Treasure Hunting [Open]

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Day 42 of Winter, AV 510 Location: Outside of Endrykas

Yes, treasure. Eldon and Vanah stalked ever so slowly through the rather tall dry grasses of the great plains. His hands brushed vigorously across the ground as he pushed grass to the side, dug a little here and there, and paused to examine an interesting piece of vegetation or another. What was Eldon looking for? He didn't particularly know really. His recent encounter with Denen had motivated him to search for herbs. Well, Eldon didn't really have the first clue on what constituted herbs, and what was just grass and dirt, but he assumed when he saw something, it would stand out to him and he would do something. Eldon stood up and peered at Vanah, who was only staring back at him. "A little harsh aren't we? I'm just doing a little digging. Besides, you heard my father, he wants me to take a break from conjuring water anyway." Eldon grinned and patted Vanah's muscular leg before turn back to the ground. He had found something, it wasn't grass, the leaves, if that's what they were called, were wide and green, despite the season being dry and cooler. His hands went to work digging a pathetic circle surrounding it. "Besides, I have nothing better to do. Well, alright, so I could practice hunting something, but I just want to see if I can find something, you know? Is that really to much to ask for? Just give me some support. Who knows, I might just become the next big medicine man." Eldon chuckled aloud to himself as he continued his trivial and pointless task. Eldon took the plant in his hand, once he was certain he cleared enough of the rough soil to extract it without harming it. Then he pulled it free of the ground... and its roots. The plant was now slain, though it still looked as lively in its immediate death as it did in its happy life. The tearing sound it made when he pulled it was a perfect indicator of what he had done. "Curse these hands. Vanah, I may not be suited for this." Eldon knelt down again to see if he could somehow fix the plant. Vanah, in the meantime, merely snorted as if to say 'told you so.' Well, she had.

[Ariel]

Ariel was resting. She was lying on her back, her head resting against Rafael's stomach. Her hands were folded on top of her lap, and Rafael was curled around her like a crescent moon. He had been sleeping soundly, as had she, protecting her from the elements as they lay under the moon and the stars, which soon made their way for the sun and general light of day. The sun was shining directly down upon them, as they began to stir. Rafael's nose and ears twitching, before he slowly got himself up, and shook his paws out. He then proceeded to stretch his front paws out in front of him, extending his claws, and yawning heavily, scrunching his eyes shut temporarily, and exposing his glistening white teeth, which were dripping saliva, and exposing his stinky morning breath.

As soon as her kitten had moved, Ariel's head fell to the ground with a low thud. She scrunched her eyes, and rubbed her head absentmindedly with her hands. "Hey where'd my pillow go?" she muttered, as she slowly brought her tiny balled hands to her eyes and rubbed them vigorously to remove all the sleep crystals. Ariel then sat up, and looked up at Rafael. "Morning kitty," she called, Rafael simply meowing in response.

"It's good to see you too," Ariel said, as she got to her feet and walked over to her mount. She grabbed his leather reigns in her hands, and patted his nose, just as something fell from the sky and hit her in the head. Ariel looked down at the ground, it looked like a piece of dirt. But how could that be? Ariel wondered, as another tiny piece of dirt hit her, clinging to her clay clothes. She wiped it away with her hands. "Wonder what that's all about," Ariel muttered, wondering if the fact that she was still caught somewhere in-between sleep and wakefulness was causing her to imagine things. Ariel shrugged, perhaps she should go investigate.

Ariel walked around to the side of her kitten, and stuck her left foot in the stirrup. She gave a little jump, propelling her body off of the ground, and providing herself with enough of a momentum to swing her body over the side of the saddle, and place her right foot in the other stirrup. Ariel leaned forward, grabbing Rafael's reigns, and adjusted herself in the saddle, she sat up straight, and proceeded to take a deep breath, in through the nose, and then out through the mouth. Ariel gave Rafael a swift kick, and flicked the reigns, "lets go find out what that was, he-ahhhh," she called to her kitten who reluctantly started to move forward.

