The Mother of Monsters

After Yaga left, Teyva didn’t have long to sit on her laurels. A messenger came by to the room asking her to come see Master Tiisha, he was instructed to guide her to her destination though he didn’t look pleased with the situation. Teyva ignored his casual distaste for her appearance and followed him down to the Guild tier. From there she was lead past the Magi’s guild to another sheer dark-stone building with a simple crest over the doorway. This crest bore the symbol of a spider. Frowning a little, Teyva followed him inside.

Master Tiisha’s Guild, as it turned out, was one of the larger craftsman guilds in the city. As soon as she stepped inside she was accosted with a mixture of smells and colors. The walls were covered in hanging clothing, weapons, tools, and works of art. The first room was small, only enough room for a few chairs and a single desk where a man sat, not even looking up from his work. Past him was a door that lead into a long hallway filled with doors. Each door had its own symbol, one appeared to be for textiles, another for blacksmithing, and there was even one for what had to be alchemy.

Crafting. Teyva had been longing for a chance to pick up her own skill. “Can I ask a question?”

“You may,” The messenger said flatly.

Teyva cleared her throat, “How would one join the guild?”

He glanced back at her and gave her an appraising look, “You must have already completed an apprenticeship with a master, completed an interview, and then paid the guild fee.”

Teyva frowned, her hopes dashed. “I see.”

He led her up a set of stairs and into another hallway filled with offices, it was only then that they arrived at a single door set into the wall of a room at the front of the building on the second floor. They had to be just above the welcome desk. Teyva tilted her head and thought about that for a moment, it was quite a power move when one thought about it. The messenger stared at her blankly for a moment before turning to open the door. “Master Tiisha will see you, Lady Akura.”

“Thank you,” Teyva said, doing her best to sound polite, and stepped through into a wall of perfume.

Master Tiisha’s office was a wonderland. If it could be made by hand, there was an example of it there. Wooden children’s toys lined one shelf while the one immediately beneath it was filled with glassware. On the other side of the room there were suits of armor and weapons hanging from the walls. Some weapons Teyva had never even seen before. Then there was the smell, a mixture of incense and perfume permeated the entire space and made Teyva feel a bit of a head-rush. She practically stumbled forward before sliding to a stop just ahead of the desk.

“Lady Akura,” Tiisha cooed, looking up from a diagram of some sort. She smiled that impossibly sweet smile in Teyva’s direction just as the door closed behind her. “Enjoy your evening?”

Teyva let out a sigh, “I’m not going to hear the end of this, am I?”

Tiisha laughed, “Not for a while, no, that’s quite a way to make amends though. Have you forgiven her for her transgressions?” She asked, leaning back in her seat and pulling a lock of hair back behind her ear.

“Yes,” Teyva said, “I don’t think we have a problem, anymore.”

“Good! Though her peers are still a bit peeved about her behavior, if you ask it of us I believe we’ll find the strength to let it go,” She said.

“Please,” Teyva said, “I think it’s been enough.”

“As magnanimous as you are pretty,” Tiisha crooned and got to her feet, “Don’t let that go to your head, though, Lady Akura.”

“Haven’t been called ‘pretty’ in a while,” Teyva chuckled, looking down at her razor-blade nails and the starry skin beside them. “Seems I have the opposite effect on most people.”

“Most people are not artists,” Tiisha corrected, holding up a finger. “I am an artist,” Teyva raised an eyebrow and waited for her to get to the point. “Now, let’s get to business, shall we?”

She took a moment to roll up the diagram that she was working on and tie it off with a leather strip, then she proceeded to clear off the rest of her desk until it was all but empty. When that was done she gestured to it with an open hand. “Show me what you have, Lady Akura.”

“What I have?” Teyva asked before it came back to her, “Oh right!”

Just before they had gone drinking Tiisha had inquired about the materials that Teyva had collected through her travels, how the woman knew about it was anyones guess but she assumed her prior knowledge about people like Teyva had given her a hint. Teyva called up her [Old Satchel] and drew out her inventory screen. It was littered with items for use with crafting. She’d wanted to do the work herself but she didn’t have the skills to do it with.

“Guess I’ll start from the top,” Teyva said, pulling out the [Stable Runite Steel Ingots]. She hefted the metal as she placed them down one at a time on the desk, they were lighter than she had expected. The metal was an odd color somewhere between a rusty red and gleaming gold. The orange metal shone brightly in the lighting of the room. Tiisha reached down and picked one of them up, admiring it for a moment but saying nothing. Taking the hint, Teyva continued.

The [Vial of Sanguine Arcanis] that she pulled out drew Tiisha’s attention and she snatched it out of Teyva’s hand, tilting the liquid about before popping the stopper and sniffing it once. She narrowed her eyes before nodding, “Sanguine Arcanis,” she said, “Very rare, as with the metal, usually found inert in crypts and ruins. It’s so odd to find it in its usable form.”

