3rd Summer 522 AV – Various Syka Places
It was well into the day already and Alric had found himself somewhat at a loss. Usually he would be getting ready for work, grabbing Lys and making their way to the Scarlet Sanctum for the rest of the day. Yet now he had no job, nothing the form a routine around, and in some ways this made things difficult for him. He liked the freedom, was somewhat a casual spirit, but no structure at all was something he was learning was a difficult thing. He needed something to do, and magical or physical practise didn’t fill that gap enough for the sensation of listlessness to vanish completely. He needed a job, a task or something more than socialization and relaxation to fill his days.
Sighing to himself he felt Twilight nudge at his boot, and he leant down to scoop him up and let him busy himself with wrapping around his shoulders, there to enjoy both the heat of the day and Alric’s body heat. Leaning back in his chair he considered the two items upon the table next to him – the gifted Osere map from Croix and the book with the face upon it – the gagged face. It was clearly a magical item, that much was obvious just by giving a cursory glance, the eyes of the face were open and, if you watched carefully, you could see them shift and move, following you like a creepy stalker. Not to mention the expression changed every so often, in so far as that was possible with the gag in place.
For now, though, he was keeping it wrapped up in the skin covering it had bene found in, protected and safely tucked away until he was ready to deal with it. No, this time he decided it was time to properly inspect the map of the Nymkarta. As he pulled it from its leather case, unrolling it, he reflected that he should probably have tried to learn its secrets sooner – but time had bene short for the curses, and though he had played but a small part it had been more important at the time. Now though, he wanted to see just how many there were of them still left alive. He had no doubt that Croix was being honest, rather than being the trickster role, with the map – he had helped Alric quite a bit despite the initial kidnapping.
“Next time I’d suggest just chatting…but then where would be the fun in that for you then…mischief maker” he muttered to himself warmly, his attitude to the gods had softened slightly, though he doubted he would ever be as reverential as some seemed to be.
The situation hadn’t changed since he had been shown the giant, glowing version by Croix on that fateful day. He kept the map held open using a couple of his daggers and his finger traced the magical construct, seeking out the dots. It did remind him of Taz’s map, she had bene right to suspect they were the same at their core, though they clearly operated differently. There were precisely eighteen dots that he could easily find, most of them appeared to be in major cities. He was not true student of geography, so he was thankful that the continents and cites were labelled – none were in Eyktol…that was a confront, it meant Sran’tuka held none as prisoner, or for future possession purposes.
“Where are you…where are you” he mused to himself as he frowned in thought, seeking out his mother but not being able to find her, which troubled him, “though…Croix did say Serana and Kalas were being kept safe, hidden perhaps, having suffered enough. Maybe he found a way to…cover them in the map? Come on Croix, it’s not like I’d leave today and try to find them” he whispered in frustration.
Though deep down he knew he might have, his own rebellious streak was strong, and Croix had marked him at least in part because he could be as tricky as the best of them. There was a wavering in his heart, telling him that the god was wise, which made him wonder how often he interacted with Eyris. Did they speak together about him, for their own purposes, before they had marked him? Was that side of the family close enough for that? He had mentioned the goddess of memory, that wasn’t so far removed from knowledge in some ways. He found Leo, still in Sylrias, the only Nymkarta there at present. There were none in Sunberth now, a couple in Zeltiva and Alvadas…there were three in Syka.
“Wait…three?!” he said with an incredulous tone, frowning and narrowing his gaze as he tried to discern the dots. There he was, a bit further out that the other two. The ‘LW’ was Lys, she looked like she was around near the docks for some reason, probably having fun or she had found someone she could be useful for. The other one…it was just an ‘A’ which suggested only one name. That was strange, did the map adjust for how the person named themselves? Or was it that they had no family name…which would be strange. He checked it a dozen times and found no difference, and so he rolled it back up, slipped it back under the bed and set off for the Commons, where it had been showing this third dot.
“This I have to know, and so do they, if they seem amenable” he told himself as he checked he had everything about him, weapons and pouches with their contents mostly, and set off with a resolved spirit – he would not let another walk into a potential trap in ignorance as he had, if he could help it.
It wouldn’t be right. But, beneath that, there was a curiosity and a need to know. He had not had family for much of his life, Lys had come along recently to be an adoptive sister of sorts, and now there was another…he doubted it was coincidence. These things never were.
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