The glamour prism gifted by the ever-strange Qion'a remained tucked away in the nameless miqo'te's pocket for two days. He could feel the low hum of the aether it contained vibrating with every step he took in his wanderings through the Shroud, felt it pressing warmly against his thigh when he sprawled back lazily across a log or a rock or in a pile of leaves. There had been no woman to receive it as a gift, as Megiddo had likely suspected, though the miqo'te had briefly considered just handing it off to the first pretty lady he saw to make a point, but the promise of its aether was too much for him to just let go.
He'd found a small stream a few hours ago, whose meandering path he had been idly following when he began to notice the press of his bones against the muscles in his feet, the pull of tendon in his ankles. He could feel his own blood dragging slowly up his limbs, and when his toes curled into muddy ground, the sensation of his joints overrode the gritty dampness of soil. A short huff of annoyed breath caught against the inside of his mask, warming the narrow space between his skin and the wood, and he dropped down first into a crouch and then just onto his butt in the mud, sticking his feet in the shallow, cold stream water.
Almost on instinct he reached out with a gloved hand towards a patch of springy moss, then pulled it away with a sheepish chuckle. His blank face turned towards the canopy and the small slivers of light that pierced the leaves and cast everything in a strange, shadowed, green hue. "No more trails, right, Old Man. Heh, you don't even have to be here and I can feel your judging." He paused, sat up a littler straighter, and twisted to look around him. The movement made him keenly aware of the shifting of each individual vertebrae and, most disturbingly, how his organs pressed against the confines of his skin. "... Not like you'd give me any warning if you are out there!" He declared to the forest around him before settling back into a more relaxed position in the mud.
The glamour prism thrummed its constant aetherial hum against his thigh, and with an idle hum, the man pulled it from the pocket he'd stashed it in, holding it up over his face. The green-tinted light of the forest reflected strangely off the magical prism. He considered it for a time, considered Megiddo's warning about the aether it could contain, and then just shrugged. "A glamour prism's a glamour prism, and aether is aether," he said to the forest and let out a low laugh as he felt the energy reaching out towards his fingers. "And isn't this better than just taking it from some poor old plants.."
While the aether inside the prism was actually just aether, it had another purpose. There was a red robed figure moving among the canopy, hunched forward, two small wings flapping silently and transporting it across the Shroud. It was as tall as half an arm and its head was out of proportion, about a third of its total size. It had arms, but the tunic was sleeveless. It also had legs, of which only the tip of two tiny claws hung lazily from under the cloth.
The tiny creature was drawn towards Thal's crystal like a moth to a flame. A very special moth who wished for a very specific flame. It perched itself over a branch, its claws cracking the wood as it moved in position with excitement. It looked down to the Miqo'te, and the humming crystallized aether in his hand.
The masked man watched the dim glow of the prism flicker in time to the slow pulsing of aether that left it and was drawn inexorably through the thick fabric of his gloves. The energy that sunk into his fingers was a palpable presence that dispersed through veins and bone and muscle, settling into his flesh in a way that felt natural. He grinned behind the mask at the feeling. "Yup. Just like the real thing!"
Something cracked behind him, and his red ears flicked back towards it, curious. Idle noises of creatures passing weren't exactly a strange thing to hear in the Shroud, though, so it was with a lazy gesture, waving the prism above him in slow, playful arcs, that he leaned back and tilted his head back to peer at the forest behind him upside down.
A fiendish giggle resonated across the trees, coming from the robed creature. It was jumping repeatedly in its branch. It suddenly stopped all sound, leaving its branch to fly above the masked man thrice in a circle before plummeting down towards him. It rose quickly before actually crashing with him, turned completely and resumed its dash, disappearing between the same trees it had come from.
It took a few seconds to process what he was actually looking at, but when the strange, round creature took off above him, every single hair on his body bristled outward. The prism dropped to the ground as a startled but instinctively defensive shout burst from his chest, and he crabwalked back in the mud several fulms before turning and leaping to his feet. By then the creature had fled off between the trees, quickly lost in the dense forest.
The miqo'te stood, knees bent and ready to spring, arms akimbo, tail fluffed out to several times its usual size and lashing furiously behind him. Was that an elemental? But they weren't supposed to be able to sense him, not with the mask-- One hand moved to his face, straightening the wooden mask that covered his features, but his blue eyes didn't stop shifting around him. He bared his teeth behind it and let out a low growl, tail sticking out as centuries old instincts kicked in. Make yourself bigger. Make yourself intimidating. Backing down presents you as prey. He was not prey.
The creature did not come back. Its giggling echoed farther and farther away, sporadically, until it just stopped. It was either too far away to be heard anymore, or maybe something ate it. However, a few moments after that happened, the sounds of steps over the grass and moving branches could be heard, getting closer to Thal. It was accompanied by the faint noise of flapping wings.
The miqo'te's head swung left and right, blue eyes flashing in the dark holes of his mask. His ears stood fully upright and swiveled, listening to the fading sounds of the creature's retreat but also listening to the rest of the forest. There could easily be more where that one came from.
To his right. He spun, teeth bared again, and lifted his arms threateningly.
"Fear not!" said a voice from the woods. The pitch was impossible to not recognize. It was Qion'a, who emerged from behind a tree like a bear who just found a very nice beehive to eat. The tiny creature was following him, only its wings and the grey tips of the feet hinting at its nature. "Did you have a good meal?"
The fur along the miqo'te's ears bristled at the sight of the creature following Qion'a, but just the sight of the Keeper alone was enough to relax his stance significantly.
Until he caught on to the other man's words.
"Uuuhhh what? I've just been relaxing here! Nice... stream and all. Heh." One ear twitched, the impassive face of the mask hiding how his eyes flicked towards the small, winged monster. He forced a laugh, dropping his arms somewhat. "Guess the Shroud is just full of surprises, eh? What's... that?"
"Mm? Oh, that's just Imp. He is, as the name indicates, an imp! What you might not know about him, though, is that he is very young and has long and pointy teeth." Qion'a explained waving a hand that urged the imp to fly up and away from them.
"But you!" he moved his hand, one finger pointing at Thal. He kept walking towards him. "You are something special! You need not to hide yourself from me, for Menphina grants me the greatest mercy. We can discuss your eating habits and I will not judge you!"
The masked miqo'te's ears shifted so that one pointed sideways, the other straight up. He swung his arms at his sides, like pendulums. "That's a... funny thing to talk about, don'tcha think? I mean, unless you're gonna invite someone over for dinner." He laughed at his own words.
"Funny thing: I was!" the other man declared. "My brother has a kingdom. Did I tell you about him? I think I did!"
