Acting as Lord of Harlem

The vaspire was just on is way to te easte when his senses caused him to pause. Yes, he could only smile as he knew that Qyn was on his way and paused. He was pleased to see that Qyn looked as though he was doing well- he would not at Qyn and accepted the bow as he waited for Qyn to return to up-right. Rei spoke soon after with a pleasent smile on my face, "Qyn san, I was wondering if there was something that would require my attention tonight? I'll have a busy time in Master Domn'yun's main territory tonight if not. I need to speak to Hakim about some new building ideas. I will leave my security staff to you for protection."

He was hoping that there wouldn't be anything- his idea may help out with desert construction. His idea was metal pillars instead of wood- rust was not as likely in the desert unless one found puddles. As such, the metal pillars in the desert were more useful founding in Rei's theory then wood was, which could rot from animals burrowing into it or termites using the wood as their 'mound'. He waited with patience for an answer, however he did add after a few seconds, "It would likely be better to take care of them in your tent. I know your more comfortable in the tent."

The chocolate eyed teenage nodded his head and smiled lightly. It was a good thing- Rei just wanted to make sure that Qyn wouldn't need anything done. If anything came up, he could send a vaspire to go and get Rei. Satisfied with the answer, the young overseer would wave to Qyn as he said, "I'll pass on the messages to Master Domen'yun if I see him. I'm sure that I will, but if I don't, I'll give him a letter."

The male waved to his counterpart as overseer and walked to the estate. He had to take care of those trifling matters to take care of until he left. Dismissing the security guards as he entered the estate, he moved to his desk right away. Though trifling, they would take hours to complete, then he would take a small break before he returned to the capital. He also sent for Scar so that he could discuss the building changes he was thinking about.

- - -

The few workers that Rei had commissioned himself were off gathering materials for the young male 'leader'. Miners were where he wanted the male to be and at times, the others gathered wood. They would all be taken so that Rei could also add onto Harlem and have some larger buildings. The farmers were able to find desert plants that they could put into the sands and that would produce the food that they could live on, once Rei gathered enough farmers.

- - -

Several hours passed as he wondered what else he could speak to Hakim about after he was done. Scar had came and went, and he would rather Hakim speak to Rei about it. As it turned to darkness, Rei would release a sigh. He walked to his closet and grabbed an ebony hakama and crimson scarf as he thought these better to meet his lord with than basic clothing. After he dressed and placed his long sword in his obi, the black haired male slipped into the floor in his shadow, and appeared behind Hakim with his plans and ideas ready and said with a smile on his face, "Hakim, I'm back to discuss a few ideas I had."

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In his position, Hakim’s shadow would be caste to his side, lit by a candle that illuminated the place where he was. Given it was nighttime or darkness as it was described, Hakim would not be out working among the men or anything to that matter. The time after the sun went down was reserved for Hakim to spend at his leisure and with his family. Not actually in a room with the members of his family, semi thankfully, Hakim found himself squatting in a large outhouse, looking over manuscripts by candle light as he shat out the previous day’s meals. The smell was that of an earthen texture mixed with methane and sulfur. He would be within mid push when Rei would come out of his shadow causing him to move with quite a stir. His immediate reaction would be to attack whatever came out at him, but soon he realized he had no weapon and soon after that, he recognized the young noble just below him on the totem pole. “Young Rei-san,” he says in a surprised and displeased tone, “this is a most unbecoming way to meet with me. I would appreciate if you waited outside until I was finish before discussing ideas!”

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Rei was already out of the place before Hakim was done speaking- in fact, the smell wasn't what had done it, but that the man was half naked. Rei couldn't stand men half naked, likely an after effect of his incubus side, but also, in his mind, it was rather disturbing for him to be around at the time. The smell was more secondary, and he would stay back as he waited for Hakim. Rei shook his head and looked up at the desert sky as he wondered what it would be like to jump up to the cliff side where Domen was. Rei wondered if he could, after all- his strength kept increasing, despite his position as a pencil user. Rei just wanted to gt his mind off of Hakim until he was out of the outhouse. But he did warn Hakim that he might be popping up from his shadow.

