[Featured characters: Alanis, Geddoe] Budehuc Castle: Sublevel ??? What's this? A long, winding cavernous tunnel beneath the castle? Boxes and various weapons line the tunnel as it continues on- there being almost no illumination at all. Whatever this place is, it's not been in use for a very long time. Perhaps an old shelter? What could be at the end of this vast tunnel? ===== The elevator came this far down...? Geddoe doesn't remember it per-se... perhaps it did... but he's managed to get the clunky thing to work and sets foot in a place he has not seen for decades... "....." His one good eye roves about, waiting to adjust to the much dimmer light A flash of crimson illuminates the darkness beyond for just a second, before disappearing. That would be Alanis, who has made her way (fearfully) down to the sublevel again in order to do the only thing she can think of - "practice" with her fire rune. The task she has set herself right now is something she gleaned from one of the books in the library, and theoretically, it is safe; all she has to do is draw energy into the rune, and the dissipate it without actually setting something on fire. Easier said than done. But at least, if she runs into a monster again, she'll have something to throw at it. Too bad Fred isn't down here with her. He was nice. Geddoe watches silently, his hand had gone to rest on the hilt of his sword but he relaxes after a while. The girl illicits a vague sense of familiarity... but a bit unclear, really.... he's seen so many people and faces that they all seem to blend and fade into obscurity, small wonder. "This is no place for a young girl," he finally says without preamble, his voice likely echoing a little in the area. Alanis jumps at the sound of his voice and spins around. The rune glints, but thankfully she hasn't had time to draw much energy into it again - it fades after a few seconds, and she lets her hand drop. At least she hadn't thrown a spell at him. He's luckier than Fred was. She opens her mouth to respond, but then closes it again. There's not much she can say to that, after yesterday's fiasco. But still... "There isn't anywhere else for me to practice." Heavy brows crease at his forehead, as he frowns a little. He muses to himself in a quiet rumble, "I suppose no one is safe when it comes to Fire magic..." He shakes his head at something or another that has likely come up in his mind. "It's not safe down here for someone to be practicing alone. Are you practicing with your parent's approval...?" He folds his arms to study the much younger... MUCH MUCH younger child. Alanis frowns faintly, tilting her head back to look up at him. Why does she have to be shorter than everyone? "My father knows I practice..." she replies a bit vaguely, rubbing the back of her hand. That /is/ the truth, although she never told him /where/ exactly she was going to practice. He'd only worry, and really, she's fine - she even made sure to stay close to the elevator, in case she has to run. "No one else can come. I don't know anyone here... not well enough..." She sighs sharply. "Who wants to stand around and watch me make my hand glow?" Good point... He sighs, glancing around for a moment... yep... no one here still... honestly, how many people do want to come to this level on a regular basis? "I'll stay then." He's hardly enthused, but he's not letting a kid just stay around here and get eaten... Besides... all he's going to do is just brood back in his cabin or go and brood at the tavern. "You... will?" Alanis is obviously surprised by this, and she just stands there for a few seconds. Most people back away the minute she mentions the words 'fire rune' and 'practicing' in the same, excited sentence, and knowing fire magic as well as she does, who can blame them. "Well... thank you..." She doesn't really know what to say, but she bows her head a little, pigtails swaying. "I won't be much longer. It's already been an hour. But..." Her hand flexes a little. "Maybe you should wait over there. Just in case." She points a ways behind her, still in sight, but definitely out of range of any accidents she might have. Geddoe nods once, glancing to the corner... he moves over there with a minimum of noise really, although it's impossible to muffle in a cavern like this.. echoes and all... he rests a hand on the wall for a moment, closing his eyes.... before re-opening it and simply leaning against the wall, arms folded and for all intents and purposes - completely nonplussed Well, he seems to be taking it well. That's good, because she's probably going to mess this next exercise up. Containing that third-level spell just now almost hadn't worked... trying something more powerful might explode for sure. But if she doesn't try, how can she get better? Alanis takes a few steps farther, to a spot where the cavern widens, and holds her right hand out. First, aim; she closes her eyes and concentrates on a point far down the tunnel, where a torch is burning dimly. When that picture is solid in her mind, she begins to draw energy into the rune - much more slowly, this time, then when she fought that