The Upper City, North End
Magister Row North
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The North End of the Magister Row is also known as the Engineer's Street. it is a raised street, wide street with huge buildings built directly into the rock wall which surrounds the upper city on one end and a myriad of workshops and engineering shops on the other. It is home of the Royal School of Engineers as well as the Machinist union and other such buildings. Anything to do with engineering can be done in the Northern Magister Road, as long as one is in the clear with the Royal School and has all the necessary permits, that is. It is also the preferred living location for all the guilds and most prominent machinists, weapon designers, engineers and the sort, and smoke is filtered out into the blizzard through arrays of pipes and tubes going into the rock wall 24/7. The row has the most arcanely technological look of any other in the city and one can never tell what new invention might be out on the streets or what new technology the dozens of workshops and companies might be testing now.
Golden Gear Machine Company, that had been the logo sewn to the blonde Daguerrian whom
Thaddeus had seen earlier, and, after he glanced behind to see if Zahrah had decided to follow him after all, he took a slow, appreciative glance of Magister Row, and all it had to offer, half-hoping to get a glimpse of the young woman that had eluded them earlier (Notice). Thad was excited, and he wore a bit of a dreamy smile as he pondered visiting his old haunts, trying to catch-up with old acquaintance. No, he shook his head slightly-- he was an adult, now, and had to perform a list of tasks in a certain order before he could just wander off. Besides, he was planning on meeting back up with Zahrah a little later on. With that in mind, he referred back to his notebook, and visiting the guild was number one on his list.
Thaddeus looked around for the woman engineer Zahrah had bumped into earlier, but her outfit was the perfect camouflage in the Magister row. Everywhere, engineers and workshop employees hurried around, rushing up and down the curved street. Hundreds of jumpers and worksuits just like the woman's surrounded Thad, Golden Gears, three cogs lined up in a zigzag, a black rifle over red diamond, a construct's head outlined inside a black circle... each workshop and guild had their symbol emblazoned on their worker's clothes. Much like the heraldry of the noble houses which was carried by knights in the olden days before the winter... old customs died hard it seemed. At least a dozen tiny sentries like Tok rolled along too, as busy little bees, some had been outfitted with little baskets and ran errands for their builders. He even saw some larger, human sized constructs and on the distance, the ominous shape of a Royal Juggernaught by the Palace Gates. It took a team of a dozen engineers months to build a single one of those.
Flipping the cover of his notebook shut,
Thaddeus looked very briefly disheartened that he'd lost track of Dilay. But, as he began to take a gradual, appreciative glance along the expanse of Magister Row, he soon wore a serene, lop-sided smile as his red-rimmed eyes lazily swept over the bustling area one more time before he got down to business. Carefully wending his way through the crowd, Thad and Tok made their toward the Engineer's Guild.
Everything in the Magister's row was always interesting for the mechanically minded, and for some reason, this time of the year seemed to have the engineers in a frenzy. Outside every workshop, they all tested their best inventions and showed them off to the crowd, trying to gather a following for the upcoming engineering competitions. In the distance, Thaddeus could see the engineer's guild, a large two story buildings, more like a manor than a school. It was the richest and most influential guild in the city, under the direct patronage of the royal school, and it showed. There was a small semi-circular courtyard right outside of the building which was closed by heavy iron gates at night, but remained open during the day. Engineers who paid their dues could also rent a place in the Guild at a discounted price, so a small gatehouse stood to the side for them to come in and out of the guild late at night. There was a crowd that had formed outside of the massive double oaken doors or the guild, a circle of people around some kind of occurrence which Thaddeus could not yet see from afar.
Simply being in this engineer's paradise made the young man's fingers itch to draft and create, to spend hours on end hunched over a heap of parts and pieces and build some sort of mechanical masterpiece.
Thaddeus was getting ahead of himself, however, and that thought alone diminished the dreamy smile he wore to an abashed expression, his mouth screwed to one side of his face. When Thad realized that there was a crowd gathered in the vicinity of his destination, he drew a curious look upon his countenance and politely and carefully tried to edge his way into the outermost fringe of people. He sent Tok ahead a pace, in the hopes that the sentry could sneak into a small space where Thad could more easily see what the to-do was about (Notice).
Thaddeus approached the group of people in the circle just as Tok managed to wedge itself between a pair of short engineering students. In he middle of the circle he saw two youngish engineers, probably his age or maybe even a year younger. Each of them had a small sentry bot much like Tok, but with some modifications done on them. One of the sentries had been fitted with a galvanic fork, comically large for the sentry's small body. The fork was little more than a metal shaft with two prongs at the end and a wire coil wrapped around it. There seemed to be some more complex mechanisms in the back, where cables ran into a heavy battery pack. The engineer working over it was a short girl, rare for such a profession, with bushy red hair and blue eyes who seemed to be messing with the cables, trying to get the electric prod to work. The sentry squeaked as it looked around at the crowd. If constructs had feelings, one could even say it'd been struck with stage fright. Across, there was a tall, blond engineer, dressed neatly in a work outfit with nary an oil stain on it. Before him was another sentry with a sleeker design, its back had been raised up and the front was narrower, it's visual receptor, also knows as occulus, even looked angry under a chromed hood. The back wheels of the sentry were also larger and wider than normal and the front had been reinforced with a bent metallic rod, spikes protruding from it in regular intervals. "Gonna fold?!" mocked the blonde engineer, his own sentry letting out an aggressive mechanical purr as the girl struggled to get the galvanic battery cables right, accidentally mixing the polarity. The girl seemed to have forgotten to color code the cables when she made her device, a classic rookie mistake.
Even if he didn't have time to partake in such frivolities,
Thaddeus still gleaned pleasure from taking the time to watch, and he supposed he could spare a minute or two to see what would happen. His attention drifted with subtle admiration over the sleeker of the two constructs, then looked at its owner, the blonde fellow who was baiting the redhead, and the engineer tried to recall if he were acquainted with him. He did the reverse with the female, fleetingly observing the redhead first before pursing his lips thoughtfully, then looking down upon her creation, which seemed a little worse for the wear. He very briefly considered offering help, but thought better of it-- it wasn't his fight, after all, and it wasn't an emergency-- so he simply stood by, watching the young woman struggle to get her construct functioning again.
"Shit shit shit..." repeated the young girl as she continued to struggle with the cables. Thaddeus did not know either of them, considering their age and the fact they'd already built sentry bots, like Tok, Thad had to assume the pair were at least second year students, halfway there to becoming engineers, but too young for Thaddeus to have had class with. "It's not gonna work Edi." said the blonde kid again, placing his hands on his hips this time but keeping his mocking tone. He had the same golden gear emblem Thad had seen on Dilay's clothes, but sown into his tool case. "Just let me trash your sentry and take you out to dinner." the girl glared at him with fire in her eyes, "Shove it up your exhaust pipe Louis." she yelled back before she finally seemed to manage to get the galvanic prod working. She had plugged it wrong though, Thad immediately noticed she had no grounding wire connected... at this rate the little sentry's weapon would catastrophically overload. "Got it!" yelled out the girl, Edi, as the other one had called it. The little sentry seemed to get a boost of courage as it rolled forward, electricity snapping dangerously off the galvanic prod on its back.
