Book of Stars

[visualspice]

"We have to work quickly. "

"Snuff out yer light!"

"What are you walking with..!? Nails on your sandals? We gotta be quiet."

The Seraj Isa- one of the many wonders of the ancient world, and a breeding ground to a number of unique animals- phantoms and real alike. The glass desert is not something one can tred through lightly, and could easily blind or trick a man, simply by the way the sun hits the rolling hills of glass.

But at night? At night the sacred desert of glass is alive and thrives on the mysteries beneath the mood, the unknown shrouded beneath dark blankets of night and revels in the untamable land where no man has ever claimed.



"Come on.. we ain't got all night."

"Thoughts yous said we gotta be quiet-like?"

"Yeah.. but I ain't said we had to move like your grandmother t' do it!"



On this night, where the moon lost most its glow, waning into the nothingness of the night- barely a sliver for the group of men to navigate by.

"And what you talking 'bout nails on our feet anyways? That's the only way we can get around!"

The other man hushed the complainer, glaring loudly before gesturing towards a bluff of glass and shadows.

"There it is."

"That's where yous seens her? Yer lady made of midnight sky and diamonds?"

The other man clamped a hand suddenly over the other's mouth, and the pair tensed- growing silent. Then an odd sensation prickled the hairs on the backs of their necks causing the second man to shiver and step back.

"It was like this the last time."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.. quiet.. very.. very dark. And I sensed.. whatever that just was back then.. too." He licked his lips in anticipation then slowly slid out a piece of gold from his pocket.

"You sure this'll work? You saying she might ne a phantom.. you sure we got the right enchantment for the job?"

The other man hesitated, fingers running against the smooth gold.

"I paid a lot for it. Told it keeps phantoms and spirits tethered.  Like a leash on a dog."

The other man frowned and turned to look out onto the shadows.. the pair waiting.. just waiting. And just when the other was about to complain they had been waiting for hours...

She appeared. 

At first it was hard to tell if they were seeing anything at first, shadows barely moved without clouds or trees to create them. But something did move and although it was subtle at first, it soon became clear- a feminine figure was gliding, graceful and almost fish like in the way it moved about the shadows...

Then up, up before the stars she moved, a dancers grace; body twinkling as if part of the Starlight itself.

The men were both transfixed by it, before quietly they moved. As it was before, the strange feminine creature kept her distance if they would advance yet.. if they stilled, she too would still and fixate upon them before eventually, finally her curiosity was piqued and she floated down towards the pair, her hair umbrella-ing behind her.

The pair couldn't believe what they were witnessing. This woman.. this ghost was just floating all around them. She kept a little distance at first, then grew bolder so much that she placed her face right before their own. The other man trembled with excitement, but the other man gripped the other man's hand down- the woman almost flying off, but when stillness came again she dared.moved forward, and as the man slowly raised his hand, the glinting gold hoop held within, she suddenly became quite transfixed with the medal.. so much infact she almost had taken the enchanted item clean from his hands. But he waited, biding his time, before the woman leaned forward just enough to expose her neck and..

Click.

And her fate was sealed.

Back in the city...sometime later...

An interesting proposition came out.
'Translator needed. Must be proficient in ancient Essryni myths. Possible new ancient language to decipher. Will discuss pay upon interest. Must be able to attend job at night. Kaba'a district. '

The Kaba'a district was a secluded one that edge upon the western front of Essryn city proper and the desert. Most housing there were simple wooden tents and residents rarely stayed for long periods of time, typically moving along with the tides of the sands, or moving in as jobs dictated. 

A lot happened in Kaba'a, new discoveries, archeological caravans beginning and ending their journey, trade, hunting and of course the occassional illegal kind of jobs. It was just another usual evening, with tent trinkets tinkling in the on coming night winds. Tent keepers were closing up their shops and those that stayed open or active during the night, were beginning to prepare their lanterns for the long night ahead.

"Think they'll come?" The one man asked, stuffing a wad of tobacco into his cheek.

