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[Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 12:31 pm
by Moop
It was a strange trip to Arlain. At some point Joop pointed out a scar on Moop's forehead which neither of them had noticed before. On top of her pony while riding Moop was picking up and throwing rocks using impel idly, minding her own business when the observation was made. Curious, she ran her mechanical fingers across the spot on her face Joop pointed to, low and behold there was the mark. Moop blinked but shrugged explaining in Kaedic,
"It should go away eventually, right?"
During her time in the Wastelands she had also been using her mentalism abilities much more. Essentially body building for the mind, Moop practiced in secret lifting objects and tossing them as her mother had instructed her not that long ago. Without the guidance and instruction of her mother, however, Moop had no idea that a mutation was forming. She tossed another rock and laughed, a quiet strange giggle. She wasn't sure where the giggle came from and cleared her throat afterwards, Joop looking at her with a raised eyebrow wondering aloud,
"What was that?"
Moop played it off telling her sister,
"Just looking in your direction for too long."
Causing Joop to crack the reigns and send the pony and wagon further forward. Moop threw another rock, then snapped the reigns and tried to catch up too.
~~~
Now they found themselves on the boat in Arlain down the river headed towards Boghadar. It would seem Joop was deadset on heading back to Dagrun to get better copies of the maps, Moop felt like she was being a slave driver. She tried to explain in vain that it would take some time to map it all but they would eventually find a welcoming city or some decent scholars who would be interested in their quest. Joop wasn't so sure, the Badland people were kind enough to them when they wanted something, Joop said, but what about when the girls had acclimated to their party? She pointed out they were rough with each other and looked so dirty all the time, telling them stories about the Entente of Daravin and how they were worse than any Badlander Moop or Joop could find. They described them as untrustworthy and dishonorable people. Moop shrugged, saying all underclass people look up towards their betters with fear and pointed out that is why they did away with classes in Dagrun.
In truth, Moop was shameful and angry that she had to make the trek back to her homeland with nothing useful. It was like coming home with her tail between her legs. How long had it been? A year? Less? Time bled together but she was sure of one thing, no matter what she would NOT be going back to Dagrun without something to show for. She had a plan.
~~~
Gulls raced around the port as the sun came over the horizon, it was early morning. Arriving on off the boat into Boghadar was like coming into another world and they were severely underdressed. Everyone here was beautiful and lavish, Moop was terribly jealous. She wanted to rush up to the first person and ask what fine fabrics they were wearing, but that would be tactless and immature. No, these people seemed esteemed and cultured, it would not do to talk to someone uninvited. But what should this mean for her plan? They wandered the streets heading inward, hoping to stumble upon a market to find a cartographer. The duo and their ponies garnered a lot of attention traversing the streets, the obvious eyes settled on their forms made Moop uncomfortable, but she kept her head held high.
It was when she was ready to finally say something that the market opened up to her. This was her moment, they led the ponies to the station and left them there tied up with the wagon, hoping this area was civilized enough that their goods would be safe. She threw on her gloves to hide her mechanical hands but other than that none of her body save for neck and head was exposed to the air. The same could be said of Joop, both women wore tiny adventuring suits consisting of a long pants, a waist coat, and a jacket of the same make. Moop was wearing browns and creams while Joop was in grey and black. They found their way to the shop, its sign was in a Gentrevese, a language neither understood, but the scrolls and maps in the display in the window made it obvious they were where they needed to be. Joop spoke in common to the teller first, her accent thick.
"And do you happen to have a map to Dagrun."
The time was now! Moop interjected her twin sister,
"We are on a mission to find other gnome settlements in Daravin, any maps you would have regarding Daravin's country would also be a great boon to me."
Joop studied her sister for a moment before agreeing,
"Yes, that too please. My sister is a cartographer as well and has all the supplies she needs to copy the maps, if you will abide us that time, we can pay..."
Re: [Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:42 pm
by Cain
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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It had been too long since Cain had gone out and away from his typical haunts. To be precise, the last time he went wandering to a ruin was when he’d gone just a little too close to Sil-Elaine and stumbled across a Dranoch Cardinal, changing his life forever. It took him months to even want to leave the side of his progenitor because of the hunger to begin with, then by the time he felt ready enough to return, he stepped back into Boghadar to people acting like they were greeting a ghost. His poor mother begged him not to leave like that again and others of his family expressed…similar sentiments. For a while now, he’d obeyed their wishes, much as it grated on his nerves. He’d not strayed too far from Boghadar, Amoren and his Sundering workshop– however, one can only keep a wanderer tied down for so long.
He planned on ending this hiatus soon, although he had no idea where he wanted to go. Why not spin fate’s wheel to decide, then? As always when navigating outside, Cain cast Resonance’s Kinesthesia and would use Intonation to pulse the frequency into a wave of Sonar every so often if he wanted to perceive longer distances. To start his search, the Resoner wandered down to the market square in the nicer part of the city; a Cartographer’s shop run by a rather eccentric woman was located there and she’d never sent him in a direction that wasn’t worth it in the end…including his last venture.
