Dula can't read and people are appearing at random without memory, disturbing the library. A perfect time to steal books, yeah?
62nd of Ashan 720
Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
Dula was staring at pages containing symbols that certainly were words, words in common... That she couldn't read. One of the biggest handicaps for the woman living in her new home of Scalvoris Island was the common and Scalveen words all over the place. So far she hadn't met a single person who spoke Xanthea. Having lived here for quite a few trials and finding herself becoming more acquainted with the idea of language, she had picked up the idea of Scalveen as well as a different dialect called Omyeric. But they were about as good as her common, which wasn't very good at all. In fact, she couldn't read common hardly at all and knew how to read only words like "bar" or "general goods". Certain places also became known to her by their symbols or location, but if she knew their name it wasn't from reading it-- but hearing it spoken.
At any rate, Dula was here in the Scalvoris Town Public Library looking for books in Xanthea to lead her... Somewhere. Anywhere. She had gotten up early and left her treehouse on the river to embark on a three break journey from her home to Scalvoris Town, from there she aimlessly milled the streets and pined for Teyga's smoked beetle. It was her birthtrial today, after all, and her stomach was grumbling for a hot meal. Unfortunately, she had spent a small fortune on her home here, solidifying her decision to stay in Scalvoris, and so money wasn't as plentiful as it once was. Instead of eating at this moment, she decided to see if there was a library hidden in Scalvoris Town. Libraries had books, books usually had local maps or legends in them. Maybe she would get lucky and somehow there would be a book written in Xanthea here with the information about the area she needed?
After breaks upon breaks of sitting in the library and holding her head in an angry grimace she slammed her fist down on the table. "SHHHHHhhhhh!"
Came the bark of an ugly old human woman who would seem to be the librarian here. Dula gave her a side eye and scowled at the book in front of her. "This is bullshit."
She hissed to herself in Xanthea.
Dula had been here all day and had found only a handful of books written in Xanthea, notably much erotica with a smattering of historicals about Desnind legends. In short, the books here in Xanthea that she had found gave her no answers to the place she currently resided in, just more reason to be homesick. The half-Sev'yrn woman was beyond frustrated and slammed one of the common books she had failed to read back onto the shelf. It was getting dark now making her realise she had wasted her birthday staring at symbols that were meaningless to her and learning nothing at all. Not even a breath of a bit later was there a massive CRASH! and scream ringing through the library.
Dula's head hurt, she didn't have time for whatever just happened and decided it was her cue to leave. Leaving her books where they belonged in their shame, in a terrible mess on the table, she tried to make a break for the door, completely ignoring whatever was going on in the library. Unfortunately, a second and third crash was heard, this time the sound of cracking wood rang out in the building. Dula's face was nonplussed as she whipped around to finally see what in Faldrun's hairy ass was going on. Papers flew throughout the air and settled on the ground as it would seem one of the bookcases had been toppled over. The dust from the accident was sent flying through the air, making her nose itch. As well, two people were huddled on the large wooden table that made up one of the study areas. While they didn't fully break the table, a sizable crack had been split down the middle of it where their bodies.... landed?
Dula didn't move as she drank the next few moments of the scene in.
Yelling in Xanthea for a man named "Rafe" came from a young woman who Dula hadn't seen before. From her cloak it would seem that she was from the Order of Adunih, a sight that Dula's sore eyes struggled to drink in. The man Rafe called back to her in the same language, calling her "Arjori", and they both set into work with the other old human librarian to pull out someone from the pile of toppled books, as well as check on the others. Dula fell to her knees and threw her clawed hands upwards to the sky. "Why!"
Came her cry in Xanthea.
The Ajori woman came rushing over to her asking in Xanthea what was wrong. "I-- spent all day... I couldn't read. I miss my home. And yet, right here. In front of me-- The answer all along!" "We have another one! She's speaking jibberish like the rest of them."
Strong, gentle hands corralled her before she could speak up more fully and sat her with a group of three other humans, all looking lost in a daze. One of them was drooling. Dula tried to get up to make a break for it but the homely old woman from before came from no where and set a hand on her shoulder saying too loudly in common, "No, that won't do! Just sit tight young lady."
