One Creator

[Valthonis]

122PW

Valthonis Dmitri Sirbu looked up at his friends forge one last time. He looked at the tools on the left to the forge in the middle, to the neatly kept documents on the right for all of the projects they had received. There were times when Sarian, the smith who owned the shop, had wished that Valthonis had learned magic instead of math. Sarian was rather crazed though, the coal had gotten into his head as much as his lungs. He hardly traveled outside. That's why Valthonis placed the orders for the business and spoke with customers about their products as much as he did the books for it. Because Sarian couldn't be trusted with the public, his views about magic, among other things, were far too different and eclectic for the small town.

The other end of the fact is that Valthonis had a bad habit. He would pick up a pursuit, or a particular hobby, only to put it down a number of years later. The only reason he was good with money was a necessary one. In fact, all of his primary skills were simply ones picked up out of necessity. Anything beyond that and he only had a little skill in it. He might be a jack of all trades but he was a quitter because he always dropped an intrigue after two years...

Like now... he thought to himself, just another thing I've done, only to set it aside before it truly comes to fruition...

Before he left he considered visiting Sarian one last time but decided against it. Sarian had been very pointed in his dismissal of Valthonis, and requesting one last project, his chance to make the "perfect" weapon. Of course, Valthonis wouldn't know where to begin to look to find someone who could want the perfect weapon. He just knew numbers, and that apparently wasn't the right perspective either.

---

Valthonis then slowly made his way to the inn, as it was early evening and he wanted to have a chance to rest before putting more thought to the idea. He had on him his normal robes and boots, as well as his staff and sword. He had a small change purse with enough money to possibly get him into Marn, but really, he wasn't looking to go anywhere familiar...

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe walked along slowly, though in an eerily straight line for someone blind. Her robe billowed slightly in the wind and she shivered just a little, scowling lightly to herself. She was in a bad mood and being cold was doing nothing to help that. She pulled her travelsack higher on her shoulder and picked up her pace a bit, wanting to find a room or at least be inside before the sun fell, as it was doing quickly. She'd heard bad things about the woods and Shim, about what roamed after night fell. A werewolf howling about a week ago had confirmed that rumor.

Cai knew how to tell werewolves from regular wolves, part of the bonus of having extremely accute hearing. Her mouth quirked, annoyed. one of the benefits of being blind.

Kicking a stone in the road caused her to almost fall an she cursed to herself as she reached the outskirts of Shim. Striding smoothly past a few locked and barred houses she saw an inn... well, not really saw it. She could hear the chatter of subdued people as the door opened for a second, the clanging of mugs on hardwood bars and tables... she could smell it on the wind, alcohol and food, smelling only slightly burned. She could also smell the waste heaps in the back alley, ever-present in taverns.

Cai subtly brushed a hand out along the side of a building, following that until she reached the tavern door. She'd eat and drink, then inquire about a room. She, as always, wasn't concerned about anyone taking advantage of her being blind--one of the advantages of being so knowledgeable in terms of herbs and other things with the power to stun humans and resist advances.

She slid inside the tavern and ordered wine with a quiet murmur, keeping her eyes downcast. Not looking at people was usually better for their sanity--milky pale green was not a common eye color, especially if it spread to where both her pupil and the whites of her eyes should be. Sipping at her wine she idly listened to the talking people around her, finely tuned eavesdroppers ears able to keep her slightly entertained as she drained her wineglass slowly.

[Valthonis]

Valthonis was already in the inn. When the woman entered. He had just finished his meal and was scanning the area again for what felt like the one hundredth time. He always did this when he waited, it was one of the few times that he would honestly be paranoid about a situation. But his contact from marn had failed to show up, and he was getting restless, thinking all sorts of worse things that made him quite jittery.

He saw the woman as she ordered her glass of wine, she seemed rather jittery herself, though he wasn't all too sure of how he could tell. He contemplated going over to her and sitting with her, but this was always a battle with himself that he fought and lost. There was some part of him that still liked to think he was with Ellisime even though she had done her best to push herself away from him. She was also in Marn, another reason he wasn't really all too inclined to go there unless he had to.

