A breakthrough! At long last a breakthrough!
My research into Gelmorra... just when I was reaching my wit's end, salvation comes from the most unlikely of places! I must needs calm down, to focus so that I can get things organized, but I'm giddy. Giddy as if drunk upon too much wine. I'm not even sure he knows what he's gifted or how important it is to me. Everything he does seems half a jest at the best of times. But this... Brightest Gods... this.
Breadcrumbs, trails into both Amdapor and Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Long have I suspected that deeper clues might be in the offering there, fragments of knowledge lost to the ages and to creatures best left unspoken of. Places I could never dare to brave, even were I to still have use of my hands and a strong bow. I couldn't. Such dangerous places. Yet, he offers to walk me through them, fearless and blithe as he is with so many things. As if his life matters naught. I should have refused. I should have. By rights and honor, I should have. But Gods, I must needs know. I cannot get this close, so very close to breaking the language barrier, and leave it.
So much to plan for! So much to get! Tools and supplies, food and water. Gods. Gods. I cannot think through the jumble, the excitement, the nervousness. I must needs calm myself. Perhaps a walk is in order.
I finally took it upon myself to purchase an apartment within the Company Estate. Number Forty-four. Numerology suggests that the occupant might be interested in material acquisition, the efficient accomplishment of goals, and managing people most effectively. I can't really say that none of it fits. Material acquisition in the form of books, goals in the form of my research, and managing people -- that last might seem peculiar for a Duskwight like me, but people have grown to trust me; some of them with secrets and fragments of themselves that, perhaps, others might not see.
Like Blake Forester last night... He said himself that he trusted me where he has difficulty trusting and befriending others. I wanted to question him further to ask why he trusted me, to help him understand the quality in me that drew him, so that he might look for it in others. Seiko Murakami heard about my moving in, however, and came for a visit before I could truly delve into Blake's troubles. Perhaps it was for the best, he was already frazzled and confused by others prying into his feelings and his personal affairs. He needed some time to himself, that much was certainly clear.
When Seiko put in an appearance, I expected Blake to vanish. As prickly as he was, I didn't expect him to want other company, but he stayed. Perhaps it was because Seiko is Raen and they shared much similar history. They spoke at some length about their homeland, their pasts, the things that they loved. Memories and experiences to which I had no part and could not begin to understand. An outsider, a stranger in their midst. It was Seiko that coaxed his music from him. I wasn't even aware that he played an instrument, much less that he played one so well. It was a song Seiko knew well.
Were it not for Seiko's preferences and the fact that her heart was already well on its way to being another's, I would have said the two of them would make a smart match. Seiko's gentle brilliance would have been more than enough to temper Blake's cantankerousness. Still, mayhap he will find a friend in his countrywoman and he find a new friend to trust beyond me. It is a small hope I can hold for him.
I'll go to Quarrymill and Buscarron's Druthers in the days ahead to make inquiries as to the hazards that might be found in Amdapor and Tam-Tara. If Ree plans to risk his life to bring me to the very things that might further my research, the least I can do is try to be prepared for it.
There's only one burning question in my mind at this point, exhausted as I am from all the excitement: What on the Gods' great earth does he want a tamed and saddled morbol for? Perhaps it is best not to ask.
My research into Gelmorra... just when I was reaching my wit's end, salvation comes from the most unlikely of places! I must needs calm down, to focus so that I can get things organized, but I'm giddy. Giddy as if drunk upon too much wine. I'm not even sure he knows what he's gifted or how important it is to me. Everything he does seems half a jest at the best of times. But this... Brightest Gods... this.
Breadcrumbs, trails into both Amdapor and Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Long have I suspected that deeper clues might be in the offering there, fragments of knowledge lost to the ages and to creatures best left unspoken of. Places I could never dare to brave, even were I to still have use of my hands and a strong bow. I couldn't. Such dangerous places. Yet, he offers to walk me through them, fearless and blithe as he is with so many things. As if his life matters naught. I should have refused. I should have. By rights and honor, I should have. But Gods, I must needs know. I cannot get this close, so very close to breaking the language barrier, and leave it.
So much to plan for! So much to get! Tools and supplies, food and water. Gods. Gods. I cannot think through the jumble, the excitement, the nervousness. I must needs calm myself. Perhaps a walk is in order.
☼ ☼ ☼
I finally took it upon myself to purchase an apartment within the Company Estate. Number Forty-four. Numerology suggests that the occupant might be interested in material acquisition, the efficient accomplishment of goals, and managing people most effectively. I can't really say that none of it fits. Material acquisition in the form of books, goals in the form of my research, and managing people -- that last might seem peculiar for a Duskwight like me, but people have grown to trust me; some of them with secrets and fragments of themselves that, perhaps, others might not see.
Like Blake Forester last night... He said himself that he trusted me where he has difficulty trusting and befriending others. I wanted to question him further to ask why he trusted me, to help him understand the quality in me that drew him, so that he might look for it in others. Seiko Murakami heard about my moving in, however, and came for a visit before I could truly delve into Blake's troubles. Perhaps it was for the best, he was already frazzled and confused by others prying into his feelings and his personal affairs. He needed some time to himself, that much was certainly clear.
When Seiko put in an appearance, I expected Blake to vanish. As prickly as he was, I didn't expect him to want other company, but he stayed. Perhaps it was because Seiko is Raen and they shared much similar history. They spoke at some length about their homeland, their pasts, the things that they loved. Memories and experiences to which I had no part and could not begin to understand. An outsider, a stranger in their midst. It was Seiko that coaxed his music from him. I wasn't even aware that he played an instrument, much less that he played one so well. It was a song Seiko knew well.
Were it not for Seiko's preferences and the fact that her heart was already well on its way to being another's, I would have said the two of them would make a smart match. Seiko's gentle brilliance would have been more than enough to temper Blake's cantankerousness. Still, mayhap he will find a friend in his countrywoman and he find a new friend to trust beyond me. It is a small hope I can hold for him.
☼ ☼ ☼
I'll go to Quarrymill and Buscarron's Druthers in the days ahead to make inquiries as to the hazards that might be found in Amdapor and Tam-Tara. If Ree plans to risk his life to bring me to the very things that might further my research, the least I can do is try to be prepared for it.
There's only one burning question in my mind at this point, exhausted as I am from all the excitement: What on the Gods' great earth does he want a tamed and saddled morbol for? Perhaps it is best not to ask.