Just a book

[lovedbyyendis]

It wasn't long after Four escorted Aria outside of town that she returned appearing absolutely jubilant. Holding her large, leather book she made her way to the inn, paid for a private room and was not seen for the next 24 hours. This book is roughly ten inches wide by 14 inches tall and three inches thick. The pages are smooth from wear and slightly discolored around the edges from age. The brown leather that covers it is smooth and soft to the touch, with raised feathers adorning the edges, as if framing the single letter in the center of the cover. "M"

Aria didn't even bother to change out of her armor. She slid off the chain shirt and sat in the cloth tank top beneath it on the bed. She pulls out her journal and sets it and the book in front of her. For a long moment she simply stares at the book. Finally, she runs her hand over the "M" carved in the cover before opening the journal.

She doesn't just read the notes she made. She studies them intently. She leans in and moves close to the book, reading. Then she leans back on the rough pillow while holding her notes above her head and reading. She pulls out her charcoal and jots this and that on various pages. She hums quietly as she works, no real effort put into the rhythm, though the tune is bright and catchy. When she sits up again, she finds her eyes drifting to the leather of the cover. She smiles and nods. Then she leans forward to the journal again. She reads what was written while watching Four, then reads the notes and adjustments she's made, again and again.

Her eyes start to droop and her stomach growls. She pulls out a bag of trail mix and munches, laying on her stomach, writing more thoughts on the pages of her journal. When her eyes begin to droop again, she lays back on the pillow, again holding the book above her head. When again they start to droop and yawns make their way into her tune, she stands and paces the room, holding the journal, reciting notes aloud.

Long after the sun rose and well into it's decent towards the land she looks again to the book on the bed.

"Migand. It means Migand. You were -meant- to be mine," she says slowly, melodically to the book.

Again she smiles and walks to the bed. She gently closes the journal and puts it down on the floor beside her. Her droopy eyes slowly and sleepily look back towards the leather-bound book in front of her. She picks it up and cradles it for a moment.

"But why? Why did I want to find you so badly, and how could I have so far from home?" She holds the book out in front of her and looks at it closely again. She opens the cover, as she has many times before, knowing the pages are blank.

Disappointed, still, she sighs and lays the book beside her, staring as she slowly turns the pages.

She doesn't even realize when she falls asleep.

[lovedbyyendis]

It was dark when Aria woke up, her face laying on an arm where the hand laid in the open book. She smiled.

Suddenly she sat up straight, her eyes widened and she reached for her bag. Quickly she fumbled through several books there, then when she apparently didn't find what she was looking for she stood and practically ran across the room.

"Where is it?!" she exclaimed as she flung open the second bag, mostly more books, a few herbs, and a few potions.

"Ah!" she said as she pulled a very old, worn journal from the bag. She didn't even sit down before she began flipping through the dog-eared pages. She stopped abruptly at a page. She'd reached a section she'd nearly forgotten she'd written.

On the page in front of her was a language she barely recognized. It'd been so long since she'd even thought of it and she never really thought she'd need it anyway.

She sat down in the chair near the end of the bed. And as the night before she studied the pages intently. Back and forth, page after page and back again she flipped the pages, staring with wide eyes at each word written.

As she studied, she didn't even notice she'd begun to hum quietly. She didn't move from the chair, or the pages, for the next several hours.

[lovedbyyendis]

Before the sun began to rise she dozed off in the chair, the journal slipped from her hands and fell to the floor with a thud. Soft snores escaped her nose well into the afternoon.

When she awoke she gathered her books and donned her chain shirt. Frustrated, she sighed. "Might as well see what Emorikal is up to." She donned her chain shirt and headed outside, grabbing a bag of trail mix along the way.

Once outside she nodded and smiled to those gathered before moving to the large wooden table. She pulled her journal from her bag and set it on the table. After a few bites of trail mix and a few moments of listening to idle chat later, Emorikal arrived.

He sat down with a clank and lifted her head towards him. Slowly her lips curled into a smile. "Hello, Emorikal," she spoke softly and slowly.

After a few moments of small talk, she flipped to a page in the journal and tore the page loose. She held it in front of her for a moment, looking it over critically. Seemingly satisfied she hands it over to Emorikal.

"I started this drawing the other night when we were talking to Padrin by the fire. As you told the story, you just looked so," she paused thoughtfully, "I'm not sure of the right word, but I thought you would like to have it."

