Topic: Name in Lights

Sohail Khan

Date: 2005-11-25 19:58 EST
She had left RhyDin way too quickly after Jinny's death, first to go after the man that had done her in and then a quick job for a friend. The quick job had turned into a six-month trek across the continent. The man, she never even learned his name, had made his last stand at the Last Chance Saloon. She loved irony. Loved how she had managed to get his gun from him and shot a hole through his right hand before she slit his throat. She left him to drown in his own blood, on the floor of the empty saloon, consoled only by the ghosts that still visit that town and Sohail's empty laughter mixed with sobs as she turned and walked away.

Now, walking the streets of the city that had been her home since forever, she hardly even recognized it. No, that wasn't entirely true. She recognized the old decrepit bar, empty for as long as she could remember, that marked the end of the Warehouse district and the beginning of WestEnd. She had always liked the look of WestEnd- the old buildings and broken streets. Instead of heading right for the Marketplace, she decided to amble through the neighborhood a bit, something she would rarely do without a firearm in her holster. The streets looked fairly empty to her trained eyes; she might as well take in the sights as she mulled over her countless potential career moves.

She drew a cigarette out of her holster- it was a good place to hold things when it didn't have a gun taking up the space- and struck up a flame with her lighter. She loved the little trinket, the paint that said "I Love New York" had started to wear off since she had left Earth but she couldn't bare to part with it. ?Sides, it was a lot more handy then matches. She tucked the lighter away and puffed on her cigarette as she ambled slowly through the streets. The skittering shadows, misfit teenagers if she could tell by their shadows, left her alone. Even in WestEnd they would be loath to confront a tough lil chick like her in the middle of the afternoon.

She eyed a few of the old houses, but they all required even more work then she was willing to put into them. Not that she really needed a place to live- her warehouse apartment suited her just fine. If she was going to stick around in town for a while, and she fully intended to, she wanted something a little homier. A psychologist would probably tell her the reason she desired a stable home was because the orphanage never had provided one for her. She probably would have laughed at the guy before punching him in the face, break his nose just so his patients could listen to him talk funny for the next few weeks.

She stopped short as the houses and small businesses ended half a block was taken up by the front of a theater. It was absolutely beautiful with the large metal awning over the uneven sidewalk and blown-out light bulbs surrounding the marquee. She dropped her cigarette to the ground and smothered it beneath her cowboy boots before heading towards the broken glass doors of the building.

Sohail Khan

Date: 2005-11-26 13:18 EST
She frowned at the diagonal boards of wood that served as a guard against squatters entering the building. She canted her head, leaning over to see if she could try and squeeze her way through. "No use," she grumbled to herself. She really wished she were a little kid again, tailing after Jinny-blue. Up until the age of fifteen, she could have easily squirmed her way through the opening between the boards and the floor.

Resigned that she was never going to get her body through the opening without cutting her head off first she took hold of one of the boards and pulled. It gave way with surprising ease, causing her to fall back soundly on her bottom with a shout of surprise. She looked around quickly, making sure no one saw that. Thankfully, the streets were empty save for a tomcat picking through some garbage on the corner. He didn't care that she was making an absolute fool of herself.

Picking herself up off the ground and dusting her skirt off, she moved forward and removed another board off the door with a bit more care this time. Having enough room to enter, she stepped over the remaining boards on the bottom and ducked her head under the one on the top.

The inside of the theater was dark, light filtering in from the broken doors only. She moved cautiously through the foyer stepping over the littered garbage. There were few furnishings left- anything that had been easy to carry off was gone and a few benches had been torn from where they had been bolted to the floor.

She made for the set of doors that inevitably led to the main room. She noted, with a wry smile, that a ticket box still stood intact next to the doors. Refraining from opening the doors her preferred way, a swift kick with her boot, she pushed them open slowly. They creaked and groaned from lack of use but opened easily enough; she propped a piece of broken wood under the right one to keep it open.

She stepped inside the main room, light from the foyer illuminating the open space to the foot of the stage and leaving the rest in shadows. Most of the theater seats had been removed, others torn apart for the upholstery. All the same, the room was perfect to her eyes. The floor was flat, a single balcony running the length of the back wall. "This I can work with."

She saved more exploration for later despite her curiosity. She exited the building the propped the wooden planks over the door the best she could without a hammer and nails. Instead of continuing on to the marketplace she started back the way she had come. There was one of her rare, yet still slightly disturbing, smiles on her lips as she returned to the warehouse.

Sohail Khan

Date: 2005-11-27 22:56 EST
It was bright and early the next morning when Sohail returned to her newly claimed property. Oh, she didn't actually legally claim it in any way. She really didn't see the need for those types of procedures. Not in WestEnd at least. She tapped her fingers at the pistols that were held in her holsters today. They weren't anything special, pieces of metal welded together to form a crude fire arm. She really didn't take to the things that much but it was better then nothing in this neighborhood, specially with people practicing magic about.

