AIM Session
MessengerofPuck (10:39:31 AM): A short while after leaving the babes in Beatz's (hopefully) capable hands, Kiv and Pales found themselves back at the monstrous building called Purgatory. Very little seemed to have changed since they'd left it for the Wand Shoppe, but for one very distinct fact; the curious smell that had drawn Kiv there in the first place was growing stronger and, somehow, even stranger.
"Bah!" The shaman wasted no time in complaining. "It's worse. We should've investigated immediately."
Pale Blue Elf (10:45:33 AM): Pales sucked in his breath and almost seemed as if he was going to retort but nothing came forth. He felt that he shouldn't list the benefits healthy non-maimed babies that have likely had a good portion of mental scarring on each of their souls already. They didn't need to add physical scars to the list of problems. That was just his opinion, of course, and likely didn't count for much in the shamans books.
He looked around placing his hands on his hips, his single eye darting about uneasily. The atmosphere did seem worse, it felt almost tangible. Unlike his companion he was glad that they had chosen to leave the infants at the wand shoppe. Pales looked at Kiv and parted his lips, "Got a plan? What shall we do?" She was the one so keen on inspecting the place, so obviously she had to have a plan.
MessengerofPuck (11:18:50 AM): The feral woman shrugged. "I say we go in, and we search out the source," Kiv answered matter-of-factly; but, even in saying so, she seemed reluctant to actually just head inside. The hair on the back of her neck was rising, and it was all she could do to keep from covering her nose at the scent. She could tell enough of it to know there was something very unnatural about the aroma, but more than that... she'd just have to see with her own eyes. Which just required... actually... going inside.
... Any time now. Yup.
Pale Blue Elf (11:22:16 AM): The man side-glanced at Kiv as they stood there and he waited. He shifted his position restlessly then waited some more and then suddenly without warning he began to stride forward, his posture straight and business-like. Pales was either very, very brave or extremely stupid. Obviously he felt something was incredibly wrong but something needed to be done, even if it meant he had to lead the charge.
There was a small pause as he flicked a gaze back at Kiv before he continued forward it wasn't a glance of challenge or anything, but a curious look to see if she was going to follow suit or not.
MessengerofPuck (11:50:45 AM): Well, Kiv was contented enough by that- or at the very least, she couldn't be left hanging back with her proverbial tail between her legs. Closing her eyes for a fleeting moment behind her mask, she gathered herself together and cautiously followed after Pales, secretly grateful for his initiative (but not that she'd ever admit that!).
Passing through the gates was no difficulty- they were wide open, welcoming to guests. A small path led straight up to the doors of what looked like the primary building, a storefront with huge windows of tinted glass. Brief, amorphous shapes could be made through the dark panes, but it was difficult to say exactly what they described.
Pale Blue Elf (11:59:43 AM): Pales strode his way up to the door ignoring the ominous shapes, because it was likely he'd have lost his nerve if he had done so. It was a wise move from someone that seemed oblivious to all around him. A single hand stretched out toward the door moving to open it but first he glanced at Kiv as if seeking permission or a signal to go ahead when she felt ready.
He didn't speak and even if he would have said something it would have been pointless something about the situation commanded silence for now at least on his end. Pales had nothing to say at this point.
MessengerofPuck (12:09:31 PM): Approaching the door, Kiv drew herself up straighter- not so much an expression of growing confidence, as simply a determination to present herself without weakness. The shapes didn't pass her attention unnoticed, either, but so long as they didn't seem moving, she refused to be cowed by them. "Let's, then," she spoke aloud, indicating the door with a small tilt of her chin. Far past time to get in and get on with this....
Pale Blue Elf (12:14:42 PM): The man nodded and pulled the door open, sending out a rush of coolish air at them from the force of the swing. There was a light soft 'swish' sound instead of the 'creak' sound one might expect from a creepy place like this. It either made it easier to sneak in or it just was to unnerve people more when they didn't get what was expected. The inside looked dark and hard to see, either way he stepped forward a single hand holding the door open after him so as not to have the door close in Kiv's face.
This could turn into a huge mistake...
MessengerofPuck (12:20:03 PM): With the opening of the door, all new scents swept over the pair, startling ones- at least, startling to Kiv, who was baffled by their sheer normalcy. Of course, what was normalcy to her might have been something else to Pales, who could have been somewhat more surprised to find what it was that had been making those shapes in the windows.
In every corner, on every surface, and lined up to maximize the use of every bit of space in this room stood tall, flourishing foliage. Dozens of pots taking up the bulk of the room here, each one sporting a plant of varying description. The room was impeccably clean, without a stray spatter of dirt anywhere on the white linoleum floor.
"......... Good taste," Kiv commented at last, following Pales inside.
Pale Blue Elf (12:24:05 PM): He nodded a bit as he gazed about for a moment almost half expecting the plants to jump at them and attempt to devour them. It seemed almost as if they had blown this out of proportion. Pales felt a bit silly, and for some reason Kiv always managed to get him to react in oddly paranoid ways, but then again considering the world and everything in it ... It was probably wise to be a little paranoid.
"Indeed," he said finally stepping in a bit more, "Perhaps this is a shop that sells plants and things..." Pales said thoughtfully beginning to relax a little. "An odd name for a plant shop though," the man said with a touch of uncertainty to his voice.
MessengerofPuck (12:36:04 PM): "... Vanaja would like it here," Kiv commented, poking around the displayed greenery. She liked it here too, really- or at least, she liked this room. The smell of fresh life was almost enough to suppress the unpleasant reek that had been their interest, but the underlaying scent was still there. Since there was no one in immediate sight in this room (although from the layout, it seemed like there should have been a clerk- Pales was likely right, this seemed like a plant shop of some sort), Kiv simply continued onward toward a door in the back, fumbling with the doorknob herself before continuing through a small and deserted hallway.
Pale Blue Elf (12:47:26 PM): "Seems like she would," he agreed thoughtfully as he looked at some of the plant life. When Kiv began to move toward the back he idly followed after her not wishing for her to face a threat all on her own. Pales shoved his hands into his pockets as he went after her into the hallway.
He glanced about the deserted hallway thoughtfully. Now this is what he was expecting to find when he opened the door. Something along this line with shadows darting along the wall that you can't quite catch sight of. Though this hallway, at the moment, lacked the darting shadows but it seemed more satisfactory for all the tension and unease he felt.
MessengerofPuck (12:55:12 PM): There were a number of doors along the hallway, but as Kiv passed each one, she couldn't single them out as being of any use- so she simply continued to the end of the hall and pushed through the door there. Simply through that one door, the architecture abruptly shifted from the practical build of the storefront to a larger, somewhat more resplendent entryway. The tiling here was a white granite, and the ceiling was vaulted, well-lit from overhead sources. Here, too, a number of plants were standing- but they seemed somehow different from the ones in the first room. Most notably, the uniform greenery had turned to more of a multitudery; the plants here had leaves of all imaginable colors, and not only in the dull hues typical to nature, but in vibrant and confusing hues. The scent they let off, Kiv was very aware, was far different from the ones in the first room as well; it wasn't the scent that they were following, quite, but it was of a similar kin, a reek that wasn't quite real as it should be.
Pale Blue Elf (1:07:23 PM): To say he was dazzled by what he saw would have been an understatement. He stood a step or two behind Kiv looking around and before he could stop himself there was a soft utterance of the word, "Wow," whispering past his lips before it could be stopped. A hand went up to his lips, shocked at himself.
