Better Gnomes and Living

Log Info

• Title: Better Gnomes and Living
• Emitter: Jinks
• Characters: Aryia, Jinks, Vaera
• Place: Alexandria Lower Market District
• Time: January 25th, 2022
• Summary: Jinks is waiting with his new furniture out of his currently, and soon to be newly renovated home. Aryia comes across him out of the fernwood, and she is shortly followed by Vaera, who was looking for them. They speak about what brings the Gnome out on the street that day, and the state of his building after some confusion about whether it had issues with rats or not. They speak of what the place was like, and the owners of the building, who he had known for some time. They are unable to go in with ongoing renovation work. Vaera is mildly offended by Jinks not needing furniture made, but the gnome explains that he wished to have furniture with historical significance, to make the place more lively. Jinks departs, after being suggested that perhaps a roommate would fill the space better, and the others go on their way.

Not far from the Fernwood, a fancy gnome sits on a chair in front of a shop window. The shop-- Elsie and Madze' Fine Cuts and Settings-- is closed for the evening and the show windows are dark and empty of all but a few brightly-colored cushions. There's a distant light from the back of the shop, beyond a little counter and into the living space behind it. The tiny glow flickers for movement nearby.

One of the street's mana lamps is nearby, shining its soft, blue-white glow and leaving the walk well lit in spite of the dark clouds overhead. The wind whistles low through the alleys and down the row, taking up loose bits of debris along the way.

Jinks leans back in his seat, balanced with one foot on the ground and his legs crossed, a bit disheveled in dress and singing ot himself with his fingers laced and resting over his half-buttoned silk shirt. A pair of bottles-- one opened and near-empty-- sit on the ground next to the two chairlegs. There's a stairwell to his left leading up to the second floor above the shop and light and the sound of workmen spill out from the doorway at the top.

A few impressively-large crates decorate the streets, opened or collapsed with packing straw or old bedclothes spilling out around them.

A familiar scarred mul'neissa steps out from the Fernwood, verdant jacket buckled closed and a scarf protecting the lower half of her face. She's homebound, twin lantern eyes half lidded in thought as she strolls.

Strolling... to a stop. The two sources of light cant sideways, head tilted that way at the state of, well, everything. She looks around, then gestures at a collapsed box with a quirked brow to the reclining Jinks.

The fernwood pub had another strange figure leaving, at least to most unfamiliar to them. A dark red makari who was half clanking their way down the street. At a jog as well, which may have scared off more than a few passerbies. She came to a halt when near Jinks' and the crates, giving the two a wave.

"Ah, I was hoping to catch you before you got too far, Aryia. I have a alloy billet that I was hoping you could get Venom to check over, if you see her. I wanted to triple check the tensile strength of the material. And, hello, Jinks. That is an awful lot of boxes, unless they are not yours." She greets.

"I finally settled on a trophy room and study after clearing out the furnishings I'd put in for the twins." Jinks explains with a lopsided grin. The gnome shifts his weight and lifts his foot from the ground, balancing precariously for a moment before allowing Ea to pull all four legs of the chair back to the cobblestones with a clack. He reaches a finger down into the neck of his open bottle and lifts it easily, taking it into his lap and wrapping both hands around it. "So a comfy chair, ottoman, a few display cases, and some bookshelves. Mainly for show... to impress whomever I lure into my web."

"... though I did manage to obtain volumes of histories and a set of creature lore compendiums that my parents had when I was a child that I might make time to finger through. Nostalgia." He winks and has a drink, the liquid sloshing and tinkling. "Oh, and I'm replacing the bath with something larger and less... riddled-with-chips-and-cracks and more carved with scenes of bacchic revels."

The minstrel nods and lifts his bottle in toast to Vaera, bending again to lift up its wax-sealed twin and gesturing a half-toss of offering, an eyebrow quirked.

Long grey ears flatten against Aryia's skull at hearing the 'clank-step-clank' approaching, her glancing to the side, half-tense before letting it give way to a faint smile. She raises a hand, all the terms flying over her head as she just nods and holds a hand out for the bullet.