He took the page from her and looked it over. "This is very well done," he stated.

"Thank you, Emorikal," she said, holding back further words.

She looked at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath.

"Would you like to go for a walk in the woods? We can avoid the treetops," he smirked.

Watching his face, the breath left her chest and the blood pounded in her veins. Her brain raced with thoughts, everything all at once.

"He is so handsome when his face does that. He is so strong. His shoulders are so broad. There is something about how he carries himself. Why is he so quiet? Is he hiding something? What's happened to him? What was he like as a child?"

She was worried her thoughts had kept her silent much longer than they actually had, so she answered quickly, "Yes, that sounds lovely."

They stood and headed north, quietly and steps in sync.

[lovedbyyendis]

Upon their return, Aria strides up to the inn keeper with her usual energy and purchases a key for her usual room at the inn. As she climbs the stairs, away from everyone's eyes, she slows, her steps obviously strained. Once inside, she collapses into the large chair. Slowly she unclasps the gloves, pulling them from her fingertips and dropping them to the floor beside her. They fall slowly from her fingers and she closes her eyes in slow motion, pausing briefly before reopening them. She leans over, untying the laces in her boots before taking a deep breath and using the very last of her strength to pull them from her feet. One flies from her hand and lands with a thud roughly two feet from her. She just stares at it for a moment before shaking her head and leaning back in the chair.

She slept there for nearly four hours. When she woke, her body was sore, not just from the walk, but from the sleep. She woke in the same position she drifted off in. Four hours in the hard chair, dead weight, left her feeling bruised and stiff. She wiggles her toes, then rotates her ankles. She bends her knees a few times and then leans forward, back, then forward again. She stretches her arms above her head, arching her back, then brings them slowly down and stretches them each to opposite sides. Finally, she slowly stands. Her body feels like lead and she goes through the motions of stretches again.

She paces the floor a few times, picking up the rogue boot that tried to escape. When she does, she looks at it closer. The leather is worn and rough in areas of high impact. She sighs heavily and picks up her belt. It too is worn leather, fraying around the buckle. She shakes her head.

She tucks the appropriate items in her bag, dons what she must to leave the room.

She looks around one last time before opening the door and locking it behind her as she leaves.

[lovedbyyendis]

It was quiet downstairs. The entertainment expressed that he was uninspired and he was refusing to perform. The old man who lost his locket was nowhere to be found and after requesting a quick meal, even the inn keeper had retired to somewhere in the back. Aria sat at the table with her plate, pulled the large, leather-bound book from her bag and sat it on the table gently. With two fingers she slid it in front of her. Throughout her entire meal, she said nothing, simply stared at the large "M" on the front of it.

When she finished eating, she pushed the plate aside, but didn't touch the book still. She simply leaned back in the chair and stared for several more minutes. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but someone had come and picked up the dishes and she'd left a few coins on the table for them. Finally, she leaned forward and with the same two fingers she pulled the book closer to her.

She didn't open it, instead, leaned over it staring closer at the cover. "Am I going crazy? Does this mean anything at all?" she thought to herself woefully. Suddenly she was overwhelmed with feelings of frustration, bordering on anger, at the book itself no less. Who else could she be angry with?

With the palm of her hand she huffed and shoved the book back across the table. It slid off the other side and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Of course," she grumbled. She stood slowly, grabbed her bag and walked around the table, bending over to grab the book from the floor, but she stopped just before her hand touched the page.

The book had fallen open to a page directly in the middle of the book. She stared at the page, crouched on the floor for a very long moment.

In a scared, small voice she uttered, "This book was blank. I have flipped these pages a thousand times. I -know- there was nothing there."

She slowly picked up the book allowing her bag to drop to the floor. Time seemed to speed up as she flipped back to the front of the book, expecting to find something... anything that would help to explain what was happening.

There was nothing there.

She frantically flipped to the page in the middle of the book. There, in elegant script, were the words:

"Drniihui unmy liyhui drniera anyon gorayzi dry tyunmystyfiihu. Anyon ziunchch niefii dry ky poestgo poiwyhui anyon stera ky wyhuziehuty."

She blinked a few times, absorbing the words that challenged her memory of the language she learned so long ago.

Outloud she spoke, "There is more than you know. You will have to go back before you can go forward."

