THE CRYPTS | LATE EVENING, BEFORE MIDNIGHT
“Oh—I—thankyou.” The Hessean tripped over her words, approaching the other student and slipping her arms into his coat sleeves. It was warm from his own body heat, and a touch bigger than hers, the ends of the sleeves long enough that only the tips of her fingers stuck out. Tugging it around herself, Lilanee couldn’t help but breathe in the gentle pleasant scents of incense and chan. It smelt like Ezre, the thought sending a curious warmth through her with a wave of goosebumps.
Merely a reaction to the extra layers and change in temperature. Yes. Precisely it.
Deflecting the awkwardness with her false shock at his sarcasm and a gentle slap on the arm for good measure, the red haired Hessean followed as they moved on to the stunning ancient stone and gold worked ‘garden’. She dismissed his commentary about the dead leaving their graves in a perfunctory way, and it was not at all unnoticed when he replied in turn with what she took as mild offence. The teenager held her lantern, a hand drifting to her lip to press the curve of it between her teeth with a frown.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—I have a habit of speaking before thinking.” Lilanee said apologetically, disappointed she’d caused his smile to disappear. It was a nice smile, made all the more nice in its rarity. Standing on the threshold of the entrance, the budding archeologist felt an unpleasant sensation in her stomach and her field hummed with regret. She’d been rude, and she’d made him angry.
Damn your mouth!
Ezre approached, and he offered up one quick short smile, but Lilanee still felt keenly her mistake. Falling in beside the boy as they began down the staircase, the red head held the lantern high to shed light on the steps, head tucked in under the collar of the jackets. Silence followed them down, right to the point where the stairs opened up to the antechamber, and Lilanee broke away from Ezre to approach the alcoves of books. She ran her fingers over them slowly, reading the spines and tsking quietly at the religious texts. Anaxi were so superstitious, with all their prayers and songs that accompanied the progression of death. Hesse had an understanding that Ophur was their God, but there was no worship of the being. Gold was his representation, the plentiful metal abundant in their country and heavily mined, but the galdori of the region didn’t pray to Gold or Gods. They worked, and they listened to the nature around them, the play of the wind in the trees or the smell of rain over the next outcrop. The Gods didn’t participate in the death of a Hessean, they were made by the natural world and they would die by it, entombed in the handiwork of friends and family and the gold of the country. Consumption of the ashes and the drake venom was less of a superstitious ritual and more of a physical enhancement to the warrior race of people.
“Fascinating.” She muttered, moving away to sweep her blue gaze across the mosaic on the floor, walking around the concentric pattern slowly before looking up at the paintings encompassing the walls. Lantern high, Lilanee smiled in wonder at the beauty of the deceptions and the placement of them. There was a story here, written before their time, though what it was saying was hard to say without the full context. As Ezre spoke, the Hessean turned to face him, nodding in agreeance and pointing to the Alioe artwork.
“Absolutely, and here Alioe is the top of the clock, so to speak. Her imagery points up to the surface, towards the moon I suppose and the light. The way out, as it were. And Naulas, the way…in?” She shivered suddenly, feeling the cold even through the layers of clothing, moving closer to Ezre and holding the light for him. Looking at the new map presented, her shame over the slight oversight before dissipated as they scanned the drawing together.
“What could possibly be so precious that they would remove it from student access?” Lilanee mused, imagining fragile books and scrolls that crumbled just from a brush of air—
The Hessean lifted her head sharply, brow drawn and blue eyes scanning the room through her glasses. A breeze had brushed the soft downy curls at the nape of her neck, a draft maybe in the very still very stale air so far under the Church. Touching her fingertips lightly to her neck before adjusting her glasses and following the Hoxian towards the arched doorway.
“Ahha!” Lilanee announced in victory, unable to stop the wide grin that broke out on her face as she pointed at the locked gate and raised her eyebrows.
“Solid, tangible barrier.” She said delightfully, heart skipping a beat when the mischievous smirk returned to his face, pleased that her arrogance hadn’t driven a rift between them already. She could feel the heated buzzing of his field, full of excitement that the Hoxian seemed so perfectly able to contain, and it was contagious. Lilanee giggled her enthusiasm at the discovery, watching the other student tug at the barrier to no avail. Her eyes drifted to the picks in his hand with a false gasp of shock.
“Mister Vks, I would never have thought you to be the lock-picking type, though I can say my father would love you right now were he here.” Raising a finger in the air, the student spoke with an air of determination.
“A man can never be over prepared for an expedition, Lilanee my girl!” The teenager grinned, lowering her hand and coming closer to the gate. She reached forward, resting a hand on the lock and gathering her field, a look of contemplation on her face.
“I am not a man of course—” Turning her palm slightly, fingers bent and the tips placed strategically around the exterior of the key hole. Her voice was quiet, a stark contrast to her usual noise, speaking a breath of quick monite that politely requested the mona to weave themselves into a tight unseen point of magnetism within the centre of the lock. Spreading her fingers slowly, the spell continuing, Lilanee turned her hand slowly anti-clockwise before sharply shutting her hand in a fist with a short syllable.
SidekickBOTToday at 21:48
@Raksha: `1d6` = (6) = 6
There was an audible rusty click as the old mechanism inside turned with protest and the lock snapped open, causing the Hessean to smile brightly at the Hoxian.
“But I do come prepared.” It was showing off, the young woman knew that given they could have easily done without the magic but frankly, she enjoyed herself.
“Shall we?” She asked with a small flourish of her hand, lantern casting its orange glow into the stony darkness beyond the bars.