way.

"That would be most wonderful." His tone changed without much of a pause as he stepped forward to follow her. "You wouldn't happen to know of any places looking for a temporary extra hand also, would you?"

[Mera]

"Hmm...Well...I've been staying at this place...They supply money if you shine the gems they sell. More if you can enchant them...You don't look like a mage, though..." she shrugged, and held out her hand, stopped walking. She couldn't keep it up much longer; she'd almost slipped her hat off. That would've been a disaster.

[Pseudonym]

Yisiil rubbed at his chin thoughtfully for a moment before responding and almost tripped again at her sudden stop. His magical talents were quite limited of course, though he did have to wonder if there was some sort of call for gems that caused instant death...Maybe in an assassin's market or something. But those morbid thoughts would have to wait for later experimentation.

"Ah...Thank you." He mumbled as he broke out of his thoughts and looked at Torhment once more. "You're right, I can't do much. But if it's even just a meager income I'd be content with a place to stay." He brightened a bit at the thought that he wouldn't have to sit around in the streets this time.

[Mera]

"Here, I can take you there, Yisiil. Be quick; I don't have a lot of patience..." she grinned, and turned suddenly to start trotting ahead. She held her rabbit ears rigid against her back, and, thus her hat didn't move much.

[Pseudonym]

"Eh...Yes, yes." Yisiil took advantage of his longer stride to keep up with her with minimal effort on his part. It gave him the time to let his eyes wander a bit, but as he watched her, his gaze tended towards the hat. It didn't seem to be moving right with the motion, at least compared to his little experience with such large hats. Either it was weighted or there was something in it, he guessed. But he had a habit of tucking things away in his own robes, so he had no right to question others. Still his attention seemed rather focused.

"So what would you recommend me seeing then?" He spoke to fill the empty air.

[Mera]

"The palace is a must, and you should see the magi petshop, too. They've got these rabbit that actually turn into-" she paused, frowned. She cleared her throat and skipped ahead, blushing a tiny bit. "Well, there are also the mermaid's well. The mermaids, of course, are there willingly. They're soo beautiful!" The envy in her voice was apparent. "The well is about twenty cubits from side to side, and twice that deep, but you only see the upper half. You might see one you like, too...I hear they go willingly enough for the right price..." She grinned a smile that was beyond her young appearance, and winked halfway at him. "There's also the guilds, where our gems are sold to all sorts. And I mean all sorts. The shady, the bright, the sweet, the vicious. Doesn't matter as long as they've got coin. And the bazaar, the dancers, the healers...Oh, too many..." She paused a moment, and glanced around for one of her tri-stone markers she often made to help herself. She spotted one, darted to it, and recollected the stones, shoving them in a pack at her slender hips before beckoning to him.

[Pseudonym]

Yisiil listened carefully. While he was all for just wandering about, having a direction to start in made it infinitely easier. And if he got seperated from this Torhment person he wouldn't be entirely helpless.

"Palace, rabbits, mermaids, guilds, what's that?" He had been speaking softly, making mental notes of the different places, until noticing what she scooped up. Or at least the motion she had made; he hadn't identified the objects.

[ooc: Sorry it took me so long to get back. I had to wait until after an exam and my muse refuses to cooperate. =A=]

[Mera]

"A guild is a place where apprentices find their teachers, or slaves find kinder masters...My master lives there, as head of the guild," she explained, pausing again to scoop up another marker. "In case your wondering, I put down stone markers to help me find where I am, too...It's very useful for exploring new parts of our city, you know? My mark is the tri-stone pillar."