The Ancient Order

"It's the sort of thing I grew up hiding on my world..."
Ingrid sat straight up, her interested piqued: he made it sound like he wasn't born in Caido.
"Did you get here through a portal, too?" she blurted. Hope flickered in her eyes. Ingrid hadn't met anyone like her before (or if she had, they hadn't mentioned the whole portal thing). Could he have come from The Rift as well?

"Gross about the scales, though," she added, realizing that if she was wrong about him, telling him she used to be a horse until she tripped and fell into this dimension would make her sound fucking bonkers.

"I couldn't speak to that. It, ah, didn't come 'up' in conversation..."
"Are you sure? Because if it did come up, it was probably too small for anyone to notice," she replied. Too easy. She listened to the rest of his story with a more sober expression on her face. She wasn't sure she wanted to make a joke about his near-death experience. It might come across as offensive, and he was technically her guild master now (not that she had any respect for authority).

"I don't know how she even knew about them... but she wasn't shy about using it to try and kill me along with Rae's Guardian."
What was it with government officials and defying the Old Ones?
"Wow. Your queen sounds like an asshat," Ingrid said, finding no better word in her vocabulary."I'm guessing my being here means the ascended can use the portals now. Do you know what their goal is?"

Then he offered her fruits and vegetables and brought up all kinds of alcohol. Now that's a menu, she mused.
"I couldn't rightly accept fruits and vegetables, but I'm gonna need the names of all those stalls," she replied. She was Halo hardwired to see any fresh produce as a rare and expensive treat. He might as well have offered her truffles.

"Well, my going rate is usually socks and beer, but I'm open to haggling."

He wasn't expecting the sudden question - or, more importantly, the 'too' on the end of it, and he blinked for a moment before nodding. "Ah... yes, in fact. Last Leafchange. I'm from Numeria, on a world called Golarion. I take it that you're not a Natural, either, then...?" It was the obvious question, but he ended on a coaxing tone if she wanted to share more of her story with him. He was always curious about where people were from!

Her judgment on his scales had him chuckling, his smile a little sad. "Oh, they're not so bad. Rae's Guardian was a large serpent and one of my forms mirrors that... though on a far more humble scale." Not that twenty feet of python wasn't still daunting in its own right. He was still trying to decide how he felt about his dragon form after the Voice had so easily bound it, and the memory of her power's touch still lingered on those scales, making him itch and squirm in them.

He wasn't sure if his innuendo had been too subtle, or if she was just that vulgar, but he struggled to maintain a straight face as he nodded gravely. "In its defense, it was quite chilly that day."

Ingrid's assessment of Wessex earned a crooked grin and a wry nod of agreement, though her question received only a shrug as the grin became a faint grimace. "Yes, they can use the portals - at least between here and Halo. The Greatwood is still off limits to them, I believe. And while I have suspicions based on past behavior... no, I've no evidence what her ultimate goal is this time. All I can say is that since she challenged the gods once before, I'm guessing she'll do it again, though if she's smart she'll be stealthier about it this time." Just what that entailed he wasn't certain, but it was now his job to make sure that the portals weren't used for evil.

"Once I know who will be where, I'll draw you a map," he promised her with a grin. "But please, consider the vegetables a signing bonus to the guild. I'll pick up some seeds in the market on the way back to the Spire and grow you some up on the way." There were definitely benefits to his new magic, and speed-growing fresh produce for the table year-round was definitely going to be one of them! "Just let me know your size in socks and I'll see what we can do. Horses are rare here, but sheep and goats are hardy enough to survive. Even if their meat is tough they still make good wool." The Hollowed Grounds were no picnic spot either, aside from the Oasis, though at least they could grow something in the weak and ashen soil. More than could be grown in snow and ice.

"So I'm not fucking alone!" she exclaimed. "I'm from... I'm from a place called Helovia," she answered finally. New Rheven was far behind her, and the Rift had never been home, not really.

She nodded when he spoke about Rae's guardian, she and chuckled at his quip about the ice giant.

"Yes, they can use the portals - at least between here and Halo."

"Oh fuck it all. We were hoping to use the portal to import potatoes, not a race of humanoid deer ticks. The lack of blood suckers is like the one thing Halo has going for it," she groaned. She was still smiling, but in the back of her mind a rose of worry bloomed, spreading its petals wide and snagging her thoughts on its thorns. The VOICE was coming to Halo.

"You'll grow them on the way there? You have fucking magic, too? Show-off. I guess I can accept them because I kind of want to see that," she said. She wouldn't voice her gratitude, but it was there in her eyes.

