|
Post by Treijim on Aug 1, 2009 11:34:46 GMT 9.5
"I didn't want to go anyway," Larr confirmed. "Not just because I'm afraid of it, but because I think I'm needed here. The giants keep a cycle going. Jed and I have been here the longest now so everyone else is newer than us. I'm gonna be here until you leave so don't worry about that."
He sat down next to Cliff and listened to the water. Strange birds were calling in the distance. Beyond the trees and above the cliffs, a huge bird was circling something. No, it was a ferehen, but it was too far away to be of any concern. Larr took the book and flicked through it. He chuckled as he skimmed some pages.
"It even sounds like him," he said, pointing out a sentence where Arka had scribbled out a word, written above it, scribbled that out, and written beneath it. "Sometimes he loses track of what he's saying and he spends ages trying to think of the right words." Larr sighed heavily. "You're gonna vote for me, right? I'm only doing it so Jed doesn't push everyone into making him leader. He's too brash. He'll want to go and smash the ferehen eggs near Pararya so they die out or something stupid."
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 1, 2009 11:46:43 GMT 9.5
Cliff smiled but didn't say anything initially. "If I was to vote, it would definitely be for you... or maybe Tex." He lost it and fell backwards into the grass laughing, but once he finished, his expression was more serious. "Do you think I should vote? After all, I am a stranger here." Staring into the sky, he spoke as though it was the clouds he was asking. "I am sure Jed will mention it, and besides most people will vote for you anyways right?"
Grabbing the walking stick, he stood up. With a subtle smile, he continued, "You will make a great leader; I am sure of it." The sun had crossed beyond the mountains, and shadows began to fall upon the village.
While the two boys walked back to the their tent, Cliff was troubled. "I know I am not suppose to ask, but what do you think the giant wants with me? Do you think they will make me leave?"
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 3, 2009 21:59:27 GMT 9.5
"I think you should be able to vote," Larr mused. "You're staying here for a while, so whoever is leader affects you too. Jed can't stop you from voting unless he convinces everyone else you shouldn't vote. Everyone likes you except Joy and she doesn't like anyone so it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it."
Cliff's second question had Larr a little more lost for words. It was clear he didn't know what the answer was, as he spent time looking about as though the answer was written in the sky or in patterns in the grass when the wind blew.
"I don't think so," Larr said. "Otherwise he would've told you before, right? The giants don't waste time or anything." But Larr didn't seem very confident in his own reply. He watched his friend uncomfortably but didn't say anything more.
They began to draw up plans for the library. It was to flank the commons tent on the west side, just opposite their tent. They both agreed that it should have enough floor space to fit three bookshelves -- one for each wall save the door -- and that Cliff should get his own desk and chair to be placed inside the door. They considered placing extra seating inside, but that would be a lot more work due to the excess space, and there were already benches in the camp that Larr made a long time ago. They calculated that they would only need a little more resources than they already had: an extra few rolls of canvas, some more planks for the shelves, and a nice big board for the top of Cliff's desk. Other than that, they had everything they need.
"I think we need a chest under the desk for your stuff," Larr suggested, drawing a rectangle within the larger rectangle which represented the desk. "Gerit can make a way to lock it so only you can get inside. Or do you think you won't need it? It's up to you." He sat up straight and stretched his back and arms. "You're the expert," he teased, prodding Cliff with his chalk and leaving a small white spot on the boy's tunic.
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 4, 2009 8:19:49 GMT 9.5
After hearing the uncertainty in Larr's voice, Cliff had no desire to push the subject of giants any farther. After all, Cliff might get the boy to say something he wasn't suppose to. Despite the confusing nature of the day, answers still weren't worth the cost of getting his friend into trouble. Instead, he allowed his thoughts to mingle with the idea of the library instead.
"Yeah," Cliff said excitedly. He carelessly wiped at the chalk mark creating a larger smudge. "I could put the list of who has what book in there. That way no one could change it if they lose a book... Except me of course," Cliff stated confidently while giving Larr a wink. "I will talk to Gerit about the box tomorrow. I wonder where we will get the planks and canvas. Can we make it?" Cliff gave Larr a firm pat on the back.