Cain wore a pearl colored opaque mask in the shape of a downward facing crescent moon. It covered his eyes but left the rest of his face revealed, lacking any way to tangibly see through it. Not that it needed one– among Daravin’s citizenry, he was blind. His clothing was an elegant mix of golds, blues, whites and blacks. The disguised Rathor held himself tall, with the posture and air of somebody important, yet distinctly cold.
By the time the ‘blind’ man made it to the Cartographer’s shop, he detected the presence of two rather unique figures. Unique in that they were so…small? That, and then there was the matter of their accents…it only took a moment of sorting through his thoughts to come to the proper conclusion: Gnomes.
The brief snippets of conversation that he did overhear allowed him to glean that these two were lost in one way another. With an unconscious tilt of his head as he thought about their predicament, he weighed his options. One, ignore them entirely, not his business, right? Two, offer them the use of his vast collection of maps…he had a plethora of Daravin in general as well as a fair few of neighboring lands. That was also just his personal collection; his house as a whole had more he could allow the Cartographer of the two to copy as well. Three, only mention the map of Dagrun and nearby areas. It only took him a few moments to decide.
With that, Cain turned and approached the two lost Gnomes, leaving a good few feet from the little shapes that made up their image in his mind’s eye. “If you don’t find what you’re looking for, let me know. As an archaeologist, I’ve wandered the country and beyond for…years. Plus, my family has no shortage of resources. Perhaps there is a mutually beneficial deal to be found?” The man’s voice is soft, and though it is cold, there are threads of curiosity woven between the words. Ultimately, this offer was self-serving; he figured that if he made any notable discoveries of, or relating to, buried Gnomish cities or tech, doing so would only skyrocket his own personal success.
____
'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 7:15 pm
by Moop
The door swung open, scattering a few papers as a new patron came in. The merchant wore a circular copper mask, it was one of the strangest things Moop has ever seen. Noticeably the merchant greeted the newcomer first before speaking to the gnomes, which Moop found to be pointed and frowned at her. Finally she said in common to the pair,
"Well well, two lost gnomes wander into my store? What a random sort of day. I may be able to find something for you. I will be back with you all in a moment."
She disappeared into the back and they could hear the sound of large boxes being picked up and dropped. It was not subtle. That was when the two were addressed by the fourth person in the room, the newcomer with striking blue hair and a lovely moon shaped mask obscuring his eyes.
"What are the odds we meet an archeologist in our trip to this city?"
Joop wondered aloud with her hand touched to her lips. For once unsure, she looked to Moop to speak next.
Moop chose her words carefully, knowing her sway would only go so far in Dagrun without her mission complete.
"What would be beneficial in trade for something like this? We are capable people here from the Cartographer League for the Unification of Gnome Settlements. We know much about the land--"
Joop interjected, the thick accent highlighting the stress in her voice,
"But not enough, hence why we are here. It has been a long and hard year for me and my sister, we were in the Badlands and just barely escaped. We have nothing truly to barter other than knowledge and skill."
Moop sniffed at her sister and unconsciously tugged on the sleeve of her jacket.
"Please, we are not refugees. But what she says is true, we have little to offer."
That was when the moment was stifled, the woman had returned with the sound of an audible creaking as the wood underneath her foot let out a terrible screech. As if nothing happened, she sat down a large, old scroll on the wooden bar that separated teller from customer. It was then Moop noticed the more finer details of the mask. It was circular and obscured much of her face, there were large cut eyes with metallic golden rings around them. Burnished copper seemed to have been transformed into a great horned owl.
"This is all I have, you cannot buy it. The trade route map is purchased often, but it's the most comprehensible map we have here of Daravin and her cities and outposts with clear roads mapped. Unfortunately as you have no standing in Daravin or our people at all, unless proof given, I can only afford you twenty minutes for... let's say twelve hundred dranari farthing. By the way,"
The woman in the owl mask giggled,
"There is nothing here relating to any Dagrun, anywhere. You people are odd, what an odd thing to say."
Moop felt swindled and insulted but gratuitously looked at her sister who only looked on, as if deep in thought. Moop then broke the silence,
"May I check the map first?"
The teller nodded with a strange grin beneath the map and now allowed Moop gently peeled open the scroll and took a peek. The gnome's face fell with shock as she gingerly held what had to be one of the most complex maps she had seen. It would take her much longer to transcribe even most of it, but thought she could understand routes to major cities which were highlighted with a fluer de lis. A tap ran on her shoulder, sending a cool chill down her spine. She twitched and moved back, looking up at the owl masked woman and weighed her options. Joop broke the silence this time.
"Thank you, thank you. We'll think and come back."
Trying to Shepard the pair away from the shop keep and towards the door.
It would be a shame not to take the woman up on her offer, in fact, perhaps they could room and board here and she could make payments to copy the map occasionally. Even despite her obvious prejudice against her people she would only need to copy the map a few times before she could have something completed that was usable. Unless, taking the man up on his offer did actually yield answers to her only goal. But what would he take for payment? It seemed too good to be true, but in her desperation thought it may be just the in she was looking for. She fought against her sister in a bratty tiff as she was tugged towards the door.
