Cylus 1 718, Late
Location: Several Kilometers, West from Fordwell
They'd taken the initiative to set up camp for the night as they'd covered much ground, the group somehow a few hands extra ever since Zi'da ended. Patrick didn't honesty mind that they had the help, granted he hadn't the faintest idea what they were up against. Lately Orimar was all that seemed to be on his mind, it consumed his thoughts like a plague or disease he couldn't cure. All because he wanted to find some fabled treasure in a lost city.
Cylus however was far too cold here for his liking, the snows as well as freezing winds were a nightmare. He'd been lucky that he had the opportunity to buy everyone tents, well those that came without them anyways. One of the newer additions brought much of her own things, only because she had intention to join Raimeus in the first place. She was cute to be sure but... Patrick didn't know where her allegiances really lied. Not yet anyways. So he remained a little wary of her for now, though admittedly he couldn't help but shoot a grin her way when she'd notice him.
In his tent with Crowley though the two were bundled in their own bedrolls, the chalice in his hands as he looked at the rim of it. The chalice itself had began to glow ever since Cylus had started, almost eerily a ethereal blue color as it rested between his hands. The drunkard leaned up from his bedroll to inspect it further, his eyebrows furrowed as he inspected the container of the chalice itself. Somehow there were specks at the bottom that shone off like little lights, a pattern which appeared to resemble a sort of a constellation found within the stars. "Holy bogs." He muttered as Crowley looked from the ancient tome to Patrick. "Look at this Crowley."
He brought the chalice over and held it at an angle for the man to see, the same look found on Crowley's face as it had been on Pat's. "That's..." He leaned up and took the chalice carefully, a closer inspection made at the arrangement of spots down below. "Is that?"
"A constellation? I think so." He remarked with a chuckle as he watched the older man grin.
"I'll be damned. This been down there the whole time?"
"Maybe, but the chalice didn't start glowing until Cylus started. Remember?" He checked as he took the book from Crowley, while the man turned the chalice around a few times.
"Yeah but... This could be more than just a constellation Pat, for all we know this could be several different constellations."
"Several meaning... coordinates?" He checked as he flipped open the ancient Orimatsun tome.
"Maybe. We won't know until we get a better look at the sky, which we're out of luck until it stops snowing." The older man sighed as he rested the chalice between them. "Find anything else out?"
"Yeah right," Patrick remarked with a slight scoff, "you're the expert on all this crap remember?"
Crowley looked up to the air above him in thought and then shrugged, unable to deny the statement as he'd been the one studying the tome more. "True. Even then I'm not having much luck, the Orimatsu were all weird prophetic folk apparently. A lot of their runes have mentioned things repeatedly."
Patrick turned over to face him, curious about what the tome mentioned. "Like what?"
"Well on that page there, I've seen the same rune that's used for 'Emea' in several references." Crowley turned to lean a little closer, a finger pointed to two separate runes with similar variations. "These two mean the same thing basically, they're in reference to priests more or less but... I'm pretty sure they referred to them as shamans and seers."
"Really?" Patrick inquired curiously with a look into the book further, Crowley confirmed it with a nod and Pat couldn't help but sigh a '"huh." He then flipped to another page where the runes were etched in patterns, with what looked to be a drawing etched into the time withered parchment. He couldn't really figure out what it resembled but it looked like a structure, maybe some sort of obelisk or shrine with a flame depicted atop. The runes written near it came in a pattern of three, in an alignment that nearly appeared to resemble a paragraph or... a stanza. "What about this? Is this a poem or a riddle?"
"Hm?" Crowley hadn't paid attention for a Bit and narrowed his eyes on the page. "Oh yeah," He muttered with a sigh, "Yeah that's the latest one I've been workin' on. It's some kind of riddle actually, something their faithful were suppose to figure out."
"What's it say?"
"Shouldn't you be sleeping kid?" Crowley pointed out with his pillow rested between his head and arms.
"Eventually. C'mon, what's the riddle?" Patrick encouraged almost childishly, Crowley sighed as he gave into the pressure.
"Come and seek us, the faithful, hidden within our bastion. Search for the Guardian who hides our entrance, and look to the sky to light the way beyond; for only the light shall reveal our way home." Patrick looked from Crowley to the book in a vividly puzzled expression. "Yeah, try and sleep on that a few nights kiddo." He mused with an adjustment made to his pillow.
"So what's the Guardian then?" Patrick muttered to himself but clearly not quiet enough, as Crowley cringed in his bed after he heard the question.