"Just let me know your size in socks and I'll see what we can do. Horses are rare here, but sheep and goats are hardy enough to survive."

"I wear socks over more socks, so I don't really have a size," she replied. She would have found a way to crack a joke, but hearing somebody lump horses in with livestock never failed to creep her out a little. She understood it. She tried talking to some ponies once, and man were they were dumb as fuck in this world. But still...

Helovia. Of course Helovia. Everyone was from Helovia these days. Jigano snorted softly, shaking his head in bemusement. "Do you know Deimos, Melita, Hotaru, Cassandra..." he paused for a breath, ticking names off in his head, "Kiada, Rexanna, or... ah, Cera?" He rattled off the list with an air of amused exasperation for most of them, and a touch of sadness for the last one.

The Ascended were a topic that could cool his good humor right quick even at the best of times, but after hearing Sam and Rex singing their goddess's praises it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn't immediately taken in by the iron goddess's sweet words and bribes. "The crops here are still pretty poor. Three hundred years being locked in a bubble did the soil no favors, nor the plants that live in it, but we have some magic that can help with that," he explained with a shrug. "So at least you can get a few potatoes worth eating." His casual offer to do just that had the desired effect and he grinned, pleased and preening at the gratitude in her eyes. "I'm happy to offer a demonstration."

She didn't have a size? Well, he'd steal a glance at her footwear when they got ready to leave and plan accordingly. Even if they didn't have any goat hair socks on hand at the farm he could probably wheedle Remi or Deimos into making him a pair from their magic as a trade gift. "So, new Loreseeker, what other questions do you have while you've got me at your mercy?" The question came with a grin as he leaned back in his chair, enjoying the banter.

"Do you know Deimos,"
"the Reaper..."

"Melita"

"Hotaru"
"the Valkyrie?!"

"Cassandra"

"Kiada, Rexanna..."
"Those are my herd-mates! They're the Elephant King's family. I once went on a herd quest from the God of the Moon with Rexanna."

"or... ah, Cera?"
"the Golden Prince."

Ingrid ran a sleeve across her brow to wipe her eyes, but with a little effort, she was able to resume resting bitch-face. "I didn't know they were here," she said. She wanted to say more, but she could feel a disgusting voice crack looming on the horizon.

When it came to crops, she was surprised he wasn't offering her neon green cornflakes given everything else she'd just learned.
"I'm happy to offer a demonstration."
"Really?!" She wondered what he could grow: Maize? Fresh berries? Potatoes or soy beans or wheat?
"...do an eggplant!" she exclaimed, snickering. He probably should have seen that one coming.

"So, new Loreseeker, what other questions do you have while you've got me at your mercy?"

"Hmm, I dunno..." Ingrid said, her tone exaggerated and nasal as she mimed checking her nail beds, (not that she knew what a nail bed was, but she'd seen women staring at their fingers before). Then she smirked, meeting his gaze with her otherworldly crimson stare.
"How about you tell me how the Loreseekers Guild got its start, because I have no fucking clue what I just joined."

Jigano smiled at Ingrid's eagerness, though his expression had a tinge of sadness at the end. "Deimos is the General of the Hollowed Grounds, and has been here longer than I. Hotaru and her daughter Cassie arrived but recently. Kiada and Rex have been here nearly as long as Deimos, though. Rex... chose to become Ascended, alongside her husband," he tried to explain delicately. "It... has been a source of some friction in our friendship on my part, I'm sorry to say." It was an admission he made reluctantly, but it was true. He had not made it easy on her the last few times they'd spoken, though he'd helped to put her back together after she'd been attacked by monsters, and rescued her from the fire of the Monster Hunter's Guild when she had been blind.

"Cera... died during LongNight, to the monsters' talons." The news passed his lips on a sigh; a new friend, a potential guildmate, lost to the darkness, like so many others.

"But the others I can help you find," he finished, his voice gentle as he made a show of scooping up Isuma and tickling her back feet so he could pretend not to see her wiping her eyes. "Some of them are especially friends of Isuma's!"

Her suggestion surprised a chuckle from him and he looked up again to raise a brow in mock challenge. "Find me an eggplant seed and I will do just that," he promised with faux solemnity. "They're rather bland, though, don't you think?" An innocent question that could be taken so many terrible ways, and the twinkle in his eye might have revealed that he was well aware of that.

