• Solo • Out of Time, Part 3

[Doran]

Continued from here.

Zi'da 58, Arc 721

The Order of the Adunih had taken over, but Doran continued to stay in the hall that the passengers of the mysterious ship had been taken to, in order to help wherever he could. He watched the healers as they talked to those people that truly looked as if they had come from a different time period, and provided comfort, but for the most part, he made himself useful. He couldn’t help but wonder how they felt, if they felt lost, or maybe scared. He had experienced a fair number of unusual events himself and met Immortals and monsters, but he had never been faced with a version of Scalvoris that he didn’t recognize.

Scientists from the university would likely want to study the passengers as well as their ship, if they really were time travelers, or if the Grand Fracture had caused this unusual phenomenon – which was becoming more likely, as there didn’t seem to be any signs of mental illness or some sort of physical ailment. Would they appreciate being studied though?

Some of them, he decided would be upset, but others would likely want to know what had happened to them. He knew that he would rather not be left in the dark in such a case.

He glanced at Professor Fridson - he had sent for his mortal colleague due to his experience with magic and fractures – nodded at him and smiled at him before he went over to him as he had just an idea, an idea that he needed the help of a native of Scalvoris with.

“I shared my theory that the Grand Fracture of Fei might be responsible with you all when I briefed you”, he reminded the man who looked at him with curiosity. “The passengers insist that it’s the arc 521, and they don’t seem to recognize Scalvoris. There might be a way to find out if they really are …”, he hesitated for a moment as that possibility still seemed a bit crazy to him. “… time travelers, and if they were sent forward in time by the fracture or some sort of supernatural phenomenon.”

“Does Scalvoris have a civil registry?” he wanted to know. “Some of those people are likely natives of Scalvoris. One of the passengers”, he continued and gestured towards Elijah who was holding a cup of tea between both hands and quietly talking to Miss Berensen now (He still couldn’t get over how much the man looked like his dead lover!). “Mentioned appointments. If we don’t find those people or their acquaintances on those lists, it would increase the likelihood that they really do come from a different time in my opinion”, he remarked. “At the same time, we could check the lists from a few centuries ago.”

There were also Immortal-given abilities that enabled you to tell if someone was lying, but he was not sure if they would work if someone believed that they were telling the truth.

Professor Fridson stroke his chin thoughtfully for a moment before he shook his head and replied, “To my knowledge, there were no such lists during the time of the Pirate Lords, so that method won't work in my opinion.“

Doran inclined his head.

“The best that we can thus to is assume that those people somehow arrived in Scalvoris two centuries too late, likely due to the Grand Fracture of Fei, if all other possibilities have been ruled out. In some sciences, this is an accepted method”, he remarked slowly and furrowed his brow.

For some diseases, there was no proper diagnostic process, for example. You simply checked the patients for diseases that had similar symptoms. If they turned out not to have them, you then assumed that they had that particular disease. It wasn’t ideal, and Doran didn’t really like it – he preferred irrefutable proof - but in certain situations, ruling out all other possibilities was all that you could do.

[Doran]

“It seems so”, Professor Fridson replied and furrowed his brow in a similar manner. They had discussed Fei and Xiur and the way Immortals processed, or might process, grief and been in the Glass Temple together on that fateful trial – although Tag Fridson had not gone to the Heart of Scalvoris and become Forged. Matters of time travel – or possible time travel – were not something that either of them had ever encountered though.

“As I told you when we first met all those seasons ago, no one has really had much luck studying the fracture, or if they have, they decided not to come back”, he continued and stroke his chin. “Much of what it does is still a mystery. We know that it causes people to change though. Perhaps, this will be an opportunity to bring a bit of light into the darkness?” he mused and glanced towards where the passengers were gathered.

When Arjori who Doran had already talked to before approached, he remarked, “It seems as if she wants something from you. I’ll leave you be for the time being. This is curious, most curious”, he murmured as he stepped away from the Mortalborn in order to continue his work.

