Kuro would see one of the slugs approach him and he would step back a little.Kuro would then look back at the deer.No claws nor bite marks...perhaps swallowed whole... but by what?
Kuro would look at the slugs and the deer, thinking that a bigger version of the slugs ate the deer, but it doesn't describe the burn marks or the suds, as revolting at they are."Okay, something fell. Cleary, but nothing natural, as these slugs aren't natural. What falls, eats something, and leaves without a trace."
Kuro would look at the slugs and the deer, thinking that a bigger version of the slugs ate the deer, but it doesn't describe the burn marks or the suds, as revolting at they are."Okay, something fell. Cleary, but nothing natural, as these slugs aren't natural. What falls, eats something, and leaves without a trace."
Adriannu would actually smile slightly herself, more out of relief then anything else that Thalia had not only noticed her subtle message, but also heed it. That would certainly make her life easier, but she should probably advise against actually returning the books when they are done. However it would probably be better to do that after they talk to this cornelius person since that would save having to explain it two seperate times.
"That works out just fine for me and who knows Liliath, maybe sometime your friend could teach me how to read." She said, though the the latter was mostly meant to humor the younger girl. After all, considering what was currently going on, the Cathera highly doubted that she would have the luxury of enough spare time to learn how to read. Oh well, she was willing to indulge the child a little considering the relief she felt from not having to worry anymore about having to tell her such unpleasant information.
Regardless, she would follow Thalia to the library silently, only speaking up right after Thalia finished speaking to a...dragon? Quickly shaking off her surprise, she cuts in with. "Actually, it might be best to hide them somewhere else. Victi didn't get a chance to read these books and seemed very interested in them. She does know I have them however, so while she might not think to look back here again, it would still probably be better to have them be kept somewhere else entirely. I did promise Lisa to keep them safe and I hate breaking promises. Just thought you both would want to know that before you decide what should be done with these books after we are done with them."
"That works out just fine for me and who knows Liliath, maybe sometime your friend could teach me how to read." She said, though the the latter was mostly meant to humor the younger girl. After all, considering what was currently going on, the Cathera highly doubted that she would have the luxury of enough spare time to learn how to read. Oh well, she was willing to indulge the child a little considering the relief she felt from not having to worry anymore about having to tell her such unpleasant information.
Regardless, she would follow Thalia to the library silently, only speaking up right after Thalia finished speaking to a...dragon? Quickly shaking off her surprise, she cuts in with. "Actually, it might be best to hide them somewhere else. Victi didn't get a chance to read these books and seemed very interested in them. She does know I have them however, so while she might not think to look back here again, it would still probably be better to have them be kept somewhere else entirely. I did promise Lisa to keep them safe and I hate breaking promises. Just thought you both would want to know that before you decide what should be done with these books after we are done with them."
The Library
Cornelius, in his true Draconic form, paces back and forth along the length of his front desk, which he can cover in a little over three steps, looking worse for wear than when Thalia had last seen him. Solving puzzles, expanding his knowledge, finding answers...that's supposed to make him feel better!
But here, the more questions he manages to answer, the more he came up with- who? from where? why? -and the more he realized how much danger Liliath and the young Chimeran woman could be in by now. Then came the minute he thought he ought to catch a breath of fresh air. the dragon stepped out of the gates and saw the smoke... New questions, new problems, or a branch off the tree of their main issue? Yes, yes, that makes sense. A reasonable hunch to follow.
He doesn't notice the group walk in at first, breezing past them as he paces. He only tears his serious, focused gaze off the floor and turns their way when Lady Thalia addresses him by name. But he still doesn't seem to see them. He tilts his head and sways a little, nostrils flared as the scent of smoke wafts into the room, clinging to the children's clothes, then he hears a familiar voice, belonging to someone he'd started to worry about, call his name.
"Liliath! Welcome back!" In a slow, cautious, but fluid motion, the librarian steps over the desk and lowers his head, squinting as he adjusts the over-sized pair of glasses precariously balanced on the bridge of his nose. "And Lady Thalia, and- the chimera isn't with you...missing, you say?"
His tone darkens a little, taking on a combination of agitation at recalled his experience with her, pity, and worry. Poor, lying woman who's in a heap of trouble. She had looked and frankly sounded like her heart was about to explode before she left, pursued by someone disguised as a member of her race with vivid dual-toned eyes and a predatory grin...
His gaze catches on Adriannu. He pulls back, apparently a little startled by the new face.
"You can't stand to not have a pointy-eared compatriot with you, can you, my Lady?" His lips curl into a toothy, but gentle and friendly smile. "Pleased to meet you, young lass. Chief Librarian Cornelius, at your service. You are...?"
His nostrils continue to flare, and he draws far enough back to fix both Liliath and Adriannu in his line of sight, but close enough to pick up scents aside from the smoke, such as the faint tinge of blood on the young Cathera. Strange, she doesn't seem to be hurt...right?
He waits for Adriannu to introduce herself, instead of getting immediately answering their requests. He heard most of their questions, and listens carefully as Adriannu suggests protecting the books by not returning them to the library, and dropping a couple of painfully familiar names. Oh, this is an urgent matter, he remembers at last.
"Never mind, introductions can wait. While I admire your dedication to upholding a promise, young lass, I assure you there is no place safer for those books than the University Library. I am its guardian, after all." That is enough, unless our mysterious passerby is as powerful as I fear, and not as respectful of these centers of learning as she had promised. On second thought, the young lass may have a point...
"Anyways, you two are welcome to borrow any number of available study rooms. I can ask one of my assistants to escort you to one if you so wish, while I speak to Liliath." He smiles warmly at Liliath, happy to see she, at least, is okay.
Cornelius, in his true Draconic form, paces back and forth along the length of his front desk, which he can cover in a little over three steps, looking worse for wear than when Thalia had last seen him. Solving puzzles, expanding his knowledge, finding answers...that's supposed to make him feel better!