Her question for him was well worth the asking, and his grin returned as he freed Isuma, who proceeded to pounce on his fingers and pretend to ferociously nibble them. "Well, you're talking to the man who founded it, for starters. When I first arrived there was a great big hole in the side of the Atheneum upstairs, and no real rhyme or reason to the shelving. Illiteracy isn't uncommon here, either, so if someone has a question it can be hard to get an answer in a timely fashion. Either finding the right book amidst all those thousands above us, or hoping you can talk to someone who might know someone who has a cousin whose in-law thinks they might know your answer. Also the Sentient Books were getting a bit lonely and we had one running around eating people and not letting them go," he added after a moment's thoughtful consideration. "So I decided to see if I could gather some like-minded friends and colleagues to help put those things to rights. We cleaned the paper wasps out of here and got it fixed up, and the vault makes a good place to store the more dangerous Sentient Books," he nodded towards the heavy metal door towards the back of the room, on the north side of the hall. "We've been keeping journals and chronicles of history for the past year, and gathering books on useful topics for people who need them. We pulled together with our friends and some townsfolk we'd rescued to repair the building, and we offer reading lessons, along with undertaking explorations of unmapped areas to broaden the knowledge of the people here and provide an easy place for people to come with questions. Since we're here a lot, we've developed a sense for where things are shelved," he grinned wryly. "So it's faster for us to pull books if people don't want to take the time to browse themselves." He gestured to Ingrid and then off to the north in a more general manner. "Though the people of Halo are welcome to make use of our talents as well, as long as our two peoples remain at peace. The Fae are welcome here, too... but the Queen has currently forbidden them passage into our land," he admitted with a grimace. "So until that gets sorted out you likely won't meet one." Not least because there wasn't an easy way to tell the Hollowed Grounders and the Halovians apart, and the Fae weren't likely to be picky about who they threw in the Pit in the meantime.

Deimos was a general, which really wasn't that surprising. But Rexanna being ascended? Just. Fucking. Great. Ingrid felt conflict rise inside her but... herdmates were family, no matter how well they knew each other or how often they spoke. (Family Ingrid thought she'd lost forever, mind you.) Ingrid's expression only grew gloomier when she learned that the monsters had claimed the life of a Helovian legend. So Zariah hadn't made them up just to scare her...

"But the others I can help you find... Some of them are especially friends of Isuma's!" That chased away any remaining tears threatening her eyes. Ingrid grinned. "Well then Isuma better help," she replied.

A fun fact regarding their next topic: eggplants are actually fruit. And man was this one low-hanging. That said, however predictable, she was sure as shit still going to make the joke.

"Find me an eggplant seed and I will do just that."

"You want me to find you eggplant seeds? I'm not a whore, Jigano. Find some yourself."

"They're rather bland, though, don't you think?"

"I go back and forth on how I feel about eggplants, depending on the day," she replied. What? She swung both ways, and she definitely wasn't above joking about it.

Ingrid reclined in her chair, tilting it back on two legs while Jigano shared his story. "You're telling me there are sentient books right there, and you didn't FUCKING SAY ANYTHING? Show me! Well, maybe show me one of the less dangerous ones," she said, letting her chair fall back onto four legs. "Oh, the Fey? I think I met one of them already," she added offhandedly. "But if our two peoples don't remain at peace? Will I no longer be welcome here?" she ventured. How conditional was his friendship, exactly?

"Isuma always helps!" he declared, pretending to be wounded at Ingrid's lack of faith in the little gryphlet, who hung her head backward over Jigano's hand and peeped happily at the Halovian. It was just as well that she didn't understand the words that they were saying as the topic turned to dick jokes, though, and the Provost's lips thinned with the effort of holding in the bark of laughter at Ingrid's retort. He managed to control himself - barely - and even found strength for an almost-solemn nod.

"As the lady wishes, of course. Let no one say the Halovian Shrine Ho plows the fields like a common laborer." Though it was interesting to note that she was neither for nor against... eggplants. Or rather, that she had variable taste. It made it easier to know what jokes would fly with her in the future, and a good bard always tried to read their audience so they didn't cause accidental offense.

The story was long but hopefully not too rambling, but at its conclusion he blinked in surprise as she yelled at him. Though they'd just met this didn't seem terribly out of character for her, though, so he simply listened in bemusement as she made her demands. "Mmm. There's one about a firebird that has a potentially nasty ending, but overall it's more of a children's book," he mused. "The first one I came across, as a matter of fact. I can show you that one, if you'd like." It would only take an hour to 'read' through, if she wanted a taste of adventure without the real danger.

