Kobold Plot

Entry tags:

baze malbus,
yrael

Kobold Plot

Yrael comes in from the lake area with leaves in his mussed white hair, patches of mud and the occasional twig clinging to his clothes. His mood is somewhere being annoyed and indignant, with shades of personal affrontedness, even if it only shows in the light of his green eyes and in the way he carries himself across the room to the Bar.

To have unexpectedly regained a close friend and hunting partner thought lost forever, it is a joyous thing.

...To then find your prey drastically, even dangerously reduced in number over the course of a few days, and your preferred hunting grounds full of criss-crossing scent lines stinking the place up with the smell of wet dog of all things, plus then running into a bear trap...

It does not a happy Yrael make.

"All right, who has been poaching the demon rabbits?" he demands of the bar at large. His voice carries quite well, for a tone so flat.

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"Not me," says Teja, who is sitting with legs outstretched by the fireplace, braiding leather thongs. "And if the cats kill those pests, it is hardly poaching. To be precise, one cannot poach them at all, as they are allemands -- commons."

Yrael stalks to the couch nearest Teja's chair, and drops into it. "Held in common among the patrons interesting in culling them, yes, but no cat or patron has so drastically reduced their number in so short a time. If this... theft continues as it is, there will be none left."

"Taking more than one needs of the commons is theft committed against everybody," Teja says. "Theft is a theme lately, it seems. We must mount a watch."

"I was hoping to hunt with Elizabeth this coming full moon, as she has returned after so long," he murmurs. "The remaining rabbits are even more skittish than normal, and staying underground when they can."

He hopes there are enough that their numbers might recover once the poacher has been uncovered and... prevented from continuing.

Yrael peers at Teja. "A theme, though? Have there been other thefts?"

"Indeed," Teja says. "At least, there have been garbled reports; one might assume the thieves are stealing notes, also."

"Fantastic," Yrael mutters, running his hand through his hair and dislodging a couple of tattered, brown leaves. "What does our esteemed Security force intend to do?"

Yrael is Teja's friend, but Teja also knows Yrael's opinions of the Milliways Security force as a whole.

"Swat them when we see them, like so many gnats," Teja says. "They have not, strictly speaking, broken the rules; and there have not, strictly speaking, been any complaints. It is more like an angry hum in the head-room of this place."

"And much of what ordinary patrons-" he says ordinary with a rather irony-heavy tone, "- might do to stop the thief on their own behalf would constitute breaking the rules."

At least, much of what he himself would do would be breaking the rules.

"Must there be official complaints?" Yrael smiles faintly at Teja. "I can complain plenty for all, if need be."

Think the sound of a cat needing but not being given attention at this very moment, who can simultaneously see glimpses of the bottom of their food bowl in a couple of places, and who has been begging all evening to go outside only to find that it's cold and wet and nasty and they want to be let in now, who has heard the sound of a can-opener from the kitchen...

And then make it many times worse.

"I hear you," Teja says, with a small, hidden smile.

He knows the tone of voice. Very well. And he does not need it played out in all its caterwauling glory.

Edited 2018-01-24 16:50 (UTC)

If Yrael felt it necessary, he might ask the forge-cats to join in as backup.

"You hear better than many," Yrael chuckles.

"I do not care much for others' things being stolen, but in this case I would rather the superb hunting in the forest and around the lake to remain superb."

It doesn't affect him until it does actually affect him.

"Whoever the thief is, or thieves are, they have a distinct smell about them. There were too many paths to follow to make any sort of sense, however."

Edited 2018-01-24 17:27 (UTC)

"What do they smell of?"

"Wet, unwashed dogs," Yrael says, wrinkling his nose. "And the gulfside bayous at low tide on a hot day."

"Truly unpleasant," Teja nods. "I have not smelled the bayous of your chosen home, but I know the swamp-lands of the Tiber around Rome, which can be festering."

"Festering is a good word," Yrael agrees. "Soured, stagnant water, organic rot and decay, with the faint tang of salt."

Teja nods.

"I do think I might recognise the stench, should it cross my nose," he says.

"It is quite distinctive, fortunately and unfortunately," Yrael remarks.

Fortunately because it is then easy to notice and potentially follow. Unfortunately because it is so Charter-blasted wretched to smell.

"Fortunately, as a man can smell it, not only a cat," Teja nods.

"Those not actually cats can smell it also, yes," despite his irritation, there is a slight grin there on the not'cat's face.

"What have you been up to lately, my friend? Hopefully the thief has not touched anything of yours."

"Nothing in my forge yet, no," Teja says. "That would be unfortunate, as they might cut themselves upon my blades."

Pause.

"I have been allowing Baze to forge a ritual bow in my forge, twice. He can be civil, by now."

Edited 2018-01-27 20:31 (UTC)

"They would have brought it upon themselves," Yrael remarks.

Like they have brought his ire upon themselves.

"Was he not civil before? I don't know that I have met him yet."

Time in Milliways is an odd thing.