Holding the spine of the book in her left hand, the pages splayed open to read, she placed her hand on the words of the page and gently traced over them with a finger. The ink slightly smudged beneath them and she slowly turned over her hand to see that the ink was still wet and had left a trace on her fingers.

Suddenly, the matter was urgent in her mind. "What is going on here?!" she exclaimed to herself silently as she picked up her bag and the few belongings that had fallen out. Still holding the large book carefully, she closed it, hugged it to her chest and ran upstairs.

No more than a moment later, she found herself banging on Emorikal's door.

[Yendis]

Opening his door with sword in hand and clad in little more than breeches Emorikal looks at Aria incredulously and more than a bit scandalized. "What is it? Is the village under attack?!"

[lovedbyyendis]

As he opens the door, she is flipping through the pages of the book again. She doesn't even look up until she gets to the page again.

As soon as she sees the words on the page she holds the book out to him. "Look!" she exclaims.

It takes another second or two before she realizes that he's not wearing a body of metal and that he's concerned about the village.

She blinks several times in a row, her mouth open, but words refusing to come out. She blushes bright red and swings her body around quickly so that her back is facing him.

The words come to her slowly, but she spits them out with great speed. "I'msosorry.Ineededtoshowyou.Thetownisfine.Idon'tknowwhatishappening.Ididn'tknowyou'dbe...Imean...Everythingisokay.Everyoneisfine.Areyouokay?"

At the last of the words, she peeks over her shoulder at him, determined to look only at his face. She takes a deep breath and slows down.

"Everyone is okay, but I need you to look at something. I need your wisdom. I need to know I'm not crazy. I just... I need you. Can you help me?" She looks him in the eyes, pausing there for a moment.

[Yendis]

With a confused look that slowly morphs into a smile Emorikal lowers his sword and speaks, "Yes, I will gladly help you. If you would please give me a moment." Closing the door Emorikal swiftly dresses, fumbling with buckles, ties, and the like. He is normally quite coordinated, and has not idea why he has suddenly become a fumble fingers. Finally dressed, he opens the door and invites Aria in, motioning to the small table and stools in the rather cramped inn room.

[lovedbyyendis]

When he offered his assistance her shoulders released tension she didn't even know was there and relaxed. She nodded, then turned back around to face the door as he closed it. She stared there at a knot in the wood as she pondered what she was doing.

"What am I doing? How can he help? What is that sound?" she thought to herself leaning into the door. At that moment he opened the door and she stumbled forward rather clumsily, quite unlike her normal calculated movements. She blushes again and accepts the offer to come inside. Hugging the book to her chest she walks past him and has a seat at the stool placing the book gently on the table.

"What is he going to think... what if we find something I don't want anyone to know..." Questions race through her head and she realizes that her face likely matches her mind and she stops to smile at him.

"Thank you," she says slowly and quietly, looking around the room and taking a calming breath.

She slides the book to him, motioning to the large "M" on the cover. "Do you see that?" she exclaims while pointing to the letter.

"I'm not sure if that was there when we got it. I questioned it many times and I still was not sure." she pauses, placing her palm over the M and looks up at him.

"Am I going crazy?" she says, sounding genuinely concerned, "That isn't all, though. There's more."

She opens the book, turning it to the page smack dab in the middle.

She points to the words on the page, worried he will, but also that he won't she says, "Do you know what that means?"

[Yendis]

Emorikal waves Aria over to sit on the stool opposite him at the small table and looks at the text she points to in the book. Finding it is in a language he does not recognize he shakes his head, "I am afraid I do not. It is not on a tongue I am familiar with." Reaching over to his pack, which like everything else in the small room is basically at arms reach, he pulls forth a leather bound bottle and two tin cups. Pouring both half full he places one cup in front of Aria. "Sweet mead, from Bryn Shander in Ten Towns. It will calm your nerves a bit." Taking a small sip he smiles faintly, "I've been carrying this bottle around for ages, now seems like a fine time to see if it is worth the gold I paid for it and if it is as good at calming the nerves as the fast talking halfling merchant said it was."

[lovedbyyendis]

Aria quietly sings a few words and an orb of light shines in soft blue above the table, gently illuminating the just the small area of the room. Suddenly it feels as if the weight of the last few days is sitting directly on Aria's shoulders. They sag under the weight and she leans forward on the table across from Emorikal and puts her head in her hands.

At the sound of the tin cup, she looks up, placing her hands in her lap delicately. At first she looks at the shimmering liquid in the cup and then over to him.