The boy threw himself down onto his makeshift bed. He hadn't noticed the previous nights how soft the fur blankets were. With a yawn, he stretched out while his back created a series of cracking sounds down his spine. Before closing his eyes, Cliff stated with a grin, "I will definitely vote for you." He curled up on his side and fell asleep almost at once.
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 5, 2009 11:09:04 GMT 9.5
It was morning and everybody was gathered in the commons. The plan was to have everybody voted by the time the sun set. If, at that time, one of them hadn't voted, their vote wouldn't be counted. The candidates were Larr, Monopa, and Tex: L, M, and T respectively. At some point during the day, everyone was to write down the letter of the one they voted for on a small piece of material and place it in a special chest in the commons. Nobody was to open the chest up to look, and if there were more votes than there were people, they would revote the next day.
"I don't think he should vote," Jed said. "He's not one of us. He doesn't know what it takes." He looked at Monopa for support. She seemed torn. "There's more to it than that," she said. "Cliff will be staying for a while, so whoever is leader affects him soon. Besides, if it doesn't work out, we can easily do another vote. It's not like this is gonna be permanent." "Then why worry about it so much?" Felinor asked. "It seems you're all just whinging to me because Arka did the smart thing and got out of here quickly." "It wasn't quick. He's been here longer than most of us," Larr objected, knowing that that was true. "He's seen the giants come and take lots of people since coming here. That has nothing to do with it!" "Sure." Felinor went back to being utterly bored and silent. "Are we all agreed on the process, then?" Monopa asked. "We haven't decided whether Cliff should vote," Jed said. "Who wants Cliff to vote? Put your hand up." "Wait," Monopa said. "We're already having one vote today. Cliff, do you want to vote? What do you think?" All eyes turned to Cliff.
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 5, 2009 11:31:54 GMT 9.5
"I, uh," Cliff stuttered. He turned to Larr for support. Although Cliff still somewhat agreed with Jed's logic, he decided to stick with the conclusion reached the previous night. "I would like to vote. I think I will probably be here for a while, and I guess this decision impact me as well. Besides, if it is close, you can always revote when I leave," Cliff stated in an attempt to reach a compromise.
Some birds landed in a puddle formed on top of the canvas roof. They were singing morning songs and joyously splashing the water with their wings. Despite yesterday's events and the morning arguing, today seemed like it was going to be pleasant. Cliff continued with a bit more energetic confidence. "And if the leader chosen cannot do the job, then you can always select another, right?"
Satisfied that his argument was well crafted, Cliff rose from his seat placing his hands on his lower back. He then leaned back allowing his spine to pop in a few places. With the last pop the boy gasped in pain falling back into his chair. After taking a few deep breath he noticed his hands, now placed in between his thighs, felt wet. Looking down, he saw the were covered in a thick crimson liquid. Initially a fleeting thought passed through his mind that maybe it was berries and that Tex was playing a trick on him, but given a short time panic began to set in.
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 5, 2009 11:45:40 GMT 9.5
When Cliff gasped, nobody was sure what had happened. They watched in concern and then they all saw the blood on his hands. Larr went to him and Felinor wasn't far behind. She said nothing, placing a hand firmly on his chest as she felt his back with the other hand. There was blood on her now, but she didn't seem to care. Everybody watched silently as she pressed parts of his back and felt for flinching from him.
"What happened?" Larr finally asked. "Nothing," Felinor said, confused. "Well I don't know. It doesn't hurt now, does it, Cliff?" He shook his head. She lifted the back of his tunic to inspect properly. "There's no cuts. Nothing." "Some sort of joke?" Jed said, annoyed at the change of topic. "So he's fine. Can we get back to what's important?"
Felinor left the tent and came back with some rags which she gave to Cliff to soak up the blood. Uncomfortable as it was, he was urged to remain for the rest of the discussion. Once everybody was satisfied that Cliff wasn't actually hurt, they continued as they were. Monopa agreed to let Cliff vote and so too did most of the others. Then they left, and Larr took Cliff to the river to wash.
"This is a lot of mess for nothing," Larr said. "Well I mean, you're not hurt, but there's all this blood to clean up. You know this won't just wash out, right?" He took the cloths and began to rinse them, watching the streaks of red flow downstream.