monster, but still faster than she should, perhaps. She's a bit overconfident. Should he mention that the slower the better for the higher level magics...? Probably... "Take it slower," he says from where he is - hopefully it doesn't startle her too much... then again, if it does... "....." The backlash at least will be smaller now than it would be later, no? Alanis jumps again and the fire rune pulses, but stays under control. Right. Well, adults are obligated to say stuff like that, aren't they? She does slow down a little, though. One shouldn't get the wrong idea - she doesn't want to blow herself up anymore than the next person, but now that someone is /waiting/ on her... she feels kind of bad about it. He's staying around because of her, instead of doing whatever he was going to do. No, no, /concentrate/. She's almost there. The glyph for an explosion spell is there in her mind. As soon as it's ready to release... Geddoe quite sadly, is one of those adults that really doesn't see much of a point in hurrying for anything unless it's life threatening. He's perfectly content to stand there and watch... and if need be, put out fires... - not that he has a rune suitable for that e_e; well there's always good strong medicine. Right... there! Alanis pulls the energy back again, and the rune glows brightly, like a red star. But something isn't working with this - the window for pulling back is much smaller with the higher spells, and she can feel that she isn't getting all of it. If she could just remember what the book said... what did it say, what did it /say/... Her aim is still set, so Alanis stops trying to pull the energy back and just throws the rest of it toward that torch. It's just a pure stream of fire that explodes on the tunnel wall with a roar; Alanis throws her arms up over her face and ducks. Geddoe makes a run for Alanis, ah... such memories of watching Fire rune spells backfire... imagine this happening with the True Fire Rune... nevermind... Geddoe is moving quite quickly and will try to either grab Alanis to press her up against the wall while she's ducking... it's much safer than just ducking while in the path of the backdraft.... otherwise, well... he's going to just have to protect her by trying to shelter her from most of it... it's one of those split second decisions he'll make when he reaches her and depending on how close to reaching ducking completely. Alanis hears the man running toward her and risks a glance over, not quite on her knees yet. "Wait, don't-!" Was he crazy? Like she can talk. She should have looked at that fire sealing spell! Sadly, there isn't time to dissipate the blast with another spell - not even close - even if he had a water rune to use against the fire rune... He's known for occasional recklessness... or so it seems to those around him. He more or less grabs one of Alanis's arms to propel her towards the wall, to press her up against the wall with him between her and the onrushing flames. Geddoe is going to have singed, frizzly hair, isn't he? The flames come close, but thankfully, not close enough to hit them. But the wave of heat that washes over them is searing hot, enough that Alanis could swear they're burning anyway, and it sets her coughing. She hides her face against the man's chest, but it doesn't help very much. And it serves her right, when she knew she would fail /anyway/ if she tried this. The heat dies down shortly as the flame finds no fuel and fizzles out in a stream of airborne sparks. Geddoe opens his eyes and releases Alanis as soon as the flames die down. He takes a step back, surveying the damage and pretty much checking to see that he hasn't taken severe burns. Alanis is coughing, so it's safe to assume she's alive still. "..... Are you all right?" he finally remembers to ask. Alanis opens her mouth to reply that yes, she's perfectly fine thanks, then promptly starts coughing again as she takes a breath of singed air. She raises a hand and waves weakly instead - give her a minute, and she might be able to vocalize that reassurance. Hm. That wasn't so bad, really. Her aim is really very good - it's one of the things she has been complimented on in the past, when she practiced during caravan trips with her father's guards. But that was still pretty close, and once she stops coughing, the first thing she says is, "I'm really... sorry about that." Another cough. She bows her head contritely. "Didn't mean to mess up /that/ badly..." Geddoe glances down the passageway to the nicely (or not so nicely) toasted walls... "It happens," he replies with a shrug. Still. Not for lack of trying - the amount of power pulled into that one was quite... impressive. He's still rather nonplussed about it all as he brushes off some soot from his armor, little flecks of black and white fluttering to the ground. Wow. Once again, Alanis catches herself staring at the man in mild amazement. She had just come close to frying both of them, and all he said was, 'It happens'? No lecture, no shouting, no Adult Looks that meant she was going to be in big trouble? "A-are /you/ okay?" she finally asks, finding