"Of course they'll come. They always do." The other replied, irritably. "I ain't worried about them coming. Let's just hope they ain't no curious type and won't ask too many questions. Remember, we gotta keep it all quiet."

His partner nodded, chewing loudly of his tobacco until it was juicy enough to spit. Then he squinted his eyes and saw a figure approach, with skies burning of the colors of the dying sun and just the hint of Starlight began to emerge. 

[Hyacinthus]

"Alms! Alms for ailments!"

"Fresh cactus fruit, straight from the bush-- Can I interest you in some fresh cactus fruit?"

"Hey, handsome! You look tired-- wanna step inside for a nice, soft massage...?"

"S-sorry, I'm literally on my way to work-- but thank you for the offer!"

Derry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked the quickly-dimming streets of Kaba'a. He didn't like it here; Never had, in truth. His father, on business, tended to come through these streets when Derry was younger, and he could recall the first time that he, as a little boy, accompanied him on such trips. They lived a fairly moderate yet comfy lifestyle for Essyrni natives, so it was the first time that Derry had really been introduced to what actual destitution could look like.

There was very little structure in this corner of the city; Tents and tarps made up the majority of the structures that lined the streets, and oftentimes even those were shared among strangers. As gross as it seemed to think it, the 'riff raff' of Essyrn tended to wind up here; Folk that couldn't-- or wouldn't-- make an honest living in the city proper. And yet, as his dad always told him, coin knew no morals. There were just as many honest folk, down on their luck or screwed over by the wiles and ways of Essyrn here as there were shadier guys and gals who would just as quickly rob a man blind if no one was watching. It was sad, but the moral of the story was that he couldn't judge people by where they lived, or what they chose to do as a profession-- which is what led him here in the first place.

Derry was a translator; Most of his work came through Essyrn's universities, but a good chunk of his work was commissioned requests. The scholarly stuff wasn't enough to put food on the table AND feed his theoretical cat that he would definitely one day adopt, so the commissions typically went right into his savings. And sure, a number of those commissions were just the odd adventurer coming by to ask that he translate some runes or another for clues on whatever quest they may have been on, but just as many were... well, weirdos, that were incredibly secretive about their reasoning for his services and went out of their way to ensure he worked on a need to know basis. They usually paid pretty well, to be fair.

As the travel-tired young man passed an errant turn and began heading toward a pair of men beneath one said tent who seemed wholly out of place and seemed to look toward his arrival expectantly, Derry pulled out the posted request that he'd taken with him on this trip. He sincerely hoped his clients were the weird ones. Uncomfortable as it might've been dealing with those types at times, he could really use a nice commission this week. "Uh... hi, there. By chance, would you have happened to have put out this request? I'm Derry-- a local translator. I figure I might be able to help."

[visualspice]

The pair of men looked the younger man over with thoughtful nods of their own. One was rather tall and gangly, with a long thin face to match his body and limbs, and dark tanned, weathered skin framed by a pencil thin mustache and heavy brows over wide, blood shot eyes. He grinned, showing yellow teeth.

"I am Kahzeem, thank you for coming at the requested hour. Work waits for no new sun, eh?"

He gestured to the much squatter man at his left, as his short partner spat tar like colored tobacco into the sands. He kicked sands towards it to lightly bury it (for all the good it did). If anything, it actually splashed some of the gross juices onto his wrapped sandals.

"This is Muhta. We are partners working on an interesting find. A recent adventure into the glass desert yielded some fine artifacts.  Won't you come in?"

Muhta stepped aside, allowing Kahzeem to open the tent flap for their guest. He stood like a squat bird, looked like one too, with beady recessed eyes and a large, beak like nose thar nearly over shadowed his own pencil thin beard framing his well rounded cheeks. If the beard weren't so thin, his equally thin lips might be lost in them.

Both men has kohl rubbed beneath their eyes and dark hair that was hidden beneath sand stained wrapped clothes upon their heads. Both had some piercings that picked up the dance from the lantern light as they escorted Derry inside, both giving looks out into the coming darkness before allowing their tent flap to close.

