Private Tales A Life to Live

[Edric]

When Aura burst into laughter, Edric felt a tension in his chest melt away that he hadn't even realized was there in the first place. He had been bold, and there was no doubt in his mind that he could kill everyone in this room, but if the Orcs had taken exception to his words?

Explaining to Maui that he had murdered her sister would not have been ideal. "Awesome."

The former Dreadlord said as Aura made her proclamation.

Glee surging through him as he took another step towards completing his promise. It wasn't like they would bring Chas back tomorrow, he knew, but it was something. Every bit of progress was to be celebrated in Edric's mind, and this certainly would.

It had been a longshot heading out here, and the fact that it had actually worked made him grin from ear to ear.

 

[Chasmine]

The caravan set out early - dozens of fresh, fit, strong fighters and warriors from various races and places. With Melfa in charge, they covered ground at marching pace. There was a week of travel ahead of them, so they took shifts in walking or leading wagons of supplies and cargo.

At night they set up camp and with the dry season rolling in there was rather little need for tents. A good campfire and a bedroll beneath the stars sufficed. With their numbers, they had about a dozen campfires alight each night. Chasmine did not speak often given that Edric was usually surrounded by others. The less they knew of her presence the better - but staying within the amulet at all times had begun to wear on her. The amulet served the purpose of allowing her to conserve the energy she would otherwise be using to keep up, and kept her safe from other malignant spiritual beings, but it was also devoid of ... everything.

"Edric," she spoke quietly once it seemed like there weren't many others around, "can you do me a favor? Can you ask Melfa if she has any books to read."

 

[Edric]

Edric was having the time of his life.

Though he was hardly famous after a week of fights, his name now carried enough acclaim that most of the warriors knew him. In turn, that lead to a hell of a time. It seemed that nearly everyone wanted a piece of him, and by the time Chasmine spoke to him Edric had met three Gnolls, two Goblins, one thing called Oirk, and a Dwarf!

He'd only trust one of them without keeping an eye on them, but it was something! "Books?"

The rogue Dreadlord asked with a smile, the wineskin cradled in his hand as he patrolled around the camp. There were no assignments to do so, the caravan didn't exactly maintain military discipline, but Edric liked doing it anyway.

"Sure." He told her with a smile. "Anything you'd like in particular?"

Edric wasn't entirely sure how she'd read it, but, well he wasn't gonna start questioning her now. "Melfa seems to be able to get ahold of anything."

 

[Chasmine]

Chas couldn't imagine that Melfa would have kept too many books on hand for such ventures. That she might have any at all would be quite a surprise to her, in fact.

"Anything will do," she said, "I'm afraid being in this amulet is quite... boring."

 

[Edric]

"Oh." Suddenly, Edric stopped his patrol.

A frown pulled at his lips as he seemed to realize something, her words echoing within his mind. "I'm sorry."

That odd feeling flickered through his chest again. Guilt, he'd come to learn it was. Here he'd been having the time of his life, and Chas had just been sitting in her amulet. He knew that she experienced time differently, but that seemed a poor excuse.

"I'll go ask." He told her, immediately cutting off his usual path around the encampment and heading towards where he'd last seen Melfa.

 

[Chasmine]

"I wonder if this is what it is like for djinn in their vessels..." Chasmine pondered aloud to him. She'd never met a djinn, though she'd read plenty about them.

Ed would find Melfa at one of the carts pulling out supplies for the evening potluck meal and handing it off to another komodo who had been handling the cooking for the caravan. When Edric asked after her for a book, she paused and had to give that a good think.

"Melfa not read," she admitted shortly, forked tongue flickering past her lips in thought, "ssssaaaa - boxes on trade wagon, look them. Maybe find, maybe not."

 

[Edric]

"What's a yin?" Edric asked as he stepped through the tents, never having bothered with the reading Chasmine had done.

Listening to the answer as he wound his way through carts and supplies. A frown touching his lips when Melfa told him that she didn't read. "But you know so much."

He murmured beneath his breath, but didn't press her on the fact and simply nodded his head.

"Thanks." The former Dreadlord said as he turned his back and made his way towards the trade wagon. Having a quick word with the minder there before he climbed up and popped open one of the crates, digging through it's contents one at a time until he found a small stack of books. "Oh, here we go."

Edric said, scratching at the nascent beard growing on his chin. "How bout this?"

