Reality of Adventure: XXXVII
Alekzandr wasn't completely sure how to feel, he had been up for only three hours now waking around six o'clock AM in a brave attempt to get some work done. "If the firing pin travels the barrel here.. Then I know I must have routed the musical frost.." Alekzandr muttered obsessively to himself. Ever since his time at the House of Inspired hands Alekzandr had felt a renewed effort to unlock the mystery behind his rifle. After thirty seven long years Alekzandr could still remember the night, and the morning of Segiri's creation. He had.. Drunkenly worked the previous day, graduation of Rusiv's musical academy had excited him. Yet when he awoke that next morning his body still lightly filled with 'White one's fire' the best damned vodka the Rushiki could produce he found the rifle before him assembled with his wands bolt already inside ready for war. "What a stupid war.." Alekzandr murmured as he worked, the Temple had given him new interest though how he was supposed to figure this out escaped him. He had been drunk over thirty five years ago.. The chances weren't looking good he thought.
"Yo! Alekz!" Alekzandr flinched at the hard knocking at his door, for the love of Lobodovski! It was only nine, the hell was Herod doing up, Alekz had always pegged him for a heavy sleeper who stayed in until the midafternoon. "People down stairs to see u.. Dear Vulity he's praying.." Alekzandr swore he could've heard a low chanting in a high pitched tone.
"Markos.." Alekzandr muttered. Alekzandr stood up, throwing his brown coat and cap on before strolling to the door. "Yes? And?" Alekzandr asked as he threw open the door. Herod was standing there, forest green eyes pointed at Alekzandr with expectation. On the ground near him Alekzandr frowned to see the kneeling and closed eye figure of Markos, he looked bad.. His hair was a mess, his face looked even more like that of a little girl trying to throttle a stuffed animal with his clothes in disarray, a stark contrast to Herod's decent demeanor.
"Most of us are up, you know that right? Were gathered downstairs for some of that breaking of the fast." Herod grabbed Markos by the collar of his cloak, though the cultist didn't seem to react, Alekzandr just frowned at the odd dynamic. "You can join us, if ya want." Herod threw Markos over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before descending the stairs. Alekzandr tried to glimpse any sense of reaction from Markos but he seemed to still be chanting even in that position.
"Well that was.. Odd." Alekzandr remarked. He grabbed his rifle pulling the bolt back and clearing the spells he had been preparing to cast. He picked up his flask taking a long drink before hopping down the steps after the two religious fiends. The manor had been decently fixed up so far, the third floor had received the adequate amount of service to make it livable, hell he thought, the attic storage room across his bedroom was twice as large and actually livable, if he wasn't so comfy Alekzandr could just move into it. The den of the second floor was pretty though it still missed a table meaning the party was continuously forced to meet in the tavern. Hopefully that was fixed before they opened the place or people might start hearing their crazy shit.
"And what does that tell you?" Adleth asked, Alekzandr took his final steps into the tavern only to see the group all in separate corners of the bar.
"Nothing." Asher admitted as he continued to.. Snap over Markos head. "Just kinda fun to see if he'll blink." Asher waved his hand before snapping again. Alekzandr thought of asking a question but decided against it, Markos was still on the ground praying.
"What is he doing?" Riu asked Asher, Alekzandr approached the bar pulling a small bottle of Vodka from behind it relishing in the beauty of the brew. Herod was trying to poke the chanting Markos with his sword as Riu leveled her mace and Asher continued to snap over him. Alekzandr slowly turned back around and set the small bottle of vodka onto the bar top. He reached over bending on the bar's surface and grabbed another bottle twice as big.
"Much better." Alekzandr muttered as he looked back over at the group of idiots all waving weapons and other dangerous things in front of Markos.
"hmmm.. I believe the locals call it praying Mrs. Cleric.. I'll have to get back to you on that one." Asher replied. Alekzandr Scoffed and took a sip of his new vodka bottle, though he assumed he would need a whole damned mug. Riu seemed to roll her eyes in response.
"I know what praying is, that's.. Insanity." Riu shot back, the cultist on the floor whispered in another worldly language guttural and slightly deeper than that of his normal voice.
"Really? The cultist being.. Insane? Wow, I couldn't see that coming." Adleth joshed. Adleth was looking better then the rest that morning, her auburn hair wasn't a mess unlike practically every other individual Alekzandr could see, hell even Riu's looked unkempt. Alekzandr strolled over to his comrades.