A ghost of a smile alighted the engineer's lips as
Thaddeus observed the exchange between the two students, and he looked vaguely amused but simultaneously sad-- he'd never had the opportunity to experience such repartee, and he never would. Tok shifted slightly at its master's feet, and Thad briefly dropped only his eyes downward before looking back to the competition, which was, hopefully, soon reaching its conclusion. Once more, he focused upon Edi's sentry after her retort to the smug boy, and his smile faded as his brow furrowed deeply-- something wasn't right. Worried that the electrified fork atop the girl's construct would malfunction and cause injury to the participants and/or the onlookers, Thad didn't take any time to think before Tok went hurtling between a couple of the members of the crowd's feet toward the makeshift arena , figuring it could maneuver faster than he could. When Thad raised his hands to clap, he clumsily jerked his bag up onto his shoulder as it began to slip, probably making a ridiculous spectacle of himself and perhaps elbowing people along the way, but he wanted to get Edi's attention.
"Go go go!" yelled the blonde man as his little fast and slick sentry raced forward with a speed Thaddeus had never seen in the small robots. While Tok tried to get through the crowd, Edi pulled something from her pocket. Pushing through the crowd, Thaddeus could see the small device. It resembled a disk with a single switcher in the middle, several strange diodes attached to the sides and a single galvanic prod on the end, which seemed not to be attached to anything. Edi pressed the button as she called out to her own Sentry bot. "Hold still Scrap!". Immediately, and somehow, the galvanic prod on Scrap's back overcharged, as if controlled by the device in spite of it not being connected to the construct's body though any cables. With a massive electric discharge, Scrap fired it's galvanic projector forward, creating a small blast which left a hole in the floor and several charred stones. Unfortunately for Edi and Scrap, their aim was appallingly bad and they hit around 5 feet too far to the left. The next time they tried to fire their galvanic weapon, the system would surely overload. Just then, and with a tiny little screech, Tok flew in out of nowhere and tackled Scrap from the side with a loud, high pitched; "PiiiiiIIIIIII!!!!". The massive galvanic projector made it so the weaponized sentry's balance was poor, and it pathetically keeled over as soon as Tok touched it, wriggling on the floor as it tried to straighten itself up. "H-hey! no FAIR!" yelped the girl, looking around for the owner of the little sentry who had just costed her the fight. The blonde kid just looked disoriented, his own racing sentry unsure of what to do next. Just then, Thaddeus managed to break through the crowd and Edi turned to him immediately, "That your construct?!" she asked, looking at him like she might beat him to death with a wrench.
Well. That worked;
Thaddeus certainly got the red-headed engineer's attention, and, for a couple bleak moments, it didn't look like he knew what to do with it. The already pale young man first blanched, if such a thing could be imagined, then he felt heat blossoming in his cheeks, which had taken a rosy tint, until a full-out blush overtook his face. Thad flinched when Edi addressed him, and his mouth opened and closed uselessly before he gave the tiniest nod of acknowledgemen
t. Licking his lips, Thad looked between Tok, Edi's sentry and then Edi before he offered her an imploring look. He held up his hands, as if to say Don't shoot! or at the very least Don't brain me with your wrench! The engineer tried to also give a small smile, but it looked more like a nervous grimace, and he held a finger up to say One moment, please, then extracted his notebook. Hopefully she, nor any of the onlookers, would heckle him too badly in the meanwhile as he wrote, Your construct is dangerously miss-wired, Miss. then turned the pad to show her what was written (Charm and/or Persuade).
The younger girl seemed rather confused as to why Thaddeus wasn't speaking at first, she was indeed reaching for her wrench to smack Thaddeus over the head with it, but stopped after she got the inkling that something might be wrong with the man. "Y-you.. .can't talk or something?" she said simply as the crowd began to disperse. After the fight anti-climactic end, the onlookers seemed to now go on about their business. Edi's eyes widened against as Thaddeus turned the pad around, turning to look at his overturned Sentry which was wiggling around, trying to straighten out. "S-scrap is?" she said, not quite believing Thad entirely, after all, the Construct had managed to fire off its weapon once. The girl was promptly interrupted by the young man who had been her rival, "Just call it a loss and let me take you out to dinner Edi." he grinned as the girl turned around and glared at him. "This guy here says Scrap was miss-wired." she said, pointing at the notepad. "Uh?" replied simply Louis, approaching Thaddeus, looking at his pad, then at Tok and then at the older engineer again. "I guess... it could be.. it was overcharging very quickly.... Have you got the Machinespeak, sir?" he then asked, sounding rather interested and with a smug little smirk on his face.
Nodding his head yes that Edi had guessed correctly in answer to her first question, Thaddeus cast a surreptitious look to his left and right, looking a little doleful that the crowd was taking their collective lead. With a soft sigh, he nodded again and then glanced over at poor little Scrap as it struggled to right itself. Tok reared back slightly to try and give the other construct nudge so that it could flip back onto its 'feet'. The engineer began to write again Please accept my sincerest apologies; I simply did not wish for anyone to get injured. His train of thought was interrupted by Louis, to whom Thad cast a curious glance, eyebrows raised slightly. There was something about his general demeanor that the young man didn't much care for, but he simply smiled politely. 'The Machinespeak', the blond engineer had said, like it was some sort of ailment. He also nodded to this, once, seemingly somewhat hesitant to admit it to the stranger.
Edi and Louis seemed rather surprised at Thaddeus' insight, and the girl's anger seemed to have passed by now. "Well I mean... I guess it's ok." she replied sullenly, crossing her arms and looking over at Scrap, who was still trying to right itself. Louis' own sentry moved to the side and used the front of its grill to push Scrap upright again. "I should have assumed as much." said Louis with his usual, cocky tone, "Told you you shouldn't have put that thing on it. Leave the crazy ideas to the tinkerers." he shrugged. "I'm Louis Rove, this is my future wife Mary Edward, but everyone calls her Edi." he said, introducing the pair to Thaddeus. As he spoke, he was elbowed hard in the ribs by Edi, who interjected while rolling her eyes "We're just friends. I work at his father's shop." Louis had doubled down in pain and but quickly stood up again, "Ugh- Yes, just friends... Anyhow!" he added with a large grin on his face, "Machinespeech, uh? That's like, extremely rare! You must come meet my father! He's going to want to talk to you!" smirked the blonde youngling.
Moving into Magister Row, Tetra immediately made for the shadows, or what would be the equivalent of the slums' shadows, to avoid being seen by anyone she knew, particularly Thad (Blend In). She did want to talk to him, if she found him, but she was a little nervous, fearing that he might not hesitate to turn her in once they met. She did, after all, have stolen goods on her, and it was no secret to those who were on the train that she had run away from the orphanage. With her hands in her pockets, she quietly shushed Ulysses and trudged along slowly, keeping close to the buildings and seeking out a familiar face (Notice).
Urchins seemed to have a knack for remaining unseen, or maybe it was that people preferred not to see them. Regardless, Tetra managed to spot Thaddeus without the engineer being able to notice her in turn. He was standing within the courtyard of the Engineer's Guild, talking to a couple of younger engineers, if he were to go in, he would be hard to reach.
