@DragonSong Aratir was not a bad person.
"Shit." The lad groaned as he ran. Well. Limped, to be specific.
Though his breathing was regular, it was frantic, shallow. Behind him, was a duo of the warriors of the temple caste. The so-called guards of the land. He had not known how long he could actually stay ahead, especially with a limp leg. Now he really did fuck up.
"That fucking merchant." he roared in clear agitation. Now how was he supposed to know that openly confronting a thieving scum of a trader would have been a bad idea? He did not do anything bad. He was not the bad person here. Yet even his ankle was practically killing him. It made a sickening crack nearly every step he took.
He may have had Thanatosi blood, but he was a clear foreigner in a rather xenophobic land. Of course he had heard about the castes and of course he would do something to upset the locals. And yet he was not exempted from the caste system. Of course they find a local trader more believable than a foreigner who couldn't even stutter an explanation. He barely spoke a lick of the tongue in the first place!
The young man flung his cloak behind himself, as he dove into an alleyway after an alleyway. It looked like he had actually managed to get ahead of his 'hunters'. The timing was right. He had a plan for this. He would get away. It would all be fine.
Don in commonplace Thanati clothes, the foreigners grasped a single gemstone and a spell was cast. His form shifted. His hair grew white, just a tad longer, his skin grew darker. The only thing left was to find a shelter.
The man hobbled outside of the alley and dove inside a building. It appeared it was a jeweler.
Risa glanced up from her book, a little distracted, then exclaimed quietly, "Oh!" She jumped of her stool and moved to stand behind the counter.
"Hello, sir, can I help you?"
Aratir was thus forced to gasp in dismay just as he had barely thought he would have a moment of relief.
What? He wasn't sure he actually fully understood what the woman just said. She spoke too quickly, too naturally. If he had to admit, he did understood words 'hello' and 'help', but that was about it. "Right..." he frowned.
Limping closer to the counter and lightly smiling at the shopkeeper lady, he'd part his lips to address her in Thanati.
"I..." he pointed at self. "Not shodu?" pausing he'd mutter under his breath in the common-spoken tongue. "No, that's not right." then switching back to Thanati he'd add "Sh... shady. I... ask help?" the lad was clearly desperate.
She blinked at him in complete bafflement, then realization dawned and she smiled. "Common, yes?" she asked, pointing to him. She laid a hand to her chest and said haltingly, "Speak...little Common. Better than your Thanati."
She giggled, then bit her lip and added quickly, "Oh, sorry. Just...you spoke funny." Not that her Common was a whole lot better- she knew enough to trade with foreigners, and not much more.
His reaction was not much different. At first puzzled, as the woman spoke in a slightly twisty common, however a sigh of relief followed and he gave himself a few moments to rethink the situation.
Should he try to imitate some sort of similar manner of speech? Perhaps he should tell her some sort of a lie or just turn around and leave? No. That would only make him more suspicious. He already butchered the Thanati language before a native. There is no way he could pretend to be one himself, unless he actually started speaking properly.
The lad gave an honest smile, as the Thanati shopkeeper laughed. "Yes, common." he admitted in the common tongue. Not like every Thanati would be out for blood of a foreigner, right?
He had decided to state the truth. Or at least some of it. "I'm not a native. Something happened and I hurt my leg. Foot." he specified. "May I stay and look around your store for a bit?" as his brain processed what he had just said, he cussed at himself again. Shit. Could he have possibly sound more goddamn suspicious?
Risa smiled, trying to reassure him. He seemed skittish. "Better if you buy something, but yes. Stay."
She glanced toward the door that led to the back room and bit her lip, wondering when her father would reappear. If he saw her just chatting with a customer he'd be less than pleased.
Buy something? Now that Aratir considered it. It was not an actually bad idea. He had to do that sooner or later and he was in just the right place. As he slowly hobbled next to the counter, he took a look around. With each step on the left foot, he slightly grimaced.
