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Message: <blockquote data-quote="simmo" data-source="post: 1412769" data-attributes="member: 9744">chapter 2 Dealt a Bad HandThe old man sat back down on his chair and for the first time noticed that there was another person sitting next to Littleby and Serena. "I'm sorry that you feel a little left out of the conversation," he said somewhat apologetically."That's OK," Andrew replied who was not bothered in the slightest about the old man and had up until that point been quite relieved that the elderly merchant had not spoken to him."These kind people once helped me with my wagon." The elderly merchant chuckled, making little pretence of the fact that everything he said and did was an act. In a way it reminded Littleby somewhat of A'kin. The arcanoloth could be very convincing, but there was something about the way that he spoke and acted that made it seem as if the shopkeeper was playing a little game that both he and the client were aware off."They don't seem very happy with the whole situation," Andrew studied the old man, noting how he went from being a wrathful old man towards Malkir and then a kindly, scatterbrained merchant to everyone else."No, so I hear." The old man sounded genuinely upset by this. "Well, at least some of them are doing what they are supposed to do.""What they are supposed to do..." Andrew echoed the elderly merchant's comments. "By who's reckoning?" he asked, knowing the answer already."The hands of Fate." The elderly merchant made a motion of a circle with his hands, followed by outlining a hour glass with his fingers."Funny," Andrew chuckled dryly. "It sounds from here that you feel as if you are controlling the show.""I like to take a little credit for things from time to time." The old man's mannerisms changed in the blink of an eye and he became less friendly or scatter-brained."That's what I thought. Can I ask you a small favour?" Andrew lent forward in his seat."Of course." The old man replied. He'd foreseen the question as well as the answers. Never the less he played out the encounter as it was supposed to be done. All for the Great Game."Just stay the hell away from me," Andrew said, giving the old man an intense glare."Of course, I plan not to interfere with you." The old man shrugged his shoulders noncommittally."I appreciate that." Andrew sat back in his and went back to ignoring the old man."As long as you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours." A deck of cards appeared in the old man's hands and he began to shuffle them. He drew a card, looked at it without any hint of surprise and then shuffled them some more."Time will tell." Andrew was unimpressed by the old man or his card tricks and hoped that he would leave all of them alone as soon as possible."You will do me the same favour," Serena stated.The old man sighed and did not bother changing his speech or mannerisms to match that of an elderly and scatter-brained merchant. "Well Serena, as much as I'd like to we will eventually meet again." He paused and threw all of the cards up in the air. The deck flew straight up and came down again without them scattering everywhere. A single cards floated down after the others and Agar held up a queen of hearts. "You will come looking for me and the answer will be 'yes'. Regardless of what may happen between now and then. You will hate me more than anything else in your life, but I will help you. That is all very cryptic, but life is full of cryptic things. Like the riddle of identity. Like the riddle of the four forms of love.""Nyon, you are full of screed." Serena got up and stormed up the stairs. "I'm going to bed."Littleby settled the bill and went up to his room. Malkir and Andrew followed shortly afterwards, leaving the old man sitting at the table playing cards with himself. He was winning of course, but he already knew that this would happen. Very few things surprised the avatar of Nyon, god of Fate and Prophecy.Upstairs in her room Serena climbed on to her bed and made herself comfortable. She placed a pillow behind her, closed her eyes and tried to picture an image of Vincent Danster, her former employer. Lesser thoughts and concerns drifted to the back of her mind and she saw in her minds eye Lord Danster huddled on the floor of a cold, dark and empty cell. The impression that she got from the room was that it was built out of Nothingness and leeched the life out of all those who came inside.The heart seer of Tomeri looked around the room and saw a huddled form of a halfling that looked at lot like Deus, her former travelling companion, that she had run in to recently. The elderly halfling was also lying on the floor and he looked up at the ceiling with vacant eyes.Serena tried to send Lord Danster a message in to his thoughts, but it felt as though she was talking in a empty room where her words bounced back unanswered. She drew closer to Lord Danster and through the grace of her status as a heart seer tried to find out what resided in Lord Danster's heart. When her awareness entered him, she found herself standing in a replica of the room with a small spark of light in the corner. It bobbed and weaved in a weak manner, barely holding together.The heart seer of Tomeri realised that the light represented Lord Danster's awareness and personality, or at least what was left of it. For a brief moment she saw herself as Lord Danster perceived her and she was surprised by what she saw. Lord Danster saw Serena's face as if it was made out of porcelain, without a body underneath. But at the same time he did not believe her to be real. Serena watched with horror as Lord Danster's mind withdrew from hers, not believing that she or anything else was real.When Serena's consciousness returned to her body, she felt intensely cold and immediately drew the covers of her bed around her. Even though she tried to fall asleep, Lord Danster's last thought haunted her waking moments and blessed sleep would not come.</blockquote>

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