Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Hm?”Almadel asked, spinning quickly. He had a paper in his hand but folded it quickly and tucked it into a pocket on his jacket before he waved and offered her a hand to shake. He seemed perpetually animated, tail twitching behind him and smoothing out his suit with his free hand as he did so.

“Ida, yes, hello. You do look familiar, yes. It’s good to see you again. You haven’t been by to visit my museum since you helped save it. Such a shame, I’ve got some new exhibits up.”

He gave the impression of someone with a lot of things on his mind and a busy schedule to keep, but not of someone in any particular desire to make a rapid escape.

He watched the way she changed posture, like she had to hype herself up. It was cute, in that way that humans could be. Almadel squared himself to match, more for fun than purpose.

She was watching him intently and he recognized that she was looking for a tell so instead of giving her one, he smiled.

“I have heard a few rumors. Very strange storytellers, erratic and confusing. I hope you’ve got a bit more clarity to share. The Calamitous Hollow–the fairy tale? Well, I don’t know if that’s the parallel you’d call it in Earth-tongue. The world-eater, though. Yes, I’ve heard of that one. It’s been around for a while, actually, I thought it was following my museum but then it–oh, maybe I shouldn’t say that. I mean, I’ve seen a storm in space that I thought was suspicious, and now that I’m piecing everything together, things are falling into place. You’re not the first to have questions for me, much as I’d like to claim that I’m a genius who knows everything. I’ve just been keeping an eye out for you all. Earth is very special to me, you know. I’d hate to lose it. I’d miss you all too much. I’m sorry, you said you wanted to know what I know about it? Concretely, it’s difficult to get information. I’ve just been reading, there’s half a dozen stories, each in a different language, and they’re all different. If I were a historian, I’d have thought they were all just making it up.”

Almadel laughed, not quite nervously but not with any great comfort. “Those are quite impressive epithets, aren’t they? I can tell you the stories but I don’t think you’ll like to hear them. And I must remind, I’m really not in the war business, you know. I don’t sell weapons. And I’m not much of a fighter. I try to stay away from all that sort of thing. No offense, of course!” He raised both hands in apology. “I want Earth to be safe, I’m very fond of the planet. But I don’t want you to set your expectations too high. I just don’t know what I can do to help you. Do you have anything specific in mind...? Oh, but. The stories. I can do that, at least.”

He took a second to clear his throat and paused for only a few seconds just to make sure she hadn’t changed her mind.

When she didn’t tell him to keep to himself, he said, “The stories really don’t paint a lovely picture. The similarities are, ‘there is a storm, it eats worlds, it disappears’. The differences are how it does so, or what it wants, or why it’s there. ‘It punishes the wicked’ is one, or ‘it is a vengeful god’, or ‘it is the soul of a long-dead star’–I told you, all very fictitious! Sometimes the storms have been seen, and rarely, a great white beast. Some call it a dragon, some call it a lizard, some call it a snake. It is serpentine in all forms. Some say it swims like a fish, some say it rides on lightning, some say it comes out of nowhere. Some say it is a relic of the old universe, some say it isn’t from this one at all. The stories only tell of a destructive force–not how to trap it, not how to kill it. It feels like a myth more than a fact. The stories are all old, more than a thousand years, but it’s so hard to actually date those things. Passed by word of mouth for who knows how long? And yet, in none of them, there never seemed to be a solution for it. But it sounds like someone found one, yes? If it was trapped? So as soon as it wasn’t a problem, they stopped talking about it. It became a forgotten memory. But an accomplishment like this–you’d think someone would want to brag about trapping such a prolific beast? Why the secrecy?”

“Well, I can’t deny that. I’m quite a bit better at traveling than the rest of you. And, be kind to me, sweet Princess! I’ll have you know that I’ve been diligently researching! I spoke with a General not so long ago, he was the first. He’s shared all sorts of strange information with me about this situation. Of course, I’ll do everything I can to help. I’ve said before, I’m very fond of Earth. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and cupped his chin in his hand as if thinking deeply.

“I suppose if someone needs help getting somewhere, I’ll do my best. I’m very good at getting around but I’m really not sure if there’s anything I can do to take you to that beast. That’s a bit outside of my expertise. I’ll look into it, for you. But I’d hate to oversell myself. Best to err on the side of caution. There are some protections even I can’t overcome, and I’d hate to get any of you hurt or put you in danger. Truthfully, I don’t know what safeguards were put in place there, and with the level of secrecy about the place? It wouldn’t surprise me if there were some sort of traps in place to prevent meddling. But aside from that, I like the way you’re thinking about all the rest.

“There’s all sorts of reasons for secrecy. Power, security, fear–with no one from the past to speak for them, we can only speculate. Better safe than sorry with such matters, trust me. If I were them, I think I’d have tried to get rid of it as soon as possible. Send it back to wherever it came from and keep it away. I’d like the same, now. I’d prefer that thing be far away and long gone, well away from me and anywhere I like the visit. So, let’s say, yes. If there’s anywhere you want to visit, if you think it would help, I will spread myself thin for you. But I don’t think I could get near that place so please, try not to rely on me for that. Aren’t the Vanguardians good at that, opening portals? They’ve got all that fancy science and those powerful crystals, yes?”

“If they ask, of course. Or if we cross paths. You may not know this about me, but I’m a bit of a gossip, sweet Princess. Now seems as good a time as any to have loose lips. If I uncover much of anything, I’ll see if I can’t find someone to reach out. But you do the same. You’ve got a card from me, don’t you? If there’s an emergency–and I don’t say this lightly, but I have the distinct impression that I should trust you–but if you find yourself in any sort of great need, you use that to call me. I’ll come, no fee. But that offer expires, it’s an exclusive window. For just as long you’re dealing with this threat.”

He spoke quickly, not as if he were trying to rush through the conversation, but maybe because he just had a lot to say and a small window to do so.

“I’m quite good at charting paths through the stars, so if there’s somewhere you want to go, you let me know. I can get you there. Probably.”

Some limitations apply.

“You’ll show me around Ida some time, won’t you? I haven’t been in quite some time. After this whole mess is over, of course. I’m sure everything will work out on Earth. But just in case, you’ll have to know if you’re interested in having help develop anything. I’ve got been doing a lot of that lately.”