RP:Holding History

This is a Adventurer's Guild RP.

Summary: Meri and Loravelle meetup to discuss a particular stone that the Adventurer’s Guild found within the belly of a leviathan during one of their more recent hunts. Loravelle is not able to translate what the carvings on the stone say, but she does have a few guesses as to what language the carvings on the stone have been written in. Either an old dialect of Saurian or perhaps ancient Avian.

The Rebel Room: Art Gallery

Loravelle still wasn't used to venturing too far out of her bubble in Gualon alone, but curiosity and a promise to be of use leads her to Cenril. Hugging her jacket over her robes close to keep the cold out, the maid recently turned rogue whispers her grounding countdown while walking Cenril's streets, still wary about how the illness passing through supposedly works. Rumor said it was a bite, but she wasn't taking the risk. She's wrapped her hair up in a headscarf to keep it hidden, then wrapped her face, save for her eyes, in a second scarf to act as a mask. Social distancing from everybody too. All the good stuff. She doesn't tug the scarf obscuring the majority of her face down until she's reached Meri's gallery and stepped in, uncertain of what to expect once inside. Lora may not have an eye for what's good or bad art, but she did enjoy it. Especially pottery. Maybe Meri has some fancy vase she can look at before her purpose for visiting is presented to her. She's eager to see the stone and attempt a translation.

Meri could not wait for the disease or curse…or whatever the heck it was…that has been plaguing Cenril to be solved. The infected have been contained, mostly, as far as Meri understood it. That does not mean that the talk has not hurt tourism, which in turn were hurting the sales at her gallery. Many of the pieces that Loravelle was looking at had been on Meri’s walls for longer than the artist liked. While Meri had not actually been expecting Loravelle to make an appearance today, the blonde has been working hard to try and see if she cannot find hints as to what this stone she has might be. So when Loravelle enters the gallery, she will not have a hard time locating the artist. The blonde is currently sitting at her desk, pawing over various papers, the blue-hued stone within plain sight as well. Meri was not alone, she was currently in the company of two wolves. One was full grown and the other was just a pup, but both were black in color. There were also three dogs preset, all in a variety of colors and sizes. Four out of the five creatures present would be excited to great Loravelle the moment that catch her scent, the only one not in the sniffing/welcoming party being the adult wolf. The pup, the great dane, the cane corso, and the dachshund were all eager to make friends. Meri would wait for Lora to manage to appease their wants before she’d make her way over to the still unfamiliar woman to great her properly. Meri had some knowledge of who she was, the two had just never been formally introduced.

Loravelle's eyes go wide once she sees two wolves and -three- dogs, and four are on their way over to her. She shrieks, backs herself into the door, hand fumbling for the handle to wrench it open and flee the gallery. It's embarrassing, but at least she doesn't wet herself or trip over her feet. Just the night before, she accompanied a werewolf on his hunt and handled it better than she could have ever possibly imagined, but a group of dogs and wolves together was something Loravelle wasn't prepared for. Not yet. Did they smell Leo on her? Maybe that's why they approached. Her hands are trembling as they reach out to try petting the dogs and wolf pup, thinking maybe that'll help quell her fear and make them not want to bite her even if it's clear that they didn't, but in her panic she does see Meri and that stone. Just make it to Miss Meri and her stone and everything will be fine, the maid tells herself, and she wills herself to take a few steps forward. “M-miss M-M-Meri?” Is her stammered greeting to the blonde. At least she remembered the woman's name. “I'm L-Lora-” one of the dogs brushed past her leg, causing the maid to almost leap out of her skin. “M-Mister Le-” No, not mister. He isn't Mister Leo anymore. “...Leo, he asked me to help you with a stone?” Her grey eyes settle on it, once she's managed to approach Meri's desk. She doesn't invite herself to a seat and remains standing, albeit awkwardly, looking down at the dogs, wolf pup and wolf while taking a deep breath. It'll be okay, she mentally repeats. Leo wouldn't have led her into a trap.