her voice again. It didn't look like anything was wrong with him, but she hadn't seen his back yet. With any luck, his hair won't suddenly break off. Her father /still/ hasn't forgotten about that incident. Geddoe runs a hand lightly through his hair... well nothing untoward with that except for a little bit... He's still got that very calm neutral look going.. "Fine," is his terse reply, well nothing seems wrong with him, nothing feels burned or funny or smarts..... so overall... fine. Alanis coughs again. His lack of expression is kind of intimidating. Does that mean he's mad at her? She can't blame him, but still... it's really not nice to have people mad at her. It /was/ an accident. She shifts from foot to foot, and finally just looks down at her shoes. The toes are covered in soot, and her dress is probably dirty... she'll have to wait until dinner, and then sneak into her room to change before she sees her parents again. "Um... well..." Geddoe is... well his normal self... although, likely she doesn't know that. "What's your name?" he asks. Really his tone of voice hasn't changed at all since he'd first spoken to her. It's very neutral... certainly lacking any of the nuances of anger - maybe he is really good at hiding his feelings. Alanis looks up again, since talking down to one's feet is rude. "Alanis," she replies softly. He's not going to look for her parents, is he? They really, /really/ won't like to hear about this. He doesn't seem that mad, though... just really quiet. She holds out her hand as she always does, as it's the Zexen thing to do. Even if she's a little foolish with her fire rune, she has good manners! Geddoe looks at her hand for a moment before accepting it in a sketchy sort of handshake. He's certainly not going to force the issue... just one motion is enough for him - although he's not certain about her. Finding parents would be... a pointless waste of time... "That is enough for today.... I think. You will get better with experience," he says simply and seems really, more interested in just perhaps continuing his exploration... of the caverns... he's walking towards the passageway, really not looking over his shoulder. "Wait..." Alanis stands there watching him walk away for a few seconds, her hand still slightly outstretched. That's it? She'd want to get away too after being singed like that, but even still. She has to run to catch up with him, and even then, she still has to walk very fast just to keep up. "There are monsters down here, you know... neither of us should be down here alone." Never mind that he has a sword, and looks like he knows how to use it. He has that whethered warrior look she's always imagined when reading adventure stories. "What is /your/ name?" Geddoe still striding forward - not really... /minding/ the thought of monsters it seems. "I know," he responds in regards to monsters... His good eye, while apparently focused ahead of him.... glances about. His name? "Geddoe." He says after a pause. "Geddoe..." she repeats softly to herself. Where has she heard that name before? "Oh!" Alanis looks up to him with some of her old cheer back, even smiling. "Nice to meet you! You're that Harmonian commander, aren't you? The one with the Lightning Rune?" Hugo had mentioned that, days and days ago. He didn't seem very enthused about Harmonia in general, but she had wanted to talk to one of them for a while, now. Geddoe is quiet at that for a bit before he nods, "I am." It's not something he's particularily keen on discussing and hopefully his less than interested tone might encourage the conversation to move away from the topic of the lightning rune. Well, she won't push it - if Alanis is going to be interested in a True Rune, it'll probably be Hugo's. He doesn't have a problem talking about it, and she can relate better with fire anyway. "Do you think, maybe..." Now she trails off, back to being nervous again. He really is intimidating when he acts like this. "I don't mean to bother you, but..." Well, too late for that. Geddoe slows a little glancing at Alanis out of the corner of his eye, "Hm?" It's a noncommittal sound, if he doesn't feel like answering the question, he just won't answer.... but he pauses at a fork, glancing one way and the other... "......" Hm.... Alanis sighs, glad to finally stop. She's a little out of breath from trying to keep up with him. "Do you know the bishop? I think his name is Sasarai." Yes, she's definitely nervous when she asks this - one doesn't just ask after a bishop for no reason. And with the state of the war, her reason feels silly. She hates that feeling, especially because it /isn't/ silly to her. Geddoe glances at Alanis, studying her. "I've only seen him in passing," is his response. It's true, he's never really had an actual /conversation/ with Sasarai... He's spoken with Luc... but, that isn't considered 'knowing'. Alanis sighs softly, glancing at the fork in the tunnel. She passed this with Fred, the other day. "I see." So he won't be able to help her with that, then. Will she just have to speak to the bishop directly? Will he even see her? She doesn't know