Malious stood on one of the southern beaches nearest to La'marri looking out over the water and taking a deep draw in from the ocean air. The salt in the air teasing at his tongue, he sighed softly as he teased at the memories of a time long gone. Thick arms crossing over his broad chest. Scars stood out on his chest nothing telling or marring but none the less he bore more than a few. He stood out there devoid of clothing aside from a pair of black leather breaches, that ended at just above his ankles. Even from a distance a person could tell, that even though the man wasn't huge, he was something of an imposing sight.
Malious stood at just at six foot, and was well toned and muscled from his general routine of working in the nearby forest. Doing what, no one really knew, save himself. His skin was olive toned from being in the sun so many hours in a day, which around here with many of the humans was not all too off key. His eyes were much the shade of the ocean with a delicate balance of a greenish blue. Pitch black hair hung loose to the middle of his shoulders which even while whipped by the ocean breeze it looked right flying wild and free.
His facial features were fine and angular, and a slight bit of stubble had collected around his chin. A hand came up and stroked at his chin as he mentally took note of this and once more sighed. As the sun began to stoop low to his west along the beach line his sight soon turned towards the general direction of it to get an idea of the time. He dipped his head slightly once more as if in thought.
She had no clue where she was from. Any memory she had before five years ago was shrouded in darkness deep within her mind, and she had no way at all of gaining access to it. It was depressing when she thought about it, realizing that something horrible enough to erase her entire world had happened, so that's why she occupied most of her time with various other activities. She kept herself busy, in hopes of never having to find out what had gone on.
But after so long, even her passion for dancing, music, and art could no longer quail the deep rooted desire she felt to discover her true self. After nearly five years as a Serenian, the desire to recover her lost memories had finally proven to be too much for her. Isis had become restless and skittish. Most of her time had gone to gathering information from pubs and bazaars in regards to anything that might be connected to family she could have had.
But nothing had come up. She had been left high and dry by many people who claimed they could help her, and all her resources in Serendipity had been exhausted. Her only other option was to travel outside the country, putting herself in danger from the unknown.
Her travels have finally brought her to the land of La'marri. It actually shocked her that she felt as at piece in the vast woods she walked through the majority of the time as she did dancing on the beaches of Cerenis. For the first time since she had set out on her journey, Isis smiled.
Her long raven hair was tucked into the hood of the dark green cloak she wore over her shoulders. To make traveling easier on herself, she now dressed in breeches that came very near to matching the dark bark of the trees that most often surrounded her, and a loose fitting white shirt, as well as black riding boots. She carried next to nothing with her, save a small a dagger and a water skin.
Isis's cerulean eyes stared out at the world around her, finally landing on the ocean waters. Her smiled widened even more, and she very nearly ran right down to the waters, yelling in delight, but before the sudden impulse carried her away, her eyes spotted the lone man standing near the ocean.
The raven haired woman slowed her pace, making enough noise to allow herself to be noticed. She didn't want to startle him and have something start for no reason at all. It wasn't in her to fight unnecessarily, and she would much rather avoid fighting all together if it was possible.
"Hello," she called out, her voice as clear as a bell," I hope you don't mind me sharing the ocean with you. I miss the waters of my own home so much..."
Malious looked up at the newcomer not really startled it was a beach after all. He passed a glace over her a thin eyebrow coming up in a slight quirk as he studied her. His eyes went back to the water for a moment seemingly nonplussed about someone walking up on him. To which he simply threw a hand up almost dismissively and turned walking west towards the sun along the beach. "Have at it, its not my beach." His voice carried easily over the sound of the waves. Behind it there was a sound of influence and power. Nothing overbearing but one could mistake him as some kind of commander in the way he threw his voice.
Malious walked along the waters edge, stopping some 300 yards or so away. He knelt near the water and held his hand out the churning sea foam rolling up and through his fingers. He seemed transfixed by the behavior of the water. One might think him rude, or even outright asinine in how he blew this woman off. He didn't know what she wanted but then didn't care to find out. Not that he didn't have a slight interest in this person he hadn't seen before. It was more this was a moment he wished to have to himself. His gaze soon turned back up the to water off the coast watching the rise and fall of the waves. He took a small bit of sand in his hand and rolled it between his fingers.
He looked to the east back towards the woman, and his casted shadow along the sand. Jaw clenched slightly he once more looked back to the sun. He finally stood back up and turned and looked at the village of La'marri. It had been years since he finally came to this place, abandoning his old life, trying to find solace. Even so much his dreams were plagued with the memories. He sighed slightly and looked back to the water. Contemplating everything that has come to pass to this moment in time.
Isis stood there, her mouth slightly agap, as the man blew her off. What had she done? It wasn't exactly like it was her fault that she had wandered onto that particular part of the beach. She hadn't meant to disturb him in the least, and would much rather have avoid it if that were possible.
But did he have to be so rude to her?
Her brow creased and her lips turned down in a frown as the flash of anger went through her. There was no reason at all for him to have reacted in such a way to her. She hadn't even had the chance to introduce herself. At least then there might have been the excuse of bad blood between families or something of the sort!
The small, pale-skinned woman followed after the man, her steps determined and her face set in a way that more than showed her distaste for the situation. It wasn't only her physical looks that teemed with irritation though. It seemed that the very air around her shimmered with a sort of magic that itself began to manipulate what was around her.
The sand shifted in a manner that was not normal for a small woman stepping on it in boots. It acted as if it were the waves of the ocean itself, rippling with each step she took. The very air around her crackled softly. Though there wasn't much a difference as to what was happening to the naked eye, those sensitive to energy would be able to tell.
She approached the man as he knelt by the ocean.