"I'm interested in something with no metal. Do you have any gems?" the young man inquired. Now that he had seemed to relax a bit, the young shopkeeper, from his perspective, too seemed anxious. "Are you fine?"
"Gems?" She arched an eyebrow and gestured around. "We are jeweler shop. Take your pick."
Aratir simply took a look at the gemstones. "That's actually a wide selection." he'd comment before quickly adding. "You are a jeweler shop, would be strange if it was otherwise."
In the meantime, the streets just outside had seemed to be less tranquil, on the other hand. It had seemed as though there was an occasional shout or the like. Something about sort of a fugitive in general.
Though Aratir's Thanati was abysmal, he had a pretty good idea it may or may not have pertained him. Cringing the lad lowered his head, glancing over the works of jewelry. He was oh-so-clearly uncomfortable.
Risa started to get a bit suspicious, glancing to the door and then her foreign customer. "Are you...alright?"
Given how he had been rather suspicious all along, Aratir could only straighten his back and look at the shopkeeper lady right in the eye.
"I'd like to begin with that I'm not very familiar with your customs. And that I may have offended someone." pausing for a deep breath he'd soon add. "And I'm not proud. But I don't feel like dealing with the authority right now. Because I'd like to go somewhere and find something." he hastily concluded.
"So. please don't sell me out."
Risa looked at him for a long moment.
Then she sighed. She was soooo going to get in trouble for this.
"Come on, in here." She bumped the door behind her open with her hip and gestured for him to slip inside.
The time had seemed to grow static for Aratir, while, he had assumed, the shopkeeper evaluated her life choices.
This would be it.
She was thinking how to point him out without getting somehow hurt herself. Not that he would assault her, but no one had any reason to trust him, right?
And just as he was considering scramming, he heard unlikely response.
Wait. What? He had his own doubts, but he wanted to be trust, so he should trust someone himself, right?
Aratir nodded, hastily hobbling past the open door. "Thank you. I'll explain, make it up to you."
She waved him quiet, pressing a finger to her lips. "Just...don't make a nuisance of yourself," she muttered, slipping into Thanati.
Well. He hadn't intended to get into that situation in the first place, though, with another nod, he'd stay silent, not uttering a thing, as he took shelter behind the recently opened door.
It was timely too. In but a few moments after the man hid away. A shorter woman, a clear native of Thanatos had stepped into the the store. With a sword slung over her left shoulder, she was a clear official and an obvious member of the temple caste.
Seemingly strict, the woman focused her gaze upon Risa, she spoke quite formally and politely. "My greetings to you. We are searching for a foreign man. Taller, paler skin, dark hair, wore a cloak upon his form. Have you seen anyone like that?"
Risa tilted her head to the side with a vacant smile, heart hammering against her ribs. "Hmmm, nope. No one like that, I'm afraid. Been a slow morning. Why, what's the problem?"
Aratir had just so inconspicuously remained behind the door, while he was utterly horrible at Thanati, he still did his best to comprehend the conversation.
The woman, on the other hand, quickly scanned the shop with her eyes. Not particularly mistrusting she'd simply nod. "He has assaulted a merchant just a few streets away. If you see someone like that, try to not provoke him and alert us. Good day." she quickly spoke before lightly bowing and exiting.
Her eyes widened. "Assaulted? Oh my. Well, I'll certainly keep an eye out, ma'am."
She waited until she was gone before bumping the back door open with a hip. She folded her arms and arched an eyebrow at the stranger, saying in common, "Assaulted a merchant?"
Aratir once more sighed in relief as he closely avoided encounter with the hand of law.
"Gross miscommunication." he replied. While not aggressive, he was a bit upset. "Turns out as a foreigner I can't touch anyone." the man frowned. "What was the word..." he'd pause before adding a single word in Thanati. "Untouchables?"
"Ah." She nodded. "Yes. That is...not good." She quirked an eyebrow. "I am...surprised you got away."