His feet stopped next to a tree, facing it. He raised a pouch with one hand and, with the other, he slowly plucked pieces of bark out of it.Â
"It is a great kingdom." the sound of his voice continued "You would feel right at home! All of his citizens have the same eating habits as you, and my brother lives to provide them with food and shelter."
Red hair shifted as the masked miqo'te tilted his head to one side. Then he just shrugged. "Nope, haven't heard of it."
"It's a great kingdom!" he repeated. A great chunk of the trunk he was facing was now naked, most of its bark missing and thrown into the small leather bag. "Not as clean as some other places, of course, and the views are nothing to brag about. But it has a purpose! And you, my friend, would fit right in!"
The miqo'te straightened, scratching at his chin beneath his mask and then at the back of his neck. His toes shifted in the mud when he spoke with a nod towards the tree, "Y'know, if ya aren't careful, you're gonna have the Elementals after ya. Or at the least, the Wailers."
Qion'a shaked his head and chuckeld. "The Shroud operates on the concept of balance. You only take if you can give back. And I'm constantly giving back something: love!" The explanation was followed by leaving the tree alone and facing the masked man. He took a few steps towards him as if he intended to go past him. "Love is the most important property, and the Elementals know it. I can take anything, for when I takeit is only to give it!"
Â
He did not go past him. Instead he finished his short stroll at arm's length. "What do you give back to the Shroud after each meal? I bet nothing, as otherwise you would not need a mask. You should consider coming to my brother's kingdom!"
Taking a step back, the masked miqo'te brought up both gloved hands in front of him. "Look, bud, I think you're confused. I mean, not that I blame ya, what with living as a hermit and all. I'd probably get confused every now and then too... Er, I probably do!" He shook his head, hair swinging, ears swiveling.
"The aether from the crystal I gave you was modified to resonate with Imp's own aether. That's why he went psychotic and giggled despite my gentle suggestions to not make any noise. There is no use in denying it." Qion'a replied very casually.
Silence hung between them for several seconds, during which the masked man did not lower his hands, did not move even a hair on his tail. Then, all of a sudden, he swung his arms down and behind him to clasp the back of his head and let loose a belly-shaking laugh, "Aahahaha, alright, alright, ya got me! I'm just playing around. It's not like the Wailers or any of the other people who live here do any different, yea? Hahaha..." He rubbed behind his ears and his tail swung, suddenly reanimated. Then as the laughter died down, he shook his head broadly. "You've got some, uh, strange friends, pal. I think I'll pass."
"Brothers." Qion'a corrected. "And they are not strange! Well, yes, they are. But not in a bad way. And my kingly brother has everything you could need to subsist. No masks or hidding from the Elementals, or the Wailers, needed."
He smiled briefly. "And I wager we could get your elezen friend a right for an embassy, if he wishes to visit you."
"What's that? Visit?" The man's ears twitched and he looked around, then to the canopy. Then he just sighed. "Look friend, I'm happy where I am. So, sorry, you're an awesome guy and I thank you for the gift, and I'll totally visit you in your... uh, shack if ya want, but I'm not all that interested in some kingdom I've never heard of. Took long enough to get settled in here!"
Qion'a tilted his head forward, golden eyes staring at the mask. One of his arms crossed his chest, and his free hand rubbed his chin. "You are not settled. You have no home, no work, and your only friend is someone who likes to hide between the trees."
"Bah, not all homes are stuck in the ground. And... I bring fruits and stuff to Gridania! That counts. I think? Heh." He shook his head. "Wouldn't feel right leavin' this place. Though, uh, I'm sure your... kingdom is nice and all, even if I've never heard of it." The mask remained blank, but he injected a grin into his tone.
"Name three kingdoms to me."
"Why do you live in a falling apart shack if you've got a kingdom, anyway?" He put his hands into fists and rested them on his hips, tilting his head. Then he pondered the Keeper's question a moment before shrugging.
"It's not mine. It's my brother's!" Qion'a explained again, with a broad smile. "You lose nothing by coming with me. You can see it, decide if you'd like to stay, and then either do that or leave. I'll give you my word and swear over Menphina's precious hounds that will be the case!"
"Menphina has... hounds?" He shook himself free of that distraction. "I mean, uh, fine your brother. Wouldn't family share in a kingdom? That sounds like a pretty big, important thing, after all."
"The king is the ultimate authority. Everyone else is only a subject. That's how kingdoms work, and this one is no exception." Qion'a crossed his arms and smiled again. "Now, will you come? There are enough crystals there to feed an army of people like you."
The masked miqo'te dropped his arms with a huff. "Will ya leave me alone about it if I take a peek? No promises though!" Not that he had any intention of staying, but he didn't dislike the guy. It might be fun to see what's out beyond the Shroud anyway, he thought, even if just for an couple hours. It had never really occurred to him to explore beyond the bounds of the forest, mostly because he had yet to see the full reaches of this one place. "A little adventure never hurt anyone I guess."
Still smiling, Qion'a raised one hand with solemnity. "I will leave you to your own designs. I swear it over Menphina's unending mercy!" Then his hands clapped together. This action caused his imp to hover down from hiding, with its tiny wings and feet flapping and swinging around.Â
"Now then! We should go south if we want to reach my brother's nation in any reasonable ammount of time. Do not worry! It is not that far."
"South huh? And not far?" His tone was dubious behind the mask, and he scratched at one ear as he thought through his internal map of the forest - or at least all that he had visited. "... We must have different definitions of far." He moved towards the man then gestured with a shrug. "But lead the way, I guess!"
***
The edge between the Thanalan desert and the Gridanian woods was a rather large marsh, as if both of them had met and fought for the ownership of the place, bleeding and flooding the area with murky waters. The Shroud had won, though, and trees were circling and growing at the edges since times so far back that no man could recall. Qion'a lead the masked man, Thal, across this marsh, with the imp called Imp following them high in the air.Â
The marsh was still in sight when they reached their intended destination. Between the tan cliffs that marked Thanalan's reign, there was a cave, open in rock like a wound. The moonkeeper stopped his march in front of it and gestured to it with both hands. "Not the greatest entrance, is it?"
Shaking out one foot that had taken an unhappy dip in a particularly deep, murky puddle, the masked man peered past Qion'a towards the cave. He let out a rather unimpressed huff. "That's it? Heh, y'sure you wanna go into a cave stinking up like we do now?" He shook one mud covered leg for illustration.
Qion'a waved his hand. This prompted his imp pet to fly into the cave while letting out a strange faint giggle. "This kingdom is not known for its good smells. In fact, I do not believe it is very well known at all." he said. "We can take a moment to rest here if you need it."