"Real magic is not about
gaining power over others:
it is about gaining power over yourself"
― Rosemary Ellen Guiley
¤
"Be... chill."
Rasped one of the humans, she had platinum blonde hair and icy eyes. Her lips were painted a dark brown and she wore a loose fitting black tunic and trousers. Those icy eyes met Dula's own warm honey, puzzle eyes causing Dula to heed her words. Something about the other's eyes said "trust me" and Dula was out of options, should the old human librarian yell in her ear again. Arjori, in her gold trimmed blue cloak or esteem, came swooping in on them with a huge grin on her face. The ice-eyed woman put a finger to her lips and Dula understood what she meant. Bide her time. Keeping quiet, she listened to what the man Rafe and this Arjori were saying in Xanthea. "What is this, Arjori? A trap? Seems odd to rob a library in this way." "Nooo, Rafe. Look at them! They're delirious or worse. Let me speak with them and I'll figure out more, but I think I know what's going on."
Grasping the drooling man by the shoulders she got near his face, searching his eyes for signs of life. He was bruised and battered from being trampled by a bookshelf. Trying in common, asking rapid questions that Dula couldn't understand, Arjori got nothing except a hiccup from the bruised drooling man as his head lolled back. "As I expected."
She said with a hand on her chin. The old woman tried asking what was going on but the other two ignored her, whispering in their own council. To this, the old woman left in a huff. Dula's eyes got wide and she looked down, then up to the icy-woman's eyes but the other captive merely put another subtle finger to her mouth. Arjori ignored the old woman's leaving and continued questioning the man who only drooled until he finally uttered one word. "Memory."
This went on for some time, her questioning the other practically comatose prisoners until finally Dula was fed up. "Please miss! Just let me go, I swear I'm sane. I just needed to read books but I can't read! I don't speak common. I'm from Desnind. Please, I don't know what's going on here anymore than you do."
The Order of Adunih student gawked at her for a second before quickly saying, "Well, I know exactly what's going on here, but you're right-- you do sound sane enough. Go now, I need to help my patients."
Dula gave a pleading, apologetic look to the darkly clothed woman who still sat there in silence, merely watching it all play out. And as Dula booked it, her cold eyes followed Dula out the door.
"Real magic is not about
gaining power over others:
it is about gaining power over yourself"
― Rosemary Ellen Guiley
¤
Stomach rumbling, she had found her way to a dive they called "De Four en Hand". The food was disgusting, even for what she could afford. Milk that was turning, stale bread and an assortment of burnt peanuts was just about the highlight of her birthday. She sat in the restaurant area by herself looking defeated and strung out from the stress of the day. Thoughts kept collecting in her mind about what was going on in that damn library? And who was that... girl? Her eyes, they looked so wild, like a dubaebo or an aidogba eairo. Dula was day dreaming about getting lost in those eyes with her elbow propped up on the table and head in hand when the thin form of a tall blonde woman made its way to sit at her table. Dula let her eyes adjust to the form of the woman, blinking as if waking from a sleep, when she saw the icy-eyes she had been day-dreaming of staring into her own. The woman's features were set in a hard smirk. "Just who I was looking for."
Came the woman in common as she rapped her fingers on the table once, stood up, and waved down the waitress. They exchanged words before the lanky woman sat back down again now leaned in and using a conspirators tone. "I was sure you knew what I was up to when, right before those amnesiacs showed up, you were slamming those books into the shelves. I had been watching you all day from just across the room. But when they thought you were one of the amnesiacs I knew you must not have known I was even there."
She flipped a lock of her hair from her face, turning her chin to the side and not losing eye contact with Dula. At first, her dark lips were beautiful as she spoke. "I can of course be very sneaky. That's why I was just wondering, what in the fuck were you doing falling to your knees in a public place like some circus clown having a moan?"
The changing in tone of voice snapped Dula back to where she was, talking to a stranger at night in some dive bar. Shaking her head, Dula made to get up and leave-- she was done here and had seen enough. "Dula no-no Common. Xanthea, Xanthea."