Casting Edi a thoroughly apologetic look-- Thaddeus hadn't intended to rain on her parade, after all-- the engineer smiled wryly then focused on Louis, who continued to rib the poor girl. He did have to admire Edi's willingness to experiment, even if her blond antagonist didn't see the merit in it. Thaddeus smiled, politely trying to ignore the riffing between the two of them, and bowed his head in greeting when Louis introduced himself the young woman. Thad then flipped his pad open to where he already had his name written in exquisitely tidy script, so he could show it to both of the engineers standing before him. The mute humbly shrugged when Louis mentioned his ability again, but looked interested, hopefully not desperately so, when he mentioned coming to meet the boy's father. Figuring that this could be most fortuitous, even if simply to network amongst fellow engineers, Thaddeus's expression brightened with apparent interest, and he nodded once, then wrote. Certainly. It would be my pleasure.
"Most excellent!" replied Louis with a grin, crossing his arms and looking at Edi before he wiggled his eyebrows lightly, as if to show off. "Let's hope your father doesn't remember the last time you brought a machinespeaker home." scoffed the girl, turning around and kneeling next to Scrap. The girl took a small wrench and began undoing the bolts that held the large galvanic projector onto the small construct's back. "Turned out to be a vagrant looking for a meal and a place to sleep. Scammed three days of food and lodging off Louis while his father was in a business trip to Grall." she said, turning back and snickering before she went back to work. "THAT, won't happen." retorted Louis before pointing squarely at Thaddeus. "Mr.. uhm... excuse what was your name again?"
Tetra stopped when she spotted Thad, keeping her distance for the moment. He seemed preoccupied with something, and although she was not opposed to interrupting conversation, she didn't feel like putting herself in the middle of the engineer's conversation with other people that she couldn't care less about knowing. Reaching up to her shoulder, Tetra ran her fingers through Ulysses' feathers, scratching the skin beneath them before placing her fingers at his feet. The raven side-stepped onto her hand, and the urchin, brought him down in front of her face so that they were eye level. Closing her eyes, the girl leaned her forehead against the bird's, and its beady eyes closed in kind. After a few seconds, Tetra pulled her face back, eyes open, and pushed her hand out in the air, towards Thad's general direction. A flap of wings preceded Ulysses departure, and the bird fluttered over the crowd and to Thaddeus, where he descended onto the man's shoulders. With an obnoxious caw, the bird tilted its head to the side, then immediately and playfully picked at a strand of Thad's hair while Tetra watched from afar.
Sometimes, on very, very rare occasion, Thaddeus was appreciative of the fact that he didn't have to say anything in response to what people said. Frequently, a polite smile, a small nod, a sympathetic expression or a subtle look of surprise would suffice as his response, and, after the little story that Edi regaled, Thad felt that that was one of those times. Beneath the fringe of his hair, his eyebrows pushed together and his forehead wrinkled as his lips pursed slightly. It was his best attempt at expressing Oh my! without the use of words. His expression turned slightly befuddled, however, when Louis didn't seem to recall his name, so Thad patiently tapped the blunt end of his pencil upon his pad, indicating where his name was written. When Ulysses alighted upon the shoulders of his great coat, the young man treated the sudden and unexpected avian intrusion with a particularly inelegant start-- he flailed his arms, dropped his pad and pencil, and his bag of tools suddenly slid way down to the crook of his arm so that it caught the thin man slightly off-balance. He shooed at the raven with his free hand as he stood slightly hunched, probably looking rather foolish the entire while.
"Yes, sorry, Thaddeus. Thaddeus Potts, is it? See Edi? Thaddeus here is a certified engineer to boot and-" suddenly, Edi's eyes widened as Ulysses rushed the mute engineer, taking a step back as she cried out. "What is that?!" to which Louis promptly replied, "It's a Corvus Corax! It thought they were extinct! Two finds in one day! Quickly, get it Edi." As he spoke, he motioned at the girl to approach, but she simply waved her hands in front of her, "I'm not going to TOUCH that thing! Where did it come from?" she said simply while Thaddeus finally regained his balance. "FINE! I'll get it. Hold still Mr.Potts!" Added Louis before he lunged forward at Ulysses, still perched on Thaddeus's shoulder, with his hands held out in front of him in an attempt to grab the bird.
Tetra watched calmly as Ulysses floated through the air and found his destination on Thad's shoulder. The girl proceeded to lean against the side of a building, arms folded over her chest, until Thaddeus began to fight and flail against Ulysses' presence. Somewhat startled, Tetra suddenly stood upright, watching the scene unfold with an intense gaze, thick brows furrowed over her bright green eyes. Suddenly one of the kids near Thad shouted something about catching the bird, and dove for her feathery friend. Quickly, Tetra raised her fingers to her lips and gave a loud, shrill whistle, one that was sure to blow her cover and attract attention, but one that would also tell Ulysses to get away as quickly as possible.
It only occurred to Thaddeus after a moment that he might have overreacted just a teensy bit. He wasn't in pain, after all, he just seemed to have been accosted by a bird, if the caw and what he saw in his periphery before he shut his eyes in unnecessary fright was any indication. When Louis exclaimed something about the rarity of the creature, Thad straightened slightly and raised the arm unencumbered with his bag to try and gently stave off the excited blond engineer. The pallid young man's expression suddenly read that he'd perhaps drawn some sort of conclusion or came to an understanding, and he tried to turn his head to see Ulysses. Could it be that that scruffy whelp from the train was in the vicinity? She had been making some sort of deal Dakai when they were all in the locomotive, that much he'd overheard, so he couldn't think of any reason for her bird to be pestering him now. Still, with bloodshot eyes he scanned what he could of the area, to see if Tetra was, on the off chance, present, as her whistle pierced the air (Notice).
Louis was far too slow to catch Ulysses, as the young man almost crashed into Thaddeus but was staved off by the engineer's arm. As Louis stumbled forwards clumsily, the raven heard Tetra's whistling and immediately turned in her direction, taking off of Thad's shoulder and obediently flying towards the girl. Luis, Thaddeus and Edi all followed the large bird as it swooped down to where Tetra was and perched in her direction. It was hard to miss the urchin and the raven even in the crowded street of the northern Magister Row. "You know that girl Mr.Thaddeus?" asked Edi, still holding onto Scrap, after all, Tetra seemed to be able to control the bird and it, in turn, had gone straight for Thaddeus.
The crowded street was one thing, but Zahrah made her way gracefully down the way, her eyes scanning the people and buildings, looking for that symbol once more. She didn't much bother to pause and rethink this strategy. There was a reason her friend avoided her in the first place, but Zahrah wanted to find her. She didn't notice Thaddeus or Tetra at first, as her eyes were looking for other things. (Notice)
Zahrah's eyes scanned the crowded street from the busy intersection between the Northern Magister Row and Sevenoaks street. To the south, she could see a several large buildings, each with a small courtyard where the engineers seemed to crowd. To the north was the Royal Palace, most Majai born and raised in city could never even dream of seeing the inside of the Royal Palace, it remained to them as arcane and inscrutable as the massive clockwork monstrosities that guarded its gates. As she looked around, she noticed a pair of large, burly engineers pass by her, the same emblem Dilay had been wearing was embroidered on their backs. They walked northwards, paying little mind to what went one around them as if they had somewhere to be and quickly.
Tetra's natural glaring gaze caught Ulysses as he fluttered away from the chaos, through the air, and back to the safety of her shoulder again. She reached up to gently pat his feathered head with her right hand, and her gaze returned to Thaddeus, wondering if the man would be able to spot her now. She only hoped he decided not to bring more attention to her than necessary.
