Homeless, Mun's been looking at this Facility....

[oldstrangersvoice]

Listen, kid. Now I don't mind being here entirely. Nice fine mind you've got, you'll make your city's mancers... or whatever you've been calling them...proud. I'm touched I remind you of another old man you used to know, too.

But that don't mean I'm eager to be shipping off to that place you're so fond of. Give it a think through before you make any...rash decisions. You got two fine gentlemen and that young lady of yours already living in that place, ain't really room for a spare.

Not like I'd fit in, anyhow. That's a place for fighting men. My fighting days are long over.

Comments

Flipout x5 combo???

[lostwanderer]

*Things may be different for Wander, but some parts of his culture still ring true for him. Respect for old warriors is one of them.*

...even so...we are honored to be in your presence.

[oldstrangersvoice]

Don't waste your honor on an old man like me. [He chuckles]

People always act like your life ends when you're done your fighting days.

[he thinks on that for a spell]

Well. Mine didn't, anyway.

[lostwanderer]

I didn't mean to insinuate that it did.

...where I am from the old have an honorable place. They train the newer generations, and their wisdom is always sought in every major decision.

I wouldn't have been nearly as good with a bow if it hadn't been for my mentor.

[oldstrangersvoice]

Don't sound all that different from where I'm from. Though I'm not sure I ever have heard of any older breakers.

As for wisdom, though...suppose you're right. The old and the wise always did have a place in Caelondia.

Where are you from, son?

Thank you for being so vague, SotC. XD; Y U MAKE ME MAKE SHIT UP

[lostwanderer]

We call it Kampe Akendo. It's mostly grassland, but my village is bordered by a forest and a river. *...give him a minute. There's a lot of memories here. Not all of them pleasant.*

Making things up is a mark of a proper story

[oldstrangersvoice]

[he pauses, letting him think it through, and when it's obvious there's a break in the conversation he clears his throat]

Sounds like a pretty place. I'm a city man myself, born and bred, but I knew many as prefer the wilds.

Unless of course, you aren't remembering it too fondly.

Or Ueda's storytelling.

[lostwanderer]

...our shaman sacrificed the woman I love. For some... "omen" that she had a cursed fate.

[oldstrangersvoice]

[Rucks frowns, and his voice grows bitter, less warm that it was before]

Gods. Never been on speaking terms with Gods. Only curse that young lady had was the company of superstitious minded fools, sounds like.

What'd you do?

[lostwanderer]

...I...stole the Sword of Light. I went to the forbidden land. To look for the old god. Dormin.

They said he had the power to bring the dead back to life...

[archditz]

What sort of place is it, if I may ask?

[oldstrangersvoice]

Not the kind as warrants a lot of telling, Im afraid.

A place floating out in all the nothing you ever did see, a city in the stars. Every week the poor folks trapped there get put through all manner of unkindness.

When they break loose, though... Well, that'll be a proper story.

[oldstrangersvoice]

Sounds like a proper beginning to a story. Doesn't it.

Relying on the gods for help, hmmm. [He's not judging, but from the sound of it he wouldn't have done quite that.]

So there's the beginning. How did it end?

[archditz]

[The tall man in the expensive suit is silent for a moment. His gaze is locked on this old soldier. And wordsmith, apparently.]

I see. You are correct; that is not the place for someone who has done his duties. [He blinks, which is only noticeable because this is the first time he's done this since the conversation began.]

Or anyone, now that I think of it.

[masonry]

Seems like makin' rash decisions is all they do.

[ He's obviously not upset. ]

[oldstrangersvoice]

No. It ain't.

But there's folks there anyhow. And if there's anything an old man like me can do for them, I suppose I will, won't I?

Here I go, doing all the talking. Old habits, huh. What about you, stranger?

[oldstrangersvoice]

[He chuckles] Seems like there's some as might know more about that than others.

What about you, kid? Been keeping well?

[archditz]

[The last question catches him by surprise.]

I don't know. What about me? [There are many things About him. Plus, he's never made it a habit of talking about himself.]

[masonry]

Mm.

[ Kid makes a slight face at the question. He’d rather not talk about what's going on where he's currently stationed. At the very least, he hasn’t died there yet. That was always a plus. ]

Well enough. You? 'Sides from maybe goin' somewhere, I mean.

[oldstrangersvoice]

That kinda place, huh. [He bends back, free hand on his lower back. He sighs, looking for somewhere to sit]

let me find a place to rest my bones, we'll chat for a spell. [He sits, letting out a contented sigh]

Huh. Look at me, going to ask whether the forge is hot. We're a long way from home, kid.

[oldstrangersvoice]

[Rucks just laughs] Oh, don't take no offense now. Just a habit of mine, back where I'm from there ain't much to do but kick back and swap stories. Where you're from, what you do... Don't have to be nothing personal if you ain't one for sharing.

[masonry]

[ Quietly: ] I miss it.

[ And in more ways than one. A lot may have happened, back home, but it still had the comfort of being familiar. Now he was stranded in a place he could have never even imagined existed, and definitely not in a good way. ]

[oldstrangersvoice]

So do I, kid. I miss the city more, of course, but... The Bastion was your proper home. You fought for it. You deserved it, more than any of us.

From the looks of things, I won't be stuck in this between place all too long, either. This boy's far too far of his "facility."

fancy word for just another rock in the sky.

[masonry]

Suppose so. But we all deserved it. We're all that's left.

[ A beat. ]

... Facility, huh? What's it like?

[oldstrangersvoice]

Hmmmm... Ain't much to tell. Bunch of sorry folks floating up in that rock in the stars, dealing with all manner of unkindness.

[He shakes his head] Course, it's my own fault for getting involved. Mother, but I couldn't have picked a first time to pipe up in this mun's mind. Reading over his shoulder, so to speak, I was... Looking over the situation. I said, "if there's any way I can help"... You know, me and running my mouth.

Lucky for me I got at least a month of cooling my heels before he makes the call.

[masonry]

... Sounds like the town I'm at.

[ Though that worries him, he gives a weak smile once Rucks tells his story. ]

Maybe you'll get lucky and won't have to deal with all that trouble then.