Grand Opening

[Drache]

1/19

The dragoness prowled quietly down the city streets early in the morning. She avoided as much snow and slushy mud as possible with her bare talons, her wings protected from the cold by a long black cloak with crimson embroidery. Under one arm she carried a neat stack of parchment and a thin leatherbound book, her other arm curled protectively around her infant, who was awake and peering around from inside the leather sling that kept her snug against Drache's chest. Most people watched her walk by with mild interest, a far better reception than she'd had when she'd first arrived.

She didn't stop until she reached the door to Tready's shop. Warm air rushed out when she let herself inside and she wandered over to a table covered with toys, selecting one she thought Rhin might like, her horns twisting around as she looked for the toymaker.

"Councccilor?" And she addressed him such, because it was his position on the council that warranted the visit today.

[Treadwell]

It is a sleepy, tired, pink-robed Aloisius who comes toddling in from his kitchen in the toy shop, full-tummied and drowsy. He smiles at the dragoness from behind his counter, leaning against it as he stands there puffing gently at his pipe just recently lit.

"Drache, mmph mmph! Hullo, dearie! What, hmm hmm, can old Tready do for you today, eh?" comes the elderly, whistly squeak from the elderly gent.

[Drache]

Rhin's tiny fist closed over a small wooden toy shaped like a horse. It likely wouldn't last long, what with the child's claws and teeth, but Drache saw no reason not to indulge the wyrmling. She sidled over to the counter and plopped her leather tome and stack of papers down.

"I would like to open a shop," she announced matter-of-factly. "I have found a building for sssale a few ssstreetsss over, but I would like to dissscusss the particulars. Do you have time now, or should I make an appointment?"

She also set down a small clay crock sealed tightly and wrapped such as a gift for the obese man's time.

[Treadwell]

"Mmmm? Oh, I have time, dearie, mmph mmph, plenty of time!" He warbles out a yawwwawwwwn, though, and takes to plodding across the floor, scratching his belly on the way before he finally plumps into one of his fireside rocking chairs. "Can you, hmm hmm, give me a little more information about which building it is? What's next to it, or who was in it most recently, hmm hmm? I'll have to do a little studying, a little looking 'round in my office tomorrow morning about cost and property lines and the like, hmm hmm, but I can certainly do that if I know what I'm doing, mmph mmph!" Smoke fluffily floats away from the old man's pipe, setting eyes to watering and vision to fogging up.

[Drache]

"Excccellent," she replied, her eyes glittering with a businesslike zeal. Rhin squealed and gurgled and dropped the toy several times, which Drache's merely caught with her tail and returned.

The dragoness, her hands freed by the convenient baby-sling, opened her book and produced a rough map of the town. The other papers appeared to be missives from merchants who dealt in the goods she intended to sell. "It'sss thisss building here," she indicated, her sharp claw tapping this spot. "I am led to underssstand that thisss used to be a cooper's shop, but the man died. The buildings on either ssside are ssstorehoussses."

It was a small building and not in a prime location for selling goods. Either the dragoness was too stupid to know better or she had a reason for picking an out-of-the-way location. Probably the only thing that could be said for the place was that luckily it was a brick structure and not wood. A ribbon of smoke drifted away from her too, but it spouted directly from her nostrils.

She looked piercingly at Tready, waiting for the inevitable questions about what it was she planned to sell.

[Treadwell]

"Errr, well, it's a touch out of the way, hmm hmm, if you're looking to have much business walking in. . . . What, err, what were you looking to sell, my dear?" Treadwell peeks up from the map and his pipe, reaching up to rub his beady eyes. "The building's reasonably sized, hmm hmm, of a fair bigness, and it's sturdy, so those are benefits, yes yes!"

There's a brief pause here as he studies the map again.

"You, umm, you're sure about setting up a shop with a new infant, hmm hmm?"

[Drache]

She grinned in a very satisfied way, apparently pleased about something she didn't intend to share. She flicked her claws a little to indicate she wasn't all that bothered about a loss of "impulse" business. And the reason for that would shortly be in evidence. Her forked tongue shot out, as though testing the words before she said them.

"It occured to me that Myrken Town lacksss a sssupplier for magewares, supplies and arcane goods. Would you agree that the town would benefit from sssuch a resssourccce?" It seemed to her that there were more magic-users around than anyone had actually guessed.