Thaddeus didn't have to say anything. Well, of course, he couldn't say anything, but, despite that, his expression likely spoke volumes. Yes, he knew that girl, and there was a certain lack of enthusiasm and elation in the set of his brow, the way his mouth hung slightly open, and the curl of his upper lip as he regarded Tetra over the crowd of the street. Despite his weariness, Thad realized that his expression must be unbecoming, and he suddenly shut his mouth, stood up a little straighter and gave a little shrug and a non-committal side-to-side bob of his head in response to Edi (Bluff). Balling up his fist, the engineer rested the side of his hand against his lips, glanced from the corner of his eyes back toward the urchin, then looked again at Edi and Louis, dropped his hand to his side, then smiled stiffly at both of them. Hopefully, they'd just carry-on as planned.
"Ugh! We lost the bird!" whine Louis loudly as he regained his balance, dusting the front of his pants even though he had not fallen to the floor at all. He'd been too busy trying to avoid hitting the floor to notice where the bird had flown off to. "Ah, sharp eyes Edi." he said simply as he finally straightened up again. "You do not know her?" he added, turning to Thaddeus. Both him and Edi seemed to buy Thaddeus' small lie, though, as they had no reason to suspect him. "Forget about the bird, Louis, you wanted to take Mr.Potts to the workshop, did you not?"asked the young girl as she put Scrap back on the floor and then crossed her arms impatiently. "I did but this is an opportunity I do not want us to miss!" replied Louis dismissively as he took a few steps forward and towards Tetra's location. Putting his hands around his mouth, he called out to the girl. "Hey! You. Street.. uh.. person!" he said, trying to get her attention before adding, "Would you be willing to sell your.. uh.. pet?!"
Acting as if she also had someplace to be, Zahrah paid little mind to what was going on around her, only keeping track of her own purse (especially in this crowd) and the men. She weaved in between people, careful not to touch anyone, tracking where these men were headed. If they disappeared into a building, she wasn't going to follow inside, not right away at least, but it would be good to just know where they were headed.
Zahrah did not have to follow for long, and luckily no one tried to swipe her purse either, even though some less than courteous individuals bumped into her on the way, pushing her slight frame around and almost making her lose the two men she was following. Finally, she saw the two enter one of the workshops that flanked the wide street. This workshop was a particularly large three floor building which took the better part of the block. The door seemed to be a wrought iron gate leading to an internal courtyard, and above the gate area stood a polished brass arch with the now familiar cog circle atop of it and text underneath which read, "Golden Gear Machinery Shoppe"
Tetra's intense tea-green eyes seemed to brighten as her thick brows pursed together in annoyance. Apparently she had drawn unwanted attention to herself, from the two kids Thaddeus was talking to, no less. Suspiciously, she glanced around the street, wondering if there were any more eyes trained on her after her stunt with Ulysses. The girl turned her head, fixing her eyes on Ulysses for a couple of solid seconds, before she finally looked back at the trio in the middle of the street. Standing straight, the urchin marched through the crowd and in Thaddeus' direction, ignoring the question called out to her for the time being. After a few moments, she reached Thad's side and stopped, turning sharply to face Louis and Edi. "Ulysses is not for sale, and if ya dare touch 'im, yer gonna lose a hand," growled the girl, whose stature was smaller and shorter than any other member of the group. Her glare remained on Louis for a moment before she turned her body to face Thaddeus again, a hand reaching up to rest on Ulysses' back, guarding him from anyone's else's grubby hands. She was quiet for a second, building up the courage to speak and ignore her pride for a moment. Finally, the girl opened her mouth, and for a moment, no sound escaped. Blinking, Tetra closed her mouth, then opened it again, and sighed. "Dammit, I need ta ask ya a favor," she finally hissed, immediately looking down to the ground and scowling, seemingly ashamed (Charm).
Well. This was embarrassing. Thaddeus allowed his eyes to dart once, twice in Tetra's direction as she approached the trio of engineers, but when she was within several yards, he fixed his wide-eyed attention back upon Edi and Louis. He nodded quickly when Edi mentioned heading to the workshop, but it would appear that Louis had other ideas. Thad bit down on his lower lip at Louis's inquiry about purchasing Ulysses and flinched at Tetra's brusque reply. He hoped that her intrusion wouldn't sully his acquaintances' earlier decision and invitation, but his concerned expression and knitted brow soon transformed into a look of vague, snobbish contempt with a touch of annoyance. He and Tetra hadn't exactly had a kindly exchange on the train, and she hadn't seemed overly appreciative of the help he'd already provided her. Plus, she'd just assaulted him, and, overall, there was an overwhelming lack of trust Thad felt toward the urchin. These elements combined did not make him want to help the girl, despite her apparent chagrin. With a small bow to Edi and Louis, Thaddeus held one finger up, as if to say one moment please, smiled graciously to the two students, then turned back to Tetra. His expression was suddenly just as unwelcoming as it had been before as he pulled his pad from his coat pocket and scribbled Getting molested by wild creatures does not a favor warrant. You might find that adding words such as excuse me and please are of much greater help in such pursuits. It was perhaps a little wordy for Tetra, but Thaddeus was thoroughly annoyed by the situation and was a touch agitated from his subtle, nagging hunger for opiates.
The color drained out of Louis' face when Tetra replied to his buy offer for Ulysses. It was obvious the young man, heir to a powerful engineering empire, was not used to people talking to him in that way, with the threat of maiming to boot. Before Louis could respond, Edi snorted in laughter, "She's spritely!" she said simply. Louis frowned and seemed ready to reply to Tetra with a threat of his own but Thad stepped forward and ask for a moment, crossing his arms like a young, frustrated child, Louis replied, "Fine!" as he glared daggers at Edi for laughing and waited.
Putting the location into her memory, Zahrah stopped and turned, looking to see if she could spot Thaddeus among the people. He said he was coming this way, but where exactly he had gone was a mystery. She needed to stick with someone who had connections, even if they were unknown to her. Turning with the crowd, she kept tabs on the people passing now that she knew where she wanted to go, her eyes scanning the crowd once again. (Notice)
Tetra cut her gaze sharply in Edi and Louis' direction as she heard the little-hidden giggling erupt from the girl, but unconcerned for the moment with their antics, she looked back at Thad. As the mute man began scribbling something down on his notepad, the young urchin reach into her pocket to pull out the letter from earlier, intent on telling Thad that was what she had come to ask help with. However, the man turned his pad around before she could remove the paper, and after a few moments of scanning the words on the parchment, Tetra's usual scowl deepened. "Oh, stop actin' like a prissy wench. Please ain't never done a thing fer me and it won't now, or ever. And the bird weren't molestin' ye, he likes ye," spewed the girl, the word leaving her mouth without so much as a second though. Even Ulysses let out an obnoxious call to wards Thad, as if to agree with the girl upon whose shoulder he was perched. What did this man, who had probably never lived a day without food, water, or a roof over his head know about unwanted approaches, anyways? "Look, if you'll stop yer whinin' and help me out with somethin', I'll give ye somethin' in return. Wotever ye want - money, food, booze." (Persuade) She paused to finally pull the letter from her pocket, and held it up, showing him once more. "I need ta know more about this. The woman that gave it to me acted like it was pretty damn important." Of course, before, she had told Thad that she had simply found the letter, but now a bit of the truth was coming out. Only a bit.
