[The Stone Garden] Seeking Darkening To Repay A Debt (Kella please)

[Gossamer]

48th of Melora, Spring, Era XIV Post Fractum

Once a cycle, the majestic stone gardens of The Palace of Light were open for public tours. Since Liselle's attack, they'd been less open, for sure.... but for the first time in a three months the tours were resuming. Of course, the palace couldn't be touched. The gardens only bordered it, but indeed there were pathways leading everywhere and the ones that roamed anywhere near it were roped off and guarded for the tours. High walls surrounded the garden, well over seven feet in height in places.

It was given the name 'The Stone Garden' because of its statuary. The sheer volume and amount of artistry was astonishing. Generations of Prime Province Governors had collected and redistributed some of Aelyria's finest cultural work to the area, scattering it around some truly magnificent landscaping. Some statues were iron, some stone, some even of more valuable stuff such as gold or glass. There were even some statues made of a black crystal that was reported to have made up the wall that surrounded an ancient city in ruines that Prime stood upon. Regardless, the scenery was breathtaking. The flowers were exotic, and just beginning to flower heavily with the onset of summer so close at hand.

Kella's search would begin here... among the beauty and art of the world. But first she'd have to pay the 25 crown entrance fee, and either join a tour group or wander freely.

[Kella Greeran]

"Twenty-five Crowns is usurious. I hope you know that, and I hope you sleep a little uncomfortably because of it."
The young man who numbly accepted Kella's crowns looked back at her with all the mental activity of a trout.
"Military salary isn't what it used to be. I'm in service to the Empire. I could die to keep this garden in one piece. How about a bit of a deal?"
"Official tours starts by the white woman," he answered with the vigor of a golem made from limestone and moss.
"Can I just wander?" she asked crisply.
"Official tours… white woman…"
Kella sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "While we're building this fantastic rapport, can you tell me if there's a statue of a horse in here?"
Her thoughts were on the bridle her ghostly Selhaim visitor had bestowed on her, now tucked into the military coat she wore jauntily over a deep blue tunic and dark pants.
"White...woman…" was all he managed to churn out.
"Of course. Your parents must be so proud," the Vagaran responded flatly with one hand propped on her hip.

Well this was beginning swimmingly already. Kella strode past the boy and the gates moving towards the garden's first beautiful mute figure. Absently, she tugged on the earring, another boon from her handsome ethereal visitor. Probably the nicest thing a fellow had ever given her, a thought both sobering and sad.
Today she'd forgo the tour group, months in the military gave Kella her fair share of moving in a herd. Plus, whatever she was to accomplish here was best done in some amount of secrecy. She had a brief, alarming vision of being dragged out of the gardens for putting her grubby hands all over some glorious statue worth more than her life. No a tour would not do.

Kella scratched her head, displacing some of her chin length blonde hair. The heavy summer blossoms poured a perfume sweet and warm all around her, and the frozen figure beside her was captured in some beautiful pose of graceful respite. Part of Kella was like a little child, wanting to touch the statue's smooth surface, as if testing for a pulse.

"Lud, it really is very pretty," she murmured aloud as she soaked it in for a breath.

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

OOC: Posting by invitation ^_^ The timestamp we'd agreed on is 48th Melora ^^

Val had work to do, and she was going to do it. But she also knew that she was supposed to be a woman of leisure now that she had quit her job as Imperial Research Assistant, and she ought to look the part, just so that no one would be suspicious of her. She didn't want to call undue attention to herself just at the moment, not given the nature of her forthcoming tasks.

And so she'd wandered down to the Stone Garden this brightening, simply to give herself something to do that might be appropriate for a person in her position. She had a taste for cultural excursions, and so this place seemed like one that she might enjoy. The girl paid the 25 crowns without thinking about it -- and, perhaps fortunately for her, without attempting to engage the young man at the entrance in conversation.

Valanthia wasn't a take-the-tour kind of person, and so she wandered off into the army of statuary without even attempting to find a guide. Umbrosus followed alongside her, a massive canine presence that was probably enough to prevent anyone working in the Garden from inviting her on the tour anyway. The white creature was obviously fantastically well-trained, if perhaps not entirely tame, and Val brushed his flank with her fingers as she walked.