"See here!" she said," There was no reason for that at all! I was simply trying to be friendly. You didn't have to saunter off like that! What is your reason for being so rude?"
Malious watched this woman out of the corner of his eye, a slight interest coiling up in his mind. Small things were being picked up as she came over to him in her huff. the shifting of the sands for instance stuck out, and the slight taste of atmosphere curling off of her form as energy cracked around her. If he was bothered by this in the least bit he did not show it. If anything he seemed to become even more apathetic to the situation at hand.
He turned to her looking at her directly almost looking bored and completely disinterested. He turned away again but did not walk off. But instead looked once more over the water and pointed. "Do you think the predators out there care if their food makes a habit of showing off?" The inflection in his voice was not at all threatening nor was his comment intended to be as much. It was more an observation with a follow up soon coming to be. His gaze turned back to her. "They do not, they simply carry on and eat what they must to survive. Constantly moving and shifting away in their vast home, destroying what lie in their path and carrying on day by day."
He knelt back down, picking up a small clump of sand and rolling it once more between fingers. "I will not apologize, as there is nothing for me to apologize for, you see, I simply walked off. I did not ask your name, I did not ask your business, yet you felt it necessary to come all this way to strike up a passing argument for what i can only assume passes as some awkward form of communication." His emotions never really changed. He didn't smile, wasn't cocky, and wasn't angry he just simply was. "And yet I assume you will have some sort of retort." He turned his gaze back up to her from his kneeling position as if awaiting her rebuttal.
The small, cerulean eyed woman didn't quite know what to say or do. She had been caught completely off guard by his nonchalant way of speaking, the way that he didn't seem to put any real emotion behind what he said. Most of the people she encountered would have at least reacted with a bit of force behind in their words, especially with the way she had been so indignant with her own reaction. It simply didn't make sense to her at all.
Isis shook her head and stood a little straighter, trying to come up with some sort of response. She couldn't allow herself to be thrown off by a man she didn't even know.
"We are not them," she replied, folding her arms across her chest and staring at him with narrowed eyes," and yet even they have some sort of communication between their own kind and the world that they live. They do not simply swim off when another of their kind is around. Either they have a positive reaction to them or a negative reaction, but at least it is some sort of reaction!"
She watched him as he knelt, sifting the sand through his fingers. The way he showed now emotion mad her so mad! Emotions were what separated them from most other creatures in the world. Emotions were what fueled her own magic! Passion fueled her dancing and caused relationships. Emotions...
Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the man, looking at the path she had taken to reach him after he had walked off. Her footsteps were clearly visible in the sand, as were the wave created by the energy that had flowed from her. Even now she could feel the energy created by her annoyance flowing off of her like the waves of the ocean coming in and out.
"The creatures out there would have more of a personality than you seem to have," she hissed.
He turned and looked at her. "I presume you would have me fawning at your feet?" He knew he'd get a rise from her. "Emotions are simply an extension of a persons misgivings. They are often a weakness in people. I don't allow myself to anger, nor do i allow myself to become elated. Not unless the situation demands it." He shrugged slightly. "You must think that the opinion of a person I don't know matters as well." He turned his attention back to the churning waters.
"They are not so different aside from the looks.... The animals of the sea i mean. You would be wise to remember that. They carry on day to day simply looking to extend their own existence to the next day. They want not, they have not, yet they hunt for a meager meal and territory." He took another small bit of sand and rolled it again through his fingers. Taking in yet another deep breath. "Man is no different, no matter the race, they simply hunt and vie for territory. Mate and carry on to bring on their existence for yet another day."
He looked at her. "As for your display on the way over here.... I'm far from impressed." He said this very matter of factly as if there was no other answer to it. He wasn't being dry and humorless, it was simply a matter of him not knowing the woman. He wasn't being guarded or subversive or even being offensive in tones. just responding in kind, in that neutral way he tended to use.
"I would never have someone so obviously cold as you drooling at my feet!" Isis growled, turning her back to him as she walked a few feet away.
There was no reason behind the way the man spoke or reacted, and it irritated her to no end! It simply wasn't normal for someone to have no visual or audible emotion on their face or in their voice. It wasn't human! She was far more able to expect it out of an elf or even a gnome, but as far as she could see, the man that she was speaking to was human.
Isis turned back to the man, a frown upon her delicate face.
"I don't really care if you were impressed or not." she said, trying to reel in her emotions before they got the better of her and caused her to do something she would later regret," but assuming what you say about all of existence, that all we do is live, hunt, and procreate, is true, then what is it you live for?"
She walked up closer to him, closer than she had been before.
"Because to me, by my understanding of what you have said so far, it seems you are simply here. You have no other reason than to exist"
Malious turned to her, without flinching so much. "I am here to commit to, and carry out my mission in life. That is simply enough. I do not strive for riches, or greatness, or power, or villany. I take lives, be they animal, or not. I care not if they are good or evil i care not for past deeds. I care not for future accomplishments. I am simply an instrument of the reaper."
He said this in such a way as to convey absolute truth. "I gather information, I distribute goods and the information i come across as i come across it." The look in his eyes was something almost surreal there again was that lack of emotion. Indeed he was an odd sort, but his past exploits had made him so unflinching in the face of changing circumstance. It was almost as if he really garnered no emotions what so ever, as if something had forced him to lock everything away and simply carry on day to day. Though the way he ended that last bit made it seem like he wanted to say more but would not allow himself to.
He didnt know this woman, he would go about divulging everything about himself. but now it was his turn. "You by my guess would be some kind of fledgling mage. Innate power or not you don't know how to harness it correctly. If I am wrong then you are just extraordinarily cocky with your abilities and as so much tend to show your strengths entirely too soon." He looked at her carefully watching her reaction and calculating in the back of his mind what they would mean.