But here, the more questions he manages to answer, the more he came up with- who? from where? why? -and the more he realized how much danger Liliath and the young Chimeran woman could be in by now. Then came the minute he thought he ought to catch a breath of fresh air. the dragon stepped out of the gates and saw the smoke... New questions, new problems, or a branch off the tree of their main issue? Yes, yes, that makes sense. A reasonable hunch to follow.
He doesn't notice the group walk in at first, breezing past them as he paces. He only tears his serious, focused gaze off the floor and turns their way when Lady Thalia addresses him by name. But he still doesn't seem to see them. He tilts his head and sways a little, nostrils flared as the scent of smoke wafts into the room, clinging to the children's clothes, then he hears a familiar voice, belonging to someone he'd started to worry about, call his name.
"Liliath! Welcome back!" In a slow, cautious, but fluid motion, the librarian steps over the desk and lowers his head, squinting as he adjusts the over-sized pair of glasses precariously balanced on the bridge of his nose. "And Lady Thalia, and- the chimera isn't with you...missing, you say?"
His tone darkens a little, taking on a combination of agitation at recalled his experience with her, pity, and worry. Poor, lying woman who's in a heap of trouble. She had looked and frankly sounded like her heart was about to explode before she left, pursued by someone disguised as a member of her race with vivid dual-toned eyes and a predatory grin...
His gaze catches on Adriannu. He pulls back, apparently a little startled by the new face.
"You can't stand to not have a pointy-eared compatriot with you, can you, my Lady?" His lips curl into a toothy, but gentle and friendly smile. "Pleased to meet you, young lass. Chief Librarian Cornelius, at your service. You are...?"
His nostrils continue to flare, and he draws far enough back to fix both Liliath and Adriannu in his line of sight, but close enough to pick up scents aside from the smoke, such as the faint tinge of blood on the young Cathera. Strange, she doesn't seem to be hurt...right?
He waits for Adriannu to introduce herself, instead of getting immediately answering their requests. He heard most of their questions, and listens carefully as Adriannu suggests protecting the books by not returning them to the library, and dropping a couple of painfully familiar names. Oh, this is an urgent matter, he remembers at last.
"Never mind, introductions can wait. While I admire your dedication to upholding a promise, young lass, I assure you there is no place safer for those books than the University Library. I am its guardian, after all." That is enough, unless our mysterious passerby is as powerful as I fear, and not as respectful of these centers of learning as she had promised. On second thought, the young lass may have a point...
"Anyways, you two are welcome to borrow any number of available study rooms. I can ask one of my assistants to escort you to one if you so wish, while I speak to Liliath." He smiles warmly at Liliath, happy to see she, at least, is okay.
"I am pretty sure he can. Cornelius must be very smart, since he works in a place with lots and lots of books." Liliath walked a bit around in the libary "I am very happy to be back, but Lisa is only gone with Victi. Victi is evil, she stole Lisa from us." As she was talking, she decided to give a look to all the books. They were very pretty, she would pick several books out which she thought looked the nicest. "Can I take these with me, they look so pretty and nice."
She hurried over to Cornelius "Adriannu can't read, if you learn her how to read we can read these books together." She whisperd in his ear "That would be very fun." She added to it.
She hurried over to Cornelius "Adriannu can't read, if you learn her how to read we can read these books together." She whisperd in his ear "That would be very fun." She added to it.
At the Library
"As I have been told so far, yes, abducted by some sorceress according to Liliath. The story from her and other sources seems to feature a white-furred chimera woman with unusual eyes, possibly an illusionist thanks to a minor altercation. They were at the tea parlour in the marketplace when it caught fire," Thalia reports, a small amount of generalized irritation creeping into her voice.
At the dragon's snarky remark to her regarding Adriannu, she becomes even more tight-lipped than usual, closes her eyes firmly for a moment, then opens them broadly and blinks twice. "It... does seem to be a habit today, yes, Librarian," she replies with a tight tone and extremely forced looking smile, "Perhaps we should focus on relevant details given the state of things, yes?"
When Adriannu makes her proposition, Thalia sighs, happy for the change in topic, and says, "I am somewhat obliged to agree with Cornelius here. He has kept the Library safe for longer than anyone I know of in the city can remember. Our... conflicts on certain matters aside," she shoots him a pointed look, "I don't doubt his skill. The Inquisition gives the library copies of our key texts for more reasons than helping complete the collection. Either way, we should do our reading before we make that kind of decision. I know the way, Cornelius. If nobody is in the Cedar room, we will be."
With that, the High Inquisitor strides off toward the back of the magnificent building.
In the Woods
The slug-like creatures continue their slow munching.
There's nothing more to be learned here, apparently. Anything that came down here, if anything, is long gone, leaving only the disquieting little monsters crawling on the ground...
"As I have been told so far, yes, abducted by some sorceress according to Liliath. The story from her and other sources seems to feature a white-furred chimera woman with unusual eyes, possibly an illusionist thanks to a minor altercation. They were at the tea parlour in the marketplace when it caught fire," Thalia reports, a small amount of generalized irritation creeping into her voice.
At the dragon's snarky remark to her regarding Adriannu, she becomes even more tight-lipped than usual, closes her eyes firmly for a moment, then opens them broadly and blinks twice. "It... does seem to be a habit today, yes, Librarian," she replies with a tight tone and extremely forced looking smile, "Perhaps we should focus on relevant details given the state of things, yes?"
When Adriannu makes her proposition, Thalia sighs, happy for the change in topic, and says, "I am somewhat obliged to agree with Cornelius here. He has kept the Library safe for longer than anyone I know of in the city can remember. Our... conflicts on certain matters aside," she shoots him a pointed look, "I don't doubt his skill. The Inquisition gives the library copies of our key texts for more reasons than helping complete the collection. Either way, we should do our reading before we make that kind of decision. I know the way, Cornelius. If nobody is in the Cedar room, we will be."