She stopped in front of the first statue, gazing at the gracefully-executed workmanship. One hand tugged on the sleeve of her purple blouse. She regretted a bit that she couldn't wear her dress of the same color in public very often anymore, but she'd switched to blouse/skirt combinations for good once she'd started training in stilettos; she wore them close to her skin, and it was hard to unsheath them in a one-piece outfit.

She had been rather lost in thought, but she became aware that someone else was looking at the same statue; Umbrosus, who was much better at noticing things than Val was, brought it to her attention mentally. She looked over at the other person, a Vagaran woman by appearance, and gave a thin, polite smile, inclining her head in greeting, before turning her attention back to the statue at hand.

[Gossamer]

For both women, standing just inside the entrance, nothing would seem out of the ordinary... unless they counted the extraordinary beauty. It was obvious from the first glance that the gardens must have an army roughly the size of the Legion to take care of them. Nondescript people wandered through the pathways, some carrying tools, some simply looking over things.

And the ponds... they were gorgeous in their own right. Each was filled with colorful life either in the form of large slow moving fish with elegant fins, or bright feathery birds floating on their surface. The statue all three people studied leaned over one such pond, the woman seeming to gaze into its depths lost in thought. She was uncannily real.

But the garden wasn't 'all natural' like some in Aelyria Prime were. There were stone steps, rounded walls, brick-lined seats. Every inch was groomed, decorated, sculpted and controlled. So too was the statuary. It was expansive and ranging in size from tiny to larger than life. Just from where the two women were standing by one, they could see no less than four unicorns, three mounted knights, one official looking statue probably of an emperor or someone like him, and a lone horse. In fact, lone horses were everywhere. It was a popular theme in the garden, so although Kella's new friend didn't answer her, she could see there was no real reason too.

The choices were vast. The Garden was wide open and carefully groomed leading in all directions. The only problem was... where to look... the task seemed daunting.

[Kella Greeran]

The woman that moved beside Kella was as pale and sedate as the marble figures that dotted the garden, only a brief smile testified to her awareness of Kella's presence. Almost nervously, Kella responded with her half-cocked smile, more friendly than demure.
"'Rale," she managed to say a little quietly.

The exchange would have ended there, but Kella spied the white Virkyn sitting obediently beside Valanthia and was overcome with an almost girlish sentiment. Sure she was being trained to cut men in half, but that didn't mean she couldn't coo and fuss over fluffy creatures.

Kella clapped her hands together and began to lean towards Umbrosus.
"Oh what a pretty doggy…" As Kella was mid phrase she took a closer look at the Virkyn and his eerily intelligent eyes. Her brow crinkled in puzzlement and her voice became less ebullient, "…wolf?… mildly hostile thing with fur?…"
Whatever it was she was seriously reconsidering her original summation.
She cleared her throat and straightened, abandoning her initial scheme of giving the animal a thorough petting and possible belly rub.
"Er, well then."

The Vagaran glanced around the finely crafted garden. Its lush beauties were of the sort that were captured and cultivated instead of chanced on by happenstance. It recalled the difference between a dew drenched spider web and a glittering diadem. Both had their charms but one had the thrill of the unexpected the other the admiration for an artisan.
Several horses were in her view, the most promising was perhaps the one that stood by itself, or maybe the one topped by an emperor. The spirit had given her a symbol of queens, perhaps Darkening was once in service to the royal house.

Kella was about to exit stage left and ease some of the mild awkwardness that was taking form between her and the stranger, but she was possessed by a sudden whim. What was a little social discomfort in light of what she had to accomplish? For Aslan's sake, she'd spent most her life in a cap and bells doing all manner of idiotic tricks for money. Who was she kidding? She had no shame.

"Miss, would you happen to know if any of the horses here have a special significance, or a name like, let's say Darkening?"

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Val's smile deepened a bit. Most people studiously avoided commenting on her bondmate, or at very least asked questions perhaps overly respectfully. The other woman's reaction was a much more honest one, which was kind of refreshing, actually.

"He's not hostile," Val said gently. "His...his name is Umbrosus." She ran one hand through the creature's fur, and then scratched behind his head. "He's a little big, but he...he sure keeps the pickpockets away." She raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"I'm afraid though, that the name Darkening doesn't...doesn't mean anything to me, and I don't know much about the horses. This is my...my first time here in the Stone Garden." To be honest, Val hadn't even known this place had existed until quite recently; her time in the Palace had been spent so singlemindedly at work that there was a lot about the immediate surroundings that she didn't know.