"Nah, let's just get this over with. Er." He laughed, rubbed at his head and then immediately pulled his hand away when he realized it had mud sticking to it. His ears twitched. "Lead the way, o' great kingdom not-leader guy!"
Qion'a pulled a decrepit looking branch from between his dirty red clothes. It had a few dried leaves stubbornly attached, still. If the wind decided to blow with enough strength, the whole thing would surely fall apart.
"Do not eat my torch." The makeshift wand was raised and a small, sharp blue glow formed an ilm above it. It quickly grew in size and intensity until it formed an outer irregular shell of magical ice around itself. The light still shone from within, and it was enough to illuminate a fair bit inside the dark cave. He walked in.
"That's not very nice. Why would I... huh." Blue light reflected off his mask and caught the blue of his eyes in the shadows of its holes. He watched Qion'a curiously for several seconds, surprised by the spell, before shaking himself and following. "Things better get a lot more impressive before I even think of considering moving to a place like this." As he stepped into the cavern, he suppressed a shudder in his tail. Not being able to see even a part of the sky didn't feel right.
Qion'a lead the man across twisting corridors, his glowing wand always raised at head level. Most of the tunnels looked natural. Some, however, had been carved with picks and shovels. There didn't seem to be any logic in the turns he took. He probably knew the way from memory.
"The kingdoms of men are always trying to devour each other." he started to ramble. "My mother had no desire to partake in such barbaric traditions, so she kept her kingdom hidden. When my brother took the throne, he reasoned it was still a good idea. You won't see anything impressive along the way, I'm afraid."
The masked man thought that he didn't really know what one should expect a kingdom to look like anyway, but certainly some tunnels in the side of a mountain were not it. Still, he walked along, every so often scratching at the drying mud on his skin and pants that left him itchy. For a bit he tried to keep track of the turns they took, but ultimately just gave it up as a lost cause. "So how many people in your... uh, kingdom then? And, uh," he ducked his head to pass beneath a low, rocky protrusion, "I don't suppose ya got any other light source? Heh."
"There's plenty of people!" was the reply. "And no, I'm sorry. I should have prepared better."
The tunnels they were travelling in had changed indistinguishably from brown rocks and earth into a different kind of brown rock. The walls were chiseled, and they had crossed a pair of pillars at the moment Qion'a answered. Ahead of them, the magical light reflected, creating glints that suggested more and more pillars against the sides of the tunnel. The floor had also changed: at some point it had become more like a tiled road of stone.
Qion'a slowed down so that the other man was walking at his side. "I'd suggest you make a small, or big, reverence once we meet my brother. He might feel insulted otherwise."
"King under the mountain, heh," the masked man mused to himself, chuckling. His tail swung in slow arcs behind him as he looked about, taking in the innumerable stone pillars and stone walls and stone... everything else. All the stone and shadow - he was already missing the mud and greenery of the Shroud. But it couldn't hurt to humor the guy a little longer, at least to meet his brother. Tossing both his hands behind his head in a lazy gesture, he followed Qion'a with rocking steps. "Wouldn't want that! How long did it take to build this place?"
Qion'a hummed in thought. "Hundreds of years, maybe? Though we founded the kingdom on top of it, so I guess the actual answer is no time at all!" he laughed. And his laugh echoed ahead and behind them, leaving the impression that there were at least a few dozen Qion'a laughing in unison inside those tunnels.
He placed one hand in the way, to stop the other from walking further. There were no more pillars ahead of them. Or walls. Not even a floor."Imp! Lower the bridge!" he shouted forward, glaring at the dark chasm ahead of them. There was a moment of silence before he reapeated the command. "Imp! Lower-"
"I kiled your imp." answered his own voice from beyond the darkness.
The masked miqo'te had been peering warily down the impossible drop off when the new voice spoke, and he took several steps back before looking around, ears shifting every which way. "That's not very nice."
"What!" Qion'a protested, throwing his hands to the air. The sudden motion made their shadows dance until he calmed down. "I was showing mercy to him! Then once he was filled with Menphina's love, I would unsummon him, and he would spread it in the Void! To his hateful brethren! You have just unmade months of careful planning! Do you know how long it took me to sew that tiny robe for him, To?"
"I'm your third brother. Li." the voice came again, this time preceded by a sigh. "How you can forget your own brothers' names is beyond me. Who is that man and why did you bring him here?"
Qion'a raised his free hand to take Thal's shoulder, but he found air instead. This made him turn to him. "He's a visitor! An interesting one! He has much in common with your citizens but he has a very special trait." He continued to smile. "Isn't that right?"
The man in question squinted at the shadows. "Isn't what right?" There was a pause and then he forced a chuckle, "Heh, I'm no different than anyone else. Hello over there! This your place? It's a bit dark for my tastes."
Qion'a gestured towards him, pointing with both his free and busy hands, waving the light in front of his mask. "See? He speaks! I didn't even have to tell him what to say first! And I bet you can't guess what he eats!"
There was a long moment of silence before anything else was heard. It was broken by the grinding of rusted gears and the creaking of wood as the bridge was lowered. At the same time, the other side of the chasm light up as shaded figures shambled across it, carrying torches towards the braziers on the edge. The whole room was a big circle, with the chasm not being actually a lethal or even big drop. There was nothing at the bottom but dirt, though.
By the time the bridge touched the side Thal and Qion'a were on, the braziers had been lit, showing that the room and chasm was actually an old amphitheatre, all of its walls littered with doors and arches that, presumably, lead to the rest of the 'kingdom'.Â
Qion'li was standing at the other side, wearing robes similar to those of his brother, except they were blue.Â
"Well." he said. "Come over this side, now."
Scratching at the back of his neck in thought, the masked man rocked back on his heels as the bridge rolled its way towards them. The unidentifiable, plodding creatures earned a wary eye, but when all they did was light the braziers, he dismissed them as likely harmless. Looking up, he could see the curve of the ceiling now, but watching it made him feel the lack of open air even more; it was oppressive.
"Not a talkative guy, is he?" He muttered, leaning towards Qion'a, and followed his words with a low laugh. Then louder and with a broad wave towards the blue-robed Keeper, "Nice to meet ya, Li!" No longer worried about potentially falling to his death, he stepped forward to cross the bridge.
Qion'a followed, his wand still lit. "Good way to greet a king!" he chuckled in amusement. His brother, though, did not share the sentiment. From where he was, the braziers didn't manage to illuminate anything more than his blue robes. There were two faint shimmering golden spots where his eyes were, but nothing else of his face could be seen. His skin was dark enough to emulate actual darkness. He was a void with a robe.
"Tell me who you are, stranger." Qion'li asked.
