Closed Haunting - Nitrozian style (Valerius)

[Elaine Spade]

AV 516, Spring 27nd evening, around the 19th bell - Terraces

She had to get used to a real city. It's been an awful long, too long even. The spirit forgot how a society works really. Those dreaded year...or years in Sahova was terrible. It was a society yet, but a dead one. Literally and figuratively. Not to mention when she got stuck in that awful forest. She lost track of everything there, only could focus and reflect on herself. But she escaped, and followed some sailors back to Zeltiva on the boat... and from there. She was just wandering. She needed to get some new place, get a new purpose.

And from some trade route, she got into this city, she didn't hear about. Kenash. It was its name, as she heard. Elaine didn't plan to stay long if there's nothing interesting for her there. Although her problem was, that she didn't know anything about the place, not its layout, not its system, not its people, nothing. There were a wide variety of people. Some were more fortune and some were... so-to-speak less fortune. She could guess that they were slaves. Also many races appeared in front of her.

The young ghost had arrived Kenash at the 25th. Elaine was mostly hiding from the public, didn't make any appearance. And she often got lost at the place. It wasn't rare that she started to wander from one place and got back into the starting place. After a while it just got old for her too. This place could have some possibilities but she needed to interact with someone. But who, and when and where and how?

It was just a waste of time to ponder about these questions. She had to do it at night, pick any person who is alone and make her or him to introduce the place. Maybe "motive" them if needed. Though Elaine she didn't think about what if said person will be a spiritist and can deal with her... or worse. No, that never came to her mind at all.

The ghost waited for the evening to come. She found herself in a beach. A beach with many houses full of people. It was the perfect place to find someone. But not so perfect to find someone alone perhaps... or was it? There he was, a young man. She just needed to get his attention. She was behind him.

She was focusing her soulmist, to make her appear a bit more real. The lack of light helped with this illusion. She wanted to appear as someone who is alive, so she could draw him closer. Though the temperature around the place would still drop. Elaine appeared as well-dressed,brown haired young lady. She tried her best to keep up the appearance as real as possible. But surely if he come closer, he'd noticed something is off. She looked around, still no one else there. Action. "Excuse me! Could you give me some help?"

[Valerius Nitrozian]

The early morning and the evening were the two times of the day that Valerius treasured the most. He rose from his bed when they sky was still dark, when the rest of Kenash was still asleep, to work and think. It was easiest for him to concentrate when there was nobody else nearby, when the city was still quiet, as if it had died a temporary death, together with the sun. In the evening, after the sun had set and the world was shrouded in darkness once more, he often found himself walking through the area surrounding his house, never straying far from it, for the gates of the Terraces closed after the 22nd bell. He did not want to spend the night outside, unless the circumstances were extraordinary, as they had been but a few days prior. The memory still sent shivers down his spine.

The evening of the 27th was comparatively cool and pleasant, and there was a light breeze coming from the nearby sea. The sky was clear, and the moon had already risen, a pale silver disk that stood in contrast to the surrounding inky blackness. There were few people walking around the Terraces at this time of the day besides him which suited him just fine as there was a limit to how many social contacts he could tolerate. There was little to do in the place he sometimes condescendingly called the “Freeborn ghetto”, despite the beauty of the landscape that surrounded it. There were no bars, no restaurants, no places to dance or listen to music and certainly no shops. There were only rows upon rows of houses, inhabited by those that had come to Kenash in search of a better life.

Valerius Nitrozian was one of the few that were actually successful. In less than a third of a season he had already gotten to know a few dynasts, a certain Lorak doctor among them. If he managed to help her, if he managed to teach her how the world worked, he would have the respect of all of Kenash. He just needed to go about it the right way. Maybe it would be best if …

He froze as he heard a voice coming from behind him. It surprised him that he had not heard her approach. He had excellent hearing, and he was always on his guard, a consequence of his life among people that worshipped evil incarnate and his association with certain darker elements of society. He spun around, reaching for his weapon as he did so.

