Roses are Red

Antiva is Not So Bad

Antiva city.. where the say every man is a poet or a merchant prince, and treachery is the coin of the realm.

Perhaps that's true.

Also true that the stars are hard to see from any place given that the city never sleeps. Even on the rooftops near the merchant families, away from all the noise and light of the brothels and businesses, it's still hard to see the glimmer of the sky's fair diamonds. There is a different kind of beauty near the coast though. A warm, red sunsets kind of beauty. The crimson hue that always colored the horizon when the sun set she swore was because of the blood shed by the crows. The sound of the ocean waves never too far to hear the rumble and smell of salt mingling with spices and wine kind of beauty. Always warm, never a chill in the air like other regions of Thedas kind of beauty. A warm rains and freshly bloomed flowers kind of beauty.

Antiva city is not so bad.

True in some parts of the city it reaks of fish. If you avoid the factories and the docks around dinner time you can avoid the worst of the rotting flesh smell. None of the fragrances of Antiva are subtle. The smell of the Antivan leather working industry, for example, is potent at best. Even the flowers are so numerous that they can be an overwhelming perfume. All smells one becomes well acquainted with when constantly "roaming" the streets of the jewel of Antiva. Most familiar, at least to me personally anyway, is The Boulevard of Seas. Home sweet home. A streets paved in turquoise and sea-green tiles kind of beauty. Gardens, fountains, flowers. All lit by lanterns until first light. Yet work is not confined by the hours of night, not for me anyway. After all, the city never sleeps. Which means sometimes I can't either. Yet still...

Antiva city is not so bad.

There scandals around every corner. If you have a sharp enough ear you can overhear anything you could possibly want to know. And information, ooh information is priceless. With the right leverage you can crumble the foundation of any man. Words. Words are powerful things. In Antiva, just rumors alone can be an unforeseen dagger in your back. If just words themselves aren't enough there is always the crows and the crows will make sure the deed is done. The way I see it. Antiva is a well guarded Rose, colored with the blood of crimson sins. Stay away from the thorns and learn to navigate them or pluck them off. At the core she is a fine blooming exotic beauty with fine silk leaves and velvet petals. For all the danger she's still a beautiful city. Full of intrigue and mystery.

Antiva City is not so bad.

The late hours give me moments like these. Time to "wander" the streets, a little sleight of hand here and a little sleight of hand there. None of it for myself.. well perhaps a little. I have to live after all. A few days ago I had received a tip from a friend about a noble in my area with a rather long ostentatious name causing problems. Those are the kind of things I invest some coin in to make profit after dealing with said nobles. Never an easy task but I have my ways and my contacts. Keeps one on their feet, it enhances one's street smarts.

I turn down many alleyways, never using the same ones throughout the days. Never planning a route but instead making it up as I go, a form of improvisation one picks up. Forming habits and having favorite places causes ambushes, well placed assassins and often premature deaths. So you improvise. Leave it to a higher power ... or fate, whatever you believe, to decide who you run into and who you don't. I'm alive so it must be working.

A few more blocks and my destination is in sight. A small house, maybe three bedrooms. Someone is home and they've mended the fire recently, dinner is over for them by now but it was stew by the smell. The wife likes to garden, given the garden boxes on all the windows... so ... normal. Airing on the side of caution I walk past and glance through the windows. They won't see me, not with the shadows being cast the way they are. I'm careful to remain in them and observe for awhile. They seem ordinary. An elven woman and her human husband. Two children. A boy and a girl. The prior looks to be about seven and the latter perhaps four. Living without fineries and worrying about their next meal no doubt. I know how it goes. Every meal could be your last and you never know when the next one will be. Living like such only causes one to have a greater appreciation for what you do have. After all...

Antiva city is not so bad.

This is the part where the waiting begins. Children can be dangerous, they don't know what to say or who to say it to. One slip and they'll spread a rumor of the strange lady paying mommy and daddy a visit. That'll get me some enemies. So I wait until they're off to bed and still few more moments, children never do anything when first told and I know they'll be up again.

Until I'm convinced it's safe to approach I move not a muscle, and when I do it's not by the front door of course but by the window near the fireplace. The curtain is drawn but the window is not latched. They're expecting me. I pull my cloak hood over my face, taking no chances as innocent as they may seem.
Quickly and quietly I step along the edge of buildings, always in the shadows until I can slip through the frame of their modestly humble abode. I keep the curtains close, concealing my figure.

"Don't be alarmed." A whisper on the wind and I know she can hear me. Those elven ears of hers would have heard the window open as well. She says nothing. She knows how it goes. "Lock the windows and close the curtains. The door as well. Slowly. Naturally." She complies. Cleaning up the dishes before doing so. Her husband put out a few candles, they've dealt with us before. A smooth operation. Only then do I slip towards the mantle of the fireplace and into the small dining room. "Keep your voices low," they comply to my soft spoken request, the wife taking the lead, she can hear me better.

"If we don't pay by the end of the week they'll take the little ones. The brothel's no place for our children to grow up. I don't want to see them sold ..." she spoke concerned but casual. Her pain was real and she was right. A brothel's no place for them.

"I'm working more than double my shifts at the fishery but he's asking too much. He knows I didn't sabotage that boat, someone framed me. They want their money and I don't have it." The husband sighed, putting a hand to his forehead and running it back through his hair. At the point the lights were dim enough and the sun set far enough that I could step further into the room and ask direct questions.

"Who do you owe this debt to?"

"Some noble prick from Ferelden. Niriam something. No, it was Maxwell Niriam. Says I sabotaged his ship. I'll lose everything if I don't pay."

"How much?"

"Twenty sovereigns." I nearly choke on the very air I breathe. Ten sovereigns was quite the price to ask from a fisherman, nevermind twenty. Bringing in a load like that... I could eat for weeks. So could they.

"Please." The wife pleaded, I could see the tears coming to her eyes. The word was choked out of her by sorrow and heartache. Silence stood as I thought this through. A process that didn't take long. It was a smart investment to make and I had a friend who wouldn't mind ruffling the feathers of a noble from overseas. Seems like we could come to an agreement here.

"Alright, I'll invest."

"What do we need to do?"

"Leave your window unlocked until this all plays out, the one I came through tonight. All I request is a meal left on the hearth. Sound fair?"

"More than fair."

"Then here." I slip my hand into my coin purse and pull out a few silvers, it's not too much but it's enough to get them by until the payment. With a gloved hand I slip the coins onto the mantle beside my head "I'll leave small payments every morning, use them wisely. You'll have your sovereigns before the end of the week. When you wake in the morning hang a basket above where I'm standing, when I have the money you owe it'll be inside." They both tearfully thanked me and the Maker. For a week I would have at least one meal a day. That was good enough for me. I waited until they put out the fire and left only a lantern on the table lit before slipping back out the shadowed window. This would be the best investment I've ever made. That family would get their twenty sovereigns, and I'd get so much more. All I'd have to do is rob this Maxwell's ship. This couple would pay him with his own stolen sovereigns and I... well then I get the sovereigns. But first...

There was someone I needed to meet with about this noble from Ferelden.

Yes, Antiva is not so bad.