Ritual - Tattoo Parlor and Reliquaries.

As Hempwick walks through the door the woman at reception looks down at him coolly. She waits for the gnome to speak before nodding gently at his inquiry, softening her appearance.

"Full body tattoos cost 30 gold pieces for black ink pattern only. If you would like other colors they come at another 30 pieces per color. If you would like a consultation I could arrange an appointment for you."

Hempwick explains that he wants to be tattooed in the likeness of his late tabby cat, Sir Weginald the Ratslayer.

The woman at reception pauses writing briefly and continues to write. When she lifts her head to look at Hempwick once more her eyebrow is raised.

"Certainly sir.. Your name please? I will arrange your consultation.."

The Drow smiles slightly as he responds, "My name is Drakovan. When will this procedure take place?"

"Excellent. How much gold should I bring? Does it need to be gold? I like to carry platinum because it's not as heavy. Once I paid my rent with a ruby. My asshole landlord got all huffy about change, so I told him maybe he could he could fix the hole he said I punched in the wall. There's no way I could, it was the tenant before me, because it isn't even at gnome punch level, it's like way up at like human height. haha, okay, it was me, but it wasn't a punch, I was mixing a batch of..well, that's not important, the thing blew up, and my little kettle knocked the hole. It was a shame too, the kettle was wrecked. Any way, I'll leave Sir Weginald here, so your "artist" (he makes air quotes when he says the words) can study the likeness. I trust you'll not do anything weird to Sir Weginald's remains. Oh yes, and no alcohol, wink wink. See you tomorrow, off to other errands."

After his rant, during which you swear he didn't stop to take a breath, Hempwick darts out of the door and runs down the street.

Drakovan chuckles softly as he follows along with Esré "Ah, that would be fantastic Lady Esré; you have my thanks... I feel I must warn you though, the years have been exceedingly unkind to me. I must say I can't remember if I told you the story of my last two hundred years, my mind isn't as sharp as it was back then."

Esré takes Drakovan's arm and walks him through the heavy curtain to a long corridor. At the moment a lot of the arches are closed over as if under construction but Esré leads Drakovan to one room in particular, though a large wooden door engraved with a large intricate design, centered around a spiral.

The room is thin and long but cosy, although not at all warm right now. Along the left wall are a number of tall windows. Each have long sheer curtains, the light rippling through as a gentle breeze floats in. In the middle the focal point is a large, heavy black chair made of leather and dark woods which seem to have been treated with flecks of purple stone inlay running through. There are various joints on the chair that look like they can be adjusted and moved.. There are fewer rugs in here than the lobby.. Just one by the door then another at a long table to the back of the room behind a large pillar-looking structure. As soon as they both walk in Esré closes the door behind them with a dull thud.

"Just a moment, my friend. Let us discuss the design then I shall prepare the tools and inks." Esré motions to a pair of seats looking out of one of the Northern windows, in between which is a small table with a few papers and books strewn around somewhat chaotically.

Esré walks over to a tall metalwork shelf where she picks up a piece of patterned velvet fabric, then walks to the chair. She leans down and with one hand feels at the underside of the chair, finding some mechanism which produces an audible 'click'. The furniture shifts slowly, Esré maneuvering it into the desired position. It rests upright with arms out, not too high so there is easy access to the chest area of the person sitting. She drapes the long strip of velvet over the top of the chair all the way down to cover it.

Esré walks back to Drakovan and sits down in the chair beside him, picking up one of the books on the desk along with a small thin piece of wood. The end point of it is burned to the point of char then grooved into a point. She smiles at him warmly and takes a breath.

"Okay, so! Straight to business? I understand the design you're looking for.. But are there any specific intricacies you would like me to personalize it with? Perhaps a special color or subtle image?

Esré opens the book and flips through the pages as she speaks. If you glance you'd be able to see many little sketches, each page filled with various revisions of the same images. She rests on a blank page, hovers her pencil over it and peers at Drakovan.

As Drakovan loosens his robes to show the tattered and scarred skin underneath Esré puts down her pencil and closes the book on her lap, placing it slowly back on the table. She doesn't look away from Drakovan, peering at the destruction of his flesh whenever he breaks eye contact with her.  She listens quietly to Drakovan as he speaks and dares not interrupt until he finishes.

"Drakovan.." Esré speaks softly with pain in her voice. She leans over and puts a hand on Drakovan's shoulder, brushing her thumb over a little of the marring along his collar bone. "Tattooing.. Mmm. Tattooing into this scarring will be painful. But.. I think you've experienced worse than that. Are you sure you're prepared for this? I don't want to cause you to remember your suffering. It sounds like you had a horrific experience.."

Esré stands up slowly and strides away to the table at the back of the room, quickly returning with a white box. It looks like it's made of some sort of white marbled material.. She kneels beside Drakovan and opens it for him to see. Inside there is a plush velvet backing to the top and bottom, and placed there are six small tools. Esré watches for Drakovan's expression when he sees the tattoo needles, each made of hollowed bone. Four needles are of increasing size, two with a single points, large and small. The other two have multiple spines on the end, to be used for larger areas. Lastly there is what seems to be a pair of thicker bone cylinders, one of which has a little notch which seems to be for the needles to slot into and the other with no markings.. But it looks somewhat thicker and heavier than the rest.

"I don't know for sure how you feel about it now but I cannot tell you my opinion of you is unchanged.. 
I assure you, my friend, I can only imagine what you've gone through and I admire your ability to survive through that. I can only think better of you as a result."

"These are the tools I will use to pierce the skin. I promise you, if you have an ill opinion of your skin now, that will surely be the case no longer after we're done here."
 

A one-eyed sailor wearing a loose white shirt and a black bandanna walks in the door, holding a number of rolled-up papers in his hand. He approaches the woman at the front desk.

"Ello. I'd like to 'ave something tattoo'd across my chest."

He gestures with the hand holding the papers.

"Is Esré around?"

The woman at the desk is smirking a little as the client walks through the door but as soon as she sees him, quickly corrects herself. She tries to nod coolly in greeting before speaking, but to someone socially adept she'd seem a little flustered.

"I'm afraid ..Esré is currently with another client right now. I can certainly make an appointment for you to see her as soon as she's available though. What is your name, sir?"

Following her directions, Drakovan lays down on the appointed bed chair. After hearing Esré's explanation for the sound, Drakovan responds quietly. "The ambiance is simply sublime, I love the sound of rain and storm. T'was a comfort unperceived in the abyss. I must say my knowledge of the tattooing process is vague at best, I wasn't aware that you could simply paint them on before applying the needle. The one I wear currently was taken from another through the use of magic as a form of compensation."

On saying this, Drakovan uses magic to remove his left glove, revealing a tattoo of a ring. His expression then shifts drastically, as he lets out a rushed, almost panicked few words, "I can't believe how foolish I am, Lady Esré, take extra caution to not make contact with my blood as it will steal the warmth of life from you. Simply warding against the cold will protect you from its chill, but I would regret it eternally if you of all people should come to harm as a result of my curse."