She shivered, severely unnerved by the man before her. The way he had no emotions and the way he spoke to her, she didn't even know if she wanted to be around him anymore. She didn't know if she really wanted to find out what he was thinking.
Backing away a few steps, Isis looked at him with pity and fear clearly shining in her eyes. She was afraid of him for the simple fact that she couldn't tell a thing about him through his emotionless facade. She pitied him for the apparent lack of that emotion. Whatever he did with his life, whatever had made him to be so reclusive, she felt sorry for him.
It was her opinion that emotions were essential to leading to truly full and healthy life. Emotions were never meant to be kept within and not shown, and she had seen the result of what happened when a person did that for too long. It was true, one could show too much emotion and gain the same result from holding emotions in for far too long, but there was till no reason at all to show none. It was unhealthy.
But she wasn't about to let him get the better of her. She wasn't going to allow him to put her down and kill what little good mood she had left after meeting him.
"I am not cocky, good sir," she said, trying to keep her voice level," and I'm an not a fledgling mage. I have had these powers for as long as I can remember, and though I did have trouble harnessing them before, I am much more able to keep them in check now. Even those who view themselves as the best of their fields slip up from time to time, as I am sure you have before. I do not claim to be perfect. In fact, I am far from it and that makes me the unique individual that I am."
She smiled at him. Truly, Isis was trying to be as friendly as possible with him, but his lack of emotion irritated her. She wanted to see some passion in him, some sort of anger. Anything! She just wanted to know that she was talking to someone real and not an emotionless shell.
To this comment on her "uniqueness" he actually did smirk, albeit faintly, almost undetectable. He stood up and walked to her stopping but a few feet away and off the the side of her. "It is mans desire to be unique that makes us all the same." He simply walked on by leaving that cryptic sort of message floating in the air. He walked slow enough so that if she wanted to follow she was able to easily.
He made his way along the beach line with the sun having set at his back bathing the world in the purple and deep blue hues of the encroaching night leaving just a little halo of orange at the receding sun on the horizon. He walked to the northern side of the village of La'marri taking note of the few people still inhabiting the streets, most having either gone into their homes or into the local bars. Soon he found himself stopping in front of his meager home, a place with a thatched roof and quaint look. The outside of the home looked very orderly with very little out. He soon walked into the door leaving it propped open, even if she was sneaking along to follow him this would be sign enough that he knew the whole time.
Inside he went to the small fire pit in the back of the home and stoked a fire dropping some of the wood he had brought in from the forest earlier that morning. It burst into life with smoke rolling up the small mud brick chimney. He turned from the and found one of the small black kettles he would use to make food. He busied himself as he waited for the inevitable entrance of this woman.
Did she just see a twitch of his mouth or was she just imagining it? At this point and time, Isis was more inclined to ere on the side of her imagination. She so desired to see some sort of emotion displayed upon his rugged face that she was pretty sure her eyes were play tricks on her. He hadn't shown any emotion at all while speaking with her. Why would he do so now?
Wrapped up as she was in her own contemplation of the situation, she barely noticed the man begin to walk off. The words he spoke to her rang in her ears however. It was true that most people desired to be unique and that all were the same in that respect. She would more than agree on that point. But wasn't it better to be your own person rather than what others wanted you to be.
Isis shook her head, turning to watch the man walk away. For a moment, she thought about going on her way, leaving him behind and forgetting all that had transpired between them, but she was interested in him, something that she wouldn't dare admit to him. She wanted to find out more about him.
With making it much of a secret that she followed him, she caught up to him quickly. She didn't say a word as they walked along and into the village proper, for she was taking in as much as she could. She was still on her own personal journey. This moment was simply a bit of a side trip.
As the man entered his home, Isis stood just outside, leaning against door frame. She had to admit, the house was cute. It seemed to be just enough for what he needed, much like her own home. Her own home was a simple apartment in Serendipity's port town. She much preferred to be outside.
"Listen," she said, her voice much more quiet and calm than it had previously been," I'm sorry for my earlier behavior. You have your way of life, and I have mine. I may not understand why you are the way you are, but that gives me no excuse to be the way that I have been. If you don't mind, I would like to start over and introduce myself..."
Malious looked at her then returned to what he was doing, moving to a small wood box where he pulled out a small number of smoked fish. he threw them onto the table which looked to be home made, but never the less it was very pretty, with intricate carvings in the wood. and a very slight incline from the edges of the small table to the center as if to drain things from the grooves etched into the wood. He then turned and picked up a small burlap sack pulling potatoes and peppers from within placing those on the table as well.
Malious went to where his bed was visible as the entire hut was only partitioned off in 2 rooms his bed room and the cooking area. He could be seen shuffling around, he then turned back wand came to the table with wicker tenders in one hand and a very very distinctive knife in the other hand. He placed the knife on the table then went to the fire pit and lit the small wicker tenders taking them to corners of the room where he lit up till now unseen oil lamps.
The room lit up easily as the lamps grave a warm ambient glow throughout the small hut. The knife was now very visible and it was in fact very distinctive. With squared off barbs on the back of the three inch wide blade. He pulled a chair out from under the table and sat the chairs looked to be homemade as well with furs tied down onto sturdy frames for the back and seats of them. Malious pushed the chair opposite him out and nodded to it as if in offering her a seat.
He was then cutting the fish and pulling it off the bone filleting it with a very obviously razor sharp edge to the knife. He worked efficiently and very quickly even in such a mundane task one could tell he'd use a knife more than enough in his life. Even in cutting up the fish movements of the fingers and wrists were weaving delicately almost like a distinctive dance. Soon the fish were sliced and he was cutting up the vegetables there was water in the kettle he had set above the fire which was now steaming and boiling as it sat waiting eagerly to take in the bits of food.
