|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 20:43:12 GMT
"Oh, Caltarys..." Aelon eyes widened in surprise, he would take a note to tell that to Santygar later. "Yes, the Society has had some... rough days since the disappearance of our founder."
There was a brief moment of silence, Aelyx could hear Aelon taking a deep breath.
"We were funded by the Governor's coffers back then, so we were able to amass a sizeable collection. Since then we haven't been able to do much more than teach some classes here and there." He leads her into a large room with several glass showcases, many of those were empty. "Some of the more valuable items had to be sold, so we are left with these. I'm pretty sure it's far from what you had imagined."
Amidst the items on display, Aelyx could see to her left a section dedicated to anthropology, in there were displayed crude weapons, a set of bone armour, primitive arts and crafts all likely belonging to the native population. To the right, a mounted tiger threatened to pounce upon her, above it a wyvern skull the size of a large dog hung from the ceiling. Hung on the wall, a large collection of butterflies of all colors, shapes and seizes. They were all immaculately clean.
"Yes, I do a lot of dusting." He chuckled.
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 21:16:39 GMT
“Who did you sell them to?” She asked, not interested in the tiger, but rather the bones, the thought of it made her sad. In her pocket a high rumble could be heard of Arrax yawning.
She knew better than to touch another persons display, “I thought you said you were a founder?”
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 21:27:19 GMT
"I wish I could say we sold them to real connoisseurs of the natural and anthropological worlds. But that would be an outright lie. Times are dire, we had to sell them to whoever paid most." He sighed, dismissing the yawn as just another weird sound the building made. "I'm ashamed to say that most of them are now likely just hanging on a minor lord or pirate king's wall as mere decoration."
"Technically speaking, I am. I was already here when the three of us started the Society. However, my old Master had arrived here first and he had was the whole idea not only for the Society but also for Linyanti herself." Aelon said, staring at one of the empty displays. Aelyx could notice a small grin appearing on the corner of his mouth, remembering fondly their past days of glory.
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 21:36:58 GMT
“Why did your funding stop?” She asked not looking at him, and looking at the weapons to see what they were made from. Aelon liked to talked, but that was fine, so long as the more ge talked the more he said and he didn’t just babble on.
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 21:55:51 GMT
There were three different kinds of weapons on display, all clearly made out of bone. The first, and most numerous, were a series of daggers carved with primitive symbols; the second item was an axe, a human shoulder blade that had been sharpened and bound to a stick, there were three of those; finally, a massive elephant femur had been carved into some kind of primitive warhammer.
"There were some differences between Lord Vaenor and Master Santygar." He said briefly. Aelon grew sombre, the grin on his mouth had vanished. "We don't like talking about what happened."
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 21:58:47 GMT
“Then how can you learn from it, a silent past is one doomed to repeat.” Aelyx said, still not looking at him. “Did you get gifted these by the natives or did you find them?” She was looking intently at the bone tools, having rarely seen their like.
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 22:14:19 GMT
"The daggers were a gift from the Mbambo tribe. Thanks to Lopopo they are the closest thing we have to an ally in the jungle." It was clear that he had decided to ignore the first part of what she had said. "The others we collected after a brief skirmish with one of Sothoryos less than welcoming other tribes."
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 22:17:47 GMT
“There are friendly tribes? Have you been back to visit them recently?” She asked, looking at him now, she didn’t care if he ignored what she said, his opinion of her didn’t much matter to her after all. These men were failures, but the attempt early som grudging respect from her, as well as the tenacity to try to keep going.
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 22:32:30 GMT
"I wouldn't call them friendly, at least not to us. The Summer Islanders across the river were the only ones to be able to establish actual relations with them." Aelon explained, reaching for one of the bone daggers and offering it for Aelyx to hold. "We were only able to contact them thanks to Lopopo."
"Now, I've shown you mine, maybe you could show me yours." The young scholar only realized how that could sound like a double entendre after it was already too late. "I mean. What brings a Caltarys to the Society? Your brother has never really bothered to stop by. At least not that I remember."
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 22:50:28 GMT
Aelyx takes the dagger and immediately holds it in an aggressive stance, looking like at any moment she could lunge and stab it through his ribs into his heart.
She gives him a long, deep look for a moment, then twisted her grip and pulled out the hem of her finely made shirt, slicing a bit up the material to test the knife for its sharpness.
“You’ll know this, what is the first thing you do when you arrive at an area you wish to explore?” She asked him, her tone even and patient.
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 23:22:52 GMT
Aelon doesn't even flinch when Aelyx pointed the dagger at him. "Those are great blades. Never seen one go dull." He stated as she tore through the hem of her shirt with ease.
"Well... That depends on several factors. But since I believe this is some kind of a rhetorical question, I will say: You scout the general area, try to learn as much as possible before diving in." He stated matter of factly. "Actually, you only do that if you've been sloppy and not done your research beforehand. But the world is filled with amateurs, as Baelor used to say." He said grinning in excitement, not even realizing that he had just spoken the name.
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 11, 2018 23:27:30 GMT
“You get to know the climate” she said simply, smiling pleasantly, “ironic really, in our bodies our bones grow frail and wither, but out here, they never dull.” She held the handle of the knife back out to him. “Did you explore much before coming here?”
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 11, 2018 23:46:25 GMT
"Not much, but I had been to a place or two," Aelon said, as he carefully placed the blade back into its display. "I was just twelve when former tutor took me in our first Journey. Up the Rhoynar we went, towards the Sorrows. He wanted to observe if any kind of society developed among the Stone Men. I was so scared I almost wet myself twice. Next one we went East, towards Qarth. My skin still burns just to think of riding on the Red Wastes."
"I was so young back then. I had no idea what expected me here." He turned to her, taking a grimmer tone. "If you think you've been anywhere like this, you are wrong. These Jungles... This place... It's hell. And if you doubt me, ask Santygar. That man has been anywhere and everywhere, and even he will tell you this same thing."
|
|
|
Post by Aelyx Caltarys on Dec 12, 2018 17:41:59 GMT
"I don't doubt you" She said to that, tilting her head at him "I am here precisely because I know I haven't been anywhere like this, so there is no need to warn me so vaguely. Why don't you tell me a bit more about what is actually a danger in there?" She suggested
|
|
|
Post by The Horror on Dec 12, 2018 20:37:20 GMT
"The deeper you go into the jungle, the harsher it gets. The jungle not just a harsh place for us, it's for all type of life that lives in it. So everything grows tougher and meaner in order to survive. You see those fangs?" He said pointing towards the tiger. "Those are nothing, Captain Nicolaelys once fought a tiger with fangs at least twice as long."
"A considerable share of fruits and plants are toxic. And every fallen leaf is a possible home for a spider whose poison would make your arms fall off in a couple days. There are mosquitos, parasites, flies that bury their eggs on your head, ants that could clean a corpse to the bone in a matter of hours..." The young scholar paused to catch his breath. "And that because I haven't even started listing the aquatic fauna and the tropical diseases."
|
|