The Stranger (2)

After finishing his tea, the stranger spoke in a soft voice:

"Greetings Venator Fauve and Cyrus of Glacies, I am glad that you were finally able to arrive. I have been waiting for a while, but I was able to enjoy the good tea here. Waiting for one thing but discovering a hidden gem along the way, I have to thank Mundus for the good fortune."

"It seems my fortune is not as good as yours today, I unfortunately had to deal with a sickening fellow whom I would have preferred to stay at least one region away from at all times" said Fauve, his tone one more icy and full of spite

"Hoho, that is indeed unfortunate for you" said the stranger, pausing for a moment to order another cup of tea.

"But, perhaps you merely need to reframe your worldview. While you may think the encounter to be an unpleasant one possibly due to past events, you should not let the past hinder your future. Our own experiences can often blind us so, causing us to misinterpret the world around us…at our peril" ended the man, his tone growing cold.

"That may be true, but I care not for sophistry. Words can be woven in any innumerable ways to suit the speaker after all. I prefer actions over words you see. Only by seeing said actions with my own eyes will I believe something and if my encounter with whom I believe to be horrible has actually changed for the better… well, only actions will change my mind not mere words" said Fauve, who had apparently recognized who was sitting across from him.

"How arrogant, to believe that you are even worthy of that. If Mundus above decrees that the world is white, then it is white. If Mundus decrees that it is black then it is black. There is no need for action, not when you hold absolute power over all" said the man with a ruthless tone, quickly dropping all pretenses.

Fauve merely laughed in response while asking,

"Same old same old, I have long grown used to it. Did you arrange this merely to babble?"

The man recollected himself, waiting for a moment while the tea was delivered before speaking once more.

"No, I am here for two reasons. One, is to assure you that we are aware of the trick you pulled. No matter the past, I do not suggest to drag others down with you. Secondly…" said the man as he turned to Cyrus, his tone turning much lighter than before.

"Secondly I am here to reassure Cyrus that we only have his best interest in mind and do not hold him accountable for his temporary guardian's actions. I am familiar with Glacies and have peeked into his current file, I among others have high hopes for him and will not allow another's petty conflict to ruin his chances. We look forward to his future and have high hopes for how he can benefit the Empire, long may it reign over all" ended the man, almost piously.

"A guarantee, a threat, or both?" thought Cyrus as he spoke aloud.

"I am in the dark for much of this. It is true, however, that I am my own person and thus have my own thoughts and ideas. Speaking of such, having come from the wasteland means that I view the Empire as the highest order of human civilization. I have equally high hopes, if not more, than you do for the Empire and plan to learn all that I can about it so as to find my proper place within."

Nodding his head with a smile, no doubt satisfied with the answer, the man turned towards Fauve once again as he placed down some coin on the table while standing up.

"It seems that your charge is quite reasonable, one can only hope that this good quality will somehow spread to others" began the man, adopting his ice-cold tone and demeanor once more.

"It was nice meeting you Fauve, a man who brings much benefit to my beloved Empire. I can only pray to Mundus above that you do not land yourself in trouble, being locked away in the dungeons of the Judicars would ultimately make it quite difficult to do your duties."

He then bid Cyrus a pleasant goodbye and good luck, before walking onto the street and easily disappearing into the crowd.

After watching the man dissipate into the crowd, Cyrus looked towards Fauve who was also quickly recollecting himself once more.

"It seems your previous actions have netted you some extra attention" probed Cyrus.

"Hah, not anything I was not already under anyways. But you will not get anything more out of me, nice try brat. Hmmph, bloody freaks with a fetish for being unnerving as humanly possible. A little prod by me and they send out the cavalry to try to scare me." Said Fauve with a scoff.

"If I recall, you told them 'tell this to someone who is not a complete failure like you.' It seems to me that they did exactly as you told them to, so the result should not be unexpected" said Cyrus, jabbing at Fauve for his silence.

"Hah, that cool line was definitely mine that you are right. Alas, I did not expect them to send a Venerable out in response, such free time he has… since when does the boss come out after you trash the underlings? In all the stories its always slightly stronger trash…" grumbled Fauve in displeasure.

Contrary to Fauves nonchalance, Cyrus was shocked in comparison.

"Boss? Venerable? Did I just meet with the head of the Umbral Order in this area?"

Holding his head at the amount of trouble Fauve had just brought his way, to the point where a small character like him just interacted with someone he would have otherwise never crossed paths with until much time to come Cyrus thought

"Ugh, guess that is more information I need to figure out how to uncover. The inner workings of a group of secretive and highly skilled assassins, what a simple task." He then glared at Fauve, "If only he was not so stubborn and would give me some information…"

Noticing the glare Fauve put on a look of innocence before making way to once again head back towards their lodge. Having no choice but to follow, having been somewhat spooked by who he had just met, he followed along although he continued to bore a hole in Fauves back.

It was not long before the two finally reached the lodge, bid one another goodbye, and each returned to their own respective rooms. Once Cyrus returned, he felt a load off his back as he could relax once again, allowing himself to immerse in his mind once again. He unhooked both his mask and sword, placing them by his bedside, before laying down on his back and staring at the ceiling.

"It will be some time before my next meeting with the underground is set, regardless, I should make use of the last few days I have before entering Glacies wisely."

He then reached down to his sack and produced a few bound journals that he was currently in the midst of writing.

"My progress in manipulating the undead is at a complete standstill, I can only guess and theorize without things to test it on. Finding things to test it on is not easy though, as I cannot simply walk up to a Judicar and ask for access to death row prisoners. Nor can I venture alone to find Brutum to experiment on, that is far too reckless even if I happen to have a wealth of theoretical knowledge from Fauve… in contrast however, my progress with pure Mors and Vita is going quite well. My efficiency in using the spells I already know is rising nicely with practice and spells that make use of the shrouding effect of the Mors domain can easily be tested, with any damage done using it easily healed by my Vita domain. Quite the unexpected benefit of practicing both, although it is quite a tall task to spend equal time on both domains."

Cyrus then picked up his mask and began to examine it,

"I simply do not have enough knowledge to even begin crack the mysteries surrounding this thing. Nevertheless, its usefulness is high…even more so now that I have learned that it can be used to enhance my magic to an even greater degree for a cost. Its original main use was to temper my personality, which is going decently I suppose. Slowly coming to terms with my darker aspects hidden within while maintaining a pragmatic yet positive view of human life, while this is a task that seems immense it is one that can only be done with time. I imagine that Glacies will give me plenty of opportunities to grow using this, but I still need to find a way to not do something too insane when I am of my other mind. Not to mention I need to practice more caution when I am my usual self, I cannot the time I have spent being protected remove that which I have learned in the wasteland. Although... I think I have a plan for both these problems."

With these thoughts in mind, Cyrus began to divide his time into going over his notes on his magic and deciding the moral framework with which he would orient himself, refining it further and further based on his experiences and study. This would continue until the first day of attendance at Glacies, preparing himself as best he could for all the trials that he had no doubt would inevitably come.