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 Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 11:40 am
The old man certainly asked a lot of questions. A good percentage of the people around probably wouldn't have taken so keenly to that. People were private and liked to keep to themselves on certain matters. Plus, asking questions also meant that perhaps the individual was nosey, and depending on who was asking what, well...one just had to be careful. You never knew when you could rub someone the wrong way, especially with all of the hostilities between the different factions. "It was..." Immediately, Alae's thoughts went back to her experience with Claudia. The flower, although appearing to be dainty and delicate, was a bit more cruel than she let on. The Auvinian did well to remember that from the way the plague dug into her as they had made their way to the mall when the two of them went shopping.
"Interesting, to say the least."
Bold, indeed, Wickwright was. It took a brave man to ask about one's faith or spiritual affiliation. A lot of individuals avoided the subject entirely, for fear of going too far and stepping on someone's toes. Not only that, but it seemed like whatever was in the man's hood got a bit uncomfortable at the mention of God. Perhaps it was a bit touchy on the subject? Alae shrugged off the man's strange behavior and then leaned back in her chair before replying a quiet, "Obscuvos. He is saving me." Whether the Glutton God was actually saving the poor woman or not had yet to be seen, but in Alae's mind that was what He was doing by allowing her to become a follower, and there would be no way to convince her otherwise.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:44 pm
"They're interesting things, living plagues," Wickwright affirmed, thinking of the one in his hood. Hopkin was... Not what he had been expecting. More human. Or humanesque, at least. It would have been easier if he had been more like an animal or a possession, Wickwright thought sometimes. He wasn't used to having a thinking thing around, and having some dumb beast under his care would have been closer to his inanimate book still being the same thing it was before it was plagued. More comforting to him, he supposed. Though Hopkin being who he was had some advantages. At the very least, it was nice to have something to talk to that replied back. "I trust that your experience wasn't dangerous though? I hear that some of them spread the accursed disease, although," he eyed her tainted drink, "I doubt you'll have to be too concerned with that anymore, if the rumours are true."
At the mention of Obscuvos, Wickwright mentally cursed. He hated being right. "He's saving plenty of poor souls across Panymium, from what I hear. Some of my good friends, too." A look of regret flashed in his eyes as he remembered the number of Jawbone Men who had shed the Society for the Cult in the panic the plague had brought. "But who can say what is safe anymore? All I count on in these dark days are my good luck and good company when I can find it." He offered her a wan smile. "But perhaps the conversation is too heavy for a merry meeting. Strewth, I'm used to talking too earnestly over lunch, but I hear that it tends to turn the stomachs of others. I am glad to know someone will save you, Miss Greaves."
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:47 pm
Wickwright's words rang out in her head. He was glad that someone would save her, and she was glad for it, too. "I'm glad, as well, Wickwright," she said with a slow nod. After nodding, she ran a hand through her dull strawberry blonde colored hair and then expelled a sigh. "I didn't think anyone would be able to." The God she had believed in before, the God of her parents, He never listened to her. He never helped her in her time of need. There was nothing. Nothing except her loneliness. But then Obscuvos came along and all of that changed. "Now I know there is."
After saying this, Alae found her eyes glancing over to fall upon the clock. The two of them had been talking for a few hours, and eventually it would start to get late. As much as she'd like to continue talking with the old man, she had a long journey ahead of her. It would take her a while (a few weeks, at least), to get back to Auvinus, and her parents were expecting her. Dillydallying and prolonging her stay by chatting with people she had just met in a tavern, well...it just wouldn't do. It was in keeping this in mind that the woman found herself pushing out her chair and standing from her seat.
"As much as I'd like to stay," she said, an apologetic expression flashing across her face. "I should probably get going. My parents are expecting me home, and it's a long way to Auvinus." A long way, indeed, but this trip had been worth it. She would never forget her time spent up there.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:41 pm
Wickwright thought of all the Jawbone Men who left the Society again and stifled a grimace. "It's the little miracles that count in this day and age, for sure," he replied. The Jawbone Society had never believed in salvation, but rather, in truth, which left the responsibility for their actions to fall on their own shoulders. It was upsetting to see how many members of the Society couldn't handle that burden in the trying times of the plague infestation. He expected an outsider woman to need salvation, especially one who seemed to be in straits as dire as Alae. It was more jarring when his fellow Jawbone Men ran to Obscuvos for mercy.
"That is a long trip," he noted, following her out the door. "Do you have a way to get home?" From the look of her, she didn't even have a way to buy food. "I have a wagon if you need a ride, but I have business to finish in the city. A friend to meet with. I only came from Rosstead, though. What could have brought you from Auvinus? I hope I haven't been intruding on your grief, or interrupting your affairs, I have no sense of decorum at times, I'm afraid." He flashed her an apologetic smile.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:53 pm
"I have ways," she told him with a smile, "so I'll be alright."
Alae did have ways of getting back to Auvinus; it was true, but they weren't exactly the best of ways. Her words were only a half truth, but to keep the old man from suspecting anything, she gave him a dismissive wave of her hand to show that she would be alright. Like she did on the way up to Shyregoed, the woman would probably just bum rides off of caravans, sneak into them if she had to, or do whatever she had to in order to get a ride. She would find a way somehow - she always did. Besides, there was no way she was going to let Wickwright go out of his way to help ensure she got home all the way the southern region. It was too much for him to do.
Glass of tainted absinthe in hand, the woman bowed her head to the member of the Jawbone Society in thanks. She had really enjoyed the time they had spent together, the conversation, and the food. He had really done too much for her, and there was no way she'd be able to thank him enough. "It was good to meet you, Wickwright Finch," she began with a soft beam of a smile, "and if I am ever in this region again, as I'm sure I very well may be, I would love to meet and chat with you again." She bowed her head again after saying this, and with that, parted ways with the older man. There would be a caravan off to Auvinus near the edge of town, and she was going to be on it when it left no matter what it took.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:07 pm
"It was a pleasure," Wickwright confirmed, and waved as she left. A few moments passed, and when she was out of earshot, a small voice from his hood commented, "A cultist."
"Yes," Wickwright said, not looking at the source. "A starving cultist."
"Like Dragomir Meschke," it noted again.
"And some former Jawbone Men," Wickwright added.
"Will she be saved?" Hopkin asked, sounding concerned. "You said that Dragomir Meschke could be forgiven, so what of Alae Greaves?"
His Grimm frowned, adjusting his robe. "Being forgiven and being saved are two different things, Hopkin. I can't say if Obscuvos will save her, or even if the Jawbone Society could save her. I don't believe that people are ever saved by some higher force, not even by the Bone itself."
"So who saves Alae Greaves if Obscuvos doesn't and the Bone doesn't?"
"People save themselves, Hopkin. They save themselves and they save each other, even if they attribute it to other forces."
"Will O'Neill save us?"
"Save us or damn us," Wickwright muttered, and went back to the wagon. "Tonight, sleep. Tomorrow we'll tackle that question."
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