Completed Why are you here? (Job thread 1)

[Cassidee Junipher]

NPC|Symenos|Common|Thoughts|

The 42nd of Fall 514

Closing her eyes, Cassidee nodded to herself before shaking her head. “Could you please repeat yourself sir?” Opening them again, she stared down at the old man as he continued to tinker away with some gadget or another. Her finger began to tap against her thigh as she waited for him to answer her. What felt like marks passed, and Cassidee felt her foot beginning to keep time with her finger. The old man did not seem to notice. Fringing a cough, she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head sideways. Still the old mad carried own without a care. “Sir?” She moaned impatience thick on her voice.

“I don’t know anyone named sir.” Cassidee’s brow wrinkled at the reply. One hand tightened into a fist, but the other moved push him the tool he seemed to be searching for. Somehow it had managed to work its way to the edge of the desk. He snatched up the tool without a word and began to use it against the metal. A high pitched screech filled the room causing Cassidee to wince and close one of her eyes. In a tick it was over, a sigh of relief left her lips. “Why are you here?”

Fighting down a sudden urge to strangle the man, Cassidee sighed. “Sir” She was interrupted by screech as the old mad dragged the bladed tool down against the metal. When the sound stop Cassidee collected her thoughts “Sir” As soon as the word left her mouth, he scrapped the blade down again. However this time, he did not stop, but continued to work the blade up and down. Cassidee closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Valdyor” She growled out dropping all pretense of politeness.

With a small click the metal sheet split in two. “Better” The old man replied examining the edge of the cut. For a second, Cassidee just stared at him. Her hands unclenched as confusion replaced anger. Which is better? His comment planted a seed of doubt about what exactly Valdyor was trying to do. Silently she was watched the old man put what seemed to her to be random pieces of metal together. “Why are you here?” It was call Cassidee could do to stifle the huff as the old made repeated the question again.

“What do you want me to do?” She spoke slowly drawing out every word. Her attention turned from the metal widget that Valdyor directly on to him. Glaring down at the back of his head, she waited for every detail. However his sigh caught her of guard. With a loud clap he set down his tools and pushed everything else to the side. Gulping, Cassidee back away as he turned around.

“No, Why did you decide to work here?” Old man Valydor looked up at her, and their gaze meet for just a second. Cassidee looked away immediately like a child who’s crush had caught them staring. Her cheeks grew slightly red and she fidgeted nervously under his gaze.

Cassidee struggled to put words together in her head. Why is he asking me this? Doubt gnawed at her answers as she searched for some trick in the question. However no matter how she looked at it, she could not see it. “I want to solve the Symenestra problem” She gave the answer she thought was best. Laughter greeted her answer. Laugher that carried with it a bitterness. “Go home little girl, this is no place for someone like you.”

[Cassidee Junipher]

NPC|Symenos|Common|Thoughts|

Cassidee felt blood rushing to her cheeks. Her mouth opened slightly before she closed it again. Shaking her head, she turned back to Valdyor. Her gaze narrowed threatening to tear holes in the air. “If by chance this is your idea of a joke, your humor is in poor tastes Valdyor-dovna. If not spoken in jest, then I kindly request an explanation for such a cruel order.” Somehow she managed to keep her voice calm and level despite the firestorm that just waited to be sparked.

Valdyor laughed. It was a deep rumbling sound like something caught between genuine amusement and annoyance. Cassidee felt her fist clenching as the firestorm got its spark. “I do not have the time for someone trying to play hero. “ His words held a tone of dismissal. Blankly, she watched him turn back around and pull out a book. That arrogant ignoramus words created form the firestorm raged through her mind, but cooled a suddenly and abruptly as they had formed.

It was Cassidee’s turned to last. Hero? It was a bitter and as cold as late fall rain. A hero could never be born in a place like this. Her laughter continued taking on the frantic nature of winds blown in a wild storm. Vaguely she noticed Valdyor turning back to face her. Slowly her laughter faded. “I would thank you kindly Dovna if would not dirty the word. I am neither noble enough to deserve such a title nor do I have any desire for it.” Cassidee’s scowl turned into a small smile as she saw the old man raise an eyebrow.