The masked man paused and curled his toes against the stone, feeling little stray pebbles pushing at the soles of his feet. He glanced back towards Qion'a, then to Qion'li, and then just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Guess that's a thing people do, huh? I'm--" The shadows of the mask hid the way his eyes wandered as he searched for some kind of answer, and for the first time it occurred to him that maybe he really should be giving that issue some more serious thought. But there wasn't anything to be done for it now. "Uh..." Think, man, think! Wracking his brain, he came across the one name that had found his lips - once, mere moments after an ancient Duskwight had pulled him shaken and confused from the ground. The old man had suggested he shouldn't go calling himself that, but what else was there now? "... I'm Thal!" He forced a grin that was completely hidden by the mask, held out one hand as though to shake, realized he was still several fulms from Qion'li, and then dropped his arm with a slight shrug.
"Thal. Like the god." Qion'li stated plainly. "Did I get that right?"
The masked miqo'te's ears twitched. "Er... I guess?"
"Do not let the name fool you!" Qion'a shouted. "I doubt he's the real god. And while the name is entertaining, I didn't bring him to make a non-practical joke. Or...any kind of joke. I can promise you that over Menph-"
"Menphina's rounded bussoms, yes, fine!" completed the other, annoyed. His whole body shook and a frustrated huff came from his throat. "If he /is/ a joke I'm throwing you both down that pit!" he added while he walked towards them.
The masked man gestured with one hand, "Hey now, I'm right here, and I'm no joke! This how you treat guests in your... kingdom place?"
The 'king' stood before Thal. With Qion'a's magical light shining behind them, his features were a lot more obvious. He looked exactly like his brother.
He lifted his hand, a spark of aether forming between his fingertips. He traced a glyph in the air
The glyph illuminated the red-haired man's face, and bright blue flashed in the recesses of the mask as he blinked at the strange glyph. "Whatcha got there?" His ears and tail shifted, undeniably a bit unnerved by Qion'li's attitude. Straightening his posture, the masked miqo'te watched with some curiousity and some caution as the glyph wobbled almost imperceptibly, like ripples in water when colliding with an object.
Qion'li kept his hands in the air, touching the glyph as its shape stirred faintly. He hummed. "The king is interested." he stated, dropping his hand. The glyph quickly faded away without someone to give it shape. "Why do you call yourself 'Thal'?"
The man who had called himself Thal twice now made a face which he was likely very lucky was covered by his mask. Then he laughed, bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, and shrugged, "First thing that came to mind? Why do you call yourself the king?"
"Because...someone took 'sultan' first." he answered after a brief and dry laugh. "You seem intelligent enough to take your own decisions. But still, tell me, what wishes do you have? Are there any thoughts forming a clog in your mind?"
The masked miqo'te leaned back on his heels and twisted his neck towards Qion'a. "Should I be insulted at that?" Then back to Qion'li, "I think I should be insulted at that. So right now I'm thinking: You're not a very polite king." He chuckled, but only briefly.
Qion'a placed one hand on Thal's shoulder. "Oh, it's not personal! He doesn't see many citizens who can actually talk. Much less snark back at him."
The king huffed. "Fine, then! Let me treat you properly." he said, giving them his back and walking back towards the braziers. "Welcome to the Invisible City. Or a piece of it, anyway. We have a population of two hundred. Our main imports are nothing and our main exports are bugger all! And my brother brought you here because you are an interesting case to study. Allegedly, anyway."
"Nu uh, he brought me here cause he wanted me to see his fancy kingdom, and I'm humoring him." The man forced a useless grin and hesitated in following after Qion'li. "Gotta say... Well, the architecture's nice. But I don't think it's my style."
"Yes, well..." Qion'a mumbled."I thought you'd feel some affinity to the place. I guess I was wrong!"
Qion'li continued walking until he was in front of one of the many doors. There was nothing special about the one he was at, besides it being on the center of the stage. "We'll be studying you anyway. I'll give you To's room, since you seem to have an aesthetic sense besides a brain." He said this plainly, as if what he was saying wasn't particularly strange.
The masked man's tail stilled. "What?" He turned to Qion'a after a moment and jabbed one finger at him, "Funny joke. I think I've gone about as long as I can stand without seeing the sun, so let's be going now."
"Ahaha! Yes...! Wait, no. You can't leave. I'm sorry, but this is of utmost importance!" Qion'a smiled and gestured the other way, towards his brother, who was looking at them in a combined state of boredom and curiosity.Â
The king sighed. "Do I need to wager with this man? I guess I will." He coughed once, placed one hand behind him and adopted a regal pose. "The study would at most take a week. It would be of great help and I'm sure I could compensate you. Maybe accomodate you closer to the surface?"
"There's a nice view on the western side. You can see right up to the sky and the horizon. The whole of Thanalan and the Garlean war machinery, even! Maybe." Qion'a added.
Grimacing behind his mask, the miqo'te waved both hands at shoulder height. Though his voice was calm, his tail flicked in short, rapid gestures belying no small amount of edginess, "Eeeeh, sorry, this wasn't really part of my plan." He made to step around Qion'a. As he moved, he cast over his shoulder, "I'm sure you can find someone else! And they probably wouldn't be as picky either."
The red robed man actually moved aside to let him pass. The other, however, spoke up loudly. "Or I could also use your lifeless corpse."
At the threatening words, the masked miqo'te bristled and all but danced around Qion'a in his haste to position himself on the other side of the bridge. His tail puffed out in much the same way it had in the face of the voidsent from before, and though he kept himself retreating in backwards steps, he broadened his stance and arms. In contrast to all this, he forced his voice to stay light - or as much as he could manage, though a tense undercurrent ran through it, "I'm thinking I wouldn't be very good company that way. Besides, I've been in a grave once already. Too boring."
"Interesting choice of words! Aren't you curious as to who raised you? Or who placed you there?" his majesty asked.
"I know who pulled me out," his steps carried him off the bridge finally and onto the broader path they'd entered on, "Aaaand other things are better left unknown, I think!"
"Very well!" exclaimed the king. "Wander around in those tunnels and think about it. I'll send someone for you in a few bells." He opened the door behind him and went through.Â
Still on the bridge, Qion'a smiled at Thal. "Do not worry! Getting out is easy. Just follow the right wall until the sixth turn left, then you just go forward instead and take the right wall again after the third opening. Then you just have to continue forward until you can't anymore! At which point you just follow the left wall to the exit."
Backing up still, the masked miqo'te's ears pressed back and then aggressively forward. "I'll just follow my nose." Then he spun in one step and ran.