Quietly, she says, "I've never..." she trails off moving a hand slowly to the cup in front of her. She picks it up and holds it there for a moment, cupping her other hand around the side and letting herself feel the weight of it in her hand. She smiles over to him and laughs nervously.

"I'm sorry, that was incredibly rude. I bang on your door in the middle of the night and you don't hesitate to let me in - not even a little," she exhales and shakes her head, "and then I turn down your kind offer for what sounds like a very expensive - and smells like a very delicious - drink."

She draws the cup to her mouth and takes a long sip. As she lowers the cup back to the table, then she sits up straighter and smiles brightly at him. "It is delicious. Thank you so much, Emorikal," the words escape her lips as little more than a murmur.

After another long sip, she looks to him and says, "I can't say for sure, because I have nothing to compare it to, but this is quite good."

She looks at him for a long moment before letting her eyes drift back to the book in the center of the table. She tilts her head back, finishing off the last of the sweet liquid in the cup, slowly bringing both her head and the cup down, setting it on the table with a soft thunk.

She lazily points to the book, splayed open on the table.

"There is more than you know. You will have to go back before you can go forward."

The words come out in almost a melody. She laughs a bit and the sound twinkles through the air like dust floating in the sunlight.

"I think your halfling merchant was correct, Emorikal."

[Yendis]

Emorikal ponders a moment and speaks, "I haven't the foggiest notion as to what that means. Why don't you explain it to me?"

[lovedbyyendis]

"I will to the best of my ability. Honestly, though, I don't know what it means either."

The smile slowly fades from her face, leaving behind a slightly more than usual sternness both in her posture and voice. She points to the words on the page in the book.

"It says, 'There is more than you know. You will have to go back before you can go forward.'" She looks to him for a moment to register his expression, though she's not expecting much change. Over the past few weeks she has learned that Emorikal rarely shows anything more than he wants to show.

She shakes her head. "I don't know what that means. I only know what it says." She turns her gaze back to the pages of the book, leaning forward against the table.

"I also know that yesterday those words were not in that book. The book was completely empty. I am certain." She touches the words once again. "I was eating dinner downstairs and I got frustrated and shoved the book from the table. When I went to pick it up, the book was open to this page." At this point she turns the book so that it is the direction he would normally read it.

"When I picked it up, I touched the words as I read them, the ink smudged under my fingers as if the words had been recently written." She points to a slight smudge on the page then fidgets with her bracelet, twisting the charm back and forth and again and again.

"I know I sound like I've lost it." She lets go of the bracelet and puts her hands around the tin cup instead. She tilts it forward then to one side, then the other, letting the bottom rim of the cup trace circles on the table for a moment, staring at the cup in silence before bringing her gaze back up to Emorikal's eyes.

"As for the cover, I'm almost certain there was no "M" there when we got the book, but everything is so blurred together from looking at it so much that I can't be sure." She frowns, "I have been spending a lot of time with my journals and this book and trying to figure it out, I know, but I am not imagining this... I just don't know what it means."

Then she gently chews the inside of her cheek while waiting for him to respond.

[Yendis]

Emorikal listens intently with a neutral expression on his face. Once Aria finishes her explanation he leans forward and examines the book closely. Closing his eyes he runs his hands over the book, his lips moving in silent prayer. Several moments pass and he leans back, opening his eyes. "I sense no malevolence within the book, but that doesn't mean it is safe, only that it is not an evil sentience. I fear you will need someone far more experienced in divination than I to unravel this mystery. Tell me, have you had any odd dreams or the like since we found this book?"

[lovedbyyendis]

Aria watches Emorikal's lips move silently, filled with a Tyr-given curiousity, she attempts and fails at reading his lips. When he opens his eyes and speaks, she listens closely, hanging on each word.

She sighs a bit of relief knowing the book is not evil. At his question she leans back slightly, propping her hand, still holding the tin cup, on the table. Her head still facing him, she tilts her eyes upward in thought for a long moment.

"Odd dreams..." she pauses, bringing her eyes slowly back to his.

"I don't think so. I haven't dreamed much in the last few weeks, but the truth is, I haven't slept much either." She looks down at the cup in her hands and runs a single finger around the rim of the cup over and over again, as if she's debating whether to continue. Finally, she does.

"I miss home. I miss my parents. I miss Uncle Sill. And Furin. And Rappi. ... And Mellani." She takes in what would be considered a sob of air if she were crying, but she was not.