It didn't take long at all for Ariel to stumble upon a rather tall, muscular man who appeared to be digging up a plant. He was flicking dirt out of the way as he worked, and seemed to be so intent on his actions, that he hadn't noticed Ariel coming. "Hello," Ariel called, as Rafael pulled up beside him. Ariel pulled up on the reigns, bringing Rafael to a halt, she twisted the reigns around her tiny clay hands a few times, tightening them. "Hello there mister, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering what you were doing digging that plant up out of the ground?" Ariel asked, as a steady stream of dirt headed in her direction, covering the tips of Rafael's paws. "And it may be easier if you simply dug it out by pressing your fingers into the soil directly around it and making a small circle... and then extract it perhaps... I'm probably not explaining it well, but at least that way, perhaps I won't have to give Rafael here a bath," Ariel commented, taking one hand off the reigns to gesture at Rafael, "I'm not sure he would like it if I gave him a bath."

[Eldon Sunkiss]

At the sound of a seemingly distance soft voice, Eldon turned his head in misdirection away from the approaching Ariel and feline mount. Eldon peered across the planes, the nearby Endrykas, Vanah. Nobody was there that he could see. Perhaps it was some Drykas children sneaking through the grass, playing games with each other, or maybe even teasing Eldon himself. Eldon shrugged as he moved back towards his butchered plant, which is when he saw the cat and Pycon. "By the Gods!" Eldon instantly stood up, stumbling backwards several steps until his back was against Vanah (who was a better judge of character as she was unafraid of the little clay critter). "Why is your kind so intent on find me? I suggest you leave before you are nought but an ugly stain on the sole of my boot." Eldon growled lightly. Like Kayiri, his only experience with Pycon were those thieves and assailants that so badly hurt Raylin, who destroyed Kay's confidence and... nose. Eldon may not have personally taken significant damage, but seeing what happened to his friends was enough to cause bitterness against this race. "It is of no concern to you Pylon that I do out here. These lands belong to Caiyha and the Drykas alone. Not slavers, not zith, and not miniature thieves as yourself!" Eldon had not bothered to consider that there was even the remotest of chances that Ariel was no thief or secret tiny assassin. Vanah snorted, causing Eldon to turn his head to look at her. "You can't possibly know that." Vanah obviously wasn't talking, yet somehow there was speech between them. Perhaps Eldon was just crazy and thought he heard her talking, or perhaps there was more. The sacred bond. Eldon grunted lightly as he looked back to Ariel. She didn't seem like much, and not that he was looking around with the eyes of a hawk, she seemed alone, excluding that little furry critter she was riding that is. "Vanah says I'm being an idiot. I'm suspicious, and she says it's unfair to be so." Eldon gnawed lightly on his bottom lip as he hesitated on his next form of action. He could apologize and leave, but that was no better, and Vanah wouldn't accept something so spineless. Eldon, instead, took a few steps back to his original location and took a knee to closer see Ariel, and hear her. Besides, he was confident he could move fast enough to grab her and crush her if she tried anything ridiculous. "Sorry... I've met your kind before, and it still haunts me." To be honest, it wasn't so much of what happened to him, but he was one of them that took care of Raylin when she was so brutally wounded in those small cave systems. It made him nauseous to know that he allowed her to nearly kill herself. Eldon should have been up there with Kay, Eldon should, if anyone had to, have injured in her place. It made him sick to know he had such a large fault. The Pycon were truly only guilty by association in that situation. "I'm Eldon Sunkiss. Sapphire Clan. Water Conjurer and Heir to the pavilion. Do you have a name?" Eldon's question was less of 'what's your name?' and more like 'does your kind even have names?' It was strange to think that a race that you've only known to be malicious to actually have a single friendly member amongst them. Eldon still couldn't shake his suspicions though, be it obvious or not.

[Ariel]

Ariel sighed, what was with these people and pycons? Whatever did her kind do to them to seemingly scar them for life? Ariel wondered as Rafael took a half step back, and away from the Drykas before them. Whenever a Drykas met her, at least of late, they seemed to call Ariel a thief, which made her wonder what her kind had managed to steal; assuming they had actually managed to steal anything, Ariel herself, being incapable of seeing it. The fact that she wasn't there, surely didn't help the situation. She simply wished that the Drykas would quit lumping her in with the rest; or even, move on.