“We have come to the same conclusion as you”, the Blue Cloak who Doran knew as a researcher who was most interested in strange diseases remarked. “There is nothing physically wrong with them, and there are no signs of mental illness, and nothing that immediately makes us think of exposure to a harmful substance – which wouldn’t be able to explain their old-fashioned clothes anyway. They are worried and they are tired, but that is to be expected”, she added and sighed.

“What do you think will be done now?” Doran asked. He had to admit, he was concerned about what would happen to those people now. They appeared to be so lost.

“Provided that nothing changes, we'll take them to Beacon. We’ll ask them if they know anybody in Scalvoris and see if we can find them. We’ll provide them with a safe place to stay, and we’ll of course continue to help them”, the healer replied in a thoughtful tone of voice.

Doran inclined his head. Checking the civil registry was not an option, as such a thing had not existed during the time of the Pirate Lords (and he wasn’t sure if there were any kinds of lists from before), but perhaps, simply asking around might lead to some sort of result.

He still hadn’t given up hope entirely. The scientist in him was intrigued by the possibility of time travel, or some sort of supernatural phenomenon, of course, but he was worried about how those people would react if they realized that their entire world was gone.

It would be better for them, much better, if they had not been sent forward in time, although the likelihood of that not being the case was getting smaller with every passing bit.

“I can take care of two or three people as well”, he offered as he wished to continue to be of help and do whatever he could. “My house is more than big enough, and I will be able to cater to most of their needs. And if they really do come from the arc 521, I will be able to teach them what has happened since then.”

Arjori abruptly raised an eyebrow.

“I’m Mortalborn”, Doran simply replied in a calm tone of voice and met her gaze. Once upon a time, he had tried to pass as human whenever he could, but since the Forging, he had been more open about what he was. The Albarech knew what he was, and so did Professor Fridson and a fair number of other people that had been in the Glass Temple with him that trial.

Honesty was usually preferrable.

[Doran]

Had Arjori had more time to think, she would likely have asked a lot of questions – she possessed quite a thirst for knowledge – but there was too much work to be done for her to react with more than a surprised look to Doran’s statement that he was the son of an Immortal.

(She was determined to ask him once this here was over though!)

The passengers of the mysterious ship had been examined and determined to be relatively healthy and sane, but there were other issues now. Lists with their names needed to be made.

They needed to know how many people exactly there were, and what kind of needs they had.

And besides, they could only stay in the hall at the docks for so long.

While the members of Order of the Adunih were making arrangements, Doran found himself being approached by Miss Berensen once more. She had talked to the healers, of course, but Doran had been the first person here that she had met, back in the very beginning.

The mortal woman looked more frustrated than confused now, Doran observed, and her eyes were narrowed. He took note of that before he asked her in a calm and friendly tone of voice, “What can I do for you? Is there anything that I can help you with?”

“I don’t want to go to this Beacon place or whatever it is called. We were told that we could stay there. It sounds like a good place, but all that worrying is already getting on my nerves”, she admitted and proceeded to furrow her brow a bit.

“I’m a bit worried as well, but I don’t want to possibly have to deal with their worries on top of mine. I overheard someone say that there is a good chance that we arrived in the wrong arc for some reason. Do people still pay in nels? Do people still have jobs and eat at taverns?” she wanted to know before Doran could answer.

“If they do, I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to manage on my own until this has been sorted out for good. This is more or less another foreign country, right?”

“You could go somewhere else as well, young man”, she suggested to Elijah who had followed her – they had been talking a fair bit since the Order of the Adunih had arrived at the hall – and who was listening to the conversation with unmistakable curiosity now.

“There are still nels and taverns, and people still have jobs”, Doran confirmed with a nod. “I already told Arjori – the healer with the blue cloak – that I would be willing to accommodate two or three of you. You could stay with me instead, Miss Berensen, provided that you are still willing to put up with me. I have to warn you though – my home is a bit on the unusual side. It’s a former lighthouse”, he added and smiled slightly, partly in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension.

