Snippet #2276670

The noon suns were high in the sky, which signalled to the reptile in his blood that now was the perfect time for a doze. Of course, Lohengrin hadn't made much habit of heeding his instincts, and while he did feel a little sluggish and was content to enjoy the warmth, he didn't sleep. Rather, he stood on the upper deck, keeping out of the way of the crew and generally looking sullen enough that nobody really wanted to approach him. It was working out well, actually: he was alone and pleasantly heated, and far away from anyone who knew anything about him.

He'd had the peculiar sensation that the old wizard had known, or at least suspected. It was really why he'd taken this job; something had given him the impression that refusing would be unwise. Even so, to know that he'd be able to locate the Door and guide other people to it... few people even knew about its existence anymore, and even he'd only learned incidentally. There was something about this situation he disliked, but he was being paid very well to undertake this task, and if the fools were insistent on completing it, he'd at least earn his reward. If not, well, he couldn't say he'd be disappointed. This whole thing smacked of ugly conspiracy, and it was treading ground far too close to his own misgivings for him to remain apathetic about it.

Hopefully, they'd see what was before them and give up. It would be the smart thing to do, but then he wasn't sure how many of them actually fit that adjective to any degree.

Down below the decks in the crew quarters, Percy had staked a claim on one of the bunks. He laid there, exploring the recesses of his mind, considering that there wasn't much for him to do otherwise. Had he had enough time to prepare and possessed the necessary foresight, he would have thought to brought along one of his innumerable tomes that Myrddin's library held. Yet, while Percy possessed a healthy enjoyment of knowledge, foresight didn't factor into it. A funny coincidence then, that currently he was mentally examining his own lack of foresight. Percy chalked it up to his mutatio blood. Foresight never really factored into creatures either, why else would they attempt to steal food from a trap?

Luckily, he was not in a trap (unless suffering from boredom counted as a trap). Instead, he found himself holed up in the bunkrooms, thinking about stuff... Well, perhaps he was in a trap. Again, his found his mutatio blood coming into play. He was getting antsy, he was fidgeting, he wanted to do something (like reading), not just sit around and laze about. So it was with a certain hop in his step that he dismounted his bunk, slipped his buckled boots back on, and ducked into the hallway, setting his sights on the upper deck.

He emerged into the open air and the warmth of the sun. He had to throw up his hands to block the rays of the sun, giving his eyes a minute to get used to it again. Though, now that he was on deck, he didn't know what to do... So, he began to just mill about, slowly wandering from point of the ship to another-- careful to duck out of the way of any of the crew. It was during this meandering (Some would say grazing) that his path brought him by the red haired Lohengrin.

Narrowed eyes had tracked the beast-man's presence across the deck lazily, as all such predatory glances are naturally drawn to movement. Why anyone would choose to assume the form of a prey-beast was beyond him, but he supposed that at least they had antlers. He'd once known a Mutatio who took the form of a rabbit-- though perhaps that in itself was some defense. No hunting creature worth the name oft bothered with something so small, though he could recall clearly afternoons spent shadowing an elk or such from the sky, swooping in on it when the mood took him, feeling steely talons close over its warm softness. He wondered if he'd be tempted to do the same should the stag ever shift himself. Perhaps not; knowing that something was human under there tended to ruin the appetite. They probably tasted awful.

"Lost, Deer-boy?" he drawled from his position against the railing. He didn't bother to hold onto it once the lurching was done- it wasn't as if a fall from this height could kill him before he could... fix the problem, so to speak. What were skies to a dragon but a second home, more dearly beloved than the ground beneath? He was hardly a dragon, really, but it was true even for his ilk.

Percy's head swung around to the owner of the voice, Lohengrin. He must have missed the man during his lap, still as he was. His steps ground to a halt as he opened his mouth to reply. "No, not lost. Restless. The view might be nice, but there isn't anything stimulating to do on the ship-- don't tell the captain I said that," He followed up. She didn't seem like the kind to take disparaging remarks about her ship lightly. Kings forbid if she heard him say that. Unpredictable as that one was, there was no telling what she would do to him...

Eyes drifted over the man as Percy sized him up. He was an astute kid, of the perceptive variety. Obviously. Otherwise he wouldn't have introduced himself as a scholar. From what he had seen from the man, it appeared as if he wanted to be anywhere else but on the ship. A dour attitude, sarcastic at times. Percy allowed himself an inward sigh. Between this man, the one called Theon, and Kethyrian, they weren't the brightest crew on Albion. The other half being Vivi, Gwen, Sven, and Mordecai, he felt as if he was the only sane man on the ship.

Still, that didn't give him a reason to be rude, now did it? "What about you? You certainly look like you don't want to be here," ... Well, at least he tried.

Lohengrin chuckled darkly, eyes receding to slits. The tilt to his lips was far from friendly, but it wasn't exactly hostile, either. It looked... fitting in his face, in a way that a genuine smile probably would not have. His head lolled lazily to one side, as he appeared to consider the answer. A lift of a single shoulder almost might have been all there was to it, except he found himself in a mood to talk. So he spoke. "I can't imagine what gave you that impression," he enunciated lanquidly, the syllables remnicient of the deep echoes of stones clattering against one another, overlaid with a lighter hissing rasp. It was similar to the kind of voice a human might have, were he one who took often to the pipe, but stronger than that. Indeed, he reached into a pocket of his clothing, withdrawing a long-stemmed one of the same, plain laquered wood and brass in construction. With a snap of his fingers, he conjured the smallest of flames to the tip of his index, and held that to the crushed plant-matter in the bowl.