"Then introduce yourself, don't expect me to stop you." It was simple and to the point. he gathered the food in his hands and carried it to the kettle dropping it all in to let it boil together. Malious then opened the little wood container up where he had gotten the fish and pulled out two clay pots. Removing lids and reaching in. He had soon pulled out two hand fulls of what from her viewpoint and the lighting would have looked like grass of some kind. He dropped this into the pot and replaced the clay pots to where they belonged, then moved back to the seat he was at before sitting back down in it.
Isis took a deep breath, stepping into his home and looking about. Her eyes scanned the small home with a bit of a smile on her face. The furnishings were artfully carved and well put together. Everything had its place, which was quite a difference from her own home.
Her own home was littered with costumes from her performances and instruments that were either in need of strings or cleaning. Her bedroom was a little more organized than the rest of her home, but it was more organized chaos than anything else. Costumes still decorated even that part of her apartment.
Sitting down in the chair he offered her, Isis watched him work with the food. The way he worked with the fish and vegetables was more than she would ever do with her own food. She didn't even really eat too much meat. Fruit was what her diet usually consisted of, that and maybe some fresh eggs every once and a while.
"Yes, well," Isis said, giving him a small smile," My name is Isis Veil Illia. I am a performer from Serendipity..."
She didn't know whether or not he would introduce himself in kind, but she didn't really expect him to. At that moment, she was more nervous than anything else for the simple fact that he was so quiet. Her anger was gone at last, replaced by the desire simply to get to know him.
Malious listened to her looking to the boiling kettle, the smells soon permeated the little home as the food cooked, it mingled with the smells of the ocean made for a unique experience. He leaned back looking as if he were distant. "I am called Malious. I am retired as so few from my old work are able to do. I have been to Serendipity a few times. But only in passing, never long enough to see much of the city. What is it you perform?" Again there was the neutral tone, its not that he wasn't interested, it was simply he did not know the woman.
Malious looked back to the table and his knife sitting there. He reached out and picked it up then stood up and walked back into his room shuffling around and coming back out with a dark green bottle, and two simple silver steins. He then placed those on the table and wandered off to near the kettle stirring it with a wooden spoon that hung nearby. Shortly thereafter he was back to the table looking out the nearby door as the sea breeze started to pick up slightly in force. There was a rain coming in off the coast that much he could pick up by the smells and the winds. He just didn't know how long it would be before it made landfall. He turned his attention back to her still neutral in most regards.
Isis's smile widened a bit at hearing his name. To know his name was to have a bit of a connection, something more that they could go off on as they began to learn about each other. Though he wasn't helping anything by being so vague about his former profession, she wasn't going to push him on the matter. She would let him tell her in his own time.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Malious," Isis replied.
For a moment, she closed her eyes, taking in the scents and sounds of the house. What she wouldn't give to have the cooking ability he seemed to have. The smell of the fish cooking along with the vegetables and herbs made her mouth water.
"For the most part," she began, her eyes following him," I am a dancer, though I dance more for myself than the pleasure of others. I am also a musician. It doesn't give me much money, but I'm happy with it. It helps me to focus and keep my magic under control you know? My spare time is mostly spent perfecting my art. If I am not practicing, I am studying new dances."
The smile on her face faded just a bit. The journey she was on now was a rare exception to that. Though she had yet to find anything out about the first fifteen years of her life, she was still hopeful that eventually something would come up. She just hoped she would have the strength to go on if nothing came up for a while.
The change in her emotions was not lost on him. He reached out and pulled the cork from the bottle and proceeded to pour a bit of the dark brown liquid in it into both the steins. Sliding one to her. he took his own in hand and took a quick drink of it, letting the liquid roll down his throat with a dull burn as it made its way down and eventually rested warming him.
"I haven't much to my name but you are welcome to stay here while you look for whatever it is you look for." he knew this would likely strike a nerve, though she hadn't told him vocally she was in search of something her body language certainly did. "It is often best to let the past lie still, often times we find things out about ourselves that we cannot handle."
He leaned back again stein in hand and sipped from it gingerly. he occasionally looked to the kettle and watched to see if it was starting to boil over as the sound of the not so distant waves lapping on the shore and the wind in the trees mixed with the popping and crackling of the fire to make its own sort of symphony.
"You may as well ask your questions, i can tell you are burning to know what all you can about me." He looked at her deadpanned as he said this.
Astonished was the only word that Isis could think of that would describe what she felt at the moment. Though she knew she was more of an open book than the man next to her, she didn't think that her face was open enough to show what she was really thinking. Then again, she did use her body to show the emotion behind the moves to the dances she preformed. She supposed it shouldn't have surprised her so much that he was able to tell what was on her mind simply by looking at her.
But still, it was a bit unnerving to have herself read to clearly! It was almost as if he were looking straight into her head, and she wasn't sure she liked it one bit. It made feel vulnerable, and that wasn't a feeling that she often liked having.
Isis was simply glad that he opened up the chance for her to ask her own questions.
"T-thank you for your offer, Malious," she said, stuttering a bit in her unnerved state of being," That is kind of you, and I'm grateful for it."
For a moment, she was silent, thinking about how best to go on about their conversation. He had guessed as to what she was really out and about for. Was she willing to tell him he was right even if she had only just met him?
"That may be true," Isis replied, taking the stein and swirling the liquid within about as she stared into it," but what if you are missing nearly fifteen years of your life? I am twenty years old and only remember back to five years ago..."