Somewhere deep inside him something quivered with fear. It was almost like a separate awareness within and he seemed for a moment perplexed before shrugging it off as his mate wondering where he was and being worrisome as usual. Pales himself didn't feel fear but he did feel unease as he glanced about.
"Wonder where the people are." He said under his breath toward Kiv, hoping she'd be the only one to hear.
MessengerofPuck (1:24:52 PM): The shaman nodded her silent agreement, frowning at the odd plants. There was some clear magic at work here (or technology, of course, but it was all magic to Kiv). How different were these plants from usual, besides just their appearances? She was itching to try and steal a few leaves, to see what she could divine in the comfort of her own home, but she knew better.
"I've seen this sort of sorcery... I think," she ventured to say at last, taking a long look around the room. A large door was set atop a small staircase, and a few more besides on a balcony there, but no sign of a sentient creature in sight... Was there anyone even in this building, besides themselves? "Plants are trusting things that will soak anything through their roots, and there are ways to twist that nature with spellwork to different ends. But a collection of this size would take a great number of hands to keep from deteriorating, never mind to flourish...."
Finding someone was now far more important to Kiv's mind than keeping unseen. Speaking in a far louder voice now, she stated- "We should just keep looking." She looked about, as though hopeful the louder sound would draw someone out to meet them. She was to be disappointed, however, and simply gestured with a shrug to Pales that they ought to keep looking.
Pale Blue Elf (1:45:13 PM): The man, naturally, listened to what the Shaman had to say since she seemed rather well versed in this sort of thing. "Indeed? I have never seen this myself not that means a lot, since I kept busy and usually close to home by my family," Indeed his horizons were not all that broad, but he wasn't completely innocent of the world around him and the things that went on.
Pales ventured forward a little past aiming to get deeper into the room, and perhaps wander toward the stairs which lead to that door, "Maybe behind there...?" The one eyed man ventured curiously. "It is possible someone is in whatever room that is and just choosing to hide or just not pay any heed to us," he said thoughtfully.
MessengerofPuck (1:47:21 PM): "Perhaps likely," Kiv agreed, still seeming disgruntled that her will had not somehow manifested itself on the universe and summoned whoever was caretaker of the gardens. Walking a careful line to keep herself distant from the plants, Kiv followed after, eying the door at the top of the stairs. There did seem to be that scent again, growing stronger nearer to that door. "... Perhaps very likely," she amended.
Pale Blue Elf (1:53:03 PM): Pales gave a short brisk nod at the amendment as he moved forward, not being hindered, and went up the stairs, attempting to look determined and yet friendly just in case it was a bad idea to come in completely threatening toward whatever that were hiding behind the door. Knowing his luck it'll be some large omnipotent kitten that can quash them with a thought.
At the top of the steps and he placed a hand against one side of the door and gave a push hoping it is a door that pushes open instead of having to be pulled open, it'd make life a lot easier.
MessengerofPuck (1:56:04 PM): Pah, like anything could be easy. Waiting behind him, Kiv watching his fruitless attempt to push it open with instant concern. "Is it broken?" The shaman questioned, the growl in her voice completely unrelated to Pales' failure to immediately open the door. The smell was very strong here, and it was making her anxious just to be around- to such a point that she began resorting to breathing through her mouth, a rare and uncomfortable action for her to take.
Pale Blue Elf (2:02:27 PM): Pales grunted and shifted a shoulder into a shrug feeling foolish for a moment, "Maybe we gotta pull it open," he responded as his fingertips scrambled for a good purchase and began to pull at the door to get it to open. The man dug his heels into the ground in the attempt to get the door open.
This was starting to become rather shaky territory it felt almost as if the very essence of all that is happening had powered itself up and was now trying to either keep them out or even taunting them. Pales was as good natured as anyone else, but he would rather be mocked straight to his face instead of using doors and the like to do the dirty work.
MessengerofPuck (2:12:49 PM): "Ah-- hello!? Yes, yes, can I help you?"
Well, at least he was face-to-face with someone, now. Apparently, his attempts to open the door had caught the attention of the sole occupant of the room, who had of course gone to investigate the noise- and now seemed reasonably startled for the door to have opened right in his face, with two strangers beyond it. He didn't seem so much upset as agitated, and then, not so much agitated by them as, well... something.
The man looked to be somewhere in his thirties, with a somewhat puny build and unattractive face. He was dressed in some rather nice clothing, dark slacks and a pressed white shirt paired with a vest and tie. His sleeves were currently rolled up to his elbows, and there was a fair amount of sweat on his face. It wasn't hard to figure out why, either; the air inside this new room was stifling, packed with heat and humidity. The room was large and circular, but oddly devoid of furniture or decor; instead, there were only strange patterns inlaid in the ground, not quite runic but not quite mundane. Close to the center of the room, there was a huge plastic tub, something akin to a kiddie pool, full of dirt and odd gleaming artifacts. Standing tall in the center of it was what looked like some sort of sapling- a very dead one, by the looks of it. A very dead one for a very long time, in fact, seemed most likely.
Pale Blue Elf (2:37:53 PM): Whether the other man was agitated or not mattered very little to the one eyed man who had jumped back a bit and was now clutching at his chest out of surprise and attempting a futile attempt to still his quickly beating hard. The pupil of a single jade green eye looked wide and frantic for a second before he finally settled down. He looked back at Kiv and then at the man again unsure what to say.
The truth would sound silly and why the truth would lead them all the way back here had Pales at somewhat of a loss so he just decided to lift a hand and greet, "Hi," he began first, "maybe you can help us, we were wondering..." he trailed off glancing around, "what ... err..." he trailed off again, trying to find something to ask without seeming awkward.
"My friend and I were curious about what this place was about, we came through the front and found no one to ask..." He said finally, and it was truth at least, part truth.
MessengerofPuck (2:48:31 PM): The man ran a hand through his black head of hair. "Yes? Well, I'm quite happy for visitors, and I'd typically be pleased to explain my works, but- OW!" Kiv had gotten impatient, it seemed, and elbowed her way past the man into the room. He rubbed his arm and stared after her in clear annoyance as she picked her way closer to the center of the room, unwilling to cross the markings on the floor without careful inspection- which naturally, demanded she get on all fours and peer closely at them.
"... Your friend is, ah. Always so curious?" The man turned his attention back to Pales, seeming only briefly concerned by Kiv's bullying her way into the room.
Pale Blue Elf (2:52:58 PM): Pales had naturally shifted his position to watch Kiv concernedly before looking back to the man and shrugged, "We are sometimes," he replied with a furrowed brow. "We didn't mean to intrude... "
Okay, so they did mean to intrude. The meant it with a vengeance.
"It was the shops name that had us ... intrigued. It is a very odd thing to name a shop that seems to sell plants and the like." The man tilted his head watching the man cautiously before offering a hand for a shake, "I am Pales D'Arcy by the way, my friend there is ... Well she can introduce herself." He said thinking better of introducing his feral companion.
MessengerofPuck (3:04:10 PM): "Holbrook Weidman," the man returned the introduction, distracted but not wholly consumed with the affairs going on behind his back. "And we're less a plant shop, more an apothecary, really. We don't receive much business, however, so we're really more a research building... it's a passion and a hobby, in the end."
"What is this?" Turning her attention back at last, Kiv didn't even fully pick herself off the ground before bristling at Holbrook, to the man's obvious discomfit; squatting down near the ground, her left hand remained flat on the tile while her other gestured strongly back at the leafless, half-rotting tree.
"It's my project. It interests you?"
"It's living," Kiv snarled. "What is it living off of?"
