Open The Wandering Musician

[Malus Tidalwave]

Day 66 of Summer, 513 AV Secret : The Echoing sound _________________________________________________________________ The sounds of the guitar echoed through the streets, the music amplified and carried even further by the narrow streets of the Old quarter. Malus walked, with no real purpose, no real destination, his guitar laying against his bare chest as he played. Plucking each string, releasing each somber note, Malus wove it into music. He had taken to the city in the late afternoon, passing the docks, then the markets, venturing deeper into the city. The sun was setting, and the mountains around Zeltiva cast a shadow over the city. A perfect match to the song of his guitar. He did not recognize this part of the city. The buildings were closer together, the empty streets older. The atmosphere felt hushed as the twilight of dusk settled in. Malus marveled at the old stone walls, wondering how they were built, and how long ago. Some the architecture seemed ancient, not that Malus as an expert in such matters, but even he could tell that they belonged in a far gone era. Continuing his pace, he moved deeper into this part of the city. The deeper he went the older it felt. Who lived here? He wondered. Who spent their time here? Malus kept on walking, kept on playing, the somber melody being echoed in front of him, adding to the surreal impression of the entire area. Lost in the music, he simply wondered around; taking a left here, a right there. Not truly paying attention to where he was going. Eventually however, he did notice a Large building, more majestic then the ones around it. That must be the University he thought to himself. Smiling, he rounded the corner, and headed towards it, still playing his guitar. _________________________________________________________________

[Tsaba]

Tsaba sat out in the open air of the scholar's forum, reading. Normally, she was not a fan of removing books from their buildings. Wind and dirt could damage them. It could also damage her. But she'd been making more of an effort to interact with humanity, and that meant spending time in their general vicinity, she while she would have preferred to study Difficulties in the Translation of the Ancient Tongue in the quiet of her own room or failing that, the library, she was instead among the hustle and bustle of the university student body. People mostly avoided her, as was polite with somebody studying a text, and probably prudent with somebody studying a text intensely while muttering under their breath in Nader-Canoch. (She was merely trying to get a feel for tonal and contextual differences that didn't translate well to text, as the chapter she was reading provided examples of the wide variety of translations one could get from such texts based on different perspectives, but nobody else had any way of knowing that.) It probably didn't help that she was an 8-year-old, skinny girl with her hair in two blonde pigtails. Tsaba kept focused on her book, on listening to the tones in her own voice as she read examples aloud, until she was interrupted by a new sound. The twang of some kind of string instrument. She looked up in irritation.

[Malus Tidalwave]

___________________________________________________________________ Malus rounded the corner into a courtyard set next to the building, and for the first time since entering this part of the city, Malus saw people. They all seemed young, about his age give or take a few years, wearing, in Malus's opinion, to much clothing, being covered in robes and other such things. Most were walking, apparently headed to one location or another. Others were in groups, ranging in size, lounging about the area, some were laughing, others seemed to be in deep discussion. Then there were a few people who were out reading books, or writing things down. One such person was a little girl, who seemed far too young to be reading a book as thick as the one she had. Malus walked further into the courtyard, still playing his guitar and drawing glances from the students. _________________________________________________________________

[Tsaba]

The man with the distracting instrument seemed to be moving away, although not quickly enough for Tsaba's liking. Of course, he had as much right to practice his art in the courtyard as she did. It was just making her regret her decision to leave the library. But then, sitting about muttering under her breath probably wouldn't be a good idea in there either. She really should study in her room.

Tsaba carefully closed the book and reminded herself that her mission in Zeltiva wasn't actually to learn more about Nader-Canoch. She could've done that on Sahova. Instead, she glanced about the courtyard, noting the interactions of the other students, and the meandering walk of the newcomer. He was one of the sea-folk. Why was he up in the university? Business, presumably. He looked a little lost, but it was difficult to get lost near the docks and end up at the university, so he must be there on purpose. Yet the way he walked didn't suggest a man with purpose. Was he sick?

On a whim, she closed her eyes for a moment and chanted briefly under her breath, pulling djed into her sight. When she opened them, the newcomer's aura stood out clear as day.

Stable pulse. Stable temperature. Normal, healthy human. If he was sick, it wasn't with anything the could identify at a glance, and therefore wasn't with anything she was qualified to treat. She shut off her auristic sight and glanced back down at the closed book in her hands.

She should've picked something that required less concentration.

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[Malus Tidalwave]

___________________________________________________________________ Some of the students gave him scornful glances, as if to say What is he doing here?, others seemed to enjoy the melody he was playing, tapping their foots to the rhythm. Ignoring the first, Malus would linger a slight longer with the second, playing with the notes, making some longer, others shorter to keep them entertained. He enjoyed the attention, often humming along, singing a quick line or two, smiling as he walked further into the courtyard. The day was pleasant, and he was pleased that he took the time to wonder around. He had never spent much time in any one city, so any opportunity that he had to explore was one the he took gladly; he has always been interested how those who live on land, or landers, as he likes to call them lived. Through his stroll, he noticed the little girl again, looking at him. Her expression was one that Malus could not identify. She seemed puzzled, yet he could tell that she was concentrating one something, though on what he could not tell. Intrigued, he altered her path towards her. She seemed different than the rest, not just because of her age. He couldn’t quite place it, but it seemed to Malus that she had an interesting tale to tell. He casually walked up, never stopping his tune until he was only a few feet from her. Slinging his guitar on his back, held in place by a strap across his chest, Malus crouched down until he was just about her height, elbows resting on his knees, balancing on the balls of his feet. “Hello!” he says first in fratava rather gleefully, then switching to common, he continued “My name is Malus. What is yours?” _________________________________________________________________

[Tsaba]

Being sociable was an important part of learning about humanity.

