The Upper City, North End
Gold Road North
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The Northern Gold road is one of the main business areas of the Royal City. It is where one finds the most expensive shops and craftsmen. Not only that, but many banks, loan offices and inns for traveling businessmen are also located on the gold road, as well as the homes of wealthy businessmen who lack a title of nobility usually necessary to own one of the Manors on Northern Hastings. Though not as large as the Royal Avenue, the gold Road is large enough for six wagons to comfortably pass each other side by side, complete with colorful mushroom gardens in the middle. The Gold Street is the de-facto financial core of the Royal City.
After a few steps,
Thaddeus was writing in his pad once more as he came from
WoW - Royal Avenue. He paused, having made it to Gold Road, and he continued writing for another couple of moments. He peeked his red-rimmed eyes over the top of the paper, looking back at Zahrah before he smiled tentatively and turned the pad toward the woman for her to read. At the top of the page, he had already started a brief list:
1. Guild; 2. School 3.... and there was an indent and a smudge of pencil, as if he'd started to write something more. In addition, he'd written
Firstly, I must visit Magister Row. Please feel free to accompany me. Afterwards, I can take you wherever it is you need to . Dance halls? While those sorts of places were more his older brother's, Merrill Jr's, domain, Thaddeus thought a moment about if he knew of a place he could direct her to, and if there were at all any chance of him procuring a fix along the way or in the vicinity (Memory).
Close behind Thaddeus,
Zahrah quickly read what he wrote, vaguely wondering what the third thing on that list was going to be. Maybe he would share later. Maybe. She walked along and looked around, a small sigh leaving her as she saw the financial institutions that were missing in other places. The lower city was so much less than this, and the outer cities weren't anything compared to this. As they walked, she did look around for any signs of old patrons or anyone she might know. (Notice)
Not far behind the couple,
or trio, she added as she eyed the thing beside the young man with a wrinkle of her nose,
Accalia continued on her was to the royal crown. She passed by them on her way to
WoW - Sevenoaks Street.
After pondering for a moment,
Thaddeus put pencil to paper again and looked sidelong at Zahrah as she was taking-in the opulent sites of the business district. He pursed his lips in thought, the tip of his pencil still against the pad as he tried to quickly size the woman up before she noticed. He was oblivious of Accalia as she passed them by, but soon enough he'd be headed in the same direction as the ranger. Finally, the engineer wrote,
What type of establishment do you seek? I am not familiar with dance halls, per se. He looked a little nervous, as he didn't want to insult the woman. While what he wrote was true, as he'd enjoyed other types of entertainment at theatres in the area, he'd never been anywhere particularly scandalous in reference to dancing ladies-- he wasn't sure how she'd take the inquiry. Smiling as benignly as possible, he turned the paper to Zahrah.
Her eyes were elsewhere until Thaddeus turned the paper to her.
Zahrah read it quickly and looked back to where she had been looking before, at a blond haired woman walking along the road. "There are some places I know to check first, however I am not exactly safe to wander the roadways myself." She was clearly distracted by the woman, however, and Zahrah wanted to go over to her, but was unsure how Dilay would react to her just walking up on the streets after her absence. If she was no longer willing to associate with such people, then Zahrah's presence would be unwanted. So instead Zahrah wanted to make it appear innocent. She veered in the direction of the blond, discreetly rubbing her arm against her to make it appear more innocent.
Well, if the escort knew where she wanted to go, and she simply wanted a companion to tag along,
Thaddeus supposed he could do that. He hadn't exactly demonstrated his aptitude in the might department, however, and Zahrah has been there to witness it for herself, so he wasn't exactly sure what sort of safety he could afford the woman. In fact, he didn't exactly like to navigate some of the areas of the city by himself, either; the engineer had Tok now, though, and with that thought, the construct whirred into action, shifting slightly in his position at the man's feet. Thad smiled vaguely, then glanced up at Zahrah, only to see her walk off without him. His brow furrowed slightly, and he followed after her.