Valdyor laughed again, though his laughter sounded different. It no longer rang in a mocking tone, but echoed with genuine curiosity. “So if you don’t want to be a hero, why do you persue a fools dream?” His words showed his amusement to Cassidee and she swore she saw a smile cross his face. “Do you think my machinations will provide the answer?" With that he gestured to the small scraps on the table.

For duty, for freedom She knew what she pursued the dream. Her smile narrowed and the gears in her mind spun. Even if it was the truth, she could not bring herself to say it. She feared that it would bring up to many questions. Ones that she either could not answer or did not want to face. “Its…It’s a secret.” She offered looking away confident that such a statement would not fly. However she just heard a chuckle as the man dropped it.

“So why me?” Instead he pressed for his second question. He leaned forward in his chair placing his elbow on his knees as he held his face up with his hands. “What is it that drew you to the mad man of the labs with his crackpot theories?” While his tone held a bitterness to it, she could tell it was not directed at her.

Cassidee paused again before replying. It was not because they hold the most promise. She admitted in her head but hesitated to say directly to the man’s face. Silence fall between them ticks pasted by not granting her any reprieve. Valdyor began to tap his fingers and Cassidee could tell he was getting impatient. Nervously she shifted back and forth unable to think of a good way to say what she felt.

“I don’t think they will work.” She blurted the words out as man opened his mouth to speak. Cassidee winced as he closed his mouth again and continued to stare at her expectantly. Well now he is going to send me home for sure. However her thoughts more calmed her than made her nervous. If I blew it, I blew it. She admitted this to herself. “Having read your theories along with your compatriots, I am not convinced they will provide an answer. However I do find them the most intriguing.”

As he commonly did, Valdyor laughed. “That will do.” Cassidee stared blankly at him and scratched her head. “It is best to seek answers in the way that you find interesting, otherwise the work will eat you alive.” He cautioned his voice hinting at sadness and his eyes turned in the direction of another desk. Cassidee followed his gaze before he looked away. “Alright so where should we begin with you?”

[Cassidee Junipher]

NPC|Symenos|Common|Thoughts|

Again Cassidee stared blankly at the man as he turned away from her and began to shuffle with things on his desk. Seeing some round piece of metal rolling off the desk, she reached out to grab it. The weight of the sphere surprised her almost causing her to drop it. Holding it up to her eye, she examined the sphere. It appeared to be one solid piece of metal, rolled into a ball like a piece of clay. “What type of joint is the knee?” The question flew out of nowhere causing her to drop the ball. With a thump it landed on the ground and rolled around at her feet.


Hinge joint. The answer immediately flashed across her mind, but it was half focused on the ball still. “That would be a ball joint?” The answer stumbled its way off of her tongue. “no, wait, wait wait. I meant hinge, not ball, hinge.” Silk moths flew around in her stomach. Accursed sphere She the object in her hand before placing it on the shelf behind her. The silk moths began to calm from their sudden upheaval. Now focused, Cassidee turned her attention completely to Valdyor and his questions.

“What happened to all of that confidence from before?” Cassidee could hear what she thought was amusement on his voice. Great now he thinks I am just all talk. She jumped to conclusion, but Valdydor was not waiting any longer for her. He fired off a series of basic anatomy questions. Now on the same page, Cassidee answered them quickly for the most part but stumbled on the more difficult details. As the scale of difficulty increased, it felt that smoke was raising from her brain. It gave her no time to think about what a fool she might be making of herself, even if the questions themselves were just text book knowledge.

“Name two contributing factors for Symestra’s frailty and their causes?” Cassidee notice that Valydor stopped whatever he was doing to when he ask this question. Before it seemed he was barely listening to her answers. Now however it seemed her responses were worth his full attention. Gulping slightly, Cassidee hesitated to answer. Her smile shrunk back to a small frown as she tried to figure out a good answer.

Because the sudden silence was becoming unbearable, Cassidee offered the first part of her answer. “One factor is the strength of our bone” She said the words slowly as she worked out her thoughts on the second factor. “The text I studied suggested this was because our bones are hollower than humans, closer to birds. “ There was silence again as Valdyor waited for the rest of the answer. Cassidee bite her lip, and look down. “I do not know the second factor, though perhaps it is related to how our digestive system differs from humans and as such there is not as much of an accumulation of fat and muscle, so we have less padding.”