Pale Blue Elf (3:27:45 PM): "Pleased to meet you," Pales offered with sincerity for now. "One of those places, hmm? Well I suppose you would only get a few people in at a time, and even then..." the one eyed man offered with a shrug before glancing back at Kiv to see what she was doing.
He tilted his head as the interaction ensued and he added softly, "I, too, find myself to be rather confused about what you seem to be doing in this room." It was about as aggressive as he was going to get for the moment, and that was likely a good thing for now. Usually when the man behaved aggressively it meant he was angry.
MessengerofPuck (3:39:27 PM): "Ah... observant ones, then," Holbrook mused, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Well, come on in before all the air goes out, and I'll explain what I can for you, eh? I'm not hiding any of my workings, after all- I'm quite proud of the progress we've been making here, and I expect you'll probably find my works interesting!" Stepping aside in open invitation, the man motioned for Pales to enter.
"Answer my question," Kiv demanded again, clearly disliking this man and his slowness in addressing her demands.
"Oh, yes! Well, there's a fair amount of explanation before that would make much sense; you see," and the man began what was obviously intended to be an extensive spiel, "I've been practicing a form of loose "science", if you can call anything of this nature a science, of course, involving herbological infusion, which is a form of sort of enchantment- typically, anyway, but I've also extended my work into abjuration- but in any case, traditionally, this was a means for --"
"I told you to answer." Unamused as ever, Kiv strengthened her demand, rising from the ground at last to point solidly at the dead(ish?) plant.
To his credit, Holbrook didn't entirely wilt under the threatening posturing Kiv was now displaying. Gathering himself after the interruption of his enthusiastic explanations, he reeled himself in and answered, "Well. Hm. Yes. You are aware of ley lines, maybe?"
Pale Blue Elf (3:54:22 PM): Pales, somewhat reluctantly, stepped forward allowing for the door to be closed if need be. Chances are if they need to bust out they could probably manage it, especially with Kiv seemingly so strong. If nothing else they'll get to the bottom of this mystery. Right? Right.
The man crossed his arms over his chest watching as the man went about explaining, got cut short, and now seemed to be getting into the nitty-gritty. Pales would have been interested in hearing about the entire process, but still it seemed like dance-around-the-bush tactic more than anything at the moment. Plus they had infants to go back to and relieve from the grasp of the babysitter.
Pales ruefully noted the man's reaction and non-withering under the might of Kiv's explosive demands. The one eyed man reckoned he would have peed himself a little (okay, a lot) had it been him in the hot seat.
MessengerofPuck (4:09:07 PM): "Explain them," Kiv ordered shortly, while the man indeed closed the door behind Pales.
"Well," Holbrook explained, crossing the room toward the sapling, the heels of his shoes clicking loudly with every step against the floor, "ley lines are something of a power source in the universe. Unseen and constantly shifting, the places where they run are places of archaic power--"
"Mm. I am aware of them, then," Kiv interrupted curtly.
"Yes, well. There are few dependable ley lines, because they are, as I said, never still; although one can create a nexus for magical power by predicting their movements and crossings, a line will never stay in one place for long. Now, what this is, is my first successful anchor." He stood near the tree now, giving a proud smile in the direction of the dead stick. "The tree is living without water or sun or fresh air, because its roots have managed to hook into one of these ley lines. There are bugs to work out, clearly, but the sheer potential of the project...!"
Pale Blue Elf (4:16:56 PM): The man furrowed his brow in concern, "Aren't there dangers to this sort of things? Things that could go wrong, this does not seem to be very safe at all," he muttered probably stating the obvious. "I mean what if you awaken something dangerous." It was very likely this might be an observation come too late.
"This does not seem like something people should meddle in..." He murmured glancing around, "Helios would be displeased if he knew of this. Most plants need all of the above to survive successfully." If Pales subscribed to a religion it would be considered sun worship, but obviously he wasn't fanatic. "It is as if you plan on taking something from him..." He continued murmuring uneasily now.
MessengerofPuck (4:23:13 PM): "Oh, it's nothing I haven't perfected," Holbrook quickly assured him, likely misunderstanding his concerns. "Practically all of the plants I have, I keep indoors. Better not to expose them to unnecessary stresses."
"How long has this plant been living off of the ley lines?" Kiv questioned sharply.
"Not so long. The roots only took a week or two ago; I had a whole line back then, but this is the only one to actually snag a line, you see." Smiling again over at the sapling, the man seemed almost pitifully prideful in his work. "Something like fishing, just with far smaller odds, and far greater rewards. Now that it's anchored a line, I can try arranging some of my other plants here, and their attributes should be multiplied beyond imagination."
While he spoke, Kiv was creeping nearer to the sapling, daring at last to cross the odd lines in the ground and sniff her way up to the rotting stick. "What happens if the tree does not hold the line in place?"
"That is an excellent question." Despite Kiv's insistant look awaiting an answer, it didn't seem like the man intended to say any more than that- maybe didn't know any more to say than that.
Pale Blue Elf (4:31:01 PM): ...Ugh, scholars.
"You say 'we' a lot, so there are others working with you on this little project?" Pales asked curiously. If they were gonna do something stupid might as well enquire about the possibly of reinforcements in case things got a little violent.
Also, he didn't like the twisted turns Kiv's mind was taking, it could mean she was going to cause something to blow up or endanger someone somehow. Either way he knew better than to try to stop her and he was out of his supply of backbone.
"Just curious about how many people are ... Researching this, you understand, of course." Pales smiled disarmingly.
MessengerofPuck (4:37:50 PM): Holbrook considered the question. "Oh, well. I say we in the sense of, the business," he explained in an apologetic manner. "Really, I have some invisible help to care for the plants, but the research is mostly my work. A little of my brother's, for the basis, but otherwise simply mine. I do have notes," and his voice took on that pitch of excitement again, "so if you were interested, I could loan them to you for--"
Pales had probably seen it coming, but Holbrook certainly hadn't- Kiv, who had been studying the plant so carefully from a distance, had apparently chosen to pick now as her moment to make her move. Which, lacking any more subtlety, involved launching herself at the tree, grabbing at the soft, disgusting trunk, and remorselessly pulling to try and topple the entire thing over, all while the scholar turned to screech in flabbergasted alarm at the attempted injury on his hard work.
Pale Blue Elf (5:30:50 PM): It was hard to tell if he was acting or not, but it was safe to say it was all an act. "Oh yes, please do give me the notes so that I may see the proc-..." Pales managed to look horrified, but it was likely an easy task because of the sound the man made so close by. Chaos as about to ensue it seemed, whether or not he was ready.
"It seems my companion disagrees with your research." He said after behaving he needed a moment to recover from the trauma. "I wonder why that is, she is awfully in tune to such things. Maybe there is something unnatural..."
MessengerofPuck (5:49:43 PM): "D... disag..." the man seemed to be choking on the word. Finally, he seemed to select the proper outburst for the situation- "Get away from that!"- and, thusly expressed, lunged awkwardly after Kiv, who was succeeding in her endeavors at least so far as to pull the rooted tree over. Or, really, it was more pulling the tree, the soil it was rooted to, and the tub all over onto their side- understandably difficult work, but the shaman was determined to see the action through.
Unfortunately for Holbrook, Kiv didn't seem to be interested in allowing his distraction. The moment he made the mistake of grabbing her sleeve, she replied with a violent "BACKOFF!" - and, when force of volume didn't prove enough to force the man, still coming to the defense of his beloved project, to back off, she made a spitting noise and released the tree. It settled lopsided back on the ground, while she slammed full-force into Holbrook instead. Given how deftly she was tripping up his feet and sending him downward like that, it was probably highly unnecessary for her to be grabbing his head to send it smacking into the tiled floor like that, just to make sure that he wouldn't be standing up soon enough to disrupt the inevitable second attempt at the tree- then again, she seemed to find it perfectly necessary, so maybe arguing the point belatedly wasn't worth the effort.