He said, holding up a book titled; 'The Merchant Council of Alliria; a Lizardfolk Conspiracy." Thesis by Norg Grondum.

 

[Chasmine]

"What's the title?" Chas asked from the amulet. Yes, she quite often found herself having to gently remind him that she could not see the world around him while she inhabited the stone hung around his neck.

 

[Edric]

"Oh. Right." Edric said, his cheeks coloring. "The Merchant Council of Alliria; a Lizardfolk Conspiracy."

He said, his face contorting. "Written by a guy named Norg."

Weird name. Edric tossed the book to the side, revealing another.

"There's also this one, 'A Romance of the Age of Wonders'." Edric said, his face contorting slightly. Pushing the book to the side. "Maybe 'Allirian Nights, a mystery novel?'."

The former Dreadlord said, reading out yet another title. Wondering what the hell these books were all about. Why would someone read a novel with a mystery in it? Wouldn't that just be frustrating?

 

[Chasmine]

Goodness, color her shocked that she had a selection to choose from, and novels no less! She'd not expected anything of the sort. When he read the last one aloud he might feel a slight jolt of excitement like a static shock from the amulet.

"That one," Chas said quickly before he had a chance to set it aside for the next, "I began reading that one before my family moved to Vel Anir. I never got to finish it."

How exciting! And how strangely ironic to find it here of all places?

 

[Edric]

"Really?" Edric asked incredulously, though innocently. "Why?"

His head cocked to the side as he inspected the cover. "Isn't the whole point of reading to know something?"

The Former Dreadlord asked as he shrugged, displaying both his ignorance, and the way he was taught. For him, a book was nothing less than another tool to be used. Holding some secret that might allow him to engage in some heretofore undiscovered violence.

"Why would you want to read a mystery?" Edric asked, though he notably did not argue with Chas about picking the book. He took the others from where he had tossed them, put them back into place, and then turned to leave. Taking the novel Chas had chosen.

Hopefully showing that he was not arguing, but only asking.

 

[Chasmine]

Admittedly she was slightly taken aback by the questions. Had Edric never learned or formed a love of reading? She supposed the Academy had been quite bereft of reading materials that were anything but educational in nature, but surely he'd found certain subjects of interest to simply read because he enjoyed them?

"Reading to learn is what many people do, yes But... reading for me was an escape from life. Or into life, I suppose."

"When I was a little girl I was quite sickly because of my magic and not allowed to leave our manor because of the protection it afforded me. Some days I barely left my own bed because I could not sleep for fear of ... everything. Not being able to control my powers made living very difficult and being a beacon for all sorts of spiritual entities made me vulnerable. The only way for me to experience the outside world was through written word or pictures."

"Novels are fun because you get to join the main character on their journey. It's like you're really there, experiencing everything yourself, living in some place other than where you really are. Haven't you ever read a book like that Edric?"

 

[Edric]

Hm.

As Chasmine explained why she found these books so satisfying, Edric couldn't help but nod. He supposed that the concept made sense, even though he'd never experienced anything like she'd described. In fact, his own experience was pretty much the opposite of what she was talking about.

Edric had never been scared to go outside, had never been afraid to. Sometimes people had tried to stop him from doing so, but even that didn't last long. Still, he could understand the concept when it was explained. He wasn't a fool. "Not really."

He admitted as he trekked back towards his tent.

"Talia used to tell me stories sometimes." Edric said, a small smile touching his lips for just a brief moment as he remembered his friend. "But not for a couple of years now."

That had been when they had all still been in the barracks together. Long before the Revolution, and long before Gilram had offered them their escape. "But I guess I can get why you'd want to read that, but why a mystery though?"

Edric asked again. "Isn't that just frustrating? Unless it tells you the answer at the beginning I guess."

 

[Chasmine]

Talia was not someone she had any familiarity with, though she did know of whom Ed spoke. It was curious to hear he had someone to tell him stories and that he listened to them.

"No... they don't tell you the answer in the beginning, though I suppose you could simply skip to the last chapter and read it first, but I find that very anti-climatic. Reading through a mystery is quite... engaging. Was there ever a time Talia told you a story where you felt eager to learn what happens next?"

 

[Edric]

Edric frowned slightly. Looking back as an adult, many of the stories she had told him were utterly nonsensical. Made up by a child desperately trying to escape as much as she was trying to help her friend. There was something even more endearing in that.