Thaddeus saw Zahrah walk towards a beautiful, sandy blonde and green-grey eyed Daguerrian woman in a worker's garb. It was the kind of clothes one would wear to work in one of the engineering shops on Magister's row, a heavy woolen shirt, a pair of rubber gloves, boots and dark grey coveralls, complete with a cap and a pair of work goggles hanging from her neck. Had it not been from her face and the delicate and long shape of her neck, it would have been hard to know she was a woman. Thad noticed and recognized the shop emblem on the chest of her coveralls right as Zahrah grazed her arm. The woman turned around and began to say "Excu-" but stopped abruptly when she saw Zahrah. Her eyes widened for a second and she seemed to grow tense. "Excuse me." she simply added as she turned around, as if hiding her face. With that, the woman began walking away, at a much faster pace than before.
Zahrah was torn. She could follow, but she also wanted to go with Thaddeus. There wasn't really a way she could do both and she wouldn't drag Thad with her in this case. Finally, with a defeated sort of sigh, she turned back to Thaddeus. It was clear that Dilay didn't want her to follow, but it would be nice to know where to find her again. She hadn't seen the emblem. So Zahrah didn't know. "Sorry. I...know her." That seemed like a good enough explanation as she turned to watch where the woman in question was heading.
Zahrah managed to keep her eyes fixed on "Dilay" as she walked off towards Sevenoaks street, the way to Magister Road. It was the same direction herself and Thaddeus would be heading later. On the back of the woman's jumper she could clearly see a large logo, a red monkey wrench crossed over a golden cog, sown into her clothes.
Observing what little exchange there was between the stranger and Zahrah,
Thaddeus watched the attractive blonde woman as she pretended to not recognize the Escort; he was curious as to what the nature of their relationship was when the Majai woman admitted to knowing the female in workers' garb emblazoned with an emblem from Magister's Row, and his expression said as much. Thad's mouth formed an
O and he thought for a moment, not taking his eyes off of Zahrah. Finally looking down to his pad, the young man elegantly wrote,
She is paused, peeked up through the fringe of hair that had fallen in his eyes, then glanced down once more to finish,
an Engineer?. Thad coughed softly as if to clear his throat, although it was really to draw Zahrah's attention back to the pad of paper.
She saw the emblem but didn't know where it belonged too. Maybe something in her past? (Memory) In any event,
Zahrah looked back at Thad and saw that he had written something else. "Yes. That she is," the escort said quietly. She didn't want any of her emotions to play across her face as she took note of where the woman was heading. "Old...acquain
tances." Turning from the direction Dilay had vanished, she nodded at Thaddeus. "We should continue on, yes?"
The way his brow knit together indicated that Thaddeus was probably thinking about what Zahrah had just said. He was, indeed, quite curious as to what her relationship with the blonde engineer was. He offered his most encouraging smile, tucked his pad inside the breast pocket of his coat, then swept his hand out in a manner to indicate This way, please. Tok, who had been silent and still the past several moments, came to life and started to head toward WoW - Sevenoaks Street; Thad followed along, but at a politely casual speed so that he didn't leave Zahrah behind. Moments later, he reappeared, looking a little concerned that his companion hadn't accompanied him. He watched the courtesan for a moment before retrieving his pad and pencil and smiled at her before scratching a brief note out upon the paper's surface. The engineer carefully tore it from the pad and folded it in half and pushed it toward Zahrah's hand. It read: My apologies if seeing your old acquaintance has unsettled you. If you wish, I can tend to my business and return in a short while, as it shall hopefully not take much time. The eloquently penciled words ended in a handsome signature of his entire legal name. With that, Thad tipped his head to Zahrah and headed back to Sevenoaks Street.
Zahrah was sufficiently thrown through a loop at the sight of her old friend. Her new one was no doubt confused, and she looked at him when he returned, her attention torn from where she was looking by a sheet of paper being shoved into her distracted hand. "Oh, of course." She looked around and frowned. No need to move too far, maybe she could ask about the emblem on her suit. Looking around for someone who could possibly help (preferably a street vendor or such), Zahrah waited until Thad disappeared before moving anywhere. (Notice)
There were few street vendors in the Gold Road, as it was partly a financial district and partly a residential district for the rich and powerful, there were few who entertain buying wares on the street. That was not to say there was no one Zahrah could turn to, however. Among the crowd she noticed two figures who seemed to be, not only still, but paying close attention to the people who passed by. One of them was a constable, an fat stubby man with a bushy mustache who was standing guard by one of the many money-lending establishments. The other seemed to be one of the city's maintenance workers, a non-certified engineer or 'gearhead', the kind that was hired by the city for little money to do a lot of the maintenance on the most trivial aspects of the machinery which sustained the city.