Today was different though. Today he won the battle, but that's not to say that the anxiety went away. It didn't, and if anything the anxiety simply got worse. But that didn't matter, for once in his life he was going to do something to take his mind off the subject instead of dwelling on the subject matter. He stood up, and with slow deliberate steps (as if he were forcing himself almost ) he walked over to the woman's table, and said. "Miss, you seem quite lonely this evening, might I have a sit with you and keep you company?"

The words came out of his mouth quite strong and courageous though he could have sworn that he hadn't been this nervous since the first day he courted Ellisime.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe had been playing with her empty wineglass when the man came over. She didn't look at him, but set down the glass with a slight thunk on the dark wood of the table. She could tell it was a darker wood easily enough--colors were still slightly evident to her, as were shapes. She just had no depth preception and could only really tell the outline (and then only if it was something big, like a wall or a building) and whther a color was dark or light. And the grain of the wood, and the way it had taken the polish spoke of something like mahogany.

She shifted slightly in her seat, processing his words. Lonely? of course she was lonely--she was a blind girl in a sighted world. But, she mused, there was no point in being bitter or anything about it. A slight smile worked its way onto her lips, tainted red by the wine. Cai wasn't bitter... not much. She didn't envy and despise sighted people for what they had and took for granted, of course not.

Cai gestured vaugely to a seat at the table. "Iff'n et pleases ye tae be a'keepin' mesel' coompany, I shaen't sayin' nae." She hoped he understood her accent. It had gotten better in the past few days, as she'd been speaking more with people in this horrible language, but was still rather had to decipher. She knew that, and wasn't about to make any apologies.

[Valthonis]

"Then it shall please me, and I shall stay" Valthonis replied as he took a site. Having already had his meal he ordered a glass of similar wine, content to let the barkeep phase into the background. He wondered what was so different about this girl, she seemed nothing like the other patrons who wandered in and out. She didn't seem concerned for material goods the way the others were. She seemed more realistic and grateful for what she had. Such was obvious in how she carried herself. With respect, and dignity.

Valthonis thought about the way she had said what she did. Not that he minded the accent, but it was that in any language, her wording said that she didn't care one way or the other what he did. Thinking about that, he realized that this person was better off as a friend, maybe even a traveling companion, and dropped the notion of any romantic interest in his mind. Of course, subconsciously, the romantic interests would come back up later, but he didn't know nor did he want to know that. For right now, he just wanted to know one thing.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Cai ran a hand along the tabletop again, fingertips brushing the wood lightly. She stopped her hand at her empty wineglass mournfully, wondering if her companion would take the hint. She was running low on Bishani, and wasn't above sending a few direct hints that she wanted another drink without having to pay for it herself.

She wanted to say that he spoke strangly, formally. But she was in absolutly no position to comment on someone else's speech unless they spoke it worse than she did, and she hadn't found a sinlge person yet. So she stayed silent on that front, instead musing over what next to say.

"I em Caiomhe, thae ye can callin' mesel' Cai. Et es easier--I hav'nae foond a person round these'n parts thaet they can a'sae me name right. An' yersel'? Yer name?"

[Valthonis]

Valthonis, ever the true gentleman, introduced himself, "I am Valthonis Dmitri Sirbu, but you can call me Val."

He took advantage of having a slightly better sense of smell and noticed the brand of wine she was having. When the Waiter came back with his drink he ordered one for her and asked if the bill for the table could be combined. He did this subtly, believing that she could not hear his whispers to the waiter.

He took a sip of his own drink, eying the woman curiously. Her clothing did seem different, and while he had noticed the accent, he did not judge on it. Valthonis rarely if ever judged people, except for when they did things by repetition. He was never harsh about it, always accepting people for who they were.

"So, Cai (he says it like Cai, as if it were High, with a C in front of it.) if you claim not to be from this particular area, then where are you from?