"Tsaba," Tsaba said, making an effort not to sound unfriendly. The man seemed to be treating her like a child, and she didn't correct him. It was easier for children to deal with strangers. They were forgiven a lot of basic mistakes.

But one-word answers were unwelcoming. She had to try to sound welcoming. There was no point in being a shut-in in Zeltiva; she could just as easily have done that in Sahova. "Are you new on campus?" she asked, already suspecting the answer. She was pretty sure that if he wasn't new, she would've seen him before. She took a single breath through her nose, sampling the smell of salt and hint of rotting seaweed. Definitely ocean folk; not just of svefra descent, like some of the students, but someone who clearly still worked on or near the water. Or had very recently. "Or are you lost, perhaps?"

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[Malus Tidalwave]

___________________________________________________________________ -“…are you lost perhaps?” Malus cracked a smile at the girls question “Lost? No, I am not lost.” He replied, “I wasn’t going anywhere, so… lost is not somewhere I can be!” Maintaining his good humored grin, he brushed aside a strand of braided hair that fell across his face, the sea shells and glass tinkling together as it moved. “And what about you? Are you lost?” he asked as he tilted his head to inspect the book in her hands and the runes covering it. Not that I would matter, Malus couldn’t read. It was thick. Even though Malus couldn't read, he could recognize the runes used in common as well as fratava, and what he saw belonged to neither language. Interesting…I wonder where she is from he asked himself. What an odd sight he thought to himself. Someone her age shouldn't have her nose stuck to a book, she should be out playing with other kids, running around and getting into trouble. “Why are you reading this book? No one to play with?” _________________________________________________________________

[Tsaba]

"I'm not one to...play," Tsaba said, somewhat puzzled. Of course, that wasn't entirely true. There had been those kids by the docks... "You, apparently, are." Her eyes settled on the instrument. Tsaba knew very little of music and cared even less, but it was so popular that it must have some kind of purpose beyond making random noise. "What are you playing?" she asked, in the futile hope that his answer would tell her something useful.

"And to answer your other question, no, I'm not lost. I live here." She waved one hand in the vague direction of the student dormitories. "You, however, are clearly one of the sea people." She met his eyes, seeing an opportunity to learn. The man may be silly but he was, at least, indulgent and apparently good-humored. Pity she didn't have a quill and paper on her. She'd just have to take notes later. "What boat are you from?" she asked. "Do you spend much time in Zeltiva?"

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[Malus Tidalwave]

Malus’ eyes sparkled with delight as she asked him about his guitar. From his crouched position, he leaned back and allowed himself to fall backward, landing in a sitting position with his legs crossed. Malus grabbed the neck of his guitar, and pulled it under his right arm until the entire instrument was resting on top of his legs. “This is my grandfather’s guitar. He gave it to me before I left the Suvan.” He said, smiling as the memory came to his mind. Placing his left hand on the frets, and his right over the strings, he plucked a single note, letting it linger in the air. As soon as it faded, he began to play absentmindedly a simple tune melody, nothing more than a few basic chords played together.

-“You’re one of the sea people…”

Malus chuckled lightly, “Yes, I am. Malus Tidalwave, of the sea people!...or the Svefra , however you wish to call us” he replied light heartedly, a small chuckle accompanied by a grin. Her eyes met his, and for the first time since the conversation started, he felt a uncomfortable. Something about those eyes….they didn’t belong to a child. Quickly recovering, he kept his grin, and answered more of her questions.

“Actually, this is the first time I have ever been here; the ships they make in this city are famed, even amongst my own people.” He said, “I came in not too long ago on my casinor, with some of my friends and family.” His playing continued the notes light and quick, something that he thought she, being a child and all, might enjoy. “So are you a student? You must be very smart to be in a university yet be so young.” Looking at the book, “What are you reading?”

[Tsaba]

"I'm ninety-three years old," Tsaba replied, not seeing any point in pretending otherwise. She handed to book over, wincing a little as she did so; it bothered her when people touched books with their bare hands. Oils and salts in the skin might damage them. That was what gloves were for. The book was fairly light reading, a simple summary of Nader-Canoch, how it was used in modern times, and the problems that needed to be accounted for when utilising and translating the language. It was interesting enough in its own way, but Tsaba was mostly interested in using the knowledge to proofread her translations of some old books she'd been working with.

"The Suvan, huh?" Tsaba had never been anywhere near the Suvan, nor did she know much about it. But when she eventually left Zeltiva, it was high on her list of locations. Not the water itself, of course. She tried to send as little time on the ocean as possible. But she had no doubt she'd see a fair amount of the shoreline. "Is it nice there? Are there a lot of giant monsters and suchlike?"

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