Meri lifts a brow when Loravelle shrieks over being greeted by the dogs and the pup. It was not every day that people had such a strong reaction to being greeted by the beasties but Meri did not know what sort of experiences Loravelle had. “Oi. Heel.” All of them, even the pup, listen. The pup was of course Meri’s child and while the blonde has not gone out of the way to make sure that her own CHILD follows the same commands given to her dogs, but Fleur knew well enough when to stop just by the tone of Meri’s voice. The dogs take a place on the floor, laying down in a group, while the wolf pup goes to hang out with Ohtar. He was her favorite of the bunch, afterall. “They are all friendly and just trying to say hi, don’t mind them too much.” This will give Loravelle plenty of opportunity to make her way over to where the lycan was sitting. Except, by the time that Lora is close enough to be standing next to Meri? The blonde was no longer sitting. There was only one chair at the desk anyway, it would be rude for Meri to remain seated while Lora was forced to stand. “Please, don’t even bother with that Miss stuff. You’ll learn pretty quickly that I ain’t your mild mannered lady, I don’t really care for those formalities much. Just call me Meri. And it is nice to finally meet you, Lora. I’ve seen you around a few times, but always when there is such a crowd around. It can be hard to make rounds when there are a lot of faces present. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Meri smiles toward Lora and then gestures to the rock in question. It was old and worn, both from the time spent under the ocean and from the time spent in the leviathan’s belly. If Lora would look closely, she would see that there are in fact carvings on the face of the stone, though some parts have been worn away to almost nothing. “This is the mystery I am trying to solve. Maybe it is something, maybe it is nothing. I won’t be able to know until I know at least…what language is written on the stone.”

Loravelle envies Miss Meri in a way. To be so calm must be wonderful. Lora had her moments of calm too, but every time she caught a glimpse of Miss Meri, she always seemed to be at ease. This brings a timid smile to her lips once the artist tells all of the beasties to heel and assures her that they're just saying hello. Exhaling a breath with relief, Lora finds herself confused when Meri stands once she's approached. Another person that preferred just their name only. “Just Meri. Forgive m-” she pauses. Meri just said she wasn't mild mannered lady. Lora was, likely to an embarrassing extreme, and the thought had her fiddle with part of her headscarf to make sure it still sat on her head right. A strand of black hair was loose, hanging out on the right side of her face beneath it, but she paid it no mind. Perhaps an apology wasn't necessary. That's new...But Loravelle will try. No Miss and no apologies. Her smile remains on her face, even brightening a little at Meri's greeting. “It's nice to meet you as well, Meri. I hope I can be helpful...” Her head turns to the rock the instant Meri gestures to it. Leoxander described the stone to her as something spell weavers make use of, and that definitely matched the description. Though she's uncomfortable with the idea of touching anything that may potentially have magic resting in it, Lora's curiosity for what those worn markings might read takes over, and she lifts the stone into her hands. Her fingers trace along what marks seem to be mostly intact, squinting curiously at them while she mentally skims that wellspring of linguistic knowledge that she possessed in her head. What the stone is made of is entirely lost on her, but the markings...Her eyes go wide. How in the world did Meri get her hands on something like this? She was expecting some mage's script or an Elvish script, not this. To Lora, it's as if she's holding on to a chunk of history, and the tone of her voice reflects that. She's shocked. Awestruck. “This is really old...I can't pronounce any of it, but it's Old Saurian or perhaps Ancient Avian...?” She didn't know how to speak either language and believed them both to be dead languages, so discerning their meanings would be a puzzle. Where Meri found it would give her a better idea. A rock found in Xalious leaned heavily toward Old Saurian while something found in the water may potentially be Avian, Lora thinks. Didn't one or more of their cities fall in the sea long ago? History played an important role in studying dead languages, so she had some surface knowledge for either language for context, but not much else. “I can't read it, but it must be one or the other. Where did you find it?”

Meri ::The truth was that this particular stone was not exactly something that spell weavers used, though it could be easily mistaken as such. The writing was foreign, the stone was rarely seen in the lands. For those who have seen it, it might resemble a certain elerium tablet the writing on it was far different than on that tablet. This sign was really just a placard one might see in front of a monument, describing its history and who might have designed or dedicated the monument. At one point in time, prior to the fall of Armantium, there might have been magic held within the stone itself due to the fact that it was made from elerium…but something has sense happened to that material to long render it inert. If it still had it’s levitating properties, then the city would likely have never crashed into the sea to begin with. “Saurian or Avain, both two very different languages…” Her commentary was not meant to be critical, she was just mulling out loud. It was a mystery that they were trying to ponder over, after all. Hopefully as the two interact, Lora will begin to feel more at ease with Meri and would soon realize that while they may have two different personalities, Meri held no ill-judgment toward the maid. The blonde would watch the woman carefully, however, as she handled the stone. It was an original piece of history, if something happened to it then Meri would not be able to replace it. Nor would she be able to mend it. “The Adventurer’s Guild was commissioned to go on a hunt for a leviathan. When we started butchering the leviathan, this was found inside of the stomach. There were a few more contents, a sword made from a metal that I have not seen used in often and some scrapes of armor, but the armor was too battered to really make heads or tails of what pieces they might be exactly.” There is a pause. “Leo seemed to think that the stone was made from Elerium. Maybe if I use that, combined with your belief that this could possibly be saurian or avian…Maybe that will tell me more.”

​​Loravelle nods slowly, casting a sidelong glance at Meri. Talking about languages was something that made her less tense and much more comfortable. She could gush about different tongues, but old or dead languages weren't so easy to work with. Just utterly fascinating. “I think Saurian marks tend to be less elegant than what I can make out on this...” But having never seen a real artifact from either language apart from this stone, Lora didn't know if her assumption was accurate or not. She had illustrations from books to extrapolate from and little else. She frowns, chewing on her lip. This is a puzzle that she wanted to help Meri solve. After carefully turning the stone in her hands a final time, in effort to try to find any mark that might hammer down what exactly the language is, she returns it to Meri's desk. And it's a good thing she did, because the notion of hunting a leviathan and possibly having touched Elerium were both just as shocking as holding an old piece of history. She might have dropped the stone and damaged it. “I-if it were inside a leviathan's belly, then...Perhaps Ancient Avian. Or...There are sea dragons, so...” Blue dragons that swam in the ocean too, right? Maybe she's wrong, that knowing the location Meri found it may be enough to determine the language. A sword and armor with the stone? That may be avian, but dragons could take human forms too, which Lora learned to be true recently. It's a troublesome thought, being near folk that possessed other forms. She's trying to get used to that, though. “I don't know much of anything about different rocks or stones...” An idea strikes, and she can't help her little exclamation. “There's Schezerade! Maybe...Maybe you could see if they can determine if it's Elerium or not?” But avians were proud creatures and tended to look down on others. At least Ancient Avians, to Lora's minimal understanding. “Do you know any avians that could help?”

Meri could tell that Loravelle was shocked to hear where Meri acquired this stone in particular. The woman’s shock brings a smirk to Meri’s lips and the blonde can’t help but tease the woman just a bit. “You know, I see that you really like to keep in Leo’s company. If you are going to hang around him, you are going to find yourself drawn into a whole world of adventures.” Not the same type of adventures that Meri was speaking off currently, everything that Meri did for the Adventurer’s Guild was mostly legal, though perhaps a bit questionable in terms of ethics. Raiding ancient cities was something that some might frown upon, perhaps, due to a lack of respect for the dead. It was gold in Meri’s eyes. Still, Meri was savvy enough that she would not speak openly about the less legal things that Lora could find herself pulled into if she kept in Leo’s company. “Not that I am judging. I have known the guy for years.” Not to the same degree that Lora was getting to know Leo. They had worked together though, and shared a whiskey here and there. Anyway, the mystery stone is placed on the table and once it is, Meri lets her gaze shift to the furry companions that she has with her. They were still managing to behave themselves. “I know…Three avians and…I don’t think I know any dragons. I think all three of them would be apt to help me, provided that I am able to cross paths with them. I think my best bet would be to speak with Brennia or Demeter. Thamalys tends to be more elusive to me…” Meri gives a slight wrinkle of her nose. “And if they are not able to help, then I suppose that would mean that it is the other option, saurian.” If they thought avians could be arrogant, well…try getting information out of a dragon. Meri is not even sure where she would begin with that task, if she needed to.

Loravelle is a fairly predictable person. The second Meri teases about being in Leo's company, her face starts to turn red. “Y-yeah, he...he's told me that I would see a lot with him, more than I've ever known,” though she doesn't go into detail. Lora is one of the rogues now, at least to her understanding, but didn't know if Meri was too. Once Meri explains that she's known the rogue for years however, Lora believes it might be safe to discuss what sorts of things Leo told her that she gets up to. Safe is an odd word for Lora, as her eyes briefly travel to Meri's pets and daughter, which would shock her if she knew that that wolf pup was Meri's daughter. They were just enjoying themselves. Nothing to fear here. That thought about discussing rogue things is shelved the instant she recognizes one of the names Meri lists off for avians, eyes lighting up with surprise once her gaze returns to Meri. Mister Thamalys. She met him once, in Gualon, and conveniently had something that supposedly could summon him right in her pocket. This makes her feel so much better after her, at least to Lora, not-so-helpful advice to Meri about her stone. She shoves a hand in the pocket of her skirts, and pulls a small, glossy-looking chess piece from her pocket. It looks like a rook. “Mister Thamalys said that if I were ever in need, to throw this into a fire or put it on a candle's flame, and he would reach me.” She offers it to Meri. “I think you have much more important use for it than I do.”

Meri takes the offered chess piece into her hand and gives it a subtle look over. “Huh, wouldn’t have thought. Magic is funny like that, I suppose. Burn an item, send a message.” Meri was no mage though, so this was purely speculation on her end. “I will definitely consider using it, though I think I may try and reach out to Demeter first. It has been awhile since I have had a chance to speak with her and she is such a dear friend.” For the time being, Meri takes that offered chess piece and places it on her desk right next to the stone. “If it turns out I do not summon Thamalys, then I will be sure to return your trinket to you. It will give me a chance to catch up more, maybe next time I will come down to you. Where do you like to haunt anyway? Any place in particular?” Meri could not say for certain, she had seen Lora all over the lands with Leo. But everyone had their favorites, Meri clearly traveled just as much as Lora did yet the blonde would call both Kelay-Sage and Cenril her favorites. “And if I learn anything more, I will make a point to update you so that you can satisfy your own curiosity as to what this stone might be….If it is anything at all, like my gut tells me that it is.” Meri finds herself looking toward Ohtar and Fluer again, the two wolves. “But for now, I think my research for tonight is done. I should probably fight with the kid and convince her to shift back to human so that I can throw her into the bath before bed.” Meri would not usually be so open with this information, but the blonde saw no harm since Lora kept the company of a lycan quite often.

Loravelle ;; “I'm afraid of magic,” an silly admission, considering Lora is probably afraid of her own shadow. “I'm not really sure how that thing works, except for his instructions.” While Meri talks about visiting her friend Demeter instead of contacting Mister Thamalys, she can't help smiling fondly just a little. Dear friends sounded nice. Her sisters were her dear friends, and Leo, but he was more than that. Her hand rubs at the side of her face, as if attempting to scrub away the blush that most likely was reemerging there. “O-oh, I live in Gualon with my family. One of the buildings off of Foundling Street. We've...repurposed it into apartments. My family and folks that sailed here with us all live there together. I like the swamps, and the Gualon's gardens, and I've started visiting Rynvale often too,” never alone, though. She clung to Leo like a shadow might whenever she happened to set foot on his island, not at all ready to explore it on her own...But that thought is lost the instant Meri mentions her child. “W-what?” Her eyes travel to the dogs, the wolf, and the pup. She's afraid of most things, but not necessarily stupid. That puppy is Meri's daughter?! Once again, Loravelle looks shocked, mouth hanging slightly open once she's turned her gaze back to Meri, who is apparently a lycan. Were all of the people Leoxander knew lycans? Maybe Meri was part of his pack. “I...If I had known she was your child I wouldn't have patted her head before...” That's weird, isn't it? Giving someone's wolf child head pats was weird, right? Her tone grows sheepish again. “T-this is new to me, I..um. I like children. They're sweet. I have a bunch of nieces and nephews that I babysit for my sisters.”

Meri did not know Leo had a pack. That would have to be a conversation for a different day. Meri instead has herself a good chuckle, “Please, I think she kind of likes it. Besides, she is grown enough that she’d be able to tell you in her own way that she didn’t like it.” Probably with some sort of a growl, or bark, or something that would probably scare poor Lora and convince her that maybe Fleur isn’t a nice and sweet pup afterall, like Meri had promised. “Besides, how would you know any better? She went up to greet you at the same time that the dogs did. It seems only logical.” Meri can only answer with a bit of a shrug. It’s at this point that she steps away from Lora to scoop up the black wolf pup, taking her up into her arms. It should be noted that the pup clearly not full grown, yet she is not exactly tiny either. She is not snuggly cradled into Meri’s arms like an eight-week old dog might be. No, the way Meri holds her is a bit more awkward. She can’t exactly balance the child on her hip at this stage, so her front paws are just sort of thrown over Meri’s shoulders. That is to say, she was already probably a good thirty-to-forty pounds as a wolf-pup. Probably a bit heavier if she were a child. Meri does not seem to struggle though, she was graced with that lycan strength afterall. “You babysit, eh? Well, maybe after we get to know each other a bit. Lycan children are a bit more challenging than your average human child. A bit more energy to them, plus if they are born lycan then they have no problems shifting on will. It’s just…well it’s a lot. And then you have to deal with the fact that some portion of the public does not actually like lycans. We’re scary, you know.” Meri did not know the full extent of Lora’s fear, but maybe she could smell it. Either way, Meri likely meant no harm. “Anyway, we’ll be in touch, yes? Very soon. For now though…” She gives that child in her arms a bounce.

Loravelle is grateful for the reassurances Meri provides, even if the concept of a lycan child is utterly foreign to her. Watching Meri lift up her child, even in her wolf pup form, is a sweet thing to see. Lora never wanted children of her own, but she liked them. Kinda hard not to when you lived with a ton of them that called you their Auntie. The other option was to be bitter and despise kids, which she couldn't bring herself to do. “I do,” though it's obvious she has never handled a lycan child. The artists' explanation of lycan children stirs some fear and concern, but in her eagerness to be useful and to try getting over her fears, Lora is nervously open to the idea of babysitting eventually. “I...I'm learning to not be afraid,” she murmurs, sheepishly. “Leo is helping me a lot with that. And – Yes! Absolutely, we'll be in touch.” Such an odd phrase for her to say. Keeping in touch with people? What world has Leo pulled her into? Her hand lifts, trembling a little, to wave farewell to both Meri and her daughter, before she turns to exit the artist's gallery. Once she's out the door and it's shut behind her, she presses her back flat against it and exhales a breath that she must have held in for a long time. Her nerves cause her to shake a bit, but the lady is beaming. She tried something new and didn't freak out too much. Meri might hear the sound of hands clapping together. Did Lora just give herself a high five before walking away...?