Pale Blue Elf (6:09:06 PM): Pales was going to stop the man, he was reaching after him even, but it was too late. The action that ensued moved too fast for the man to even say a word so instead he looked away while pondering where he had possibly gone wrong today. He decided the first step was waking up and leaving his warm comfortable bed, the second was not reading his horoscope for certainly something about this moment would have been in it, right? Probably not but there was a certain hope in the afterthought, which counted for nothing.
After the first couple of head-meet-mister-floor actions Pales had to step in. "Hey, hey, I think he's knocked out already." He pointed out with a small cringe hoping she won't turn on him, "We don't want to add murder to our day..." He didn't know what or who the scholar was but he was fairly sure head trauma could result in death eventually especially when someone like Kiv was going all happy with the head-smashing.
MessengerofPuck (6:33:40 PM): With a grunt to downplay his concerns, Kiv stood and let the groaning form of the scholar alone. The man didn't seem to be dead, at least... but damn, that didn't look like something he'd be recovering from quickly. Satisfied with her work, the shaman turned to Pales, still bristling with leftover aggression from the spat. "He'll be fine," she said, in a firm voice that was as much an order as a prediction. "Now, take care of this with me. We need to pull its roots out."
Pale Blue Elf (6:45:26 PM): At this point the man didn't feel like arguing the point anymore. So long as she stopped he decided it was a small victory for the scholar and his brain cells, though Pales felt the man on the floor had been abusing his rights to own brain cells for a long, long time and he just got punished for the abuse.
He moved forward to help as directed to by Kiv. The man didn't feel like questioning his actions though perhaps he should, just a little, but he was starting to feel a little heartsick at this all and just wanted it all to be done, damn the consequences. This research seemed a monstrosity that must be removed. It'd make him and Kiv feel better, mostly Kiv.
MessengerofPuck (6:53:40 PM): Without the scholar's interference, it was possible to uproot the sapling- though not easily. Even though the soil it was in seemed loose enough, and it was hard to imagine the dead stick having any real perch in the thin layer of dirt, it seemed like it was gripping into every crack and crevice it could to avoid being torn away from its last lifeline. "Hold here," Kiv instructed Pales brusquely, "and pull downwards. I'll anchor on the other side and handle the roots. We need to tear them all free."
Pale Blue Elf (6:57:37 PM): Pales' expression was different from the usually friendly, happy one he wore. It was grim and set in determination. He gave a short nod and did as instructed, his hands finding the areas and his shoulders settling into the task easily, pulling downward with whatever strength he has available. "Like this?"
He was uncertain if this was even the right way to go about it, but he put his faith in Kiv, for obviously she ought to know what she is doing. Kiv was, after all, the one wearing the fancy mask and the like. Pales was just the accomplice and thus helping out.
MessengerofPuck (7:14:05 PM): "Good, keep that going," Kiv confirmed. Ducking down to grip the small bits of exposed root, Kiv took care to stand in the soil to keep the tub from tilting along with the tree. The trunk groaned and creaked in ways that healthy trees shouldn't, refusing to bend at all to the pair's efforts- bit by bit, though, it did seem to be loosening its grip. Just a bit more, and they'd probably have it....
A loud crack, like a whip snapping past- something bright white flicked up from the soil with a teensy scream-noise, thrashing around with dangerous velocity. It narrowly slipped over Kiv's head, who snapped into a startled yell, diving to grab it by its base where it seemed to be anchored to the tree- but she wasn't fast enough to present it from whipping around to snap at the one-eyed man assisting on the other side. If Pales didn't know better, he'd say that thing was aiming for him, not just happening to come by his direction!
Pale Blue Elf (7:20:13 PM): The man had moved to tilt his head back only to get snapped across the jaw which caused him to startle and let go with a small curse and a fall to the rump. He had been about to ask what was wrong and what was going on, but apparently much like everything else, it wanted a piece of him for some unknown reason. He rubbed his jaw and moved forward again determinedly to see if he still needed to finish his task.
"Damn it, what is that freaky thing?" Pales grunted with a displeased tone. Of course he was not paranoid enough to believe it was solely after him, yet. Whatever it was he couldn't seem to get a good look at it. The man didn't grudge whatever it was for attacking him, okay maybe a little. Still, it was trying to survive and he couldn't hate the thing for it.
MessengerofPuck (7:27:04 PM): Kiv didn't see fit to answer, but instead managed to catch the flailing whip by its base and pulled it. It ripped easily from where it seemed to be socketed in the tree; its length went limp, and blackened, and crumbled away into a light, nutrientless soil against the ground. "Tree root," the feral woman answered. "That's what caused the reek. Might be the only one, but there could be more; stay on your toes."
Pale Blue Elf (7:35:26 PM): Pales raised an eyebrow but refrained from further commenting going back into the work that they had started. "Don't know why it seemed to have it out for me though, or was that just me?" It was a question that didn't require an answer. He just wanted to help finish the task as quickly as possible. Pales felt a bit easier, not quite so fretful and that odd smell that he could vaguely sense was seemingly going away. Pales could deal with getting injured. An angry welt was appearing along the jaw where he got hit.
MessengerofPuck (7:40:16 PM): If the woman had an answer, she didn't see fit to share- tugging as best she could at the roots of the sapling, she left the remainder of the work without conversation. Fortunately, Kiv's caution proved to be unwarranted. No more of the energy-crazed roots lashed out to try and leave any more marks on the tree's assailants, and with a few solid minutes of grunting and tugging at the groaning timber, it caved at last and suffered itself to be pulled from the soil. A few healthy roots were revealed beneath the tree, hidden previously by the soil- but these were already beginning to brown and rot, even as the pair dusted off their hands and surveyed their handiwork.
"That should do for now," Kiv determined, inhaling in a deeply satisfied manner.
Pale Blue Elf (7:46:50 PM): The man nodded after dusting his hands off with a small, almost satisfied sounding, sigh. He then moved over to the man and lightly nudged him with a foot. Pales knelt down quietly, "Unless you are a God it is better not to repeat this monstrosity or myself or my friend will come back here. I am pretty certain my friend will be much angrier than I, especially if she has to come back here for the same issue."
It was a fair warning. A warning that will be best heeded. "Any attempts to retaliate will be frowned upon." He took off his shirt and folded it pillowing the damaged head under it. Not really caring if it could be tied back to him or not. Pales was far too compassionate for his own good. It was not his way to just leave people wounded and dying, unless they really, really deserve it.
"So you be good. Burn those notes." He had a sinking feeling his words were falling upon deaf ears. Pales stood up and nodded to the door, "Unless we have other things we ought to be doing here?"
MessengerofPuck (7:52:50 PM): The man didn't reply much further than a moan, but Pales got the idea that at least some of his warning had been processed. Or maybe that was just misleading optimism, who could really say?
"No, I'm finished here," Kiv replied, feigning boredom now that her duty had been fulfilled. With the scent clearing from the air, she had more pressing affairs on her mind- for example, the fact that her pup was now needlessly under the care of a woman she hardly knew. Content with the way that the situation had turned out, she led the way through the door (which was push from this side, she remembered, not pull), displaying no interest at all in anything else on their way out.
