Solo What Goes Bump In The Night?

[Erio]

20 SUMMER 512 A.V.
LATE AFTERNOON.

Erio raised his hand and stroked his cheek thoughtfully. “What do you think really goes bump in the night?” he mused.

The vendor stared at him blankly. “Kid,” he finally replied, “Either buy something or beat it.”

It had been a busy day for Erio. He had been all over Wind Reach, searching for food. First to the communal kitchens, but when Erio had requested what he needed, head chef Davoid had just looked at him sternly and deadpanned, “Soup or stew. Those are your choices.” Needless to say, Erio had declined.

Luckily, though, it was market day, and Erio was able to find the items he requested among the wares of a food vendor, which had led to the present dialogue.

Erio sighed. “Fine. If you will not indulge me a little wordplay, then I guess it is best to get down to the fine details. Bread, cheese, and flour. That is all I require of you. I will give you four pinions*Prices derived from price list for the whole lot.” Erio said, almost declarative.

The man blinked. “You know what,” he sighed, “That’s actually fine...a fair price, in fact. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“...Now if you could only have said that in the first place...”

As the man was packing away Erio’s purchases, the boy leaned over and patted him on our shoulder. “You seem like a smart fellow,” he said. “We should talk more - I can see us becoming old friends.”

The man rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that sounded awfully close to “goddamn chick…”

Erio beamed at that. He had only met the man ten chimes earlier and already he was proving most endearing.

However, despite his willingness to linger, duty called. Before long the yasi had left the merchant’s stall and rejoined the crowds of the Market Place. Erio was fond of likening places to colors, and his mind the Market was a place of red - red for the brightly colored stalls and the fiery hair of his people, but also red symbolically for the frenetic energy that pervaded the Courtyard of the Sky like a foul odor. It was almost invigorating.

He’d been in a different place the day before. Much different. This had been a place of blue and green, of solemnity and quiet. The walls had sighed with murmurs in languages both familiar and foreign, and the day’s light had bounced off the many jewels and ornaments that were testaments to the artisans entombed within. Not a soul, living or dead, moved. And then – a single woman, white and ethereal. She had approached Erio as soon as he entered the shrine, her sapphire eyes glowing as she held up a string of beads for Erio’s perusal.

“You will need soulmist,” Whisper had whispered.

[Erio]

The tide slowed, the voices dwindled, and at long last Erio burst free of the yolk of the Market Place. Light feet took him down corridor after corridor, deftly navigating the labyrinth that the inarta called the Inner Warrens. While the path leading out of the Market Place began well-lit and clean, by the time Erio slowed his pace he had made his way down to one of the less common pathways. The path was still clean but the magecrafted lights weren’t nearly as numerous here, leaving golden eyes straining to adjust to the dimmer surroundings.

No one was around, and yet Erio couldn’t help but nervous. “There’s nothing to worry about, stupid,” he told himself, and yet the yasi couldn’t help but look over his shoulder. The darkness of the side alley brought forth all those ghost stories he had heard from the other children, those tales of deks disappearing into the darkness and creatures finding their way out. But Erio forced such fear back down his throat, pulling resolve front and center. “You know what to do,” Erio reminded himself.

Erio set his bag of foodstuffs down next to him, and then further extricated several items from his backpack; two glass items, a vial and a jar, to be exact. The latter was empty, but the former was filled with a dark red liquid, and Erio winced as he looked at his left hand, which happened to be wrapped in a white cloth.

A bell, two, and then Erio forced himself to act. With hands that were only slightly trembling Erio gathered up the bread, cheese, and flour and placed them in his mouth. He didn’t chew, not yet, but rather picked up the vial with a hand that was now trembling quite a bit more. Uncorking it, Erio poured the liquid into his throat before he had time to reconsider.

Erio shivered as he tasted blood, coppery and sharp. He began to chew now, slowly but surely, pounding the disparate foods into dough with his teeth. He didn’t know how long he continued this practice, but at some point Erio felt the dough fade away, almost as if he had swallowed it, though he didn’t recall ever doing such a thing. When he felt this happen, he hurriedly gathered up the jar, holding it to his mouth. He opened his mouth, and he felt something slide off his tongue, landing in the jar with a splash.

He chanced a look at what he had regurgitated. It was more liquid then solid now, a fine down interspersed with gel, colored white and glowing weakly. Erio’s eyebrows arose as he saw what he had produced, and something between amazement and disgust ignited in his stomach. “Success,” he whispered.