Inside was much larger than it had appeared from the sands- their tent stretching long ways from its opening. Inside, however, was filled with wonders' with crates stacked tall and haphazardly on alternating walls of the tent , and chains and ropes, drying herbs and birds in cages all hung in clattered places from the ceiling poles, a red parrot squawking as the group passed.

"Nighty night, Yazko," the taller men said as he moved a piece of clothe and folded it over the cage. The bird immediately quieted, but moved about, pecking at the bottom of his cage.

Muhta pulled up the rear, fetching something from his pocket and offering it to the bird as he lifted rhe corner if the clothe. The bird wasted no time snatching up the offered peanut. Muhta smiled and let the clothe fall mostly back into place.

Kahzeem had made his way towards a small four foot table, one thar held an array of paperwork, journals and books. Once  Muhta joined them, he noted the look Kahzeem gave him and the stouter man went to work removing the maps and papers from the table and the small, sand dusted stack off books from a chair, which he then used his hand to dust off the grit.

"Sit, please." Muhta said, grinning his rotting teeth.

"Make yourself comfortable," Kahzeem added as he lit another hanging lantern nearby, the tent warming with an orange glow that cast off some of the sharp shadows the cluttered tent was near consumed with.

Muhta moved now, shuffling to a corner where a pang came as he spat into a stained and rusting brass spitoon in the corner. A moment later the parrot squawked a pang of his own and Kahzeem gave his partner a sharp look. The other grinned sheepishly to go fix the birds drapery while Kahzeem turned a small smile to his new 'friend'.

"We have water. Are you thirsty, friend?" He asked, fetching up a clay pitcher and some cups and filling one at the table.

"We have... much to discuss," he continued, eyeing Muhta as he waddled back to the table. The shorter man waved off Kahzeem's growl.

"I fixed the drape!" He snapped. He did fix the drape, and the parrot was now nibbling on the corner he had once been peeking through. But then Muhta turned towards Derry and gave him a grin as he offered up a basket of dates.

"Fruit?"

Kahzeen glared at the shorter man but kept his own patience in check.

"Good friend, we thank you for meeting with us this evening. Might you entertain us now with some of your past experiences? Your..credentials.."

"And your fees!" Muhta chimed in, which received a glare from Kahzeem. Payment was meant to be discussed... later.

[Hyacinthus]

To say that Derry was perturbed was an understatement.

The evenings in Kaba'a were dangerous enough on their own due to the diversity of destitution one could easily find. For every desperate merchant, where was an unsavory character lurking around a corner with a dagger in one hand, and someone else's coinpurse in the other. The young man wasn't so foolish as to believe that the same thing couldn't, or wouldn't, happen to him, so he traveled fairly light-handed when and where he went in the city, especially where guards were lacking. The thought of him getting attacked for money, only to turn out his pockets, was one that amused Derry more than it should've-- after all, it WAS still a crime that COULD still get physical.

And yet, most folk within the city-- even within Kaba'a for the most part-- weren't crazy enough to openly attack someone within the borders. So long as he kept a low profile, didn't wander around with money or excessive gold accessories, Derry knew he had little to fear from just about anyone, regardless of where he was. To add to that, he always carried a knife with him-- and while he wasn't anything special with them, he could at least defend himself (or bluff at it) to get himself out of trouble. With that mentality, he didn't even consider himself particularly in danger when it came to the two men he'd just naively followed out of anyone else's sight.

...And now he was slightly regretting that decision.

"Ah, um, I-I'm good on fruit, thank you for the offer, though!" There was... next to no way in hell he was taking anything from either of these two, for so long as they sat together in this dark, secluded tent where Derry head-canoned that no one would be able to hear him scream-- and yet, he couldn't deny that he was at least a little curious about all the curiosities that were stored within. "Ahem-- well-- I'm... let's see, I'm licensed by the Essyrn Adventurer's guild-- I have about 4 years of experience translating ancient texts, of varying languages from just that as a result. I've done some work with hieroglyphs, fae runes, curses, you name it." He explained, crossing his legs in the seat he'd taken earlier at their behest and nodding to himself. "I've done a little cross-culture work as well-- Yoreiqi, Hyoite-natives... a lion. Long story."