Pale Blue Elf (7:56:23 PM): After making sure the scholar was comfortable he moved to leave, pausing for a moment, "Maybe I'll come back with some tea and some books for you as an apology for all this." Pales said with a small sigh. Now that it was done he was starting to feel a smidge of guilt. Still he forced himself out after Kiv, not looking back hoping someone would be by soon to help the Holbrook back to his feet.
"Bah!" The shaman wasted no time in complaining. "It's worse. We should've investigated immediately."
Pale Blue Elf (10:45:33 AM): Pales sucked in his breath and almost seemed as if he was going to retort but nothing came forth. He felt that he shouldn't list the benefits healthy non-maimed babies that have likely had a good portion of mental scarring on each of their souls already. They didn't need to add physical scars to the list of problems. That was just his opinion, of course, and likely didn't count for much in the shamans books.
He looked around placing his hands on his hips, his single eye darting about uneasily. The atmosphere did seem worse, it felt almost tangible. Unlike his companion he was glad that they had chosen to leave the infants at the wand shoppe. Pales looked at Kiv and parted his lips, "Got a plan? What shall we do?" She was the one so keen on inspecting the place, so obviously she had to have a plan.
MessengerofPuck (11:18:50 AM): The feral woman shrugged. "I say we go in, and we search out the source," Kiv answered matter-of-factly; but, even in saying so, she seemed reluctant to actually just head inside. The hair on the back of her neck was rising, and it was all she could do to keep from covering her nose at the scent. She could tell enough of it to know there was something very unnatural about the aroma, but more than that... she'd just have to see with her own eyes. Which just required... actually... going inside.
... Any time now. Yup.
Pale Blue Elf (11:22:16 AM): The man side-glanced at Kiv as they stood there and he waited. He shifted his position restlessly then waited some more and then suddenly without warning he began to stride forward, his posture straight and business-like. Pales was either very, very brave or extremely stupid. Obviously he felt something was incredibly wrong but something needed to be done, even if it meant he had to lead the charge.
There was a small pause as he flicked a gaze back at Kiv before he continued forward it wasn't a glance of challenge or anything, but a curious look to see if she was going to follow suit or not.
MessengerofPuck (11:50:45 AM): Well, Kiv was contented enough by that- or at the very least, she couldn't be left hanging back with her proverbial tail between her legs. Closing her eyes for a fleeting moment behind her mask, she gathered herself together and cautiously followed after Pales, secretly grateful for his initiative (but not that she'd ever admit that!).
Passing through the gates was no difficulty- they were wide open, welcoming to guests. A small path led straight up to the doors of what looked like the primary building, a storefront with huge windows of tinted glass. Brief, amorphous shapes could be made through the dark panes, but it was difficult to say exactly what they described.
Pale Blue Elf (11:59:43 AM): Pales strode his way up to the door ignoring the ominous shapes, because it was likely he'd have lost his nerve if he had done so. It was a wise move from someone that seemed oblivious to all around him. A single hand stretched out toward the door moving to open it but first he glanced at Kiv as if seeking permission or a signal to go ahead when she felt ready.
He didn't speak and even if he would have said something it would have been pointless something about the situation commanded silence for now at least on his end. Pales had nothing to say at this point.
MessengerofPuck (12:09:31 PM): Approaching the door, Kiv drew herself up straighter- not so much an expression of growing confidence, as simply a determination to present herself without weakness. The shapes didn't pass her attention unnoticed, either, but so long as they didn't seem moving, she refused to be cowed by them. "Let's, then," she spoke aloud, indicating the door with a small tilt of her chin. Far past time to get in and get on with this....
Pale Blue Elf (12:14:42 PM): The man nodded and pulled the door open, sending out a rush of coolish air at them from the force of the swing. There was a light soft 'swish' sound instead of the 'creak' sound one might expect from a creepy place like this. It either made it easier to sneak in or it just was to unnerve people more when they didn't get what was expected. The inside looked dark and hard to see, either way he stepped forward a single hand holding the door open after him so as not to have the door close in Kiv's face.
This could turn into a huge mistake...
MessengerofPuck (12:20:03 PM): With the opening of the door, all new scents swept over the pair, startling ones- at least, startling to Kiv, who was baffled by their sheer normalcy. Of course, what was normalcy to her might have been something else to Pales, who could have been somewhat more surprised to find what it was that had been making those shapes in the windows.
In every corner, on every surface, and lined up to maximize the use of every bit of space in this room stood tall, flourishing foliage. Dozens of pots taking up the bulk of the room here, each one sporting a plant of varying description. The room was impeccably clean, without a stray spatter of dirt anywhere on the white linoleum floor.
"......... Good taste," Kiv commented at last, following Pales inside.
Pale Blue Elf (12:24:05 PM): He nodded a bit as he gazed about for a moment almost half expecting the plants to jump at them and attempt to devour them. It seemed almost as if they had blown this out of proportion. Pales felt a bit silly, and for some reason Kiv always managed to get him to react in oddly paranoid ways, but then again considering the world and everything in it ... It was probably wise to be a little paranoid.
"Indeed," he said finally stepping in a bit more, "Perhaps this is a shop that sells plants and things..." Pales said thoughtfully beginning to relax a little. "An odd name for a plant shop though," the man said with a touch of uncertainty to his voice.
MessengerofPuck (12:36:04 PM): "... Vanaja would like it here," Kiv commented, poking around the displayed greenery. She liked it here too, really- or at least, she liked this room. The smell of fresh life was almost enough to suppress the unpleasant reek that had been their interest, but the underlaying scent was still there. Since there was no one in immediate sight in this room (although from the layout, it seemed like there should have been a clerk- Pales was likely right, this seemed like a plant shop of some sort), Kiv simply continued onward toward a door in the back, fumbling with the doorknob herself before continuing through a small and deserted hallway.
Pale Blue Elf (12:47:26 PM): "Seems like she would," he agreed thoughtfully as he looked at some of the plant life. When Kiv began to move toward the back he idly followed after her not wishing for her to face a threat all on her own. Pales shoved his hands into his pockets as he went after her into the hallway.
He glanced about the deserted hallway thoughtfully. Now this is what he was expecting to find when he opened the door. Something along this line with shadows darting along the wall that you can't quite catch sight of. Though this hallway, at the moment, lacked the darting shadows but it seemed more satisfactory for all the tension and unease he felt.
MessengerofPuck (12:55:12 PM): There were a number of doors along the hallway, but as Kiv passed each one, she couldn't single them out as being of any use- so she simply continued to the end of the hall and pushed through the door there. Simply through that one door, the architecture abruptly shifted from the practical build of the storefront to a larger, somewhat more resplendent entryway. The tiling here was a white granite, and the ceiling was vaulted, well-lit from overhead sources. Here, too, a number of plants were standing- but they seemed somehow different from the ones in the first room. Most notably, the uniform greenery had turned to more of a multitudery; the plants here had leaves of all imaginable colors, and not only in the dull hues typical to nature, but in vibrant and confusing hues. The scent they let off, Kiv was very aware, was far different from the ones in the first room as well; it wasn't the scent that they were following, quite, but it was of a similar kin, a reek that wasn't quite real as it should be.
Pale Blue Elf (1:07:23 PM): To say he was dazzled by what he saw would have been an understatement. He stood a step or two behind Kiv looking around and before he could stop himself there was a soft utterance of the word, "Wow," whispering past his lips before it could be stopped. A hand went up to his lips, shocked at himself.
Somewhere deep inside him something quivered with fear. It was almost like a separate awareness within and he seemed for a moment perplexed before shrugging it off as his mate wondering where he was and being worrisome as usual. Pales himself didn't feel fear but he did feel unease as he glanced about.
"Wonder where the people are." He said under his breath toward Kiv, hoping she'd be the only one to hear.
