[The Silver Beacon] Lessons on Laviku (Laudus)

[Paragon]

Timestamp: 51st Day of Winter, 511 AV Narris sat at his small table, tired eyes flitting between the ocean and the letter. He had been pleasantly surprised. Flattered, in fact. He was rarely contacted by others, let alone asked for help. He kept himself to himself, but that didn't mean he wanted to be in total isolation. His duties bound him to the lighthouse, but he felt a little swell of pride at being asked nevertheless. This... Laudus, wished to know about kelp. And where to find the best stuff, or so he said. He looked back out of the window, at the wild blue yonder, and laughed a little. Kelp. Of all things to be asked for help with, it was kelp. And yet, he had a yearning. He pulled his mottled, brown sleeve up a little, admiring one of his two marks from Laviku. He had a yearning to teach people a little about the Ocean God. So many ignored him, yet here they lived on the coast. There was a line in the sand, and beyond that, the ocean could make or destroy. It had the power of life itself.

[Laudus]

Scorpio 1/20 You need to take a risk today, though you may not have it in you to push things as far as you want to. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Risks were not something Nuit took often. Why would they have to? Anything they were taking a risk for could easily be achieved without risk. This was possible by their indefinate lifespan. They were not hindered by time, so why worry. What humans wished to accomplish in a day could be put off for five years before accomplished by a Nuit and it did not bother them. After hundred of years, Nuits seemed to have lost their sense of time. And Laudus was trying to regain that sense of time as quickly as possible. And if it weren't for Laudus living among humans, he wasn't sure he'd even try to regain that sense of time. Nor did he feel he'd be taking the risk he was. But to portray a human, you had to act like a human. Laudus didn't want everyone to know he was a Nuit for fear of their stereotypes and hatred towards the undead. Yet he was risking it all by visiting this Narris. It didn't take Laudus much effort to find this Narris. After leaving the Raster Market, he asked the first citizen he saw about anyone who knew the sea. Being a small-knit community, the citizen mentioned Narris, a secluded man who ran the Silver Beacon. With a bid of thanks, Laudus had then went to Captain's Hall in search of directions for the lighthouse known as the Silver Beacon. That too proved to be easy, and only a bell after finding his idea for his first experiment, he found a possible man who could help him find his kelp. By that evening, Laudus had a letter written and sealed, announcing to this Narris that one Laudus sought his help about kelp. That was then delivered by a different, helpful citizen for the elderly looking man. It was helpful that Laudus looked old because it seemed everyone here wished to ease his burdens. In the matter of a few bells after discovering his idea, Laudus planned a meet with this Narris. And that brought the nuit at the Silver Beacon the following day. Laudus wore his Shadowsilk Robes as usual, hood drawn up to hide his face, and more important, his features that would name him a Nuit. As usual his grey beard was the only part of his face that was visible from underneath the hood. Black slippers stepped over damp sand in purposeful strides as Laudus headed for the lighthouse; he wouldn't want to get caught on the strait of land when high tide came. If Narris was watching, he would be able to see the hooded man walking towards his home. But even if the Denvali had noticed Laudus, he didn't show it. So as Laudus came up to the closed door of the lighthouse, he could only do one thing. He knocked.

[Paragon]

When the knock came at the door, Narris rose from his chair, a spritely rise that defied his age. He made his way down the winding stairs, a little spring in his step, and pulled on the worn latch. "You must be Laudus," he said with a warm smile. The man was not quite what Narris had imagined. He hid his features beneath a cloak, and seemed shifty in his stance. Welcoming him felt odd too. Narris did not let people cross his threshold often. "I believe you're here to talk about kelp." Laudus nodded, but stood still for a moment. He did not seem to look up, a bristly grey beard visible beneath the hems of his cloak. "Well come in then. You'll be washed away if you just stand there," he added with a little laugh. Letting the man come in, he slammed the door shut. It only seemed to close with a slam. Perhaps it had warped with the waves thrashing and crashing at it in high tide. He should really get it fixed, he thought with a quiet sigh. "If you follow me upstairs, I can make us some tea, and you can explain to me just what it is you're looking for." He barely gave the man another glance, ascending back up the stairs to make two hot drinks and educate this most mysterious man on the deity of the oceans.

