Journal #53: Stolen Book [Text Roleplay]

A hand opened and closed tightly, writing for prolonged periods of time always hurt Aniks. No matter how often he wrote. The ink was just about dry on the page as he finished another journal entry. He placed the also dry book, pen and ink on a bedside table. Then to the only other person in the room “As soon as we get a chance in Gildomar, I would like to go to a book shop. Rereading these journals and those texts in The Boneyard left me wanting to read literally anything else with a story.”
 
Celuriel had remained quiet during his journalling. Silence was a trait she had always possessed and made use of, and her time in another realm had not robbed her of it. Still, her hands held the stolen book with a surety of its existence that could have given way to uncertainty only recently. Four days to them. Many more for Aniks and herself. "we were in a library." He had breached the silence: she would respond. "you could have taken one too. he didn't care."
 
For a moment he was concerned this, but only for a moment. He only gave it that moment, because of the type of books he could have. "Honestly, I would be both interested and concerned for the types of books Cyne would have." Then with a small smile he said "I could have, but the less time around him the better. He wanted to be alone."
 
"this one is both myth and.." She had to pause to think of the word, golden eyes meeting Aniks's. "alchemy..? it has many plants." It was a thick tome, too. Well-read and well-cared for, bound in a rich black leather with golden decorative inlay. A number of bookmarks - clearly not placed there by Celu, who didn't see the point - still stuck out of the pages. She made a noise of dismissal. "he wanted to drink sweet-scented wine and forget. you could walk into the other rooms. he didn't care about Ashlyn... praying."
 
"Would herbology fit?" Aniks suggested. Alchemy from what he knew about it encompassed a bit more than just plants. But myths? What kind of book was this he wondered. The bookmarks would suggest somebody hade once used it often, those pages from the book at least. "I would guess that's just his version of coping. Your right, but he just did not want us in the same room. I would not like to have seen what happened if we stayed."
 
"herbology?" Celu considered this and his continued wonderings for a few moments. "...yes. they both are useful words. and he was too dark for anger. he would have moved," she suggested, though didn't seem entirely sure and quickly followed that up. "maybe onto the floor. his drink was strong."
 
"If both words would work than isn't that rather druidic, in a round about way. Is the book interesting?" Aniks said. Then he felt bad as he smiled "I have to admit, if it was not so sad. Cyne drunk on the ground would hilarious."
 
She shrugged at the first question. "ask q druid. it is a very strange book. it has a lot of myths, but then it thinks about their causes. there are a lot of plants mentioned. people have written in the margins." At his suggestion, Celu thought about this - and smirked. "you have a bar."
 
"So it's searching for the kernel of truth in old myths. That's odd" He said eyebrows raised. However Celu's suggestion to get Cyne drunk was amusing. He glanced down at the second journal, it looked dry. He lightly tapped the ink to test it, it was dry. The book then was softly closed. "While it might be possible, I don't think we'll be seeming him in my bar anytime soon. On the account of him being the emperor and all."
 
She shrugged lightly at his eyebrow raise. "I expected it to be odd. nothing about him is normal." Sliding a stray parchment fragment into her page and shutting it with a soft thump, she offered the heavy tome to Aniks. "do you want to read it?" She'd learnt how to share better over their time away. A certain consort had been helpful there. "...and you're wrong. he is an emperor, but he needs time away too. if he refuses, trick him."
 
Aniks stretched releasing a yawn in the process, setting down on the bed next to her. He consider what she said, with a single finger he pushed the book back. “Not while your reading it. Besides what's it called?” To be frank, not many people they knew could be considered ‘normal.’ Cyne was definitely odd and fit that description. A smile appeared across his face. “Trick Cyne into getting drunk. A mischievous suggestion Celu. How would you approach this?”
 
"...let's find out." The book's title wasn't engraved into the leather: it took opening it to find the name. Celu didn't mind. It gave her a way to avoid speaking it. Emblazoned on the title page and accompanied by a series of inked symbols was 'a Complete and Selfe-Updatyng Treatyse onn Magykal Propertyse of Mundane Mythe'. She considered his question with a thoughtful smirk. "he would need to arrive in your town... tell him that ashlyn needs to speak with him as soon as possible. involve his assistant if he refuses."
 
“That’s a title for sure…” His head tilted confused at first by the spelling, or the older spelling of these words. “Ashlyn’s birthday would be a good day to do it, them being family and all. Giving him a glass shouldn’t be a problem either, it’s getting him to continue to drink....” The dark elf pondered this, as if this could possibly work.
 
"it's old. this book is old. the early pages are not easy to read." She flipped to a random one, showing him reams of close-written text in a more archaic form of common - and a number of handwritten annotations beside the printed text, taking up the majority of the page's margins. It wasn't all in the same hand, either: different inks, different handwritings. "any of your birthdays would work. if you use strong alcohol or..." Was there a word for mixed-together drinks? She didn't remember. "mixtures, then he will drink more. and when he has started, distraction will make him drink more."
 