Yes, if there was one thing Derry was pretty sure he could do, it was translate. Didn't matter who, didn't matter what. He'd always considered himself pretty gifted at it, though his dad had always claimed that was 'just the tip of the iceberg of what a member of the Evans bloodline was capable of'. Dramatic, that one. That said, Derry-- reading the room-- had actively avoided the topic of money for the time being for two reasons-- obviously coming off as greedy so early probably wasn't the best call for his budding career, and secondly, he wasn't even sure if he'd agree to whatever it was they were looking for from him yet.

Instead, absentmindedly twisting the filled cup around with his right hand while it sat on the table, Derry figured it was better to get a better understanding of the job first and foremost. After all, it wasn't often that his clients didn't put their requests directly through the adventurer's guild... which was why Derry couldn't completely relax in this situation. "The, uh, the listing? It mentioned Essyrni myths and... an ancient language? Can you tell me more about that?" He asked, trying to stay as close to business as he could. As his mother had constantly told him, 'There's no free water in the desert'-- He wanted to get a better idea of what exactly the two men sought to gain from him.

[visualspice]

Kahzeem and Muhta exchanged looks. The shorter man moved towards a pile of ratty looking books and scrolls, while Kahzeem stepped forward to take a seat beside Derry.

"We are travelers, you see? We aim to find and sell unique goods from the desert. We travel as far as the Kishani in the South.. to the Draconi Forests in the North. But.. the deserts here yield much secrets yet of our ancient past.. you.." He eyed the other over before grinning. "Do you like a good mystery?"

Suddenly Muhta returned, nearly tripping over himself as he landed, catching himself on the table. The books and scrolls cushioned his fall, and Kahzeem.glared at him. But as Muhta scrambled to his feet, a single scroll lay half curled, but open, with an ancient sketch of a woman whose body was full of stars. 

[Hyacinthus]

A strained smile formed on Derry's face, while a single bead of sweat ran down the side of his scalp as... Kahzeem, did he say his name was? Came to rest beside him. Something about the scent of the mix of hours-old sweat and khol on this guy just didn't sit right with him, and he didn't know what.

"I... suppose? Who doesn't like a good story, right?" Was Derry's fairly harmless reply as he shifted in his seat a bit— mostly to turn his facing a bit more directly toward his contractor... as well as to reduce the risk of getting stabbed in the side by a pocket knife.

Now, Muhta on the other hand, he was starting to warm up to. There was just something about watching a guy his size do his best that Derry agreed with wholeheartedly, and as he stumbled to the table with a strange scroll in tow, Derry couldn't help but thank the man mentally for continuously diffusing the relatively uncomfortable atmosphere Kahzeem created. Truly a hero among heroes.

"What's... do you mind if I?...?" He asked, though his hands were already reaching for the half-rolled scroll, which Derry's inquisitive mind couldn't help but seek out. The art— from what he could see of it, it didn't share semblance with many of the hieroglyphs he'd studied or worked with from the desert thus far. What was it?

[visualspice]

Kahzeem and Muhta exchanged looks again.

"This... my friend.." Kahzeem went on, leaning over to point a sharp finger at. "Is the subject of our.. translation. We... need a few things.. old relics looked at and... perhaps a little history... you said you were trained in history, did you not? Well.. we were hoping to figure out the meaning behind this... star bodied woman."

"We found it in the Seraj Isa," Muhta added, his voice soft, almost like a whisper, as both he and Kahzeem now leaned in much more closely around Derry at the table.

"Tell me... what do you know of the Seraj Isa?"

[Hyacinthus]

'Star-bodied woman'. The words echoed in Derry's mind a few moments longer than they needed to as he took a proper look over the scroll that had been brought to the table, examining it further now that it had been properly laid bare. The desert was a place filled with mysteries— lost civilizations and magics that were best left undiscovered for the future of Essyrn, for sure.