In what would appear to be shame, she bows her head, again fidgeting with the cup in her hand before looking up to Emorikal again.

"I have no desire to return, but ..." She takes a deep breath. "But... " She looks at him again, her eyes pleading for release and understanding and frustration. "But what?" She shakes her head and shrugs.

While she paused, she left no room for Emorikal to actually speak. Her words came out in a frantically frustrated pool of emotion.

"I do miss them, I do. Honestly. They are all my family. They all made me who I am today and taught me the skills that have gotten me this far. I do miss them." She sets the cup down on the table and folds her hands across her chest, almost stubbornly.

"I would be lying if I said I hadn't given thought to going back. It's hard. I have no true knowledge of this area. I barely have enough coins to maintain a room at the inn if I want to keep a supply of bandages. I have holes in my gloves and stains on my clothes and no coin to repair or replace either." She stands and paces a behind Emorikal and back, then again.

"I've faced creatures I had only heard of. I've been scared. I've been excited. I've been exhausted and I've been blessed. I sleep to not think. Then I wake thinking, so I walk. I walk and walk and then I'm left thinking about holes in my boots!" She tosses her hands up in frustration and they clap against her thighs as they fall.

"Then everything just continues again and again and all the while I don't know if I'm even doing what I'm -supposed- to be doing. When I left Rivermoot, I was -sure- that I was going in the right direction. That my doings would one day mean something. That -I- would not be just some supply trader or farmer's daughter or wife. Now... Now I don't know. I don't have a clue what I'm doing here."

She paces.

"A dream. A dream..." She stops pacing and talking for just a moment, thinking.

"I can only remember two dreams since coming to Greatgaunt." She sits back down and leans towards Emorikal, her eyes bright in the dim light of the orb.

"Shortly after I arrived, I had a dream that I was back home and I boarded the ferry to Rauvinwatch. Along the ride, I didn't notice because I was reading, but when we docked and were departing the ship, there was a snake and instead of being a regular snake he stood up and walked off the boat like a human, with legs. No one else seemed to notice or be bothered by it, so I carried on, down the dock. And when I arrived in Rauvinwatch there were more snakes walking around town. Then I went to speak with a guard about what was going on, as I talked to him his features melded from human to asp. As he questioned my sanity on the streets of Rauvinwatch his nose disappeared and his tongue began to slither. Before my very eyes, he turned from an average human male to a snake. I backed away slowly before starting to sprint, when all of these creatures dropped to their bellies, their legs disappearing as they slithered through the streets. I woke up in a cold sweat and jumped out of my bed. I ran downstairs only to find the humans were still humans and the elves were still elves."

She shudders a bit at the thought.

"I don't think it is related, though, do you? I have bizarre dreams all of the time. When I was little, I once had a dream that Uncle Sill opened an inn that was a ferry. He offered safe harbor and travel to only dragons, though. Can you imagine? A ferry as an inn, much less for dragons?"

She shrugs a bit, looking slightly less distressed. Finally, she pauses and gives him time to respond.

[Yendis]

Emorikal listens quietly, allowing Aria to vent. Once she finishes he speaks. "You often speak of things I cannot imagine." Emorikal smiles faintly and continues, "Aside from snake people what else have you dreamed of? You only spoke of one. Dreams are often our hearts way of trying to tell us something, and at times it can even be the gods themselves trying to tell us something without outright telling us. I have had such dreams before. Also, I would say you will never be -just- anything. You are you, and you are destined for great things, of this I am certain." Nodding to himself more than anyone else he pours another cup from his flask and refills Arias as well.

[lovedbyyendis]

"I speak of things -you- can't imagine?" She laughs melodically again and the orb twinkles a bit. "Like what? ... I can hardly imagine."

For a moment she studies his face intently. The single eyebrow hair that sticks out just a hair above the others and the gentle curve of his nose. The goatee, freshly trimmed and neat, even in the middle of the night. The way his top lip perfectly meets the lines of his bottom lip and the tiny wrinkles he gets outside his eyes when he smiles. She settles on his blue eyes, deep and though, bright, holding a mystery. "Do you really believe that? That our hearts speak to us in dreams... Much less the gods?"

"I would love to hear about your dreams." She takes a long draw from the cup, letting the sweet liquid coat her tongue before swallowing.

Her body relaxes some and her normally perfect posture slumps a bit. Her eyelids just a tad more heavy.