MessengerofPuck (1:24:52 PM): The shaman nodded her silent agreement, frowning at the odd plants. There was some clear magic at work here (or technology, of course, but it was all magic to Kiv). How different were these plants from usual, besides just their appearances? She was itching to try and steal a few leaves, to see what she could divine in the comfort of her own home, but she knew better.
"I've seen this sort of sorcery... I think," she ventured to say at last, taking a long look around the room. A large door was set atop a small staircase, and a few more besides on a balcony there, but no sign of a sentient creature in sight... Was there anyone even in this building, besides themselves? "Plants are trusting things that will soak anything through their roots, and there are ways to twist that nature with spellwork to different ends. But a collection of this size would take a great number of hands to keep from deteriorating, never mind to flourish...."
Finding someone was now far more important to Kiv's mind than keeping unseen. Speaking in a far louder voice now, she stated- "We should just keep looking." She looked about, as though hopeful the louder sound would draw someone out to meet them. She was to be disappointed, however, and simply gestured with a shrug to Pales that they ought to keep looking.
Pale Blue Elf (1:45:13 PM): The man, naturally, listened to what the Shaman had to say since she seemed rather well versed in this sort of thing. "Indeed? I have never seen this myself not that means a lot, since I kept busy and usually close to home by my family," Indeed his horizons were not all that broad, but he wasn't completely innocent of the world around him and the things that went on.
Pales ventured forward a little past aiming to get deeper into the room, and perhaps wander toward the stairs which lead to that door, "Maybe behind there...?" The one eyed man ventured curiously. "It is possible someone is in whatever room that is and just choosing to hide or just not pay any heed to us," he said thoughtfully.
MessengerofPuck (1:47:21 PM): "Perhaps likely," Kiv agreed, still seeming disgruntled that her will had not somehow manifested itself on the universe and summoned whoever was caretaker of the gardens. Walking a careful line to keep herself distant from the plants, Kiv followed after, eying the door at the top of the stairs. There did seem to be that scent again, growing stronger nearer to that door. "... Perhaps very likely," she amended.
Pale Blue Elf (1:53:03 PM): Pales gave a short brisk nod at the amendment as he moved forward, not being hindered, and went up the stairs, attempting to look determined and yet friendly just in case it was a bad idea to come in completely threatening toward whatever that were hiding behind the door. Knowing his luck it'll be some large omnipotent kitten that can quash them with a thought.
At the top of the steps and he placed a hand against one side of the door and gave a push hoping it is a door that pushes open instead of having to be pulled open, it'd make life a lot easier.
MessengerofPuck (1:56:04 PM): Pah, like anything could be easy. Waiting behind him, Kiv watching his fruitless attempt to push it open with instant concern. "Is it broken?" The shaman questioned, the growl in her voice completely unrelated to Pales' failure to immediately open the door. The smell was very strong here, and it was making her anxious just to be around- to such a point that she began resorting to breathing through her mouth, a rare and uncomfortable action for her to take.
Pale Blue Elf (2:02:27 PM): Pales grunted and shifted a shoulder into a shrug feeling foolish for a moment, "Maybe we gotta pull it open," he responded as his fingertips scrambled for a good purchase and began to pull at the door to get it to open. The man dug his heels into the ground in the attempt to get the door open.
This was starting to become rather shaky territory it felt almost as if the very essence of all that is happening had powered itself up and was now trying to either keep them out or even taunting them. Pales was as good natured as anyone else, but he would rather be mocked straight to his face instead of using doors and the like to do the dirty work.
MessengerofPuck (2:12:49 PM): "Ah-- hello!? Yes, yes, can I help you?"
Well, at least he was face-to-face with someone, now. Apparently, his attempts to open the door had caught the attention of the sole occupant of the room, who had of course gone to investigate the noise- and now seemed reasonably startled for the door to have opened right in his face, with two strangers beyond it. He didn't seem so much upset as agitated, and then, not so much agitated by them as, well... something.
The man looked to be somewhere in his thirties, with a somewhat puny build and unattractive face. He was dressed in some rather nice clothing, dark slacks and a pressed white shirt paired with a vest and tie. His sleeves were currently rolled up to his elbows, and there was a fair amount of sweat on his face. It wasn't hard to figure out why, either; the air inside this new room was stifling, packed with heat and humidity. The room was large and circular, but oddly devoid of furniture or decor; instead, there were only strange patterns inlaid in the ground, not quite runic but not quite mundane. Close to the center of the room, there was a huge plastic tub, something akin to a kiddie pool, full of dirt and odd gleaming artifacts. Standing tall in the center of it was what looked like some sort of sapling- a very dead one, by the looks of it. A very dead one for a very long time, in fact, seemed most likely.
Pale Blue Elf (2:37:53 PM): Whether the other man was agitated or not mattered very little to the one eyed man who had jumped back a bit and was now clutching at his chest out of surprise and attempting a futile attempt to still his quickly beating hard. The pupil of a single jade green eye looked wide and frantic for a second before he finally settled down. He looked back at Kiv and then at the man again unsure what to say.
The truth would sound silly and why the truth would lead them all the way back here had Pales at somewhat of a loss so he just decided to lift a hand and greet, "Hi," he began first, "maybe you can help us, we were wondering..." he trailed off glancing around, "what ... err..." he trailed off again, trying to find something to ask without seeming awkward.
"My friend and I were curious about what this place was about, we came through the front and found no one to ask..." He said finally, and it was truth at least, part truth.
MessengerofPuck (2:48:31 PM): The man ran a hand through his black head of hair. "Yes? Well, I'm quite happy for visitors, and I'd typically be pleased to explain my works, but- OW!" Kiv had gotten impatient, it seemed, and elbowed her way past the man into the room. He rubbed his arm and stared after her in clear annoyance as she picked her way closer to the center of the room, unwilling to cross the markings on the floor without careful inspection- which naturally, demanded she get on all fours and peer closely at them.
"... Your friend is, ah. Always so curious?" The man turned his attention back to Pales, seeming only briefly concerned by Kiv's bullying her way into the room.
Pale Blue Elf (2:52:58 PM): Pales had naturally shifted his position to watch Kiv concernedly before looking back to the man and shrugged, "We are sometimes," he replied with a furrowed brow. "We didn't mean to intrude... "
Okay, so they did mean to intrude. The meant it with a vengeance.
"It was the shops name that had us ... intrigued. It is a very odd thing to name a shop that seems to sell plants and the like." The man tilted his head watching the man cautiously before offering a hand for a shake, "I am Pales D'Arcy by the way, my friend there is ... Well she can introduce herself." He said thinking better of introducing his feral companion.
MessengerofPuck (3:04:10 PM): "Holbrook Weidman," the man returned the introduction, distracted but not wholly consumed with the affairs going on behind his back. "And we're less a plant shop, more an apothecary, really. We don't receive much business, however, so we're really more a research building... it's a passion and a hobby, in the end."
"What is this?" Turning her attention back at last, Kiv didn't even fully pick herself off the ground before bristling at Holbrook, to the man's obvious discomfit; squatting down near the ground, her left hand remained flat on the tile while her other gestured strongly back at the leafless, half-rotting tree.
"It's my project. It interests you?"
"It's living," Kiv snarled. "What is it living off of?"
Pale Blue Elf (3:27:45 PM): "Pleased to meet you," Pales offered with sincerity for now. "One of those places, hmm? Well I suppose you would only get a few people in at a time, and even then..." the one eyed man offered with a shrug before glancing back at Kiv to see what she was doing.
