OldCity Newsletter 22 - 09/04/06

From FiranMUX

<---------- GOSSIP HOUR AT THE NOOK ---------->

Slowly but surely, as the months wear on, spring begins to unfold and bloom as the days become longer and the weather warmer. At a time when the Old City would normally be consumed in the darkness that night brings, a setting sun paints the sky in a myriad of rich pinks, reds, blues and oranges; leaving the battered buildings and smelly canals doused in a variety of hues gifted from the sky above. As per usual, as the working class throughout the city pack up and head home for dinner, the sound of a squeaking hand cart permeates the slowly dimming clamour of the Sailor's Nook. The creaking comes to a halt as the rickety hand cart, pushed along by an old merchant, stops along the far side of the pier where a scrawny little urchin stands. Without a single word of greeting exchanged between the two, the urchin holds out her hands in silent beckoning, to which the old merchant deposits a single slice of half-eaten, very burnt cheese pie.

"This thing's feckin' black, Soloman. And wha happen'd to tha rest o' it? It just disappear on its bloody own?" the urchin snaps testily. Though that certainly does not cause her any pause in devouring the slice, allowing the old merchant to speak after he shrugs wearily. "It was tha best I could find at tha market 'fore the guards were on me tail, Zahrenya. Someone had jus' thrown it away like it was no good. Pah! Feckin' wallers. Wish they'd all jus' disappear like that one woman from tha Griffon clan. Seems some Mes Galumnae Istariniad went and disappeared, jus like that!" He snaps his bony fingers for emphasis. "Though someone must be payin' real good stenis to have her found, 'cause Agrafina's been askin' bout her day an' night. Says she'll pay well fer anyone who has information on her whereabouts. Or somethin' like that. Ya know anythin' 'bout it so I's can cash in on this, Zahrenya?"

The merchant is greeted with a dismissive shrug from the urchin, who wastes no time in licking the last remains of crust and cheese off of her fingers, now that her slice of pie has been devoured. "I don't knows a thing. Bah, all I hears 'bout lately is wallers causin' trouble an' more trouble. Ya knows that Ladonna waller woman that keeps hangin' 'round here? Tha feckin' annoyin' little twit who keeps tellin' everyone ta calls her 'Lana' even though some Lord Proxy whatever tol' her she weren't allowed ta gets a name change? Tha largest thorn in tha Ol' City's side? Seems she's been leavin' scrolls all 'round tha walls an' tha Ol' City offerin' her services fer free to all tha 'brave soldiers' as a thank you for all thier o' their hard work. An' it seems her sponsor, Lady Shenisa, didn't find this amusing and didn't figure it was Ladonna who was sendin' out tha scrolls, seein' as there be a reward out for information on who wrote 'em all. She should probably ask her beloved sponsoree,don't cha think? I sure didn't think Gold Dragons, women especially, were suppose'ta sponsor whores. Even if she be just a wannabe whore. Crazy feckin' nobles, always bendin' tha rules fer themselves!"

As the urchin finishes her story, the merchant -- unable to mask his apparent disgust -- snorts loudly. "A trip to tha Dove would teach her good, tha's fer sure! All these feckin' whores runnin' around who ain't Doves is jus' stupid. They's all goin' waller! Not like them good ole days. Anyway, I gots some gossip fer ya before I heads home that ain't 'bout wallers fer a change. I heard that Soffie gots robbed tha other day by one o' our own! Sameera told me everythin', she did. She said that Soffie and Hypeius met at tha Dagger fer drinks and ta chat, nothin' out o' tha ordinary, and then some kid came in -- Karihla, I think they said her name was; the one who's been working at the Dagger and Dice scrubbing tables and whatnot -- beat tha crap out o' Soffie, an' then robbed her blind. Took everythin' she had on her at the time; her stenis, her clothes, her keyring, everythin'. Hypeius was there tha whole time an' did nothin' ta stop her, and then he done and ran off with the kid when Pakeera and Susia showed up. They helped Soffie out by givin' her clothes and bandaging her up, but they never managed ta get all of Soffie's things back. Jus' her keying and her shoes, last I heard."

