04-30-2018, 07:45 PM
Taloc was quiet for a long while after Hayaidesu finished her explanation as he filed away the information. So much and yet so little… It will be enough for now. She was right after all, the more he explores, the more he will learn.
‘Fountain of Infinity, eh… Strange that it would be so tailored to me though. If everyone came back to life… Was reborn? Spawned? No wait, respawned... Then again, revived probably would be the best word in this case, not that it matters much. If everyone was revived at this particular place, then why would it so favor one person? Either I’m special or it changes per person somehow. Better to assume the latter than give something unwanted away.’
The horse continued with its… Unnatural speed… Eating through the distance with a still barely believed pace. Thankfully, Taloc was able to time its motions enough to not feel like a fool riding now, though the lack of anything around made this kind of travel… Unnerving. No matter how much the horse ran, there was no indication that they were even going anywhere. Sure the wind was whipping across his body with enough force that Taloc had long since given up the struggle of keeping his hood in place, chalking it up as a hopeless battle. The dot was getting bigger too, if only slightly. Didn’t change the fact that the stark white void of this place, this… Nexus, could easily make you believe you were galloping in place.
‘Hell, I’d even be happy to see a rock at this point… Anything to break up the monotony. Ok… Focus. Back to the matter at hand. What was the next part?’
‘Right. Seven days. Should I be killed, or had I killed myself again, I would come back after seven days… If what she says is true, than it doesn’t much matter what I do. No reason to doubt her yet. Except…’
Taloc turns his head slightly, looking back towards Hayaidesu, and speaks loud enough to be heard clearly over the whipping wind. “Can you go over what you meant by pissing off Omni? Perhaps what that would entail, for example.”
She looks into his mask and shrugs. “Beats me. I just know it has been done before.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“Yes.”
Taloc waits a moment for her to go on… Except… she doesn’t. Slowly Taloc nods his head. “Would you care to tell me who that is?”
“Nope.”
“Any reason why?”
Hayaidesu turns away slightly, clearly closing off his line of questions. “Personal.”
“Very well.”
Taloc faces forward once more and was woefully disappointed to see that the dot hadn’t grown bigger… ‘Might as well be riding in circles for all the progress we seem to be making. Damn it!’
Taking a deep breath, Taloc slowly exhales, letting the burst of anger go with the wind. ‘Emotion is a liability. Let it rule you and you will be consumed by it… Bloody ashes I hated that tenant, but I can’t deny the wisdom behind it. Now… Ashen Blades. Not the first time I hooked up with a mercenary group I guess. Then again, I only joined because my contract was their boss. Still had my people to go back to though… No no no! Don’t go down that path, I need to focus!’
“Do you know who the leader of The Blades is, Hayaidesu?” Taloc calls out before quickly adding, “Their name? Perhaps how to get in contact with them?”
“Kuzuru. We are heading there now.”
“Kuzuru…” Taloc says slowly, rolling the name around on his tongue and making sure to commit it to memory. “Anything I should know about him, or any of the members?”
“Kuzuru. Prideful. Bloodthirsty. Has a tendency to show off. Same goes for the others, more or less. Don’t know much about them.”
“Sounds about par for the course… Thank you.”
He feels her move slightly, sitting this close to him and holding onto him was probably the only reason, but it felt like she shrugged her shoulders. ‘And I thought I was reserved. Hell she is making me feel like a bloody crier. Kinda makes me wonder what made her like this… Raised into it? Forced perhaps? No point in speculating. Either she’ll bring it up or she won’t, simple as that.’
‘Still… It feels as if I’m forgetting something. Like I missed some detail. Lets see here… Fountain, Nexus, fast horse, seven day revival time for… For primes.’
“Hayaidesu. You said primes revive after seven days when they are killed. What happens to the rest? To the secondaries?”
“They don’t come back.”
Taloc wasn’t sure if it was the… sheer… inequality of that fact or the emotionless tone she used saying it that bothered him more. This was a known and accepted fact here. Her tone alone was enough to make that blatantly clear. As simple and irrefutable as life and…
This is unacceptable.