“What can you use it for?” Teyva asked.

“A number of things, but I’d rather surprise you,” The woman teased and gestured at the table, “Continue.”

Teyva hesitated, “The next ones are kinda big. Maybe just a sample to show you?”

Tiisha raised an eyebrow but nodded, Teyva tapped her inventory and out came one of the Lydan’s claws. The massive talon hit the desk with a loud thud and the two of them stepped back in fear that the desk might collapse under its weight. Tiisha stared at the thing and marveled, her eyes sparkling. She moved in and ran her fingers over the jet-black surface.

“This is what I was waiting for, the claws of the Lydan,” She looked up, “I must use these. Do you have more?”

“I have skin too,” Teyva said.

“Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous!” Tiisha practically swooned, “Anything else?”

“I have some bones from Balthin Wolves and blood from a Rilk Queen,” Teyva said.

“Leave it all with me, please, I will make you a full set of gear in exchange at no cost,” The woman said, “I’ll also pay you for whatever is left over.”

It was in that moment that Teyva realized she had no concept of money in Orum. Up until this point she had relied on the food she’d acquired through her looting ability or given to her as a gift from those she’d helped. Even the drinks the previous night had been paid for by the Four. She stood there, suddenly very uncomfortable, as the thought of getting cheated sank in. She had a feeling that Tiisha was trustworthy enough but the woman also ran a craftsman’s guild and was very much driven by profits, she wouldn’t risk her own bottom line.

Tiisha stared at her and frowned, “You’ve never used money here in Orum, have you?”

Teyva blinked, “What?” She felt her face warm, “No, No I haven’t, I only have a few copper coins in my bag and that’s about it,” she admitted.

Tiisha sighed and shook her head, “I see,” She put her hands on the materials and leaned forward towards Teyva.

“These are very valuable, Lady Akura, with my estimate I intend to make about a twenty percent profit off of what I pay you in materials alone. If I have them made into something useable that could see the price skyrocket,” She said with absolute brutal honesty, “We’ve just met and you do not know me very well, dear, so I’ll be honest. I cannot pay you full market value for it but I can make up the difference in the quality of the gear that I produce. When you get your return of the difference I hope you take some time with Azrael to learn more about money in this world.”

Teyva let out a breath, “Thank you for your honesty.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, I’ll need somewhere to put the rest. I actually don’t know how big the skin is going to be,” Teyva admitted.

Tiisha smiled, “I have just the place.”

A few minutes later, Teyva had dumped all of her crafting materials into a pile in a storage room that Tiisha had set aside for occasions like this. The woman was beside herself with delight considering her purchase though Teyva was still worried about exactly what the woman had in mind. Instead of allowing her to fret, though, Tiisha rushed Teyva into another room where a team of craftsmen began to take measurements of her body. They even went as far as to take measurements of the diameter of Teyva’s horns, which was a little irritating since she’d never let anyone touch them before. By the end of it, she was thoroughly frazzled and ready to leave.

“I’ll send a messenger when it’s all finished, dear,” Tiisha crooned, walking her to the door.

“Thanks,” Teyva mumbled, rubbing her arms, “Did they have to measure everything?”

“Of course! We want it all to fit just right and be ready to make new items should the need arise. You understand of course?” She insisted, stopping at the waiting room door. Teyva glanced at it then at Tiisha, she’d seen a new side of the diplomatic and fretting woman who she’d met yesterday. Tiisha was a frenetic and direct person when it came to business. It seemed like she let her guard down a bit around her companions, though. The woman narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, it was like she was reading Teyva’s mind.

“We all wear masks, Lady Akura. Some are just a bit more flamboyant than others,” She said, raising an eyebrow, “I wonder what kind of masks you wear.”

Teyva felt her shoulders tighten a little and she cleared her throat before bowing once, “Thank you for your time Tiisha.”

“I’ll see you soon, Lady Akura.”

Teyva retreated from the cunning woman’s lair and made her way back up to the Pinnacle. While she still wasn’t overly comfortable with using the lifter she could at the very least go through the process of getting back to her room. That said, she’d also learned fairly early on that there was more than one way into the passage behind the King’s Throne. You just had to be told about it. That allowed her to avoid walking straight through the court while it was in session, though she still wanted to confront the King about the Library beneath Osan. That would have to come later, though, as she came to a stop at the lift and face to face with Azrael.

“I was looking for you,” Azrael said.

“Master Tiisha wanted to look at the materials I collected, make me some new gear,” Teyva said, “You could have called me with the party chat.”

“Wanted to talk face-to-face.” She said with a shrug, “Your equipment was looking pretty rough,” Azrael said with a smile.

Teyva grinned and scratched at her neck, “So you want to talk?”

“Yes, let’s go to the garden.”