Thaddeus did his best to look as stern as possible, which probably wasn't very stern at all. His eyebrows knit together and his lips were pressed together so tightly that they were white, and after Tetra was done speaking, it didn't look like the engineer was completely convinced of the urchin's sincerity. Her name-calling was also quite uncalled for and unappreciated, although it wasn't anything he to which he was unaccustomed. Of course there were things that he wanted, however Thad also doubted Tetra's capability to procure his heart's desire. Looking cautiously from Tetra to the letter and back again, Thaddeus set the tip of his pencil against his pad of paper, tapping the grey point against the writing surface, as if unsure of what to write. He idly and rhythmically clicked his teeth together in time with the pencil, the tight muscles of his jaw tensing and releasing; all the while he kept kept his bloodshot eyes on Tetra. Finally, he wrote, I can help you then paused and added, but I want the book, the old one. While his handwriting was still quite legible, it was a little looser than his previous script, and it seemed that he was forgoing punctuation. Suddenly and with a nervous smile, he looked over his shoulder toward Edi and Louis, to verify that they were still there.
That bird was a dead giveaway. Zahrah headed in that direction, making certain to give herself space between people so she wouldn't bump into anyone accidentally. Any escort worth her salt knew that some people just didn't want to be touched. And the street was crowded with such people. There was no reason to cause some sort of tussle, even know. It would do no good. As she got close to where the bird was, she spotted the group around Tetra's hiding place and almost smiled. Of course they were chasing the urchin thief. Girl probably stole something valuable. That wouldn't surprise her in the least.
The lights in the city were beginning to dim, and Tetra had to squint to see Thad's writing on the pad as he turned it around to face her. She took her moment to read then looked up at the man with fierce determination. "Done," she stated simply, and somewhat quickly, her stern gaze falling directly onto Thad's tired eyes. She took a couple steps towards him, nearly standing on top of the man, and lifted her chin so that she was looking directly up at him, speaking lowly. "Under two conditions: ya help me first, and ya don't tell a soul what this is about. One person hears about it, or you ya decide ya ain't gonna help, ya ain't gettin' the book." The urchin's eyes turned sharply toward Louis and Edi, an almost threatening glare being sent in their direction (Intimidate), before Tetra refocused her sights on Thad once more, totally unaware of Zahrah's approach.
While Zahrah approached, the little group Tetra was with didn't really seem to notice, after all, the attention seemed focused mostly on the girl and the large raven which, after all, was a rarity for the Royal City. Edi and Louis stepped forward for a second, as if to talk to Thaddeus and ask if he was done with the urchin, but after a menacing glare from the uncouth girl, they appeared to back down again. "So.. uhm... Mr.Potts." asked Edi, speaking first as Louis seemed too busy being offended by Tetra's mere presence. "Who is your friend?" she asked, trying her best to be polite in spite of her previous, fiery attitude.
Also unaware of Zahrah lurking in the periphery, Thaddeus scribbled, his forehead furrowed and his bleary eyes demanding as he stepped back away from Tetra only to shove the pad back toward her face a moment later. Pray, tell, what is your name? And then it is a deal. He paused and retracted the pad, hopefully having held it outlong enough for her to read the message. Suddenly straightening and painting a regretful smile upon his face, he turned back to Edi and Louis and carefully and slowly wrote on a fresh page, Terribly sorry, but the hour is getting late, and I have returned just today from Ordon...the girl, she was on the very same train... and I must find lodging for the evening, yet... would it be possible to get your information and the address of the workshop so that I might call another day at a more acceptable hour? (Charm)
By this point, Zahrah was approaching Thaddeus at a slow pace, walking forward and giving a smile to him, although her attention was also on the men he was around. As well as the wretch who was apparently making demands of them. She stood just off to the side, slightly behind Thad, but making it obvious she wasn't hiding the fact that she had joined the strange little group. Unlike the urchin, she had no reason to be shy and on edge.
Louis was obviously not used to being rebutted, and twice in one day, to boot. Not only a smelly little girl (though Tetra was actually only a couple of years younger than him) had refused to sell him a rare animal which, god knows how SHE got in the first place, and now Thaddeus couldn't go with him right away. For a second, he didn't seem inclined to answer Thaddeus, but Edi interceded. "Oh for god's sake Louis, stop being a child." she said as the young man crossed his eyes and let out a "Fiiiine..." as he glanced away from Tetra and Thaddeus. "You can find us at Golden Gear Machinery, you can't miss it. It has a huge golden gear over the entrance and it's right off the Palace Gates, first block of the Magister Row." After that, the small group left, with Scrap and Louis' own Sentry seemingly wiggling in Tok's direction before making for their owners.
Tetra eyed Edi first from the corner of her eye, then Louis, then looked back to Thad as a notepad was shown before her once more. The line of her lips barely thinned as she cast her gaze upwards, looking Thaddeus dead in the eye. She had little time to even come up with a response, however, as she spotted someone she really did not care to see standing behind the opiate-addicted man. Her eyes widened slightly as they locked onto Zahrah, and her brow creased in an intense glare at the woman. "Lena Rose," she finally managed to reply after all the discussion about Louis and Edi's usual whereabouts (Bluff). "It seems a 'friend' has returned," she added shortly afterwards, raising her arms to point in the nosey woman's direction.
Thaddeus looked chagrined at Louis's response, but he smiled with great thanks to Edi and gave her companion a placating look as if to say Thanks. The engineer did look haggard, and, after being electrocuted earlier, probably otherwise looked a little worse for the wear. I will seek you out once I am settled... many thanks, and I bid you a restful evening. he scratched out on his notepad, his usually neat handwriting suffering a bit since his hands were shaking slightly as if he were suddenly chilled. To Tetra, he gave a scrutinizing look; a pretty and elegant name for such a guttersnipe. While he seemed to buy her ruse in regards to her name, Thad narrowed his eyes slightly and wrote, I have pressing matters to which I must attend, then let us play no games and finally we might review the letter where we can sit and where I can get something to eat. Apparently, he thought Tetra was playing a trick on him, pointing in Zahrah's direction as she was. As the courtesan wasn't in his direct line of sight, and Thad was doing his best to concentrate on one thing at a time, he didn't realize that the urchin was telling the truth.
From what Zahrah could see the urchin was playing the part of the ungrateful little worm again. No surprise there. In her days in the lower city, Zahrah had seen far worse. More to the point, she had done far worse. She slowly put a hand on Thaddeus' forearm to gain his attention, ignoring the rude way the girl was pointing at her for the moment. "I was wondering where you had gotten yourself off to exactly," she said fluidly, sliding in beside him, her eyes going from the girl to him. "Made some friends I see," she added, giving him a small smile. Her face didn't betray her distaste for Tetra, but she also didn't extend the child the same courtesy as a greeting.
Had Tetra been the more caring type, upon seeing Thad's shaky lettering, she may have asked him how he was, and whether he was doing well. Alas, she was, and having the pad shoved in her face again, with no regards to her warning about Zahrah, she cocked an eyebrow, then glanced back to Zahrah again. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, to prove Tetra's point, the escort spoke. With a sigh that was a mix between self-satisfaction and annoyance, Tetra crossed her arms, ignoring the raven on her shoulder that was beginning to peck at her hair, as usual, probably picking out a few fleas from her matted locks. "Aye, but the escort can't come," stipulated the urchin, glaring holes into Zahrah as she spoke the woman's profession with venom, obviously preferring to use the term 'whore'. Zahrah's words, she chose to ignore, thought she did find the woman's interruption rude and pointless.