Omni is no doubt to blame for this as well. This system pitting his ‘favorites’ against each other as they vye for this omnilium. If they stayed dead it would be one thing, but to be revived while the so called lesser secondaries pay the price…
‘Hell. I’ve killed for less.’
Without warning, the horse stopped dead in its tracks, throwing Taloc forward off over its head and releasing him from his thoughts. Had he just landed, that would’ve been fine, but the momentum caused him to bounce and roll a good ten feet before skidding to a stop flat on his back. Not the first time he fell off a horse. Definitely the first time he felt like a river rock skipping along the water though.
“Ow…” Taloc groans roughly, starting to climb back to his feet. “Why the hell did it…”
Directly in front of him was an absolutely massive… Gateway? Of sorts? In near overwhelming contrast to the blankness of the nexus, this smoking arch of seeming molten rock and brimstone had a strange shimmering along its inside. Easily 12 feet high and almost as much wide, the entrance gave the appearance of a cave exit, leading out into the heat haze of a volcanic wasteland.
“We arrived.” Hayaidesu chimes in.
Despite the simple, emotionless and matter of fact way she said it, Taloc couldn’t help but get the feeling she was being smug. Letting it go, Taloc walks closer to the entrance. Less distance didn’t change the fact he wasn’t sure if there was something shimmering along the archway, or if it was just the haze that inherently came from high temperatures.
Then it hit him. It wasn’t hot. Well the gateway did give off a certain level of heat, but nothing near what it should be for what he was seeing. Whatever caused this, Omni, it was able to divide things so clearly that not even temperature would be able to get through… In spite of himself, he couldn’t help but feel a bit amazed and impressed.
“So… Do we just walk through? Or is there something we need to do first?” Taloc says, turning to look at Hayaidesu.
With a small nod, she swings her leg up and off the horse, sliding down onto the Nexus floor. “Walking works.”
Sighing softly, Taloc looks the arch over once more. His face still hidden behind the mask, he slowly reaches up and pulls his hood up. Striding forward, all of his questions and uncertainty was neatly hidden behind the faux confidence he exuded.
‘Every contract starts by leaving the village. If you don’t know where your target is, any direction is as good as the next. I guess this is my first step then.’
Taloc steps through the portal.
‘Fountain of Infinity, eh… Strange that it would be so tailored to me though. If everyone came back to life… Was reborn? Spawned? No wait, respawned... Then again, revived probably would be the best word in this case, not that it matters much. If everyone was revived at this particular place, then why would it so favor one person? Either I’m special or it changes per person somehow. Better to assume the latter than give something unwanted away.’
The horse continued with its… Unnatural speed… Eating through the distance with a still barely believed pace. Thankfully, Taloc was able to time its motions enough to not feel like a fool riding now, though the lack of anything around made this kind of travel… Unnerving. No matter how much the horse ran, there was no indication that they were even going anywhere. Sure the wind was whipping across his body with enough force that Taloc had long since given up the struggle of keeping his hood in place, chalking it up as a hopeless battle. The dot was getting bigger too, if only slightly. Didn’t change the fact that the stark white void of this place, this… Nexus, could easily make you believe you were galloping in place.
‘Hell, I’d even be happy to see a rock at this point… Anything to break up the monotony. Ok… Focus. Back to the matter at hand. What was the next part?’
‘Right. Seven days. Should I be killed, or had I killed myself again, I would come back after seven days… If what she says is true, than it doesn’t much matter what I do. No reason to doubt her yet. Except…’
Taloc turns his head slightly, looking back towards Hayaidesu, and speaks loud enough to be heard clearly over the whipping wind. “Can you go over what you meant by pissing off Omni? Perhaps what that would entail, for example.”
She looks into his mask and shrugs. “Beats me. I just know it has been done before.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“Yes.”
Taloc waits a moment for her to go on… Except… she doesn’t. Slowly Taloc nods his head. “Would you care to tell me who that is?”
“Nope.”
“Any reason why?”
Hayaidesu turns away slightly, clearly closing off his line of questions. “Personal.”
“Very well.”
Taloc faces forward once more and was woefully disappointed to see that the dot hadn’t grown bigger… ‘Might as well be riding in circles for all the progress we seem to be making. Damn it!’
