To Lighten the Load

[Fitz]

I stood up slowly, putting my hand back down by my side “Thanks, Kially”. Walking slowly towards the pool I made certain not to step on any of the butterflies which had seemed to freeze with the boys first utterance, how odd. Making it to the pool I tried my best to control my enthusiasm as I hunched down. It was pure pleasure to submerge my cupped hands into the cool water. Quickly and carefully so as not to waste a drop I brought my hands back to my lips. After a tentative sip to test the waters, I found the stream to be as refreshing as it looked. The water was so pleasing to my thirst that I could not help but plunge my hands again and slurp down a second helping before turning back to the child.

After rubbing my face vigorously with my cool wet hands, I wiped dry with my sleeve and was feeling pretty near top form again. Turning back towards the boy I gave him another broad grin punctuated by my protruding tusks. “Ahhh… Just what I needed thanks. So kid where’s your folks? This doesn’t seem the place for a boy to be all by his lonesome. In fact I’ve heard rumors of some pretty powerful movers making this turf their home. Might be dangerous to be here.”

Feeling far more relaxed and at easy after taking a couple of sips from the pool, and just taking in the beauty of the place I slipped my hand into my pack and produced my three favorite dice. Without thinking I began tossing them about in my hand as I so often did to pass the time. I wasn’t quite sure why I was feeling so at ease in this place, I still had not found the enchanter, and who knew what could be lurking beyond the next corridor. In spite of all that however I could not keep myself from smiling and jostling the dice about in my hand playfully. “Lovely spot you found though kid, I’ll give you that.”

[Kially Gaith]

Shifting his legs from underneath himself, the lad slowly swung them backwards and forwards, letting them move forward and back, banging into the dark grey stone pillar below him, contenting himself into his own little world as he still found his muscles to be rather stiff from sleep…Finally came what he needed, a long yawn and a stretch of arms into the air above him before flopping back down lifelessly to rest in his lap. “Folks? …I just me here.” It was a shame his grasp of common was so terrible but his message was clear, he was alone, save for the insects that gave him a strangely large amount of company, the amount of butterflies, in particular, was definitely unnatural.

When the die were brought out, Kially found himself mesmerized yet lightly threated, something he’d never seen before. He was more psychologically intimidated by three small cubers than he had been by the sword that had been drawn earlier, the unknown was always much more unnerving than that of what he’d seen before. Of what he could make out, they were cube shaped with little dots on them but just how many dots were on them was not in his cognitive power given their movement and the fact he had not long since woken.

Regardless, however, the boy was now transfixed upon these strange dotted blocks that moved with such seemingly simple ease. Just what were they? Were they some sort of strange weapon that would end him in a matter of moments? Perhaps some sort of magical device for telling the time? He honestly couldn’t tell and that lack of knowledge found him moving to the very edge of the pillar to get a closer look. The half Orc had clearly caught the lads’ attention though such boy was so eaten up in this new discovery that he could not find the words to ask what they were, though a cute little set of parted lips showed that he was at least searching for something to comment on that his vocabulary would span into.

[Fitz]

I tossed the dice about in my hand a few more times. Watching as they tumbled through the false twilight of the chamber. “Just you huh? No folks? No great and powerful enchanter either I’d wager?” I punctuated my disappointment by tossing the dice even higher into the air before snatching them back. “That about figures. should have known a drunken yarn when I heard it.”

I realized that the child’s eyes had become transfixed upon the little cubes as if they were equal parts terrifying and tantalizing. With each toss the boy’s eyes would follow the little travelers to their apex and then back down to my waiting palm. With a grin I closed my hand around the dice in a loose fist and rattled them about within before casting them across the soft mossy carpet towards the pillar the boy was hiding behind. “What’s the matter son, aint you never seen dice before? Where you from anyhow?”

[Kially Gaith]

As the dice rose, so did Kiallys’ head, lifting up slowly until they once again fell, his attention glued upon them as they moved effortlessly through the air and then back into the half-orcs almighty hand.
It would be a lie to say he were not lost in the moment and his fixation upon the dice, that he gave no thought to just whom or what he was talking to.

