A Stranger by the Dock

[Alric Wilmot]

When Alric spoke, the creature seemed stunned. At first, Alric thought it was surprise at her own language being spoken. But, that hope seemed quickly dashed. As she sat down, she remained silent as ever. She and he sat on the dock, facing one another, without speaking. Alric wanted to give her time if she was thinking up a response. So he stayed silent as he waited. From up close, Alric could study her body in detail. It seemed that she not only had no hair on her head, but none on her body as well. She was short too, even shorter than himself. Were all her race like that? Or just her? After a few minutes, she began to gesture with her hands. She was trying to communicate again. But Alric couldn't see with the meager light of the moon. The moon was beautiful, but it wasn't ideal for making out complex movements. Alric tried his best, but he couldn't make it out at all. Common or Char, it didn't make any sense to him. After a while, his female companion reached for her bag, but seemed disappointed with her findings. Suddenly, Alric snapped his fingers in a moment of realization. Could it be that her kind couldn't actually speak? She just might be able to understand Char. After all, she had indicated that she understood common. Well, then, if she couldn't speak, then maybe Alric could accommodate her. Alric rolled up his sleeves then, revealing an inverted triangle tattoo on the side of his right bicep. With a quick gesture of his hand, a lamp appeared, giving off a soft moon-blue light. Alric didn't want it too bright in case it might hurt her eyes. The lamp was ethereal, unable to be touched. Alric was limited in his illusions, and could only affect one sense at a time. For this occasion, sight was the most important thing. As Alric thought a little more, he came up with an idea, one that might prove useful. With another wave of his hand, a roll of parchment appeared in midair and hung there. It was as big as Alric was tall, and was illuminated softly by the lamp. With his finger, he wrote out on the paper the same question as before, in Char. As he did so, the parchment appeared as though it were being written on with ink, and left the words that Alric had written. When Alric was done, he gestured for his new-found companion to do the same. He hoped that she would understand what he wanted her to do.