09-29-2015, 08:12 PM
Jaixe didn’t understand the choice for the change in attire, or its flashiness. They were trying to be subtle, after all, but she stood out more than his glowing orange eyes ever could. He would have said something, but Ash seemed the sort to ignore some forms of logic and reasoning just for the sake of it, much to his chagrin on the matter.
Still, they were making progress through the dirty, waste-filled walkways and pathways that wound around the dirty, rusty, bland steel buildings like a labyrinth for rats. Though, given the Empire’s lack of concern for these areas, rats would be an accurate way to describe those that live here. It took a half hour to get through the maze, relying on Ash’s map from the dataverse to guide their paths, though he felt they kept going the convoluted route with every turn and twist they made to wind their way around the industrial maze.
Along the way, however, Ash was apparently quite the curious sort. When she wasn’t offering directions and assurances that they were headed in the right direction, she was asking the ocassional question about the world she found herself in. Jaixe wasn’t impatient in feeding a curious mind when it helped pass the time and drew his mind off of the endless walking they seemed to be doing. Truly, it was almost as unbearable as the elevator ride it took to get to the fifth tier in the first place…
Though Ash did surprise Jaixe at some junctions with her questions and her ability to memorize the information she received. Jaixe wasn’t being particularly detailed, but she seemed to assume the hidden details with relative ease and even come to conclusions about other matters of the Omniverse and its strange rules and existence that Jaixe had yet to go over. She had some level of intelligence beyond her skills as a fighter, and that alone impressed him to some degree. It did make the matter more enjoyable, at the very least.
By the time they reached their destination, a multi-tiered tower that rose in levels higher up than Jaixe cared to crane his neck to inspect. Though aside from that detail, the structure itself was similarly designed as its surroundings, bland, dirty, and surprisingly lacking windows or much in the way of identifiers to make it a useful landmark or even hand in the effort to make it distinct. If Ash wasn’t so certain that her maps were correct, Jaixe would be inclined to even regard the building as possibly being a library in any capacity.
The duo walked over the short steel grated bridge, supported only by a few thin black cables that hung from the opposing buildings on either side of the gap that separated the towering structure from the other, equally unassuming structures that surrounded it. They saw a somewhat faded, light-metal sign hanging over the door that identified it as the archives they were indeed searching for, though Jaixe still held some doubt. The rusted, windowless, cold, gray metal door, which seemed to have lost a significant amount of integrity in the days since it was installed, served as the entrance to the archives. As Jaixe tentatively clutched the cold handle, turned it, and opened the creaking door to what lay beyond, he was surprised to find it almost like a scholarly haven.
Past the small, cramped, dusty, wooden-floored area of tables and makeshift chairs that served as the seating area and lobby for the library, it consisted of endless rows upon rows of books, tablets, scrolls, and other such scholarly items, though rows was inaccurate. It was all laid about a little more haphazardly than that, and the coziness of it all made it feel like a den for readers than a welcoming respite like the library of the first tier. It was all strewn about with what appeared to be little sense in organization, and Jaixe expected far, far less given its exterior appearance. It was a maze of knowledge that was so tantalizing to Jaixe, he almost smiled out of excitement then. Now if only it had proper lighting that didn’t flicker ever so often…
“So this is the Archives of Ultan…” Jaixe murmured as he walked into the cold, dust-filled air of the archives which was filled with the smell of aged paper. It was a welcome change from the reek of the Fifth tier outside, and though it was cold, it was a few degrees warmer yet. But most important of all, it was quiet. Silent as the grave, as one could say, where Jaixe could not hear the loud whirring of industrial fans, the cars and trucks roaring by at breakneck speeds, the trash fluttering about like bugs on a summer’s day, he saw and heard none of that. Nor, in fact, did he see many people roaming about. There were a half dozen at most perusing the archives of information.
He essentially had this place all to himself. And he adored every moment of this bliss.
He walked past the front desk where an old, weathered man wearing un-fitting glasses that attached to his clothes with a pin and a chain on his clean, white shirt seemed to keep idle watch over the archives mixed with perusing his own selection of knowledge and books. When Jaixe passed by with his feet stamping onto the ground and echoing in halls of the archives, the old man merely seemed to huff quietly without even looking up at the newcomer, his eyes locked into his chosen texts.
Jaixe waited in the lobby area in front of the desk where the old man stood, where he perused the archives from a distance, apparently attempting to judge where he wanted to start from. Each row, if they could be called such for the lack of organization present in this place, was labeled appropriately, and in reality, the archives were very well organized. It merely seemed to be disorganized on the surface, and it didn’t take very long for Jaixe to adjust to the difference.
He mentally went over the list of topics he wanted to research in further detail, particularly more knowledge regarding Diablo and the Underverse, as well as knowledge about the Kingdom that wasn’t so blatantly censored or propagandized. At least this time he wouldn’t have that Death Knight, Raal staring over his shoulder every time he pulled out a book that talked about the Kingdom and Camelot.
He also wanted to see if there was anything hidden that he hadn’t noticed before in the tier one library. He was certain the Empire had much to hide, and given that this place prided itself on being so unregulated in its supply of knowledge, he was determined to seek those secrets out with the usual skill and precision that he brought to any endeavor such as this.