She reaches for the leather tie kept on her wrist and stretches her arms up to wrap the chestnut waves of hair around and around, tying them in a messy knot atop her head.

She takes another long sip from the cup before pulling out a second book. A journal by the looks of the many dog-eared pages. Though, this she holds on her lap, several similar ones and other various books splayed in the bag on the floor.

"I am thankful for your confidence, or at least kind gestures, of my abilities, though I am not quite so sure."

Setting the journal on the table she leans down gesturing to her feet. "Do you mind if I take these off? I feel like we could be here a while."

[Yendis]

Emorikal laughs, "Milady, from nothing you pull magics that I can not grasp. My own magics are gifts from the Even Handed, I know where the come from and what they are. Your own?
They come from within you. Do you not see how this could be an awe inspiring thing? While among adventuring folk such as us we may see such things as common place, but to the folk that we work to protect, it is indeed awe
inspiring. You see the whole world with eyes that see beyond what I see. Innocence and beauty is what you see, until proven different. What I see is just the opposite. I cannot imagine seeing through your eyes."

Taking a small sip from his cup Emorikal watches as Aria pulls forth a second book. "I often see you buried nose deep in similar books. What is it that you write within?"

Shrugging and nodding he gestures to Arias feet, "By all means, find what comfort you may. Rest assured I shall keep the halflings at bay should they come to admire."

Emorikal takes another slow sip from his cup, hiding his smile, though it is plain to see from his eyes.

[lovedbyyendis]

As Aria listens to Emorikal explain about her magic and the awe he feels over it, she finds herself smiling. She shakes her head with a silent laugh as he admits to not seeing through her eyes. "I guess you are right. I don't really see it that way. I mean, growing up, the magic was abundant in Rivermoot. You know the story of Tristam and the Dragon Tree, I'm sure. I was just a child then."

She pauses thoughtfully, her expression hard to read for quite a long moment.

She begins to loosen the laces of her boots almost as soon as he gestures in that direction, though when he mentions the halflings, she doubles over in laughter. "I am not sure what their obsession is with feet, no? I don't like to look at anyone's feet, much less my own. And can you imagine if my feet were hairy?" She sticks her tongue out and squinches up her eyes.

She shakes her head laughing again as she pulls the second boot off tucking it neatly under the stool with it's mate.

Catching her breath again, she sighs. "I'm not sure why, but I feel like I know you. I mean, more than the time we've actually known each other. I have no problem with the worry of whether or not you'd protect me... from halflings... or otherwise. It is odd. My family was never big on trust. Actually I would go as far as to say that beyond Sill, Furin, and Dave, they trusted no one. Well, except Jasrin, and maybe Rappi occasionally."

Aria reaches to her neck and unclasps the cloak, pulling it from her shoulder and folding it neatly, placing it on the boots beneath her stool. As she is leaned over, she pulls out two apples and a bag of trail mix from her bag and places them on the table. She scoots one apple over to Emorikal and the other in front of her with the trail mix in between.

She rubs the apple on her shirt and takes a bite, seemingly planning her next words with fair thought.

She motions to the journal, finishing the bite of apple.

"In short, these are my life. I started writing in them when I was s... well, not long after I learned what writing was. Some are mundane thoughts and activities of a child, some more personal.. "

She pauses and looks down at her apple, blushing. "Some are poetry... songs... drawings... dreams..."

She shrugs a little, taking another bite, her posture and facial expressions indicate she's unsure if she should go on.

"Some of them I am happy to share with the world, some I don't even want to read. I love to read and learn about everything this realm has to offer. It doesn't matter if it is fact or a tall tale, I find most things interesting, amazing even. I suppose it could be similar to the awe you mentioned before. I am in awe of the adventure, the creature, the gods, the people, the cultures and the customs of different areas. "

With her eyes wide, she clenches her fist and holds it to her chest as if she's so excited her heart may burst out of her chest.

She lets her hand fall to her lap and her eyes go back to normal. "I just don't know how to express all of that to everyone else. Seems silly, you know, as a bard. You would think that I would just have the ability to tell wonderful tales or sing wonderful songs about love, adventure, and the greater good. I don't know how to do that. So, I write it all down, hopefully one day to tell the tales of epic experiences. Also, well, I guess I don't have the best memory. Some things you should never forget, you know?"

Holding the apple in her lap, twisting it in circles between her hands, she looks back up to him.