Walking onto Gold Road, Tetra tread the path carefully, avoiding the eyes of any standing guards or others who might be suspicious of her. Sometimes she walked slowly and casually, others she moved quickly and lightly on her feet. Finally, the girl reached WoW - Sevenoaks Street, and without a second though, she turned, making her way down the road.
Not seeing Tetra as she moved, Zahrah approached the constable standing by. She did so in an obvious manner, waving at him as she walked to get his attention. Skulking about wasn't her area of expertise, so she was going to avoid it. Not that it was necessary, the constable was already watching everyone. "Hello," she greeted in a bright voice, silencing the bits inside that made her hesitant to approach at all.
The constable was a rather short man, with the furiously red cheeks and nose Daguerrians sometimes seemed to have for reason Zahrah did not understand. The man seemed not to notice Zahrah approaching until she finally spoke up. He immediately turned to look at her and she noticed the bronze badge pinned on his chest which read Constable P.Schmidt. There was a bit of suspicion in the man's eyes, but this must not have been the first time he saw a Majai courtesan in the primarily Daguerrian district. The man cleared his throat before simply asking, "Can I help you?", thrusting his chest (and belly) outwards and keeping his hands crossed behind his back.
This was going to go well Zahrah thought sarcastically in her head. She didn't want to flirt with the man, but it was probably going to be needed. "I certainly hope you can," she said, turning on every bit of charm she had in her person. "I am a little lost and looking for someone, I was hoping that a person of intelligence could help." That was laying it on a bit thick to be honest, but Zahrah had some hope that her natural abilities didn't fail her now. (Charm)
Zahrah's allure seemed not to go unnoticed by the man, who probably believed a Daguerrian gentleman had to be courteous and polite to all women, even those who might be considered of lesser birth. "Of course, lady. We constables are here to help, after all!" announced the fat man with a confident smile, puffing out his chest and taking a small step closer to the Majai woman. "Who is it that you're looking for?".
"I am looking for a woman," Zahrah said. "A friend, one who works for one of the engineering places." She was purposefully acting the part of the clueless pretty girl, which seemed to get her more pitying answers than being her own intelligent self seemed to receive. "I saw the emblem but I am uncertain as to what building it belongs to." Now she put a hand up to her mouth, her knuckles meeting her chin as she glanced around as if she was going to see it somewhere here. "It...it had a gold wrench on it...and one of those circles with the teeth."
"AH! That is the Golden Gear crest. It's one of the Workshops over at the Magister Row." replied simply the constable, scratching the tip of his red, bulbous nose. "You just turn here at Sevenoak." he added, pointing towards the large side street Thaddeus had gone through. "And you turn left once you get to Magister Row, can't miss the Golden Gear.... it has an actual gold gear on it." he smiled. "I don't recall they hire Majai though, maybe your friend is in the SOUTHERN Magister Row, sweet lady? It's where all the tinkerers try their contraptions."
Zahrah rewarded the man with a white toothed smile. "Oh? I did not say she was Majai. I do not discriminate in my friends. Anyone who is kind to me I consider a friend." Her smile went a little wider as she looked at the man, certain that he was at least smart enough to understand that small hint. "I do thank you Constable Schmidt for the information. You have been...invaluable. I do hope we meet again soon." She started to walk away but turned before she got too far and gave him one last toothy smile. "My name is Daiyu. Maybe you will find me again." With that, she started into WoW - Sevenoaks Street, smiling to herself at her small personal joke.
Striding purposefully up the street and ignoring anyone else in her path, Accalia headed back to Wow - Royal Avenue.
Post here
Accessible areas:
Go back to the WoW - Royal Avenue
Continue down to WoW - Gold Road South
Walk down WoW - Sevenoaks Street
Back to:
WoW - Upper City North
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