“I’m used to unusual places. I grew up in a former mill”, Elijah replied instead of Miss Berensen and came closer. He was obviously interested in the conversation. “I was my family’s place. They were a bit on the quirky said, I suppose. My grandfather especially was said to be rather eccentric, although I’ve never met him personally”, he added.

Doran’s eyes widened as he heard that. His lover had told him about an old mill once, his childhood home where he had lived before he had gone to Viden to study at the Academy.

He had never told him about any children, but it was possible that he had not been aware of their existence.

He wanted to know more, but he realized that it was still hardly the right time or place for such a conversation. He forced himself to postpone the questions that were on his mind. He could wait a little longer. He had already been waiting for centuries. There was one thing that he couldn’t help but wonder about though. “Did your grandfather’s name happen to be …?”

“How did you know?” Elijah asked.

“I knew your grandfather. I knew him very well, in fact. We were close once upon a time. I could tell you about him”, he offered. For just a moment, his heart beat a little faster. He had become quite good at dealing with unexpected news and unusual events, but there were some things that even a man who had taken part in the Forging could not anticipate.

“You could come with me as well”, he continued, not out of purely selfish motives, but because he thought that it would make sense to extend the same offer to him. Miss Berensen and this strange young man who resembled someone that he had lost so much seemed to have grown close during the time that had passed since they had arrived.

Miss Berensen didn’t want to stay with the others. He understood that as well as the desire to strike out on her own to some extent. He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen in that case though. In his home, she wouldn’t have to interact with the other passengers, but there would still be someone that would help her in case she needed it.

“I’d like that”, Elijah admitted in a soft tone of voice before he abruptly looked at the others. “There’s so much I don’t know about my family yet. But I want to make sure the others are okay first. I’m also curious about Beacon, I have to admit. I’d like to talk to you in a few trials though, if that’s okay?” he asked and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Of course”, Doran replied and inclined his head.

[Doran]

Eventually, the Order of the Adunih took the passengers away from a hall. Most of them would likely end up in Beacon, as it didn’t seem as if anybody knew them. Much of what had happened would likely remain a mystery – Doran’s theory that the Grand Fracture of Fei was responsible could not be proven, at least not for the time being – but they would need support in any case.

Miss Berensen eventually accompanied Doran to the former lighthouse, on a beach that was just outside of Scalvoris Town. As they walked, he tried to get to know her better and asked her about her story. She told him a bit about herself, that she had never been married or had children – she had unfortunately never been blessed in that regard - and that she had wanted to see the world which was something that she hadn’t been able to do when she had been younger.

You were never too old to go on adventures in her opinion.

When they arrived, the Mortalborn informed his servants that he had brought an unexpected guest. He had to admit that a part of him wished that his lover had been on that mysterious ship as well, even though he knew that it was as good as impossible – he had died in the past.

He hadn’t been able to help him and save his life, and he might never be able to make things right again, as much as that hurt, but perhaps, he would be able to help his descendant, and subsequently solve some of the mysteries of the past. That counted for something and gave him hope.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Doran

Points awarded: 10
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Detection: Noticing that someone is frustrated
Investigation: Civil registries can be helpful sources of information
Investigation: Sometimes, ruling out certain possibilities is the best you can do
Investigation: Sometimes, just asking around can be helpful
Investigation: Consulting a native can be helpful
Socialization: Getting to know your new guest

Renown: 5
Loot: Nope
Injuries/Overstepping: none
Wealth Points: n/a

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: I was surprised that Elijah turned out to maybe be the grandson of Doran's former lover. You've really put together a very interesting story from this calender event! It is a good idea to send most of the people to Beacon, as that's a place that's set up to help those without a place of their own as these lost people come to Scalvoris with no place to be, not really a part of the present, as it were.

I do really wonder what caused this anomaly, though. Was it Ralaith or the Fracture of Fei? I wonder if we'll ever get an inkling or find out why.

Hopefully Doran can find some peace by conversing with Elijah about his grandfather, and determining whether he really is the person he claims to be. I found Doran's thoughts about having been unable to save his lover were interesting, and his determination to help the descendant of his former lover.

Good writing!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!