"Your apology is accepted," Ariel began, still wary of the Drykas and his current state of being. She took a deep breath in through the nose, and then out through the mouth, before delving into Eldon's aura. A black mist filled with dirty gray overlays swirled around Eldon, and enveloped Ariel. She turned her head away, forcing herself to break her concentration, causing the aura to slowly fade away into the air. Ariel breathed in deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth, giving herself a moment to think things over before speaking again. Judging from her past experiences, and Eldon's short explanation for his words, Ariel supposed that although having a black aura signified many things, in this case, it more than likely indicated a long-term inability within Eldon to forgive whatever the pycons had done to him. The dirty gray overlay that his aura also contained, suggested his being slightly guarded, something Ariel didn't find at all surprising.

"Even though I may not understand what it is for in its entirety... I accept your apology," Ariel said, as she turned back to face Eldon, her eyes feeling a little heavy. They were starting to droop a little, and Ariel continually forced them open. It must have appeared as though her eyes were twitching; and that she was somewhat crazy. "And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Eldon," Ariel paused for a moment to clear her throat, she lifted one hand from her reigns, and gestured towards herself, "I am Ariel, a traveler of sorts... a pycon with a heart for adventure." Ariel paused for a moment, bringing her hand back down to reigns. "And who may I ask is Vanah? For I see no one else among us, unless it is the name of your horse? Which, forgive me if I seem rude, hasn't uttered a single word, at least, to my knowledge."

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Eldon took a seat and stared at the Pycon. He was nervous, he couldn't deny that, but what kind of man would he be if he allowed something like that, a single incident, turn him into a racist. If his father was here, he'd slap him halfway to death. Eldon took a deep breath, in and out. Slowly, deep, calming. Eldon opened his eyes, smiled. "Let's start over. I have failed to follow my father's advice. I am Eldon, Drykas and Reimancer of Endrykas. I apologize for my initial reaction, it will not happen again." Eldon was of course thinking things along the lines of 'unless you try something' or 'but if a million more of you show up', but he wasn't going to say them out loud. Not a chance. Eldon nodded as Ariel accepted his apology. With his hands on his knees, he legs folded underneath him, he rocked slowly backwards and forwards. He had no idea how to talk to a Pycon. It was such a strange experience, as if being robbed by a few dozen of them was any less strange. Eldon continued to watch her, though found it uncomfortable as she just stared at him, almost like she was looking into his soul. Of course, he had no idea she was diving into Auristics, an art he had only heard of before, never for himself seen. He glanced around the area, tall grass, in the distance behind him were the pavilions of Endrykas, nothing of interest. "So... Ariel the Traveler. What is it you do, besides traveling?" Really weak attempt at conversation. Eldon was uncomfortable, but forced himself to stay here, to remain in that conversation. He had to make this right, and even if Ariel did already forgive him, which was wasn't sure was a true acceptance of his possibly non-genuine apology, he had to make this right with himself. He wasn't a racist, he wouldn't become one. "Alright, I'm sorry if this is rude but I must ask this. What are you? What are the Pycon? How are you so small? You are a very peculiar people, and I honestly mean no offense by that, but... it's so intriguing." Eldon leaned over, getting a closer look at Ariel as her eyes twitched and flickered hysterically. Eldon blinked, wondering if this was some sort of sign he was supposed to know, or what? "Are you alright? Your... your eyes are moving very, strangely." Eldon lightly gnawed on his lower lip, still forming theories about this little creature.

[Ariel]

"You mean as far as hobbies go?" Ariel asked, not bothering to wait for an answer from Eldon. Feeling that had to be the only thing that Eldon could have meant. "Well... I don't have many, I just like traveling, and learning new things. I can be a little obsessive about that, so perhaps exploring would be a good answer to that question. But then again, who doesn't like eating? Can eating be considered a hobby? Even if the only thing one eats is clay, which means that there is a lack of culinary exploration, and different tastes upon the palate, but..." Ariel's voice trailed off as she shrugged, it didn't matter. Eating was eating and food was food, right?