She didn't expect any sympathy, and she didn't really want it. She was simply stating her situation. If he was able to help, all for the better, and if he wasn't, then that was they end of that. She would continue on, speak with him, and learn about him instead.
Malious sipped from his drink and looked distant again. "I've had to watch body language quite alot.... To learn if certain people are not being totally honest with me. Information is what kept me alive most of the time so ive had to tune myself to the body element." He set the stein down and his hands came up under his chin with the fingers interlocked.
"As for your past, are you happy with who you are? Often times the things we find change us in such a way that we are never the same again." He left it at that and stood up moved to the kettle, he found two small wood bowls and spooned out some of the stew, he then took the bowls over to the table and placed one in front of her. He went back near the kettle and pulled two loaves of artisans bread and came back handing one to her. He sat down and looked at her.
"You would do best to rest on this and then think of what leads you may have around here. Youll find information comes easier with a clear mind." He tore some of the bread off the loaf and dunked it into the stew. "What do you wish to know of me?" He popped the bread into his mouth and chewed on it waiting for her questions.
She sipped at the drink Malious had given her, mulling over his words. Was she happy with her life? If so, why had she really come out on this journey?
Shaking her head, she set the cup back down on the table and watched him serve the stew. I smelled better than anything she had, had in a while, and she accepted the bowl with a sweet smile on her face. It was often that she was around someone who could cook, and she knew she was going to thoroughly enjoy it.
"I am happy for the most part," she finally replied, deciding to let the stew cool a bit before partaking of it," but the thing that does make me unhappy is that I don't know how I ended up where I am now. I know I wasn't always a citizen of Serendipity, and I want to where I originally come from, if I have family or if I am the last of my line."
She sighed, digging into the stew. As she chewed, she though about the questions she wished to asked. Since he had already offered the bit of information about being so adept at reading body language, Isis figured she would go off that.
"You are right," she finally said" I need to see what I already know and go at it with a clear head. I won't get anywhere with my thoughts all muddled will I? At any rate, you know an awful lot about gathering information don't you? Techniques and such? What sort job required you to have such skills?"
Malious leaned back and thought about it a moment, he took a drink from his stein. "I was something of a collector... I suppose you could call it that. I gathered information, secrets, and trades." He took another drink and looked at the stein. Then quickly snatched up the bottle he'd been pouring from and stood, walking to the fire, where he found a smaller kettle and placed it on a peg above the fire then proceeded to pour the remainder of the mostly full bottle into it.
Malious waited a few moments before returning to his explanation. Waiting until the liquid inside the second kettle heated up a bit. He then removed it from the fire and brought the warm kettle to the table and tilted it pouring himself another glass. He thought for a moment and got back up finding a long chute of sugarcane he had harvested from the nearby forest.
It took some effort but he eventually broke off a chunk about five inches long. he took the smaller portion and went back to the table, pulling off a small sliver which he dropped into his now warm drink. He then took a sip once more and almost smiled. It was rare that he would pull out the rum, and even rarer that he would do this with it.
He then looked back at Isis. "I've done many deplorable acts by most peoples standards. Garnering information and stealing secrets is the smallest portion of the things I've had to do....." He let that hang in the air a moment before continuing. "..I was a high ranking member of my former organization and "family". We would gather information on anyone Good or Bad.. moral affiliation means little when a person must survive and keep balance. We would occasionally have to... end.. our targets. Always in the name of balance." He didn't seem affected by this so much. It was a lie of course... He was deeply affected by every life he ever took, and occasionally was a nice term. It was more common that more than just one person would die on a job. Usually by him inflicting the mortal wounds.
"I worked alone and in-so-much have learned to garner information and act upon situations in a very unique way." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I left the group when they started taking the side that would pay them the most. It started an internal collapse of the inner most workings of the group and I left before it got to me." Its not like he was giving away too much, this was information he would give willingly, no one, especially around here, would know his groups name and even then they wouldn't piece it together. True he gave out information but he gave it in bits in pieces in a way that wouldn't allow someone to put it all together unless directly told, who the group was, and the full scale of the work they did.
"Now I live my days here tending to the wood, and building meager furniture awaiting on the day one from the old group approaches me to attempt to remove me from the coil." He didn't seem to care, not in the least, that some of his former comrades would perhaps one day attempt to kill him. He looked at her watching her reactions carefully and awaiting the next question.
Sipping at the amber liquid in her stein, Isis thought about what Malious was telling her. She had never expected him to open up as much as he was, and she was more than intrigued by what he was telling her. She wanted to ask him more questions about it all, but she could tell that he was holding back. Isis wasn't really sure that she wanted to press the matter.
"So your job dealt more with covert operations than overt am I right?" she asked. It wasn't that she was pressing for more information. She just had never dealt and gotten to talk to many people who did such things. Her profession was entertaining and thus she tended to be around those who did similar work. She could never imagine having to kill people and gather information.
Of course to her it seemed that he was working for a greater purpose than for himself. Keeping the balance of the world was something she had never considered before. Her personal world was so small, and she supposed that made her a bit immature in the end. Isis tried to be a bit more worldly than most, but she was aware that her attempts fell to nothing.
"I couldn't imagine how it would feel to kill another person," she whispered, looking at him with sad eyes," I have never even gotten into a full blow fight with another person. Sure I have exchanged less than savory words with people that I have encountered, but I have never had the occasion to outright kill someone or even draw the least bit of blood. I suppose that would make me innocent in a way, almost naive in the eyes of some."
"Taking another persons life is not something that one should be proud of. But as much as a monster as it makes me sound, it gets easier every time." He thought. "It's second nature to me..." He let that hang, it was clear he didn't feel remorse or pain for much of the things hes done, outwardly didn't at least. "As I said though, I do not dwell, if I did dwell in the past deeds I likely would have ended my own life long ago."