Unable to help himself, Thaddeus twitched a bit when Zahrah touched his arm, but he did offered a wan smile when he heard her and saw the escort with his own eyes. He nodded distractedly in agreement to the Majai woman, and stared at her (although it was probably more looking through her), before the engineer returned his attention back to Tetra. His bleary-eyed gaze darkened perceptibly when she gave her own stipulations, a frown gracing his lips. How had this become so complicated?
The escort blinked innocently at Tetra before turning her attention to Thaddeus. She was planning on sticking with the man until she found a place to stay the night, given that being a single woman out on the streets and looking as she did was much like a death sentence. The urchin could get away with it, nobody would want to touch the flea infested little wretch. But for someone who was clean and as lovely as she, Zahrah would be in danger before morning came. "If I am not wanted..." she started, pausing to look at their surroundings, the picture of a lost and susceptible woman. "I am sure there is someplace willing to take me in. I hope. If not...well...I lived on the streets before." Lies. But she needed Thaddeus not to just cast her away because the slime of a girl was demanding that she not come to where ever they were headed. Alone. Suspicious in itself, and Zahrah didn't trust the thief as far as she could throw her. (Bluff/Charm)
The eye roll that came from Tetra was big enough to be a loud slap to Zahrah's face, when the wench provided the most unbelievable guilt trip of all time. "Aye, guessin' ya climbed yer way to the top showin' off yer tits too, eh? Y'know, bet ye could find a place suckin' a gentleman's cock fer the night," spat the girl, already annoyed with the scantily clad woman who seemed more than determined to get into the picture and shove Tetra out. However, as much as Tetra wanted her gone, this was the second time in only a few hours that some Majai scum had tried to come between her and her plans, and she was already weary of trying hard to get her way. Glancing around at the slowly dimming lights, the urchin sighed quietly. "It's late, and I'm tired, so if ye insist on layin' with the wench t'night, then I insist on doin' this some other day when no one ain't 'round. Either that or I go 'n' find someone else to do this fer me." She eyed both the people before her with brows furrowed and mouth downturned in a scowl, waiting for the decision to be made.
Zahrah actually looked taken aback and offended by the venom spewing from the urchin's mouth. And she looked rightly upset by it. The escort swallowed her first instinctual words, her brow wrinkling as if she was going to cry but it was more due to sudden anger. "I have never," she stated in a calm voice, "showed my 'tits', as you so eloquently put it, to anyone. Nor have I sucked any part of any gentleman." She wasn't lying this time. And there was no sign of the uncertain woman in her words. They were solid as stone and one hundred percent honest. "It sounds like you know more about that world than do I, although I would hate to think of someone so young being used in such a manner. If you do not wish an audience to your shady dealing, so be it, but I will not be sullied by the insults and lies you fling about like offal." Unlike Tetra, Zahrah's voice didn't get close to the hatred that was spewed at her, rather she kept a cool and calm head in the face of the accusations. But even her calm couldn't cover the sudden tears that pricked her eyes at remembering why she left this city in the first place. Why she was currently homeless and jobless. Because she wouldn't, and more importantly, couldn't, do those things that the girl threw in her face. The escort took a shaky breath and looked down at the road, taking a moment to recollect herself.
Suddenly perking to life, Thaddeus crossed his arm in front of him like an X, then quickly swiped them outwards, then back again, as if he were trying to sever an invisible cord between the two females, while his expression read Enough! Tok, who sat obediently at Thad's feet until then, whirred in agitation, rolling forward and backward once, then twice, as if reacting to his master's mood. Bringing his hands together and pressing the pencil's tip to the paper, Thad stood there for a moment, staring first at Zahrah, for whom he felt sorry, and Tetra, who had something that he wanted. Instead of writing anything, however, his eyes flickered between the orphan and the escort, and he straightened, tucking the writing implement and paper into the inside breast pocket of his coat. Once again, Tok made a bit of mechanical noise, and the little sentry started to follow Thaddeus as the engineer started to walk away from the other two and in the general direction of the Palace Gates. If either of them truly needed his assistance, he figured, they would follow; if not, good riddance to what could be a lot of trouble.
Well... for once, Tetra had actually upset someone in the complete opposite way that she had intended. She had merely intended to call the woman out on her blatant lie about living in the streets. Besides, dressed like that, Zahrah could have easily afforded to find a hotel room for the night, but for some reason she insisted on staying with Thad, and even guilt tripping him into doing so. Tetra, as she usually thought the worst in people, had assumed the self-proclaimed dancer merely wanted to worm her way into Thaddeus' bed, and Thad seemed willing, but Tetra didn't want to lose her chance at investigating what important thing this Lena Rose person was up to. The urchin's lips flattened into a thin line, her scowl disappearing, as she blinked a few times at the now clearly upset Zahrah. She had no idea what to say now. However, Thad seemed to give up on the both of them as he turned and began to stalk away, and this spurred Tetra into action. "I didn't mean..." she started quickly, her eyes widened and looking around frantically. "You were-," she said again, pausing mid-sentence as she looked between the teary-eyed Zahrah and the fleeing Thad. "Thad, wait! I didn't mean it, okay?!" she suddenly shouted, taking a few steps after Thad as tears formed in her own eyes, though whether they were genuine or a well-played act was a mystery even to Tetra. "P-please, I-I... I need to... this was entrusted to me. I need to f-figure it o-out." Ulysses, perched atop her shoulder, ceased his pecking and cocked his head to the side, feathers ruffling as he peered down at the girl's now tear-streaked face. "I'm s-sorry, I just.. w-wanted you t-to help me," she stammered, standing a few paces away from Zahrah and looking down at the ground now, tears dribbling onto the stone road (Charm).
Pausing to glance back in Tetra and Zahrah's direction, it looked like Thaddeus might cry, too, with how watery and red his eyes looked. His rounded shoulders slumped further and his head bowed for a moment as the engineer looked rather ashamed for trying to abandon the two of them, after they'd both asked for his assistance. With a labored and somewhat defeated sigh, Thad swept his arm out toward the young girl and her bird then drew it back toward himself, indicating that they should follow him. Next, Thad looked to Zahrah, who appeared to be distraught but still in better control of her emotions, and Tok wheeled in her direction to nudge her in the foot, like it wanted to herd the escort along, as well.
Her eyes traveling to the urchin, Zahrah had to figure the girl was assuming what most assumed about her. But as hard as she tried to be a proper escort, Zahrah always fell short. Before she could gather herself to say anything, Tok bumped into her and Zahrah turned her eyes to the mechanical. One hand instinctively went out to pet the thing even as she moved onward towards Thad again, just behind Tetra. "Maybe we can find you a bath," she said quietly to the girl. Wiping her own tears away with a delicate finger, she gave Tetra a wary smile. "I can help get you clean if you like. You would fair much better in the city." She was at least trying to be nice. If Thaddeus was willing to take them both, it would be easier to coexist.