"Those are strange laws. Just because I'm not from here, it doesn't mean my hands have teeth or something." Aratir exhaled, soon explaining his situation. "I hid. Currently, I'm... well... I'm disguised. Magic." he'd explain. "Thanks for keeping silent."
She nodded slowly. "They are only strange to outsiders... But I do think it is silly to hold you to our standards. You don't understand."
"Things get lost in translation." he'd shrug, finally limping out of the doorway. "And to begin with, I can't even order food in Thanati."
Yet again peering over the counter and the presented pieces of jewelry. "I'm Aratir, by the way. A very unfortunate adventurer, it seems."
"Risa." She nodded to him. "You can stay here a bit longer, but then things will look suspicious of you don't buy something."
"Oh - I plan to. It would be nice to fix my leg in the first place." he replied before adding. "If you've any quartz, I will gladly buy some." Aratir brought his eyes up with a slight smile. It wasn't exactly a typical jewelry material, but it was also not unheard of.
"I'm not questioning my benefactor, but any particular reason you helped me?"
"Here." Risa ducked behind the desk and came up with a small box. She flicked the catch and swung the lid open. "Rose, pearl, common, we've got plenty of samples," she murmured, pushing the box of uncut quartz toward him.
Then she smiled a bit. "It is...illogical to expect foreigners to know how to act here. Seemed like I owed you the help."
Aratir nodded before peering down at the container. "Right. Yes." he responded as his fingers carefully grasped just a single piece of quartz. For a while he seemed to examine it. "Seems like you're very open-minded. Being a foreigner I was lucky to stumble upon you."
Offering a smile of his own he'd inquire "Do you have a specific supplier for your materials?"
"A couple, mostly local people, but a few from the mainland." She smiled and nodded to the stone he held. "That one?"
"I see. I'm partially Thanati as well." he commented. "Oh no, not just this one." as he placed the stone upon the counter, however he seemed to retrieve four more, one by one settling them on the counter, as he seemed to look for a few more. "Better make sure to not accidentally touch your hand or you might end up calling for the guards." he smiled.
Risa eyed his choices curiously, then rolled her eyes. "Our ways may seem strange, but they are rooted in deep tradition. You should remember that."
Waiting for him to finish his selection, she added, "You might be able to win some sympathy if you can prove to people you aren't entirely foreign."
"Don't we all, foreigners, simply fall into the caste, though?" he'd question, as he still seemed to browse through the actual wares as the stones seemed to slowly pile. "I don't really mean to disrespect, though! You've been anything but unkind with your help."
"Yes." She leaned onto the counter a bit. "You'd still be untouchable, but people may be a bit more...polite about it."
"I see." he commented as the selection of crystals had finally seemed to cease with the 9th stone. "Ive heard some rumors of ruins to the south, but I don't know too much about your land. Do you know any local who would be willing to associate, let alone speak to me?"
Risa shrugged. "Traders will, for the most part. Only about half of them speak any decent Common though, I'm afraid."
"I see. Thank you." simply pushing the chosen quartz pieces into a single pile, he'd add "I'll take these. What will this cost me?"
"Hmm." She glanced at the pieces, thumbing through a few of them. They were all uncut, so not as expensive as more polished pieces might be, but still of good quality. "Three sovereigns, all told."
"Right. This much?" the young fellow settled down three pieces of currency upon the counter, lightly drumming his fingertips against it while he'd wait for some kind of confirmation that he could reach out for his purchase.
"Thank you, sir." Risa smiled and pushed the pieces toward him, quickly snatching her hand back.
Aratir waited, observing the actions of the Thanati woman. While his frown was slightly judgmental, it wasn't a particularly scornful look - it wasn't a custom he was happy with, but it was not one he could impact in the slightest. "Well then." pocketing the pieces of quartz, he'd lightly lower his head in a nod. "Thanks, take care." and with that, he made his way for and through the door.
"Um, you're welcome." She smiled and waved at him as he made his retreat. "Stay...safe?" she offered a little quietly.