As for his last query, she hoisted Rhin a little and dipped her own snout to whuffle softly in the infant's silver hair. "I intend to hire help, to be sssure. Meet Rhindani, my daughter."

[Treadwell]

At the introduction to Rhindani, Treadwell gives her a glowing, beaming, jowl-jiggling smile and leans her way just a little, his pipe bouncing between his fleshy lips. "Why, hullo, little one! Are you going to help your mother, hmm hmm?" Tready then sinks back into his chair, setting it rocking as he yawns again. "I think there could be a market for such, hmm hmm. There are enough magical folks here in town, mmph mmph, or folks who like to think they are, who could use a little help sometimes!"

[Drache]

The child stared wide-eyed at the ridiculously fat man, her eyes the colour of the inside of an oyster shell, her scales the colour of pearl. And then she opened her mouth and squealed. It was part-scream, part-giggle, and only her grabby hands and eager expression indicated that she was not terrified. The toy clattered to the floor this time. Drache smiled fondly and retrieved the wooden thing, which was already scored with tiny toothmarks.

"I'm willing to take the risssk that there's not. I already have a sssmall number of sssuppliers ssstanding by." Apparently she'd been busy! "I require any information about items that are ressstricted or forbidden."

She pushed the clay jar towards him. "Thisss is for you. When can I expect an anssswer about the shop?"

When she mentioned other magic-users needing help she smiled and nodded her horns, content to let the Councilor say her words for her.

[Treadwell]

Ooooh, let me see what I can manage for tomorrow, mmph mmph! And thank you, dearie. I'm quite sure this will be put to very good use!" He peeks into the contents of the jar and grins. "It looks rather good, hmm hmm! As for restricted or forbidden stuff, hmm hmm, well, anything cursed or pertaining to dark, evil, dreadfully horrid deities or cults or the like, of course, but, err, well, poisons, anything potentially seriously damaging to someone's well-being, mmph mmph. . . Good, common sense stuff can tell you most of it!"

Now, having run out of breath, he sits there in his chair, wheezing, red-faced, as he sputters and puffs out fluffs of pipe smoke.

[Drache]

The expression that crossed her face clearly indicated that she had been expecting something more specific. Just about -anything- in a mageware shop could be considered potentially damaging. Any magic-user could tell you that. "I sssee." Her tail gave a little twitch.

Rhindani made spluttering, puffing noises too, the only person in the room who wasn't occasionally producing smoke.

"Is there anything elssse I need to do? Papers to sssign?" Humans and their paperwork. Ugh. Drache fished in her coinpurse so she could pay for the toy Rhin had already damaged.

[Treadwell]

Tready waggles a fat-fingered hand at the purse. "Don't worry about it! I'd think this vessel you brought in is more than enough payment, mmph mmph!" He grins, fishing out one of the tasty eggy things from within said pot. "I'll draft all that up in the morning, dearie, and should have it ready by tomorrow evening, perhaps. Is that, hmm hmm, acceptable?" Beady eyes again squint merrily at the infant.

[Drache]

Drache readily closed her moneypouch. "I hope you enjoy them. They're fresh, I collected them myself." She produced a gutteral chuckle as Rhin puffed her cheeks and ended up sticking her bluish forked tongue out at the toymaker.

"That will be fine. I can ssstop by then. I asssume payment in coin will be accceptable as well?"

[Treadwell]

"Errr, of course! I have to keep myself and the wife and babies fed, hmm hmm, and pigs and horse, too, mmph mmph, somehow, don't I?" Tready grins. Every last one of the things or people he just mentioned is notoriously rotund, the girth of each creature or person whispered about by Myrkenites all around--even his smallest child, Frederick, who's barely a year old yet, is a right butterball. "Do have yourself a wonderful night, dearie! Do you, err, need anything else, before you go, mmph mmph?"

[Drache]

The crimson dragoness shook her horns graciously and resettled her cloak and her child, preparing for her departure back into the cold. "It ssseems to me that you do an excccellent job of it, Councccilor," she said with a twitch of her tail. And it was for that reason that she politely declined his offer of anything else, half-afraid that if she ate or drank too much here she would end up as ponderous as one of Tready's children. "No. I thank you for your help." And with that she dipped her wings and departed, prowling down the street in high spirits towards the tavern and making a stop at the book-keepers to purchase some ledgers and recordbooks.