"And don't worry, it's not rude, a lot of people just don't know we exist it seems," Ariel said, speaking of her race as a whole as opposed to a series of individuals each with their own likes and dislikes, and vastly varying personalities. "Pycons are essentially tiny clay people, it is said that we were created using alchemy many many years ago," the red pigmentation in Ariel's cheeks grew more and more prominent as her eyes turned to tiny daggers and then back again. "And we're not tiny, we're fun-sized, or perhaps the rest of the world consists of giants!" Ariel sighed, she was so sick of people commenting on her height it wasn't even funny anymore. Couldn't they just quit it, or get it through their thick skulls that perhaps she was a little self-conscious and that the issue of her height should be spoken of seldomly if at all, and delicately? Ariel wondered as her eyes fluttered open and shut a few more times.

Ariel forced her eyes to stay open, she hated blinking. "Oh... my eyes? Just tired I guess, you ever get really tired in the middle of the day? That seems to happen a lot to me, blame it on my inability to get a good night's sleep." Ariel paused for a moment as Rafael's tail started to swish back and forth, perhaps he was growing impatient, she thought, as she leaned forward to pat his back a few times. "But what about you Eldon, is there anything you do other than study magic... or dig up plants in your spare time?" Ariel chuckled, "and speaking of magic, and reimancy specifically, what element have you managed to gain control over? Was it earth? Is that why you are out here gardening?"

OOCSorry this is a little jumpy. Ariel is simply a high-energy being, whose emotions seem to fluctuate rapidly... it's like she can only feel one thing at a time, but she can't hold onto it for long, it's kind of strange really.

[Eldon Sunkiss]

"Ah yes Hob-" Eldon was cut off, apparently Ariel liked to ask questions and never learn the answers. So strange. Maybe she read his mind? No, that's just ridiculous. Even if she was different in every single way. The funny thing was, though being ridiculous, Eldon would have believed the clay creature if she had told him she could. "Learning new things? That's not very specific." Eldon shrugged. Guessing it was hard to to know what you liked to learn if you had yet learn about it. "Fair enough. Exploring probably does show you many things. Have you seen many places?" Eldon inquired, becoming more and more genuinely interested in Ariel. He leaned in closer, making sure none of her 'fun-sized' voice slipped past him. "Yeah, everyone eats. We don't over-eat in Endrykas often, but we eat well when we can, as often as we can. Keeps us healthy and strong. But Clay?" Eldon grimaced as he imagined the taste, the texture of clay in his mouth, his stomach. Did clay even hold nutritional value to humans? It would be hard to imagine so. "Woah, easy there! You just said your kind were essentially tiny clay people, don't be looking at me like that." Held his hands up in mock surrender. He no longer saw her of a threat of any kind, not alone at least. He chuckled lightly, cleared his throat. "Alright then, Fun Sized we'll call it. Are you a fun person then? I'd hate for someone fun sized to be boring." Eldon resisted the urge to chuckle aloud once again. And then Alchemy came into the conversation. Eldon zoned into Ariel again as she mentioned Alchemy. Alchemy, a word he's heard only on a rare occasion, yet it was very interesting. If what she said was true, the the history she had wasn't a myth, the thought of creating life from magic was... strange. Eldon didn't know if he liked the idea, or was scared of it. Creating life from magic. "This Alchemy. How does it do this? Create something so extraordinary?" Eldon wanted to get closer, to examine Ariel as if she was a flower that he wanted desperately to understand, but she was alive, mobile, had emotions. She was clay, but had emotions. Eldon had to force himself to look away, it would probably seem rude, hell, it WAS rude to stare at someone like they were nothing better than a math equation to be memorized. "That's so interesting." Eldon shrugged. Sure, he got tired midday sometimes. When he went to far with Reimancy, he could pass out. If he just returned from a hunt, he could sleep for a day. "I suppose so. I guess I just assumed a sma--a fun sized clay person--didn't need to sleep for some reason. I guess there's a lot about you I don't know about. And I wasn't gardening. We don't keep gardens. It doesn't rain often enough for that, and we move around several times a year." Eldon spoke in a 'matter-of-fact' tone as he nodded, taking his turn to education the miniature one a little. He was a little surprised, perhaps even let down, that Ariel already knew enough of reimancy to know what it was, the elements. "Water, but I think I am very close to grasping another." Eldon stared at teh ground, the small hole he crudely dug. He did feel very connected to the earth at times. He smirked lightly. "Well, I'm not sure what I was doing really. Observation I suppose."