Tragic as it was.

"A few times I had questions I wanted answered." He supposed in a round about way that was probably the same thing. What was a mystery but a series of questions? Back in Vel Anir a few of his missions could have been classified as 'mysteries'.

Though all of those had been infuriating, mostly because of the people he'd been involved with at the time though. "But anyway, I'm glad we found something for you."

He added, genuinely.

 

[Chasmine]

"It's quite similar to that," she replied, echoing his own thoughts on the nature of a mystery novel.

She could sense his movement coming to a stop and his heartrate settle as he entered the comfort of his tent. Now given some assurance of privacy, Chasmine's presence slipped from the amulet and into the tent with him, the haze of her figure manifesting nearby. Her hands held out to him, asking for the book in gesture and she offered him a smile when he gave her a confused look. When he held it out as if to give it to her, it dropped freely through the air and then bobbed into place between her hands.

Perfecting the art of a poltergeist had happened along several missions and then further still back at the Academy during her short visit. Sable Pembroke had seen it in action in the library where the spirit manipulated the books before his very eyes.

Floating midair, her hands made soft movements that mimed the act of opening a book's cover and the book, in turn, obliged contently. Though this one had not been read in many years she felt it pliantly give to her gestures and she smiled faintly at this to herself.

"It's been so long... I will just have to start over." Her pale gaze shifted up to Ed, noting the emergence of dark scruff along his jaw and finding that it suited him well. "If you like, I could read it aloud to you."

 

[Edric]

Edric unclasped the last piece of his armor, having taken to wearing it mostly due to the entertainment value. Some of the boys had said his tendency to heal any wound dealt to him made the show a bit too...easy, thus wearing armor at least added some drama.

At first, wearing it had been so foreign it had been uncomfortable. It had been Chasmine's idea to wear it as often as possible, taking it off only to sleep.

As he placed the heavy hunk of metal on the ground, his translucent companion posed her question. He frowned for a moment, scratching at his beard as he slowly sat himself on the cot he'd bargained for back in town. "I think...yeah."

Edric said with a nod.

"I would." The Rogue Dreadlord continued as he shifted, laying down in the bed. "If you don't mind, Chas."

He said, turning his head to look at her.

 

[Chasmine]

Surprise colored the wane details of her spectral face, a rare but pleasant smile forming. She had read her books aloud to her cat, Dandylion, when she was a little girl. He had been one of her few companions over the years and while she did not equate Ed to a cat, it was a curious feeling indeed to think that she might have a new companion to read to. A friend.

She waited for him to get comfortable and then moved cotside. The book floated down to rest at the edge of the cot, propped back against his side. Chasmine's form sat cross-legged on the floor and with a few more gentle gestures she'd opened it to the first chapter and began to read the tale of Lord Byron Grigsby and the mystery of an illness that spread throughout Alliria's people seemingly overnight.

 

[Edric]

As Chasmine read, Edric closed his eyes.

The sound of her voice quickly became a soothing melody which forced him to fight against crashing waves of sleep. An activity which drove him pay more attention to the words she wove, focusing him upon the story which was laid out by the book.

An hour passed as Edric listened to Chasmine, until eventually the soothing sound of her voice became too much.

The brute falling asleep as the ghost read her tale.

 

[Chasmine]

At the first sound of a light murmuring from him, Chasmine stopped and looked over. She'd been so engrossed in reliving the tale that she'd not noticed he'd fallen asleep. Having traveled with him now for ... well, she couldn't say how long without asking, but she'd learned he spoke in his sleep.

Sometimes she could make out the words, but mostly it sounded like gibberish with the meaning getting scrambled between his dreams and his lips. Chas wondered if he knew that he did this, but had not thought it necessary to bring up. Sleep-talking was merely an outlet for dream leaks.

Contentment settled upon her as she gently ushered the book closed and lifted it from his side to set upon the ground. Moments later her figure dissipated from view, then reappeared curled against his side on the cot.

The caravan journey continued on in this routine for several days. Marching by day, making camp by night, reading Ed to sleep by the twilight hours. Thus far the trip had been uneventful save a short hunt on the plains of the steppes as they watched migrating herds cross their route. Despite the dry season rolling in, they did encounter one of the rare, lingering rainstorms to which the sound on the tent alerted Chasmine within the amulet.