Qion'a watched Thal flee from the kingdom into the tunnel. He waited a few instants before turning and heading towards the door his brother had used moments before.Â
"You scared him off!" he said, arms flailing to the saids. "Now I'll have to bring him back. And it will be twice as hard, the next time!"Â
As he vanished inside the door, shaded figures moved across the platforms and the pits. The bridge was raised, and the light from the braziers simply dissapeared along with Qion'a.
He'd found a small stream a few hours ago, whose meandering path he had been idly following when he began to notice the press of his bones against the muscles in his feet, the pull of tendon in his ankles. He could feel his own blood dragging slowly up his limbs, and when his toes curled into muddy ground, the sensation of his joints overrode the gritty dampness of soil. A short huff of annoyed breath caught against the inside of his mask, warming the narrow space between his skin and the wood, and he dropped down first into a crouch and then just onto his butt in the mud, sticking his feet in the shallow, cold stream water.
Almost on instinct he reached out with a gloved hand towards a patch of springy moss, then pulled it away with a sheepish chuckle. His blank face turned towards the canopy and the small slivers of light that pierced the leaves and cast everything in a strange, shadowed, green hue. "No more trails, right, Old Man. Heh, you don't even have to be here and I can feel your judging." He paused, sat up a littler straighter, and twisted to look around him. The movement made him keenly aware of the shifting of each individual vertebrae and, most disturbingly, how his organs pressed against the confines of his skin. "... Not like you'd give me any warning if you are out there!" He declared to the forest around him before settling back into a more relaxed position in the mud.
The glamour prism thrummed its constant aetherial hum against his thigh, and with an idle hum, the man pulled it from the pocket he'd stashed it in, holding it up over his face. The green-tinted light of the forest reflected strangely off the magical prism. He considered it for a time, considered Megiddo's warning about the aether it could contain, and then just shrugged. "A glamour prism's a glamour prism, and aether is aether," he said to the forest and let out a low laugh as he felt the energy reaching out towards his fingers. "And isn't this better than just taking it from some poor old plants.."
While the aether inside the prism was actually just aether, it had another purpose. There was a red robed figure moving among the canopy, hunched forward, two small wings flapping silently and transporting it across the Shroud. It was as tall as half an arm and its head was out of proportion, about a third of its total size. It had arms, but the tunic was sleeveless. It also had legs, of which only the tip of two tiny claws hung lazily from under the cloth.
The tiny creature was drawn towards Thal's crystal like a moth to a flame. A very special moth who wished for a very specific flame. It perched itself over a branch, its claws cracking the wood as it moved in position with excitement. It looked down to the Miqo'te, and the humming crystallized aether in his hand.
The masked man watched the dim glow of the prism flicker in time to the slow pulsing of aether that left it and was drawn inexorably through the thick fabric of his gloves. The energy that sunk into his fingers was a palpable presence that dispersed through veins and bone and muscle, settling into his flesh in a way that felt natural. He grinned behind the mask at the feeling. "Yup. Just like the real thing!"
Something cracked behind him, and his red ears flicked back towards it, curious. Idle noises of creatures passing weren't exactly a strange thing to hear in the Shroud, though, so it was with a lazy gesture, waving the prism above him in slow, playful arcs, that he leaned back and tilted his head back to peer at the forest behind him upside down.
A fiendish giggle resonated across the trees, coming from the robed creature. It was jumping repeatedly in its branch. It suddenly stopped all sound, leaving its branch to fly above the masked man thrice in a circle before plummeting down towards him. It rose quickly before actually crashing with him, turned completely and resumed its dash, disappearing between the same trees it had come from.
It took a few seconds to process what he was actually looking at, but when the strange, round creature took off above him, every single hair on his body bristled outward. The prism dropped to the ground as a startled but instinctively defensive shout burst from his chest, and he crabwalked back in the mud several fulms before turning and leaping to his feet. By then the creature had fled off between the trees, quickly lost in the dense forest.
The miqo'te stood, knees bent and ready to spring, arms akimbo, tail fluffed out to several times its usual size and lashing furiously behind him. Was that an elemental? But they weren't supposed to be able to sense him, not with the mask-- One hand moved to his face, straightening the wooden mask that covered his features, but his blue eyes didn't stop shifting around him. He bared his teeth behind it and let out a low growl, tail sticking out as centuries old instincts kicked in. Make yourself bigger. Make yourself intimidating. Backing down presents you as prey. He was not prey.
The creature did not come back. Its giggling echoed farther and farther away, sporadically, until it just stopped. It was either too far away to be heard anymore, or maybe something ate it. However, a few moments after that happened, the sounds of steps over the grass and moving branches could be heard, getting closer to Thal. It was accompanied by the faint noise of flapping wings.
The miqo'te's head swung left and right, blue eyes flashing in the dark holes of his mask. His ears stood fully upright and swiveled, listening to the fading sounds of the creature's retreat but also listening to the rest of the forest. There could easily be more where that one came from.
To his right. He spun, teeth bared again, and lifted his arms threateningly.
"Fear not!" said a voice from the woods. The pitch was impossible to not recognize. It was Qion'a, who emerged from behind a tree like a bear who just found a very nice beehive to eat. The tiny creature was following him, only its wings and the grey tips of the feet hinting at its nature. "Did you have a good meal?"
The fur along the miqo'te's ears bristled at the sight of the creature following Qion'a, but just the sight of the Keeper alone was enough to relax his stance significantly.
Until he caught on to the other man's words.
"Uuuhhh what? I've just been relaxing here! Nice... stream and all. Heh." One ear twitched, the impassive face of the mask hiding how his eyes flicked towards the small, winged monster. He forced a laugh, dropping his arms somewhat. "Guess the Shroud is just full of surprises, eh? What's... that?"
"Mm? Oh, that's just Imp. He is, as the name indicates, an imp! What you might not know about him, though, is that he is very young and has long and pointy teeth." Qion'a explained waving a hand that urged the imp to fly up and away from them.
"But you!" he moved his hand, one finger pointing at Thal. He kept walking towards him. "You are something special! You need not to hide yourself from me, for Menphina grants me the greatest mercy. We can discuss your eating habits and I will not judge you!"
The masked miqo'te's ears shifted so that one pointed sideways, the other straight up. He swung his arms at his sides, like pendulums. "That's a... funny thing to talk about, don'tcha think? I mean, unless you're gonna invite someone over for dinner." He laughed at his own words.
"Funny thing: I was!" the other man declared. "My brother has a kingdom. Did I tell you about him? I think I did!"
His feet stopped next to a tree, facing it. He raised a pouch with one hand and, with the other, he slowly plucked pieces of bark out of it.Â
"It is a great kingdom." the sound of his voice continued "You would feel right at home! All of his citizens have the same eating habits as you, and my brother lives to provide them with food and shelter."
