Rory had never been inside the Monster Hunters Guild before, at least not since it had been repurposed. He wasn't sure if he had been inside of it before either, but it was certainly possible—he had been mostly everywhere as a child, running with a ragged pack that first fought shadows and then explored rundown, empty buildings and then tried to fight monsters, only it turned out the monsters could kill them, and kill them it did. At some point after that, Rory had stopped running with that ragged pack and climbing into houses he had no business climbing into.
But now he found himself in the building's ground floor, arms wrapped around his chest even though there was no cold to protect himself against. Maybe it was just the atmosphere of the place: confidence and capability seeped through the walls. It was a place of purpose, of skill, of determination, ambition; it was a place that knew what it wanted, and where it wanted to go. (Or maybe it was just because someone had given it purpose where everyone else just struggled to survive.)
In many ways it was this: what the Outlanders had come to represent to him. They weren't just stuck in this place (well, not anymore), they.. had hopes and dreams and reached for them. (Or maybe it was all in his head.)
And that was probably why Zariah Launceleyn had fashioned the Hollowed Grounds into a throne and sat upon it, calling herself Queen.
Slowly, Rory began to drift through the daunting place, unsure of what to do. He had come looking for Ronin—Talys was hitched outside, patient as a saint in the lengthening evening shadows—but he felt out of place, uncertain, unimportant, so he didn't dare call for the man.
[ For Ronin <3 ]
But now he found himself in the building's ground floor, arms wrapped around his chest even though there was no cold to protect himself against. Maybe it was just the atmosphere of the place: confidence and capability seeped through the walls. It was a place of purpose, of skill, of determination, ambition; it was a place that knew what it wanted, and where it wanted to go. (Or maybe it was just because someone had given it purpose where everyone else just struggled to survive.)
In many ways it was this: what the Outlanders had come to represent to him. They weren't just stuck in this place (well, not anymore), they.. had hopes and dreams and reached for them. (Or maybe it was all in his head.)
And that was probably why Zariah Launceleyn had fashioned the Hollowed Grounds into a throne and sat upon it, calling herself Queen.
Slowly, Rory began to drift through the daunting place, unsure of what to do. He had come looking for Ronin—Talys was hitched outside, patient as a saint in the lengthening evening shadows—but he felt out of place, uncertain, unimportant, so he didn't dare call for the man.
[ For Ronin <3 ]