Upon realizing that she was only a young woman though, unarmed and comparatively harmless looking, he removed his hand from the weapon, but he still did not relax entirely. The night suddenly seemed a little colder, for a reason he could not define. There was something about her that was a little strange, but he could not point a finger at it. If he had been familiar with ghosts, he might have recognized her as one, but the only dead that he knew were the Kelvic that had been killed on his operating table back in Ravok.

He studied her as she was without a doubt studying him, out of cool blue eyes, but the expression on his face betrayed little of what he was thinking. She was clean and well-dressed, he observed, she was probably a successful freeborn lady, judging by where she was. Talking to her would most likely be beneficial to him, and thus he decided to answer her question, although the tone of his voice was slightly too cool, as it almost always was.

“Of course I can help you, madam. You just need to tell me what you need help with. Are you lost?” She certainly seemed to be a little lost to him, out here, all alone, in the darkness. Now that he had come a little closer to her he could see that she was somehow less, less than human, less than what she was supposed to be, but the exact nature of her state still eluded him, and thus that was the best description he could come up with.

[Elaine Spade]

Till this point the plan was going rather well. She could get his attention, although scared him a bit. He was ready to attack, and she almost cut off her concentration to keep up the look. But as soon as he calmed down, the ghost also did the same, and could focus more on the illusion. It was a tiring process, she wasn't sure how long could she keep it up. She didn't really think this through actually. She was standing there staring at him.

It seemed that Elaine could trick his sight with her "mischief". For the moment anyway. Her voice wasn't echoing, her form wasn't that bad but still could improve on it. He was checking her, and she did the same. He wasn't entirely relaxed, yet his eyes were cool, his stare was cool. A bit indifferent. She wasn't sure what to think. Maybe he did realize that she was a ghost, and she's just wasting her energy. Or he just wanted to seem brave.

In the end he answered. He was polite, well-mannered. For a chime she stopped worrying and checked him a bit too. He was clean man, his look was quite handsome and maybe he was also wealthy, if nothing else, he had no problem with money. Or so she thought. She nodded. "Your observation is correct. I am lost a bit. " He was coming closer, he showed no sign of suspicion still.

She was focusing some of her soulmist again, she stepped back a bit. Just only a bit, and moving her legs had to be convincing. She was on the edge anyway.
"Could you escort me a bit around the city? I'm... new here and itt's such a fine night. Not too cold, not too hot. I could use some company." The ghost knew little about the temperature, but she had to imitate a real conversation. How will she show her true self? She didn't know, but she didn't want to entirely tire herself out.

She was smiling at him. It bothered her that she could not read him at all. "Oh, I'm rude. I'm Elaine Spade, it's nice to meet you." Focusing on so many elements, such as voice, movements and look were tiring. She's running out of time.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

The longer he looked at her, the clearer it became to Valerius that there was something decidedly off about the young woman. She was shaped like a human, she moved and talked like a human, but there was something unusual about her colors, something that had not been immediately obvious in the darkness of the Terraces after sundown. She rather reminded him of one of the precious oil paintings in his grandfather’s mansion back in Ravok, lifelike to a degree, but not perfect in every way. He narrowed his eyes a fraction.

“Why do you need an escort for Kenash after the sun has set?” he wanted to know. He was slowly growing suspicious of her, although he tried not to show it, preferring to appear indifferent and in control of the present situation. She was unlikely to be a wealthy Freeborn as he had initially thought. There were some things about her that did not fit. Maybe she was a mage, practicing her art at night because she thought it would be safer, because the people of Kenash didn’t trust her kind, just like he did not trust them. Maybe she was a creature that would lure him to his doom. “Do you not know that the gates will close in three bells? It would be best to delay your exploration of the city until tomorrow.”

He shivered slightly, but tried to ignore that feeling and resisted the urge to wrap his cloak tighter around his body. It didn’t make sense that he was suddenly freezing when he had been perfectly comfortable a moment before. He didn’t like things that didn’t make sense. He didn’t give her his name, even as she introduced herself and claimed that it was nice to meet him. In his opinion names gave you power over people, at least to a certain degree. His hand hovered near his sword again, as if by chance. “What are you, Miss Spade?” he asked. “Who are you?”

