Kiga as well only nodded in immediate response, then folded his legs under him and sat beside the pool, his wrists resting on his knees. His single eye watched them all in the most peculiar fashion and he chose his words carefully when he spoke.
Alec can be a handful, but nothing I cannot manage. He has been kind enough to share his home with me.
Kiko made a sound, one that only Grayell could hear. Her breath was released in a soft sigh of relaxation. The warm water encouraged her to stretch out her legs, brace her shoulders against the Wolf's chest.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Not especially, no," Alec says, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck. "The Eastern histories intrigue me, though. The...well," he chuckles, "the intrigue and the warring is absolutely fascinating. Though the history of magic interest me greatly as well. I shall ask again though, have you yourself an interest vested in academia?"
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Grayell was smirking and his hands simply weren't behaving. He was being subtle about it, but wanted to elicit a reaction. He would not interrupt... no that would be rude. He did, however; whisper in her ear.
I can show you something interesting...
He held his laugh as he drew her back gently and settled onto the rock bench in the water. He leaned back, holding her on his lap now.
Kiga only remained still, clothed and dry. He needn't move and was comfortable enough where he sat. He paid particular attention to Grayll teasing his partner though - but turned his attention then to Alec.
Kiko 's spine tingled. The soft whisper distracted her for a split second, something she was sure Grayell had counted on. It worked, too. Her skin tightened in all the right places. She didn't protest the tug to his lap either.
Kiko folded her arms in front of his, fingertips brushing the back of his hands.
No. I had little interest in academia as a child. But, I would not mind availing myself of the history around this place.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Ah," Alec mumbles, grimacing slightly, oblivious to what Grayell's doing. "I'm afraid I don't know much...well, that's a lie. I know nothing of the history of Wistvale. There is an Elven ruin not far from here, the same one I mentioned exploring to Grayell. If you'd like, I could tell you about them?"
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ahh. Of course. This is where the monsters would appear. The corners of her mouth went up in a tiny grin. She could hear the echo of her grandfather's voice. Kiko's eyes slipped closed while her fingers trailed off the Wolf's hands to float over the water.
I would love to hear the story.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Grayell was all but ignoring Alec and Kiko's conversation though his hands were still giving her due attention. He looked to Kiga though and almost frowned, nodded at the water.
Kiga. I can assume you're well acquainted with Alec and Kiko is dear to me. Dispense with the formalities and join us please.
Kiga nodded and stood, removed his clothing in a ceremonious manner and slipped into the water beside Alec. His eyepatch remained of course. He studied them all, still a blank... but then nudged Alec and smiled.
Yes Alec, tell us your story.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"I feel like I'm walking into a trap, all of a sudden," Alec mumbles, then chuckles once more. "Anyway. Yes, the story. I apologize, but I'm not much of a story teller. Better at reading them, really." He clears his throat, shakes his head, and begins;
"It was only a few days after Grayell had left for the North when Margrett - a local Captain of the Guard - came knocking at my door. She had a book with her, a military treatise of the ancient civilization that built the ruins. Now that I consider I really should ask where she got such a rare tome..." waving a hand in front of his face, Alec continues. "Right. Anyway, she'd heard of these ruins at the same time she acquired the book, or so I understand it. So, she decided to go off exploring these ruins, and wanted someone that could read the language there to help her...navigate, loot things, I'm really not clear on it. But, I decided to go with her. On our way out of town, we ran into Kerag - that would be an orc, and another member of the local Guard. He, seeing Margrett, I suppose, decided to cast his lot with us and see what we were going to see. We set off towards these ruins, and had an utterly unremarkable trip there.
"Upon arriving, the door was there - and ohh, you should see these doors. Great white marble, seemingly carved out of the ground itself, and..." He shakes his head once more. "I'm rambling again. Sorry. Ahem. We - being Margrett, Kerag, and myself - continue into this ruin for a way, and really ruin doesn't describe it very well. Everything was remarkably intact. Finally, we came to a branch, and headed toward an armory of sorts. Unfortunately all the blades and pieces of armor to be found there were rusted hunks, which - given my metal magic - makes them diamonds in the rough. Of a sort, at any rate. So, I decided to hold onto one. Not that that's important. However, in our exploring of this armory, Margrett and myself were separated from Kerag. After lingering for a scant few moments, Margrett and I left to go find our companion.
"Coming to the living area of the city, we decided that we'd not like the trip to be a total bust. We scaled the living area, to the High-Elder's quarters. There, we..." He doesn't trail off, but the words grow smaller and smaller, until they stop. A modest amount of color rises to his face, then he coughs. "We sacked the place, basically, taking any jewelry of value, really. So...well, we were playing the part of grave-robbers. Which, in a place such as that, should seem like...like sacrilege! But, for some reason, it didn't." Waving another, clearing hand in front of his face, he brushes the tip of his nose. "After leaving the High Elder's quarters, we made our way to the chapel of the city for...some reason.
