Crumbs from the Bread King [GOBLIN]

[Cambie]

"Your ears are perceptive," he agreed with a nod, "Deeper in the chamber once stood a tunnel leading out of the city and to the surface. Perhaps a secret escape for the Shahs of old. But that tunnel has collapsed, and the exit I think swallowed up by the Niafi. That is the sound you hear. But I have only been that way one time."

He said nothing about her other quip though, the one about finding oneself. He'd tried before, and failed. But perhaps if this isolated chamber far beneath Suliman's Palace helped her personally, then he would be glad.

The thought occurred to him to hand the rusty iron lantern to her.

"I have been here many times," he said with another slight smile. "But you are not yet initiated. Perhaps you would like to lead... to explore?"

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris' eyes lit up with a glow all of their own that had nothing to do with the flicker of the lamplight reflecting off her crimson orbs. "Such trust," she murmured in an almost predatory tone that a glint of a smile was able to eliminate. "I would be honored with such trust. Though perhaps you will find yourself regretting that once I get us both irrevocably lost," the huntress jested before turning to venture further into the darkness.

Her fingers trailed lightly along the broken walls as she enjoyed the feeling of them crumbling slightly to powder that caked her fingertips. Every once in a while she would pause to examine a feature inscribed in the walls that her hand had felt though her eyes could not decipher what it was she was reading.

"What fools humans be to forsake beauty and forget history to sate appetites whet with lust and greed," she suddenly stated after they had wandered further in for quite some time. "Worlds beneath worlds forever lost," Tiraris continued if only to herself. "You have found a real treasure here, Kassim. Thank you for the gift of sharing it," she spoke truthfully.

[Cambie]

"Just a small part of the treasure," he corrected her as he followed along the dimly lit corridor, eyes taking in every crumbling mural as if seeing them for the first time. She was right about the beauty down here. The history, so much of it lost to time.

"I suspect that there are more rooms buried beneath these secret tunnels, and more beneath those. Nobody knows how old this city is. As you said, worlds beneath worlds. This is but one of them that is not yet lost."

As they continued on, the Stranger peered curiously at Tiraris's back. There was something strangely calming about her, more so than the thousands of people he'd crossed in his unbearably long lifetime. "Are you a student of history then?"

[GoblinFae]

"You could say I was one once," she replied softly, her gaze not once leaving the walls though she did falter slightly as memories of another life tried to engulf her before she was able to shove them away once more. "It was a long time ago and I did not have the passion for it then. A pity I suppose. I resent my younger self for lack of attention. Though I suppose it is much of the same for many children wouldn't you agree?"

[Cambie]

The man smiled sadly behind her, though quickly he wiped the look from his face.

"Education is a rare gift," he said with a shake of his head.  "Most children would be content with having a full belly and a warm bed.  But for those with the opportunity -- it would be a monumental waste."

His past blurred in his mind, and he furrowed his brow trying to remember it.  Nothing was coming to him though, at least nothing of his early years.  Was he an educated youth?  Somehow, he doubted it.

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris nodded her head in agreement. "The unfortunate curse of our age is that those with opportunity would be the ones that waste it and those without might actually appreciate more having gone through hellfire to survive. I imagine that the royals that once lived here believed that it would never end for them. They believed there would always be splendor and luxury because that was all they had ever known. There was nothing to rise above and then in an instant," she turned sadly to her companion as she reflected on where they were, "it was gone."

[Cambie]

"Not completely gone," he corrected her quietly, as his hand ran across an old mural painted across the cracked sandstone wall next to where he stood, depicting Essyrn in a more glorious time.  A trickle of water ran down the wall slowly, from where the hidden chamber had begun to crumble through the centuries.  Who knew how much longer it would last?

And who knew if he would live long enough to see that day?  He had a frightful suspicion that he would.

"Come," he finally said.  "Perhaps its time we leave these old ghosts to rest."

[GoblinFae]

She sighed softly and shook her head sadly. "True I suppose though I do not believe that the original owners of this place would agree with you. This is but a shell of what it once was. Perhaps it is better to have let it fade out of memory entirely rather than have a crumbling and diseased ghost in its place to invoke pity and disgust."

Tiraris moved back to stand with her exploration companion and nodded her head in agreement. "Yes," she breathed tiredly, "I believe you are right. We should let them have their peace now. We have bothered them long enough today. Would you lead the way?"

[Cambie]

The journey back was made in contemplative silence, and through a different tunnel than before.  The musk of age felt less overpowering this way, and the air fresher.  Slowly the distant echo of water faded into nothingness, a sign that they were moving away from where the Niafi cut a serpentine path through the heart of the City.

A chittering echoed to the left of the man, and he paused in the darkness to peer down.  Though even his eyes could not pierce the darkness, he'd tread enough footsteps to know the piddling movements of his little rat friends.  They cared not for the sanctity of this place.  To them, these ancient tunnels were just like all the pathways in Essyrn.  It was an oddly liberating concept.

The sound of the rat also meant that they were near the exit.  Up ahead, the wall would seem uneven and segmented to the touch, as though its architect had meant it to be climbed.  "Be careful here, the stones are worn to the touch.  Follow my lead closely."  And with a slow but practiced ease he began scaling the wall in complete utter darkness, toward the hidden exit above that blocked the forgotten palace from the bazaar above.

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris paused briefly in awe to note how effortlessly he climbed his way up before doing her best to follow. Her companion certainly was right though, the stone was as smooth as glass and twice as slippery in places. More than once her foot or handholds had to be readjusted as she hoisted herself up, always a step behind him.

They reached the top with a tiny eroded ledge before slipping through a narrow gap in the wall. This gap led out to vacant alleyway. To her great surprise and delight, she realized that she could hear that they were but a few meters from the bustling bazaar.

Smiling softly she turned to her tour guide for the day and thanked him softly. "Would you care to join me for a cool drink? I don't know about you but I'm quite thirsty after our little bout of adventuring. I would greatly welcome the company."