Chronicles of Haladway: Treasured Tales

Tegan glanced sideways at the girl. "Myths and legends? Hm." He appreciated her addendum so that he didn't necessarily have to talk about himself if he didn't want to, and by the eight Forces he didn't. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. There were plenty to choose from, especially since Cerys was entirely new to Praesentia. Tegan suddenly smiled as he stopped on one idea, a story he'd heard since he was a boy. "Alright, I think I've got one."

He settled against the wall and cleared his throat theatrically. "Some uncountable centuries ago, there was a wizard named Cordellis who was absolutely obsessed with puzzles and mazes and the like. He boasted that he knew the inner workings of the world and the divine. But one day, a colleague of his challenged his claim, saying if he were truly so omniscient he would know the location of the greatest treasure that our world knows." He paused and stood dramatically, getting into it now. "The Book . . . of Dragons. Legend says that the dragons, before their return to the Long Sleep, permitted one mortal to transcribe in detail everything about dragonkind - including how their unique magic works. But after they began to sleep, the book mysteriously disappeared. So of course Cordellis was hooked, he had to find this lost bastion of knowledge or be ridiculed by the wizarding community. He vowed to his colleague that he would find it if it was the last feat he ever committed."

So Cordellis dove headlong into arduous research, poring over text after text, even contacting the Thieves' Guild in order to use their black market contacts. Cordellis did everything he could think of; scrying, augury, favor of the fae, through every ancient durgen repository and zeylfic library he searched. For ten years, Cordellis looked and looked and eventually fell into obscurity. Until, one day Cordellis suddenly made an announcement. He had found the book! But so fearful was he of his colleagues that he hid it away in one of the grandly constructed libraries he made for this very purpose, obfuscating its location by putting treasures and decoys in each, guarded by some of the most fearsome creatures in this world. After that, Cordellis was never heard from again, and it can only be assumed he hid himself away as well and died long ago."

Many have looked for his libraries as well, to no avail, and to this day the book remains hidden, locked away in legend and myth." Tegan grinned down Cerys, having to a close. He stuck his hands on his hips. "Well, what do you think?"

Current Time: 7:40

Cerys merely nodded along at first, listening to the tale with a mixture of interest... until the Book of Dragons came up. She sat up perfectly straight, hanging on Tegan's every word. Dragons. Now those were creatures she had not heard of in a long time–back home most of them had gone to live in the Moirai, among the stars for only they matched such power. And even then, she had not seen them, just read up on their kind: what little there was to be read. The dragons, after all, had bound their powers to the heavens–few came down to earth and fewer yet appeared before humans if they did. To have the possibility to attain the knowledge of their powers, or powers like theirs, would be infinitely wondrous.

"Maybe that would give me the power to get home..." she mused internally, a small smile gracing her features. She nodded mentally. "I think that's an endeavor I wouldn't mind taking for myself." she said with an air of mystery in her voice.

The drunk's grin slackened into a frown. For a moment, Tegan wasn't sure he heard the girl right. But no, her words were clear, hung in the air like blinking fireflies. Perhaps she was just joking with him then. It wouldn't be the first time someone had, expecting him to take it seriously because he was a bit intoxicated. He chuckled and tilted his head. "Haha, yeah you and every other starstruck child on this continent." Kernel of truth there, adventurers everywhere often started up claiming they'd find the lost Libraries of Cordellis. Adventurers often started off young.

Cerys quirked an eyebrow at the starstruck comment–true, she probably did sound childish in her wish to seek out this legend, but how could she not? Her gaze twisted into a slightly pointed look and she folded her arms. "I'm quite serious." she replied, her tone clearly matching her statement. Shifting her weight so she could stand once again, her arms fell to her sides and she took a few steps away from him. "It would be quite the adventure. And think of it, should we happen to find the treasure, we could both get something out of it. I'd be back to full power–be able to return home–and you could have whatever it is you want." She made a point of turning to face him. "No more debts for charitable strangers to pay off." she added with a cheeky grin.

Again, his smile fell away as Cerys corrected him. "You're serious?" he questioned, listening and watching as she continued. She reasoned it out, as if it were the most plausible thing, and then faced him with this grin. He leaned back on his heels when she finished, resting one arm over the other and rubbing the shadow building along his cheeks and chin. It was . . . tempting. "Okay." He waved a hand and held it outwards in a stopping gesture. "Say we start on this - and I can't believe I'm being the voice of reason here, Halas bless your sober head - you're going to need supplies, guards, library access, money . . . Are you sure you're up for this? I am all for being your guide, and I will accompany you. Just as long as you're sure." He worked his eyebrows up, checking Cery's expression.

"Perfectly." Cerys responded without missing a beat, enthused that Tegan was willing to go along with her idea. She had assumed that he would call her crazy and then tell her to focus at the job at hand–that he would not want anything to do with her sudden desire to seek out ancient treasure. But he was actually going along with this. The gears in her head already spinning, she voiced her thoughts smoothly. "Money might be a bit tight at the moment, but I'm sure we can get some quickly. Besides, I'm sure we'll find plenty of treasures along the way–there's always little incentives on the road to the grand prize."

Tegan nodded along, readily agreeing that their meager cash would be a pittance in the face of what they needed - or rather what they could earn. He started laughing, putting a hand to his forehead and shaking his head at the planking beneath his feet. "How about you be the brains of this little outfit? I'm far too sober for this right now." He returned to his spot beside her from earlier and wasted no time in swallowing mouthfuls of his wine.

Cerys chuckled lightly, nodding at her partner before settling back down next to him. Truth be told she had already begun cranking out figures and ideas of what they would need. Being the brains of this operation was her responsibility, she had brought it up after all! She sat there thinking everything over for mere seconds before holding her hand out in front of her, palm facing up. The rune on her shoulder let off a slight white glow and the faded symbol appeared in the air just above her hand. In next to no time a small leather-bound book appeared in hand and the glow faded. Cerys immediately went to work, scribbling hastily with nothing but magic spewing from her fingertip.