"Is it not the way of men to prefer being manipulated over choosing? Such is the manner of my employment here." It was impossible to tell from his tone alone if he was serious or not, and the long draw he took from the pipe didn't elucidate anything further. He blew the smoke from his nose in what might have been a contented sigh on anyone else. "It's just that the sooner you lot give up, the sooner I can collect and be on my merry way. Additionally, you have no idea what you're about to step in, and I happen to know that it will be most... unpleasant."

Not that he expected his words to move the boy. Lohengrin had lived many a year, and after a while, one came to understand certain things about the human condition, including their foolish notions of loyalty, duty, devotion, and the lingering impression of immortality. Not that it was only humans that carried these peculiar burdens, of course, there were just more of them around to annoy him. What the Favisae did in their caves or the orcs in their deserts hardly concerned him, after all. It was not they he lived among, and not usually they he killed, either. From the perspective of a a being with a much-longer lifespan, the whole thing was either funny or tragic. He preferred to laugh.

Percy chuckled, not for his own sake, but at the idea of changing the minds of someone like Vivi or Gwen. While he did not know the girls on a personal level, he knew their type. Stubborn adventure seekers. Even so, Myrddin had given them a task, and he was not the one to disappoint his mentor. One way or another, they were going to investigate this ancient tunnel. Though... the mere idea of an ancient, little seen tunnel with some import tickled the scholarly bone within the boy. He wondered what it looked like. He wondered what it's history was like. He wondered a good deal about the tunnel. Though not in the present conversation. Ignoring the man's words in order to pick through his thoughts was rude and poor form.

"You really don't know us that well, do you?" he posed hypothetically. "We're... Some of us are not the giving up type. Personally, my curiosity has been peaked by this little venture, and besides that point, it's Myrddin's will. Being my mentor aside, he is our guildmaster-- his word is law after all. As for what we're about to step in... I'm sure Vivi will fling herself head first into it if it seems like a remote chance of fun." Percy had to admit to himself that he didn't much care for the man's tone. Perhaps that was the stubborn scholar in the boy, but from the way the man spoke as if he was trying to change their minds, he didn't appreciate it. Also the riddle-like final denoument itched him.

"If you know what we're going to step in, as you say, then why not tell us so that we won't slip when we do?" he asked.

"'His word is law'?" Lohengrin repeated with a faint note of incredulity. "Be he mere man, or god, I wonder? It seems the former strive ever to be the latter." He snorted derisively, producing another smoky burst of air from his nasal passages. Shaking his head, he took another draw from the pipe. "Maybe, if it were up to me, I would. Maybe not. It doesn't really matter, because it's in my terms to let you figure things out on your own if you decide to go for it. Even warning you at all is exploiting a loophole. So be warned, and maybe you won't 'slip' after all." He shrugged.

"And maybe you will. It's all up to chance and fate now. I doubt skill will have much to do with it, in the end." That was a subtle warning, too, but a painful twinge at the back of his head let him know he was treading dangerous ground by continuing to speak, so he fell silent again. He was hardly pleased about this contract, but it wasn't as if he'd been in any position to choose the terms. He had something that these people needed, which meant he had something the wizard wanted, and that was the end of it, really. The only ways he got out of it were by the completion of its terms, or the death or giving up of all the other parties involved. Apparently he wasn't going to succeed in convincing them to give up, which meant unless he murdered them all himself, he was in this for the long haul.

Even he wasn't that ruthless. At least, not yet.

"Should've figured this would turn out to be harder than I wanted," he mused flatly. What wasn't, really? Curling his toes absently into the wooden planks of the deck beneath his bare feet, he yawned and shook his head. Fixing the young man with a speculative look, he figured a free tip couldn't hurt anything. "You know, it's not as if the crew's illiterate, Deer-boy. You could just ask the good captain for a book or something. Save you the trouble of talking to charming vigilantes like myself."

"If I recall correctly, it was you who spoke to me first," Percy said, crossing his arms. This man certainly was a bundle of sunshine, especially when compared to the brightness of Gwen and Vivi. Either way, they managed to even each other into some sort of neutrality aboard the ship. The druid in him appreciated the neutrality, but the boy in him was irritated. It was clear the man wasn't going to reveal much, and instead string him along. If Lohengrin wasn't careful, Percy would begin to believe the man enjoyed dangling the carrot in front of his face-- or salt block, as it may be. That's not to say that Percy merely threw aside Lohengrin's warning, but rather tucked them away for him to think on later.

The whole adventure sounded like it was going to end up being more than just finding this tunnel and whatever lay at the end of it, but then again when dealing with wizards of Myrddin's caliber, that was likely to be expected. Who had ever heard of a story where the adventurers finished their quests after one measly trip-- ah, but that was the little boy in him talking about age old tales. What stood before them was a task left behind by their guildmaster, and ever the loyal student Percy would see it through.

He then straightened his arms out and bowed, adding "Thank you Master Lohengrin for your suggestion. I shall attend to that immediately," Percy said. If he wasn't careful, the boy might actually start to mock the man.

A low chuckle followed him away from the mercenary, but no more than that.