"Hm... Well, the Sera—" He began, looking up from the scroll only to find himself rather uncomfortably flanked on both sides by his contractors. Seriously, he thought to himself, they either spent way too much time just between the two of them or lacked any semblance of personal space. A bead of sweat that he forced himself to blame on the heat rolled down the side of his face as he continued, pretending that they were at a respectable distance.

"...There's plenty of rumors surrounding the Seraj Isa. Earliest Essyrni records on file... that folks like me have access to, at least claim the glass desert predates the city-state as we know it today, and potentially even the former nation. There are studies— limited ones, mind you, the Shah doesn't exactly encourage folks to tamper there— that imply that prior to its current state, a separate civilization originally resided there... or an earlier iteration of Essyrn, before 'the fall' as it were. I..." He started to wax a bit more poetic, but caught himself after a 'minor' detail came to his mind about the situation as a whole that made him look back up at Kahzeem.

"...Is this from the Seraj Isa?"

[visualspice]

Kahzeem and Muhta were doing an awful lot of exchanging glances. The taller man pulled away, returning a moment later to drop an old coin looking object into the table.

"It was from the glass desert. As was this."
He pointed a finger at it upon the table.

"We are adventurers, you could say," Muhta added. "And have recently come back with.. " he eyed Kahzeem.. who then took over in finishing his thought.

"We came back with the items you see here. Al of which have the same star bodied woman." He paused, whether to let Derry digest all that or for dramatic effect before continuing. "We want to know what she is and why she is on these ancient relics in the desert made of glass."

[Hyacinthus]

Some part of Derry wished that rather than being really, really good at translating texts and languages, he was better at knowing what on earth the myriad glances at one another that his two benefactors kept making actually meant. It was unnerving at first— and rightfully so, outnumbered as he was. Now it was just annoying.

"The most obvious answer would be iconoclatery," Derry began, taking note of the coin brought to him, comparing it to the scroll and doing his best to put his annoyances in his pocket, "Or, the idolification or fixation on a particular image or concept. If you found these in the glass desert, then they predate Essyrn by a mile, and that's probably putting it lightly. It's likely that your... 'star-bodied woman'? Was either a conceptualizar diety, or a being of great power— someone or something worth worshipping by a religion, or a civilization entirely."

The scroll drew on Derry's attention more so than the coin at this point, as he looked over its depiction of the figure. There was, despite the age of the scroll, a good amount of attention to detail in the art— something he couldn't help but respect with a stoic nod. "I'd lean toward 'being of great power', myself. There's very little variation between the art here and here," He explained, pointing over toward the coin, "Which, educated guess, means they had a focus— something tangible. Visible. Hell, maybe this 'Star-bodied woman' was real— they sure drew her like she was."

[visualspice]

Both men smiled greedily. 

"When you mention great power... how? Like a wish granting genie? Or war machine?"

"Kahzeem, I think we would have known if she had any of those powers when we found her."

A sharp elbow from Kahzeem hushed the squat man. He gave his partner a sharp look.

He turned his attention to Derry.

"Why would you think such a creature could have been real based on just an obscure drawing," he asked, diverting. 

[Hyacinthus]

"..."

There came a point in every man's life where he had to truly stop— like, cease everything he was doing— and ask himself, truly ask himself, how much trouble was money worth? Derry, materialist that he was, had been in that position more than enough times now to know that as he was currently in one of those situations. Reaching up into his hanging bang of hair with his right hand and idly twirling it in between his fingers— a tactile attempt at calming his nerves like a bull in the face of so many red flags, the translator knew he was being skirted with. It wasn't a matter of if they were keeping information from him, but how much.

"...There's more than enough detail in the design here to suggest there was a medium that served as a basis of inspiration. See the curve of the cheek? The hair? The design is the same on the coin to a stroke, which implies it was both widespread and culturally accepted as correct." The hard part, in his current opinion, was debating if continuing this 'naive, un-assuming translator' act was worth the coin he was likely to get out of it. He didn't doubt the two 'adventurers' were good for the money— a quick peak around the dark tent was enough to catch a multitude of glimpses at the many different treasures they possessed— though most seemed like curiosities more than genuine gold dust in the making. Still, there was more than enough to cobble a fair few coins on the market there.