how they're handling things here... but such an important person probably has some kind of procedure for that. In her memory, everything in Harmonia had a procedure. Geddoe glances at Alanis again, scruitinizing her a little bit... and he goes back to looking between the two corridors... "Either way...." he mumurs to himself and simply starts down the left corridor, although his hand rests on the hilt of his sword, a bit slower and more cautious now.... Finally, he asks, "Why?" "Because..." Alanis starts after him - now that she's this far in, she can't very well go back without him. She feels a flash of guilt at that. "I wanted to ask him something. But... he's probably too busy, I guess..." She stares down at her hands, rubs the back of the one with the fire rune. It still stings a little bit from that failed spell. "I think this is a dead end, by the way." The turn of the tunnel looks familiar, and she's positive she has been much farther than this - the least she can do is save him time, if she's going to be an uninvited tag-along. Geddoe answers with a, "There are three cul-de-sac's here... if I remember correctly..." They're probably coming up on it right now, as he continues to hug more to the right hand side of the passageway. Of course his memory could just be... faulty - which wouldn't be the first time... They're probably going to be coming up on the first one soon... very soon. "There's nothing wrong in asking. The worst he can say is 'no'." Of course it depends on the question. "Well...." He pauses reaching the fork. "There is worse." "Worse?" Something worse than a 'no'? "What do you mean?" That doesn't sound very promising, and definitely not something Alanis wants to hear. It's hard /enough/ just trying to get up the nerve to talk to him. And if not the bishop, who else is there? The teleporter girl? "A death sentence, for offending a bishop," Way to go for encouraging the girl, no? "But I do not think the Bishop Sasarai is such a one." He shrugs. Up ahead there's some noise, drawing closer. "/Death/ sentence?" Alanis's voice is just a touch shrill at that. /Death/? Not just for asking about magic, surely. /Surely/. "But--" She stops, ears picking up on the noise. Unless someone else is here with them - something she doubts, with all the rumors of monsters flying about - then something unfriendly must be waiting for them. Not the same thing she ran into with Fred, hopefully... that thing was ugly. And indeed it's probably the same monster that Alanis saw yesterday... or at least same type... ugly. purple with claws nearly as large as their spindly bodies... "...." Alanis makes a little sound of disgust, and there's a tinge of fear to it, too. She hadn't been hurt yesterday, but those things are /dangerous/. And Geddoe doesn't have a shield like Fred did. What if he's hit? She doesn't have a water rune... "Should I try a spell?" She can't see more than two, but the tunnel is dark - what if there are more? She starts drawing power back into her rune again, slowly, just in case he wants her to stay back. That wouldn't be a bad idea, but since she's here, it's only fair to offer her help. Geddoe glances at Alanis, "All right..." He steps to the side, still able to protect her if need be, but he'll give her the chance. One grows stronger only through experience after all. He stands in a pose more suited for casting though, gathering power into the rune in his left hand... it's meant as back-up, he doesn't have all that much power gathered considering how slowly he's doing it, he needs to concentrate more on protecting Alanis. Alanis tries to eye the distance between the two monsters. They don't seem ready to shoot anything at Geddoe, at least, but those claws are still quite frightening. They're close enough; she forms the glyph for a second-level spell in her mind, and the rune flashes, igniting the first creature in flames. With any luck, the second one was hit as well. Geddoe hadn't bothered to upgrade his Lightning rune, not since he'd had access to the True Lightning Rune... even if he rarely used it... it was always more within the 'means' of a simple merc to have a Lightning rune as opposed to a Thunder rune... so, he'd kept it at that... about now, he'd like a Lightning rune if he can ever find one.... At any rate, he lifts his left arm overhead, crackles of blue energy racing around his clenched fist as the rune activates. He focuses on the the monsters opposite them... and casts a level three lighting spell... it's faster... and should take care of the creatures Alanis has already hurt... with enough to spare.... "Mental note. Upgrade." Alanis's eyes are wide as she watches Geddoe cast. That's so... so fast. And it just /decimated/ those horrible things. She doesn't know enough about lightning runes to tell how powerful that spell was, or which rune it might have come from. All she knows is that it /worked/. And he's talking about an upgrade? He really doesn't need her help. Unfortunately, she does need his... "Sorry I wasn't much help." "You grow stronger with experience," Geddoe replies simply, fixing her with a steady