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Cai stifled a cat-like smile. Good. Her slightly un-subtle hints had gotten her what she wanted. She nodded to Val once the waiter had departed. "Thankee fer thae wine. Keepin' yer talkin' low ain't gonna dae much fer keepin' secrets frem mesel'... I hav'n good hearin'."

She sipped at her new glass of wine gently, wishing she could see it. The first few years of trying to feed and water herself had been hell, sheer hell. Not being able to see well at all, and lacking depth preception had resulted in stained clothing and beaten pride. She had gotten so no one could tell that she was blind by judging how well she could manuver glasses, forks, and all the other silly things humans came up with in order to make her life difficult, thankfully. But it had been hard.

She smiled a touch. "I em froom faer tae thae western parts, Vael. I em doubtin' ye have been there. Did ye yersel' groo up'n this... place?" She cut her new favorite word, godsforsaken, out of there. It didn't do to insult someone who would buy you nice things like wine.

[Valthonis]

"Humor me, at least, and give me the illusion that I can be discreet even if I'm not..."

Valthonis didn't care so much if she called him on the situation or not. His hearing was probably only slightly better than hers, he took another sip from his drink, and smiled a little bit, he noticed that she hesitated at this place, curious as he was he didn't ask her about it right away, but logged the note away for use later when he felt she would be more comfortable discussing other feelings.

"Yes, I have grown up here for quite a good amount of my life," Valthonis chuckled, recalling how old he is. Yes, it had been quite some time indeed. "But I am quite certain that you could learn much of the people here in a short time, and exploration could do more than myself talking. Well, for tonight anyway. Perhaps you could tell me about the Western parts you are from, and in turn, I could give you a tour of the city in the morning?"

Valthonis liked the idea, and regardless of if he shared the room he would pay for hers anyway. This girl, Cai, seemed well enough off, but a little bit of money and talking on his part would always go a long way for someone else in terms of the good ness of his gesture. He had always been overly generous with others, oft times forgetting to care for himself as best he should. Most people reacted poorly to the excessive generosity, and only few and far between was it realized that he had more good intentions than he ever let on. Always, always always, others suspected him of ulterior motives. Though he seldom had any.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Cai really wished she could eye this person who seemed so interested in helping her. He wasn't the type of person she usually associated herself with, though if she let herself admit it, she didn't really socialize much. "Ye may be'n as deescreet as'n ye like, I will'a still tell ye I knoow. Et es jest what'n I dae." And that wasn't subtle at all.

With a sigh she cut him off. "I knoow abot these'n peoples arond here, I have been here these past few days. I have wander'd arond thae waerld fer years, an' one toown like'n this es much like'n thae next one. People ere nae sae different."

She was shocked--already she was getting offers of help, and this person didn't even know she was blind. It had to be some kind of annoyingly twisted record, Cai mused as she sipped at her wine. She wondered when to tell him about being blind, and dismissed it for a few more minutes. He'd likely be even more 'helpful,' or he'd try to be, and Cai could manage perfectly fine on her own.

It wasn't that she was wary about being offered so much help--she just found it annoying and degrading. Even if it was simply how he did things, Cai found herself rather distainful of this elf. However, she swallowed back some rather biting comments and attempted a smile instead, slightly wry though it was. "A toor o' this lit'l place should be well, en thae morn."

[Valthonis]

Valthonis saw her reaction to his offer of help and took note of it. He was quite accostumed to it. Most people always thoguht poorly of his repeated offers to help after a time, they usually did feel as if it meant he thought that they could not perform the actions on their own. In the beginning it had taken him a while to realize this. Now, he knew better, but he still hadn't learned what to really say in order to rectify such situations, what to tell the other party so that they knew he really was just this crazy and generous. But this woman seemed blunt enough, and strong enough. This was odd, she was also a bit prideful, not that he minded, but ... it meant that there was another factor, something that caused her to be prideful and strong and stubborn without a visible reason. One reason, that perhaps he could not see. So, he decided to ask.

"Very well then, but for now, I'd like to make a query... There's something a bit different about you, and I know its rather rude to do so, but I would like to ask... What is it?"