*Ding* The group looked to the door and out the broken destroyed windows, Alekzandr giggled a little he had been so focused on getting an escape drink that he completely forgot how burnt and broken the front of the tavern was, it looked to be in disrepair though he knew it was a fireball that had blown it in. Also.. did they actually get a bell? He looked up at the door and shrugged, he wasn't getting it.
"Uh. Heard you needed some new windows?" Alekzandr peaked from the bar stool at the doorway where Herod had answered, though it's not like it mattered, in the door frame was a gruffer looking gentleman with brown hair and dull green eyes though he looked to be real tall. Behind him Alekzandr could just barely spot a crew of workers. "Were.. here to deliver." the man finished. Ah so the city was paying for the new windows and repairs to their broken home.
"Oh that's fantastic!" Herod replied. "Yeah you guys can go ahead and get to work on that.. If you need us gone we'll uh.." Herod trailed off.
"Ask him if he wants a cultist!" Riu yelled as Herod tried to talk to the man at the door. Alekzandr shot Riu a funny look but mostly ignored it. Though speaking of their cutlist Markos had opened his eyes standing at an almost unnatural rate.
"Hey, Thanks for using the bell." Adleth chimed in. She moved to the door frame, Alekzandr shrugged and got up moving towards the entrance windows where he could see a group of various men pulling large sheets of glass for repairs.
"Well uh.." The man looked around a little awkwardly. "There's a sign saying if you knock you die so.." The man blinked and held up his hands in mild confusion. Alekzandr couldn't see it but he knew Adleth's face was lighting up, when they had come home last night she had insisted on making the sign and installing a bell. Apparently knocking was now a killable offense.
"Yup!" Adleth shot back, she was a little unlike herself, though this kind of joke didn't seem too out of place.
"So.. me and my boys will uh.. Get to work now." The gruff looking man motioned his associates with the windows to start working. "Also.. you guys are one of our.. Bigger projects if I recall so about the time frame for us to actually finish this. At the moment there's a lot going on with founder's day coming up.."
"Mhmm, Mhmm." Markos acknowledged. Alekzandr realized where the sentence was heading.
"If you guys.. Would be willing to pay another two hundred and fifty we could get this whole place done, by the end of this tenday." The man finished, Alekzandr nodded in agreement, they were the woodworkers guild, tasked with replacing and fixing their new tavern. While the city had hired them to additionally work on the destroyed property from the fireball the group could expect no such help in payment from the city on their own home.
"Two hundred huh.." Riu was looking around a little spotty, Alekzandr figured she had plenty of money to throw around due to her nobility.. It may be smart to get her to pay for something one of these days. Alekzandr made sure to make a note of it.
"Do we have that kind of coin?" Alekzandr inquired curiously.
"Nope." Adleth said as she turned on her heels. Alekzandr sighed, the rogue was never the type to pay for anything it seemed.
"Oh for the love of.." Asher reached to his side as Alekzandr observed him grab a sack of coins. "Here's seventy dragons, pitch in you idiots we got a tavern to make." Alekzandr admired his boldness and reached into his own coin purse, while he was aware of shortcomings within his wallet he tossed forth around thirty gold coins. Around the room Riu handed a sack that he was unable to measure, followed by Herod and a little even from Markos. "Is that sufficient woodman?" Asher puzzled the man, the guy took a second counting the coin before nodding.
"Yeah that's exactly enough, I'll be able to push your build ahead of founders day. Lucky for you." The man noted as he smiled at his men already working behind him Alekzandr couldn't help but admire their decent teamwork, something he'd have to coordinate better with his own party.
"Thank you non-believer!" Markos chirped. "I-" Markos stopped and grew a puzzled look, "I almost forgot for your gracious work could I interest you and your men in a pamphlet of sorts?" Alekzandr frowned at Markos before Herod came dashing in between the two people. Alekzandr backed up a little as Herod grabbed the door and slammed it shut.
"We'll that was good.." Alekzandr started, however Markos simply stepped forward to the door and reached his arm through the broken windows handing the woodworkers an array of pamphlets. Shit. Alekzandr thought Markos was once again not an idiot. "Let.. let's go Markos.." Alekzandr reached out and grabbed his cultist friend, hauling him back away from the door.
"I promise if you read them your mind will go through a wonderful journey!" Markos yelped as he was pulled away.
"Don't read them!" Herod blurted, he was bent over talking through one of the narrow broken window frames next to the door, he looked quite silly at that moment, perhaps slightly crazier than Markos. Through the windows though Alekzandr could see some of the workers already palming through the pamphlet.
"They're pamphlets to join a cult Herod." Riu replied groggily she looked a tad tired, "There's no way it's gonna work." Riu walked to Alekzandr and grabbed Markos's ear length hair as she helped pull him to the bar counter.