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 5, 2009 12:01:47 GMT 9.5
Cliff got onto his knees by the riverside and began scrubbing the blood off his hands. "I do not understand what happened. I could not have sat in it, because it was only on my back." He absentmindedly kept rubbing at a clean spot for an extra minute. When he was convinced that his hands were satisfactory, he slipped his tunic off and started splashing water onto his back.
"I mean, I could not have walked into the commons covered in it without anyone noticing. Are you sure there are no open wounds on my back?" Cliff turned his back toward Larr while attempting to look over his own shoulder as well, but Larr simply frowned and shook his head in return. "Why is everything here so confusing," he muttered. With the cold water now drying on his back, the boy began to shiver.
Turning back to the river, Cliff began to try to clean the blood off his tunic. Larr was right that the stains weren't coming out easily. Cliff spent at least five minutes scrubbing with rocks to no avail. Convinced that it was going to be a stain regardless, he wrung out the tunic and laid it out on the rocks to dry. With the sun radiant in the sky, Cliff reasoned the tunic would likely be dry by noon.
He shifted closer to Larr who was at work on the last rag. "Sorry you had to clean that up for me." A mischievous grin grew across his face. "At least now I can vote in blood," he laughed a menacing laugh while wriggling his fingers at Larr. Although the gesture was playful, there was still a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Rising to his feet, Cliff picked up the cleaned rags. After shaking each out, he spread them beside his tunic. Carefully, he pinned each down with a rock so that a breeze wouldn't carry them away.
Deciding he didn't want to think about this morning's oddities anymore, Cliff started digging into his pocket. "So, who are you going to vote for," Cliff mused while pulling a small piece of paper from his pocket. After tearing it in half, he marked an L on it and returned that half to his pocket. He walked over to Larr who was now done with the last rag and gave him the other half of the paper.
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 6, 2009 10:59:04 GMT 9.5
"There are some marks," Larr said, observing Cliff's back minus all the blood, "maybe scars. It's hard to say. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it did at first, right? Felinor will probably check on you again soon. She writes lots of things down like this; stuff which seems really confusing but she figures out an answer for it later."
Larr shook his head at the mention of blood-voting but couldn't help but laugh. Cliff was lightening up, it seemed, and Larr liked that.
"I'm voting for myself of course," Larr said. "Nobody said I can't. Jed and Monopa are gonna be writing M. But the rest... I can't tell. I hope Jed isn't going around trying to convince everyone to vote for her. I mean, Monopa is nice and smart -- she was a good leader alongside Arka -- but on her own... Jed influences her too easily. He doesn't understand people very well. You know what I mean, right?"
Gerit seemed to appear out of nowhere and walk to the edge of the water.
"Larr," he said, "I talked with a giant just then. I thought I'd tell you since, well, you might be leader soon. The giant said to say that Arka has been converted. His name is..." He squinted and glanced at the sky as though the words were difficult. "Arkatang Salarinias Belierahan. Yeah, that's it. Can we carve it now.?"
Larr absorbed the words for a few moments. They seemed to carry powerful implications which few others would have understood. Then he turned to Cliff.
"Cliff could carve it... unless he objects," Larr said. "There's a boulder further up the shore. When someone is taken and converted, we carve their new name into the stone so we don't forget them."
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 7, 2009 6:45:20 GMT 9.5
"No... I do not have any scars," Cliff mumbled while again trying to look over his own shoulder. "It hurt a lot for a second, but then it was gone." The boy sighed and gave up looking. Gently, he massaged the skin on his lower back. "I guess I will ask Felinor to look again later."
Cliff listened to Larr's political analysis while allowing the sun's warm beams to wash over him. He found himself nodding in agreement about Jed's seemingly non-empathetic nature. Things would probably turn out okay regardless of the vote, but Cliff wanted Larr to win so that they could build the library together. With that thought, he smiled.
Gerit's arrival startled Cliff, but even more so, it was the talk of giants that unnerved him. Most of this morning he had successfully pushed thoughts of the giants out of his mind, and this was an unwelcome return. However, his curiosity about the boulder transformed unease into eagerness. He wondered how many names were carved on it and how many of those names Larr knew.