[Ariel]

Ariel laughed whenever Eldon called her fun-sized. None of the giants had ever called her that before, it was always 'short,' or 'tiny,' or some sort of variation of the word, she secretly appreciated his finding a nicer way to talk about her height, even if it was a way she had essentially supplied for him. It took her a few moments to calm down so that she could speak normally again.

"Considering I'm only five, I guess you can say I've been to a fair amount of places- studied at the university in Zeltiva, gone to Mura, and now, my travels have led me here. What about you Eldon?" Ariel asked as she tilted her head to the side. "Have you ever left good old Endrykas or your pavilion? Perhaps looking for something to eat? We, as pycons have to search for clay deposits from time to time. I couldn't say that someone like you would like it, but I can't get enough of the stuff. I don't know why I like it though, the texture smooth... it just tastes good... anyway, do you have a favorite food?" Ariel finished, looking up at him, slightly puzzled by her own eating habits.

"And Harameus, the god of alchemy and transformation created us. Well the first of our kind, I suppose we bred on our own after that, much like the Kontis, should you want to make any sort of connection," Ariel commented, having remembered once being told by a Konti woman that the pycons were not the only ones that came directly from the gods. "Or... any other race for that matter... well, when it comes to mating," Ariel added awkwardly as she shook her head, trying to shake the embarrassment she was starting to feel out of her ears.

"And water is an interesting element to grasp. But I wonder, if someone like you could keep a garden even if it doesn't rain much in Endrykas. Think about it, if you have the power to create water, couldn't you simply water the plants you intended on growing by conjuring water up? Or do you need more practice for something like that? Maybe a greater affinity with earth? Perhaps you could unlock the earth's secrets with some more practice?" Ariel shrugged as she rolled up Rafael's reigns around her hands, and then let it all go again. "But then again, if the climate isn't right for a plant, it isn't right I'd suppose. I mean if it's too dry, it's too dry, right?" Ariel asked, not knowing the answer, or much of anything about plants for that matter. But her argument seemed logical enough, didn't it? she wondered, as she stared blankly up at Eldon.

OOCI know Rupert Pycon created the pycon race, but the pycons don't acknowledge that, says so right in the lore.

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Eldon was surprised to see Ariel start laughing. Either she found something humorous about him, what he said, what he did, or she had just randomly thought of something that she dubbed quite hilarious. Eldon lifted his dirt encrusted hand to his chin and scratched it lightly. There was no sign of facial hair. Clean cut he was, always. "Alright... I'll just pretend you aren't laughing at me if you are." Eldon smirked lightly. He was actually surprised at how easy it was to trust this little person. She really wasn't like those devils that attacked him the previous season. "Me? Travels? Well..." Eldon hesitated a moment. After hearing where all Ariel had visited, despite being five years old and easily overlooked by any race but her own, Eldon felt almost ashamed to answer this question. Where had he been before? It was very limited. "I uh... No. Well, I lived amongst the Akalak in Riverfall with my father for... just over two seasons. That was several years ago though. Twelve years I believe. There's not much I know about foreigners to be honest, but I learned real quick not to mess with those blue giants, if you know what I mean. They're a real rough bunch of guys." Eldon had to wonder how an Akalak would appear to a Pycon. If she saw Eldon, only six feet in height, as a giant, what would someone with another twenty four inches look like? Eldon shuddered at the thought of someone only two feet taller than he. Someone about seven feet taller, that would make him pass out from pure fear. "As for food, I'd have to say the Trough. They've got some great cooks there. Glassbeak legs roasted over an open fire, makes the mouth water. It's not commonly something to hunt, the Glassbeak, but those rare occasions..." Eldon smiled, he was now the one trailing off, foolish of him. "Hammerous? Interesting. Created directly by the gods, that's something to be proud of. Do you have like, some inherent knowledge of alchemy? I'd very much like to hear about it." Why? He wasn't sure. If he had to guess, he just wanted to know if he was alright with it and its methods. He didn't know what it was all about, not in the least, except that a God used it to create life from Earthly material. "Like a Kontis, okay." Konti, another word he didn't recognize. He just nodded though, as if Eldon knew precisely, without a doubt, what Ariel was talking about, but in honestly, after the mention of Harameus, he got thoroughly lost, confused, and to avoid sounding like an idiot, didn't ask anymore questions on that subject. Yes, water. It has been a duty of my family since the name Sunkiss was born. We are one of many pavilions that keep water supplied to our people. With sparse rains, we cannot depend on nature to supply us with all our needs. Already Caiyha blesses us with land, with beast to hunt and eat. We have learned to sustain ourselves in life in almost every way. But... a garden. I suppose if a garden only needs water, that I could tend to one. But we are a nomadic people. We travel all around Cyphrus, following herds, suitable weather, avoiding the worst of storms. I would either have to stay behind, separate from my people to tend to a garden, or abandon my garden before it bloomed. Perhaps I have the skill to make a garden, because I most certainly do have the skill to provide water, but I cannot leave my people. We are strong not only because we train and work hard, but we live together, fight together, survive together." Eldon nodded, more at himself than anything. "I know of a man that finds herbs well. I assume some plants can be found, survive naturally here. I wouldn't know what, why, or how, but some do thrive, through drought and flood." Flood, it was more rare than rainfall, but Makutsi and Zulrav weren't without moments of rage. Floods were, sometimes, more feared than a year without rain at all. Dangerous, deadly, murderous floods. Eldon blinked, noticing now he was staring directly into the son. He pulled his gaze down, looking back to the Pycon behind burning little circles in his vision kept him from accurately picturing her. He grinned. "I don't know how to take care of plants anyway. I feed people water, and I'm a hunter. Nothing more, nothing less."