With that, the High Inquisitor strides off toward the back of the magnificent building.
In the Woods
The slug-like creatures continue their slow munching.
There's nothing more to be learned here, apparently. Anything that came down here, if anything, is long gone, leaving only the disquieting little monsters crawling on the ground...
Kuro would sigh, seeing how he wouldn't really eat anything out here."Great, now I have to travel on an empty stomach...hope these people have something...but now I'm going to pay for with no coin...maybe I'll kill a monster that been them trouble or something."Kuro would then walk away from the slug and half-eaten deer, and went back on the main road. Within 2 miles of walking, his stomach growled, to which he said, "Shut up, you'll get food soon...depends on how long is soon."Kuro said as he walked further down.
Lisa had slipped herself a light dose, but a light dose is enough to put her out for three hours before she starts crawling back to her senses. It's a very, very gradual awakening. Still clinging to sleep, she groans and rolls over to her other side, her eyes creeping open and the world around her...not coming into focus at all. She yawns and reaches to wipe some of the sleep out of her eyes while not yet remembering anything that'd happened.
After around three hours, Victi decides it's time for Lisa's nap to be over soon. By the sound of the chimera's breathing and the fluctuations of her aura, Lisa was slowly rising from a second sleep cycle. Victi had gotten her reading done, so the timing worked well.
The plan was very simple: perch disturbingly close to Lisa's face, and see if the the slight movement of tails under head and the feeling of warm vulpine breath on the face would wake her. Waking up abruptly at this point wouldn't be too much of a shock to the brain, and would get her alert nice and quickly. Perfect plan. Victi got into position and waited. Even if it took a few minutes, that would be totally worth it.
The plan was very simple: perch disturbingly close to Lisa's face, and see if the the slight movement of tails under head and the feeling of warm vulpine breath on the face would wake her. Waking up abruptly at this point wouldn't be too much of a shock to the brain, and would get her alert nice and quickly. Perfect plan. Victi got into position and waited. Even if it took a few minutes, that would be totally worth it.
As her head-rest is pulled gently out from beneath her, Lisa reaches for the tails only for her fingers to grasp at air. She murmurs frustrated confusions at no-one in particular while rubbing her eyes. The sensation of someone breathing in her face pushes her to come to more quickly. She blinks rapidly as a dark, wet nose comes into focus first, the tip of a long snout attached a white face boasting a pair of slit-pupiled, double-irised eyes held wiiide open, gazing intently into her own.
It's a confusing mixture between a surge of panic and the draw of familiarity that sets Lisa flying awake at this point. She sits up stiff, eyes blazing open. "What the-!?" She doesn't finish her exclamation. Her head is pounding. "God..." She winces. "Why did you- nevermind."
She hisses a breath through her teeth and leans back against the tree stump. She still needs a minute; the scare helped get her up, but she doesn't quite feel awake; her thoughts lie all in a jumble, and she fights to gather them like someone trying to heard cats in the midst of a heavy, oppressive fog.
On the bright side, she got to sleep. Her body apparently had mixed feelings about it, but in the end she knows she'll come out thinking at least a little more clearly. Clear enough to either give Victi what she wants or, better, to worm her away out of this mess with a least a few secrets kept.
It's a confusing mixture between a surge of panic and the draw of familiarity that sets Lisa flying awake at this point. She sits up stiff, eyes blazing open. "What the-!?" She doesn't finish her exclamation. Her head is pounding. "God..." She winces. "Why did you- nevermind."
She hisses a breath through her teeth and leans back against the tree stump. She still needs a minute; the scare helped get her up, but she doesn't quite feel awake; her thoughts lie all in a jumble, and she fights to gather them like someone trying to heard cats in the midst of a heavy, oppressive fog.
On the bright side, she got to sleep. Her body apparently had mixed feelings about it, but in the end she knows she'll come out thinking at least a little more clearly. Clear enough to either give Victi what she wants or, better, to worm her away out of this mess with a least a few secrets kept.
Victi quickly shifts out of the way of Lisa's head as she sits up. From experience, waking up and slamming one's face into someone else's shielded face sucked. The kitsune was willing to be nicish here.
"You actually took that pretty well," Victi chuckles, plopping backward into a kneel, "Rest really did do you some good! I'll give you a sec to remember where you are, let your heartrate slow, and get whatever adrenaline to fade, and then we'll see how much more functional you are with a couple full sleep-cycles in you."
She sits, tails flopping around happily as Lisa gradually de-grogifies. Lisa's possible feelings on the matter aside, Victi definitely seems to believe this was a productive exercise.
After a bit her ears perk and she pops up a little straighter as she remembers something. "Oh, right! If you want water, I can condense some for you. Clearer than anything else you'll drink!" Victi offers chirpily.
"You actually took that pretty well," Victi chuckles, plopping backward into a kneel, "Rest really did do you some good! I'll give you a sec to remember where you are, let your heartrate slow, and get whatever adrenaline to fade, and then we'll see how much more functional you are with a couple full sleep-cycles in you."
She sits, tails flopping around happily as Lisa gradually de-grogifies. Lisa's possible feelings on the matter aside, Victi definitely seems to believe this was a productive exercise.
After a bit her ears perk and she pops up a little straighter as she remembers something. "Oh, right! If you want water, I can condense some for you. Clearer than anything else you'll drink!" Victi offers chirpily.
Adriannu looked decidedly unconvinced as Cornelius and Thalia try to assure her that the books would be safe at the library. "I'm not saying that I think Cornelius is weak, but I still think it would be best to keep them somewhere else. Perhaps after I have completed my side of the agreement, you'll be more inclined to believe me." Her words made it clear that she believed they were underestimating Victi and that she had utmost confidence in that belief. Honestly not a good sign, particularly to Thalia considering the child didn't seem to be someone that easily impressed judging by the fact of how easily the cathera had blown her off.