[Laudus]

Laudus wasn't outside the lighthouse long before this Narris opened the door for him. This man looked nothing like the nuit had expected. Sure the people he had asked said that Narris had run the lighthouse for a long time, but this man had more wrinkles than Laudus' current body had. But the man greeted him warmly despite his appearance, so this man was good enough in the nuit's eyes. And he found humor in a body being washed away by high tide! As Laudus stepped through the door, he could only think one thing. Humans were odd beings. Once inside, Laudus began to look at his surroundings; he was a curious person who enjoyed seeing what exactly other people had. This room was odd in Laudus' eyes as their was an idol in the corner of some god. Laudus didn't really know much about gods, but he believed it was Laviku, god of the ocean. It seemed a likely choice to this man who was probably alive when this lighthouse was built. But it didn't puzzle Laudus much further after that simple guess. Why would it matter in this meeting what god Narris worshipped? With a slam of the door, Narris suggested they step upstairs for some tea. Laudus nodded, not replying to this. He wasn't going to drink the tea. Why would he need to? But he would handle any neccessities to learn what he needed to know. So he simply followed the elderly man up the stairs. Along the way, he noticed that this Narris had quite a collection of mementos from boats. Hanging on the wall as he walked up the steps, Laudus noticed a compass, a plank, and a coil of rope hanging. This further convinced the nuit that Laudus enjoyed the sea. And this made him believe that this man truly was a follower of Laviku. But he still did not question Narris as they finally stepped onto the second floor. A man's choice of god to worship was not something Laudus was interested in at the moment. Given the chance would Laudus learn something about the gods? Most definately; he enjoyed learning new things. But at the moment, he was here to learn about kelp. And whatever else this man told him. While Narris handled whatever he wished to handle, Laudus would stand in the center of the room, memorizing his surroundings once more just to say he knew it. A bed was in the corner of the room, and a small table was pushed against the wall, a slip of parchment on the top. Most likely my letter, Laudus thought and moved on with his visual search. More mementos hung on the wall, all sea-related. An anchor even hung on the wall. Narris was truly a man of the sea. Under his hood, Laudus smiled. If Narris cared so much about the sea, he had to know where kelp grew best in Denval. And that was what the nuit was here for.

[Paragon]

He allowed Laudus to have a little walk around, and observe his surroundings. While he did so, Narris boiled some water and made two tea's. It was a formality, but one Narris had always gifted to his guests. As he stirred them quickly, and then turned back to the man, he frowned. Yes, there was something quite unusual about this man. Narris wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but any man who hid his face beneath a cloak had something to hide. "Kelp," he said warmly, "you're looking for kelp." He invited Laudus over to the small table by the window, pulling up a second chair for the man. As they settled down, he placed the two mugs of tea down on the surface, sliding one towards the man. He didn't have to drink it, but Narris would feel better if he did. "May I ask... why is it that you need the kelp? It's not that I'm being nosy, but if you explain a little to me, perhaps I can better answer your question." He had a sip of the hot drink, belying the cold rain and wind outside. He was intrigued to learn more.

[Laudus]

"You're looking for kelp." The simple statement behind Laudus drew the nuit's attention back to his host. Narris was holding two cups of tea, steam rising from the liquid. Unseen from under the hood, Laudus pursed his lips. Was his letter not clear enough? Laudus had written that he had questions about kelp. So why ask the question that had been answered already? Or were humans just ignorant to things right underneath their noses? Regardless of these petty annoyances, Laudus needed to learn to be like a human. So he replied as simple as the question was. "Yes." Narris didn't say much after his answer, instead gesturing to the table where Laudus' letter rested. Laudus stared, his hood moving towards the table, and the nuit walked towards it. By the time he arrived at the table, Narris had already pulled up a second chair for his visitor. Once seated, the elderly man pushed one of the cups closer to him. To drink or not to drink. That was the question. On one hand Laudus had no need of drinking the tea. Nuits needed no nourishment for their bodies since they were merely walking corpses with no working organs save for the brain. So where would the liquid go after it went down his throat? He had no stomach to digest it or intestines to pass it along. So would it just sit there until he switched bodies? But if he didn't drink it, this Narris might seem offended. And an offended person might not help him as well as a sated person would. Finally coming to a decision, and did what many humans were trained to do; he came up with an excuse. One lift of the cup to his lips, and he set it back down, mumbling softly about too hot. Whether Narris heard it ot not was unknown, but it did not matter to the nuit. Narris didn't let on if he had heard, instead asking why Laudus needed the kelp. It seemed in his short time since joining humans, they all seemed to want to know things. But the nuit understood the need to know something like this. But how much should Laudus tell him? Did he have to explain his entire experiment plan to him? Or was the mininum amount good enough? "I need kelp for my job. I'm working for the government." Simple and to the point. Now it was up for Narris to decide if this would suffice. And only if it didn't would Laudus tell Narris more. He would only increase the risk he was already taking if he had to.

[Paragon]

The man seemed puzzled, pausing over every movement. He lifted the tea to his lips, then put it back down, muttering something Narris couldn't make out. Well, Narris was a little more quick-witted than people gave him credit for. This man... hiding his face beneath a cloak, with only his beard to show. Narris knew what he was. "The government?" Narris nearly spat out his tea. "Captain Astrid? Or... someone else? Who do you mean?" If this was political, Narris did not want to get caught up in it. Kelp, or no kelp, trifling matters always ended up more complex than they seemed. "Look. I would like you to be straight with me. Show me your face." Oh, lifeless one. He made his palms face up, closing his eyes momentarily to think on Priskil. He began to use his Gnosis mark, a faint glow emanating from his hands. Any doubts, any fears, that Laudus was having, would dissipate in the light...

