Drug market...submarket...sometimes I wonder why I ever got in...
Subtlety. In the past it was a trait she'd rarely possessed. This time, though, her agenda would require a certain amount of...delicacy. Kid gloves, if you will. The trauma suffered recently by the people of Aleris would not allow for her typical storm trooper approach. They needed to believe they were being offered an escape, a blessing....comfort and solace in an otherwise dismal and violent world. Who is to say that was not what she was doing? Just because said solace came in a vial or a rolled cigarette did not mean it was not true solace and comfort...right? Right.
Now, to be fair, this had not been her intention when they'd chosen Aleris as their destination. The fact that the people of Aleris would be in such need of...distraction...had not played into their decision at all. Truth be told she'd paid little attention to the affairs of Aleris once the Embassy had been removed. It was just a happy coincidence that their arrival had coincided with the end of a brutal war that had ravished the four continents of Aleris.
Heruin had been the obvious choice when deciding what part of Aleris to carve out their own little niche in. The desert land appealed to her senses, reminding her of the only point in her history that she could look on without pain, oddly enough. With that in mind land had been purchased on a small island off the coast of Heruin and the Arabian inspired estate completed just prior to their arrival in Aleris. Her ship, The Seraglio (once known as the Sea Wolf) was anchored just off the coast of their island and nearby a portal only accessible by The Seraglio hovered in the water, unseen by the average person but ready to open should The Seraglio approach. Their niche had officially been carved.
A workroom was crafted in the sub levels of their estate. It was there that she began crafting the balm that would soothe the soul of the beleaguered Alerian citizens. She specialized in being able to provide a drug that would work on anyone, be they human or sup, bits of blood or even the life essence of certain supernatural individuals having been harvested in the past and replicated into a drug no one and nothing could refuse. No one would be immune to her...charms.
As luck would have it she had a reserve of blood/life essence from two of her more...addicting...acquaintances. But how best to administer the drug..that was the question. Smoking it was easy enough but so many associated smoking something with seedy underground druggies, an image many sought to avoid. Something that could be drunk, that was the ticket. Something you drank seemed more like medicine than anything else and would no doubt be more appealing on a subconscious level.
Blood market...love market..sometimes I wonder why they need me at all.
It wasn't long after their arrival that small vials of a glowing green substance began to appear randomly through Eiler. It was there that she began to distribute her...medicine. It was the most inhabited continent, Heruin itself seemingly deserted other than for Ameerah and Valorius though she knew how unlikely that was, and after examining the potential market Eiler was the obvious choice. Grand City was there, the Merchants Row, people gathered there, congregated from all four continents in the capital city.
No one knew where the vials were coming from, everyone who had one got theirs from someone different and no one ever spoke of the source for some reason. But those who took it always wanted more afterward. There's a saying when it comes to drugs, many users claiming their drug of choice will “cure what ails you” only in this case it seemed to. Of course it didn't cure disease or suddenly create money and resources for rebuilding or anything like that. But for a brief, shining moment, they were..happy. Their cares seemed to melt away along with any lingering pain they might have from injuries sustained during the turmoil and they experienced a sense of euphoria that lasted for hours if not days. It was a hit right off the bat but so hard to find. At first.
It was a subtle introduction of what was now being referred to as Soul Ease by those taking it. All part of her plan, of course. Quietly introduce the drug until so many have had it that the outcry for it becomes just a little bit louder. Then she'd start sending her crew into the streets more regularly, available to sell at a moments notice. For now she made them hunt for it and she began to hear people speak in hushed whispers about the Soul Ease, everyone wanting to know where it could be found and who could provide it for them.
Alas...no one knew. The vials of Soul Ease were rare and hard to come by but the interest was there..and it was growing.
It's clean..it's clear..it's pure...it's rare...it takes you there..makes you feel alive!”
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:00 pm