Malious nodded slightly sipping from his drink again. "Covert yes, sometimes overt if the situation demanded. Often times I find that being out in the open tended to make people overlook me." He left that as is.
"There were some even still that I knew that were very public, to gain information, front occupations in order to gather what information they needed." He shrugged somewhat. "Its not my personal preferred method however."
"Naivety in the act of taking another creatures life is a thing you should feel blessed by. There are often times when I questioned my orders based on moral standing, but the balance must always have been held. It was ultimately not my decision, I was simply the tool of the execution." He took a long drink then and looked at her, then his vision shifted to the door as a drunken tavern fly passed by the door. As the man walked away he once more looked at Isis. "The information I am giving you, would be easy enough to figure out if you watched me. I will not give specifics that may however endanger you or me. But you are free to ask anything you please."
"You have to remember though," she said, her eyes never straying from Malious," I am not as versed in the art of observation as you are. The things you are telling me, I would not be able to gather simply by looking at you, and if what you said about something this you know endangering either one of us if they were to be spoken is true, then why would I go looking for that sort of information in the first place? I would like to be able to dance for a few more years yet!"
Isis smiled and downed the remained of her drink in one gulp. It was rare that she drank any sort of alcohol, and she was surprised with herself that she had downed what had been put in front of her. She simply supposed that it was the fact she was actually enjoying talking to Malious that caused her to forget her usual practices.
"But the balance of the world," Isis began, contemplation how to put her question into words," Wouldn't some people consider that to be an impossible thing to achieve? There will always be evil in the world, and there will always be that which people will consider good to be in this world. If you turn against one won't you be tipping the scale in favor of the other?"
Malious finished off the remainder of his drink and reached in pulling out the sliver of sugarcane. He then popped this into his mouth and chewed on it. "Anyone can gather information on another individual. For instance. with time and observation I would be able to gather that you danced. Your physical shape as a example, you as a dancer use your legs quite often in more strenuous methods than most people, and therefore would have stronger more defined legs. You walk with a grace that shows you have a good sense of balance." He thought for a moment. "I would have guessed at first you were an acrobat or a dancer. And because you don't exhibit daredevil like behavior but instead seem rather reserved, I would come down to the conclusion that you were a dance."
He chewed on the sugarcane breaking it down and sucking on the sweet juices mixed with the rum. "As for the balance. There are times when people on either side get a little... too much on their own side. An evil man could do good deeds and still be evil, just as a good man could do evil deeds and still be good. It is by doing these acts away from the norm that they keep the balance. It is when they go too far to one side or the other that they begin to tip the scales. And often it is a tough judgment call. While it may also be impossible, the balance must always be cared for. Pruning the branches on one side of the tree then pruning the other side. Ultimately some are so innately evil or so over zealous good that they begin to tip it by themselves. And thus, must be pruned. It is simply the natural order of things."
To her, it really all seemed to be a matter of opinion in the end. One could view someone to be too evil and view another person to be over zealous while still another person would see them to be mildly so. Someone could see the killing of a king to be for the better good of the people or they could see it, say if they were of the royal family, to be an act of treason. It all boiled down to opinion.
But that made another question rise in her mind. Was their anything in the world that could be considered neither good nor evil? Was anything in the world truly neutral?
Isis scratched her chin, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought. Would it all be a matter of opinion again? Or would there be a definitive line?
"Consider this," she began, trying to word it all carefully," Who is it that defines what is good and evil? Wouldn't it all be a matter of opinion in the end? And what about those who, like you, try to keep neutral during it all? There is no way that it can all remain black and white."
"Ultimately we do not know the source, but it was dictated in our orders, often times it was a simple name, and it was our job to find them and do whatever the situation called for. We did not work for a political agenda or a religious one. We did not let emotions control our actions or opinions either." He shrugged dismissively "I suppose the orders came from the higher circle who would get requests from nations and decide based on the case of what was to be done. It could have been divine for all I know."
"It was the time the council elders died that the group began to fall apart, with new upstarts who felt we should be making money and dabbling in the affairs of the countries. I left when I saw the corruption spread, and thankfully I was good enough to get away." He pulled the chewed sugar cane from his mouth and threw it out the open door into the sand outside. "I remained neutral by not allowing myself to be controlled by emotion or opinion. No amount of pleading, bribing, threats, or coercion could deter me from my target. As I said, I was simply the instrument."
He was watching her reactions and was taking careful note of her questions figuring out what sort of person this woman was. He watched and waited for her next question his attention turning away for a moment to the door and the rising weather outside.
"I try so hard to remain neutral myself," Isis replied, tucking a bit of loose hair behind her ear," but it is hard. While the world of dancer and artists that I tend to be in is small, we have the minor politics that would make us seem to be a country of our own sometimes. Some of them will sabotage the performances of others simply because they are jealous."
Isis shrugged and then stood, stretching her body to rid it of any stiffness. She slowly walked over to the door and looked outside. Her thoughts were elsewhere at that moment, and when she spoke next, she seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
"I appreciate each day that I am alive, but I don't want to live the rest of my life in a small bitter world where I can't make anymore of a difference even if I tried," she said, wrapping her arms around herself as a shiver ran down her spine," The world is so much bigger than what I have see of it. I just want to be part of something bigger."
"Then get out and make your difference, just be sure of your decisions. If it is right to you, then it is right." He stood up and walked to the door and crossed his arms looking out to the nearby village and the rain which now trickled down steadily, wind occasionally blowing slight bits of moistness into the small hut. The effect of the rumbling thunder over the ocean and the streaking lights flowing across the ocean bound sky were eerie in their own right.