At Liliath's suggest that Cornelius teach her how to ready, she quietly sighed before pointing out the flaw in her logic. "Liliath, I'm pretty sure it takes far more time then we have available to us to teach someone how to read."
However she didn't have any more time to spend on the girl at the moment as it was time to head with the Inquisitor to this cedar room. Once there, Adriannu would find a place to sit down and quietly wait for Thalia to start reading.
After the reading was concluded, Adriannu would raise up a hand to hopefully stop Thalia before she tried to ask her any questions and then angel would know that she wasn't trying to break her end of the agreement. Instead she started to rifle through her pack and while doing so, spoke to her. "I know the agreement was to explain how I get into this and what my involvement is, but I believe it would be easier and more believable if I just show you instead. If need be, you can still ask me questions afterward."
With that, she pulled out the holographic disc Kylarion had given her, but before hitting the play button, promptly made something clear. "I'm not giving this to you, it is mine and I need it since as I mentioned, Victi knew I had the books so I'm bound to see her again. So I need to make sure I have access to this and what is has to say." Afterwards, she finally hit the play button and thus allowed Thalia to see Kylarions message and the information that she was certain would make the inquisitor a lot less confident in Cornelius's ability to keep the books safe here at the library. It doubtlessly also explained why she had been hesitant to let Liliath learn of it as well.
At Liliath's suggest that Cornelius teach her how to ready, she quietly sighed before pointing out the flaw in her logic. "Liliath, I'm pretty sure it takes far more time then we have available to us to teach someone how to read."
However she didn't have any more time to spend on the girl at the moment as it was time to head with the Inquisitor to this cedar room. Once there, Adriannu would find a place to sit down and quietly wait for Thalia to start reading.
After the reading was concluded, Adriannu would raise up a hand to hopefully stop Thalia before she tried to ask her any questions and then angel would know that she wasn't trying to break her end of the agreement. Instead she started to rifle through her pack and while doing so, spoke to her. "I know the agreement was to explain how I get into this and what my involvement is, but I believe it would be easier and more believable if I just show you instead. If need be, you can still ask me questions afterward."
With that, she pulled out the holographic disc Kylarion had given her, but before hitting the play button, promptly made something clear. "I'm not giving this to you, it is mine and I need it since as I mentioned, Victi knew I had the books so I'm bound to see her again. So I need to make sure I have access to this and what is has to say." Afterwards, she finally hit the play button and thus allowed Thalia to see Kylarions message and the information that she was certain would make the inquisitor a lot less confident in Cornelius's ability to keep the books safe here at the library. It doubtlessly also explained why she had been hesitant to let Liliath learn of it as well.
She giggles softly at Urugs remark. "I'm a demon! My responsibility varies. Besides even if I try to be responsible, a demon can never escape trouble." She smirks slightly before looking at Raven.
"Liliath? She might have. Alastor probably would know more about that than I. Liliath doesnt care for me anymore." She knits her brows as she followed everyone. When they get out of town and away enough, she turns back into her demon form. "So tell me more about your friend!" She smiles softly.
"Liliath? She might have. Alastor probably would know more about that than I. Liliath doesnt care for me anymore." She knits her brows as she followed everyone. When they get out of town and away enough, she turns back into her demon form. "So tell me more about your friend!" She smiles softly.
The Library
Cornelius is briefly distracted by Liliath as she scampers past the front desk and collects books, judging them all arbitrarily by the covers, while rambling about the day's events through her simplistic, black-and-white point of view. "You can carry some of those for now," he answers with a soft chuckle. "We can talk later about leaving with them."
At the girl's beckoning, he lowers his head to her eye-level so she can whisper to him. He laughs, but agrees with Adriannu. "Later, perhaps. If she'd like to learn after this is all over."
The dragon listens to Thalia, noticing much to his amusement the way her demeanor changed at his dry teasing. He shares with her a wink and a subtle smile of his own before letting the topic slide.
"Correct 'possibly' to 'almost definitely', my Lady." Cornelius says, "I was not aware at the time, but I believe the seeds for the incident outside were planted in here, if not much sooner. I can't say for certain the two chimerae- ahem-one chimera and disguised mage of an unknown race, didn't have a history prior to meeting here." He turns his head, giving both children a quick once-over. "I look forward to learning what these young misses have to tell us."
Before they make their way to the cedar room, he adds, "Cathera lass, although I'd feel much more at ease with them behind my walls, Ms. Adeptus did formally check out those books, so if you feel more comfortable having them yourself, you are welcome to keep them for a few weeks with no consequence, as long as they return to me unharmed." Those are his rules, and in that moment he feels it important that she knows them.
After the Inquisitor and Adriannu round a corner, disappearing from sight, Cornelius returns his full attention to Liliath. "Let's go for a walk. Tell me everything you know about the incident at the tea parlor, Ms. Adeptus and friends, and that double-irised sorceress." Having asked for a general summary first to gauge what she knows before he shoots specific questions, he changes shape, adopting a human form that should be more comfortable for holding her small, dainty child hand.
Cornelius is briefly distracted by Liliath as she scampers past the front desk and collects books, judging them all arbitrarily by the covers, while rambling about the day's events through her simplistic, black-and-white point of view. "You can carry some of those for now," he answers with a soft chuckle. "We can talk later about leaving with them."
At the girl's beckoning, he lowers his head to her eye-level so she can whisper to him. He laughs, but agrees with Adriannu. "Later, perhaps. If she'd like to learn after this is all over."
The dragon listens to Thalia, noticing much to his amusement the way her demeanor changed at his dry teasing. He shares with her a wink and a subtle smile of his own before letting the topic slide.
"Correct 'possibly' to 'almost definitely', my Lady." Cornelius says, "I was not aware at the time, but I believe the seeds for the incident outside were planted in here, if not much sooner. I can't say for certain the two chimerae- ahem-one chimera and disguised mage of an unknown race, didn't have a history prior to meeting here." He turns his head, giving both children a quick once-over. "I look forward to learning what these young misses have to tell us."
Before they make their way to the cedar room, he adds, "Cathera lass, although I'd feel much more at ease with them behind my walls, Ms. Adeptus did formally check out those books, so if you feel more comfortable having them yourself, you are welcome to keep them for a few weeks with no consequence, as long as they return to me unharmed." Those are his rules, and in that moment he feels it important that she knows them.
After the Inquisitor and Adriannu round a corner, disappearing from sight, Cornelius returns his full attention to Liliath. "Let's go for a walk. Tell me everything you know about the incident at the tea parlor, Ms. Adeptus and friends, and that double-irised sorceress." Having asked for a general summary first to gauge what she knows before he shoots specific questions, he changes shape, adopting a human form that should be more comfortable for holding her small, dainty child hand.
"I am glad, hopefully they have pictures in it. It would be much more fun to read them." She spoke as she hold the books tight "But if we are very quick he might could teach you. Right Cornelius?"
She sighed "I've got a bunch to tell. Alright than let's go!" She walked very excited outside "A lot of things happend at the tea parlor that's for sure. Victi said to Lisa that she needs the shards for a vase, the vase creates a main event. Victi called Adri a blood mage. Adri talked about hunting, but I am not sure why maybe it's not so important.
I was very irritated at Victi, cause Victi was mean. She did something to Adri, cause Lisa told her to stop. I don't know what she did, but it must have been pretty bad cause Lisa said something about it. I made Victi's tea than super hot, Adri gave another speach about codes and hunting. Victi drank the tea and she spit it all out, it was very fun. I remember laughing, but Victi was annoyed so I felt scared. Victi said that she would leave us alone if she'd get the shards, but I told she wouldn't and said that I would hurt her if she tried to hurt us again.
She did say that she would avoid hurting us and that Adri was kind of usefull to her. Meanwhile the little men started throwing with things which made fire. We left the tea parlor, but it was very chaotic. I was very scared, cause I killed two of those men before. Lisa than dissapeared and so did Victi. Adri protect me from those silly men despite me being mean to her."
Liliaht burst out in tears "I want Lisa back, Jules or Alastor I don't care it's not fun anymore."
She sighed "I've got a bunch to tell. Alright than let's go!" She walked very excited outside "A lot of things happend at the tea parlor that's for sure. Victi said to Lisa that she needs the shards for a vase, the vase creates a main event. Victi called Adri a blood mage. Adri talked about hunting, but I am not sure why maybe it's not so important.
I was very irritated at Victi, cause Victi was mean. She did something to Adri, cause Lisa told her to stop. I don't know what she did, but it must have been pretty bad cause Lisa said something about it. I made Victi's tea than super hot, Adri gave another speach about codes and hunting. Victi drank the tea and she spit it all out, it was very fun. I remember laughing, but Victi was annoyed so I felt scared. Victi said that she would leave us alone if she'd get the shards, but I told she wouldn't and said that I would hurt her if she tried to hurt us again.
She did say that she would avoid hurting us and that Adri was kind of usefull to her. Meanwhile the little men started throwing with things which made fire. We left the tea parlor, but it was very chaotic. I was very scared, cause I killed two of those men before. Lisa than dissapeared and so did Victi. Adri protect me from those silly men despite me being mean to her."
Liliaht burst out in tears "I want Lisa back, Jules or Alastor I don't care it's not fun anymore."
As they left the orphanage and moved past the walls of his beloved town, Urug donned his usual persona, slouching slightly. Wandering behind Alastor as he led the way, torn page in hand, his sulking over his no longer pristine texts was brought to a halt as he overheard the other two speaking. He couldn't help but notice Alastor tighten up as the name Liliath came into the conversation, but he decided to leave it. Pressing Al for unnecessary information was a fool's errand.
Turning to Jules and Raven, he took the chance to speak. "Yeh, tell us about your friend. That way we have something what to look out for when we get to Telma-- Telmar-- that place." Hmm. Perhaps a little less simpleton in the speech. No matter, what's done is done.
Turning to Jules and Raven, he took the chance to speak. "Yeh, tell us about your friend. That way we have something what to look out for when we get to Telma-- Telmar-- that place." Hmm. Perhaps a little less simpleton in the speech. No matter, what's done is done.
The Library
Cornelius listens intently as they stroll down the great halls of the esteemed Library. Everything Liliath describes confirms most of his own research and suspicions: this Victi wants the blood relics, the relics combine to make an object of great power, and that her intent is to trigger a potentially catastrophic event.
He slows to a stop when Liliath dives into the details of what caused the fire. "Little men?" His lips curl into a bemused smile. The world is full of little men. Heck, to someone like Cornelius, nearly everyone is little. One race of little men is locally infamous for wreaking mischief and barbaric havoc, so he has a good guess: "You mean goblins, lass?"
He looks down at her and his smile cracks as he watches the child's twist up as she begins to sob.
"Liliath, dear girl!" He crouches down and reaches forward to gentle lift up her chin so their eyes meet; he puts forth his best reassuring smile. "We'll find them, don't you cry."
"I know it may be hard on you to recall the incident, but could you please tell me more about the little men and the fire? Tell me what happened right before it started- tell me what Victi did. Did she start it, do you think?" He's mostly sure the answer is no; it doesn't quite line up with his impression of her so far, but say she did, he'd have some mental adjustments to make.
Cornelius listens intently as they stroll down the great halls of the esteemed Library. Everything Liliath describes confirms most of his own research and suspicions: this Victi wants the blood relics, the relics combine to make an object of great power, and that her intent is to trigger a potentially catastrophic event.
He slows to a stop when Liliath dives into the details of what caused the fire. "Little men?" His lips curl into a bemused smile. The world is full of little men. Heck, to someone like Cornelius, nearly everyone is little. One race of little men is locally infamous for wreaking mischief and barbaric havoc, so he has a good guess: "You mean goblins, lass?"