With a smile, Cliff happily obliged. "I have never carved stone before, but if you show me how, I will try." He started walking upstream and the other two soon followed him. Although the path was relatively easy walking, Cliff had some difficulty with the walking stick on the more unstable rocks.
Attempting to make conversation to distract the others from his struggling, Cliff casually inquired, "What was Arka converted to?" Almost at once Cliff winced and stopped in place. "Sorry, I forgot I was not suppose to ask... never mind." He started moving again more slowly without looking back.
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 7, 2009 21:58:35 GMT 9.5
They went along the bank, around the gentle curve of the river. The trees there reached out with thick roots that twisted through the air before plunging into the cool wetness. The sand was dirty and rough, and as Cliff discovered, quite rocky in parts. The other two headed onto grassy soil where it was more solid and wove there way around the trees and bushes. They approached some boulders but they were all quite stubby and mundane-looking.
"Something useful," Gerit said as though having to process Cliff's question before asking. He and Larr exchanged conflicting glances. Gerit elaborated, "He's a Slayer. Rean is making use of him now. Don't worry about it. The more you think about it, the harder it is to think about. Right, Larr?"
Larr didn't respond -- not even with a look. He was looking ahead at a twisted piece of stone that rose up higher than them. Some sort of creeper was spiraling around its base, trying to reach up its smooth sides. Larr drew what looked like a spearhead out of his pouch and knelt at a smaller stone to demonstrate carving.
"Like this," he said to Cliff. "In straight lines, like all jagged. And push it away from yourself, with your other hand between the blade and you. That way you don't cut your fingers off with it." He handed it to Cliff. "Arkatang Salarinias Belierahan," he repeated, slowly, somehow already knowing how to spell it.
He walked around the stone, looking up and down at it. It was about there was about a tenth of the stone towards the middle circumference that was bare. The rest was covered in hundreds of names.
"I knew about this many," Larr said, waving his hand carefully over a fraction of the stone, perhaps a dozen names or so. He placed his hand on the surface and stared at it, lost in thought.
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 8, 2009 3:16:57 GMT 9.5
With Gerit's answer, Cliff was reminded of the oath and Arka's claim that he was prepared to become a slayer. That word stirred up distant memories from his time at the chapel. Velisies had once told him a story about people called slayers. The man had been sitting in his large leather chair housed within the study. Through one of the many windows, the sun shone down upon him, illuminating his silhouette and the ancient text he held within his hands.
Cliff, as he often did, flipped through the pages of a random book feigning indifference as the man spun a riveting story for him. However based on that story, Cliff reasoned that these slayers could not be the same ones that Arka had been converted to. Velisies' slayers were divine guardians, not children. He wondered. Cliff decided to take Gerit's advice and put the thought out of his mind. The whole thing bothered him, even though he did not understand exactly why.
When the boys arrived at the stone, Cliff was astonished. He expected a few names, maybe five or ten at most, but hundreds seemed unfathomable. "So many," Cliff mumbled to himself. Dazed, Cliff took the tool from Larr and delicately ran his fingers over the stone, feeling each the names engraved on it. "They must come often," Cliff stated with a heavy sadness in his voice. He was again worried for his friend. Placing a palm firmly on the stone, he quietly muttered, "I really do not understand this place."
With the blade in hand, Cliff carefully made the first mark. Although not without effort, Cliff was surprised at how easily the character took to stone. To the boy, it seemed almost as though the stone wanted Arka's name. He spelled out each letter of the name before setting it to stone. After a few minutes had passed, the engraving was completed. Cliff found the process almost therapeutic in a way. There was something soothing about working with his hands. With only a few minor flaws, he had successfully matched the previous carving style. Reclaiming his walking stick, he let out a stress ridden sigh. Cliff turned to Larr for approval.
[If at any point you want Cliff to have another episode, feel free to God-mod it. Though we may want to wait until after the next time he sleeps. Remind me to ask you about it on MSN.]
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 8, 2009 10:12:16 GMT 9.5
Larr inspected the carving briefly and nodded with a smile.
