"The story... yes." Matthew didn't shift his weight to turn and face Wrenmae, merely kept his head comfortably turned in that direction. His eyes became distant as he recalled the stories, all spoken at various times during different lectures and classes at the University. What was the point of Wrenmae bringing up the way things used to be? Was it something the wizard aspired to see now? The harlot could certainly see the allure. The world was a better place back then, at least by word of mouth. Being able to access wisdom of any sort at a whim, being able to travel between cities without the fear of the Wildlands... apparently the towers had once been portals that a man could step through and be whisked away to another city in the blink of an eye. That was a whole different story though, one that Matthew wasn't exactly familar with. Returning to Wrenmae's thoughts, Matthew once again furrowed his brow at the very next words. "Sunberth?" Such an odd choice. "...or perhaps that is the point..." Matthew mused, words slipping out softly as his lips betrayed his thoughts. "It could be just the talk of an insane spellcaster, yes. Insanity in people is so very rare, but when it comes to leading a movement or ruling some sort of kingdom... insanity is almost the standard." There were many types of insanity though, some more dangerous than others. He had yet to see many of its forms. If Wrenmae was truly mad, it was quite interesting that he seemed to move in the midst of society so well. Then again, Matthew certainly wasn't the best judge on what moved well in society. As for the next question, Matthew quickly responded. "I am not sure how long. I feel like a mastery of the subject is soon to come, and then I will move on to another. Perhaps I will become a hairdresser, or perhaps I will study math. Maybe I will invest in animal husbandry, or look into creating a business of some sort. Maybe I will toss a coin and let it decide for me. Whatever it is, hopefully that will be absorbed and mastered, and then on to the next thing." For the first time in awhile, the harlot moved, his steps slow and graceful. He approached the table that Wrenmae sat upon, standing in front of a blank space on the table. Reaching down, he paused for a moment and then drew a very rough outline of the city in the dust, snapping his fingers in the air soon after to discard any lingering grime on them. "Sunberth, you say? How much of this plan can be told? I like problems. I like solving problems." It was obvious in the brief intelligent shine deep within his eyes. If everything was a book, then there were quite a few mysteries. The harlot enjoyed nothing more than the satisfaction of solving these mysteries. "I understand if it is private, however." He truly did. If it was a grand plan, something that Wrenmae was betting quite a bit on, then he wouldn't be offended if none of it wanted to be shared. At the same time, he was curious if the man had ran his thoughts past someone else. What better way to polish a plan then to have several eyes wander over it? He supposed it would be bad if it was the wrong set of eyes. Hopefully he wasn't the wrong set of eyes. He didn't think he was. "To be more specific, from what I recall, Sunberth is a den of chaos. It seems like it would be difficult to carry out any sort of goal there, unless it was very well planned. No room for error. Hard, but not impossible." His eyes grew distant again, the wheels turning behind them. A good puzzle was one of the few things that made him feel genuine delight, even he almost immediately suffocated it. |