"He tends to be abrasive, and very easily offended," Teja says. "Not a good combination. His friend -- maybe lover -- a blind man named Chirrut, is even worse in that way."

Having forgone his armor, a giant of a man sits at a nearby table, engraving designs into a small, octagonal barrel--the one meant to shoot the plasma bolt--that he forged himself for his lightbow. A sweating pitcher of ice water rests near his left elbow, along with two glasses, one of which is full.

"Why would anyone poach those things?" he says, offering the white stranger an incredulous look.

"Hoi, I'm Baze Malbus. May the Force of others be with you!"

The pale young man with white hair shakes his head, shedding some of the fragments of wet, dead leaves that cling there. "I do not care the why behind it, merely that whoever is doing it stop."

He doesn't even care as to the how, when it comes to stopping the poacher, either!

"Well met, Baze Malbus," he replies, irritation still dripping off him like so much melted snow, though not directed at Baze. "I am Yrael. May... What is the Force of others?"

Curiosity and irritation can co-exist in one person with relative ease, it turns out.

Baze watches the dead leaves fall, and then directs his gaze towards Yrael again. The very pale Yrael. The Yrael with white hair, white skin, white clothes, and white teeth. Hmmm. Didn't Wilford warn Baze about someone like this? Was this the person that ate Wilford alive?

Ahaha. Baze has no idea what to say now. Answering the question is a good start.

"The Force is an energy field that binds and surrounds all things," Baze starts, hoping beyond hope that his nervousness doesn't show up on his face.

"People who are sensitive to it can sense moods, push and pull objects, and manipulate minds. The Force of others is an expression meaning that it's the good will of other people that propels the universe. Now, why are you worried about the demon bunnies being hunted?"

Yrael never at all ate Wilford alive.

He'd been dead for a good ten minutes or more before Yrael ate him, and he only ate the parts Hannibal didn't want. Ripping out a person's throat doesn't count as eating that person alive.

The pale young man listens attentively to Baze, curious but not disbelieving. "Your Force sounds a little like what those in my world call the Charter," he says at last, "though your Force is probably less of a hack job."

The Force probably had a better design team.

"Enlisting the will of others to reach one's goals when one's own will is not enough alone is more the realm of Free Magic sorcery than the Charter, however."

"As to the demon rabbits, I am not worried about them being hunted. I am concerned about them potentially being eradicated. There are but a fraction now of their numbers last week."

Edited 2018-01-25 04:18 (UTC)

Baze would definitely say ripping a throat out with intent to eat someone counts as eating them alive, especially since Yrael bit Wilford's throat out with his teeth. Details, schmetails, right?

"The Charter, huh? The Force isn't magic, though I've heard that its effects are similar to what magic-users in other worlds might do. Does this Charter have a will of its own? What about Free Magic?"

At Yrael's assertion about the demon rabbits, Baze frowns.

"Eradicated? Uh oh. Who would kill them all off? Also, would you like a drink of water?"

The tearing and subsequent loss of blood was absolutely the cause of death, the intent being to cause said death, but the eating did not come until well after the person was a corpse.

Insert Dragon Heart "I chewed but did not swallow" gif here.

"The question of the Charter's will is... complicated," Yrael replies, thinking of his siblings. "Free Magic absolutely depends on willpower, though there is no one unifying will, only the wills of those beings made of it, and those who seek to wield it."

"If I knew who would kill them all off, I would not be so concerned." It would be a simpler thing to stop them, if he knew who was to blame. Yrael drops down onto a nearby chair, still agitated. "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you."

"My order, the Guardians of the Whills, has a saying: All is as the Force wills," Baze says, giving the agitated not'cat a smile.

"The Force isn't always benevolent, but it doea have a will beyond those that would seek to use its power. My order also believes that we are meant to be used by the Force rather than the other way around."

Baze starts etching a flourish into the soft metal of the barrel.

"But, tell me more about this Free Magic and the Charter. What can people do with them?"

Edited 2018-01-27 01:26 (UTC)

Yrael smiles thinly. "Many things, depending on which they seek to use, and for what purpose."

"The Charter is a power that binds all living things together, an ordered, benevolent... magic, yes, that nevertheless underlies every thing and is the reason life flourishes in the Old Kingdom. Charter Mages, those baptized into the Charter, can learn to utilize it to affect the world around them. To bind and protect, to ward and heal, to make their weapons more powerful or strike true despite difficulties, to make great works of magical skill, flying craft that ride the winds, boats that pilot themselves. The Charter is bound to symbols called Marks, which are utilized and combined to achieve the desired effect."

A power given as a blessing, serving all constructive, benevolent things. Creation, as opposed to destruction.

"There is also Free Magic, which is... not an ordered magic at all, nor intrinsically constructive. It can do much the Charter cannot. Where the Charter is ordered, benevolent, bound and arranged into Marks that have set uses and powers... one's ability to affect the world with Free Magic is limited only by the force of one's will. Free Magic is chaotic, corrosive to the Charter and inimical to the order required by living things," he explains, seeking the right way to present it. "It is not evil, merely unrestrained. Free Magic creatures rely upon the power of their will to survive. Those seeking to utilize Free Magic must overcome the will of a Free Magic creature to have access to its power. And then, what they can do is limited only by the power of the creature they control and their imagination."