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There is the sound of jingling from within the outhouse as Hakim gets his pants up and buckles them before grabbing the candle that he kept in there with him. The flickering light could be seen through the creases of the outhouse in the moments before Hakim would exit it. After a moment, the door is opened with Hakim coming out, seemingly not in the best of moods. It was an embarrassing situation for any man to be in. Looking about for Rei, he would wait until his eyes came upon the vaspire in the dark before he makes the comment for future reference, “I handle business through the day unless the Lord requests me personally. The evening is reserved for my family; what ideas bring you here this evening? We may discuss them in my house.” He would approach the side of Rei while adjusting himself and carrying the candle in his right hand.

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Rei had great patience, as one may need it for waiting on Domen'yun at times when he was most busy. The vaspire would soon hear the signs of exiting for Hakim and stand up and patted his butt to get rid of sand before he saw Hakim exit, easily seeing in the dark and smelling Hakim's familiar blood scent. When the man finally did exit, he spoke about his time to himself and Rei said, after the man was done speaking, "Ah, allow me to apologize first. I should have sent word that I was coming, and I was not aware of your arrangement with the Master. Not to mention my...method of coming."

Rei then withdrew, from a sack he had with him, a set of plans to help explain his theory as he said, "I was thinking about the pillars you told me about, before I let for Hakim. You said to use wood- I had an idea of using metal pillars. In the desert, wood is something some animals and insects use for homes, especially since its cooler underground. That will rquire renovating every few years, or at least a look at this. The only danger I could think of is rust from digging into a water pocket, but thats also something bad for wood, since it will rot the wood or make it soft," Rei paused to allow Hakim some thought before he asked, "What do you think of that idea?"

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Hakim seemed to be fine with the apology that was given. He was the type of man who could respect when a man admitted he was in the wrong, so with Rei’s words, there was no need to speak further on the fiasco that happened to happen. With a nod, he confirms, “that’s fine” as Rei moves to get on with business. He moves to the side of Rei as the vaspire grips his sack, looking with interest, to the things he pulled out. After listening to Rei’s explanation, he nods and seems to approve, but makes the comment, “metal is fine, but let me make this suggestion… You’ve done well to think of the weaknesses of wood, and I believe you may have already accepted the lifespan of metal when it comes to structures… but if you truly wish for it to last, I would suggest using stone. Our miners have done well to extract much stone from the ground, and after the completion of the Wall of Domenance, we are still in surplus of stone. It would be an efficient use of the resource to utilize it for the foundations of the permanent structures of Harlem. I do know that the master would like Harlem protected by a wall at some point in time as well… we may be able to use a hybrid of metal and stone for your purposes. What do you think?”

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The young man listened carefully to Hakim's words and nodded his head in thought- stone was in surplus, and that was a good thing. If repairs were needed, or new buildings like in Harlem. Rei nodded his head after a moment of thought and replied, "Yes...it would be best to get a wall around Harlem at some point, though at the moment it is a business village. I will have Scar take a look at revisions and send him here in the daytime when I have them complete. Such walls, made of the two solids will require an artisan who knows how to do it correctly. Have you tinkered with that idea, Hakim?"

Rei was getting more and more into the business of getting Harlem more settled down. The town would be of great use with all the buildings up that Rei had plans for. He would be making an underground jail, for one thing. That was something else Rei wanted to ask Hakim about. It was better for Rei if it were underground for his use of his blood sucking possession, if it was ever required. He also wanted a main trade center. Where one could buy the more common goods and get information on where to find the other specialty items that they needed. Rei saw Harlem as a place for store businesses in the light, and at night was when Qyn basically took over with what he'd been doing for years.