She looks back to Jinks, a brow still quirked as her gaze lingers up to the second floor. "So you have... two places now?" she inquires, deciding to not ask what the hell as bacchic revel was. <Handspeech>

"Ah, I am curious as well, last I heard you were moving into another place, one that had a lot of pest problems. Not the kind of place that was already furnished." The red makari chuffs. "I do not see the appeal of a trophy room, but a study could not hurt if you have the place. And at least, it will put up the facade that you are well learned?" She asks, one brow raised. "It was something I noticed often in noble houses. They would have grand libraries, but half of the books barely showed any signs of use. But they seem to impress other people. But, it sounds like you are at least using some of it."

Vaera reaches into her jacket and pulls out a relatively thin foot long piece of metal, which she hands to the mul'niessa. It was wrapped in paper with various numbers and letters written on it. "Venom should understand the type."

"Just the one," Jinks corrects with a mild shake of his head. "But two bedrooms; the whole second floor is mine. A larger, open room, a small pantry and storage room, and two bedrooms. Elsie raised her family up there-- with Madze, of course-- but now that their grand- and great-grandchildren are grown and scattered to the winds they just live in a room behind the shop meant for overstock and the like."

"This is the same place," he nods for Vaera. "Been here since the beginning of Quintoos. Rats are gone, fixed it up, and now some remodeling..." The gnome leans back again in his chair and drains the last of his bottle, eyes closing to savor the flavor. He licks his lips and tosses the empty thing into one of the open-but-intact crates.

"I got a little ahead of myself considering Tress threatened to have me killed shortly before I bought the place but..." he shrugs and grins. "Winning a game of chance against the Harpist I suppose I had to save up a bit of bad luck first."

Half-turning, Jinks looks up the stairs and then back to the other two. "I'd invite you up but there are also People putting in some brass piping to take head from the stove to a water-catch. Apparently I'll have hot bathwater... without having to boil it first."

When no one seems interested in his other bottle he drags his nail through the wax and looses the cork with his back teeth, spitting it into the scattered debris and making a quick toast again.

Aryia blinks at the size of the metal given to her. She thought the word 'billet' was just a misspeak from draconic to trade. Though, she shrugs, and puts the piece of metal into her bag. Must have been a magic kind, as it slides in easily despite the dimensions.

She holds up a hand and shakes her head at the offer. "Oh. Is this the mongoose place?" she inquires, looking up at the second story once more."

The reputation still lingers, it seems.

"It's fine. That does sound nice though, I don't have anything like that at my place. It's rather bare. Well, except for some furniture that Vaera helped build," she mentions, thumbing over her shoulder towards the redscale. Though, she scratches her head. "Uh... who's E-L-S-I-E and M-A-D-Z-E?" <Handspeech>

"That is not how luck works, or perhaps it is. I can never tell with clerics of them." Vaera sighs. "But ah, That sounds like a lot going on. Hope the pipe laying does not take too long, or it might be too cold out here to not be inside. For any amount of time. But, Tawyse seems to manage just fine, so perhaps gnomes are better equipped for the cold than I though."

"Do not worry about it, there is always another time to visit. Though I am perhaps a bit offended you did not take my offer for any furniture. I can assure you that it would not look out of place in a nobleman's home. It would not be the first time I have furnished a noble's home, after all."

"It was, yes, though that's now well and done." Jinks laughs. "Cryosanthia terrified the poor things when she and Sabina slept one off here. I had to put them outside in their cages. Thankfully it wasn't quite so cold at that point." He thinks, head bobbing as he follows the series of events. "Then the rats returned while I was in the dungeons. That time I just had a pair of gobbers come in and root them out; they were quite efficient."

The gnome tosses his head back, quarter-turning to indicate the shop window behind him. "They run the shop. Wonderful People. Jewelers. Elsie does the fine metalwork and Madze is a gemcutter." He taps his finger at the onyx-set circlet he wears. "Met them when I had this made to be enchanted. Then they made the filigree-and-onyx choker I'd bought for a special dinner with a friend... but that relationship ended before I had a proper chance to wear it. So it waits for my next chance to sing a harmony."