“This book has traded hands a few times, I wonder what would have driven people to make additional notes. Corrections comments for somebody else to read down the line?” He paused for a moment, at least he could read common from another era. It would probably give him a headache after a couple of hours. “Elven Ale would work just fine, but that basically drugging him at that point. As for cocktails and mixed-drinks, best to use heavier alcohol masked with other fruity drinks which would cover how much he’s really drinking.”
 
Celu stopped in her flicking-through of the book's pages to turn and glare at him. "you are the one who knows best what pain elven ale causes. don't use it on someone who can lock you away." Was she being selfish? Yes. "if it is that easy to hide alcohol's flavour, then encourage him to drink more than necessary by using competitions. the madman could help." She looked down at the book, scanning the page she'd landed on. "...the writing is both, and speculation. new and old blood discussing what the text assumes. look. this one has many theories on the sleep potions used in a sleeping princess myth."
 
"Your right, Azyel is a much better choice. So the better question, is are we going to accurally do this." Aniks, of course, still needed to get the Elf back for his magical prank. He'd like to burn down the fact bar across the street from his, but that would be arson. He'd settle for something else. "A deconstruction of a myth, I guess some people rather enjoy that sort of thing."
 
She considered it. "the distraction would make him less sad. but we can't for a while." Celu wasn't forgetting the shard's existence. "...the deconstructions also impart ideas. poison is too easily made, I think."
 
"Depends on the type of poison, while many are easily made or found. Venom from Serpents or natural chemicals that educe death very quickly. Cyanide being used a lot in food poisoning on the surface. The longer and more complex one like Drow Poison can have other effects. However since that book has both Alchemy and Herbology I would image that sleeping potion had...." He stopped, Aniks up bring was showing. Basic knowledge on poison came hand in hand with training with a shorts swords. He hadn't spoken about poisons in years. "likely been a mixture of both." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "We'll be busy for a while, I think."
 
Celu leant against him, a small smile playing around her lips as he went on a tangent. His passion was nice. "there wasn't ever much detail about poison in the books I read. not beyond the basics. necromancers prefer other methods. would sleep potions work on us?" He'd managed to interest her, which was... probably a good thing?
 
He thought for a second, recalling decade old memories. If Celu had been a normal elf, her asking about poisons would be concerning. but she wasn't normal. Which was nice. "Depends. If the sleeping potion was naturally created, then it would possibly effect us. If the potion was magical in nature which cause an enchantment to be placed over the drinker. Well it would be wasted on us. While not a potion, basic drow poison when used correctly renders the victims unconscious for about an hour regardless of race."
 
She nodded slowly, taking this in. "we should find out, for the first one. it would be better to know ahead of time. there... I could see my sister using this type of thing. it would fit her." Being so close to Aniks made that topic easier to talk about: nonetheless, he doubtless felt the shiver. "does drow poison make you dream?" she wondered. The difference between unconsciousness and sleep - was there one?
 
Feeling the shiver, Aniks putting his head on her. A small way to attempt to comfort her. "Nivinle used it on me once" He said in a slight whisper. "I don't think I dreamt of anything. When I used it when I was younger, the unconscious never showed indication they were dreaming." He was quiet for a little bit, thinking about the first part of what Celuriel said. "Great both our families would use poisons, I am rather sure that naturally potions and poisons could effected us. However I'll double check for you."
 
Celu hoped he could feel her confusion. "she used it on you...?" she murmured in his interlude, falling quiet to listen to the rest of his words. "she would use anything that would help her. if these affect us, then she would use them. where will you find the poison? you aren't going down there for them." Down there meaning the Underdark, obviously.
 
"Only once, while we were training. She had stolen a poison dart and jabbed me." Aniks said. All in all it was probably one of the better ways to have the poison used on him. "Drow Poison can often be found on the surface in black markets and in the hands of slavers. The later being more likely. However the Underdark is by far the easiest place to find it."
 
"...if you go back, they might try and keep you there." She didn't sound impressed with the idea.
 
“I doubt it, Nivinle and I have an unspoken agreement not to get involved in each other's personal business. It’s Vasestra who might attempt something that stupid, and I don’t think Rikzyr would care.” It felt odd to say their names. Vasestra and Rikzyr still weren’t common in his mouth anymore. “Did you mean it, go back to The Boneyard? It was nice when it was just the two of us.”
 
She gave him a flat look that clearly stated her disapproval of his relatives, but moved on. "yes. we did not have to deal with as much stupidity. and nobody tried to pity me for not knowing things. would you really want to visit the first world?"
 
Given that his comment about going to the first world was made while he was half asleep. Aniks hadn't given it much thought, so now he did. "It would be interesting, but I think I personally might not know enough about Fae. I would likely leave that realm having something taken from me."
 
"...no you won't. you're mine and they're not allowed." Celu didn't seem to even give that sentence much thought.
 
“Your claim on me is rather ironclad. You haven’t claimed like Fae have you?” Aniks asked clearly unaware if she had, or even could yet.
 
Celu let him watch her consider this, before shaking her head. "...no, but that doesn't mean they can. I have a knife for that."
 