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Hakim motions to the rear of his house and moves to the outer porch where he sits on the elevated platform that made up the houses patio. Resting himself, he looks up to Leo and answers the male back, “I have not when it comes to something as vast as a wall, but things such as houses are commonly consisted of multiple materials, so they must have similar applications.” After a slight pause he continues, “also the desert has a natural surplus of sand. Sand can easily be used to create brick, which is a type of molding concrete. It is very possible to have a metallic core to an element such as a rod or a wall as a framework and then encase that in stone. If that were done with an iron pillar, the metal would be protected from rust while the entire structure would be strengthened by the combination. There is a bounty of resources that can be utilized; it is all about what you need to accomplish your goals. In some instances stone may be better, where in others, sand brick, or metal might be optimal. What is the structure Harlem at the moment? Are there well defined roads and structural designs, or are you simply building structures anywhere they will fit?” Hakim didn’t know much about Scar and his practices and credentials, nor had he been to Harlem in his recollection, so his knowledge of the area and how it was set was noticeably limited.

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Rei followed Hakim to his house, but stayed standing since he was not offered a seat. Besides, Rei felt very alive tonight- he had a mind to go and see if there were any bandits in the area and drain them of their blood to make the new area a little safer. He had too much energy to simply sit, perhaps because he had done it for some time before coming to meet Hakim. That did not mean that Rei was unmindful of what Hakim was saying, as he focused on what the man was saying- it all seemed very logical to Rei, as he had seen such things as sand bricks in Scar's village, or at least he believed that what he saw was sand bricks.

Akina answered the man's questions about Harlem with two things, first pulling out a map that he had with him and explained, "Harlem has roads to make building there easier and with business now in the day, to help customers," Rei paused before he added, "There are two entrances to Harlem- one by the small houses and business areas of Harlem, and the other is the tents set up in the south. The tents are for the ones that prefer them and the older patrons that prefer a tent. In any case, the entrance by the tents will be closed off by a wall I'll have made soon. Scar has used sand bricks, since I saw them in his village."

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Looking over the things that Rei was showing to him, Hakim nods and answers back, “that looks well and good. I have faith that everything will come together well. I understand that if some people lived a particular way, they would become accustomed to living like that. There’s nothing particularly wrong with a tent as it services all the major functions of a shelter. I would imagine that there is hardly a rainy season in the place where Harlem is being built.” Moving onto what he knew about the place, he comments, “so I hear this Harlem is a brothel made into a town. Tell me, young Rei-san, are you interested in such things?” The tone used wouldn’t be a convicting one, more along the lines of Hakim getting a feel for the type of person Rei was. He continues, “or do you have a wife already at your young age?” The same information about Hakim would be obvious coming from the sounds of young children inside of his house and the audible tone of his wife as she prepared them for bed. He was a father, a family man and a hard worker who served his lord as best he could.

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Rei nodded as Hakim spoke until the man reached the question about Rei being into brothol. This was a question that he wondered if Domen wondered about, but it was never brought up. Rei replied after a short pause between the two as he closed his eyes a moment before reopening them without the vaspire form on, "I don't like the idea of them. I haven't indulged in any of the girls. I'm more of a one girl person, Hakim-sun. I don't have a wife yet. It's not that I haven't looked, its just that I haven't found the right one yet, sir."

Little did Rei know that he would meet someone that he would take a great liking to the next day. But Rei did smile at the door a moment at the thought before he turned back to Hakim and said, "Thank you for your help, Hakim-san. I'll let you have your time after work. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

After a bow, Rei turned and the vaspire eyes returned as he changed and slipped into the shadows. There was a village that his protectors that he had with him, a few miles away. It was off in search of blood to cleanse the territory of anything scum that remained. Yes, for Rei, that was the best course of action for the moment. And he found a camp and killed them all with Hidden Strike, training it to a mastered state with all their deaths.

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- 1,750 used to raise Hidden Strike to Mastered

Hakim nods as the words come in from Rei and he’s a bit more enlightened into what type of man he was. With his closing words, Hakim would nod and acknowledge, “it is all for the greater good of our Lord’s goals. Thank you for coming to me for advice.” He pushes off of his knees as he comes into a standing position before Rei. Hakim nods and half bows in response and respect back to Rei before the young vaspire would vanish from his presence. He sighs and comments, “what fearsome entities the master draws…” His body turns around as he heads into the interior of his home, leaving the cold and darkness of the night for the warmth of his family and home.

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Sent to UYB

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