"Zrva Rygreagrvy vfg avpug iba Vuere Fbetr, fvr vfg urehz mjne xrvarf xnaa frura, qnff fvr… vpu avpug jrvß, jnf Fvr… fcerpura, nore qvrfr zrexjüeqvtra Ibeevpughatra…, jnf fvr fvaq?"*
The words he spoke were perfect and flowing much like the pool at his side, and ever still did his gaze fall tightly upon the dice, trying to gather further information on their purpose, as if staring at them would break them down into a frightened discussion of their purpose and why they were here. With them suddenly bounding towards him, bouncing and ricocheting off the soft ground, Kially immediately went pale, flicking one hand out towards where the strange items fell, in hand now crackling a single ball of latent kinetic energy, a creation of air and lightning ready to be thrown at the dice the second they made their first offensive towards him.

Kially was well and truly lost with technology, it both frightened and intrigued him, for what was not of his mothers making was oft a tool for destruction.

* - “My parent is not of your worry, she is around though none can see her...I know not what you speak of...But these strange devices...What are they?”

[Fitz]

To say I was caught a little off guard when the boy started babbling like the brook behind me would be a gross understatement. I suppose I should have seen something like this coming. Little boys don’t tend to wander off into the rainforest and make it very far. At least not before they either run back home to ma, or never make it home again. If the strange language and the mysterious nature of this camber had not begun to raise my doubts about the genuineness of this little fella, the ball of crackling energy he was now directing towards my favorite set of dice sealed the deal.

I tried to remain calm but a certain level of tension broke through my voice “WHOA! Whoa, now boy. Those are my good dice. I thought you’d want a closer look. Toys they’re just toys, you know play things?” What the hell was this kid, and how had he never seen dice before. “Look you roll them. You can just pick them up. Shake them a bit and send them back towards me.” I pantomimed the directions as I spoke.

Fantastic now not only would I be out a couple of day’s worth of hunting, but I’d be out my favorite set of dice when nature boy here zaps them into ash. If I ever see that drunken scribe again he best be running fast and far. That is of course should I ever make it out of here again…

[Kially Gaith]

Kially was about ready to destroy the little things into dust until one of the more simpler words the orc fellow spoke made sense to him. “A toy?” As trusting as ever, the ball began to crackle less and less, leaving only a small ball of whirling air which slowly dissipated into nothingness, though the air in the room would be briefly purer had the male any way of noticing such.

It took both a great deal of bravery and naivety for Kially to reach down towards the dice with the very same hand that had prepared to annihilate them, though with tentativity, his hand slowly fell towards the dice to collect them, stopping and backing away for a moment like he were reaching into fire, before closing his eyes and with a grab of faith he blindly swooped to collect them, this was it, this was where he was going to find out just what they were and how they would be his demise.

In his grasp now, were two of the three dice that his blind collection had obtained him, much to his surprise as he opened his eyes, he did not find they were of any violent nature (at least at first touch) but instead a soft white substance that he could not determine for himself but the more educated eye would define as ivory.

“Soft.” He stated simply as it were the best word in his limited vocabulary that he could use to describe the pair. With little movements of his palm, he allowed the two dice to roll and bounce about where he examined each set of dots imprinted into them, he wasn’t completely uneducated and was soon able to discern the numbers 2, 5 and 3, another roll however brought both dice to show a single eye, one on the dice side facing Kially with the second dice eye on the top side.
These unnerved Kially a little but as if they were looking deep into his soul, he returned the gaze until he was completely sure the items would not hurt him he once again gave attention to Kuldroc, taking note of his actions then replicating them, rolling the dice back towards him which brought Kially a strangely large amount of ease and comfort to have them back out of his possession, only one dice remained on the floor in front of him, staring up at him as if some silent opponent.