As she waved her hand and began to walk away the icy-woman grabbed her wrist. In a hissed, even tone she continued on. "I know you speak Xanthea, fool! I also know you can understand common, though how much I don't yet know. I asked Mixiebelle to bring me what you ordered for myself. She told me your common was thick, the woman is a gossip to say it plainly, and in a few moments described to me exactly what you had ordered. So you're poor, then huh? Need money?"
The woman grinned now, more like a dubaebo than ever, but then pursed her lips as if trying to hide her excitement. "I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Ligeia but you can call me Ge. What's your name, traveler?"
There was the smell of danger in the air, Dula could also feel it like blood on her tongue. The woman, this Ge, talked fast and a good portion of what she said got lost in translation. Amnesiacs? Still, it was shown to Dula the woman could see that she needed money and could also tell she was foreign. Dula also knew that this woman was going to ask something of her. "Dula."
Came the accented reply, flat and cautious. She struggled against the woman's grasp for a moment before wrenching her wrist away. While she rubbed her wrist she was staring at Ge with her honey, puzzle-eyes. Deja vu gripped her, then left.
An alligator's smile made its home on Ligeia's face as she waved for Dula to sit, then folded her hands neatly in front of her on the table waiting for Dula to sit down.
"Real magic is not about
gaining power over others:
it is about gaining power over yourself"
― Rosemary Ellen Guiley
¤
"So, tell me Dula. What brings you to Scalvoris?"
Dula had finished all her sour milk and yearned to leave the bar, but something told her stay. It was a mixture of the woman's cold eyes studying her, keeping her in place and the fear that if she left to go home-- the woman might follow. Scratching her chin, she posed a question to Ge rather than answer the one presented to her. "Ge finds library. Hunt Dula? What happens to people? Ge do to them? Dula saying, created chaos Ge? Or what happens?"
Ligeia shook her head and started howling laughing, but quickly hid her face in the crook of her arm and coughed the last of the laughter out. "Man, you really do have a thick accent. It's attractive, sure-- but boy..."
She whislted and looked Dula up and down. "Okay, I'm going to talk slowly so you can understand me. You're right-- if this is going to work I should be plain with you. I wasn't hunting you, I'm looking for Sev'ryn books. You hear me? Desnind books? As it so happens, we were there for the same reason. I was looking for a dictionary, a word book, to teach me basic Xanthea. Honestly, I was going to steal it. When I saw you taking the same books down, I thought maybe I had gotten lucky. Found a translator. Those people? I have no idea what happened, there was a pop noise, then a hissing, and some people appeared rocking back and forth and saying 'who am I, who am I?' Gods, when you fell to your knees I thought it might be communicable. Or that you were dumb. Are you following?"
Dula shook her head no, there was annoyance creasing her brow. She knew she was being insulted, somehow, but damn this language barrier-- she couldn't give her a piece of her mind back without sounding like a child. "Ohh-kay. How about this. Memory. They seemed to have no memory, at least that's what the Order of Adunih lady said after you left. I faked being one of them why? I didn't want to get kicked out once they shut the place down and needed to know if you would suit my needs. I wasn't going to give up this chance for anything, I have been looking for so long. In the end, when you left? I made a break for it when their backs were turned."
Ligeia folded her hands on the table and ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair. "Now you'll answer my question, what brought someone who can barely speak common to Scalvoris?"
Like a bright, hot poker Dula felt anger stab at her. She slid her chair back and threw her palms down on the table, a snarl on her face. "What these games? You rob me? Rob me then. Enough this. Dula answers no questions. Leaving, now!"
Ligeia looked shocked for a moment but the expression quickly turned into something reminiscent of a smiling weasel as she watched the other woman hustle for the door. "I could make you rich, Dula. Remember, money? I know this place, Scalvoris Island, and its legends. There are things here just waiting to be discovered, if you have the touch. Adventure, girl, that's what I'm offering you. You walk away from this, that's on you."
Groping for her staff which wasn't there, Dula found herself unarmed and confused. What was this woman truly after? "Ge want talk, meet Dula here in three trial, early morn'. Adventure? Legend? Dula know this. Meet again, no jokes. No games."
Ligeia's face was nothing but interest as she nodded and said, "Deal."
From there, the half-Sev'ryn look the long trek home, spending the remainder of the night restlessly in her bed unable to sleep.