Not wanting to disturb Edric's sleep, she manifested within the tent to investigate the sound and smiled as she stood before the tent flaps while they gently swayed in a growing breeze. The rain pelted inwards, glimmering as it passed through her spectral form.

 

[Edric]

In the distance, powerful cracks of lightning severed the sky into hundreds of pieces. Flickering and illuminating the world for the span of a breath.

As the light shone out for a brief moment, the plains around them became bright as the sun. In the winds and rains of the storm bare trees shifted back and forth, pools quickly formed in the gaps of the craggy earth, and animals scurried to hide grounds to avoid flash floods.

Those in the camp scurried in and about, expecting no attack and quickly moving to hide beneath whatever cover they could find instead of keeping any watch.

A loud echo of thunder called out above their heads. The sound loud enough to rattle the bits of armor that Edric had left leaning against the frame of the tent. Rain echoed out, gathering even more force as the storm grew stronger. "I used to sneak out."

His voice suddenly called out, bright snake like eyes peering through the darkness of the tent and towards the open tent flap.

Watching as the rain dropped and gathered in the muds out.

"During nights like this." He said softly. "The Proctors watching the walls didn't notice a spot beneath the southern wall..."

Edric said, reminiscing as he watched the rain fall.

 

[Chasmine]

The ghost blinked at the sudden sound of his voice, looking over to see his strange eyes catch a flash of lightning. To most, his eyes were disturbing and inhuman. They likely would have earned him far more ridicule at the Academy had he not been among the most powerful of their year. Chasmine had never much minded them, thinking they looked rather like a dragon or a Puca's eyes - creatures which she quietly revered.

Curious to hear him speaking of those days, though. He didn't often bring up the Academy and she supposed it was due to wanting to forget about it. But rather than question the reminiscing, she found only intrigue.

"Where did you go?"

 

[Edric]

"The forest." He said quietly, still watching the rains. "It used to be quiet."

During his time at the Academy, Edric had always been the perfect student. Not in the sense of Academia, but in terms of obedience. He had learned early on that the way through was to listen, and thus he had done so without questions.

For the Proctor's he had been not only a powerful student, but one that could easily be used as a tool against the others. One they had made liberal use of.

He had endured those times, he had pushed through them, but often they had become too much even for him. Often the noise of those of whom he had punished, even months passed, simply became too much for him to handle. "The rain made everything quiet."

Edric said again. Closing his eyes.

"Even my thoughts." Another crack of thunder echoed out. "They used to go quiet."

He admitted, though the words were soft enough that Chasmine might not have been able to hear.

The soft reminiscent echoing out as the storm continued. Lightning cracking the sky, thunder echoing out, and rain cloaking silhouettes within the dark of nights. A dozen, maybe more, each brandishing a blade which had been polished to gleam even in the abyss of this night.

 

[Chasmine]

The forest was indeed a quiet retreat. She had often ventured out there, to places often ignored or left alone by the other Initiates. The tower where the owls had their nest. Chas had taken Dorian there to share it with him and he later returned the favor by taking her to the Dead Man's Cliffs. She thought on this as she watched out through the tent opening, looking into the rain.

A prickling of life crossed through the ley. A gleam caught her gaze in the distance.

Chasmine withdrew from the doorway, figure fading from sight. Then she reappeared, seated on the cot at his side, hunched over him where he lay.

"Edric," she whispered, touching a cold hand to his chest, "something is coming."

 

[Edric]

A long sigh escaped the Rogue Dreadlord's lips. His head shaking slightly as he reached over the hem of his blankets and pulled them up just a little bit more. Bulky form shifting beneath the covers as he made himself a bit more comfortable.

"Soldiers? Monsters?." Edric asked as he wriggled beneath the covers.

Finally opening his eyes to look at Chas. Goosebumps rolling over his chest as Chasmine gently touched his skin. His gaze meeting hers. "This Caravan is filled with gladiators and soldiers."

He complained, meekly.

"Seems like for once I should be able to slack off." Edric sounded only have secret, but in truth, he wanted nothing more than to stay put. "Right?"

As he asked, the figures crept closer towards camp. Before they'd departed, each of them had been marked with symbol of clan and tribe, though the rains had long washed such things away. They moved forward, eager to bite into Maui's growing horde. Eager to add to the dead.