[Elaine Spade]

He was onto something, her illusion didn't work that well. She knew she was almost busted, but still she kept up this trick. "Well... you know I'm.." She couldn't come up with any reason while would she need an escort at night. This was the end of the line. She didn't even know that these gates would close. But she couldn't be escorted at day time, too much people. She didn't want any attention. She was still focusing her soulmist around herself as a shell. But what use?

His expression didn't change one bit, that annoyed her. Irked her. She couldn't read him, she didn't know what should her next step be. One thing Elaine did notice though. His stance. He was careful, defensive, ready to attack her if needed. She was asked what is she, who is she. Busted."What do you--- What's the use?" Totally busted. Change of plans. She had to reveal herself anyway, she wasn't a strong ghost, she couldn't keep up this look for too long. She got his attention, so that part is done with this. She looked at him, dropped her smile.

And with that she stopped the concentration over her look. It was tiring anyway, her soulmist started to slowly appear around her. She was more transparent, her voice was rather echoing. "Look! I am Elaine Spade, I didn't lie about that. Well I didn't lie about anything." The young ghost girl wanted to calm him down, as surely he didn't trust her still. "If you don't hurt me, I certainly don't gain anything by doing any harm on you. Quite the contrary, I do need an escort like you."

Elaine had some power lefts, but certainly had to let it rest for a bit. She hoped it would go smoothly from there. "When it's daytime, there is a crowd, I don't need that kind of attention. Not all people are fond of the dead. I just want to get know the place, you have 3 bells don't you? " She looked around. Though it was night, people would be still around, but not that many probably. Either way she had to keep herself low.

She was nervous if anyone would notice them. But so far no one, she wanted to hurry it up. "Look, give me 2 bells from your time, show me the place and I'll leave you alone! " And why would he? She didn't think about that till now. He wasn't scared. He stayed calmed the whole time, even when he suspected something was not right. "I'd owe you one, Mr...? " A dead owing a debt to a living.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

His eyes widened, but only slightly as she became more transparent. Something that looked like white smoke began to appear around her and enshroud her. Even her voice changed. It didn’t sound as human as it had sounded before anymore, but like an echo that came from far away. The realization came to him abruptly. He had heard of beings like her that refused to stay dead – when he had been a student in Zeltiva, there had been rumours of the library being haunted – but he had never seen one up close. Her words further confirmed that she was in fact a ghost.

“Then we have an agreement”, he replied, somewhat coolly, as she said that she wouldn’t hurt him if he didn’t. He was still suspicious of her – in his opinion the dead should just accept that they were dead and move on, and if they didn’t, then there was something wrong with them – but there was curiousity as well now. In the end Valerius Nitrozian was a scholar, a scientist. He wanted to study things, to take them apart and see how they worked and gain as much information as possible for knowledge meant power.

“You will not take over my body or do whatever it is that ghosts do. In return I will not harm you either, but show you the city.” He made it sound as if it had been his choice to walk with her, as if he were just such a nice and helpful man that was there for everybody, be they alive or not, a genuine good samaritan. In truth it was unlikely that he could have refused though. There were no other people nearby that had watched his encounter with the ghost and could have stepped in if she became hostile and decided to attack.

“Nitrozian, Valerius Nitrozian”, he replied. Since she was a mere ghost and not a mage it was unlikely that she could use the knowledge of his name to cause him harm, he decided. “I will show you everything that is worthy of visiting in Kenash, and in turn you will help me out if I ever have need of somebody that can move unseen and is not bound by the physical limitations that burden most of us. Does that sound acceptable to you, Miss Spade?” He could see some advantages to being forced to walk through the city with her now, besides studying her undead state. In his mind he was already going through all the possible ways in which he could use the favour that she would owe him. She would be able to enter the houses of the dynasties. She would be able to spy on the Radackes, the Loraks and all the others for him. Who knew, maybe she would even be able to move things for him with her thoughts.