By now the sun has disappeared from view entirely, and the rich stream of colours the painted the landscape are no more; instead replaced by a dark blanket mottled with the faint shimmering of stars. "Sameera be deaf in one ear or somethin', 'cause that ain't the whole story," she urchin retorts knowingly. "I heard that Soffie went and propositioned Hypeius 'cause o' what Yelda were singin' 'bout last month. Ya know, 'bout Hypeius beein' a manwhore or somethin'? I hears she wanted ta pay him fer his services, and then Karihla showed up an' got jealous an' _that's_ why she kicked tha crap outta Soffie an' stoled all her things. Karihla must be sweet on Hypeius, ya know, 'cause she beat up Soffie an' she's livin' with him an' all. But, while I has to admit she did pretty good for a kid as young as her, it ain't like she be makin' friends or anythin'. I heard she's having her CoS soon too, so watch out!" The merchant merely shrugs his shoulders in response and begins pushing his rickety cart away, likely homeward bound. "Whatever tha case, ya don't steal from yer own, tha's all I'm sayin'. I'll be by here fer breakfast, lunch, an' dinner tomorrow, Zahrenya," he calls over his shoulder. The scrawny urchin bobs her head in an affirmative nod. "See ya tomorrow, Soloman! And don't be bringin' this feckin' shite food no more! My stomach's all mad now!"

As the shouts of an orphan ring through the Nook and quickly die down, so too does the grating sound of a rickety hand cart with a squeaky wheel, and then the regular hustle and bustle of the Sailor's Nook during the nightly hours takes over once more.

<---------- PRAISE AND DISS SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK ---------->

-*- Praise Suggestions -*-

~ Firistan: Praise him and get stenis for it! Yay, stenis! (see @bb 26/158 and @oc 4 for details)

-*- Diss Suggestions -*-

~ Hufimo: Diss him and get stenis for it! Yay, stenis! (see @bb 26/158 and @oc 4 for details)

~ Karihla: We do _not_ steal from fellow OCers. Boo on you!

~ Ladonna: Are you a whore or not? Make up your mind, and stop traipsing around the Old City when you don't belong here.

~ Shenisa: You're a Gold Dragon noblewoman and you sponsor a whore? Stop bending the rules, you snooty noble!

• • Standard Disclaimer: These are only suggestions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of your FacHead, nor the people who submitted them. You are under no obligation to praise or diss anyone on this list. Always do what is IC for you, first and foremost. **

<---------- OOC SCHTUFF ---------->

• Second newsletter down! Please keep in mind that, while you can consider the contents of the newsletter general IC knowledge around the Old City, some things (or everything, for that matter) may or may not have been made up by me. I make no claims of truth! You know how gossip goes. Also, since I didn't receive any negative feedback, the newsletter colours and format have remained the same, as I'm just going to assume that you all like what I'm doing so far. If not, then make sure your voice is heard! Be sure to page/@mail me with your thoughts and opinions.

• Newsletter Thanks! Thanks to Agrafina, Hypeius, Karihla and Someone Else (who wishes to remain anonymous) for their contributions to the newsletter this week!

• @bb Reminder! As always, be sure to delete old @bb posts you've made! This can be done easily by typing '@bb/search 26/<your name>' to get a list of posts that you've made, and then you can easily '@bb/remove 26/<post number>' to delete the ones that are no longer relevant (see 'help @bb/search' and 'help @bb/remove' for details). I'm going to start personally paging people who have a lot of old posts up soon, so please save us both some time and get rid of them if you no longer need them. :)

• TP Ideas! Do you have an idea on an uber-cool TP that would totally liven up the Old City? Or perhaps one that would entice new players? Or maybe even one that you think could really facilitate some RP for you and a few people? Then, by all means, send your ideas my way. As FacHead, I can try to make your ideas a reality, so don't be shy and speak up. :)

(Also, I've come to the conclusion that I cannot cure my spammy nature. Therefore, expect spammy newsletters from me from now on.)