"Oh? Must be one of the adventurous ones," he grinned at her mention of having met a Fae. "The younger ones tend to be a lot more flexible in their thinking. But I mean that our Queen already banned the Fae... for her crime," he finished with a grimace. "I can see her banning the Halovians as well if they won't let her do as she pleases. You'd be welcome here, but you'd be at risk traveling between here and the portal. And..." He sighed, meeting her eyes. "And I wouldn't condone you using the Guild's information for war against the Hollowed Grounds, if it came to that. I'd prefer not to use it for war at all," he added quietly. But with the issues of the Voice and the Ascended hanging over them he knew better than to make a promise he might not be able to keep.

"As the lady wishes, of course. Let no one say the Halovian Shrine Ho plows the fields like a common laborer."

Ingrid nodded. "The fuck I don't. You're exactly right, except for my being a 'lady.' If one gets shitfaced as much as I do, that title no longer applies."

But onto the sentient books he forgot to tell her about. "Do I want to see a sentient book? I dunno, is grass green? Do birds shit everywhere?" Ingrid stood up and stretched like a cat, and her back made a noise like popcorn in a microwave. "We can talk about what's-her-face's crime on the way there. And I don't think you have to worry about me using the guild's information for war... Unless somebody's trying to ban booze, in which case all bets are off. Glad to know you wouldn't mind harboring me as a Halovian fugitive, though," she said, meeting his solemn gaze with sparkling eyes and a grin on her face. Somebody takes himself a little too seriously, huh?

"I don't see why not," Jigano teased back. "Getting shit faced is an ancient past time with a long and noble tradition! Why, all the very best people do it!" Where that left him, as someone who enjoyed drinking but who didn't generally allow himself to get drunk, was an excellent question.

"Is grass green?" he asked slyly. "I wouldn't think you'd get to see too much of it in Halo, from what I've heard. It sounds very bleak and white and gray." Maybe some blue out on the ice? Or red on the snow, if things went awry. He also rose, his movements dancer-smooth in spite of how long he'd been sitting, his loose clothing hiding a lithe and muscled body in spite of his scholarly mien. "But a meeting with the sentient books can be arranged." His humor slipped for a moment as they turned to Wessex, but the smile came book a moment later, crooked as ever. "And we're already there. We've been gathering the sentient books we've found in the vault down here, both for easier access and so they don't terrorize people who don't want to get eaten by a book, however well-intentioned the book in question might be!" Indeed, in the hall there were three wooden doors, two of which stood open, and a third of metal set into the stone. Jigano approached it, a key appearing in his hand as if by magic (or at least, practiced sleight of hand) between one moment and the next.

"And Wessex and some other Ascended attacked the Fae's most sacred tree - after they'd been banned from Fae lands for spreading the Blight," he added with a grimace. "The Ascended killed the Fae defending it - or at least, they fought them and the Voice killed them? I'm not completely clear on the order of events, but Wessex led trespass and desecration and was involved in an attack and several murders while she bore the crown of the Hollowed Grounds. They turned the Mathair into a portal in the process, but it created some serious friction between us and our northernmost neighbors." Friction that hadn't yet been resolved during this thread because timey-wimey

He tilted a grin at Ingrid in spite of the heavy talk, though. "But if anyone tried banning booze here I guarantee there'd be a revolution within five minutes of it being posted. And so far no one has been that suicidal." He waved off her teasing with a wink. "Besides, we're a well-known guild of fugitive-harborers. Zariah's threatened at least half our members at one point or another, and tried to shut us down in her tenure as self-proclaimed royalty before she up and disappeared. I was told it had something to do with a mission for the Voice but," he shrugged. "I don't know what the details were. Obviously she ended up in Halo, though." He shook his head, shaking the frustration and anger of that time away with a determined push of his emotions, and instead he flashed Ingrid a grin in return. "Any enemy of Zariah's is probably a friend of ours!"

"Getting shit faced is an ancient past time with a long and noble tradition! Why, all the very best people do it!"
"And the very worst people. Like me," she said, snickering.

"And hey, Halo has plants, sorta. It's really not all that bleak, so you don't get to hate it until you try it! And uh, after that you can pretty much just hate the place, yeah." She grinned. Then, at the prospect of meeting a sentient book, she nodded excitedly, looking completely thrilled with the idea until...

(If a record-scratch sound effect could have played at this point, it would have.) "Hold on. What the fuck do you mean, eaten?"

Then, as she listened to the part about Wessex, her thought train got a little sidetracked. Blight? What's the blight? Are we talking like the chestnut kind, or... Come to think of it, that would be pretty evil, spreading chestnut blight to a massive forest. "So did this blight thing kill trees?"

"...But if anyone tried banning booze here I guarantee there'd be a revolution within five minutes of it being posted. And so far no one has been that suicidal."