[Ariel]

Ariel laughed, "no it's pronounced HARA-MOOSE," she said, speaking the god's name phonetically. "And sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know any more about alchemy than you do, it's considered... taboo for a pycon to do so, so although we may find such things of great interest, most, if not all of us, would never actually study alchemy. It's as though we are disrespecting the mighty Harameus to do so, for lack of a better explanation," Ariel explained, to the best of her understanding, silently praying that Eldon would not ask any more questions that she could not provide the answers to.

Ariel breathed deeply in through her nose and then out through her mouth. "I suppose that would make sense. Endrykas is known for being a traveling city, only capable of being found by those who already know where it is; the drykas alone. This city seems to be a well-kept secret, doesn't it?" Ariel asked as she tilted her head to the side and looked up at Eldon from the top of Rafael's saddle. "Outsiders, meaning races other than your own, know it exists, but never where it exists, they cannot find it on a map, and even if one of your kind drew us the most detailed map in all of Mizahar, I am sure, that even then, someone like me could not find it, and it's not because I can't take directions, but because I'm not like you..." Ariel's voice trailed off, and was carried away by the whistling wind that swirled around each of their heads, and rustled Rafael's fur. The kitten gave a surprised mew, but after a few pats behind the ears and several 'shhhhss' the kitten calmed down.

"So, I guess, even though you can conjure water, I am agreeing with you, it wouldn't make much sense for you to grow a garden when you would simply have to leave it behind, unless you potted some of the plants and brought them with you wherever you go, assuming you ever wanted to keep plants, because even though you don't know now, and trust me, I don't either, you could always learn how to look after them, couldn't you?" Ariel asked, as she raised her right hand from the reigns and scratched her head for a moment, before sighing and returning her hand to the reigns. Her body was starting to grow stiff, she had been sitting for too long she thought, which was the only problem she had with her new mode of transportation. Although Rafael moved far faster than she, he didn't allow for much exercise on Ariel's part. Ariel sighed again, she would have to work on that in the future, she thought, as she looked up at Eldon again.

"After all, plants could be useful to your kind, right? I mean... you could use them in medicines, or for cooking, or even, as a food source, depending on what they were right?" Ariel inquired, "maybe it would be something to consider, but then again, I can't force you to do anything, and should probably stop trying to convince you now." Ariel paused, taking a moment to sigh heavily again, "anyway, Eldon, you consider yourself a hunter and a water-carrier, so I must ask, do you enjoy that? Or is there something more you want out of life? Perhaps another skill you'd like to learn, another place you'd like to see before the world claims you and Harameus only knows what happens," Ariel looked down at her hands for a moment, "there is simply so much to learn, so much to see, so much potential, it would be a real shame if anyone allowed themselves not to try and see it all before they go, to try and learn everything they can." And as soon as she said that, Ariel grew silent, waiting for Eldon's reply, she wondered if she had said too much.