"I guess that's fair.." Herod articulated, "I mean for all we know it just says; Cthulhu! Join Cthulhu, Cthulhu, Cthulhu." Alekzandr broke out in a grin as Herod stepped away from the window.
"Haha!" Riu giggled softly and even Adleth let out a small snort in response. Why they ever took this boy seriously was completely beyond Alekzandr. Alekzandr threw a drink back off his flask and while the effects of the alcohol hit him lightly at first he quickly shrugged it off. "Now we just need to worry about what we're gonna do next.." Riu muttered. He took a seat at the bar with various companions joining him.
"What are we gonna do next?" Adleth inquired, confused. "We got a day before we're supposed to go grab that gnome, and we were told to stay the hell out of 'powice business'." Aldeth scoffed, she spoke in a baby voice when imitating the guard from the previous night.
"Police what now?" Asher probed.
"Oh." Alekzandr started, "That's right you went back home ahead of us.. When the rest of us returned to the tavern last night, we were halted by a city guard member, who told us Jalester had sent him.. They don't want us looking into the Nimblewright encounter; they want to keep that in-" Asher turned away seemingly no longer caring.
"That sounds about right." Asher accepted as he took a sip of water. "Herod.. Riu, are you two feeling any better?" Alekzandr felt a little surprised with Asher's tone; he was usually mocking and belittling people. "We got interrupted from your.. Encounters.. Last night, was everything ok?" Alekzandr glanced at Riu along with Herod, recently the two had been growing a tad closer. Herod had even stopped calling her a whore. That was progress right? Riu stared down at the bar table in response.
"Well. No need for us to be upset over it, always more things to do both of ya, stealing.. Acquiring money.. Getting coins.. Drinking.." Adleth derided a little. Alekzandr silently thanked her willingness to try and help the situation improve as a dark cloud gathered around the team.
"My coins!" Markos jumped up from the bar table as his face spelled out a realization. "I almost forgot, my coins should be done by today, I gotta go to steam and steel!" Markos spun around to stroll from the bar but Riu quickly grabbed his cloak.
"Hold on!" Riu declared trying to halt the effeminate half-elf. Her icy blue eyes now filled with a clear tinge of worry.
"Did you forget what literally just happened half-elf? We shouldn't be going around town alone." Adleth interjected, "It's your funeral though.." all eyes were on Markos.
"I shall go with him." Alekzandr remarked he stood up grabbing a newly filled flask as he thanked Lif. "It is only to steam and steel, across the street? That is fine." He picked up Segiri as he looked down at his beautiful rifle, his last remaining.. Hope. "We will be fine." He added as he placed a hand on Markos's shoulder.
"Mm-" Markos flinched as Alekzandr placed his hand down, that was odd he thought, he had no reaction any time they grabbed him by the collar of his shirt or by his cloak but this? Alekzandr shook his head.
"Alright.." Riu whispered in response. "Be safe." Alekzandr nodded as he escorted Markos from the tavern, the journey wouldn't be long or even very eventful he told himself. As they stepped out the door Alekzandr saw the group of woodworkers paused in place as they had installed the majority of the windows. Instead each of them gripped a black pamphlet with light purple writing. His jaw nearly fell as he saw the look in their eyes, interest.. Panic.. And most of all.. Desire.
"You are shitting me." Alekzandr scoffed down to his friend. "How.." He gawked at Markos who was smiling lightly though Alekzandr didn't like it. He had seen men lose their minds before.. Mountains of madness.. Creatures who's very eyes drove men wild. Alekzandr made a mental note to not allow Markos to pass out his pamphlets any further.
"I got a whole city once.." Alekzandr felt a chill run down his spine, Markos's voice was very much its feminine high pitch though his words felt more cold.. Like they were steel knives run against stone. "Denayianus.. Among others.. They can't help but read it, my sister Kaylea found it confusing.. But it works.. It always works." Alekzandr tried to nod in response though confusion engulfed him, what horrors of persuasion laid behind those pages? Alekzandr felt his thirst for knowledge flare up however he forced himself to push it back down, he did not wish to read those pages.. Much less succumb to its effects. He shifted uncomfortably recalling eyes even more wild than those on the half-elf ones he'd seen staring back at him so many years ago. Blood and guts spewed on steaming snow while a faint voice called out to him. He wanted to puke. Markos walked over to the group of men as he introduced himself talking to them, Alekzandr tried to look away, as Markos Amanodel converted five people to his cult.