|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:31 pm
Something had changed.
The plague doctor's room was now papered with diagrams, even more than usual. Unlike before, the diagrams all had one thing in common. They were images of wings - bird wings, bat wings, demon wings, dragon wings, fairy wings, and the most esoteric varieties of flight-giving appendages found in Halloween. The pictures had been carefully copied out of a variety of books, and even now a small, dead fearrow was stretched out on Malodore's work table, its wing carefully taken apart, tiny bones laying in sequence.
On the other end of the work table, Malodore's tiny forge had been set up - the same one that the plague doctor used to pound out its back-blades when they were set awry for some reason. Now, scraps of metal littered the top of the little anvil and the floor around it, all small, thin, and reminiscent both of said back-blades and of feathers.
And now? Malodore waited, pacing a bit, rubbing a small piece of metal between its claws. Luce was curled on her pillow, gnawing leisurely on a bizarrely large knuckle bone; Dolce was on top of a bookshelf, trying to look unconcerned.
All was ready for the next phase.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:41 pm
It was a thing of curiosity for the dragon. Recently he received a call from the plague doctor asking to come on over. Though he tried to see what was going on, Mal didn't delve into the details. Even so, Jericho made his way over to the undead dorms to see what was up. Apparently Riley was coming as well, which pushed his curiosity further. Whatever it was, it had made it seem like it was something a little more serious. At least that was how it was in his mind.
It was a pretty rare occasion for him to stop by the undead dormitories. They were often a little too cool for his liking. Aside from that, he was a bit of a walking fire hazard at times, which most of the residence didn't like at all. In fact, he wasn't even really sure if he had ever been to Mal's room.
Once he was outside the doctor's place, he raised a hand and knocked on the door several times.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:21 am
It was not nearly as unusual for Riley to receive a summons to Malodore's room. As it were, she practically lived there herself. The tone of seriousness in it's voice when it had called, however, had her on alert. The sight of Jericho walking into the dorms before she'd made it there had her suspicions heightened. This was a rare occasion, indeed.
Her steps quickened to try and catch up to the dragon, but she never managed to do so until he was already knocking at the door. She leaned on the wall behind him, and prodded him with her foot as if she'd been there the entire time.
Hey. She greeted him with a casual air, while waiting for the door to open.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:30 am
Footsteps moved purposefully towards the door at the instant Jericho knocked, and not a few seconds after Riley's greeting the door swung open. Malodore nodded solemnly at its guests.
"Benvenuto... thank you for coming so quickly," it said, quietly; its voice was measured, careful, but with a hint of both excitement and worry behind it... somewhat more obvious to the illithid's telepathy. "Please, come in."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:37 am
As he waited for Mal to open up, Jericho felt something poking his leg. Turning around, he smiled to see Riley standing there all of the sudden.
"Hey there," he greeted. Then, hearing the door open, he turned his attention back to Malodore and smiled once more.
"Not a problem Mal. And thanks for having me," he nodded while stepping in. The dragon wanted to ask what this was all about, but he figured he'd learn sooner or later. Upon walking in, he noticed the diagrams all over the place. They looked like various studies of.. wings? Interesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:47 am
Riley followed smoothly into the room, her intent to get to the bottom of the mystery of the day clear as she took in her surroundings with a quick sweep. After the changes had been catalogued, she reached out and nuzzled her face against Malodore's beak in a moment of affection, before folding her arms in front of her.
All right. You've got my curiosity peaked. I warn you, that is a dangerous thing. What, praytell, have you called upon the both of us to discuss today, mia cara?
One thing she had already deduced - it had to do with wings. That was pretty obvious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:28 pm
When the other two entered, Luce got up from her pillow and begged up on them, first on Riley and then on Jericho; she chose to lay down atop one of the dragon's feet, seeking the extra body heat. Yay warm cuddles!
Malodore, for its part, gestured at the room in general in a grandiose fashion... then dropped its arm to its side, drooping slightly. "It is... hard to explain. I am not sure where to begin, truly..."
It gave Riley a helpless look. "Could you...?" it asked, then shoved a series of mental images at her-
A plague doctor, with a sense of greater stature than Malodore, with great metallic wings stretching from its shoulders-
-shift-
-a strange circular room, made of stone, all corners blunted and softened with age; the galleries of austere stone benches around the floor. Plague doctors watching in silence; one figure laid out over a table in the center of the floor as the winged elders surrounded it - not just surrounding it, but doing something to it. Operating on it-
-it was not sedated, not insensate-
-the one on the table stretched its claws forward, grabbing at the air as it cried out in pain, even as those around it lifted metallic spars, driving them into the exposed musculature of the back-
- other than those cries, the room was silent, the air thick with the sense of respect and honor accorded the ritual-
All that it pushed at Riley, desperately. "Fargli vedere, per favore..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:43 pm
Riley stilled, to the point where her breath held in half-gasp, when the images came. They were so vivid, that she hardly expected them - but to have been given this glimpse into the world of the plague doctors - to see their culture at work, in their deepest customs..