The other question was if it was at all wise to confront them in the first place. This was their home turf, their territory— and they were obscured from the average passersby's eye. So, in summary: Stay quiet and HOPEFULLY get paid, or confront them about the consistent slip-ups in their 'Adal and Ashe' brothers play they were trying to put on, and potentially get silenced over it. The choice seemed pretty clear... "There's also the fact that the placement of the stars on the artwork resembles... the..."

...The choice seemed pretty clear... But...

"...Okay, I can't. This is silly." He wasn't too frustrated; If he were, the chair he'd been sitting in would've flipped back when he raised himself from his seat. Instead, it slid back properly, though urgently. Disappointment and disinterest were written plain on Derry's face as he sighed; Disinterest in playing this game of 'fool the translator into doing something illegal', and disappointment in Muhta. Just Muhta, not Kahzeem. He was really letting him down right now, his imaginary image of the portly fellow being tainted by his duplicity. "Listen, friends— I don't know what you actually found out there, and I'm quickly learning to not care. Whatever it is, or was, if you want me to translate it, then just let me translate it— if not, then I can leave."

...Yeah, that definitely didn't come out as he intended it to. A lot more of his frustration was speaking than he was at the moment, and he mentally chastised himself over essentially costing himself a job. But his mom didn't raise a half-asset; he had to commit now. Thus, with a polite bow, he stepped away from and past his kindly-offered chair, and began to leave the way they'd led him in. It was late, but he could probably make up the time (and money) lost here with a job from the guild. The day might not be completely ruined yet!

[visualspice]

The men, appalled, rushed after Derry retreating form- one of them scrambling infront- the squatter man scrambling to stay behind.

"Friend! Please.. please," Kahzeem insisted, all forceful smiles of desperation as he attempted to block the way.

"We did not mean to offend."

"Yes, no offense!" Came Muhta's reply. 

"We were just hoping to have some light shed on this unique find. We.." he hesitated, not sure how much he wanted to divulge. "Would you not consider to stay and help for .. ten percent more money?"

Muhta nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

"This job.. it.. we... we would hate to be left in the dark if the find is valuable," Kahzeem continued, hoping the man would reconsider.. the. Hastily suggested. "We could pay as much as 15 percent more!"

[Hyacinthus]

Derry closed his eyes, and forced as much frustration as he could down into the depths of his soul while he listened to the two pleading men. Fifteen percent more of WHAT? Kahzeem sure didn't seem willing to talk coin earlier...

That said, a part of him wasn't actually expecting either of them to try stopping him. Muhta, maybe— but not his gangly compatriot. With a sigh, he heard them out— there claims of seeking more insight into this 'find' triggering his fear of being manipulated again. "...Okay, okay. But what is this 'find'? And what is this job? You don't need to tiptoe around it— I promise you, if you didn't find a sack of trader's coin out in that desert, I don't want it. It's all yours."

He hoped that he was clear enough, without being too disrespectful. The truth was that he was interested in the work— he enjoyed what he did. He also enjoyed getting paid. A lot. It was like his whole thing, honestly.

"So let's talk, honestly. Do you want me to translate for you? Do you just want my time, to inquire on your findings? I'm not really an appraiser— I don't do much work with valuing items, but I can translate or decode... well, anything."

[visualspice]

Kahzeem shook his head.
"I am not looking at the value of the find.. but of answers!" He pleaded. "The ancient coins and finds.. we want to know if there are connections to it. There... is more about thud ancient star woman that we haven't revealed yet but... we could pay half now. Half when you help us finish the work."

Yet still he left out the specifics.  Numbers were just that anyway.. were they not?

"We found writings on the cliffs. " Muhta added in a hushed tone. "Where we have rubbing you could maybe compare it?" He went on, gesturing with his arms to emphasize what a rubbing was.