gaze. "There is no substitute for it. It was straight ahead...." and with that, he resumes walking forward. Quirky, no? Alanis is thoroughly confused, now, but she does her best not to show it as she runs to catch up with him again. First he seems silent and surly, then just... well, silent... and he isn't acting like any adult /she/ knows. No one has actually /encouraged/ her to use her rune before. "You're right, I guess..." And experience is what she has been trying to gain with all of this practicing, but it doesn't seem to be doing much good. That's why she wants to speak to the bishop, and... oh dear. Death. That isn't a happy thought... "Any failure you can live through, is a learning experience. Therefore never see it as anything bad. You will learn more through repeated failures than you will with a single success." He looks forward as he walks, although, apparently he's got a philosophical side...? "You think so?" That's an odd way of looking at it. The way she figures, if you get something right... that means you have it right. No one has ever told her anything different. Alanis peers up at him, hands clasped behind her back, still rubbing the fire rune. It isn't going to leave her alone now, is it, after that mess up? She's surprised she isn't ready to faint, with how much energy she has already spent. "I've never heard that before." "Just the observations of an old man," he replies, glancing at Alanis out of the corner of his eye. There's a faint smile tugging at one corner of his lips, but it fades soon enough as he goes back to navigating the none too well-lit passageways, reaching another branching point again, and he comments, "Definitely left." Alanis peers into the darkness down the other branch as she follows him. She had gone right, last time, but that turn up there was where she met Fred, so she had no idea what was past that point. Probably another dead end, if Geddoe was aiming away from it. "You don't look that old." It's all relative, of course, but she has a better eye for age than most children her age, who see anything over fifteen as "old." "Looks can be decieving," is all Geddoe says. Well... it's... leading to Eike's hideaway where he disappears to for days on end. Geddoe stops to survey the area... resting his gloved hands against his hips and shaking his head slightly, a bemused expression on his face. "Someone decided to remodel." Remodel? Alanis stops just behind him and peers into the hollowed out area. It's actually quite big, complete with a lamp, and... well, rather normal-looking things for such a strange place. "Does someone... live here?" she muses, stepping even with him to look around. It seems safe enough, here. "You've been here before?" Geddoe shrugs, "Who knows," in reference to someone living here... Geddoe moves over to simply glance around... noting the books down here. Perhaps he didn't hear the last question - or just doesn't want to answer the question. His expression is thoughtful. Alanis is reluctant to interrupt him again. He seems to like his silence, and since she doesn't have much to say herself, she just quietly walks over to the cushions and sits down. After all of that walking, and standing, it's a relief. The rest of it doesn't really interest her, although she does glance at the books. The titles seem mildly interesting; one of them she recognizes from her last visit to the library. Geddoe is content to walk the room, nodding to himself sometimes and in generally, looking a little nostalgic.... but eventually he seems to tire of it, resting a hand against the stone walls. "This place ... endures .... memory-" Whatever he says is lost since he wasn't speaking all that loud. "- This time." And with that he straightens and glances to Alanis, to see what she's up to. Alanis looks up at the sound of his voice, but she doesn't quite follow what he said. She's used to that. Adults all seem to break up their sentences like that, or only speak half of what they're thinking. And when she asks, they always say something like, "I'll tell you when you're older," or, "Nothing you need to hear, child." Really, it's very frustrating, so she doesn't bother to ask. "These are books from the library. Maybe someone from the castle comes down here to read." Geddoe quirks an eyebrow at that.... well... to each their own... it's not causing anyone any trouble, he's assuming... He walks over to glance over what is on the table. He reaches for a book, flipping open the pages idly, flipping through it somewhat slowly. He pauses for a bit at one particular page, his expression thoughtful. Amused, perhaps? Or something else, but he studies the sketch on the page for a bit. Alanis watches Geddoe quietly, putting the book she was looking at aside. This is the most expression she has seen on him since their meeting near the elevator. The book cover doesn't tell her anything much, so she waits for him to finish - then she'll ask, if only for the sake of conversation. Even with company, this place is still creepy when things get quiet. Geddoe shakes his head and closes the book, returning it to the pile. Simply