At this point, the mental image of Celuriel stabbing Fae amused the slightly tired Aniks. He could feel himself leaning on her a bit as he thought of this. Smiling slightly he spoke "As fun as that would be to watch, we'll have to think of something else."
 
She wasn't going to point out his sleepiness. He knew how to deal with it better than she did. Instead, Celu brought up a suggestion: "we could go to hell and barter the rat. and say hello to the dark one's new patron."
 
He shifted at the mention of hell, but when Aniks released his breath a short quiet laugh came out. “Not the vacation spot I would have chosen, especially just to screw over Whisperbreath. As for his patron, I’d rather not deal with more deities that we have too.”
 
"..he wouldn't be worse than the ones we have met," murmured Celu in response, a small smile dancing on her lips at his laugh. "trickery in language is better than what we felt happening in the dark lands." The necklace was cold. It was always cold, but it was especially bad when she thought about that place. "...we could go to an elemental plane."
 
The dark elf raised the ring with the blood red gem, both showing curiosity and concern. “To many questions about that place remained unanswered, which some of them I wish would stay that way.” Then before this could be a topic of conversation could spiral downwards. He dropped his hand and focused on the elemental planes. “We could buy an air ship and explore the plane of air. I heard they're massive floating cities and cloud dragons. Whatever a cloud dragon is.”
 
Celu frowned at the ring, wondering if it, too, came with unnatural ice at times. Or perhaps that was just her necklace. "which--" Cloud dragons? Cloud dragons were more interesting. "an air ship..? do cloud dragons exist?"
 
"Unless there is another way we can get around the plane of air. An Airship would be a normal way for somebody without natural flight to get around right?" Then paused thinking about the cloud dragons. He pulled a loose fist to his lips, something he often did when thinking or remembering. "I remember finding some information on them when looking for information on the Lunar dragon, but skipped over it because it wasn't what we were looking for."
 
"are there airships that have more things to do? the last one was boring." So boring that Aniks... she didn't want to talk about that right now. The beatings he'd taken in Pharasma's realm had been punishment enough. Not that she'd been allowed to watch. "we should look for more information on all of the dragons. they seem interesting."
 
The room was quiet for a moment as before he spoke. "Unlike the one we used before. This one would be meant for personal use. It would be tailored for person. So if you had one you could probably fill it with books or hang your knife collection on the wall in a display. Think like a portable house" Then as he thought about about dragon comment, he sheepishly smiled. "I still have no clue what that egg is... and I've kind of been hoping it was a from a dragon."
 
"a wall of knives?" She seemed to like this suggestion, if her smile was anything to go by. "we should do that. then we can throw out unwanted visitors. and it is safer from teleportation." Looking up from the corner of the room she'd found herself gazing at to give him a half-amused stare, Celu simply.. watched his idiot grin. "...how would we adventure with a dragon?"
 
"We already sleep with knifes under the pillows in Ironfalls, gods help me if I scare you anywhere near that wall" he said with a quiet laugh. Though Celu stabbing him with a knife was something that was possible. While he turned to look at her, he was taken aback by her smile. "Umm, well I would assume like we do with Artemis, but more scales."
 
"if the dragon is from the egg, it won't be big enough for that. not for a while." Celu paused, realising something that she's never really had to consider in the past. For varying reasons. "how long do elves survive? you've mentioned the rat dying soon before."
 
“No, probably not. I guess we would keep it like our cats. If it even is a dragon egg.” Aniks said clearly not taking into account dragon having to grow. Being around Artemis kind of skews the certain things. “Typically? 350 years, maybe a bit more.That being said that’s without the lifestyle of an adventurer. Whisperbreath, 20 years maybe less.”
"...why do you ever listen to her if she's dead so quickly," Celu was quick to ask in response. "350 years sounds like many. maybe your possible dragon will be grown towards the end of those. would the marks change the adventuring risk?"
 
Aniks sighed “Sometimes people who live the shortest lives, often have the most to say.” There was a pause for only a moment. Then his voice became monotone “...still shouldn’t have listened to her of course.” Aniks paused attempting to do rough tired math in his head. Honestly he didn’t want to give that thought of how quickly the champions marks would change there life span, for better or worse much consideration. “If we were normal, we might see the dragon reach decent age of adult? Which is a nice thought. Given the tattoo, no clue. These marks, might extended our lifespan but we will likely be sent into extremely dangerous situations. So…” He trailed off.
 
"our patrons know fate. they will not risk us anywhere too dangerous until we have run out of use." She didn't exactly comment on her own patron often: that didn't mean she didn't think about the elusive Magdh. Still, Celu looked a little uncertain about their topic of choice. "...I am older than you. by a lot more than three hundred." She was always a quiet speaker; this was quieter still. Not that it mattered with how close they were. "the necklace and my sister... how we know lifespan with their involvement?"
 
“That’s something we might not know, just being a champion put us on this game of fate. We will just have to play our cards right. ” He said in a quiet voice, still thinking in the back of his head how this grand game would end. Then his eyes widen as he never told her this before. “Nine hundred years older, give or take a couple decades.” It was weird to consider that she was nearly a millennia older than him.