Valdyor gave no response other than a chuckle. A sense of dread filled her stomach like a lead. To her this laugh rang mockingly in her ears. Looking down at her feet, she noticed the small sphere that started this line of questioning. Batting it back and forth in vengence, she almost missed the next question. “What do you know about venom glands?” Caught again by surprise, his question only intensified red glowing of her ears. Biting her lips she tried to recall anything her book had to say on that matter, but only the most basic of information came to mind. Mentally bemoaning her own lack of knowledge, ticks passed before she remembered to answer the question.

Cassidee batted the ball harder, and sent it spinning down the hall. Another laugh caused her to jerk her head up and look at Valdyor. “Just the general nature of our venom glands. We produce and store a very corrosive poison secreted through our teeth that helps break down our food. I don’t remember their exact positioning, but I believe they are proximate to the sinus.” Whispering her answer, she felt dragged down by the weight growing in her stomach.

“Then your first assignment from me is going to be both difficult and simple. Search the books and scrolls here and compile me a brief summary of what we know about the structure of venom glands and poisons produced by them .” His words caused Cassidee the sense of dread to lessen, but his gesture at the whole of the room and its maze of bookshelves caused her a all new weight in her stomach.

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[Cassidee Junipher]

NPC|Symenos|Common|Thoughts|

Cassidee’s eyes followed Valdyor hand as he swept it across the room. Nodding her head a couple of times, she looked back at the man. Her lips tightened in to a scowled. “Are you implying that neither logic nor reason was applied to the organization of these reports?” Her hands slipped to her hips as she glared down at the man. However the old man’s lips twisted up in amusement causing blood to rush to her face. It told her everything she needed to know. “Madness, simply madness.” A sigh left her lips with the words.

Valdyor laughed at her, causing her scowl to deepen and her eyes to narrow. “If it is any consolation, the materials will be clumped together.” The scowl fell form her face as she opened her mouth slightly. Her head turned slightly sideways and her eye brows arched against her forehead. Questions formed on her lips, but none of them left them. Her eyes locked with the old man, and she could see his clear amusement at the situation. “We would not want this to be too easy no would we?” Valdyor’s words rang with laughter.

Her hands dropped from her hips to her side as a sigh let her lips. Slowly she brought her hand to her face and wiped it down the center of her face. “I swear by all that is true, I am going to bring order to this madness.” As the words lift her lips, her hand left her face. The scowl was back as she looked down at Valdyor. She noticed him opening his mouth to say something “After I have finished my assigned project.” Cassidee interrupted him.

Turning away, Cassidee heard a small chuckle behind her. “You’re far more charming when you’re fired up than when you are being polite.” Her ears burned at these words and her scowled tightened. Is he making fun of me? She wondered as she tried to determine if he was being sarcastic or not. The thoughts persisted in her head as she navigated the bookshelves to the far end of the room. On several occasions her path was blocked by a sudden piece of furniture just left in the way.

“They could have at least used similar pieces.” She grumbled as was confronted by a waist shelf against blocking her path. It creaked and groaned as she placed a foot on the middle shelf. Stretching her arms out, she grabbed on to the taller shelves on either side. The two big shelfs shook as she climbed over. Please don’t fall, please don’t fall She begged as a trembling fear sought to steal the strength from her legs. As quickly as she could she jumped over the shelf. Taking several deep breaths, it sunk into her how dangerous that was. The realization sent a chill through her bones that took several marks to pass. This place is a death trap.

Having cleared the last hurdle and reached the back wall, she finally reached a good starting point. A cloud of dust rose as Cassidee ran her finger down the spine of one of the old books. Coughing as she accidently breathed in a large puff of dust, Cassidee stumbled back from the shelf. Be more careful. She warned herself recalling what just happened. “Comparative Anatomy of Large Reptiles” She struggled to sound out the title. The words felt wrong to her tongue but she grasp the meaning after a mark spent reading it. Her hand clenched slightly in annoyance before moving on to a pile of bound paper.

12 Bells latter.

A dull look had taken over Cassidee’s eyes. Her mouth opened slightly then closed. Have I done this shelf yet? She wondered looking at the endless winding rows before and behind her. Her hand ran softly over a title on the middle of the shelf before falling like dead weight. She turned and walked away skipping over several shelves and beginning on a new one. Vaguely she ran her eyes over the book titles, but dismissed any not in Symenos. Even then the titles barely registered in her mind. “Enough” The words left her lips as a groan. Wearily her feet carried her to her desk and the scant pile of ten documents she had thus far accumulated.