He looks down at her and his smile cracks as he watches the child's twist up as she begins to sob.
"Liliath, dear girl!" He crouches down and reaches forward to gentle lift up her chin so their eyes meet; he puts forth his best reassuring smile. "We'll find them, don't you cry."
"I know it may be hard on you to recall the incident, but could you please tell me more about the little men and the fire? Tell me what happened right before it started- tell me what Victi did. Did she start it, do you think?" He's mostly sure the answer is no; it doesn't quite line up with his impression of her so far, but say she did, he'd have some mental adjustments to make.
“Yes little men, mean little men. They are stupid and evil cause they attack people for not good reasons.” She shrugged “I don’t know, but it could be.”
“Maybe,but what if Victi killed Lisa in to get her shard? I don’t want her to be dead she is my best friend.” Liliath would cry for a while until calming down.
“Victi didn’t do it, she even said she didn’t do it. I believed her. Those little men simply threw weird things around which made fire like I said before. There were 2 of those little men which I met before, they tried to kill me cause they thought I would be a great snack.
I managed to kill them though. Maybe that’s why they attacked. But I only killed them cause they tried to kill me.”
“Maybe,but what if Victi killed Lisa in to get her shard? I don’t want her to be dead she is my best friend.” Liliath would cry for a while until calming down.
“Victi didn’t do it, she even said she didn’t do it. I believed her. Those little men simply threw weird things around which made fire like I said before. There were 2 of those little men which I met before, they tried to kill me cause they thought I would be a great snack.
I managed to kill them though. Maybe that’s why they attacked. But I only killed them cause they tried to kill me.”
((AAHH!! >v< I keep replying to thiiiiiiings! Hecc!))
In the Library
Upon entering the small room, only a few meters a side, with a modest sized but expertly crafted table and a couple comfortable chairs as its only furnishings, Thalia takes the books, sits, and immediately opens the first to its table of contents.
"There, page.... hmm," she mutters as she turns to the proper section. "This book mostly seems to be rumors, but I may as well read it out regardless."
"Perhaps one of the oldest and most enigmatic of ancient clay artifacts is known most commonly as the Bloodied Vase," she begins, "though in the present day knowledge of it beyond hushed whispers and myths is far from common. Legend has it the multi-colored ceramic vase, made of several pieces defined by a silver-and-gold alloy, was shattered. Its pieces, each one holding a great power of its own, were then scattered to the wind and lost to history. There are many odd tales associated with the Vase, primarily about the manner in which it is assembled and disassembled. None are openly supported by modern archeology, so all should be taken with some scepticism. Some say that it can only be assembled under a crimson moon, and, as with many artifacts, many believe it to only be able to be reconstructed at its place of origin, alegedly a hidden temple in a far off land. Additional rumours suggest that an intial blood sacrifice must be made before the Vase's power can be used, with the sacrifice giving their life to provide the power needed to put it together. Other stories say that only a princess of true blood can put the shards together, while a very rare few suggest that nobody with any royal lineage in their family can assemble it.
The rumours about how it can be disassembled are even more widely varied. Some say that the blood of an angel or demon filling the vessel will cause it to come apart, and many more lascivious stories describe it as only being breakable when thrown to the ground as a sacrifice to an adult maiden dragoness, who's blood..."
Thalia trails off with an unimpressed sigh, "That's just a gratuitous image." She clears her throat before continuing a few lines down, "and in sacrificing it in this way it grants power greater than the world has ever seen, at the cost of horribly cursing the young wyrm's offspring and their subsequent offspring forever after, with what happens to the dragoness herself ranging from similar power as the bearer of the Vase to luck in seeking a mate to being as cursed as her descendants. There are also suggestions that only one peice may be removed on a given land mass, and that a long voyage must be undertaken to disassemble it at last.... This next section just describes writings about each of those... This poem also carries the line that a creature of the aspect of each shard must be present to disassemble it, that one is associated with the traveling suggestion."
"That should be satisfactory for that book, I hope," Thalia says, closing it, "It isn't the most concrete, but may or may not narrow some things down."
She opens the second book, and again moves to the appropriate section.
"This is the one I had gotten to before I was called away. This one pertains to ancient faiths in more detail... Well, this is interesting..."
She begins reading: "In... a particular region I would need to check a map to locate, an ancient religion with aspects of willing sacrifice was prevalent, claiming that blood must be spilled to feed the world, keeping it alive by allowing the gods to sustain its life. The Vase isn't mentioned explicitly, but something like it is described as having been created by a renegade part of their priesthood."
She knits her brow as she examines the book, continuing. "It says... This renegade faction saw their gods as being prone to rash action, mercurial, and unreliable, that they had ended the world many times before, and so they would not let them do so again. The legends say that they made a tool to be able to take command of the world in case the gods abandoned it, letting them command each part of it in the place of the divine. Then, the gods sent one of their... children or creations down to take the power back, but instead the power became scattered, but would not stay apart forever."
Thalia blinks a few times before saying, "This sounds more promising, but that's all there is. The location may be promising. Now, we can go and take a closer look at them, or try to figure it out in more detail, but your side of the information, at least the overview, should come first..."
When Adriannu pulls out the projector disk, the High Inquisitor raises an eyebrow, but watches anyway...
* * *
Thalia stays quiet for a long moment after the projection ends before she speaks.
"Problematic, but not unmanageable," she summarizes, radiating stress but keeping a focibly calm and level tone, "Especially given that you're alive and met her. It tells me that there's something to that description of her behaviour."