[Fitz]

As the fist sized thunderhead slowly fizzled away I released some of the stress which had been building up within through a soft slow breath. I watched the powerful boy delicately play with the dice as if he feared them lashing out at him should he raise their ire. The boy tossed them about a few times and then with a gentle flick of his wrist he sent the two he had been playing with back towards me.

I scooped the two dice up off the mossy carpet before they came to a rest. I was oddly relieved to have them back in my possession, safe and sound. Well at least as safe and sound as I was in this particular instance and the jury was still out on that one. “You like them? These were my first set of dice. They’ve been pretty lucky for me.” Swallowed harder than usual “well at least they had been.”

I looked about the place noticing that the butterflies had slowly begun to fan their wings again. It seemed as though they were being very careful not to make any sound in the process. This among the other bizarre circumstances sent a shiver down my spine. “So then, what language was that earlier? I’m afraid I didn’t understand any of it.”

[Kially Gaith]

With the two dice away from him, there was only his solitary opponent to face. With renewed resolve and a deteriorating fear, Kially finally took the last die up in his hand. Much to his relief he found it in the same manner its’ relatives. The softened cube of bone with rounded corners was more comfortable to handle than a pair of such, this one rolled freely and didn’t conflict with a brother, the single dice moving haphazardly as moment carried it about in his hand, with a finalised self-summary, Kially decided that cubes were not to be his bane, offering it out to be returned to its’ owner.

When Kially relaxed, the butterflies occupying the shrine once again fell into their merriment, fluttering about without purpose nor reason other than to be decorative, some of them fed upon the nectar of flowers growing in the ceiling whilst others would attempt to land upon Kially and the shrines new occupant in a silent ceremony of his acceptance as a safe and none threatening being.

With the question at hand, the correct way to answer such would be in his native tongue and just such he would do, as the common word for his language was not one he knew. “Anghevfpu!”* The wording was as fluent as one could imagine the language of a magical race to be and coming from a small child, it streamed like a spiritual message, a haunting tone of purity.

* - "Naturian!"

[Fitz]

The fluttering of the butterflies about the boy had clearly stirred the pollen in the area causing him to sneeze. “Gesundheit!” I replied wishing the boy health as I leaned forward to retrieve the last of my dice from the timid boy. Taking it gingerly from his hand I returned it to its brothers. “You’re not much of a talker are you boy?”

I rose slowly to my feet and brushed off the moss and dirt from my slacks. It was time I cut my losses and start my way back out of the forest. The sun would be fading away soon and I needed to find a suitable camp site for the night. I decided to try one last time before giving up “I don’t suppose you know anything about the enchanter” I mimicked a spell being cast “ they are supposed to live in these parts” I indicated the ruins around us “Supposed to ‘make light one’s burdens’” I lifted my pack off the ground the demonstrate. I felt a little foolish about it all, but I had to at least give it a shot.

I waited for the child to process what I was saying. Rolling the dice about in my hand one last time I noticed that the chamber had come back to life. The butterflies murmured and flitted about haphazardly once again. Now even some of the colorful critters were exploring me as if I were some great new mountain to climb. Tucking the dice back into a pocket I contemplated one last sip of the spring before heading back towards the entrance.

[Kially Gaith]

“Oh! …Lighter! You mean lighter, yes?” With such, Kially grabbed up a piece of fallen stone from the roof, immediately making it temporarily lighter leaving it at the weight of a feather. Holding out the piece of stone towards the half-orc, Kially gave a proud grin at his little trick, awaiting the fellow to take the stone and examine it for himself.

Of course though, it wouldn’t be long until the temporary enchantment left the item, returning it to the normal weight of the stone, however it shouldn’t be all that overwhelming, especially to a hulking fellow like Kuldroc.

“See! Light!” A little childish giggle announced his success, awaiting the response of Kuldroc and the much expected surprise he’d probably show in the sudden change in the rocks weight.

The butterflies seemed to revel in the child’s laughter, flying round him in rapid circles before finding their own landing spots in little alcoves and vines that securely held the roof up.