[Laudus]

When Laudus had said he was working for the government, he didn't expect such a response from this old man. But his answering with a question, and then asking which government threw the nuit for a loop. What other government would there be besides the one that Captain Astrid ran? But to stop the man from hurting himself over something so simple, he answered his question. "I work for Captain Astrid." But Narris wasn't convinced it seemed, as he then asked for Laudus to be straight with him. The nuit could've almost laughed at this demand as Laudus had been nothing but straight with him. But due the seriousness of the situation, and the fact that Narris asked to see his face, Laudus was not laughing. And he was not going to take his hood down. So much for learning about kelp. But before Laudus could stand, Narris held up both his hands, palms open to him. Eyes closed, Narris couldn't see what exactly he was doing, but Laudus had front row seats to his show. The man's hands began to glow, and Laudus was caught in the light. He had never experienced something like this, and I felt refreshing. All his worries about risks, secrecy, and hiding washed away. He didn't feel the need to hide under his hood in Narris' company. Reaching up, Laudus pulled his hood off to reveal himself. Now Narris could see the black rings under his eyes. Whenever he spoke, his black tongue would be visible. But he didn't feel the fear that he had felt for so long. No longer was he a walking corpse, but just another person with a few odd traits. But Laudus felt like he hadn't done enough with just pulling his hood off of his head. He felt like Narris needed to know exactly what he was here for. So he told him. "I was hired several days ago by Captain Astrid to work as an alchemist for the Denvali government. I need kelp for my first experiment." Laudus paused, figuring that what he just said would suffice. But for the moment, if Narris needed to know anything more, he would tell him. Because until this high wore off, he had the courage to believe he was human and not an undead.

[Paragon]

Narris was not surprised when the man pulled back his hood. A man, sullen of face, eyes and mouth enveloped by darkness, stared back at him. A Nuit. He was certainly not the first to come to Denval. "Hired by Captain Astrid... well, that must be the truth, so I believe you." He felt himself soften. He could trust the man if he was doing this for the Captain. Narris finished his tea, looking between Laudus and the ocean silently, and when he had sipped the last dreg, he put the mug down matter of factly and said, "right. No sooner did you come into my home, and we're off again." He got up from his chair. "Let's take a walk down to the shore. I'll show you the best kelp in all of Kalea." He shrugged on a coat, hanging from the door, and then began to descend down the lighthouse's twisting stairwell. And behind, that dark eyed Nuit followed. Alchemy experiments for the government... Narris shook his head. He would help, but he didn't want to know. Sometimes it was better not to ask.

[Laudus]

Due to this feeling of fearlessness brought upon Laudus by Narris, the nuit didn't really realize that everything could've went wrong if this man hadn't believed him. Laudus didn't care about much in his life, but his research was something he cared for. If he hadn't been believed and been shunned by Narris, Laudus would've felt bad because he couldn't find this kelp. What humans thought about him mattered little, but his research must be respected. Because none of these people knew if his next discovery would change their lives or not. But Narris believed that he worked for Captain Astrid, so there was no need to worry. Instead, Laudus sat silently as Narris finished his tea, brooding over what the man had done. Laudus didn't know much about life outside of Sahova, but he could recognize magic when he saw it. What disipline of magic Narris used, he had little clue. Although he knew it was nothing like alchemy. And he knew that Narris was nothing like what he imagined. He was more than just a tender of the lighthouse. With his beverage consumed, Narris sat his cup down on the table, and spoke about having to leave when he just arrived. This was what Laudus wished to hear because it meant they were leaving to go search for his kelp. And this was emphasized with Narris' next statement of finding the best kelp in Kalea. Laudus nodded. This was exactly what he needed. As Narris went to fetch his coat, Laudus stood. "I hope you don't mind me putting my hood back on. Some people don't react to people like me as well as you did." With that said, Laudus pulled it back up so his facial features were shrouded once more. He was glad to see that not all humans hated nuits. But he wasn't going to take a bigger risk by leaving his face visible for anyone else to see. He wouldn't have taken such a risk in the first place, but something almost forced him to do so. Not as in to make his hands reach up, but like it erased all of his fears. Yes, Narris had a few things hidden up his sleeves. But Laudus wasn't hurt that he was the test subject. In fact he was glad because he possibly would learn something new. So hood replaced on his head, Laudus followed Narris down the winding staircase. To where, he was not certain. And he didn't care. Just as long as their destination brought him kelp, he would follow. And after that, he was the loner once more.