Her eyes lift to lock with Adriannu's as she continues, "but that isn't everything. You're a cathra, you pay attention to things. Tell me about what happened when you talked to her. I do understand your concern and fear now, you had to look into the eyes of the deadliest creature this world has even known, but mostly this warning comes off to me as a message from someone else who's scared of her. We don't amass forces to fight her, fine. We don't seek her out, fine. That's most of what this tells us, along with why. But you actually learned things while taking with her, I would hope. That seems like the more important set of information."
Upon entering the small room, only a few meters a side, with a modest sized but expertly crafted table and a couple comfortable chairs as its only furnishings, Thalia takes the books, sits, and immediately opens the first to its table of contents.
"There, page.... hmm," she mutters as she turns to the proper section. "This book mostly seems to be rumors, but I may as well read it out regardless."
"Perhaps one of the oldest and most enigmatic of ancient clay artifacts is known most commonly as the Bloodied Vase," she begins, "though in the present day knowledge of it beyond hushed whispers and myths is far from common. Legend has it the multi-colored ceramic vase, made of several pieces defined by a silver-and-gold alloy, was shattered. Its pieces, each one holding a great power of its own, were then scattered to the wind and lost to history. There are many odd tales associated with the Vase, primarily about the manner in which it is assembled and disassembled. None are openly supported by modern archeology, so all should be taken with some scepticism. Some say that it can only be assembled under a crimson moon, and, as with many artifacts, many believe it to only be able to be reconstructed at its place of origin, alegedly a hidden temple in a far off land. Additional rumours suggest that an intial blood sacrifice must be made before the Vase's power can be used, with the sacrifice giving their life to provide the power needed to put it together. Other stories say that only a princess of true blood can put the shards together, while a very rare few suggest that nobody with any royal lineage in their family can assemble it.
The rumours about how it can be disassembled are even more widely varied. Some say that the blood of an angel or demon filling the vessel will cause it to come apart, and many more lascivious stories describe it as only being breakable when thrown to the ground as a sacrifice to an adult maiden dragoness, who's blood..."
Thalia trails off with an unimpressed sigh, "That's just a gratuitous image." She clears her throat before continuing a few lines down, "and in sacrificing it in this way it grants power greater than the world has ever seen, at the cost of horribly cursing the young wyrm's offspring and their subsequent offspring forever after, with what happens to the dragoness herself ranging from similar power as the bearer of the Vase to luck in seeking a mate to being as cursed as her descendants. There are also suggestions that only one peice may be removed on a given land mass, and that a long voyage must be undertaken to disassemble it at last.... This next section just describes writings about each of those... This poem also carries the line that a creature of the aspect of each shard must be present to disassemble it, that one is associated with the traveling suggestion."
"That should be satisfactory for that book, I hope," Thalia says, closing it, "It isn't the most concrete, but may or may not narrow some things down."
She opens the second book, and again moves to the appropriate section.
"This is the one I had gotten to before I was called away. This one pertains to ancient faiths in more detail... Well, this is interesting..."
She begins reading: "In... a particular region I would need to check a map to locate, an ancient religion with aspects of willing sacrifice was prevalent, claiming that blood must be spilled to feed the world, keeping it alive by allowing the gods to sustain its life. The Vase isn't mentioned explicitly, but something like it is described as having been created by a renegade part of their priesthood."
She knits her brow as she examines the book, continuing. "It says... This renegade faction saw their gods as being prone to rash action, mercurial, and unreliable, that they had ended the world many times before, and so they would not let them do so again. The legends say that they made a tool to be able to take command of the world in case the gods abandoned it, letting them command each part of it in the place of the divine. Then, the gods sent one of their... children or creations down to take the power back, but instead the power became scattered, but would not stay apart forever."
Thalia blinks a few times before saying, "This sounds more promising, but that's all there is. The location may be promising. Now, we can go and take a closer look at them, or try to figure it out in more detail, but your side of the information, at least the overview, should come first..."
When Adriannu pulls out the projector disk, the High Inquisitor raises an eyebrow, but watches anyway...
* * *
Thalia stays quiet for a long moment after the projection ends before she speaks.
"Problematic, but not unmanageable," she summarizes, radiating stress but keeping a focibly calm and level tone, "Especially given that you're alive and met her. It tells me that there's something to that description of her behaviour."
Her eyes lift to lock with Adriannu's as she continues, "but that isn't everything. You're a cathra, you pay attention to things. Tell me about what happened when you talked to her. I do understand your concern and fear now, you had to look into the eyes of the deadliest creature this world has even known, but mostly this warning comes off to me as a message from someone else who's scared of her. We don't amass forces to fight her, fine. We don't seek her out, fine. That's most of what this tells us, along with why. But you actually learned things while taking with her, I would hope. That seems like the more important set of information."
At Cornelius's offer to have her keep the books, she calmly shook her head before explaining herself. "Victi knows I have the books so that would be where she would look first. Should she learn that I don't have them anymore, she might try the library again in the hopes I lose them in the city and they made there way back there. Hence why I think it would be best to have them somewhere else entirely." Though after she finished speaking, she excused herself so she head off with Thalia.
Adriannu listened silently as Thalia started to read the books, though her facial expression said more than enough once they got to the section about the dragoness. To put it simply, her face gave a good look of "what the heck am I listening to?" Now the girl hadn't exactly known what to expect from this book, but that decidedly wasn't it. Nonetheless, she still continued to dutifully listen as Thalia read and eventually she stopped reading that book to start on a different one.
That book didn't manage to induce any more interesting faces from Adriannu and thus she was able to take it more seriously then the former. Once the inquisitor had finished reading, the child finally spoke up. "I can't say why I was expecting from those books, but the first one was uh...strange. For what it is worth, I believe the part about the blood sacrifice may be true given from what I know about the shards already, though I haven't the slightest idea about the rest of it. Anyway, as for the second book, it sounds like it would be worth checking out that location, but for now I will indeed keep my side of the bargain."