"At any rate, there we found Kerag, being chased by this Thing. It was a physical manifestation of all of the hate, and the anger, and the intolerance the former inhabitants of the city had exuded, and all of that had simply seeped into the walls like a poison and now, nigh on a thousand a years - one thousand! - later, this Thing has manifested itself to fight off perceived invaders." Nearly gasping, tearing breath from the air, Alec looks at Kiko, then Gray, then shoots a look out of the side of his eye to Kiga, a hard shine in his eyes and grinning maniacally. "Isn't that remarkable?! One thousand - thousand! - years later, the magic in the place is so strong that it has persisted, and allowed this Thing of hatred and anger to take shape, and..."
He stops himself. He'd hunched over, hands gripped into claws before him, staring into them. He sits up straight and clears his throat, shaking his head, mimicking his movements from before he started. "Suffice it to say, Kerag landed a few heavy blows with an axe, after which the head became lodged in its back. I climbed on top of it, spread the axe head out, and gutted the Thing from the inside." He looks around once more, hard shine, gone, insane grin, gone. "We left the city, and went back to Wistvale. Another entirely unremarkable trip." He slumps back on the rock bench, seemingly exhausted. "And that's my story."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
That was Kiko’s first thought when he made the deprecating comment about his story telling ability. Her eyes slid past him to Kiga just now getting in the water. But, when Alec began the story she paid no more attention to the one eyed man from the East.
Kiko’s grandfather had been a wondrous storyteller. There was not a child in the prefect he could not charm into staying still and listening. Alec stumbled over his words, his rhythm was non-existent. But, when he forgot to consider his audience, when he was sure of his facts, his voice was confident even excited.
Kiko’s damp fingers came free of the water. She listened to the rest of Alec’s tale while drawing patterns on the back of the Wolf’s hand. He spoke of things she had no knowledge of, people she did not know, this Kerag for instance – who was an Orc - whatever that was, magic, and graverobbing.
Several times she wanted to stop him and ask questions but the wealth of information just continued to flow. When he got almost to the end of the tale his voice took on a whole new quality. He couldn’t contain the thrill he felt, at all. She saw him struggle to control it, look up at them especially Kiga, and then gathered himself to finish the story.
Kiko had asked him about the ruins to be polite. To give her a chance to study him more thoroughly without his knowledge and she had learned a couple of things. He was a realist. He dealt in measurable items or facts. Nevertheless, he also carried a passion for time, or maybe the weight of it. His voice had gotten subsequently further animated and dynamic when he tried to express the effect of the magic building for so long.
She gave him the chance to catch his breath before saying anything.
What is there to stop the magic from creating another one of these Things?
She emphasized the word as he had when telling the tale.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Well," Alec says, letting his head loll back to appraise the stars, "strictly speaking? Nothing. However, you've got to understand the nature of this particular beasty - it was a physical manifestation of emotion. That emotion being negative, the creature was negative. But, for any emotion to appear in and be able to physically alter the material world? There has to be massive amounts of it, saturated into the magical atmosphere. And all of it - hopefully, and if not then at least a good portion of it - was used up in creation."
Raising his head to look her in the eye, Alec holds his hands out, palms up. "So, in theory, another Thing could come along. But in practice? Probably not." Letting his hands slide back into the water, he shrugs. "Emphasis on probably."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Her brows were wrinkled up over her forehead. Kiko considered his explanation with a frown.
Then you are saying there was a thousand years of evil in that ruin? And in such surplus it stained the fabric of reality? So much so that it managed to conjure a body to contain power and attack?
It was an astonishing thought, and not all that far removed from the lessons in any myth or story her grandfather told. It was obviously true, they'd encountered and defeated it, as much as she had encountered the Inoue beast.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Yes," Alec says, sitting up, glad she's taken more than a cursory interest, "and no. Yes, because that's exactly right, but no because it didn't quite stain the fabric of reality. Any time magic is used, it leaves behind this sort of energy. And that energy can stay for untold ages, depending on several factors. In Ayleid cities, especially a fort-city such as the one we visited, it is the magic that has stained reality." He speaks with his hands, gesticulating, rolling them over one another, sometimes paying more attention to their movements than the person he's talking to. "A place steeped in so much magical energy collects emotions like a wet rag does dust. And as for it being evil...I hate to call it that," he says, pained expression crossing his face. "Because yes, the Empire did terrible things in its reign, and yes, there was much intolerance. But...it still pains me to call them evil. I can't see it as that, much as all the evidence suggests that it was indeed rather vile. I can't help but think that, maybe, if at the beginning, they had had some guidance..." He trails off, then shakes his head and lets his arms flop back into the water with a tiny splash. "That's the romantic in me, always trying to get out," with a sly smile barely lifting one edge of his mouth.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.