[open]

[lumelume]

WHO: Mado and you
WHAT: where are my beloved cousins??
WHEN: whatever month this is
WHERE: the Gallows
NOTES: he's here

There's a strange man in the Gallows courtyard, a man nobody has seen before. He looks shabby, dressed in a long yellow surcoat that has seen much better days, but his face is lit with a plaintive grin as his melodic, Antivan-accented voice rings out:

"Averesk? I'm looking for Kostos, or Nikos Averesk! Have you seen them?"

It's not even entirely clear how he got here, because nobody saw him enter or leave the ferry, and this is not a person who escapes notice easily. Maybe he's a ghost. Maybe he's been living under the island this entire time.

"You there, please! I'm looking for my cousins!"

Comments

[bloodandsand]

Poesia had been napping in one of the rare sunpatches in an alcove. Now she was ambling back in her shift, pausing when she's accosted by an adorably earnest man.

"I'm afraid I haven't a single clue who your cousins are, dear," she says, patting his shabby coat daintily, but sympathetically, "Are you quite sure they're here?"

[lumelume]

"Oh, quite sure!" he enthuses, pleased to be approached by someone so friendly, "at least-- it's what I last heard. But this is Riftwatch, isn't it?"

[bloodandsand]

She beams at him, pleased with his pleasure. "It is! So then they must be here." Her brow wrinkles prettily, "But I fear I still haven't the slightest idea who they are. How every troubling. What do they look like?"

[lumelume]

His frown is emotive and tragic, what one would expect to see on a stage actor, except completely sincere.
"That's the problem-- I've never actually met them," he replies, "so I don't know. I only know their names. And that they're my cousins!"

[bloodandsand]

How terribly sad! Poesia grabs his hands, moved. "Oh you poor dear! How terrible to have never met ones family! I'm sure we'll find them! Many of us have only just returned from a very charming trip to a lovely little jungle and I am quite sure none of our number died, so they're sure to be here!"

[lumelume]

He grips her hands right back. "It's a bit more complicated than that," he explains, but with a guilelessness in his face that indicates he would never intentionally withhold information, "but all's well that ends well!"
However serious he was just a second ago, he perks right back up again. "That's a good thing, dying in a jungle seems one of the worst ways to go. At least it was charming?"

[bloodandsand]

"Goodness, I'm sure it was very complicated, but I'm so glad you're here now, dear." She matches him, beat for beat, as earnest as springtime sunlight. She tips her head thoughtfully at his comment about the jungle, "Oh, I quite agree. It's a terribly anticlimactic sort of death, don't you think? Although I must tell you, dear, we did see a high dragon and if one were to die, I think it would be most wonderful to die that way."

She tugs him further into the Gallows, hands still clasped, "Now, there are very many clever people here, I'm sure one of them will know where to find your cousins!"

[lumelume]

"A high dragon!" he gasps, just in time to be dragged along and completely relent in doing so.

"Do you see dragons often, in this line of work?" he asks amiably.

[bloodandsand]

"Yes, it was most glorious! We didn't engage her, of course, which is a bit of a pity." She lets go of one of his hands to gesture, still holding the other as they walk. No particular destination in mind, she imagines they'll run into someone useful sooner rather than later.

"Not as far as I've seen," she says, "It's very peaceful here, you see. And Kirkwall is a very charming sort of city, it's quite exciting to be so close to such a bustling place."

[lumelume]

"Engage her!" he repeats, "Creators! It's probably for the best, isn't it?"

He's having a good time looking around at the different things and people they're passing, so there's clearly no harm done. "It does seem charming. I like cities."

[bloodandsand]

"I suppose." She doesn't sound particularly convinced, but the topics move along quickly enough that she doesn't stop to debate the obvious merits of fighting a high dragon, "I do as well! I've hardly spent anytime in cities, you know, and it's such a refreshing change! So many people and things to see!"

[lumelume]

"You can make a fair amount of coin in the right spot," he muses chipperly, "a good corner is its own kingdom." He seems to be scoping them out as they go, few as there are in the Gallows.

[bloodandsand]

She tries to follow his gaze, but can't even begin to divine what he sees. "However do you mean?"

[lumelume]

"Music!" he exclaims, "and tricks! Things to make children stop and watch, and their parents to follow!" He sketches a little dance, either to demonstrate or just for fun.

[bloodandsand]

"Oh! Are you a performer? How lovely!" She frowns sweetly, "But we've no children here. There's certainly plenty in Kirkwall, but our youngest are not quite so young."

[lumelume]

"Then I shall have to further investigate Kirkwall," he resolves, "although anyone can be won over, with the right song."

[bloodandsand]

"And what song would you sing to win me over?"

[lumelume]

He thinks only for a moment, then begins to sing in Antivan, his voice a beautiful and resonant tenor.
It's clearly some kind of love song by how he takes Poesia's hand, gesturing theatrically as he bows before her, effectively demanding the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

[bloodandsand]

Poesia is appropriately delighted, beaming at him. She might drop his hand to applaud, but that seems like a terrible waste.