but resplendent we are not [closed]

[Kin/diablo]

The chill in the air had settled in Hal's bones rather too early for his liking. He'd left the Unseelie Court not too long ago, but outside of the caverns, it quickly became apparent that Alanor had not escaped winter. Still, with all the inconveniences he'd run into recently, he was inclined to just walk and keep walking -- so he did. He took no turns, no detours, just a straight path that eventually led him directly into the Mists.

Still he did not turn.

A forest loomed in front of him, the trees so ancient and tall that they towered up and up and vanished into the sky (or was it the Mist that obscured them? He couldn't tell), and Hal paused for a moment to wonder at the strange naturalness of it all, how Alanor could be so alien and so -- instinctive. Finally he said, as if to himself: "Nothing ventured." Then he rolled his neck, smiling at the crack of bones, and walked in.

[Cantrell]

Cantrell had been working hard, cutting a path deeper in the mists. Each time he swung his gurkha, a swish was heard as the razor sharp blade sliced through air and wood carving a path deeper into the unknown lands. Sure, he could have just pushed aside the branches and shrubs instead of violently amputating parts off of them, but the work kept him warm in this chilly place.

When he started to tire a little, he paused to catch his breath. "I just hope I don't get lost in here" he muttered. Cantrell took a few moments to wipe his blade before continuing on. As he was about to bring his blade down once more, he stopped because he noticed a figure nearby.

[Skylla]

It only took Cantrell a moment to recognize the other creature he had spotted as faerie. With the rumors flying around tha something was amiss in these forests, it was a great relief to see another faerie face and not some monstrous beast. Still, to the adventurer, stumbling across another faerie could prove to be disappointing.

Hal, on the otherhand, had been unaware of Marcus's presence as his nose had picked up the faintest hint of smoke, carried by the winter winds. It came from what seemed like the north, then, as quickly as it came, it was gone.

[Kin/diablo]

Hal slipped through the forest like a shadow, scarcely disturbing the twigs beneath his feet. It was habit rather than a conscious decision that kept him silent, though he, like, many others, had heard the rumors about these forests. The memory of those whispers lingered, and though it was faint, it remained a quiet undercurrent of warning that never quite left his mind. Crouching briefly, he examined the terrain for something -- anything, really -- but didn't see anything amiss.

He straightened and began to walk forward again, but then he thought he heard a faint swish noise. About to turn in Cantrell's direction, Hal stilled immediately when he caught a whiff of smoke. Strange, he thought -- a campfire, perhaps, or something else? Surely not a forest fire, not during this season. His imagination? A possibility, but worth checking out anyway. Readjusting his route, he set off to the north.

[Cantrell]

Cantrell sheathed his knife and followed some distance behind the other faerie. He wondered why the other faerie started turning towards Cantrell but suddenly stopped. It was as if something had caught the other's attention. A smell? A sight? After all, there were rumors of terrible creatures that lurked the unknown. He sure didn't want to be caught alone if he happened to meet one of them.

Using his training on stealth and stalking, he continued to follow the other faerie.

[Skylla]

It didn’t take Hal long to set his course for the source of the smoke. It took even less time for Hal to pick up a whiff of the scent again, this time it was strong, concentrated. However, the smoke didn’t smell of a bare flame nor was it the concentrated smell that one would expect to smell around a campfire. In fact, as Hal looked around for the source of the smoke he noticed it; a chimney in the distance, just barely peaking over the trees was eliciting a thick funnel of white smoke, sure what Hal had smelled.

As Marcus crept behind Hal he too noticed the smell. The momentary distraction was enough to pull Marcus’s attention away briefly, causing him to step on a branch that cracked loudly, alerting Hal to his presence.

[Kin/diablo]

There it was again -- he had no doubt that he smelled the smoke now, but there appeared to be no fire for as far as Hal could see, and certainly no crackle of flames that he could hear. Puzzled, he glanced around again and, when he saw nothing, then directed his attention up instead of around. It was then that he saw the smoke for the first time -- too concentrated to be part of the mist -- and the chimney that it came from.

When the sound came again, there was no mistaking it for anything but what it was this time; yet Hal barely moved. He didn't startle or whirl or make any indication that he heard, except for a slight turn of his head in Cantrell's direction. After a long moment, he turned completely, appraising the other faerie without a word. Seelie or Unseelie -- he couldn't tell, and the face didn't ring any bells. Perhaps it didn't matter. He raised his hand and put a finger to his lips, warning the man to remain silent, and then pointed at the chimney.