A power taken by force, built upon sheer strength of will. Destructive by nature rather than constructive.

Edited 2018-01-29 15:42 (UTC)

"So anyone can be baptized into the Charter? You don't have to be born with innate magical ability?" Baze asks, supremely interested. He sets his project aside for now, and folds his hands together.

"Overcoming a Free Magic creature just to make use of their power seems wrong."

"All life in the Old Kingdom is connected to the Charter - they are part of it. The baptism helps make them aware of it, and capable of sensing it, and utilizing it," Yrael replies. "With training, of course."

The pale creature in white tilts his head slightly. "What makes it seem wrong? It is the nature of Free Magic."

"Well, I mean, while that might be the nature of Free Magic, subjugating another's will for your own is slavery, and that's wrong," Baze says, frowning slightly.

"I think this might be something we'll have to agree to disagree on."

"I would not presume to tell anyone the basis of their existence, how they sustain themselves, is wrong. Especially if it not a choice but what they must do to survive. It's a bit like telling someone you'd prefer they starve, rather than make you uncomfortable," Yrael remarks with a slight smile.

"The only power Free Magic creatures can feed on is other Free Magic, subduing and feeding on the power of those weaker than them, or on those who carry it in their blood. You do not consider it wrong to subdue, kill and eat a creature to sustain your life, though you may be made of similar stuff. It is much the same."

"Or is it the lack of death that bothers you?"

"Ah, I didn't know they'd starve," Baze says, picking up his project again.

"So there's nothing non-sentient these creatures of Free Magic can feed on? Well. That's unfortunate. That's the main difference between me and them, but I also have a choice to eat creatures that are non-sentient."

Edited 2018-01-30 02:11 (UTC)

Well, starve... weaken and fade away and lose consciousness, or weaken and then in turn be consumed to fuel some other's will.... close enough.

"Free Magic is Free Magic. It is what it is. Neither good nor bad, just... unrestrained in ways that living things sometimes have difficulty with," Yrael grins, wryly. "You are not the first to think us wrong, Baze Malbus, and you will not be the last."

"Well, I did make a judgment call without having all the information I needed," Baze says, pressing his lips together.

"I'll do better in the future."

It's not an apology, necessarily, because Baze still thinks the basic premise of slavery being wrong is true, but it just doesn't apply here.

"One of the things Milliways does best is putting us in contact with new and different ways of existing, challenging our preconceived notions of right and wrong and good and bad," Yrael says, wryly. "Which causes such difficulties, because it is not easy to get a complete picture after only a few minutes of conversation."

"I could say, for example, that in the Old Kingdom from which I come, one of the primary uses of Free Magic is raising the Dead to walk among the living. It is generally considered abhorrent," he chuckles, "but in Milliways, some of my best friends are Dead. It matters little."

Edited 2018-01-30 03:48 (UTC)

"And," Baze says, his brow creased, "can you tell that I'm dead?"

Yrael smiles. "Oh, absolutely."

One is not bound for thousands of years to serve a bloodline charged with keeping the Dead from walking in Life, without picking up some things.

"But of the Milliways Dead, not the Dead of the Old Kingdom."

So he was just being a jerk. Hmph. Hmph! Baze isn't sure what to do with someone so... "obstinate" isn't the right word, but "jerkish" doesn't fit quite right either.

Hmph.

"So, was there a reason you told me that raising the Dead to walk among the living was considered abhorrent?"

Aside from, you know, being a jerk?

Yrael spreads his hands,

"I was merely illustrating my point. Another example of Milliways putting us in contact with new and different ways of existing, challenging preconceived notions of what is good and bad. 'Free Magic is slavery and therefore wrong' isn't the only conclusion easily jumped to, when one is has only some information beyond one's own perception. 'The Dead should not walk among the living,' would be another."

He was merely giving an example, of course. A pertinent example, to make his point.

Baze sets his project down and raises his hands.

"Obviously I've upset you, to make you give such a pertinent example. I apologize for jumping to conclusions."

Yrael watches him. "Obviously."

"Not a great feeling, being told your existence is wrong, is it?"

Clearly, Baze has missed something. He thinks over Yrael's words, especially the bit about "you are not the first to think us wrong," and comes to the conclusion he should have come to a while ago: this person is a creature of Free Magic.

And a jerk. The two are obviously not mutually exclusive. Wilford was right: this is totally not a person who can take a joke.

Baze bows his head.

"I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Now, if you'll excuse me. May the Force of others be with you."

He stands, scooping up his project and pneumatic graver, and turns to head towards the stairs.

"May the Force of Others be with you, Baze Malbus," Yrael replies equably.

He's just glad his point got through.

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Kobold Plot

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