[Yendis]

Emorikal nods, "I can respect your writing, it is a way for you to remember, and no doubt someday be remembered. I myself rarely write, I grew tired of writing when I was required to serve as a scribe for a time in my early days of training. It is one way I was taught to read and write, but caused me to grow to dislike it. Writing to me feels like a task to be completed, not a thing of leisure. I do however love to read. I read often and in quantity when I am able. Even, you might be surprised, of poetry."

He closes his eyes and straightens up, reciting from memory,

"To the sight of other women I am blind, deaf to hearing them
since her only I see, and hear and heed,
and in that I am surely not a false slanderer,
since heart desires her more than mouth may say;
wherever I may roam through fields and valleys, plains and mountains
I shan't find in a single person all those qualities
which the gods wanted to select and place in her."

Finishing his recitation, he opens his eyes and blushes faintly, looking to the floor. "That is something my father read to my mother once, he said it was the only text he had ever found that sounded like what he felt for her."

Looking up he sighs, "Words can be beautiful things. Whether spoken in a tale, sang in a song, or written in a book." He motions to her journal.

He clears his throat, "But back to your odd experience with this book. Have you shown anyone else?"

[lovedbyyendis]

As Emorikal talks, Aria eats the apple, suddenly hungry from the dinner she did not finish downstairs. She smiles as he talks of his time as a scribe, listening intently. She puts the core of the apple on her table, pulling a small cloth from her bag to wipe her hands before placing it back inside the bag.

When he says he enjoys reading, Aria's eyes widen a bit, but immediately she tries to return her face to normal.

Then when he speaks of the poem his father read to his mother, she practically melts into her stool.

"Oh, Emorikal, that is... that is lovely. Would you mind to... " she trails off, motioning to the journal in front of her, flipping to a page. She slides the book towards him and offers him a piece of charcoal.

"This is something I would like to never forget. This journal is mine only... private. I understand if it is not something you wish to share, but it is truly beautiful."

The orb illuminates the area, showing as she bows her head and blushes heavily, embarrassed by her fascination with words.

As he asks her the question, with her head still cast down, she looks over to him through her lashes and pauses a moment before answering.

"No, I mean, this just happened and you were the first person I thought of. I came straight here to your door. I... I can't imagine showing it to anyone else. Who? I mean..." flustered the words are spoken quickly, "I don't really know anyone here. Not well enough to ... I don't know."

She shrugs.

[Yendis]

Eyeing the charcoal Emorikal raises a brow. "I haven't the slightest idea what to do with that."

Reaching for his pack he pulls it closer and rummages, eventually pulling a small wooden case out. He opens the case, revealing a travel sized quill and ink set.

He pulls the journal around and, after carefully trimming and inking the quill, writes the poem he recited in a strong, neat handwriting.

Finishing, he blows gently on the page to dry the ink and slides the book back across the table.

Packing his writing kit away he smiles and says, "That may be the first thing I have ever written that did not feel like a chore."

He continues, "I am glad that you thought of me and I will of course help you in any way I can. I do not know how I can help however. The only thing I know that even resembles something like this is a tale that circulated through the church some time ago of a evil book found by one of my brother paladins in the land of Elturgard, except this book was possessed of an evil weal that tried to temp his fate. I sensed no such malevolence in this book. Perhaps we could seek out an experienced mage or sage of some sort?"

[lovedbyyendis]

Aria watches curiously as Emorikal pulls the box from his bag, looking at it closely.

Aria is simply fascinated, watching Emorikal write in the book, admiring each stroke of the quill.

"Oh Emorikal, do you even know..." She shakes her head with a light laugh, then waves a hand in the air causing the light orb to fade. It is then she motions to the window indicating the morning sun has already risen and begun to peek through the window.

When he turns to look at the window, Aria gently touches the page where he's written before gently closing the book and tucking it away in her bag.

She leans down and grabs her cloak and slowly throws it over her shoulder and clasps it at the neck. Then she pulls on her boots and laces them, standing and gathering her things.

"I think you're right, but who do we talk to?" she pauses a moment, "and I really, really hope this is not an evil book." She somewhat pouts at the cover before picking up the book and clutching it to her chest.

She walks to the door and looks over her shoulder. "I will give you a moment to ... get ready?" she smiles, "That is if you'd like to join me. I'll be across the hall in my room, just let me know when you're ready."