Working quickly now, Erio gathered up his items and placed them in his pack. He stored his jar of soulmist last. When all was said and done, Erio took flight down the darkened hallway, mind ablaze with thoughts. Oh, he was so close now. The experiment was drawing to a close.

♦

Unseen, the lady watched Erio turn away and flee. She did not materialize, not here, not now. But if she had had a face at that moment, it would have most certainly be frowning.

[Erio]

Night had fallen before the wayward son found his way home, and the tunnels of the Youth Quarter were all but abandoned. Stone crunched underfoot as the boy made his way down the last warren, breathless. With a final burst of energy, Erio found his door and burst into the room within.

His living quarters were small and modest, and impersonal as only an unused home could be. Erio wasn’t here to rectify that; instead, as soon as entering, the child crossed the room, eyes locked upon the chest that rested against the far wall. He seized upon it, pulling open the clasp to reveal the jumbled contents within. Nerveless fingers extricated a string of beads, seven in total and bound by hair. The backpack was likewise released, the jar snatched up. Erio looked down upon the two items he held in his hands. Here it was; the final step.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and across the room the bed creaked. A tingle went down Erio’s neck and left him with the unshakeable feeling of being watched. He knew better then to chance a look. Instead, collecting himself with a steadying breath, Erio opened the jar and then, one by one, dipped the beads into the soulmist.

Nothing seemed to change. The beads were far too heavy for their size, but other than that, nothing. Even the room was quiet.

Despite this, Erio’s breath came to the quick. His heart pounding, the yasi arose to his full height and turned back to face the room. His face was calm, even detached, and it with one flowing motion that Erio threw the beads onto the floor, and then quickly stepped over them.

The beads, bound by a single wire, spread out to create a circle that all but dominated the room. Erio stood alone within this circle. His heart pounded and sweat traced a path from his temple to his cheek. As he stood there, motionless, the yasi silently counted down the seconds – one, two, three…

By four, something had tried to move into the circle with him, and found an impassable barrier barring all entry.

At once, she materialized. The edges were frayed and discolored, but her figure could still be made out. It was a woman, dressed in gray, eyes green and wary. Her mouth formed silent questions. A ghostly hand rose to reach into the circle, and found itself repulsed yet again.

The Gray Lady had abruptly found herself an outsider looking in.

“Yes,” Erio breathed. “Yes!”

“...It worked! The ghostbeads worked!”

Success ran giddy through the yasi’s veins, and he was jubilant. “Gods,” Erio chortled, “I can – I can stop you!”

She looked up at him then, and the beginnings of tears beading the corners of her eyes. The Gray Lady spoke then, saying but a single word: “Why?”

And the sadness lasted long after the word had faded from the air.

There was silence. Erio looked at the Gray Lady, transfixed. Her tears ran freely now, and though they were but manifestations of soulmist they looked all too real to Erio. He tried to find a response, tried to draw upon that wit that characterized his soul and found it lacking.

“I…”

Erio, who was but a child after all, hesitated.

And then, after a bell of agonizingly silent debate, there was relent. The boy stepped out of the circle and kicked the beads away.

When the circle was well and truly broken he chanced a look at the Gray Lady and sighed. “Don’t give me that look,” he muttered, “I was just borrowing the beads anyway.”

The Gray Lady didn’t listen, though. Even as she vanished from sight, she kept on smiling.

Erio settled down on his bed and sighed yet again. “Perfect,” he mumbled. “Just perfect.”

END.

[Auric]

YAY FOR THE GRADES
Erio
Skills:
Spiritism: +3
Negotiation: +1
Observation: +1
Lores:
Safe Zones: Ghost Beads
Ghost Have Feelings Too (The Grey Lady's Tears)

Additional Notes: I loved this. I really did -- you really managed to establish the hints of a very complicated relationship between The Grey Lady and Erio. I can't wait to see more between them!
So, for skills, I recommend both more posts and more detail. You did a wonderful job explaining both the creation of the soulmist and the soul beads. More posts would have definitely secured you a 5 on Spiritsim had you continued with the detail of your description. As for Negotiation, you had a little blurb of interaction with the shopkeeper, and for anything more than a 1, I would like to see a little bit more haggling going on.
Overall, very good thread and I can't wait to see what you write next!

Also, if you have any questions about this grade, feel free to message me!

Stay Golden!