He turned back to Isis... "Do you think the wind feels?" It was an odd question to be sure but none the less it was asked. He seemed to be probing her to see what her reactions would be to the occasional question like this. It was purely rhetorical though and posed a bit of thought to the natural world.
"You wonder what brought me here, or better yet yourself... the truth is you wont know until you find it and whatever links in your past may be there don't allow yourself to get drug under. You'll drown in the people of your past and get overwhelmed, there's a chance you may loose all you like now and become bitter. You must remember always to keep everything in check." His voice was never changing always neutral never peaking with emotion either sad or happy. As he spoke he stood there still in the leather breaches not bothering to get anymore dressed the wind whipping his hair about wildly. Malious at this one moment seemed more interested in the weather pattern than anything else.
She stepped out into the wind and rain a bit, pulling the cloak that the still had about her shoulders tight around her. With one gust of wind, the hood was whipped off of her head, and her hair was allowed to be free, whipping about as the wind decided to take it. For the moment she stood there, she allowed her body to absorb the natural energy that was around her.
After a moment, she turned and stepped back into the house, pausing briefly beside Malious.
"If a tree fall and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" she replied before walking over to the fire.
Isis shed her cloak laying it over the back of the chair that she had been sitting in. Her eyes, stared into the flames, turning gold in tint as they reflected the light of the fire. There was so much she wanted to know about everything, but there was no real point in trying to learn it all. She had to pick and choose what she wished to know.
"Curiosity is what often draws me to such things," she whispered, continuing to stare into the flames," I am curious about my past, and I will even admit that I am curious about you. My past has yet to reveal itself to me, and you have revealed very little about you to me. I know I can't allow myself to get drug under by it all, but isn't that how we progress in our lives? By learning and taking risks?"
He shrugged slightly. "Taking risks is a part of life yes, but you cannot allow them to get the best of you." Malious turned and walked back to the bedroom portion of the house. Speaking up a bit. "You'll find that with many of these new discoveries that you'll make, there will be a good bit of opposition to your main path, and if you allow yourself to get too enveloped in the minor details they will wash you away. If you are misdirected then get back on your path and avoid it the next time you come to it."
He reappeared with a small green pack hanging over an arm. "You might do best to always watch yourself as well. People don't tend to like it when others come and ask questions, some may get violent, even with mundane questions." He dropped the bag onto the table and opened it up for her to see, there was a few leather pouches inside of it as well as a thin silver stiletto knife. He shuffled through the bag opening each of the pouches. He closed the bag back up and motioned to it.
"You are practically moving naked to get this information... Inside this bag is 500 gold pieces, very detailed maps of the area around here, i drew them myself, and a stiletto. Take it, you owe me nothing, it will help on your search. As I said before you are welcome to stay here as well, ill sleep in here and you may use my room." The way he said this was in a way that suggested he would indeed not take a no for an answer.
"I am not so naive to think that I will not encounter those that will try to hinder my pursuit of the truth of my past," she said, raising her voice so he could hear her from the other room," There is a reason that I do not remember what happened, and I aim to find out why. Maybe I was meant to die five years ago. Who knows? But I will find out."
Isis watched him return with the bag, cocking her head to the side as he showed her what it contained. Her eyes widened slightly, then narrowed in susceptive curiosity. There was simply no rhyme or reason to anything Malious did, and he was constantly surprising her with his actions and words. One moment she expected him to make some smartass remark and then another he would spit out things that she simply never would have thought of. It was remarkable.
"I-I can't take this," she replied, still surprised at the kindness he was showing her.
She looked at him, trying to find within his eyes and reason to not trust him. For all she knew, he could have been the very one to put her in her current situation, but even as she searched his eyes, she could tell that was not so. He was helping her, and for that, she was more than grateful.
She reached out and picked up the back, turning it over in her hands.
"I understand your reasoning behind giving me this," she finally said, looking at the bag in her hands," but what I don't understand is why you are doing this. You don't really know me, and I don't really know you. We are two completely different people from completely different backgrounds. So...why?"
"Perhaps its because I've been down this road. Or it may be that I see with what you have you are ill prepared to get out of trouble. I'd like to think that ones background would not stop me from from making a decision I am sure of. Either way you may not be so naive to think that people wont stop you at any time, but you certainly are naive enough to not go about your search prepared."
He pointed at the bag. "The maps should give you a good layout of the forest it took me quite a while but I've managed to map out the majority of the land in this region." He shrugged slightly. "Benefits of the life I live now I suppose, The gold will help keep you warm and dry, and you can use it to bribe the occasional mark for information. You'll find lips loosen much easier when you put a gold piece or two in front of them. Make sure when you do though that you don't show them the bag, go into a situation with a few pieces in a pocket. Otherwise they know where to look if they try to mug you."
Old habits seemed to die hard with Malious, he felt like he was training another subordinate. He shook his head of that notion and looked back to the woman. "That's something you should be prepared for...." He turned and walked to another cabinet near the table and opened it pulling out an old lacquered oak box from within. He opened the box and inside lie a few pouches all packed in neat squares about six inches wide and long and about three inches thick, he pulled one of the pouches out and lie it on the table closing the lid on the box and replacing it in the cabinet.
"This can always serve as an icebreaker with people." Indicating the pouch. "Its tobacco. It always works even if they don't use it. It can be used to start friendly conversations." He then handed the pouch to her and once more pointed to the bag. "The stiletto in there is in case you should have been dead 5 years ago. Likely whomever it was that did it would want to finish the job, the loss of respect and reputation for a botched job like that is enough to make them hunt you down pretty extensively."