[Hyacinthus]

Internally, Derry's temper flared like a active volcano; A surge of vindication washing over him like the oceans' waves as they met the rocky shores— slowly wearing away at his patience like so many jagged rock sides over years of water crashing down.

They would pay half of WHAT!? If Kahzeem was any more vague the young translator didn't think he'd be able to see his physical form at this point!

The young man couldn't believe that his one life goal— getting paid— was being overpowered by his sheer unbridled rage at that moment, but all the same he did well not to let any of it show on his face— instead, he kept his calm, especially as Muhta at last gave him a tangible goal to work toward— actual translation work, which was what he thought he'd been there for in the first place.

Thank goodness. He was still mad at the rotund man, but he continued to be simultaneously Derry's only real reason he hadn't stormed out yet. Keep up the good work, Muhta. "Okay... let's just... let me see the 'rubbing' first. If there's something there I can work with, we can discuss pay... If not, I probably won't be of much help here, and won't waste your time."

[visualspice]

The two men were relieved and graciously lead Derry back inside.

"Please, have a seat while Muhta goes snd fetches it." Kazeem snapped his fingers and the shorter man took off through the garble inside the tent. The two really had an impressive amount of junk housed inside.

"Now, now.. you mentioned discussing pay once you view the rubbing? Yes?"Kahzeem slipped  hefty pouch from his pocket and let it thunk on the table infront of Derry. Half up front.. the rest as we get answers, yes?" Kahzeem stressed, peering over his shoulders and wondering what was taking Muhta so long.

He looked down the pathway Muhta had gone, the one he knew the rubbing were in, and gave and irritable glare.

"I apologize he is taking so long. We house many valuable treasures within our tent."

Muhta hurry up! Kahzeem internally swore.

A moment later, the sound of things falling over and Muhta cursing could be heard before the man sauntered back to the table, dumping a number of rolled up parchment before Derry.

"You see? A few good places to start to help us on our research!" Kahzeem went on but turned to hiss a whisper into Muhta's ear. "What took so long!?"

Muhta shook his head.

"The back tent flap was open. A few things seemed disturbed but nothing gone."

Kahzeem paled at this and excused themselves so Derry could assess. Once the pair were out of view, kahzeem gave Muhta a shake.

"Was it thieves? Was anything stolen? He hissed.

Muhta shook his head.

"No.. I wonder if it was just an animal.  I told you about the hippos earlier."

Kahzeem paled.

"The Shah's name... I hope it's not that. "

The two went to tidy up the room and fix the tent before Kahzeem ordered Muhta to check outside.  The shorter man reluctantly obeyed and Kahzeem returned to the table.

"So . What do we think, friend?"

[Hyacinthus]

Oh, hell yeah. Derry's concerns, frustrations and fears seemed to melt in a near instant as the solid sound of coin hit the table with an uncanny thump. Derry knew that thump. That was the thump of a coin purse that had serious value— and given how willing Kahzeem was to show it off, the raven-haired youth knew there was much more to follow if needed. Yeah, Derry could deal with that. As he grabbed the pouch to test its weight, Derry nodded in alignment with the man's words, reaffirmed on the job... for now. "...Half up front, the rest as you get answers, yes." He agreed, satisfied with the weight in his hands.

Admittedly, he was still rather put-off by the performance of the two. Guild work was far more structured; A very defined ask,  very defined task, and there was no haggling over pay— mostly because the guild took a portion of the commission for themselves— 10%, if Derry recalled right. Counting coin like that meant they had to be upfront about the pay and rates for requests. They had a good rapport with translators, geologists and archeologists like himself, who just wanted to know what they stood to gain from the work they were doing in hard, unchanging numbers.

Derry shifted in his seat, deliberating over the thought. He did prefer the structure, but the pay wasn't always great. And now the pay was looking quite nice, but the clients... eh. You take what you can get, in the end.