It didn’t seem like such a bad thing anymore. Where should he start his tour of the city though? “We are on East Bank now, near Shipwreck Beach”, he informed her and gave her a sign to start walking – or floating – besides him. He gave no sign that he presence made him uncomfortable. Valerius Nitrozian was a man that always pretended to be in charge, even when he wasn’t and that only very rarely showed his true feelings. “There is not much to see here besides the Terraces. The Pavilléon is nearby, but entrance to that establishment must be bought, and the library which is somewhat interesting is only open during daylight hours. Dry Island is more interesting, and thus I would like to take you there first, Miss Spade.”

He paused for a moment, thinking, and then he looked directly at her. He was not afraid to look a dead woman in the eyes. “Tell me though, how did you die?” he asked. He might as well try to find out more about her right now, and since she was a ghost, he would start with the most important question of all. Maybe she had an interesting story to tell, although he doubted it.

[Elaine Spade]

At least his eyes showed something different this time when she showed her true self. Not that he expressed any emotion, but at least Elaine could see that he didn't act like a nuit who like doesn't care. He remained calm still. She didn't know what to expect. She never knew, everyone reacted differently and knowing a person's personality just not enough to predict how will they react to the dead. She was staying there, staring at him curiously.

The next words surprised her however. Simply as that, they had an agreement. He was so cool about it. Elaine thought she would have to come up with something, find someone else or work harder. Yet this man showing no sign of interest, accepted it. She was interested in the man. Maybe the feeling was mutual and he was interested too. Or something else... maybe he was a spiritist? As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she was a bit unsure of herself. It was logical after all, wasn't it? "Yeah, I won't. I won't even touch you. Thank you."

Her tone a bit changed. She was careful. The possibility him being a spiritist scared her. She didn't want to fight against a spiritist, she wanted to stay at his good side. It could be even good for her. Though it was confirmed that he was one, it didn't hurt to play safe. She wasn't a strong ghost anyway, and her materialization took some of her energy, she needed to rest anyway. Maybe he can offer some soulmist, if he's one of them.

"Pleasure to meet you, Valerius Nitrozian." He introduced himself, that was a sign of respect to her. Elaine was right about that owing a favor to someone, will interest the other party. It was no different in this situation. Valerius quickly made it clear that he will indeed use her if needed in exchange for this night time tour. But who wouldn't if somebody offered them? They would be a fool to refuse such opportunity. The ghost nodded. "It does, Mr. Nitrozian. A favor is a favor, I'll take it seriously." She did. Not that she had any other possibilities, she was still a bit scared what could he do to her. Again, better to be safe, she thought. And it seemed like he had some ideas how would he use her 'talents' for his own cause. Although this ideas was his, and Elaine couldn't know what they are... yet.

And the tour began. She looked around. East Bank, Shipwreck Beach. She was memorizing them as she followed his side. One thing crossed her mind again. "If you think someone is near, tell me. I don't think it's good for you if they see you with a ghost, and I just don't wanna be seen." As they were going, he explained what could be seen. The Terraces, the Pavilléon was nearby and a library. The library sounded a good place to hang out. Their next 'station' would be Dry Island, he claims it is interesting.

And then he stopped. She looked up at him, as he stared back into her eyes. This man... this man troubled her more every moment. And he asked the question what most sane people probably would ask from a dead person if they ever meet one. But also the most horrible, which she tried to forget, forget forever that it ever happened. She just died! Wasn't that enough already? She looked away, Elaine couldn't look at him, the dreaded memory which haunted her. Her look changed, there was sorrow. The temperature might dropped a bit too, just like her mood. "I.. I just did. In Zeltiva, by a house fire." She didn't provided with many details, she didn't want to. "My death story is not that interesting as some might hope I guess. So... where is this Dry Island?" True it might not be interesting. But she said that only to move on with their tour.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

"Can you even touch me?" Valerius wanted to know. He reached out to her, as if he wanted to test his theory. Now that he knew what she was and they had come to an agreement, he was not afraid to come in contact with her. He had dealt with dead things before. Unlike the Kelvic he had killed in Ravok, she did not bleed, she did not smell, and she seemed to be fairly civil. He was quite interested in finding out what a ghost felt like, whether she would be cold to the touch or whether his hand would just pass through her body.