He looked at her blankly. "You do know how to use one I trust? Going around asking questions will not get you any friends quickly, so you may need to be more ready to use it than you'd like to believe." This all seemed rather odd that he would give this stuff away freely certainly, but its not like it was stuff he didn't have more of to begin with. As it was he felt a twinge of familiarity with this woman, her blind wandering wasn't much different than how he started out. Granted he wasn't an amnesiac but when he was younger he was dumb enough to think that his pretty face and a smile would get him what he wanted. Needless to say his face wasn't so pretty and the smile started to fade after about the third stabbing.
Picking up the stiletto, Isis turned it around in her hand, examining it as if she were about to purchase a new instrument. The sharpness of the blade did not escape her notice, and as she laid it back on the table, she was careful to handle it in a way that would prevent her from getting cut. She was grateful for such a kindness from him, and it made her feel a bit more at ease with him, even with his rather stoic way about things.
"I am more inclined to think that someone would want me dead than to believe there will be a loving family missing me for these past five years," she finally said, her eyes drifting back to the fire," I don't know what would warrant someone wanting to put me into the ground, but...if I had a family, they would have been looking for me, maybe even have found me, by now. I would have at least heard of them looking for someone by my description by this point and time."
Isis sighed, eyeing the remainder of the items. Frankly, tobacco was a nasty thing that she never really wanted to deal with. Even if she didn't use it, she didn't like it, but if it would aid her in her journey, then she would do what she had to with it.
"I have used smaller weapons before with various dances that I have preformed, though never in combat," Isis continued," I know how to use them though. I've just never really had the opportunity to use them, as I've said. I tend to avoid fights it I can."
A small smile came to her face. The biggest fight she had ever had, had been a cat fight with another dancer. For the life her she couldn't remember what the fight had been over in the first place, probably some spot in a show, but the end result hadn't been good for either one involved. Her opponent had gotten a black eye and a few broken bones while she had been made to spend time in jail.
She had learned her lesson after that incident.
"Thank you though," she finally said," I do appreciate this. There aren't many people out there who would help someone they only just met."
He looked at her then and shook his head. "It is far from a dance. With a knife like that you want to aim for vital areas to ensure a quick kill or maiming. Its not made for an extended fight due to it being so thin. An even strike with a thicker blade will snap the blade if you aren't lucky." He thought for a moment an picked up the blade. "Places like here.." He indicated the point where wrist meets hand with the tip of the blade. "and here.." now he indicated his elbow with the blade. "and here..." pointing out across the front of the knuckles. "Will disable a man and stop him from using the hand."
He then pointed to his chest over his right lung, "Here and..." Moving the blade around and twisting slightly over his Kidney area. "Here, will result in extreme pain and most likely a slow death, but enough to get information out of them." Then he moved the stiletto over his heart. "Here and here...." Moving the weapon to his neck... "and here, and here..." moving it to his armpit and then upper inner thigh. "Will result in death." He then placed the knife on the table. "All of these are by thrusting the knife into them, aside from the disabling blows, those are slashing across the area. When you make to stab someone make sure you move the blade around in them to damage everything you can."
Granted it was rather macabre but it was necessary to him for her to know this if he was giving her a knife. "I understand your situation to a point, and I offer my help mostly because of that alone." Malious shrugged slightly. "I'd rather someone go into the world to find whatever information they need, do it with a degree of success than they going out and dying for nothing."
Giving Malious her full attention, she took great care to make mental notes on all that he showed and told her. This was something that she never would have thought she would need to know in her journey, but once she considered his words, she saw that he was right. There was no real way for her to tell who would attack her when, and she was in need of a better way to protect herself than her emotionally tied magic.
"So I'm not the first you've seen in this sort of situation?" Isis asked, running a finger along the thin blade," How many like me have you seen fall for lack of proper guidance?"
She knew it would be a more personal question, but he had told her to ask her questions. If he didn't answer though, she knew that she had gone to far and would reframe from it in the future. She liked Malious though, and she didn't want to drive him off with her prying questions.
"In my former line of work many of the younger members died due to mistakes that are easy to make, some of the veteran members would as well, they'd get too complacent and then make a simple mistake. Ultimately when a person looks for something they must have their wits about them or they tend to find their life get short quick... I've even made my fair share of mistakes."
He walked out of the door into the falling rain, and looked out to the ocean nearby. The hut wasn't next to it but he could still see it from its positioning on the edge of village. "its getting late anymore, as i said you may stay here if you please or even stay in the village inn, it makes no difference to me. But I would make the choice soon before the weather gets out of hand." By now the leather breaches he wore were soaked. He shook his head looking up at the black sky trying to make outlines of the edges of the storm cloud but had no luck what-so-ever it would likely rain all night.
He stepped back inside, moved back to the table and poured himself some more of the warmed rum.
" I can no longer afford to make immature mistakes," she whispered, speaking to now one in particular," My world doesn't simply consist of this performance or the next but of something that may change the course of the rest of my life. It is too late to turn back now..."
Sighing, she watched him. her expression distant. It wasn't until he was back pouring himself some more to drink that she snapped back to reality and answered his question. Her mind had been on senairos that might come her way. Would she have to kill someone? Would she have to inflict pain and suffering upon them to gain the information she so desired?
Would she have the guts to do any of it at all?
Her cerulean eyes, dimmed it seemed by the gravity of what she might have to do in the future, turned to look at the steadly worsening weather. She wasn't afraid to travel in such weather, though she knew it was far from smart in most cases, but she didn't' want to leave Malious's company either. There was a lot he could teach her, things that she might be able to use in her mission.
"I believe I will stay here with you," she finally said, smiling at him," You are quite interesting."