----------------------
"One for me," Monopa said, her gaze shifting up to everyone watching her. She turned the paper round for everyone to see and reached in for the next piece. "One for Larr. One for me. One for Larr."
Already a perfect tie between the two serious candidates. Larr said beside Monopa, arranging the pieces into columns for easy counting. Some of the handwriting was a little distinct, but Larr made no effort to recognise who voted for who.
"One for Larr. One for Tex. I wonder whose vote that is..."
Tex gave a small jolt with joy. He was in the race, thanks to himself.
"One for Larr. One for me. One for Larr. One for me. That's Larr at five, me at four, Tex at one." Slowly, she put her hand in the box and closed her eyes. She drew out the piece, unfolded it, and read it out. "One for me. If the next one is for Larr or me, that person wins." Without wasting time now, she drew out the last piece. "One for Larr." She let down her shoulders. "Larr wins."
"That's not fair," Jed said. "Cliff's vote got Larr through."
"You don't know that," Larr said, trying to hide his joyous smile. "He could've voted for Monopa."
"Yeah, right... You wouldn't have got that many votes! Monopa should've one!"
"Jed, it's all right," Monopa said calmly. "Larr won and that's fine with me."
"Wait," Tex said, staring at the papers. "So... nobody else voted for me?"
Everyone went quiet. Tex threw back his chair and ran out of the commons.
|
|
|
Post by Ethereal Panda on Aug 8, 2009 12:58:45 GMT 9.5
Although Cliff couldn't help but shamefully blush at Jed's accusations, Monopa conceding the race to Larr lightened his spirits. Now he and Larr could build the library as they planned. When Tex burst from the tent, Cliff actually found himself wanting to go after him. Cliff did feel bad for the boy, but at the same time he just wanted to be free from the village politics for the evening. The meetings made him feel too much like an outsider.
"Do you think he will be okay," Cliff inquired while rising to his feet. When no one immediately replied, Cliff stated, "Larr and I should go after him... to make sure he's okay." Cliff grabbed his walking stick with one hand and Larr's arm with the other. After dragging Larr outside, Cliff waited until they had gotten a bit of distance away from the commons before saying anything. Cliff realized his odd behavior probably left Larr a tad confused and perhaps even worried.
"Sorry, I know you probably needed to talk to them about stuff. I just had to get out of there, to much, um... thinking." They were walking towards Tex's tent, but there was a gap in the canvas opening and it was already clear he was not inside. Changing the subject, Cliff inquired, "Where do you think he went?"
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Aug 30, 2009 10:55:29 GMT 9.5
Tex was nowhere in sight. He left no obvious footprints or any other traces. He couldn't be heard. Wherever he had gone, he went there very quickly. Larr and Cliff circled the camp a couple of times, tiptoeing everywhere for fear of surprising Tex, lest he was sitting around the corner of a tent, crying. Larr happened to look up at the last minute, gazing westward, and he saw Tex and another unfamiliar boy heading away, almost invisible amidst the maze of trees and bushes. Larr looked at Cliff and whispered with peculiar urgency.
"Let's follow them."
They looked about to check whether anybody was watching them and then headed into the foliage in the direction Tex had gone. It may have crossed Larr's mind that he needed to tell somebody where they were going, as he had just become the leader, and to simply vanish without notice for an indefinite length of time was definitely an argument Jed would use against Larr's famous reliability. Larr, however, showed no sign of thinking about anything else but following Tex. It was almost as though the boy he was with was dangerous. They were now only heading in a general direcion, and could not see anybody else.
"Are you good, brother?" A boy was standing to their left, nearest Cliff. He was looking from one to the other with eyes keen as an eagle's. "Hard in the ear, are ya?"
He wore a rough brown-orange jacket and had a great number of makeshift belts and straps wrapped around him, all of them seeming to carry some item of significance. The most offensive visible item in his possession was an old dagger set in his left hand. He pointed it at Cliff and nodded towards him.
"This boy, then? Larr? You know his name? Your tongue bit?" He stared at Larr for a moment, who didn't respond, and then he shook his head. "What's your name now, brother?" he asked Cliff.
|
|