[Cantrell]

Cantrell nearly cursed out of frustration when he had stepped on that branch. Just that momentary distraction had caused him to slip up, making him reveal himself. Since the other faerie had already notice him, Cantrell decided to stretch himself out and make himself more comfortable. The other didn't seem hostile, which was why he didn't seem to keep his guard up.

When he saw the other faerie place a finger to his lips and point at the chimney, Cantrell understood to keep quiet because there were other living things around. He replied by making a sleight nod of his head to show that he understood and moved closer while keeping quiet.

[Skylla]

The two moved closer, Cantrell to Hal's backside. The trees eventually gave way to a small path, a narrow one that looked as if it had been traversed a dozen times but by one set of feet. As the two moved along the path a cottage, a small stone edifice stood in the middle of the forest. A candle flickered in the window, but aside from that there was no sign of life from the outside of the house.

[Kin/diablo]

Hal waited for the other faerie to approach, then crept closer to the building. He couldn't tell if anyone was inside, but it was hard to say -- there were no noises, no signs of life whatsoever, except for the candlelight in the window. Still, a candle could only burn for so long, and someone had to light it to begin with, unless there was something seriously witchy going on.

He turned to Cantrell and shrugged. After a moment, his hand went to the knife at his belt, and he drew it quietly from its sheath, holding it up for the other fae to see before moving to the window to try and steal a look inside of the cottage.

[Cantrell]

Cantrell knew that someone have been here recently. The tracks looked like they had been traveled many times, even though it appeared to be traveled by only one person. Also, the candle inside must have been lit recently. Those usually didn't last too long. 4, maybe 5 hours at the most.

He watched Hal draw his knife and move to a window to take a peek inside, so Cantrell decided to move to a door and see if it was unlocked. Sure, it was rude to go into other people's dwelling places, but sometimes the wrong thing might be the right thing to do. He drew his gurkha and moved quietly to one of the entrances to see if it was unlocked.

[Skylla]

The window was murky with dust, soot and mildew, still Hal’s curiosity allotted him information that he would not have otherwise obtained had he not looked through the window. Inside, stacks and stacks of parchment, rows and rows of books were scattered everywhere. The conditions of such items were impossible to discern but at least Hal could tell what they were.

Cantrell on the other hand, had moved to the door. He pushed at the handle and there was no bolt to bar his entry. The door opened with a slight creak but no one came running to see who had entered. The house, save for the candle, appeared to be deserted.

[Cantrell]

It took a little extra force to move the door from the frame. Nature had caused the wood to swell up and stick to the frame. After a push using his shoulder, the door budged open and Cantrell stepped inside. It was a nice cottage, but it did not appear to be looked after. Dust and other debris covered the floors. He wondered how a single candle remained alight in such a desolate place.

His attention was turned towards the walls. Rows and rows of books lined the walls and were stacked up in sloppy piles on the floor. "A scholar's house maybe?" he wondered to himself. As he moved about, dust was kicked up off the floor and remained airborne. Cantrell coughed a few times as the small particles irritated his senses. Other than this, the house looked safe to be in.

[Kin/diablo]

Brow furrowing, Hal reached out to see if he could clear the glass some more, but when his fingers came away black and the window only became more smudged, he gave up and simply looked. The cottage appeared to be empty of life, though from what he could see, it was full of books and papers -- no immediate value apparent, but he knew from experience that the most innocuous things could be of importance.

Relaxing slightly -- but aware that trouble might not be far off -- Hal joined Cantrell at the door and followed him into the building, giving the other faerie and the small dust storm wide berth. "What's this?" he said under his breath, his first words since entering the forest, and crouched down to examine a stack of parchment.

[Skylla]

The stack parchment Hal examined was very old, blackened as if at one point it had been salvaged from a smoldering blaze. What was written on the parchment was even more interesting. Strange symbols were scribbled messily on the pages, some indecipherable code or language. But Hal couldn’t shake the innate feeling that he had seen these symbols before for they held a strange familiarity.

Cantrell’s cough broke the silence, and though it wasn’t an overly loud noise it was startling. From around the corner emerged a man, gaunt in appearance, with grey hair and sunken eyes, though he definitely was faerie. He smiled a crooked smile at the, his eyes gleaming when noticed the, “I thought I heard someone come in, but it has been ages since I have had faerie company.”

He eyed the stack of parchment Hal crouched by. “Can you read goblin, nimbus?” He asked with a small chuckle, “I doubt you can. Your kind is far too arrogant to remember the tongues of the less fae.” He stepped into the room and moved to a stack of books. “Stumbled upon me, have you? Or do you seek something? I am Ciodar, Alanor’s historian, and in recent years, its librarian.” His voice was high pitched, whiny and he seemed very old. His face, though youthful in some odd way, looked as old and bleak. He was most definitely a human garlanger.