Tetra looked like she could have started spewing even more tears and sad words, but luckily for her and for the others, Thad gave in quickly and ushered her forward with a wave of his arm. She sniffed once, rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears, then looked up to her side when she felt Zahrah's presence. With another sniffle, the urchin gave the dancer a nod and a tiny, "Okay.." before taking a slow, shaky breath and walking slowly forward. A few tears still leaked from her eyes, but for the moment, she followed behind Thad in silence.
Holding up a finger toward the cavernous underground 'sky' as if to say Eureka when Zahrah mentioned getting Tetra a bath, Thaddeus nodded distractedly, swept a weary glance over his two companions, then continued on toward the appropriate guild. Hopefully he could kill several birds with one stone by finally reaching his destination. Tok motored along, alternating between a leisurely pace and suddenly zipping forward ahead of the group until he thunked gently into the guild's door.
Zahrah caught the look on Thad's face from the side and smiled a little, looking at Tetra and holding up a hand and gesturing at the man. "Poor Thaddeus. Ever weary of the woes of others." Her voice was low, only for the girl's ears, and it was clear she was slightly teasing Thad. Zahrah was making a concentrated effort to attempt to get along with the girl as they would be sharing accommodations or at least sharing a place for a little while.
Sniffing and running her already stained sleeve over her nose, Tetra followed quietly behind Thad, walking next to Zahrah, and pause a few feet behind when the engineer stopped at a door to knock. "He is... a n-nice fellow," she answered the dancer, reaching up to wipe away remnant tears. She was actually somewhat surprised how much mercy Thad had given her so far, and she was rather hopeful he could help her with whatever the task was that she had been given earlier that day.
Thaddeus and the girls, along with Tok, approached the engineer's guild past the small courtyard where the construct fight had been going on. Behind them were the open wrought iron fences that closed off the guild courtyard from the Magister Road itself. The guild was a large three floor building with a large, half circle staircase leading up to a pair of ornate, wooden doors with inlaid bronze details. No sooner had Thaddeus' hand touched the double doors, they started to open ominously, probably some automatic clockwork mechanism pulling them open from the inside. Thad had never gotten used to staying in the guild, he had much preferred the Royal School dormitories when he was young as the guild had always struck him as intimidating. For a second, as the doors opened, a small trio of very busy looking engineers stopped their chattering and looked at the Thaddeus, Tetra and Zahrah. It was likely a stranger group had never stepped into the guild all at once. The Entrance foyer of the guild was composed of a long, red rug going all the way to a large brass colored counter. To the left and right were lounge-like rooms complete with fine leather couches, coffee tables, reading stations and drafting tables. At the very end, lining the east walls of the guild foyer there were tall book cases, complete with ladders, filled with all sorts of leather bound tomes as heavy as a man's head. On the west walls were job and announcement boards where people who needed a freelance engineer could try to contact them. The ceiling was incredibly high, going all the way up to the third floor of the large building. Banisters on the edge of the second and third floors could be seen if one looked up from the foyer. Suspended by crisscrossing wrought iron bars at around the height of the third floor was a large galvanic orb, putting out enough light to illuminate the whole guildhouse. At the end of the rug, sitting behind the counter, was one of the guild attendants, known only as Marcus. A huge daguerrian man with a thick salt and pepper mustache that handled the day to day guild affairs, behind him was a double staircase that led to the second and third floors of the building, where the boarding rooms and workshops were, respectively.. After a second or two of awkward silence, the dozen or so engineers in the guild hall just seemed to shrug and go about their business.
Drawing a deep breath into his lungs, Thaddeus drew back slightly from the opening doors, and Tok followed suit. He looked over his shoulder to affirm that Tetra and Zarah were both still with him, although the urchin's sniffling might have been a giveaway if he'd been at all paying attention. Releasing his breath in a calm, measured manner, the engineer stepped over the guild's threshold, then he turned again, tapped his chest with his fingertips and nodded his head toward the inside of the austere establishment, then gently pointed his fore- and middle fingers in a 'V' at the women, trying to indicate that he was going to go onward, but the two females could wait there, just inside the doorway, for him. Although he may have seemed a little hesitant to venture onward, Thaddeus adjusted his posture, standing-up a little straighter than usual, trying to look as professional as possible, since the long train ride and all of the events that had previously transpired probably left him looking a bit on the bedraggled side. He set his sights on the man behind the counter, and proceeded forward toward Marcus.
This was all a bit strange to Zahrah, who knew the temples below but not anything about the guilds here. It wasn't exactly something that was talked about in her circles. Granted, she would know a little bit, there wasn't a lot that the guilds really spread around. When the doors opened, her eyes scanned as much of the room as she could, taking in what she saw and looking for any familiar faces (notice). Thad's gesture didn't go missed, and she stood just inside the door, holding out her hand for Tetra to take as she would for any of the young ones she was ever put in charge of. It wasn't her intention to drive the child away, but she wasn't thrilled to touch the urchin while she was still filthy.
As Thaddeus walked in, he could notice the other engineers shooting discreet glances at him and also back towards the door, where Zahrah and Tetra stood. He couldn't help but imagine what the scene would have looked like to the other engineers or what he would have thought had he seen it from afar instead of being part of it. Finally, he got to Marcus. The large man had skin tanner than any other Daguerrian he'd ever seen. Probably darker than Zahrah, who was rather fair skinned for a Majai. It was said the man had worked the forges as a machinesmith for most of his life and was now permanently stained with soot. "Potts." he said simply as he recognized Thaddues. His voice was as deep as a brass tuba as he added, "Coming to pay your guild dues?" with a small cocky smirk.
Tetra had almost followed Thad into the guild, her gaze sweeping the place as they entered. Her instincts pulled her further, but after noticing that Zahrah had stopped by the door, the girl backtracked the couple of extra steps she had taken and slipping her hand into Zahrah's outstretched palm, playing the part of the good girl. Still she couldn't help but watch some of the guild members, finding herself staring at several of their bulging, filled pockets and shiny gadgets handing from their belts with an intense gaze.
Any bit of bravado that Thaddeus was able to scrape together from his reserves seemed to deflate from his bearing like a balloon with a slow leak in it when Marcus addressed him. For a moment, the engineer seemed to look everywhere but at the man at the desk, as he patted his coat front to locate his wallet and notepad, but as he withdrew them from an inside pocket, Thad brought his bloodshot eyes to Marcus and nodded once. He smiled: A wan, perfunctory effort of expression. Although the idea of spending any of his scant resources before he'd secured any sort of actual work didn't exactly tickle him pink, Thad figured he could at least get this task out of the way. I would also like to utilize as private a space as possible to confer with my clients. he wrote slowly and carefully, then turned the pad to Marcus, referring, of course, to the scruffy youth and the scantily-attired woman milling about by the entrance to the guild.
Zahrah's attention was torn in between taking stock of the people and watching her companions. Thad was dealing with the guild officials, so Zahrah turned and knelt down, straightening Tetra's clothes as an older sibling or mother would with a child. She mostly did this so that she could speak to the girl without being overheard. "Please do not get into too much trouble. We do not want Thaddeus to be removed from his guild. That is not a good way to thank a friend." She was carefully taking Tetra's hand when a thought occurred to her and she smiled at the girl. "At least do not get caught." Standing once more, she went back to her observation of the people around them, a faint smile ghosting over her lips.