He tilted his head as the interaction ensued and he added softly, "I, too, find myself to be rather confused about what you seem to be doing in this room." It was about as aggressive as he was going to get for the moment, and that was likely a good thing for now. Usually when the man behaved aggressively it meant he was angry.
MessengerofPuck (3:39:27 PM): "Ah... observant ones, then," Holbrook mused, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Well, come on in before all the air goes out, and I'll explain what I can for you, eh? I'm not hiding any of my workings, after all- I'm quite proud of the progress we've been making here, and I expect you'll probably find my works interesting!" Stepping aside in open invitation, the man motioned for Pales to enter.
"Answer my question," Kiv demanded again, clearly disliking this man and his slowness in addressing her demands.
"Oh, yes! Well, there's a fair amount of explanation before that would make much sense; you see," and the man began what was obviously intended to be an extensive spiel, "I've been practicing a form of loose "science", if you can call anything of this nature a science, of course, involving herbological infusion, which is a form of sort of enchantment- typically, anyway, but I've also extended my work into abjuration- but in any case, traditionally, this was a means for --"
"I told you to answer." Unamused as ever, Kiv strengthened her demand, rising from the ground at last to point solidly at the dead(ish?) plant.
To his credit, Holbrook didn't entirely wilt under the threatening posturing Kiv was now displaying. Gathering himself after the interruption of his enthusiastic explanations, he reeled himself in and answered, "Well. Hm. Yes. You are aware of ley lines, maybe?"
Pale Blue Elf (3:54:22 PM): Pales, somewhat reluctantly, stepped forward allowing for the door to be closed if need be. Chances are if they need to bust out they could probably manage it, especially with Kiv seemingly so strong. If nothing else they'll get to the bottom of this mystery. Right? Right.
The man crossed his arms over his chest watching as the man went about explaining, got cut short, and now seemed to be getting into the nitty-gritty. Pales would have been interested in hearing about the entire process, but still it seemed like dance-around-the-bush tactic more than anything at the moment. Plus they had infants to go back to and relieve from the grasp of the babysitter.
Pales ruefully noted the man's reaction and non-withering under the might of Kiv's explosive demands. The one eyed man reckoned he would have peed himself a little (okay, a lot) had it been him in the hot seat.
MessengerofPuck (4:09:07 PM): "Explain them," Kiv ordered shortly, while the man indeed closed the door behind Pales.
"Well," Holbrook explained, crossing the room toward the sapling, the heels of his shoes clicking loudly with every step against the floor, "ley lines are something of a power source in the universe. Unseen and constantly shifting, the places where they run are places of archaic power--"
"Mm. I am aware of them, then," Kiv interrupted curtly.
"Yes, well. There are few dependable ley lines, because they are, as I said, never still; although one can create a nexus for magical power by predicting their movements and crossings, a line will never stay in one place for long. Now, what this is, is my first successful anchor." He stood near the tree now, giving a proud smile in the direction of the dead stick. "The tree is living without water or sun or fresh air, because its roots have managed to hook into one of these ley lines. There are bugs to work out, clearly, but the sheer potential of the project...!"
Pale Blue Elf (4:16:56 PM): The man furrowed his brow in concern, "Aren't there dangers to this sort of things? Things that could go wrong, this does not seem to be very safe at all," he muttered probably stating the obvious. "I mean what if you awaken something dangerous." It was very likely this might be an observation come too late.
"This does not seem like something people should meddle in..." He murmured glancing around, "Helios would be displeased if he knew of this. Most plants need all of the above to survive successfully." If Pales subscribed to a religion it would be considered sun worship, but obviously he wasn't fanatic. "It is as if you plan on taking something from him..." He continued murmuring uneasily now.
MessengerofPuck (4:23:13 PM): "Oh, it's nothing I haven't perfected," Holbrook quickly assured him, likely misunderstanding his concerns. "Practically all of the plants I have, I keep indoors. Better not to expose them to unnecessary stresses."
"How long has this plant been living off of the ley lines?" Kiv questioned sharply.
"Not so long. The roots only took a week or two ago; I had a whole line back then, but this is the only one to actually snag a line, you see." Smiling again over at the sapling, the man seemed almost pitifully prideful in his work. "Something like fishing, just with far smaller odds, and far greater rewards. Now that it's anchored a line, I can try arranging some of my other plants here, and their attributes should be multiplied beyond imagination."
While he spoke, Kiv was creeping nearer to the sapling, daring at last to cross the odd lines in the ground and sniff her way up to the rotting stick. "What happens if the tree does not hold the line in place?"
"That is an excellent question." Despite Kiv's insistant look awaiting an answer, it didn't seem like the man intended to say any more than that- maybe didn't know any more to say than that.
Pale Blue Elf (4:31:01 PM): ...Ugh, scholars.
"You say 'we' a lot, so there are others working with you on this little project?" Pales asked curiously. If they were gonna do something stupid might as well enquire about the possibly of reinforcements in case things got a little violent.
Also, he didn't like the twisted turns Kiv's mind was taking, it could mean she was going to cause something to blow up or endanger someone somehow. Either way he knew better than to try to stop her and he was out of his supply of backbone.
"Just curious about how many people are ... Researching this, you understand, of course." Pales smiled disarmingly.
MessengerofPuck (4:37:50 PM): Holbrook considered the question. "Oh, well. I say we in the sense of, the business," he explained in an apologetic manner. "Really, I have some invisible help to care for the plants, but the research is mostly my work. A little of my brother's, for the basis, but otherwise simply mine. I do have notes," and his voice took on that pitch of excitement again, "so if you were interested, I could loan them to you for--"
Pales had probably seen it coming, but Holbrook certainly hadn't- Kiv, who had been studying the plant so carefully from a distance, had apparently chosen to pick now as her moment to make her move. Which, lacking any more subtlety, involved launching herself at the tree, grabbing at the soft, disgusting trunk, and remorselessly pulling to try and topple the entire thing over, all while the scholar turned to screech in flabbergasted alarm at the attempted injury on his hard work.
Pale Blue Elf (5:30:50 PM): It was hard to tell if he was acting or not, but it was safe to say it was all an act. "Oh yes, please do give me the notes so that I may see the proc-..." Pales managed to look horrified, but it was likely an easy task because of the sound the man made so close by. Chaos as about to ensue it seemed, whether or not he was ready.
"It seems my companion disagrees with your research." He said after behaving he needed a moment to recover from the trauma. "I wonder why that is, she is awfully in tune to such things. Maybe there is something unnatural..."
MessengerofPuck (5:49:43 PM): "D... disag..." the man seemed to be choking on the word. Finally, he seemed to select the proper outburst for the situation- "Get away from that!"- and, thusly expressed, lunged awkwardly after Kiv, who was succeeding in her endeavors at least so far as to pull the rooted tree over. Or, really, it was more pulling the tree, the soil it was rooted to, and the tub all over onto their side- understandably difficult work, but the shaman was determined to see the action through.
Unfortunately for Holbrook, Kiv didn't seem to be interested in allowing his distraction. The moment he made the mistake of grabbing her sleeve, she replied with a violent "BACKOFF!" - and, when force of volume didn't prove enough to force the man, still coming to the defense of his beloved project, to back off, she made a spitting noise and released the tree. It settled lopsided back on the ground, while she slammed full-force into Holbrook instead. Given how deftly she was tripping up his feet and sending him downward like that, it was probably highly unnecessary for her to be grabbing his head to send it smacking into the tiled floor like that, just to make sure that he wouldn't be standing up soon enough to disrupt the inevitable second attempt at the tree- then again, she seemed to find it perfectly necessary, so maybe arguing the point belatedly wasn't worth the effort.