"I'm sure there's a way to find out, though," Val added. Even though she wasn't a researcher by profession anymore, she still had a passionate interest in finding things out -- regardless of any personal relevance they might or might not have. The process was what Val liked, as well as the thought of adding new things to her personal store of information.

"But I'm...being impolite," she said. "I'm Valanthia L'Evienne." There was no sense in using her other name, not when she was within the shadow of the palace. "It's a pleasure to...to meet you, ma'am."

[Gossamer]

Just because the gardens were vast didn't mean there weren't denizens intimately familiar with all the statuary and plant life therein. They were the humble souls, those that spent their days kneeling in the dirt and coaxing life to the plants. They were the sort that spent hours with mildly acidic solutions, removing bird droppings and oxidations wherever they might happen to appear.

And lucky for the two girls, they were all over the gardens in the fashion of the groundskeepers. Dark gray slacks, green tunics, usually hips girdled by tool belts that housed clippers. And often, their weapon of choice was a rake or hoe brandished diligently in honor of the garden's beauty. They weren't hard to find, passing here and there, working unobtrusively. Just because the gardens were open, didn't mean the work halted. Indeed, if anything, the visitors caused more work than naught. So if the girls eventually decided to ask one of these folks, one could be found.

On the other hand, there was something to be said of wandering and exploring a little on their own. The companion the spirit charged Kella with freeing could in truth be anything. The only clue she had was a bridle, which in truth spoke volumes to the companion being, in fact, equine in nature. The only thing was, which one? It was highly unlikely that a simple gardener would know if a statue was indeed some sort of trapped creature, cursed and hidden away in such a fashion. There was honestly, almost no chance the name Darkening would give them a clue. But indeed, they did have clues... at least Kella did. There was a bridle with Lions on it. There was a spirit of a fallen knight wearing the uniform of the Order of the Black Rose, a paladin, for he seemed to be wanting a release for a true companion, and indeed those were the only sorts that had sacred steeds.

There was also the possibility that the creature, whatever it was, had a stubborn refusal to die or was somewhat difficult to kill as it had far outlived its master's life and now stood trapped somehow here. Who would trap it and why? They were good questions, without obvious answers. The girls, if they chose too, would have to reach far for answers, communicate well with each other and everyone they decided to ask for help, if indeed they did so. And above all, they'd have to wander the gardens and just get a feel for them, reading plaques and exploring options.

[Kella Greeran]

Kella's face scrunched a little in disappointment at Valanthia's professed ignorance of any particular horse named Darkening. Well, if it was supposed to be easy she probably wouldn't have needed intervention from the dead and hallowed accoutrements extended from the grave to get to this point. A nice little note sent to her barracks would have sufficed.

This was going to take a bit of searching and ingenuity. But wasn't that the fun part, Kella thought to herself. It was all about the thrill of the hunt, the elation in achievement, the discovery of new and wondrous possibilities…that is if the process didn't kill or maim her.
Considering the distinct lack of Eyvind in the garden, Kella's chances of getting out alive were looking exceptional today.

When Val began introductions, Kella adopted an immediately affable smile.
"Valanthia, Umbrosus, I am pleased to meet you both!"
Her grin turned lopsided, "And since being called 'ma'am' makes me die a little on the inside and Ms. Greeran is equally terrifying, call me Kella."

After a moment's consideration, Kella, decided she liked Val. Any woman who wore purple with such panache and was pleasant enough to answer inane questions from strangers must have been of fairly decent stock. Kella reserved the right to change her mind if things went sour, but, for now, Valanthia was a little shy but pleasant in her book.
This friendly appraisal prompted Kella's following invitation.
"Valanthia, would you care to join me in a rather interesting but hopefully enjoyable search about the garden? You see, a…."
Somehow, immediately telling her new acquaintance the macabre source of her task did not seem the best idea.
"A retired knight," a rather drastically retired knight, "Asked me to find his friend in this garden. I'm assuming he was talking about a horse since he gave me a bridle."
A bit sheepish, Kella scratched the back of her head, "I know, a little strange. But he didn't linger long enough to give me more details."
No he just sliced open my would be rapists with an Aetherian sword of retribution and fluttered off, Kella added mentally.
"So, how does that sound, Ms. L'Evienne?"