"Come oooon." He sighed.
"Seriously," Pat urged as he laid back down with the book above him, "the Guardian hides their entrance so... what's this guardian."
"I'd tell ya but it'll only lead to more questions."
"So if we sleep now, will you fill me in then?" Pat bargained with a look to Crowley, though the old man had his back to Patrick now.
"Sure kid. Only if you get some sleep." He accepted with a finger pointed over his shoulder to Patrick. The drunkard couldn't help but grin in victory then, his eyes fallen back to the pages that he studied tentatively. He reflected more on the riddle Crowley translated, and in doing so tried to determine how the runes created the meaning. How did Crowley even know that it meant all that? Sure he was an expert and able to decipher the text... but how on Idalos did all this gibberish actually mean anything?
Languages were clearly never his best interest to pursue, something he'd have to remedy if he wanted to investigate ruins more. The first rune looked to resemble the common letter 'n' save for the articulation across the top, while the one next to it almost reminded him of a bull's eye target. Just what the hell did they mean?! Sure Crowley figured that out but... how?! For fuck's sake he was getting irritated, unable to determine anything of the book at all.
"You know, sleeping involves putting the book down first." Crowley muttered as he remained still on his side, Patrick's scowl lessened to a soft grin next.
"How'd you know?"
"I just do." The old man sighed as he finally shifted over onto his back. "Bloody cold ground..." He looked over to Patrick once more, his discomfort shed by a personal smile to the drunkard. "The first thing to learn in decoding or deciphering ancient texts, is to know that language itself isn't just a single form. There's a whole world out there that utilizes different sounds and articulations, and just as people speak differently there's also different ways to write."
"So overall language is... universal?" Patrick assumed as Crowley took the book from Pat.
"In a sense yes, the trick is learning the similarities found in words. Written words exactly, and with languages like Zekarian and Orimatsun runes...
well they tend to have multitude of meanings if you study them long enough." Crowley admitted with a brief chuckle as he shimmied a little closer to Patrick. "This one here," He pointed out the 'n' like rune to Patrick, "has several different references in Zekarian runes. However this is Orimatsun and you gotta bear in mind, they're cleverly using vague indications in their markings. This one could very well mean beneath or below, or even beyond for all I know."
"So..." Patrick narrowed his eyes at the idea of it. "How do you know it's actual meaning?"
"By figuring out what other references are in the runes kid. The Guardian mentioned here," Crowley pointed at the second rune in the second row,
"It's the only one of it's kind throughout the rest. Like the rest it has multiple meanings, but this one in general means protector, or maybe even overseer perhaps. Sentinel too... You get the picture though." The old man muttered with a wave of his hand. It looked to be a strange rune at first, almost an open spiral or something reminiscent of the common letter 'o' somehow. Then it dawned on Patrick how that rune could resemble 'guardian' overall, as shields like bucklers were sometimes round just like the letter o tended to be. It had been a silly notion to think about, but all the same stuck better in his head after the association.
"Sure, yeah."
"And this one here," Crowley pointed to the last one on the third row, "this one is what resembles sky, or even air within their language." Upon close inspection it resembled the 'l' letter, except with dots present on the sides near the top.
"Huh." Patrick admired with a slight grin as he tried to remember that one, admittedly he couldn't find anything to compare that rune to. "Sky."
"Now how about we sleep some, hm? I'll fill you in more on these runes tomorrow... whatever time it's suppose to be anyways." He mused as he clearly forgot Cylus was still in effect. Somehow Patrick could tell that Crowley would miss the sunlight too.
"Yeah," Pat finally agreed with a yawn and a turn over onto his shoulder, "Might as well get some rest." He started to shut his eyes and then glanced over his shoulder, a thought passed to Crowley as he debated on saying it for a Bit. He didn't. Yet when he heard Crowley chuckle and say "Sleep tight kid," he couldn't help but feel unusual about it. He thought it over for a little while as he laid their, his mind both on the run with the thought of the runes... the chalice... and of course his new friends. They were starting to count on him now, expecting him to find this hidden ruin for treasure. Granted he did promise them treasure... But he began to wonder and, maybe, even doubt his capacity to accomplish it.
He thought back to his friends and companions back in the Labyrinth, and how Niv who was also with them died horribly during their visit. "That won't happen this time." He promised himself as well as the rest of them. "I'll make sure we all make it there and back in one peace."