Now where would such information be hiding…? Jaixe pondered, lightly tapping his foot against the hardwood floor as he did so.
Still, they were making progress through the dirty, waste-filled walkways and pathways that wound around the dirty, rusty, bland steel buildings like a labyrinth for rats. Though, given the Empire’s lack of concern for these areas, rats would be an accurate way to describe those that live here. It took a half hour to get through the maze, relying on Ash’s map from the dataverse to guide their paths, though he felt they kept going the convoluted route with every turn and twist they made to wind their way around the industrial maze.
Along the way, however, Ash was apparently quite the curious sort. When she wasn’t offering directions and assurances that they were headed in the right direction, she was asking the ocassional question about the world she found herself in. Jaixe wasn’t impatient in feeding a curious mind when it helped pass the time and drew his mind off of the endless walking they seemed to be doing. Truly, it was almost as unbearable as the elevator ride it took to get to the fifth tier in the first place…
Though Ash did surprise Jaixe at some junctions with her questions and her ability to memorize the information she received. Jaixe wasn’t being particularly detailed, but she seemed to assume the hidden details with relative ease and even come to conclusions about other matters of the Omniverse and its strange rules and existence that Jaixe had yet to go over. She had some level of intelligence beyond her skills as a fighter, and that alone impressed him to some degree. It did make the matter more enjoyable, at the very least.
By the time they reached their destination, a multi-tiered tower that rose in levels higher up than Jaixe cared to crane his neck to inspect. Though aside from that detail, the structure itself was similarly designed as its surroundings, bland, dirty, and surprisingly lacking windows or much in the way of identifiers to make it a useful landmark or even hand in the effort to make it distinct. If Ash wasn’t so certain that her maps were correct, Jaixe would be inclined to even regard the building as possibly being a library in any capacity.
The duo walked over the short steel grated bridge, supported only by a few thin black cables that hung from the opposing buildings on either side of the gap that separated the towering structure from the other, equally unassuming structures that surrounded it. They saw a somewhat faded, light-metal sign hanging over the door that identified it as the archives they were indeed searching for, though Jaixe still held some doubt. The rusted, windowless, cold, gray metal door, which seemed to have lost a significant amount of integrity in the days since it was installed, served as the entrance to the archives. As Jaixe tentatively clutched the cold handle, turned it, and opened the creaking door to what lay beyond, he was surprised to find it almost like a scholarly haven.
Past the small, cramped, dusty, wooden-floored area of tables and makeshift chairs that served as the seating area and lobby for the library, it consisted of endless rows upon rows of books, tablets, scrolls, and other such scholarly items, though rows was inaccurate. It was all laid about a little more haphazardly than that, and the coziness of it all made it feel like a den for readers than a welcoming respite like the library of the first tier. It was all strewn about with what appeared to be little sense in organization, and Jaixe expected far, far less given its exterior appearance. It was a maze of knowledge that was so tantalizing to Jaixe, he almost smiled out of excitement then. Now if only it had proper lighting that didn’t flicker ever so often…
“So this is the Archives of Ultan…” Jaixe murmured as he walked into the cold, dust-filled air of the archives which was filled with the smell of aged paper. It was a welcome change from the reek of the Fifth tier outside, and though it was cold, it was a few degrees warmer yet. But most important of all, it was quiet. Silent as the grave, as one could say, where Jaixe could not hear the loud whirring of industrial fans, the cars and trucks roaring by at breakneck speeds, the trash fluttering about like bugs on a summer’s day, he saw and heard none of that. Nor, in fact, did he see many people roaming about. There were a half dozen at most perusing the archives of information.
He essentially had this place all to himself. And he adored every moment of this bliss.
He walked past the front desk where an old, weathered man wearing un-fitting glasses that attached to his clothes with a pin and a chain on his clean, white shirt seemed to keep idle watch over the archives mixed with perusing his own selection of knowledge and books. When Jaixe passed by with his feet stamping onto the ground and echoing in halls of the archives, the old man merely seemed to huff quietly without even looking up at the newcomer, his eyes locked into his chosen texts.
Jaixe waited in the lobby area in front of the desk where the old man stood, where he perused the archives from a distance, apparently attempting to judge where he wanted to start from. Each row, if they could be called such for the lack of organization present in this place, was labeled appropriately, and in reality, the archives were very well organized. It merely seemed to be disorganized on the surface, and it didn’t take very long for Jaixe to adjust to the difference.
He mentally went over the list of topics he wanted to research in further detail, particularly more knowledge regarding Diablo and the Underverse, as well as knowledge about the Kingdom that wasn’t so blatantly censored or propagandized. At least this time he wouldn’t have that Death Knight, Raal staring over his shoulder every time he pulled out a book that talked about the Kingdom and Camelot.
He also wanted to see if there was anything hidden that he hadn’t noticed before in the tier one library. He was certain the Empire had much to hide, and given that this place prided itself on being so unregulated in its supply of knowledge, he was determined to seek those secrets out with the usual skill and precision that he brought to any endeavor such as this.
Now where would such information be hiding…? Jaixe pondered, lightly tapping his foot against the hardwood floor as he did so.