"I use minor magics to heat my clothing; the effect lasts for some time and remains repeatable ad nauseum." The gnome admits, stretching to pinch a bit of ice from the windowsill and touch it against his silk shirt where it steams. He flicks the half melted thing away and grins again, drunkenly, and shakes his head. "Take no offense. I'm spending obscene amounts of gold finding pieces with history and stories. I can feel the Hymn on a thing and the whispers of tales told make the place feel a little less quiet." His shock-white hair dangles loose as he tilts his head at the sith-makar. "It has nothing to do with your ability to produce a quality item."

Aryia chuffs at the thought of the whitescale scaring the rodents, her imagining that tall woman trying to fit into a gnome's living space. She glances to the shop. 'Ah', she breathes out. "I see where you get all your shinies now," she notes, glancing to the circlet he points out. Which reminds her to nudge the ivory band on the back of her skull back into position. She does so with her shoulder.

"Just don't stain your newfound collection with all the booze you drink," she ribs, eyeing the open crate that a bottle was tossed into. "I don't think the Hymn would like that very much." <Handspeech>

"Well, as long as their gone. I can imagine Cryosanthia could scare them off. Even if she likely had to stoop to do so." Vaera chuffs. "Jewelry shop, I suppose that does make sense, yes." She nods to Aryia. "Well, sounds like wasn't going to be a special dinner anyways. Best saved for another time, another person. But what you speak of, I have honestly no clue how that's supposed to work. What you can see on these objects."

"Curious, really. Though if it's quiet, is there a reason you wouldn't try to find a roommate?"

"Ah, they should be so lucky as to have my imprint," Jinks grins at Aryia. "The prodigal son of a master artificer and arcanist extraordinaire? Survivor of Whitefoot's War and the Merkabah Siege. A small hand in the talks between Alexandria and Myrrdion. Twice dead and reborn."

The dandy gathers steam, standing up out of his chair. "Slayer of dragons and magical abominations posing as dragons. Redeemer of demon-tainted, yrchblood scions. Sith-makar confessor. Tortured and enthralled by-- then escaped from-- an archfiend." He winks. "Every one of those a story that gets better with each telling."

A drink and he sways, going with the momentum to lean heavily into the wall at the base of the stairs. "The main room is built to be comfortable for tallfolk. You'll just have to skip the tour of the bedrooms," he chuckles at Vaera with a shrug. One foot stomps onto the first step. "It would've been a fantastic dinner. They all are. And every night is one for bardsong even if the duets are short." There's a laugh at the notion of a roommate and he begins to trot up the stairs, swaying from the handrail. "Mulria's sideways smile, who would have me?"

Up comes the bottle in a wave over his shoulder.

Aryia lightly smiles, but she rests on her back foot and rests a hand on her hip as Jinks recounts the deeds and experiences that he has gone through. Her gaze half-lids, and she breathes a long sigh that filters through her scarf. For a beat, she reflects on all the shit she's gone through too.

And the man is on the stairs, heading on the way up. She gives a parting wave to him, though her visage held a tinge of worry.

She looks to the crate of bottles. "S-m-n- th-t d-sn't w-nt t- s- y- dr-wn," she hisses quietly at his back, the distance making it hard to pick up. She frowns behind her scarf.

"I can see why you wish to have a trophy room when you can recount achievements like that." Vaera snorts. "Do they get better? They should be the same, close to the truth. That's the point of historical stories, so they may be learned from. Though if you glean more insight, they get better with retelling, yes."

Vaera waves off the gnome. "I am sure I could see, but it sounds like a good excuse to not embarass yourself with your bedroom." The makari teases, waving Jinks off. "Another time. Yes." "Someone around not to be impressed, but to hold Jinks to a standard. If a bard can not fill a home with their own singing, they need another voice to pick up the slack." She agrees. "Tell Violet I say hi. And before Venom asks, the metal does not make for good caltrops."

Aryia chuckles at Vaera's teasing, which only grows to a more breathy laugh. "I'll be sure to tell both of them when I get the chance."

She clasps the redscale's upper arm for a moment before patting her on the back and starting to amble off. "See you later, Vaera," she gestures, walking backwards to do so before pivoting back and resuming her leisurely stroll. <Handspeech>