Pale Blue Elf (6:09:06 PM): Pales was going to stop the man, he was reaching after him even, but it was too late. The action that ensued moved too fast for the man to even say a word so instead he looked away while pondering where he had possibly gone wrong today. He decided the first step was waking up and leaving his warm comfortable bed, the second was not reading his horoscope for certainly something about this moment would have been in it, right? Probably not but there was a certain hope in the afterthought, which counted for nothing.
After the first couple of head-meet-mister-floor actions Pales had to step in. "Hey, hey, I think he's knocked out already." He pointed out with a small cringe hoping she won't turn on him, "We don't want to add murder to our day..." He didn't know what or who the scholar was but he was fairly sure head trauma could result in death eventually especially when someone like Kiv was going all happy with the head-smashing.
MessengerofPuck (6:33:40 PM): With a grunt to downplay his concerns, Kiv stood and let the groaning form of the scholar alone. The man didn't seem to be dead, at least... but damn, that didn't look like something he'd be recovering from quickly. Satisfied with her work, the shaman turned to Pales, still bristling with leftover aggression from the spat. "He'll be fine," she said, in a firm voice that was as much an order as a prediction. "Now, take care of this with me. We need to pull its roots out."
Pale Blue Elf (6:45:26 PM): At this point the man didn't feel like arguing the point anymore. So long as she stopped he decided it was a small victory for the scholar and his brain cells, though Pales felt the man on the floor had been abusing his rights to own brain cells for a long, long time and he just got punished for the abuse.
He moved forward to help as directed to by Kiv. The man didn't feel like questioning his actions though perhaps he should, just a little, but he was starting to feel a little heartsick at this all and just wanted it all to be done, damn the consequences. This research seemed a monstrosity that must be removed. It'd make him and Kiv feel better, mostly Kiv.
MessengerofPuck (6:53:40 PM): Without the scholar's interference, it was possible to uproot the sapling- though not easily. Even though the soil it was in seemed loose enough, and it was hard to imagine the dead stick having any real perch in the thin layer of dirt, it seemed like it was gripping into every crack and crevice it could to avoid being torn away from its last lifeline. "Hold here," Kiv instructed Pales brusquely, "and pull downwards. I'll anchor on the other side and handle the roots. We need to tear them all free."
Pale Blue Elf (6:57:37 PM): Pales' expression was different from the usually friendly, happy one he wore. It was grim and set in determination. He gave a short nod and did as instructed, his hands finding the areas and his shoulders settling into the task easily, pulling downward with whatever strength he has available. "Like this?"
He was uncertain if this was even the right way to go about it, but he put his faith in Kiv, for obviously she ought to know what she is doing. Kiv was, after all, the one wearing the fancy mask and the like. Pales was just the accomplice and thus helping out.
MessengerofPuck (7:14:05 PM): "Good, keep that going," Kiv confirmed. Ducking down to grip the small bits of exposed root, Kiv took care to stand in the soil to keep the tub from tilting along with the tree. The trunk groaned and creaked in ways that healthy trees shouldn't, refusing to bend at all to the pair's efforts- bit by bit, though, it did seem to be loosening its grip. Just a bit more, and they'd probably have it....
A loud crack, like a whip snapping past- something bright white flicked up from the soil with a teensy scream-noise, thrashing around with dangerous velocity. It narrowly slipped over Kiv's head, who snapped into a startled yell, diving to grab it by its base where it seemed to be anchored to the tree- but she wasn't fast enough to present it from whipping around to snap at the one-eyed man assisting on the other side. If Pales didn't know better, he'd say that thing was aiming for him, not just happening to come by his direction!
Pale Blue Elf (7:20:13 PM): The man had moved to tilt his head back only to get snapped across the jaw which caused him to startle and let go with a small curse and a fall to the rump. He had been about to ask what was wrong and what was going on, but apparently much like everything else, it wanted a piece of him for some unknown reason. He rubbed his jaw and moved forward again determinedly to see if he still needed to finish his task.
"Damn it, what is that freaky thing?" Pales grunted with a displeased tone. Of course he was not paranoid enough to believe it was solely after him, yet. Whatever it was he couldn't seem to get a good look at it. The man didn't grudge whatever it was for attacking him, okay maybe a little. Still, it was trying to survive and he couldn't hate the thing for it.
MessengerofPuck (7:27:04 PM): Kiv didn't see fit to answer, but instead managed to catch the flailing whip by its base and pulled it. It ripped easily from where it seemed to be socketed in the tree; its length went limp, and blackened, and crumbled away into a light, nutrientless soil against the ground. "Tree root," the feral woman answered. "That's what caused the reek. Might be the only one, but there could be more; stay on your toes."
Pale Blue Elf (7:35:26 PM): Pales raised an eyebrow but refrained from further commenting going back into the work that they had started. "Don't know why it seemed to have it out for me though, or was that just me?" It was a question that didn't require an answer. He just wanted to help finish the task as quickly as possible. Pales felt a bit easier, not quite so fretful and that odd smell that he could vaguely sense was seemingly going away. Pales could deal with getting injured. An angry welt was appearing along the jaw where he got hit.
MessengerofPuck (7:40:16 PM): If the woman had an answer, she didn't see fit to share- tugging as best she could at the roots of the sapling, she left the remainder of the work without conversation. Fortunately, Kiv's caution proved to be unwarranted. No more of the energy-crazed roots lashed out to try and leave any more marks on the tree's assailants, and with a few solid minutes of grunting and tugging at the groaning timber, it caved at last and suffered itself to be pulled from the soil. A few healthy roots were revealed beneath the tree, hidden previously by the soil- but these were already beginning to brown and rot, even as the pair dusted off their hands and surveyed their handiwork.
"That should do for now," Kiv determined, inhaling in a deeply satisfied manner.
Pale Blue Elf (7:46:50 PM): The man nodded after dusting his hands off with a small, almost satisfied sounding, sigh. He then moved over to the man and lightly nudged him with a foot. Pales knelt down quietly, "Unless you are a God it is better not to repeat this monstrosity or myself or my friend will come back here. I am pretty certain my friend will be much angrier than I, especially if she has to come back here for the same issue."
It was a fair warning. A warning that will be best heeded. "Any attempts to retaliate will be frowned upon." He took off his shirt and folded it pillowing the damaged head under it. Not really caring if it could be tied back to him or not. Pales was far too compassionate for his own good. It was not his way to just leave people wounded and dying, unless they really, really deserve it.
"So you be good. Burn those notes." He had a sinking feeling his words were falling upon deaf ears. Pales stood up and nodded to the door, "Unless we have other things we ought to be doing here?"
MessengerofPuck (7:52:50 PM): The man didn't reply much further than a moan, but Pales got the idea that at least some of his warning had been processed. Or maybe that was just misleading optimism, who could really say?
"No, I'm finished here," Kiv replied, feigning boredom now that her duty had been fulfilled. With the scent clearing from the air, she had more pressing affairs on her mind- for example, the fact that her pup was now needlessly under the care of a woman she hardly knew. Content with the way that the situation had turned out, she led the way through the door (which was push from this side, she remembered, not pull), displaying no interest at all in anything else on their way out.
Pale Blue Elf (7:56:23 PM): After making sure the scholar was comfortable he moved to leave, pausing for a moment, "Maybe I'll come back with some tea and some books for you as an apology for all this." Pales said with a small sigh. Now that it was done he was starting to feel a smidge of guilt. Still he forced himself out after Kiv, not looking back hoping someone would be by soon to help the Holbrook back to his feet.