He was clearly nervous in asking the question, he hated touchy subjects, and yet, they always seemed to be the things he wanted to know most about. He did his best to show out ward signs of relaxing, and indeed he did appear very calm, but inside, he was extremely nervous that he would be smacked or that she would be angry with him for asking, though he did not know the reason for his anxieties beyond the obvious ones.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Well, it would have to be dealt with sooner or later. Cai looked up, meeting his eyes with her milky green orbs. It was unsettling, Cai knew, to be faced with a stare like that. It disturbed most people, and she liked, well, not seeing the reaction, but at least judging it.

"I em blind." Three little words, that was all she gave. She didn't really want to impart her life story on someone she had just met.

She gave a slight smile and took another sip of her wine. It tasted bitter in her mouth, though that was likely just her imagination. If he dared to pull the 'oh let me help you' persona she would leave... but not before slipping something nasty into his drink. For being blind, she had remarkable sleight-of-hand skills that even a sighted person would envy.

She thought to herself that maybe she'd slip something nasty into his drink anyway, just for amusement. It was always fun listening to people realize that their drink was spiked with a little powder to turn their fingernails pretty colors for the next few hours. And that wasn't even nasty, that was just funny.

[Valthonis]

At first. Alexander wanted to reach out, and hug her. Well, just a part of him. The other part of him was appalled, to find someone who had such a strong problem with them. But bother parts could not hold sway to the rational part of his mind. The part of his mind that did not judge. He only rarely judged people, and his judgments were always based on repetition. Blindness was not something repetitive and therefore, something he did not judge by default.

"Not completely."

Two words, a simple phrase, designed to show that he had been observant. He took another sip of his wine but realizing the the seriousness of the conversation was about to double, he set it aside and ordered a glass of water, thinking to himself that if he was not going to actually sober up, the appearance of doing so would be just as good a stroke of good will. Hopefully... He always miscalculated these things. Always, was he ever wrong about people, lending to situations where he was not happy. He was a scary judge of talent and aptitude, usually winding up in situations where people would make fun of him. Even this blind girl, at such a disadvantage, would probably learn all his flaws before he even knew half her history.

He sat back in his chair, and drank about half his glass of water. Setting it far enough from the edge of the table that he wouldn't accidentally knock it over without paying attention.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Cai resisted the urge to sarcastically clap. It was something she'd picked up a few days ago, and she liked it. But she resisted... barely. "Gud job. I em nae tot'ly blind, an' yer keen tae notice et."

She still thought about putting something into his drink, despite how nice he was was being about her little problem. She'd experimented with various powders and crushed herbs on unsuspecting people many times, as they were usually the most fun to listen to. And no one ever expected her to do anything like that--such were the few perks of being blind. That demure poor little blind girl sitting in the corner? She can't do anything--she can't see.

Her mouth twisted bitterly at that thought. All the color-change and other nasty0yet-fun powders she had could never make up for her thoughts about the world and the sighted people within. She smoothed over her expression and continued looking at Valthonis, and she tried to change the subject. "Sae what d'ye dae fer a livin'?"

[Valthonis]

"I count money."

Valthonis seemed to like this very simple conversation, at least for the moment, it kept him from sounding like an idiot. Actually, with that last statement he probably should explain more. So after a pause, he did...

"My friend Sarian owns a black smith shop. He has views that are rather...difficult to tolerate so I deal with the customers for him, taking orders, and making sure he gets paid, and I also do the revenue as well as working with various suppliers of product. We were friends after school but..."

Valthonis paused, wondering if Cai shared the same thoughts the people in the rest of the town did, or if she was a bit more open minded and accepting. The former, and he'd have to be careful, the latter, would probably not prove useful until he learned to trust her...

"Now he wants me to find him someone in need of the perfect weapon. So that he can make it. Kind of selfish, but he's only human, and getting old. So I'm out on a "quest" to do this for him."

Valthonis said the word quest as if it were a chore. He thought he had had enough life experience already and didn't need more going out. Regardless it was his duty, and his task, assigned him by his employer. He didn't ask questions, and he would see it done, even if it killed him.