Post by lloyd on Nov 24, 2014 23:56:20 GMT -5
Bilkin was, outside of things to do with the Far Realm, a pragmatic man. He looked ahead, analyzed potential problems, and sought to solve them before they appeared. He believed that serendipity was the culmination of previous decisions made in conscious or subconscious foresight (as a user of magic, this was a strangely possible thing), and misfortune to be the lack thereof.
Misfortune befell Hobwash, and Bilkin couldn't determine whose lack of foresight let it happen. The village burned, the bandits away, no plausible way to pursue them.
And why can't we pursue them? We don't have mules and a cart. Besides pursuing wrongdoers, a cart would be fairly useful to get the queen's errand done as well-- but we don't have a cart, and I doubt we can get one.
"Hmmph", he grunted, staring at the massive pillar of smoke from the village.
"We could get a cart after we return from dealing with the bandits", a whisper in his mind mocked Elena's voice.
"Who knows, they probably have carts galore there if they're transporting stuff", the mocking high voice jeered.
This was just like at the Academy. Back when he was still an accredited academic. He suggested an idea, an idea to prevent work and complications in the future. His colleagues dismissed it as unnecessary and said "if the problem comes up, we'll solve it then". So when the alchemists really DID accidentally set fire to the Grease-saturated paint in the library (done so so the paint would last longer), the damage done to the various books, some of which had no replicas, was a blow to the Academy's pride that Bilkin laughed at because it was caused by their pride. Of course, they still refused to admit he warned them and even suggested the solution of putting up a sign that read "NO EXPERIMENTS IN THE LIBRARY" at its entrance. He didn't laugh for long, some of the books burned were crucial to his research at the time.
Much like the mules were crucial to their mission now.
He remembered the moments back in the vicinity of the bandit outpost...
"Too late, too late, too late", it screamed, while they were still making plans to sneak up on the bandits. It surprised him, frankly, and sent a horrible lurching feeling all throughout his body. He didn't know if it was just a random instance of one voice drowning out the rest, or if it was directly to do with what was happening, though the latter was confirmed the second time. "Too late, too late,too late. Get OUT!" it screamed in the drug laboratory. A horrifying sound, shrill, sharp, and sickening. He'd almost keeled over that time, too.
It's almost never been this... Powerful. Like sprinting at full speed into a wall.
Did it have to do with his recent breakthroughs? Were they drawing him closer to Him, or were they drawing him away from His grasp, the hungering reach for Bilkin's sanity?
A desperate or frustrated being fights harder the less likely it gets what it wants.
He looked at the others. Valraukar had limped out of the woods, Elena was nowhere to be seen. He had a nasty lump on his head and was covered in leaves and dirt. He explained to them Elena had gotten a "sense". Bilkin shook his head.
Elena. Possibly the most sane of everyone in the party... Until recently. Always one for compromise, always one to discuss things before doing them. She had slipped away in the night, something about a feeling of what to do or where to go... Only Valraukar followed. How could they not consult the party? Perhaps it was like with the vagrants they saw on the street; a "call" from the woods? If so, who was calling? Everything about the area was strange. Or was it the drug? Dralban managed to fight off some sort of sound, or singing, or voices, something, and as far as Bilkin knew, Dralban wasn't one for mental fortitude. So how could Elena succumb to it?
The faster we get away from this, the better, his brain kept repeating. He scratched behind his ear. There really was no point in staying for the village, it was gone. The bandits were due south, and the group needed to go southeast. Perhaps they COULD pursue for a bit, but what would be the point? They could get lost, or be late for the rendezvous with the queen's man.
Oh, this world is SO interesting, yyyyes it IS!
Bilkin flinched. He opened up the bundle of food he got that morning and started eating it. Two bites in, he lost his appetite. "Anyone want this?" he asked as he held up the greasy bundle.
The plan was so simple...
Misfortune befell Hobwash, and Bilkin couldn't determine whose lack of foresight let it happen. The village burned, the bandits away, no plausible way to pursue them.
And why can't we pursue them? We don't have mules and a cart. Besides pursuing wrongdoers, a cart would be fairly useful to get the queen's errand done as well-- but we don't have a cart, and I doubt we can get one.
"Hmmph", he grunted, staring at the massive pillar of smoke from the village.
"We could get a cart after we return from dealing with the bandits", a whisper in his mind mocked Elena's voice.
"Who knows, they probably have carts galore there if they're transporting stuff", the mocking high voice jeered.
This was just like at the Academy. Back when he was still an accredited academic. He suggested an idea, an idea to prevent work and complications in the future. His colleagues dismissed it as unnecessary and said "if the problem comes up, we'll solve it then". So when the alchemists really DID accidentally set fire to the Grease-saturated paint in the library (done so so the paint would last longer), the damage done to the various books, some of which had no replicas, was a blow to the Academy's pride that Bilkin laughed at because it was caused by their pride. Of course, they still refused to admit he warned them and even suggested the solution of putting up a sign that read "NO EXPERIMENTS IN THE LIBRARY" at its entrance. He didn't laugh for long, some of the books burned were crucial to his research at the time.
Much like the mules were crucial to their mission now.
He remembered the moments back in the vicinity of the bandit outpost...
"Too late, too late, too late", it screamed, while they were still making plans to sneak up on the bandits. It surprised him, frankly, and sent a horrible lurching feeling all throughout his body. He didn't know if it was just a random instance of one voice drowning out the rest, or if it was directly to do with what was happening, though the latter was confirmed the second time. "Too late, too late,too late. Get OUT!" it screamed in the drug laboratory. A horrifying sound, shrill, sharp, and sickening. He'd almost keeled over that time, too.
It's almost never been this... Powerful. Like sprinting at full speed into a wall.
Did it have to do with his recent breakthroughs? Were they drawing him closer to Him, or were they drawing him away from His grasp, the hungering reach for Bilkin's sanity?
A desperate or frustrated being fights harder the less likely it gets what it wants.
He looked at the others. Valraukar had limped out of the woods, Elena was nowhere to be seen. He had a nasty lump on his head and was covered in leaves and dirt. He explained to them Elena had gotten a "sense". Bilkin shook his head.
Elena. Possibly the most sane of everyone in the party... Until recently. Always one for compromise, always one to discuss things before doing them. She had slipped away in the night, something about a feeling of what to do or where to go... Only Valraukar followed. How could they not consult the party? Perhaps it was like with the vagrants they saw on the street; a "call" from the woods? If so, who was calling? Everything about the area was strange. Or was it the drug? Dralban managed to fight off some sort of sound, or singing, or voices, something, and as far as Bilkin knew, Dralban wasn't one for mental fortitude. So how could Elena succumb to it?
The faster we get away from this, the better, his brain kept repeating. He scratched behind his ear. There really was no point in staying for the village, it was gone. The bandits were due south, and the group needed to go southeast. Perhaps they COULD pursue for a bit, but what would be the point? They could get lost, or be late for the rendezvous with the queen's man.
Oh, this world is SO interesting, yyyyes it IS!
Bilkin flinched. He opened up the bundle of food he got that morning and started eating it. Two bites in, he lost his appetite. "Anyone want this?" he asked as he held up the greasy bundle.
The plan was so simple...
