₪ 12th of Glade, Year 121, A.o.S ₪
Company: Mariette, Dhasali, Yarnell| Thoughts: Tell me all you know| Mood: Intrigued/Cautious
Company: Mariette, Dhasali, Yarnell| Thoughts: Tell me all you know| Mood: Intrigued/Cautious
They found themselves in the Low-City of Kalzasi, as this is where her acquaintance had taken refuge for the past 10 years. "When we arrive, let me do all the talking understand?" she spoke, her tone holding enough authority that she didn't need to look his way for him to understand.
Apparently from what Mariette had explained, this guy had been around for quite some time and knew a thing or two about mages of the area. The Hytori woman explained that if anyone was able to give Siorey the information he sought, it would be her acquaintance Yarnell. Siorey was intrigued to get a first-hand account of this artifact and how they came to come into contact with such an artifact.
As they approached the home it was obvious there were signs of neglect on the home. Given that it was out of the way and tucked away from prying eyes it was no wonder no had come to find its disrepair odd. Dhasali took the lead, cracking the door open, taking a step back as his face turned away in disgust. From that alone Siorey could tell that there was a smell, and soon it would waft its way towards the young mage and his mentor. "Smells like a corpse is in here. Damn it Yarnell!"
She hissed those words as she forced her way past the robust build of Dhasali, pushing the door open and sauntering into the home with authority. "Damn you Yarnell, I swear if you are dead in here I will find your soul and trap it just so I can torture you until you wither into nothingness!" she hissed even more as she stormed her way further.
Siorey and Dhasali entered behind her, the smell of death and mold overtaking the half-elf causing him to heave. He could feel his stomach churning from the nauseating smell, but luckily for him, Dhasali was there to hold a piece of cloth over his face to help meditate the smell. The home seemed all but abandoned, but the further they ventured inside, the more it was clear that someone was still there.
Siorey could hear a faint murmur of a voice coming from the upper level of the home. As he ascended the stairs, the creeks and settling of the house were soon drowned out by the muttering of a voice. It was coming from the bedroom, and for a moment, Siorey stood there as he wasn't sure what he was going to find beyond that door. He could feel his heart beginning to race as he was apprehensive, if only for a moment to go beyond the door to see what awaited him on the other side of it. With a deep breath and his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sword, he turned the doorknob and went forth.
The room had to be the master bedroom given how spacious it was, and there sitting in the middle of the room was a man, or at least that's what Siorey thought. He was ragged, tattered clothing adorned his body, his hair and nails grown far beyond the proper grooming standard. "I take it you are Yarnell?" he inquired, taking a step forward.
There was nothing but silence, so he figured he would try again to get a response out of him. "Yarnell I need to ask you some questions if that's ok. I need to know about the Stygian Eye." he uttered, which brought the mute of a man back to life. Fear filled his eyes as he flung himself back away from Siorey like a dog retreating from an abusing owner. He was muttering incoherently, wailing and pointing.
The commotion caught the attention of Dhasali and Mariette as they came rushing into the room. "By the fucking gods!" she hissed as she went to cradle her acquaintance in her embrace. Her voice seemed to soothe him as he calmed down after some time. "I don't think we will be getting anything out of him. The man is beyond his sense." Siorey dismissed.
"Dont count him out just yet." she corrected, cupping the disheveled man in her hands. "Now listen to me Yarnell, I need to know what you were working on. I need any information on the Stygian Eye you have." she proceeded to ask, the mention of the eye causing him to flare up. However, Mariette being the woman she is wasn't having any of it.
"Pull yourself together Yarnell! Now, where are your notes on the Eye!?" she barked, slapping him on the face a few times. Flinching from the slaps he recoiled from her grasps, frantic eyes looking to her then to Siorey. Hobbling to his feet, Yarnell moved to the wall on the opposite side of the room. He began to feel his way around till an audible click sound resonated within the room.
The wall began to shift, sliding back before revealing a room behind it. Upon looking into the room, the decrepit man became inconsolable as he erupted into a fit. "Go I'll deal with Yarnell." she instructed, rushing to the broken and taking him in her arms as she attempted to soothe his savage upheaval. Moving past them Siorey crossed mentor the hidden room.
Curious eyes went wide as he could see it, every inch of the walls within the room covered in symbols. Dhasali came to enter the room as well curious as to what the symbols could be. "What do think these symbols represent? Have you seen anything like them before?" he asked, his eyes falling on Siorey who was enthralled by what he was seeing.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I believe it's Scrivening. They are some form of Pictography, but unlike anything, I've seen myself." he noted, his hands running over the symbols etched into the wall as he looked each one over and carved them into his own memory. Part of him was curious, as it was clear researching into the Eye is what drove the man mad, but to think it was on this level of hysteria was......alarming to say the least.
As his eyes scanned over each symbol, he found that at the far end of the room was a pedestal. Approaching it there sitting on it was a book. Siorey could only guess them to be one thing, and that was the notes of Yarnell. When his hand touched the book, a shiver rocketed down his spine, causing him to gasp a bit, before picking up the journal. Thumbing through the pages it was clear these were research notes, some in fine detail, other pages incoherent and illegible.
However, there was one thing that stuck out to him, as within the last few pages of the journal was a codex of some kind. "Anything interesting within those pages young lord?" Dhasali inquired, looking over Siorey's shoulders. "It would appear to be a codex of some sort. More so a cipher I believe. Whatever he was researching about the eye he made sure this was detailed. The pages here are in far better condition than the other ones. Though they hold some useful information, I think this cipher is the most important given the way it's written."
Dhasali could see the excitement in Siorey's eyes, knowing his young lord was pleased with his findings. "I guess the fun part will come in deciphering it and learning its purpose." he mused, to which Siorey chuckled, turning to leave the room. "That's always the fun part Dhali. Now come let us be off from this wretched shithole, it's giving me the creeps."
As the two men walked out of the secret symbol room, they were both stunned to see that Mariette had finally calmed the hysterical Yarnell, but not by the means they had thought. He was dead, his limp body laid against hers, tears falling from her eyes as she looked at them. "Go and wait for me outside. I shall be there shortly." she instructed, neither male wanting to argue with her on it.
After some time had passed, both men watched as the Hytori woman sauntered out of the home, flowing past them both. "I take it you found something useful in that room?" she inquired, to which Siorey handed her the journal. After pursuing its contents she gave it back to Siorey and began to make her exit, both men following behind her. As they began to enter the city limits of the Low-City, Siorey looked back to see that Yarnell's home was being engulfed in flame, his grip tightening around the journal as they departed further back into civil society. ₪
"Common Speech"
"Mythrasi Speech"
"Mariette Speech"
"Dhasali Speech"
"Inner Thoughts"