Before long, Muhta was shuffling back toward the two of them from the shadows, and Derry eyed the collection of scrawlings falling from his arms as he clumsily let them roll onto the table before him. His interests piqued, he reached down and grabbed one of them— unfurling the scroll and taking a closer look while his two clients made themselves as scarce as the two of them could. "...Huh. Interesting..." He murmured to himself as he leaned into the work, already having partially forgotten their presence.

There was quite a bit to unpack before him, and unfortunately it wasn't all writing— heck, most of it wasn't. More pictures than anything, once more depicting the "star-bodied" lady, though now in different poses, and of different magnitudes. A story? There were some words here and there that could be made out from the scrolls that Derry opened... a strange tug at the corners of his mind pointed out the spellings of 'Night', 'Shadow', 'Her voice', to name a few. The scrolls almost seemed to paint a picture of a ghost more so than a "wish-granting" god or goddess. And the fact that they were written  and drawn on such simple scrolls... Hm.

Before long, he was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of Kahzeem, who he'd not noticed so close to him. "...Well, it's definitely not what I thought I'd find. The few scroll I've looked at so far lead me to believe I was right about my original hunch... I'm pretty sure this star-lady wasn't some myth. She was definitely real."

[visualspice]

The man arched a brow.
"What.. makes you say this?"
He, of course, knew it was true. They had the very woman from the translations on the page! However... he was no scholar and from what this man saw, he was ignorant.
"I mean.. were she real.. would others not have seen her here in the desert?" he pressed, trying to sound unconvinced, yet.. something was off in his tone.

And he kept glancing anxiously over his shoulder when he heard a noise in the back where Muhta was rifling around and making sure nothing was 'out of place'.

Hakeshna's name! There'd best not be a thief in their midst or...
He eyed Derry suspiciously..
Did this man bring one to try and pull a fast one on the two?
He couldn't rule that out and figured he ought to keep a close eye on the man.

So he cleared his throat and moved closer.

"Tell me all you've been able to translate so far, if you'll please."

[Hyacinthus]

"Not necessarily. Take a look."

Derry had two moods-- 'Don't even breathe in my direction if it's not about money', and work mode. With gold in his possession and enough script to last him a day or two if he wasn't him, he was now quite firmly in work mode. He beckoned the gaunt man closer, guiding his eyes to the table whereupon he'd laid out a couple of the scrawlings brought to him, and while at a glance they seemed like just that, they did share a few key similarities. Each was made from similar material, if not the exact same, and while the damage from time's decay etched it's mark into all of them, the 'art' was quite similar in design.

"These pieces tell similar stories. This one is in hieroglyphic writing-- the repetition of symbols drawn so close together and in different orderings, you can tell. Some of these glpyhs are pretty common-- shared texts between ancient civilizations that lived in some proximity of each other... er, time or space-wise, tends to be a fairly normal thing. This one, based on what I can read... Reads a bit like a precautionary tale. The details are vague-- and we have no idea what sorts of linguistics were considered normal back then-- but the story talks about... 3 men-- or 2, it's hard to say... Paying tribute in the desert to a wandering... 'mirage'?"

Derry frowned, running his thumb along the traced path of his jawline with a quick flick; An unconscious tick of his. The wording was... weird. He was fairly sure the word was 'mirage'...

"...Anyway, the story goes that these men fall in love with the mirage of a woman from a distance, and seek her out in the middle of the night, only for her to vanish when they got too close. They turn on each other out of greed over the woman-- and these are implied to be brothers, mind-- and nonsense ensues-- In the end the men learn that beauty is fleeting and that love is respecting the boundaries of-- Not important. The important thing is that this one here," He explained, his hands brushing aside the former scrap and pulling open another, "Is, admittedly, an entirely different tale, but one that makes mention of a 'silver woman' who vanished when looked directly at. This isn't written in the style of a fable though-- this is written like some sort of a field report... or extremely old autobiography. Two different scribes with similar stories. There's no reason to think this star-woman isn't at the core of both, and if she is, it means she likely has some sort of unnatural physique-- one that was fairly common for people to witness from a distance, at least."