nostalgia. "I'm done here. Did you need to rest longer?" He knows magic can be tiring, and he has nothing against letting someone rest. "No, no, I'm fine," Alanis replies quickly, standing up and dusting her skirt off. Soot trickles over her legs with the dust, and she winces. That's going to be hard to hide. "I'm ready to go if you are." And now that he's back to business, she decides to simply keep her questions to herself. He doesn't look any different than before, but... he probably didn't mean to have her tagging along, and she really doesn't want to annoy him any more. Geddoe quirks an eyebrow, "If you need to rest longer, rest. I have no need to be anywhere." He really doesn't, it's not as if the 12th unit needs its commander when they're biouvac'd at a castle. "It's okay, really." Alanis glances back at the books. She would take the offer to rest, but she isn't that tired - not tired enough to want to stick around in these caverns, anyway. Another battle or two won't do her any harm. "Do you think we should take these back?" she asks, with a gesture to the books. Geddoe shakes his head, "I'm certain they'll be back in the library someday," not that he's at all eager to see that one back on the shelf. "Whoever was reading them, will likely be annoyed if his or her books go missing." He slips the book back to where it was. "Let's go." Alanis nods, trying to clap the soot off of her hands now that she's done with her skirt. If one thing annoys her, it's dirty hands. They make everything /else/ dirty. "Okay." She falls in behind him, and prepares herself for the task of using the rune again - just in case. Geddoe nods and takes the lead, hand on sword.... in the event that any more annoying monsters appear. He's not much of a talker, sadly. "You're from Bine Del Zexse?" he asks rather out of the blue after a bit of a walk. Alanis blinks, then nods, even though she's walking behind him. "Yes. I was born there. We return from time to time, when business is good." She doesn't talk a mile a minute herself, although she's a good deal more social than Geddoe seems to be. And the sound of talking seems to brighten the place a little, so she continues, hopefully not to the point of annoyance. "My father is in trading, so we travel a lot. I love Zexen best, but there are a lot of nice places in the world." Geddoe nods slightly, "Vinay del Zexse is a pleasant city," he does reply abstractedly. Considering his team loves getting smashingly drunk there every chance they get. "Where are you from?" Alanis asks somewhat timidly. It still echoes. And though she isn't sure she should say it, "You don't... /look/ Harmonian..." Not that one has to be blond and pale to be Harmonian, but that's her experience with them. And that experience is, admittadly, a bit limited. Geddoe stops, looking upwards. Where indeed.... "It no longer exists on any map," he answers. "It was conquered by Harmonia long ago." So, technically... he IS Harmonian...? something like that. "Conquered..." She feels a bit bad about mentioning it, now. Everything she knows of Harmonia is confined to Crystal Valley - Alanis knows they wage wars and do generally bad things now and then, but that place always looks so pristine that it's hard for her to imagine such things. "I'm sorry." Geddoe shrugs, "It was a long time ago. No one remembers it anymore." One would think. Well... no one alive to speak for those dead - Geddoe won't. "That is the fact of war." Alanis stares up at him, and almost stumbles for not paying attention to where she's walking. She catches herself against the wall and falls back into step, a bit embarassed. It's impolite to stare at people, anyway. But he's taking it so calmly... her father was so angry when the war with Grassland started again, and Zexen wasn't in any danger that she knew of, even now. If she lost her home... well, how can he take it so calmly? Geddoe glances at Alanis. "Did you need to rest?" he asks again. Perhaps she is tired? Childhood is something more or less that he's forgotten how much energy did he have as a child? Who knows? Alanis shakes her head silently, a bit red in the face. No, she's just being careless... seems to be a problem these days. "I'm fine, I just... tripped." While staring. Like an idiot. Maybe she should rest for a few days, and see if she can find her common sense again. "The caves havn't been maintainted for decades," Geddoe replies abstractedly, and continues a little slower. He's silent once more, focused and alert for monsters still. Is it a long way back to the elevator? Alanis isn't thrilled about the idea of running into more monsters. Geddoe is fine company, if really quiet, but those eye /things/ aren't high on her list of things she wants to see while exploring. At least she knows what's back there, now. She can save Elliot and Melville the trouble of coming down, because honestly... it's too dangerous. She doesn't want them to get hurt. "You said maintained..." She thinks for a moment, recalling something he'd said earlier. "You seem to know your way around. Do you know what these caverns are for?" "Budehuc Castle," begins