Red hair shifted as the masked miqo'te tilted his head to one side. Then he just shrugged. "Nope, haven't heard of it."
"It's a great kingdom!" he repeated. A great chunk of the trunk he was facing was now naked, most of its bark missing and thrown into the small leather bag. "Not as clean as some other places, of course, and the views are nothing to brag about. But it has a purpose! And you, my friend, would fit right in!"
The miqo'te straightened, scratching at his chin beneath his mask and then at the back of his neck. His toes shifted in the mud when he spoke with a nod towards the tree, "Y'know, if ya aren't careful, you're gonna have the Elementals after ya. Or at the least, the Wailers."
Qion'a shaked his head and chuckeld. "The Shroud operates on the concept of balance. You only take if you can give back. And I'm constantly giving back something: love!" The explanation was followed by leaving the tree alone and facing the masked man. He took a few steps towards him as if he intended to go past him. "Love is the most important property, and the Elementals know it. I can take anything, for when I takeit is only to give it!"
Â
He did not go past him. Instead he finished his short stroll at arm's length. "What do you give back to the Shroud after each meal? I bet nothing, as otherwise you would not need a mask. You should consider coming to my brother's kingdom!"
Taking a step back, the masked miqo'te brought up both gloved hands in front of him. "Look, bud, I think you're confused. I mean, not that I blame ya, what with living as a hermit and all. I'd probably get confused every now and then too... Er, I probably do!" He shook his head, hair swinging, ears swiveling.
"The aether from the crystal I gave you was modified to resonate with Imp's own aether. That's why he went psychotic and giggled despite my gentle suggestions to not make any noise. There is no use in denying it." Qion'a replied very casually.
Silence hung between them for several seconds, during which the masked man did not lower his hands, did not move even a hair on his tail. Then, all of a sudden, he swung his arms down and behind him to clasp the back of his head and let loose a belly-shaking laugh, "Aahahaha, alright, alright, ya got me! I'm just playing around. It's not like the Wailers or any of the other people who live here do any different, yea? Hahaha..." He rubbed behind his ears and his tail swung, suddenly reanimated. Then as the laughter died down, he shook his head broadly. "You've got some, uh, strange friends, pal. I think I'll pass."
"Brothers." Qion'a corrected. "And they are not strange! Well, yes, they are. But not in a bad way. And my kingly brother has everything you could need to subsist. No masks or hidding from the Elementals, or the Wailers, needed."
He smiled briefly. "And I wager we could get your elezen friend a right for an embassy, if he wishes to visit you."
"What's that? Visit?" The man's ears twitched and he looked around, then to the canopy. Then he just sighed. "Look friend, I'm happy where I am. So, sorry, you're an awesome guy and I thank you for the gift, and I'll totally visit you in your... uh, shack if ya want, but I'm not all that interested in some kingdom I've never heard of. Took long enough to get settled in here!"
Qion'a tilted his head forward, golden eyes staring at the mask. One of his arms crossed his chest, and his free hand rubbed his chin. "You are not settled. You have no home, no work, and your only friend is someone who likes to hide between the trees."
"Bah, not all homes are stuck in the ground. And... I bring fruits and stuff to Gridania! That counts. I think? Heh." He shook his head. "Wouldn't feel right leavin' this place. Though, uh, I'm sure your... kingdom is nice and all, even if I've never heard of it." The mask remained blank, but he injected a grin into his tone.
"Name three kingdoms to me."
"Why do you live in a falling apart shack if you've got a kingdom, anyway?" He put his hands into fists and rested them on his hips, tilting his head. Then he pondered the Keeper's question a moment before shrugging.
"It's not mine. It's my brother's!" Qion'a explained again, with a broad smile. "You lose nothing by coming with me. You can see it, decide if you'd like to stay, and then either do that or leave. I'll give you my word and swear over Menphina's precious hounds that will be the case!"
"Menphina has... hounds?" He shook himself free of that distraction. "I mean, uh, fine your brother. Wouldn't family share in a kingdom? That sounds like a pretty big, important thing, after all."
"The king is the ultimate authority. Everyone else is only a subject. That's how kingdoms work, and this one is no exception." Qion'a crossed his arms and smiled again. "Now, will you come? There are enough crystals there to feed an army of people like you."
The masked miqo'te dropped his arms with a huff. "Will ya leave me alone about it if I take a peek? No promises though!" Not that he had any intention of staying, but he didn't dislike the guy. It might be fun to see what's out beyond the Shroud anyway, he thought, even if just for an couple hours. It had never really occurred to him to explore beyond the bounds of the forest, mostly because he had yet to see the full reaches of this one place. "A little adventure never hurt anyone I guess."
Still smiling, Qion'a raised one hand with solemnity. "I will leave you to your own designs. I swear it over Menphina's unending mercy!" Then his hands clapped together. This action caused his imp to hover down from hiding, with its tiny wings and feet flapping and swinging around.Â
"Now then! We should go south if we want to reach my brother's nation in any reasonable ammount of time. Do not worry! It is not that far."
"South huh? And not far?" His tone was dubious behind the mask, and he scratched at one ear as he thought through his internal map of the forest - or at least all that he had visited. "... We must have different definitions of far." He moved towards the man then gestured with a shrug. "But lead the way, I guess!"
***
The edge between the Thanalan desert and the Gridanian woods was a rather large marsh, as if both of them had met and fought for the ownership of the place, bleeding and flooding the area with murky waters. The Shroud had won, though, and trees were circling and growing at the edges since times so far back that no man could recall. Qion'a lead the masked man, Thal, across this marsh, with the imp called Imp following them high in the air.Â
The marsh was still in sight when they reached their intended destination. Between the tan cliffs that marked Thanalan's reign, there was a cave, open in rock like a wound. The moonkeeper stopped his march in front of it and gestured to it with both hands. "Not the greatest entrance, is it?"
Shaking out one foot that had taken an unhappy dip in a particularly deep, murky puddle, the masked man peered past Qion'a towards the cave. He let out a rather unimpressed huff. "That's it? Heh, y'sure you wanna go into a cave stinking up like we do now?" He shook one mud covered leg for illustration.
Qion'a waved his hand. This prompted his imp pet to fly into the cave while letting out a strange faint giggle. "This kingdom is not known for its good smells. In fact, I do not believe it is very well known at all." he said. "We can take a moment to rest here if you need it."
"Nah, let's just get this over with. Er." He laughed, rubbed at his head and then immediately pulled his hand away when he realized it had mud sticking to it. His ears twitched. "Lead the way, o' great kingdom not-leader guy!"
Qion'a pulled a decrepit looking branch from between his dirty red clothes. It had a few dried leaves stubbornly attached, still. If the wind decided to blow with enough strength, the whole thing would surely fall apart.