She had tied her auburn hair back from her face, her pale scar shown to all the world in its glory. She thought it made her look tougher and it certainly frightened the rag-tag bunch of kids she had following after her today. She had stopped by the orphanage to pick them up, promised the Mistress she'd get her something good in return when some shipments came in. Mistress knew well enough not to mess with Sohail anyways, not after that time she had casually stabbed her in the leg with a knitting needle after one to many questions.

There were six of them. Small orphan boys ranging in age from eight to thirteen- not that anyone would be able to tell with how skinny they were. Their physical welfare was not of Sohail's concern, so she gestured toward her building, "Go at it boys. I want all the garbage cleaned outta the main floor. Pull down those boards to, from the doors. Leave the chairs in the main room alone." They moved off to do her will, oh what a thrill, and she took a seat on the stoop across the street to watch.

The boys made quick work of the boards over the doors, "Just toss it on the floor, maybe we'll light it on up lata." She snapped at one of the boys when he paused between the building and the pile of boards, "Boy..come"ere."

He hustled over double-time and she had to smirk at that. If she didn't have her little empire of the underworld of RhyDin yet at least she had control of children. It was a start. "Boy, I need you to go find one of those magic shops for me. Find out how much one of those generators cost, yah know the things" Half magic and half "lectric." He nodded slowly and she sighed. It would be easier for her to just go, but she dreaded dealing with those dirty mages. "Well, what are you standing there for?" She snapped at him, flashing her teeth. Too bad she didn't have those intimidating canines, "Get to it!?

The boy rushed off down the street and she couldn't restrain her smile. He probably could have put up a good fight if he wanted to; at twelve the kid was already as tall as she was. To bad he didn't have the will, she could have used him for something more important then an errand boy.

Sid

Date: 2006-04-15 06:27 EST
Strolling lazily about her neighborhood, summer's blue eyes took in the front of the old theatre. A glimmer of a smile rose to that glamoured gaze. The new tenant seemed to have things well in hand and was utilizing the local child labor to a good end.

Hands falling to the well-worn pockets of her leather, elflocks a faint chiming with each step, she moved onwards through the district. There were others about, new neighbors setting up shops below living quarters, trafficking in arcane herbal lore and things of a more nefarious touch. A new club in the area, and strange dwellings appearing out of the darkness to corners not previously occupied.

And then there was Count Longden and those who aligned themselves with him. All in all, the district was gaining not only a reputation but plenty of bodies walking about.

She missed the quiet.

Sohail Khan

Date: 2006-04-18 17:23 EST
Sohail Khan was not one to sit idle. Weeks and months had produced a testament to her labor-at least, her commandment of labor to others. The old theater was made anew, something different and more spectacular.

Sure, getting the magic/electric generator had been a trial in patience and to her wallet, the workers had torn up the floor in removing the old theater chairs that had been bolted down, and plumbing was had been near impossible to set up. Solutions: she had slept with the owner of one of the stores on the border of Stars End district to obtain a generator dirt-cheap and had piled the old seats in the side alley to rot while the working children broke their backs retiling the floor. As for the plumbing, she had to call in a few favors on that and it still wasn't perfect. She couldn't have everything in life, but she would sure try.

What she had transformed the old theater into was different then anything in RhyDin, a combinational tribute to some places she had visited during her short stint on Earth. Glass doors, they were sure to be covered with a gate at night, hung beneath the fixed metal awning. They opened into the lobby that would serve much the same purpose as it had in former days, a ticket booth in the middle and benches on the side for those waiting to get in and out. The wooden doors that closed off that other end of the lobby led into the main room.

Here had Sohail worked the hardest. The floor was a black and white spiral mosaic, the ceiling painted black with shining silver stars that hid the lights. For now the main floor was empty of chairs and tables, though those could be brought in varying degrees from the storage rooms if an event called for them. The stage was kept intact, hung with new red velvet curtains. The ceiling housed a screen that could be pulled down for movie-showings, the projector set up on the balcony immediately across the room. Granted, Sohail had yet to obtain any movie reels but the place was a work in progress.

To the right and set back behind the main entrance was a liquor bar with tables and chairs scattered in its immediate vicinity. To the left and back, a coffee bar with couches. The balcony was setup to serve a similar purpose, with one large bar running the length of the back wall and seating set up along either side of this upper level of the main room. Stairs swung upwards from the left and right of the door to reach that upper level.

Just what did Sohail have in mind with this strange assortment of commodities that made up the old theater? Ingolstadt Ballroom. A beautiful combination of a standing-room-only music-show venue, movie theater, dance hall, and old-school theater named after some random city on Earth.