Taking a deep breath, Taloc slowly exhales, letting the burst of anger go with the wind. ‘Emotion is a liability. Let it rule you and you will be consumed by it… Bloody ashes I hated that tenant, but I can’t deny the wisdom behind it. Now… Ashen Blades. Not the first time I hooked up with a mercenary group I guess. Then again, I only joined because my contract was their boss. Still had my people to go back to though… No no no! Don’t go down that path, I need to focus!’
“Do you know who the leader of The Blades is, Hayaidesu?” Taloc calls out before quickly adding, “Their name? Perhaps how to get in contact with them?”
“Kuzuru. We are heading there now.”
“Kuzuru…” Taloc says slowly, rolling the name around on his tongue and making sure to commit it to memory. “Anything I should know about him, or any of the members?”
“Kuzuru. Prideful. Bloodthirsty. Has a tendency to show off. Same goes for the others, more or less. Don’t know much about them.”
“Sounds about par for the course… Thank you.”
He feels her move slightly, sitting this close to him and holding onto him was probably the only reason, but it felt like she shrugged her shoulders. ‘And I thought I was reserved. Hell she is making me feel like a bloody crier. Kinda makes me wonder what made her like this… Raised into it? Forced perhaps? No point in speculating. Either she’ll bring it up or she won’t, simple as that.’
‘Still… It feels as if I’m forgetting something. Like I missed some detail. Lets see here… Fountain, Nexus, fast horse, seven day revival time for… For primes.’
“Hayaidesu. You said primes revive after seven days when they are killed. What happens to the rest? To the secondaries?”
“They don’t come back.”
Taloc wasn’t sure if it was the… sheer… inequality of that fact or the emotionless tone she used saying it that bothered him more. This was a known and accepted fact here. Her tone alone was enough to make that blatantly clear. As simple and irrefutable as life and…
This is unacceptable.
Omni is no doubt to blame for this as well. This system pitting his ‘favorites’ against each other as they vye for this omnilium. If they stayed dead it would be one thing, but to be revived while the so called lesser secondaries pay the price…
‘Hell. I’ve killed for less.’
Without warning, the horse stopped dead in its tracks, throwing Taloc forward off over its head and releasing him from his thoughts. Had he just landed, that would’ve been fine, but the momentum caused him to bounce and roll a good ten feet before skidding to a stop flat on his back. Not the first time he fell off a horse. Definitely the first time he felt like a river rock skipping along the water though.
“Ow…” Taloc groans roughly, starting to climb back to his feet. “Why the hell did it…”
Directly in front of him was an absolutely massive… Gateway? Of sorts? In near overwhelming contrast to the blankness of the nexus, this smoking arch of seeming molten rock and brimstone had a strange shimmering along its inside. Easily 12 feet high and almost as much wide, the entrance gave the appearance of a cave exit, leading out into the heat haze of a volcanic wasteland.
“We arrived.” Hayaidesu chimes in.
Despite the simple, emotionless and matter of fact way she said it, Taloc couldn’t help but get the feeling she was being smug. Letting it go, Taloc walks closer to the entrance. Less distance didn’t change the fact he wasn’t sure if there was something shimmering along the archway, or if it was just the haze that inherently came from high temperatures.
Then it hit him. It wasn’t hot. Well the gateway did give off a certain level of heat, but nothing near what it should be for what he was seeing. Whatever caused this, Omni, it was able to divide things so clearly that not even temperature would be able to get through… In spite of himself, he couldn’t help but feel a bit amazed and impressed.
“So… Do we just walk through? Or is there something we need to do first?” Taloc says, turning to look at Hayaidesu.
With a small nod, she swings her leg up and off the horse, sliding down onto the Nexus floor. “Walking works.”
Sighing softly, Taloc looks the arch over once more. His face still hidden behind the mask, he slowly reaches up and pulls his hood up. Striding forward, all of his questions and uncertainty was neatly hidden behind the faux confidence he exuded.
‘Every contract starts by leaving the village. If you don’t know where your target is, any direction is as good as the next. I guess this is my first step then.’
Taloc steps through the portal.
In battle it is important to keep a sharp blade
But it is by far more important to keep a sharp mind.
But it is by far more important to keep a sharp mind.