"Do not eat my torch." The makeshift wand was raised and a small, sharp blue glow formed an ilm above it. It quickly grew in size and intensity until it formed an outer irregular shell of magical ice around itself. The light still shone from within, and it was enough to illuminate a fair bit inside the dark cave. He walked in.
"That's not very nice. Why would I... huh." Blue light reflected off his mask and caught the blue of his eyes in the shadows of its holes. He watched Qion'a curiously for several seconds, surprised by the spell, before shaking himself and following. "Things better get a lot more impressive before I even think of considering moving to a place like this." As he stepped into the cavern, he suppressed a shudder in his tail. Not being able to see even a part of the sky didn't feel right.
Qion'a lead the man across twisting corridors, his glowing wand always raised at head level. Most of the tunnels looked natural. Some, however, had been carved with picks and shovels. There didn't seem to be any logic in the turns he took. He probably knew the way from memory.
"The kingdoms of men are always trying to devour each other." he started to ramble. "My mother had no desire to partake in such barbaric traditions, so she kept her kingdom hidden. When my brother took the throne, he reasoned it was still a good idea. You won't see anything impressive along the way, I'm afraid."
The masked man thought that he didn't really know what one should expect a kingdom to look like anyway, but certainly some tunnels in the side of a mountain were not it. Still, he walked along, every so often scratching at the drying mud on his skin and pants that left him itchy. For a bit he tried to keep track of the turns they took, but ultimately just gave it up as a lost cause. "So how many people in your... uh, kingdom then? And, uh," he ducked his head to pass beneath a low, rocky protrusion, "I don't suppose ya got any other light source? Heh."
"There's plenty of people!" was the reply. "And no, I'm sorry. I should have prepared better."
The tunnels they were travelling in had changed indistinguishably from brown rocks and earth into a different kind of brown rock. The walls were chiseled, and they had crossed a pair of pillars at the moment Qion'a answered. Ahead of them, the magical light reflected, creating glints that suggested more and more pillars against the sides of the tunnel. The floor had also changed: at some point it had become more like a tiled road of stone.
Qion'a slowed down so that the other man was walking at his side. "I'd suggest you make a small, or big, reverence once we meet my brother. He might feel insulted otherwise."
"King under the mountain, heh," the masked man mused to himself, chuckling. His tail swung in slow arcs behind him as he looked about, taking in the innumerable stone pillars and stone walls and stone... everything else. All the stone and shadow - he was already missing the mud and greenery of the Shroud. But it couldn't hurt to humor the guy a little longer, at least to meet his brother. Tossing both his hands behind his head in a lazy gesture, he followed Qion'a with rocking steps. "Wouldn't want that! How long did it take to build this place?"
Qion'a hummed in thought. "Hundreds of years, maybe? Though we founded the kingdom on top of it, so I guess the actual answer is no time at all!" he laughed. And his laugh echoed ahead and behind them, leaving the impression that there were at least a few dozen Qion'a laughing in unison inside those tunnels.
He placed one hand in the way, to stop the other from walking further. There were no more pillars ahead of them. Or walls. Not even a floor."Imp! Lower the bridge!" he shouted forward, glaring at the dark chasm ahead of them. There was a moment of silence before he reapeated the command. "Imp! Lower-"
"I kiled your imp." answered his own voice from beyond the darkness.
The masked miqo'te had been peering warily down the impossible drop off when the new voice spoke, and he took several steps back before looking around, ears shifting every which way. "That's not very nice."
"What!" Qion'a protested, throwing his hands to the air. The sudden motion made their shadows dance until he calmed down. "I was showing mercy to him! Then once he was filled with Menphina's love, I would unsummon him, and he would spread it in the Void! To his hateful brethren! You have just unmade months of careful planning! Do you know how long it took me to sew that tiny robe for him, To?"
"I'm your third brother. Li." the voice came again, this time preceded by a sigh. "How you can forget your own brothers' names is beyond me. Who is that man and why did you bring him here?"
Qion'a raised his free hand to take Thal's shoulder, but he found air instead. This made him turn to him. "He's a visitor! An interesting one! He has much in common with your citizens but he has a very special trait." He continued to smile. "Isn't that right?"
The man in question squinted at the shadows. "Isn't what right?" There was a pause and then he forced a chuckle, "Heh, I'm no different than anyone else. Hello over there! This your place? It's a bit dark for my tastes."
Qion'a gestured towards him, pointing with both his free and busy hands, waving the light in front of his mask. "See? He speaks! I didn't even have to tell him what to say first! And I bet you can't guess what he eats!"
There was a long moment of silence before anything else was heard. It was broken by the grinding of rusted gears and the creaking of wood as the bridge was lowered. At the same time, the other side of the chasm light up as shaded figures shambled across it, carrying torches towards the braziers on the edge. The whole room was a big circle, with the chasm not being actually a lethal or even big drop. There was nothing at the bottom but dirt, though.
By the time the bridge touched the side Thal and Qion'a were on, the braziers had been lit, showing that the room and chasm was actually an old amphitheatre, all of its walls littered with doors and arches that, presumably, lead to the rest of the 'kingdom'.Â
Qion'li was standing at the other side, wearing robes similar to those of his brother, except they were blue.Â
"Well." he said. "Come over this side, now."
Scratching at the back of his neck in thought, the masked man rocked back on his heels as the bridge rolled its way towards them. The unidentifiable, plodding creatures earned a wary eye, but when all they did was light the braziers, he dismissed them as likely harmless. Looking up, he could see the curve of the ceiling now, but watching it made him feel the lack of open air even more; it was oppressive.
"Not a talkative guy, is he?" He muttered, leaning towards Qion'a, and followed his words with a low laugh. Then louder and with a broad wave towards the blue-robed Keeper, "Nice to meet ya, Li!" No longer worried about potentially falling to his death, he stepped forward to cross the bridge.
Qion'a followed, his wand still lit. "Good way to greet a king!" he chuckled in amusement. His brother, though, did not share the sentiment. From where he was, the braziers didn't manage to illuminate anything more than his blue robes. There were two faint shimmering golden spots where his eyes were, but nothing else of his face could be seen. His skin was dark enough to emulate actual darkness. He was a void with a robe.
"Tell me who you are, stranger." Qion'li asked.