With that she reached into her pack and pulled out the projector disc, but made it clear that she wasn't about to hand it over before hitting the play button for Thalia. Once the projection ends, unlike Thalia, Adriannu was perfectly composed, though to be fair she had clearly heard its contents before. That being said, while she was able to detect her stress, she was still left impressed by how well she had ultimately handled the news.
"Apparently she really doesn't like killing juveniles as it goes against her code and thus seems rather determined to take the shards from Liliath and I without killing us, but also in a way that lets her have some fun. She also saw a use for Lisa regarding these books which I guess is why she kidnapped her. As for her personality...it's not as serious as you would expect as she actually wanted all of us to head out for tea which is why we were seen at that teahouse, but I know she is still a deadly predator at heart. I feel she could be best described at a cat toying with her prey. When I encountered her, I tried to play myself off as Lisa's adopted kid and had absolutely no idea about what was going on. However she was able to tell that I wasn't a simple kid by looking at my build, my eyes and movements and apparently, the smell of my aura. That being said, she can be surprised as Liliath used her shard to make Victi's tea blow up in her face which she was actually impressed by. Although she told me this herself, I am inclined to believe that she was telling the truth in that she can be lied to as it doesn't seem like she has an easy way to prevent people from lying to her." She deliberately left out the events surrounding that tidbit as they weren't important and she really didn't want to talk about it. Instead she continued with. "Also while she was using her illusions to cover up her tails, she did slip up at one point which left them visible and attracted the attention of a guard. Though she was about to easily talk her way out of any further attention from said guard after they approached our table."
She gave Thalia a moment to digest what she had said here before continuing on. "I tried my hand at getting us an opening to escape by saying I had to use the bathroom and actually going to use it since she looked like she would have a good sense of smell. Anyway before returning to our table, I stole the money pouch of someone who looked the most likely to cause trouble before planting it by a guard to frame them for it. You know how upset people can be when they think guards are abusing their power so I was hoping it would cause a big brawl that might create an opening for us to escape in the chaos. Though that didn't happen as instead we were attacked by goblins instead and during it I saw Victi pounce on Lisa before they both disappeared. Now what I have to say next didn't come from being around Victi, but from Kylarion when I meant him in the flesh at Lisa's cabin."
At this point, she went into the information she gained about Victi's wards and Kylarion's words about being a scorpion instead of an open threat. Adriannu even revealed the daggers that had been given to her, but made it clear about how they were designed to be wielded by a child and by herself in particular.
Once she finally finished speaking, she gave Thalia a bit more time to think about everything she had said before asking one last question. "Do you have anything else you want to ask me?"
Adriannu listened silently as Thalia started to read the books, though her facial expression said more than enough once they got to the section about the dragoness. To put it simply, her face gave a good look of "what the heck am I listening to?" Now the girl hadn't exactly known what to expect from this book, but that decidedly wasn't it. Nonetheless, she still continued to dutifully listen as Thalia read and eventually she stopped reading that book to start on a different one.
That book didn't manage to induce any more interesting faces from Adriannu and thus she was able to take it more seriously then the former. Once the inquisitor had finished reading, the child finally spoke up. "I can't say why I was expecting from those books, but the first one was uh...strange. For what it is worth, I believe the part about the blood sacrifice may be true given from what I know about the shards already, though I haven't the slightest idea about the rest of it. Anyway, as for the second book, it sounds like it would be worth checking out that location, but for now I will indeed keep my side of the bargain."
With that she reached into her pack and pulled out the projector disc, but made it clear that she wasn't about to hand it over before hitting the play button for Thalia. Once the projection ends, unlike Thalia, Adriannu was perfectly composed, though to be fair she had clearly heard its contents before. That being said, while she was able to detect her stress, she was still left impressed by how well she had ultimately handled the news.
"Apparently she really doesn't like killing juveniles as it goes against her code and thus seems rather determined to take the shards from Liliath and I without killing us, but also in a way that lets her have some fun. She also saw a use for Lisa regarding these books which I guess is why she kidnapped her. As for her personality...it's not as serious as you would expect as she actually wanted all of us to head out for tea which is why we were seen at that teahouse, but I know she is still a deadly predator at heart. I feel she could be best described at a cat toying with her prey. When I encountered her, I tried to play myself off as Lisa's adopted kid and had absolutely no idea about what was going on. However she was able to tell that I wasn't a simple kid by looking at my build, my eyes and movements and apparently, the smell of my aura. That being said, she can be surprised as Liliath used her shard to make Victi's tea blow up in her face which she was actually impressed by. Although she told me this herself, I am inclined to believe that she was telling the truth in that she can be lied to as it doesn't seem like she has an easy way to prevent people from lying to her." She deliberately left out the events surrounding that tidbit as they weren't important and she really didn't want to talk about it. Instead she continued with. "Also while she was using her illusions to cover up her tails, she did slip up at one point which left them visible and attracted the attention of a guard. Though she was about to easily talk her way out of any further attention from said guard after they approached our table."
She gave Thalia a moment to digest what she had said here before continuing on. "I tried my hand at getting us an opening to escape by saying I had to use the bathroom and actually going to use it since she looked like she would have a good sense of smell. Anyway before returning to our table, I stole the money pouch of someone who looked the most likely to cause trouble before planting it by a guard to frame them for it. You know how upset people can be when they think guards are abusing their power so I was hoping it would cause a big brawl that might create an opening for us to escape in the chaos. Though that didn't happen as instead we were attacked by goblins instead and during it I saw Victi pounce on Lisa before they both disappeared. Now what I have to say next didn't come from being around Victi, but from Kylarion when I meant him in the flesh at Lisa's cabin."
At this point, she went into the information she gained about Victi's wards and Kylarion's words about being a scorpion instead of an open threat. Adriannu even revealed the daggers that had been given to her, but made it clear about how they were designed to be wielded by a child and by herself in particular.
Once she finally finished speaking, she gave Thalia a bit more time to think about everything she had said before asking one last question. "Do you have anything else you want to ask me?"
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