Marcus took 15 coin, guild dues for about a month that Thaddeus was owing, plus a couple of guerrmarks as a late fee, and placed it under the counter. "Ok then, guild status reinstated." he smiled. When Thaddeus wrote about his clients, however, he looked at the two women at the entrance and his brow furrowed. "I can't let you be shacking up with a couple of girls in guild lodgings, kid. I mean, I understand, she's pretty alright, but the little one? I won't pry if that's what you like but I don't think that is legal." he sighed. "I tell you what tho... I can help you out a bit. I can lend you one of the workshops, you can reserve up to a month at a time because of your guild membership. You can easily crash there, call them assistants, don't get TOO rowdy at night, and I won't say a peep."
Slipping his wallet, which was regrettably lighter now, back into his inside coat pocket, Thaddeus nodded curtly when the transaction was complete, but froze suddenly as he comprehended what else it was Marcus was saying to him. Now people were apparently making assumptions about he and both Zahrah and Tetra. Charming. He already looked rather pasty and perhaps a little green, but his expression said what he could not-- that he was not particularly pleased with the other man's supposition. Swallowing tightly, his throat squeaked little from its dryness and the saliva he managed to spare. A workshop will do. he wrote with brusque strokes of the pencil, stabbing and splintering the writing utensil's tip as he dotted the period.
Tetra had long since stopped paying attention to Thaddeus while he dealt with his dues, and was now instead focusing on Zahrah and her subtle words. The urchin stared at the dancer for what seemed to be minutes before an unintended, tiny smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. "I don't get caught," she reassured the young woman in a mumble, turning away to gaze out at all the goods she spotted simply dangling from people's bags and pockets (Notice). Sure, she had a mishap earlier that morning and had been found out by that Shah bitch, but that was the train's fault. Tetra was an expert at sneaking and stealing, and she definitely intended not to be caught doing anything wrong.
Her attention less on Tetra now, Zahrah looked at Thad, waiting for him to either wave them over or come over to them. Either way, it would mean getting out of the area. Her eyes surreptitiously swept over those around them, wondering how many were eyeing the two girls standing near the door. (Notice) Even if Tetra was a child, people were pigs. Most men were easily persuaded to do vile things in the name of self indulgence. She bit one lip and thought about what would happen to them should the try anything. Most likely the girl would come out on top, figuratively speaking. So she waited and watched, her hand only holding lightly onto the girl.
"A Workshop it is." replied simply Marcus with a curt nod and a toothy grin, revealing a gold coating on one of his two front teeth. Turning around, the large Daguerrian ducked under the counter for a second and produced a large brass key with a small wooden chop attached to it. Carved and then painted in with dark gold paint was the number 7. "Here you go, you're in 7, we only provide basic tools and machinery, anything else you have to provide yourself, but you already know that." he added. "Quiet hours are from 11 to 6, yada yada yada, jus' don't make anything explode.. uh.. TOO loudly, ok laddie?" said the older man as he plopped the large brass key onto Thaddeus' hand. "Your girls can come in now, but for the queen's sake, wash the little one." he sighed as he leaned back and crossed his arms.
Curling his graceful, albeit graphite-smudged and ink-spotted, fingers around the key, Thaddeus offered a curt nod of understanding to Marcus, along with one last, somewhat unfocused glare, although he probably looked more confused than indignant or intimidating. He sniffed, tucked his pad away in his jacket, then finally turned to look back towards the guild's entrance, where he'd left Tetra and Zahrah standing. Hoping to catch one of the women's attention, with a sweep of his arm, Thad motioned toward the staircase that led first to the boarding rooms, and then to the workshops. He pointed with he key he'd just received, gently jabbing it upward to indicate that that's where they needed to go.
Zahrah couldn't help but smile to herself. These poor misguided fools, thinking themselves above her and the girl. When Thaddeus gestured for them, she started forward, giving a little pull on Tetra's arm to get the girl's attention that they were moving. Rather than her usual walk of trying to not get any attention, the only word for the way she was moving through the lower area of the guild was strutting. She did look over the few eyes that were still focused on her, but that was done under her eyelashes as she walked over to where Thad was motioning for them to head upstairs.
Tetra's fingers twitched with anticipation as she considered all her available options within the room at that moment. There were weapons, fancy trinkets, and bulges of wallets and coin purses strung along clothing everywhere. Her eyes nearly sparkled as she imagined how much she could make off the men in the room if she just took her time and was extremely careful... The young girl was, however, pulled away from her daydream when Zahrah tugged on her arm. Looking up, she spotted Thaddeus, across the room, motioning for them to follow him, and, pursing her lips, Tetra did so, walking behind Zahrah, rather conspicuously. Unfortunately for the urchin, all the eyes in the room seemed to be fixed in her direction, meaning it would be too difficult to even try to take anything at that moment. Hunching her shoulders, the girl followed along to the staircase with a tiny pout. Maybe she could sneak down later and make off with a few things...
Half watching Tetra and Zahrah with an empty, unfocused stare and half sorta just staring in his companion's general direction, Thaddeus waited until the two women were on their way over before he turned and started up the staircase. He hesitated until they were closer to start his accent in earnest, but even when he was actually making his way upward, his pace was rather slow. The engineer seemed encumbered not only by his physical baggage, but perhaps by the great many things he had weighing on his mind. Poor Tok, who had obediently followed Thad around since they got off of the train, was left on the ground floor; it wheeled back and knocked gently on the bottom step, for it couldn't climb the stairs with its little wheels.
Zahrah, Tetra in tow, approached the stairs as Thaddeus started upwards. She looked down at Tok with a small smile, looking up at Thad again before she knelt down next to the smaller construction. "Should we help it?" she asked of her other companion, not really sure if she should call it a he or not. After all, it wasn't organic and didn't have a gender. The escort let her eyes move to Tetra, one elegant brow lifting in question as she waited for a judgement of whether to attempt to lift the clockwork contraption up the stairs.
Like Zahrah, Tetra paused at the foot of the stairs and looked down at the struggling robot, fruitlessly attempting to make its way up the stairs. She felt a pang of what could almost be described as sympathy for the mechanical creature, despite the construct's non-sentience. At the older woman's words, Tetra knelt down next to Tok, reaching out and wrapping her arms around it. With a focused face, the young street urchin tried to lift the metal robot, obviously struggling but too proud to give up. (Pull)
Tetra barely managed to pull Tok up and hoist him over her little shoulders, the small construct's wheels looking up at the ceiling and rotating wildly as a dog's legs would flail if it was simlarly held upside down. Slowly but surely, the urchin managed to carry the automaton to the second floor, where Thaddeus and Zahrah were waiting. Once there, she deposited Tok on the floor, the little robot seems almost happy to be once more on solid ground and followed the other three towards WoW - Guild Workshop 7
Without any sort of consideration as to how his sentry made it upstairs, Thaddeus smiled down at Tok as it wheeled along with he, Tetra and Zahrah. It took a bit of an effort, but Thad concentrated on the door when he made it to the workshop, and he slowly docked the key in its locked, turned it and pushed the door open before stepping aside with a whirling, if a bit sloppy, flourish of his hand, trying to indicate that they should enter first.
post here
Accessible areas:
Go up to the WoW - Palace Gates
Continue down to WoW - Magister Row South
Enter the Engineer's Guild and head into:
WoW - Guild Workshop 7
Walk down WoW - Sevenoaks Street
Back to:
WoW - Upper City North
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