The masked man paused and curled his toes against the stone, feeling little stray pebbles pushing at the soles of his feet. He glanced back towards Qion'a, then to Qion'li, and then just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Guess that's a thing people do, huh? I'm--" The shadows of the mask hid the way his eyes wandered as he searched for some kind of answer, and for the first time it occurred to him that maybe he really should be giving that issue some more serious thought. But there wasn't anything to be done for it now. "Uh..." Think, man, think! Wracking his brain, he came across the one name that had found his lips - once, mere moments after an ancient Duskwight had pulled him shaken and confused from the ground. The old man had suggested he shouldn't go calling himself that, but what else was there now? "... I'm Thal!" He forced a grin that was completely hidden by the mask, held out one hand as though to shake, realized he was still several fulms from Qion'li, and then dropped his arm with a slight shrug.
"Thal. Like the god." Qion'li stated plainly. "Did I get that right?"
The masked miqo'te's ears twitched. "Er... I guess?"
"Do not let the name fool you!" Qion'a shouted. "I doubt he's the real god. And while the name is entertaining, I didn't bring him to make a non-practical joke. Or...any kind of joke. I can promise you that over Menph-"
"Menphina's rounded bussoms, yes, fine!" completed the other, annoyed. His whole body shook and a frustrated huff came from his throat. "If he /is/ a joke I'm throwing you both down that pit!" he added while he walked towards them.
The masked man gestured with one hand, "Hey now, I'm right here, and I'm no joke! This how you treat guests in your... kingdom place?"
The 'king' stood before Thal. With Qion'a's magical light shining behind them, his features were a lot more obvious. He looked exactly like his brother.
He lifted his hand, a spark of aether forming between his fingertips. He traced a glyph in the air
The glyph illuminated the red-haired man's face, and bright blue flashed in the recesses of the mask as he blinked at the strange glyph. "Whatcha got there?" His ears and tail shifted, undeniably a bit unnerved by Qion'li's attitude. Straightening his posture, the masked miqo'te watched with some curiousity and some caution as the glyph wobbled almost imperceptibly, like ripples in water when colliding with an object.
Qion'li kept his hands in the air, touching the glyph as its shape stirred faintly. He hummed. "The king is interested." he stated, dropping his hand. The glyph quickly faded away without someone to give it shape. "Why do you call yourself 'Thal'?"
The man who had called himself Thal twice now made a face which he was likely very lucky was covered by his mask. Then he laughed, bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, and shrugged, "First thing that came to mind? Why do you call yourself the king?"
"Because...someone took 'sultan' first." he answered after a brief and dry laugh. "You seem intelligent enough to take your own decisions. But still, tell me, what wishes do you have? Are there any thoughts forming a clog in your mind?"
The masked miqo'te leaned back on his heels and twisted his neck towards Qion'a. "Should I be insulted at that?" Then back to Qion'li, "I think I should be insulted at that. So right now I'm thinking: You're not a very polite king." He chuckled, but only briefly.
Qion'a placed one hand on Thal's shoulder. "Oh, it's not personal! He doesn't see many citizens who can actually talk. Much less snark back at him."
The king huffed. "Fine, then! Let me treat you properly." he said, giving them his back and walking back towards the braziers. "Welcome to the Invisible City. Or a piece of it, anyway. We have a population of two hundred. Our main imports are nothing and our main exports are bugger all! And my brother brought you here because you are an interesting case to study. Allegedly, anyway."
"Nu uh, he brought me here cause he wanted me to see his fancy kingdom, and I'm humoring him." The man forced a useless grin and hesitated in following after Qion'li. "Gotta say... Well, the architecture's nice. But I don't think it's my style."
"Yes, well..." Qion'a mumbled."I thought you'd feel some affinity to the place. I guess I was wrong!"
Qion'li continued walking until he was in front of one of the many doors. There was nothing special about the one he was at, besides it being on the center of the stage. "We'll be studying you anyway. I'll give you To's room, since you seem to have an aesthetic sense besides a brain." He said this plainly, as if what he was saying wasn't particularly strange.
The masked man's tail stilled. "What?" He turned to Qion'a after a moment and jabbed one finger at him, "Funny joke. I think I've gone about as long as I can stand without seeing the sun, so let's be going now."
"Ahaha! Yes...! Wait, no. You can't leave. I'm sorry, but this is of utmost importance!" Qion'a smiled and gestured the other way, towards his brother, who was looking at them in a combined state of boredom and curiosity.Â
The king sighed. "Do I need to wager with this man? I guess I will." He coughed once, placed one hand behind him and adopted a regal pose. "The study would at most take a week. It would be of great help and I'm sure I could compensate you. Maybe accomodate you closer to the surface?"
"There's a nice view on the western side. You can see right up to the sky and the horizon. The whole of Thanalan and the Garlean war machinery, even! Maybe." Qion'a added.
Grimacing behind his mask, the miqo'te waved both hands at shoulder height. Though his voice was calm, his tail flicked in short, rapid gestures belying no small amount of edginess, "Eeeeh, sorry, this wasn't really part of my plan." He made to step around Qion'a. As he moved, he cast over his shoulder, "I'm sure you can find someone else! And they probably wouldn't be as picky either."
The red robed man actually moved aside to let him pass. The other, however, spoke up loudly. "Or I could also use your lifeless corpse."
At the threatening words, the masked miqo'te bristled and all but danced around Qion'a in his haste to position himself on the other side of the bridge. His tail puffed out in much the same way it had in the face of the voidsent from before, and though he kept himself retreating in backwards steps, he broadened his stance and arms. In contrast to all this, he forced his voice to stay light - or as much as he could manage, though a tense undercurrent ran through it, "I'm thinking I wouldn't be very good company that way. Besides, I've been in a grave once already. Too boring."
"Interesting choice of words! Aren't you curious as to who raised you? Or who placed you there?" his majesty asked.
"I know who pulled me out," his steps carried him off the bridge finally and onto the broader path they'd entered on, "Aaaand other things are better left unknown, I think!"
"Very well!" exclaimed the king. "Wander around in those tunnels and think about it. I'll send someone for you in a few bells." He opened the door behind him and went through.Â
Still on the bridge, Qion'a smiled at Thal. "Do not worry! Getting out is easy. Just follow the right wall until the sixth turn left, then you just go forward instead and take the right wall again after the third opening. Then you just have to continue forward until you can't anymore! At which point you just follow the left wall to the exit."
Backing up still, the masked miqo'te's ears pressed back and then aggressively forward. "I'll just follow my nose." Then he spun in one step and ran.
Qion'a watched Thal flee from the kingdom into the tunnel. He waited a few instants before turning and heading towards the door his brother had used moments before.Â
"You scared him off!" he said, arms flailing to the saids. "Now I'll have to bring him back. And it will be twice as hard, the next time!"Â
As he vanished inside the door, shaded figures moved across the platforms and the pits. The bridge was raised, and the light from the braziers simply dissapeared along with Qion'a.
![[Image: AntiThalSig.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/AntiThalSig.png)
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