Ingrid nodded approvingly. Bar Wars: The Empire Strikes, But Alcohol Withdrawel Strikes Harder "As it fucking should be."
To conveniently avoid massively fucking up her timelines, Ingrid's mind wandered back to the booze revolution exactly when Jigano mentioned Zariah had worked for the voice.
"And I'll keep it in mind that the geek squad has beef with the human embodiment of setting a baby unicorn on fire and feeling no remorse." Also due to the timey wimeys, Ingrid still thought Zariah broke the barrier to let the Voice out, but more on that later.

He had a higher opinion of Ingrid than she perhaps realized, but he simply grinned and nodded acquiescence with her declaration that she was 'the worst people.' At least she seemed to say it with humor and joking in her voice, unlike Sam. Self-deprecation he could deal with, as long as it wasn't really self-hate.

"I look forward to the journey of discovery. You paint such a lovely picture of it," he said with a snort, before turning to the topic of sentient books, and a silver brow rose. "The way you were talking, I thought you knew," he said curiously. "The book swallows you up. Physically swallows you. If you have any large belongings they get left behind, or if you drop anything in surprise, but otherwise it sucks you into its pages and you take on the role of a character in the book. Physically. In a different body," he added with an air of suspicious innocence. "And no, you don't get to choose which character or body, not that we've found a way to do reliably yet."

So far he'd been turned into a talking horse and a buxom, scantily-clad sorceress. Some days were harder than others, when you were a Loreseeker.

Talk of the blight had him grimacing and looking away, invisible hackles rising at the memory. "The Blight was... terrible. It started by killing trees and plants in the Greatwood. It moved on to infecting animals, and then people. It... twisted things. Changed them. Turned their blood as black as tar and reduced men to mindless monsters who lashed out at those they loved most, and locked them into a living nightmare." He paused a moment, lips pressed thin before he looked at Ingrid again, finding a wan smile for her. "Vi and Rae saved us. And a Fae named Arduinna, who sacrificed herself to trap the blight away from the world."

He nodded with a chuckle at her moniker for Zariah, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Not just the Loreseekers. She pissed off the Artists, Artisans, and Monster Hunters... actually... almost every guild leader, come to think of it. But there's been some reorganizing since then. Still, I think she'd inspired just about everyone of any power in the Hollowed Grounds to work against her." Kiada was in charge of the Monster Hunter's Guild now, but even she had been part of the rebellion against Zariah. The only guild he was uncertain of was the Devil's Advocates - ah, but no, she'd pissed Adam off, too. Or was Sunjata in charge now? It was so hard to keep the timelines straight.

Bold of Jigano to assume it was self-deprecation, for Ingrid loved being a member of  "the worst people" and took great pride in it, and when he grinned, she grinned back.

She nodded in response to his comment about Halo and let him continue on to the part about sentient books, which apparently sort of ate you, but y'know, without hurting you.

"And no, you don't get to choose which character or body, not that we've found a way to do reliably yet."

But that didn't matter to Ingrid. "...SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!"

(And for the record, Ingrid would have had way too much fun if she'd gotten to witness scantily-clad-sorceress!Jigano.)

"...Turned their blood as black as tar and reduced men to mindless monsters who lashed out at those they loved most, and locked them into a living nightmare."

"Well that's... terrifying," Ingrid replied. She had a feeling trying to make a joke about the death-blight that required a godly intervention might fall flat. Also, she was having trouble thinking of one.

And at the part about Zariah, Ingrid gave a snort of laughter. "Maybe that's how she'll unite Halo. Inspiring anger."

He laughed at her renewed enthusiasm, producing the key to the Vault and opening the door cautiously, checking to make sure no books were waiting just within the portal to leap out at them. "Then by all means, let's go," he said with a grin. He paused briefly as talk shifted to the blight, humor fading as he nodded curt agreement with her opinion, clearly rather personally affected by the topic, though still willing to discuss it and answer her questions. Zariah was not a better topic, but Ingrid's joke earned a pained smile. "Maybe. I'd rather she went back to being vanished. But since that isn't possible, we can at least enjoy the distraction of a good book. I haven't found an opportunity to get drunk in one yet, but that doesn't mean such a sentient book doesn't exist! Perhaps enough searching in the Atheneum will uncover one that includes a drinking contest," he teased. "Or an eggplant-growing contest!"

He led her to a shelf that was mostly empty but for a single slim book with a faded blue cover, bound with heavy ribbon and chained to the shelf. It quivered slightly as they drew near - or maybe that was a trick of the light? Ingrid was about to be in for an exciting first day with her new Guild!

{Fin}