Closed [Windward Boardwalk] A Tune in the Wind (Balthazar)

[Geothryn]

Geothryn cocked his eyebrow, in the way he was wont to do. Balthazars halting speech made it almost too obvious that he was trying to hide something, and he was just trapping himself tighter in his web of lies. It was not in Geo's position to question him, though. If the man didn't want to share where he came from, that was his prerogative. The Vantha's eyes were flecked with yellow-brown, the color somehow breaking through. It made his gaze seem un-trusting, only for a moment. Then they reverted back to normal. "A riddle...? Hmm... Is it Denval? He asked, giving the other man a means of escape. It was plain the man was not from Denval, or he would have just said so. But why? Interesting, indeed. After strumming a little concluding riff on his lute, Geothryn smiled at Balthazar, his eyes returning to their dark emerald hue. "I would know where the library is, actually. And I'd be happy to take you. I've been meaning to go there anyway." Placing the lute on the bench beside him, he flipped its case from his back to his lap and opened the clasps, placing the instrument safely in the felt lined interior of the leather carrying case. Closing it once more, he dramatically stood up and flipped it to his back once more. "If you follow me, I will take you there." He said, motioning to the entrance of the park. He waved hello to a few Vantha he knew, but otherwise was quiet. The wind was starting to pick up, and it would be better to get indoors, though his woolen clothes and cloak protected him from the brunt of the cold breeze. He pointed out various places of interest to Balthazar, not quite sure the visitor would remember where they were. He pointed out the Snowsong Hold, and said, "You're always welcome to stay with me if you can't afford the inn any longer. I know it can get expensive. Just ask for me, someone will point you to my family's Arvinta."

[Balthazaar Kraigen]

Balthazaar began to be feel very guilty when Geo introduced his home and invited him to stay there at any time. Here this young man was inviting someone he barely knew into his home to stay with him and all that someone had been doing was lying to him constantly. He tried to think of something to say to the young man for such generosity, but after several moments he could only utter:
“Thank you for your kindness”

As they continued on their jaunt through the city, Balthazaar feelings only seemed to exasperate. Eventually he reached a point where he didn’t even feel worthy to be in his company and paused in the middle of street, refusing to go any further.

“Stop, stop, stop…” Balthazaar pleaded, waiting for his companion to follow suit. When he had done so, Balthazaar took a deep breath and started speaking again, an air of guilt evident in his voice.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been truthful with you. After all the kindness that you’ve shown me, I don’t feel right unless I come clean…well…mostly clean. I can’t tell you where I’m from, but I can tell you why I’m here. When I left my home, I was on the run. I don’t think that they followed me, but I’ve still been cautious ever since I arrived here. Either way I apologize for lying to you, I did it only for the sake of my survival.”

[Geothryn]

They walked through the streets, and Geo had already taken a few steps when he heard Balthazar's voice pleading for him to stop. Slowing down and then finally turning around, he took a few steps back to where the other man stood. "What is it?" He asked, looking around. A slight breeze was starting to pick up and Geothryn to get them indoors before it grew any stronger, as the winds were sometimes known to do in Avanthal. Geo cocked his eyebrow yet again, the gears in his mind spinning at what Balthazar confessed. He had already guessed that the man was probably from the Spires, or maybe he actually was from Denval as he suggested. Still, the reasons for why he was running and from whom were probably very important if it threatened the blonde mans' life, not to mention possibly threatening his own. He said he wasn't followed, but could he really be sure? "That's... Uhm..." Geo began, genuinely not knowing what to say. He wanted to be friendly and the man seemed like a good fellow, but at the same time... "You shouldn't have said that." He murmured ominously. "I was going to wait until we got somewhere less open, but..." He flipped the lute to his chest and opened its case, removing the instrument. Aiming it at Balthazar, he said, "One false move and I will blast you with sound waves strong enough to down a bear. I've communicated with the Ice Watch through the snow, and they'll be here in moments." After a few moments - it couldn't have been more than five seconds, any longer and Balthazar might have believed the threat - Geo grinned widely and struck a playful little ditty on the stringed instrument. "Joking! I'm joking!" He said, holding the lute to his side, his hand wrapped around its neck. With the other hand he came in close and attempted to put his hand on Balthazar's shoulder. Lowering his voice, he said, "I don't know what you did, and to be very honest I don't really care. You seem like an honorable fellow. As long as you promise not to do anything that will endanger me or my people, we don't ever need to speak of this again." Smiling again, he put the lute back in its case and drew his cloak tightly around himself, saying, "Come, let's get in the Stories before the wind picks up." Geo walked off down the street; They weren't that far away from the city's only library.

[Balthazaar Kraigen]

Balthazaar almost began to panic when the young man took out his instrument and threatened to blast him with an ultrasonic wave of sound. Although he had never heard of such a tool, he had seen stranger things in his life and started to worry that he may have made an enemy that he wasn’t prepared to face.

“I…I…I...” He stuttered, his hands instinctually reaching for his bow and arrows. Thankfully Geo ended the charade and informed Balthazaar of the joke before anything serious went down. Although the young botanist wanted to reprimand Geo for playing such a trick on him, he couldn’t help but smirk as the young man started playing a tune on his lute.

“I was this close to shooting you with an arrow…” Balthazaar said with a laugh, pinching his index finger and his thumb close together to demonstrate his words.

“All joking aside…I can promise you, I will never do anything to endanger this city or its people” Balthazaar’s tone of voice reflected the seriousness of his claim. This was no lie, he was naturally not a troublemaker and he had no intentions of doing anything to put the city in danger. If his presence in the city ever caused problems for its people, he would leave immediately or take care of the problem himself.

“Yes, let us make haste! I’m dying to do some research!” Balthazaar said with a smile as he rushed to keep up with his companion. Luckily, the walk didn’t take too much longer and the two made it to the library before the wind became a problem.

“So…I’m curious…you said that you were meaning to stop by here as well…what exactly for?” Although the young botanist was not one to judge a book by its cover, Geo did not seem like the type of her person that liked to spend his time with his nose in a book.

[Geothryn]

"Oh, you know, this and that," He said. "Maybe, just maybe, the other, if they have it in stock." They were walking up the steps by this point, and Geothryn held the door open for his blonde friend, then stepped in after him. "Music, actually. I need to learn more about writing my music if I'm to be a great and famous bard. Nobody will remember my songs if I don't keep a record of them." He confessed. He stopped and said hello to the man at the desk, who introduced himself as Jack. Pointing Geothryn to the music section, he found a few books on sheet music and took them to one of the many lounges available, placing them and the case down on one of the tables. He removed the instrument from the case and opened one of the books, looking every so often from the sheet to his lute, plucking a different string with a different fret pressed down every so often.