Geddoe. "Is built to honor the Fire Champion. It's safe to say that this place was one of the many caves and hideouts used by the Fire Bringers," He says this with a faint smile. "Really?" That brightens Alanis's mood considerably. "Wow!" They're walking around in an old hideout of the original Fire Bringer? That's a piece of history! She stops to spin around, even though there isn't really much to see - even old, plain cavern walls can look interesting when seen in the right light. "I had no idea." She skips back up to Geddoe's side and smiles up at him. "That's why this place was created as a communal land - belonging neither to the Grasslands nor the Zexen Federation. That it would be able to serve the kind of purpose it does today." Wyatt would have liked it, he supposes.... He shakes his head. "This is a place where the knights of Zexen and the warriors of the Grasslands gather - for mutual purpose. A free land." "I've never heard of anything like that before." This time, Alanis watches where she's walking. Watching Geddoe doesn't offer much anyway, since he seems to keep everything locked up inside. "They don't talk about it in Zexen books, anyway." And in Harmonia... well, it seems wherever she goes, they always teach about their own history, from their own point of view. It's rare that the tutors she has in those different places agree on the way something happened. "I guess they wouldn't want to, would they... I don't know very much about that. My teachers in Harmonia barely mentioned it." Geddoe nods slightly, "All nations have things they would rather not reveal," the dark little screts and weaknesses. "Harmonia is no different from Zexen or even the Grasslands in that respect. Eventually - one learns to read between the lines.... or if you are fortunate, you will see history unfolding before you, here at this place." "Like Hugo being the new Flame Champion. Right?" That's something that will surely make the history books. A Harmonian bishop is here - even they can't ignore it. "Is it because he has a True Rune? One of the books I was reading talked about history always following the True Runes. It does seem terribly important, but I don't see why that should make a difference. Hugo is a great person all by himself. He doesn't need a rune to show that." There's the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel so to speak... as Geddoe turns the corner. The passageway looks like it's been sort of charred and there's still the smell of smoke and a little of brimstone-like smell... they're getting close to getting back to the elevator. "Perhaps.... The True Runes have a way of embroiling their bearers into great wars of balance and power... like the struggle between the sword and the shield. The fight never ends... even now, for some...." "Never...?" Alanis coughs at the smell - she doesn't take well to brimstone. Maybe she should invest in a different kind of rune someday. That Pale Gate rune still calls to her. "That's a long time. Surely it must end someday." She shakes her head, rubbing her nose. Almost there, and no monsters! Things are definitely looking better. "I don't want Hugo to be caught up in this kind of thing forever. That would be so sad..." Geddoe's hands grip into fists, "It's a responsibility, bearing a True Rune, it is not a toy to be discarded when one tires of it and it is no longer convenient." He says this a bit harshly, but it's something that's always grated at him.... Alanis sobers instantly, looking up again with a concerned glance. Did she make him angry...? She doesn't say anything else for a long moment, but she can't just leave it at that. It might get her in more trouble, but still. "I don't think he would do that..." Geddoe forces himself to relax... "I hope he doesn't...." Trust in humanity.... so the Fire Hero had asked him to do... Hugo is doing his best, that Geddoe has to acknowledge... He pushes the button the the "Elevator" and waits to see if it breaks down or actually works.... If the elevator breaks down again, Alanis just might cry. She can't /climb/ in a skirt, especially not when she's the only girl. How embarassing that would be... "I'm sorry if I said something wrong." She looks back up at Geddoe just as the elevator arrives with a perky *ding*. Geddoe shakes his head, "It's the whims of an old man," he replies with a hint of good humor. "Don't mind it." He indicates that Alanis should go and step in first. "Okay..." She precedes him into the elevator, and waits by the panel of buttons for Geddoe to enter. She can't tell if his mood changes quickly, or if... well, she can't tell. That's so unnerving. But he's interesting to talk to, and nice enough. She's glad they could meet. "Thank you." He's mercurial... of sorts.... "You're welcome," he replies quietly. "Do try to find someone to go down there with you if you intend to practice more - preferably someone that is more than competent with a water rune." With that said, Geddoe presses the button to take him back to the main floor... where Alanis intends to go, he doesn't know..... but he'll go and brood in the tavern for a bit perhaps.