Despite his curiosity, the expression on his face remained cold though. Valerius Nitrozian was a scientist, but he lacked the passion that some of his colleagues had. He didn’t smile, he didn’t get excited, and he definitely didn’t laugh. His scientific curiosity was the one of a man who wanted to understand things so that he knew how to best take advantage of them. This here might be his first and only opportunity to study a ghost.

"I don’t think being seen with a ghost will harm my reputation", he remarked. The people in Kenash already believed that he was an Akalak-petcher. Associating with the dead paled in comparison to that. Besides, being seen with Elaine might work in his favor. Some of those spoiled dynasty brats would without a doubt think him brave for associating with her.

"But if you do not wish to be seen, I will of course tell you so that you can quickly disappear." He was not unreasonable. He was perfectly fine with humoring her in return for a favor and the possibility to study her, without her being aware of it.

The way she had died did indeed not sound very interesting, but he wanted to know more nevertheless. He was a man who cared about the details. "I attended the University of Zeltiva a couple of years ago", he informed her. "I studied Nader-canoch under Professor Berrywillow. And you? Were you a student there as well? You are the right age – or were the right age when you died. When was that by the way?"

"Dry Island is south of here", he let her know since she seemed to want to continue with the tour rather than being interrogated by him. "We have to cross the bridge over there for that." He pointed at a bridge that was visible in the distance. "My own business can be found on Dry Island. There is also a ferry system there, although I doubt that you will ever get tired of walking, Miss Spade." He extended his hand again and pointed at a bright light that was even further away than the bridge. "That light over there comes from the light house. The place where it is located is called Point Island. It is a small island on the northern tip of Dry Island."

"There are also businesses on Dry Island that cater to a clientele that is interested in …" He paused for a moment as he came to the conclusion that a ghost might not want to hear about spiritists, although he could not help but wonder what a spiritist would do to her for a moment. It might be interesting to watch. "… in the supernatural. Besides that, there are a lot of interesting shops as well as the Caged Sun, but that is hardly the appropriate place for a young woman, even though she's dead." As he spoke, they moved across the bridge and through the streets of Dry Island. There were more people here, but they had yet to spot Elaine and her human "guide".

"Do any of the locations I mentioned interest you?" Valerius asked.

[Elaine Spade]

The question was followed by an action. Hand was extended towards her and she didn't move one bit. She was just staring at him, curious if he would gone through with it. But he didn't. "If I wished so, then yes I could." She answered, and deep inside hoped that would make him a bit wary. But he was so confident, he didn't show any sign of being afraid. Yet she was worrying because of him. Why exactly Elaine couldn't tell.

The ghost could tell he was curious but he was concealing that too pretty well. Like it didn't matter at all for him. Like it was just a game to him. His confidence reminded her of Clyde. They were different of course in many ways, but their coolness was just the same to her. Clyde knew exactly what he wanted and he acted that way, this man seemed the same to her.

"Well I'm glad, it doesn't harm your reputation..." She said it with apathy. Great. Was he so well-known and respected? She didn't know if she regretted the decision she made over this day. She felt he was playing with her. Maybe she deserved it, she did play with the man in the beginning. It was just as fair to return that "'favor' to the ghost. "Thanks... much appreciated."

Even though she asked to move on from the story of Elaine's death and life, Valerius kept pushing it further. How unbelievable this man was?! She didn't exactly look sad then, she was more irritated and more disturbed. Even her soulmist was a bit more greyish and a little chaotic. But she knew well she had to play nice. "No, Mr. Nitrozian, I wasn't a student. I did hang out in the library a lot though. And I was 16 when it happened, which was... 4? Or 5 years ago? I don't know.. what year is it? "

At least he did continue the escort. Dry Island, he had his business there. "What kind of business do you have?" She asked automatically without even thinking. She was curious too. She looked at the light of the lighthouse where he pointed. Point Island. But the most interesting part came next. Dry Island had a place which dealt with the one such as like her. She didn't even pay attention about the Caged Sun. Sounded like a jail to her. Why would she want to visit there? "Can you tell me more about this... 'supernatural' business?" Was it dangerous for her? Or maybe an advantage?

And as she was thinking, Elaine turned her head to the man. Same expression, and she couldn't help but feel disturbed. Well he felt free to let his thoughts out, she would do the same. "Look. I just.. I just can't continue without asking." She went in front of him, staring at his eyes. He was a handsome man, she had to admit that.. but that confident, cold eyes. It was anything but charming. "I know that look. I knew a man who had a similar one. He was just as sure in himself, just as curious and he knew what he wanted. And in his head he was always planning ahead, or at least as I have noticed. I see the same on you. You're different. But I can see the same look. What are you pondering about, Mr. Nitrozian? What do you exactly need from me? Why asking so much question about my death and life? " She did think a lot of herself probably... putting herself more important than she actually was to the mortals.

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[Valerius Nitrozian]

Valerius noticed that the mist that surrounded Elaine was a bit more grey and chaotic, but he could only guess what that meant. Was she like his Vantha teacher, Vanari, whose eye color had changed with her emotions? He was tempted to reach out to her again, to let his fingers run through that mist and feel it, but refrained from it, not out of fear, but because it was a thing that a curious child that could not control himself would do. Instead he simply let his arms rest at his side and told her in a cool tone, as if he were not worried at all, as if he met ghosts every day, “Try to touch me then. Miss Spade. I want to know what it feels like to be touched by a being that does not have a physical body.”

“I was in Zeltiva five years ago”, he let her know as she spoke of her time in the city. He still thought of that time quite frequently, even though not all of the things that had happened there had been positive. “I spent quite some time in the library as well, doing research. It is not impossible that we met when you were still alive. We might even have exchanged a few words.” It was unlikely that they had done more than that though. He had mainly sought the company of his fellow academics. The few close acquaintances he had had at the University had been professors as well as a few extraordinary students, like him. He had rarely had any close contact with normal people.

“We currently have the year 516 after the Valterrian”, he informed her, in a tone that made it obvious what he thought of the fact that she couldn’t keep track of time. “It is strange that you do not know that, especially since you clearly recall having been in Zeltiva four or five years ago.” He wanted to say more on that topic, but it was just then that she voiced an interest in his business. “I am a teacher and a scholar. I teach those that can afford it things such as rhetoric and etiquette and the occasional lesson of Nader-canoch. As for that supernatural business …”

He paused again and cast a meaningful glance at her. He had initially not wanted to talk to her about the spiritist as it might affect any future business of his with her negatively, but now that she had asked about it he was quite looking forward to seeing the reaction on her face. “They study ghosts, such as you, I’ve been told. The man that operates Spectral Solutions is a so called Spiritist. You probably know better what that means than I do.” He looked directly into her eyes for a moment before he pulled his gaze away.

She was impatient, he observed. He had thought that ghosts didn’t care about concepts such as time anymore as they didn’t age, but apparently Elaine still had not let go of her mortal existence entirely. It was strange that he, a mortal man whose days were limited, could control himself so much better. He pondered whether he should answer her or tell her to please contain her curiosity until they were finished with the tour, and finally decided to be merciful. There was no harm in telling her what he wanted from her now.

“I want you to keep your eyes open”, he informed her. “You can reach places that I as a mortal man cannot. Physical obstacles are likely only a minor inconvenience for you. You can move silently and unseen. As I have already told you before, I have need of such a being. There are people in this city that I am most interested in, rich people, important people. I want information on them.”

He paused for a moment as he wondered how he should answer her next question – or if he should at all. Finally he replied, “I wish to know more about your kind. As I told you, I’m a scholar, a scientist. I want to understand how things work. I assume that this isn’t a problem for you? I assure you, I will not use that knowledge to cause you harm.” He would indeed not to that. If she were hurt, she would not be able to spy for him.