[Cassidee Junipher]

NPC|Symenos|Common|Thoughts|

Cassidee flipped through the pile of reports that she had gathered once. “Now for the easy part.” She thought picking up the first book and setting in in front of her. Hmm, about 300 pages She noted as she thumbed through the book. The writing was cramped but legible. Appropriately the text reminded her of spider’s webs that had been stretched horizontally. A smile crossed her face as the words slipped off the page and into her mind. So they are comparing venom glands of spiders to us…Interesting. Eagerly she dug into the book.

Vaguely Cassidee was aware of the coming and going of people as she continued the first book. Her eyes strains slightly as the text blurred but she blinked it away. Time became nonexistent to her as she continued to read. Her head ached slightly at all the knowledge she tried to cram into it, but she pressed on against that pain. Having lost all track of time, she closed the book. The thoughts and ideas given birth to by the book flowed through her head. Stretching her arms, she felt her back pop. A sigh of relief left her lips, but turned into a yawn.

It’s quite. She noted not daring to disturbed the silence as she looked around. Shrugging she pulled another report her way. The papers where sewn together with a silk thread, but hand no cover. It was a short report of about ten pages that included illustrations. Concerning the distribution of Symenestra poison. She read the title before flipping open the report. Immediately, the pages snapped shut. Narrowing her eyes, she opened the report again and held it open this time. This time the writing was harder to read. It had narrow short marks like writer was in a hurry. It strained her eyes to read it but she pushed on. “Why did they repeat themselves so much?” She wondered with annoyance after finishing the work.

A very long time passed. Cassidee had long since given up on keeping track of the actual time. She knew only that her eyes hurt, and her brain was threatening to explode. A sigh of relief left her lips as she felt no other book in her pile to read. Her stomach grumbled and her fangs had extended slightly. Still more to do. She pushed herself on fighting back the aches in her body and mind.

Lab D had drown quite again. Before she remembered that there had been shuffling and people moving around, but now they were gone. Standing up, her movements where shaky. A light head giddiness took over like a warm blanket slipping over her body. Stumbling around, she found blank paper and writing utensils.

Sitting back down, She froze as she began to write. Where to I Begin? She pondered how to summarize what was flowing through her mind. The thoughts slipped like water through her hands as she tried to grasp the important ideas to rejoin the other details “I will just write it all” Her voiced echoed higher than normal and was followed by giggles at that. As she began, it was like releasing flood waters. Words flowed from her pen without regard for mistakes. Her hand continued to write at a frantic pace trying to stay ahead of the stream. It was all she could do to control the direction of the stream and the topic. Structure and order barely played a part in her writing.

When that flood finally subsided, she moved slowly. The giddy was gone. Her eyes burned like coals and her whole body ached. It took all of her effort and concentration to continue to move forward. Her will held out a long while longer, but the words came slowly. Just as she was beginning to hear the sounds of the lab moving yet again the world turned grey. Stumbling through another page, she could vaguely her that the lab was in full commotion. Then her eyelids closed and she could not open them again.

Cassidee startled as she felt something touch her shoulder. Her hair matted the side of her face, and a large dark shadows echoed under her eyes. Her fangs clearly showed her hunger, but her stomach grumbled none the less. Looking up she saw Valdyor hover above her, with his hand on her shoulder. “Go home, I will read what you have so far.” He commanded as the hand pulled her gently from the chair. Unable to resist it, she rose. Before an argument could form on her lips, she was herded out of the door, and left only with the option of stumbling her way home.

[Neologism]

XP:

• Persuasion: +1 xp
• Rhetoric: +2 xp
• Anatomy: +2 xp
• Organization: +1 xp
• Copying: +1 xp
• Writing: +1 xp

Lore:

• Valdyor is mad
• Valdyor: Is aware of his reputation
• Knees: Hinge joints
• Anatomy: Symenestra bones have a light density
• Anatomy: Symenestra produce and store a very corrosive poison
• Symenestra are often compared to spiders

Notes: