RP:Quirky Book Lovers

From HollowWiki

Summary: Thamalys is about to retrieve a much-coveted book from a dodgy librarian, when he cannot help but notice the colossal presence of Oline - presently intent into some ponderous reading herself. Thanks to the munificent help of the Giantess, the two of them walk away from the bookstand with one book more each - which contents, have yet to be revealed…

Larket: Town Square

Thamalys was - for once - ambling along the spacious leeway of the Square, apparently directed toward the modest extent of a bookseller’s display, not-so-conveniently located at the very corner of the space. Interestingly enough, the number of hefty tomes and ancient booklets exposed was not that remarkable at all - and yet, a keen eye would have noticed an odd-looking gleam into the dark eyes of the librarian, a sturdy dwarf - such a beard, that one! - by the name of Turmalikk. Steps away from the latter, the Avian sported the simplest of his attires, blackish leathery pants wrapping tightly those impossibly long legs, a simple, if plainly of excellent workmanship, white shirt hanging loose on his shoulders, barely covering the knotty patterns of the ink covering much of his pale skin. The awful extent of his dreadlocks was pinned down somehow, the ivory-white braids brushing against the metallic shapes of the Gossamer Halberd, squarely laced on his back, right in the middle of the huge, silver clad wings. Solid blue eyes nailed onto the bulky features of the librarian almost within his reach already, he proceeded to cover the distance separating Spellblade from vendor with a couple of strides only.

Oline was seated in the grassy clearing nestled in beside the gazebo with rune-enchanted spectacles perched upon her nose and a book propped up on her knee. The spine of the leatherbound book bore no signifying marks or title, but it was obvious from the wear and tear of the thing that it was both very old and very-well cared for. The cover did possess a single symbol, a preservation rune which served to slow the deterioration of the tome considerably, but it was not of a language known anywhere throughout these parts. Even seated, Oline towered over many of the folks passing by... but she'd grown considerably in popularity amongst those loyal to the Crown after word of her standing up against the rabble-rousers had begun to spread. Now when the people spoke of The Giantess of Larket, it tended towards awe and reverance, rather than mistrust and fear. Of course, those who believed that the royals were in need of deposing still scowled and hissed whenever they came upon her... but they seemed fewer and farther between than those who simply ambled up to say hello. At precisely this moment, a young human girl was dancing about playfully just within the periphery of her view around the aforementioned book. Giggling happily and grinning like a fool, the child bounced about back and forth with big bright blue eyes fixated firmly upon Oline. When the giantess smiled, and... try hard as she might she did... the girl fell over into a fit of hysterics before hopping up and rushing forward to hurl herself upon the woman. Oline may have been getting used to people, but... randomly being hugged by children was still new. Her freckle-covered cheeks burst out into a fit of scarlet, a low chuckle eminating out from her lips. Softly exhaling a held breath, Oline saved her page in her book and set it aside in the grass before addressing the girl with her own wide, childlike eyes. "Allo! Ah'm Oline. Who maht'choo be?" The girl just quirked her head to the side, grinned, and ran off... with only a wave to serve as goodbye. The giantess shrugged, her dyed-red hair slumping down over her face with the motion. She flipped the rogue strands back up behind her ears before checking to make sure she was properly covered. Bear-pelt loin cloth covering all the lower bits? Check. Leather strap covering everything chest-wise? Check. Sort've. Her piercings were protruding a bit. Good enough. Smile to cover up the burden of guilt and the fear of losing control of her unstoppable rage? Work in progress. Two out of three wasn't bad! Oline let herself get comfortable again and was just about to pick up her book when she spotted Thamalys moving through the square. She didn't know if she recognized him or not, but... even if she hadn't... those dreadlocks would have caught her eye anyway. She probably stared a bit longer than was polite, but hey... at least she wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that that was a thing anymore.

Thamalys was about to reach Turmalikk’s stand, when some quick movement somewhere at his left side forced him to a halt, the darting shapes of the dancing-now-running lassie catching much of his attention - not to mention, a solid portion of his left wing’s rim. “By the Wind, would you just - care - to look where you going, kid?” inquired with a mighty lack of manners the Blue, both arms raising in protest. The Little One said nothing, absolutely mortified - she did, however, sort of hinted toward the bulkiest shapes of the Giantess nearby, before muttering an excuse and shortly after disappearing into the crowd. On the other hand, the Spellblade narrowed his gaze: what sort of being was that, just sitting on the grass like an old lady having tea at five? Great Sven, a Giantess - and, wearing the most massive pair of glasses in Larket, most likely, and even carrying some book with her? Most importantly, did she have anything to do at all with that lassie running away like a hare from a dog? The matter required some investigation indeed - he thought - … and as such, the Avian would have deviated from his original path, notwithstanding the outraged look of Turmalikk, already pointing toward some old-looking tomes stacked into an untidy pile hidden to most of his customers. Some steps more, and the - bare - feet of the Blue would have brought him at a not-too-short a distance from the towering shapes of the Giantess. For once, he found himself forced to cant his head upwards, while uttering something halfway between salutation and inquiry, eyes steady - more or less - into the greyish mixture above. “Afternoon, ma’am. I could not help but notice that little girl over there…” and here he would vaguely point a bony finger toward the swirling throng of shoppers amassed near by, “… the one seemingly running away from none other than… you? Is everything in order, I wonder?” he genially commenced, his eyes darting here and there to assess the frankly quite odd details of the onlooker presently standing right in front of him. Would that silly pesky bird ever learn to mind his own bloody business? Probably - with the same probability Larket was to be ruled by a drunken gnome.

Oline 's pierced lower lip quirked up into half of a sheepish grin, if only because she didn't really know how to react to the line of questioning. She blinked once at the now very-surprisingly large avian clearly attempting to string together words before finally shruggling. This, of course, brought those same tufts of red sliding back down into her face once again. Sodditall. "Eh... kids' juss assitehbull. Thenk they's gidden away wiff sumthin' iffin they run off aftuh geddin yer 'tenshun. Y'know?" Her thickly accented words were spoken with surprising care. She was aware how difficult others sometimes found her speech to be, and was at least attempting to accommodate. "S'orrtie. Ah'm shoore th'girl di'un menn no hahm." She swiped away the offensive strands of hair once again before ultimately picking up her book and stuffing it into the satchel hung across her large shoulders. "Ah'm Oline... mossuh folks juss' call meh th'Gyahntuss o'Lah-ket. Onn'a cownt've me bein' th'only Gyuhnt livin' ere Ah s'pose. Sorreh iffin' mah liddul fren theyuh caws't yeh enny trubble." She exhaled a deep breath looked the man over curiously. "Yer a priddy big felluh, too, huh? Nawt s'biggiz me, mebbe... but Ah betcha git sum looks too, huh?"

Thamalys was not entirely sure about whether being more taken aback by the stature of the Giantess or, indeed, her speech. The latter seemed to prevail, for the moment. Sven, he had to call on every ounce of focus he could muster in order to make some sense of her words - and even then, with only very little success. He could get that she meant no harm to the lassie, and in fact she seemed quite well-mannered as a whole. “Oline? Did I get that right, ma’am? The Giantess of Larket is not exactly a very polite way to address anyone… and as of myself, I go by the name of Thamalys. Not exactly new to the City, but never saw - you -a round yet. Honoured to meet your acquaintances….” he would have begun offering a stiff bow. Having dealt with the manners, though, the Spellblade found himself - to put it mildly - rather taken aback by the colossal proportions of the being standing just in front of him. For one thing, given some recent events he was not, broadly speaking, particularly well disposed toward Giants as a race - especially since it appeared he had been quite keen on just making them up out of thin air. First thing to do, then, was surely to assess whether this particular sample was not made by the stuff of dreams. In fairness, Turmalikk’s expression should have been sufficed, his eyes clearly scrutinising with some interest indeed the monumental pelt - yes, that bit in particular - covering hopefully the whole of the Giantess’ crotch. And yet, the Spellblade opted to stay on the safest side, gingerly outstretching his right arm, and thus his hand, and eventually his index finger to poke the belly - well, maybe even a bit lower than that - of the Huge One. Now, the only reason why he picked that particular region was - obviously - the fact that was the part of her body more or less levelled with his very shoulders. To be absolutely clear, no malice could have - ever - be found within the intent of the Blue, albeit his action could have indeed suggested otherwise. Satisfied with both texture and consistency of the Giantess’ flash, he would have casually added: “I… do seem to attract some attention as well, yes…” . Then, dipping his head toward the left, trying to peer beyond the Huge One’s shoulder, “reading, were we not? May I be so bold to ask what exactly? I am in fact on my way toward Turmalikk the librarian, over there… care to join?” he asked out of genuine curiosity - he desperately wanted to have a look at whatever a Giantess could be interested to read…

Oline 's cheeks had just started to return to their normal soft cream color when the avian prodded his finger into her belly like... like... what? Her expression become one of mixed embarassment and bewilderment as she tried to suss out the reason for such a gesture. "Oh... Leen..." she sounded it out slowly, carefully for the man. It was all she could think to do. "D'yeh know Mastuh Valen? He's... godda theng foh teckin' in misfits. Ah'm 'is latest ah-dahp-tee." she added, forcing herself to smile somewhat awkwardly. She really, really wasn't used to being touched by strangers. Leastways not ones she wasn't brawling with. Still, he seemed friendly enough... and she couldn't stop staring at his hair... so eventually she just let her guard down a little and relaxed. "Izza... whucha-callit... word-book. Sodditall. Nawt... nawta glohssreh... but... kinna lahk it... Acyclopeedyuh! Thazzit! Iz... gawt all kinna stuff... frum th'pless Ah kemm frum innit. Ah've... 'ad it foh s'longiz Ah kin r'membuh. Dun... rilla r'membuh much 'bowdit m'self. S'nahss t'have sumthin' t'rimmahnd me've home." She pulled that weathered old book out again and offered it up to Thamalys without so much a flinch of hesitation. She doubted, very much, that he would mean any harm to her book. Upon being invited to come along over to the librarian, whatever remained of her reservations regarding the somewhat unusual avian dispersed. "Shoore! Ah lahk books. Pruhfessuh Mellon s'bin givin' me all kinna books t’read.”

Thamalys widened is eyes to quite an extent. “Valen? I am most certainly familiar with that Immortal, yes - why, I own him my very life, in fact…” he pondered aloud for a moment before returning to the matter at hand. “I am glad to hear you have fallen under his protection and teaching - his lore is vast and is powers quite outstanding - as I am sure you have noticed already. Oh… thank you…” he added soon after, when with both hands he went to received the huge tome. “And encyclopaedia, you say? How - very - very interesting indeed…” he would have noted, already pacing toward the bookstand while leafing through the large pages. “And this is written in a language I cannot even begin to comprehend… isn’t this marvellous, ye old codger?” the last words of the Blue definitely not directed to the Giantess but to the librarian himself, now at a very short distance from the two - if the Huge One would have followed indeed the steps of the Avian till the tow of them eventually reached the retailer.

|| Turmalikk || was not entirely pleased with the particular way he found himself addressed by the quite arrogant Winged Beast. And yet, it was crystal clear the Dwarf was eying maybe a bit too eagerly the leathery masterpiece presently in Thamalys’ hands. “Thamalys, Sir…” he acknowledged briskly. “I see you have found some sort of new treasure, there” he pointed to Oline’s dearest tome. “Which is apt, as I have been thinking about our deal… and I do not think 5000 pieces of gold are enough for what you asked me. Not at all. But maybe, the addition of this very volume could level things up, yes?” he hopefully inquired, a sturdy hand already trying to reach the encyclopaedia, greedy eyes focused on it like a vulture circling on a corpse.

Oline gave Turmalikk a stern glare before snorting and shaking her head. "Yer nawt geddin' yer hanz on tha' book till Ah'm dedd'n cold. Tha'zza prehssless fam'leh... ha... hayuh... hairloom!" She shot a glance back to Thamalys which expressed just how not entirely convinced she was that he might not try to give her book away as part of some trade. It also conveyed just a hint of the violence she was willing to inflict if need-be to get it back, if need-be. Rather than getting too upset however, Oline quickly swooped in close to the dwarf with her best I'm-interested-in-acquiring-a-book smile and thumped a heavy bag of coin down on the stand. "Howevvuh... iffin yeh've gawt ennytheng lahk tha' book... sumthin' en't nobody kin read... language whudden't frum rown't thiss pahts? Ah'm int'restid in buyin' it. Moneh en't no object, neethuh.”

|| Turmalikk || “What the heck is she saying? Can’t get a single word of what she just said…” complained the Librarian while leaning close enough to the willowy features of the Spellblade, whispering softly.

Thamalys swiftly retracted the book from the protruding hands of the greedy Dwarf, in fact a whole step moving away from him. “She is righteously saying that you just can’t have it, Turmalikk! Get off me, you ravenous marketeer!” he cried, said book offering back to the Giantess, just to be sure he made his point clear enough. Soon after, the hefty golden load landed onto the table, the Winged Beast’s jaw dropping in awe as a result.

|| Turmalikk || watched the gold with a malicious glimmer building in his coal-black eyes, hands brushing his longest beard, some silver jewellery clinking. “Why, now that you mention it… I… might…” he conceded, for a moment disappearing behind a dark-green, heavy curtain, only to return soon after with the largest tome one could have possibly imagined. The Dwarf had to balance it with two hands, arms outreached, legs actually trembling a bit. It was -not- a leathery thing. Solid wood, dark and ancient, made the cover and the spine alike. A marvel from the old times, it was. And he was determined to get out a mighty price for that indeed… “Now, ma’am. It should be 10,000 gold for this fantastic piece of almost forgotten lore I recently found in a Drowish dungeon far, far away from here… however. If you make it 15,000, I should oblige to Sir Thamalys’ request, and give him what he wants - a rare booklet as well, although nothing if compared to the wisdom surely contained in this bulky pages. What do you say?” he inquired with no hesitation - at all.

Oline 's thin black eyebrow raised slowly, curiously, at that enormous tome. She'd certainly never seen it's like before... but then again, she really didn't have any idea at all what it was she was looking for. History... mostly her own, but... whatever was in that book, it was definitely old and definitely tempting. She took her own large tome back from Thamalys with a polite nod, as well as an unspoken 'thank you' for his courteous translation. Back to the dwarf her eyes swept, and that book. "Yeh've godda deal. Ah'll pay yeh th'fiffteen. Now..." she fished out two more heavy coinpurses from within her bag and slumped them down on the cart as well. "Yeh kin cownit now... Ah'll wait." It would, indeed, prove to be 15,000 gold.

|| Turmalikk || stood in silence, mesmerised. He was - not - a thief or something, but equally he was not used to strike bargains like that one within such a short time span. Obviously, though, he said nothing about, not even despite the rebuking gaze of the Blue squarely set upon him. Instead, he just nodded, sitting on top of a pile of book and producing soon after a scale, a piece of charcoal, and a register as well. Without any hurry at all, he set off to weight the whole of that gold, careful annotation taking onto the elegant parchment. It turned out, the Giantess told the truth. “Very well, ma’am. This is yours to take…” he would have uttered in a rather satisfied voice, the huge tome handling into the hands of the Huge One, consequently rummaging within his wide pockets to produce a much smaller booklet with a crimson leathery cover. “And this other one, is yours. It is what you asked me for, Thamalys the Blue - and as such, I shall ask you, why, I shall pray the two of you, in fact, not to mention my name, if ever these pages would find owner other than yourself. I hope I can trust you word, Avian…” he thoughtfully concluded, the booklet offering the the Spellblade.

Thamalys went to address the Giantess immediately after she put some more gold on the table. “You realise you are basically covering for an expense of mine worth no less than 5000 gold pieces, yes? How am I supposed to accept, and more importantly to repay such a grand gesture, o Munificent One? Other than the most sincere expression of gratitude, that is”. He did not add that he was growing quite suspicious about a Giantess being able to produce so casually such a wealth - a matter for another day, though, he had what he came for. “Of course, Dwarf, you have my word, and you know how much that matters to me… till soon, then. I shall send you word for another… request of mine, yes, probably sooner than you think.” And with that, he turned his attention back to the Huge One. “Can you at least make sense of the front page? Would you be willing to tell me what’s inside, after you take a proper look at it? I… could reciprocate by sharing the content of this one… in a few days time, maybe?” on he went, patting with his right hand the spine of the crimson booklet.

Oline pivoted about on her heel to face Thamalys, pierced lips once more grinning. "Ah git pay'd priddee good, wurkin' foh th'Fahter's Guild." she offered, almost as if in response to the mounting suspicions of the avian. But, more accurately, it was the lead in to- "So Ah dun mahnd payin' off sumthin' foh a fren! En't too menny folks whut bottha t'evven talk t'me. Juss... kinna leer frumma distance. S'nahss when sum'un stops 'n talks a while. B'sides, we s'changed nemms. Tha's a frenz'ish theng t'do, no?" The giantess shrugged, turning back to take the enormous tome from Thurmalikk with a wink. "Ah en't goddno ahdeeyuh whotcher talkin' bowdt. Ah fownt this book inna bugga nest out Gualon-way." The giantess turned back, still grinning, to show off her prize to her new avian acquaintance. Upon request, she flipped it open and sat herself down on the ground back in the grassy part of the square. "Hmm... lessee... looks... lahk... iz sum kinna old... textbook. Foh students. Lahk th'Kademmee... only... they's callin' iddan... Archive." She turned the page and read the back, staring at the large runic letters curiously. "Ha! Haha! Pruhfessuh Mellon's gonna luhv this! Izza book on Poh-shunz 'n Alchummy! Heehee! Ah've binn meanin' t'have th'Pruhfessuh teech me summore Alchummy. Donno sheyeht 'bowt pohshunz tho…”

Thamalys was not a creature particularly known for his kindness - if any at all, but with respect to a very, very restricted number of selected people. And yet, he most of all valued honesty, and frankness, and more broadly those who clearly steered clear from evil in any form. As such, something in him sort of shifted upon hearing the Giantess genuine words. “Yes, it is like so: that is something that friends do - and I would be glad to call you so if you allow me to. Also, I shall not forget that I own you - badly, in fact….” pondered the Blue, some steps moving away already from the bookstand, a brisk salutation proffering to the dwarfish Librarian still busy with piling up gold. “Potions and Alchemy, I hear you say… ah, most fascinating…” he added shortly after, standing tall while the Giantess went through the subject matter. “I myself hold a dear interest into potions, as I have the honour to serve into the Healer’s Guild. Speaking of which… this Avian can both heal and wound - if you ever feel like any of these two contributions will be needed, you would only need to ask, aye? Now, I have other errands to attend to. I shall let you to your reading… and later on, I shall dwell into mine - knowing that much of that I own to you - again, thank you.” And with that, he sidestepped, only to eventually fully turning on his heels, a bony hand raising into the air. “I shall send you word soon - wait for a Red Kite, he would know how to find me… till soon, Oline the Bountiful!” these were the last words of the Spellblade, before he resorted to walk away from the busy Square, the towering features of those silver-clad wings slowly disappearing into the distance, once more devoured into the Larketian crowds - and buildings alike.