It was hard to hold back her excitement.
Malodore wanted her to share the information with Jericho. This was clear. But there was a solid, and stubborn moment, where Riley's foot actually took a step back. Her mind soaked the information in, slitting her eyes dangerously as if to say, 'This is Mine Now.'
The automatic response did not last long.
Her eyes flickered to Jericho as she shared the scene, slowly. Hesitantly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:51 pm
Tilting his head, Jericho was a bit lost for the moment as Mal trailed off with its explanation. However, he had a feeling something was going on mentally as he suddenly felt a bit of excitement for no apparent reason. He stared at Riley, hoping to get some sort of explanation.
Meeting with her eyes, he suddenly received the scenes. It was not something he was expecting in the slightest and it took him a moment to realize this was something from the Plague Doctor culture. It was some sort of ritual it looked, and he took note of the metallic wings one of the other doctors had. Come to think of it, Mal had mentioned something like this when they had gone flying together.
Coming out of the scenes, he shook his head to himself while staring over at Malodore. The dragon had a slight suspicion for all of this; the diagrams and this memory... but he didn't say anything just yet as he awaited for a little extra explanation to confirm what he was thinking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:04 am
Malodore could tell by the shifts in their stances, the looks in their eyes, that both of them had absorbed the information. "Grazie," it said, quietly, then shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "In... in my Casa, the elders are winged. We have a history of modifying ourselves..." One hand reached back, gestured at the metal blades set into its own spine. "Those who ascend in... 'knowledge'-" The word was clipped at the end, spoken with a sarcastic twist. "-and approval of the elders are granted the gift of freedom. The elders give it. But they will not give it to me. And I would not take it from them if they offered."
Its eyes flashed cold behind the lenses.
Then it turned away, ducking its head. "So I wish to... to experiment. I have a small cache of the bloodmetal... the stuff our hands, tails, and wings are made of. A gift from the only one who cared about me at all. But the secrets of manufacture and implantation are not taught to any who are not elders. So." It was turned away entirely now, unable to face them.
"I wish to fashion my own, and damn their wishes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:23 am
Jericho listened carefully to what Malodore had to say. It was a bit of a surprise to him and he had to wonder just what happened between it and its family to have to come to this. Not that he didn't think this was a good idea but it just came off as a bit of a surprise for him.
That aside, he wanted to know a little more of this bloodmetal material it spoke of. That was just his natural dragon instincts sparking at the sound of some new metal he wasn't really knowledgeable in and he found himself staring at Mal's back blades for a moment or so.
"And so that's why you have all these diagrams," he commented while looking around at the plans. The Plague doctor certain had its work cut out for itself. The dragon also now understood a part of the reason why he had been summoned as well. Riley was a bit of a walking database and he had functional wings that could help with the study.
"I'm guessing you need me to help you understand how a wing works and moves?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:33 am
The excitement over being allotted a kernel of desirable information paled in comparison to the excitement of possibly witnessing - and being a part of - the ritual itself. Riley practically bounced to Malodore, grabbing both of it's claws in her hands.
Oh, this is marvelous! A chance to help augment you, AND a slap in the face of those who've hurt you?
If she could grin, she would.
How can we help? The excitement was tangible in her voice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:38 am
Malodore turned again, folding its claws gratefully into Riley's hands, intertwining its fingers with her own. "Grazie - molto grazie," it said, fervently, looking first at Riley and then at Jericho. "Si, my friend, that is what I was hoping - I do not have any experience of flight, of knowing what it is to wield wings. I will not examine you as I do these, of course." It nodded at the dead fearrow on the bench. "But to see how the wings move in flight, to touch the joints and feel how it goes together in life... yes, that would be most helpful to know."
And - for you, of course. You know I wish to have you by my side. Malodore's mental voice curled around Riley; it bore an odd husky quality that its audible voice had lacked, as if the plague doctor were trying not to cry from combined happiness and relief. I will likely need other hands, and those hands cannot waver... who else should I choose?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:07 am
This certainly was something. Grinning to the plague doctor, Jericho glanced back to his own wings for the moment. He realized that for Malodore to study a wing in flight it would probably have to go flying around with him some more. The idea made him slightly uncomfortable... but it was for the sake of research right? And if this went successfully, the doctor would eventually be taking the skies on its own.
Considering those wings were ripped from it in the first place, Jericho decided that it'd be fine if he allowed Mal this in the meantime. Riley would most likely be there as well anyway.
"I'd be happy to help however I can," he grinned, "And I know this is thinking ahead quite a bit, but I'm guessing you'll need to learn how to actually use those wings later on for flight. I've already taught Israfel how to fly and all."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:06 pm
Flight. Riley's expression took on a wry tone. I'm just looking forward to giving you back what those bastards took from you. If I am good for anything in this world, I want to be good for that.
She moved up to stand in front of the workstation, flipping her hands carefully through the designs. I am ready to start when you are. What would you have us do first?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