"My name is Moop Rynbii."
The gnome addressed the man with blue hair. Gently batting her twin off her she asked him,
"Where can we meet you to bargain?"
She would step away with him if he followed them outside, the atmosphere in the shop was poisoned with if looks could kill.
"I'm interested in anything you have to offer. If you can offer me advice to ruins with things hidden within mountains, I'm sure I could find work in your stead to repay what is owed."
Re: [Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:18 pm
by Cain
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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The two little gnomes did respond to him, curiosity and familiarity in the tones of each. Friends or sisters, the two of them must be close to some degree. Their words didn’t shift his expression at all, really. He didn’t expect them to have anything of material wealth to offer. The Rathor had little need for that type of thing, anyways. In truth, all he wanted was information and accompaniment on his expeditions. The last time he was out he met a creature that would’ve very easily killed him; he was lucky that the Dranoch was a strange one and chose to convert instead of consume. Though his life was changed forever, he still drew breath.
One hand resting at the small of his back, he just began to raise the other as lips parted to speak– then, he was interrupted by the return of the shopkeeper. A half-smile more akin to a sneer pulled at one side of the Veir’s mouth at the price the owl-masked woman had come up with. That was definitely a scam…but she could do what she wanted; it was her shop, after all. Thus, Cain held his tongue.
It did make him wonder, though: Dagrun. For all his travels, he knew not much of the place. Only a few mentions of the name…here and there he would find whispers, faded mentions, but not much else. Were these two looking for it? Despite their present circumstances…perhaps they would lead him to something extraordinary.
The half-smile softened and then evened out across his lips as the two appeared to squabble with themselves towards the door. One of the women introduced herself– Moop Rynbii. Interesting.
Stepping after the two, he waited to speak until they were out in Daravin’s open air again. “My family’s estate would be most…comfortable, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m free now, actually. If you’ve nowhere to be, we can make the journey together– it’s not far.” His speech walked a strange, fine line between mechanical and a sort of mysterious, almost toying delivery. The way he talked was as if he were a predator playing with food rather than a person communicating with other people. Might as well be, frankly. He’s Entente, a predator Rathor and a Dranoch all in one.
“I’ve a copy of that map of Daravin…and many others you may find of use. What I want from you is more along the lines of your peoples’ knowledge…or your personal knowledge, depending on what lives you’ve lived. I have enough material wealth as is– I've little use for anything other than information.” His tone and manner of speaking remained the same as before. The revealed lower half of his face wore a facsimile of a pleasant smile, though an astute observer would definitely note the uncanny nature of his expression.
____
'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:19 pm
by Moop
"If it's not far, I will follow."
She looked to her twin who looked uncertain, but as Moop charged off after him to continue the conversation Joop was forced to follow along. Moop seemed pleasant and agreeable, nodding and smiling as he spoke.
"This is great news. Quite the boon. I'm certain if it's knowledge you want I can help you help me. In fact, I'm ranked Seeker among my people. I'm here as an emissary to speak to people who can help me find ruins. If it's knowledge you want, there's nothing more sacred than what's hidden in these caverns."
Moop was completely oblivious to the man's demeanor. She had done it and found the person she had been searching for. If he would let her use his maps she could possibly triangulate the whereabouts of her people. Joop on the other hand, as her mechanical legs whirred keeping up with Moop's pace, looked perplexed-- her eyebrows were sewn together with a deep frown on her face. And yet she said nothing.
As they walked Moop kept a hurried pace beside the man. It was her full intent to speed them up to wherever they were going. She would follow him dutifully, all 3'9" of her, and her sister too who looked back to the horses as he lead them away to an estate. Other than Moop's constant talking the sound of Joop's mechanical legs whirred with a metronome as they kept steady pace behind the two. Moop was regaling a tale to him about Dagrun's wisdam.
"...They are ancient structures from the Age of Man. According to CORE they had been commanded by men but were suits of armor that could move on their own and shoot bullets that were powered by fire. War machines of the highest degrees. In the wrong hands of course these weapons could be deadly..."
And yet they still handed them to the Unbroken Empire. But that is the part Moop did not say.
They left the business area, horses long behind. Now they were somewhere residential. Joop's steps were more light now and she was looking around. Moop was quietly enthralled to finally meet the person she had been searching for. The residential area was lavish, Moop was getting excited.
"You live around here?"
But it would seem the answer was no, as they continued on through the city they would be lead outside its walls. Although it was sunny and bright, the desert forest was somehow eerie. A lizard scuttled up a tree as they passed by, causing Moop is wrinkle her nose. She hated vermin.
Re: [Boghadar]The Final Plea of a Lost Cartographer(Cain)
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:21 pm
by Salen
Moop
Lores
None
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Points: 10
Comments: I'm very sorry this didn't continue, here have 10 free points for your effort. You have met the word count by the way.