The Vagaran tried to give an impression of normalcy and good-humor, but then something dawned on her. It was a distinctly unpleasant revelation, like realizing you left several candles burning in your house when you departed this morning. L'Evienne. The name was a rather important one. Immediately the Vagaran's expression dived towards something akin to shrill dismay.

"Diana's thumbs! As in the regent? The man who issues my pay?"
He also managed an Empire, she realized, but Kella had a very particular hierarchy of needs.
The Vagaran bit her lip, and glanced about a bit awkwardly, her eyes following some invisible bird hopping about her feet. She pressed her hands together in front of her mouth and then interwove her fingers before speaking.

"Am I supposed to do some sort of genuflection? I've been sinfully remiss about protocol updates."
Suddenly foreseeing the ramifications of uncouth behavior, Kella winced as she strung a phrase together like a single word.
"Pleasedon'tgetmedemoted."

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Val was about to answer, but before she could do so, Kella made the connection between Val's last name and Milo -- in a way that seemed to betray a sort of abject nervousness. It wasn't a reaction that Val was really used to, and she tried to smile as she formulated a response.

"Erm...I wouldn't worry about it. Up in the Palace they...they tend to call me 'Lady L'Evienne,' but I don't like that much more than you...like 'Ms. Greeran.' I'll call you Kella if you call me Val...how does that sound?" She met her new acquaintance's gaze in what she hoped was a friendly way.

"And yes...Milo is my brother." Perhaps an odd statement coming from a half-vysstichi, but she was fairly certain that Kella would be able to puzzle out that she and the Regent were half-siblings, if one wanted to be technical -- they shared a father, even if their mothers were different. "But I doubt he'd be interested in...in my reporting you for failing to show the proper respect to his sister." One corner of her mouth rose in amusement. "He'd just laugh at me. Brothers, you know."

"Anyway..." Val turned her attention back to Kella's original question. "It's sort of an...unusual project you have going, no? But, as it happens, I used to...to be employed in the Imperial service as a researcher. I'm retired," she added, and the amusement in her eyes showed that she was fully aware of how that last statement sounded coming from the lips of a girl who didn't look to be more than the human equivalent of seventeen or eighteen.

"But it's still...still an interest I have -- researching things, I mean. Finding things out. So if you'd like to go look for whatever friend your retired knight acquaintance has that...that would be missing a bridle, and you'd like me to tag along...it doesn't sound like a bad afternoon." She raised her eyebrows. It was sort of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but the fact of the matter was that Val really didn't have anything better to do this particular brightening. Besides, Kella's somewhat obscure description of her task had piqued her interest.

"Do you think any of them might know?" Val indicated the groundskeepers with her head. "Maybe they've seen a...a lost horse?" A twinkle came to her eye, one that was so often suppressed. "I could ask Umbrosus to fetch one of them."

[Kella Greeran]

When Val mentioned how brothers could be, the crease of mild distress in Kella's brow smoothed. With a knowing grin, Kella scoffed.
"Yes, I know how they can be. Mine's incorrigible. He still thinks I joined the military to meet eligible men."
Plus, the men were too poor on a soldier's salary to be eligible, anyway, Kella added inwardly.

This shared territory of experience, softened Kella's posture, and she adopted her lithe swagger once again.
"Researcher eh?" Kella quirked an eyebrow at the job description. Maybe Val had gotten a lucky bit of nepotism, and this was just a title that allowed for her brother to foot the bill for exotic vacations.
"I hope it was more exciting than it sounds."
When Val suggested they send Umbrosus to play a little fetch, Kella's face turned sly.
"An excellent idea, Vals."
The Vagaran had a strange habit of assigning nicknames to those she came across, even and especially when they didn’t encourage one. Chances were "Vals" would evolve into something more elaborate, but for now it was unconsciously adopted with a bit of endearment.
"I'd believe he could do it, too. But if Umbrosus isn't up to it, we can snare one."
Whether they stayed or went searching, Kella fumbled a moment inside her coat.
"Due to your illustrious research background, I bet you could pick out a little more from this than I." The woman continued with a dash of self deprecation.
"I'm a bit of a rube education wise. At least formally, my highest pedigree is from the College of empty bellies and kicks in the teeth. A fine institution but they glossed over heraldry a bit."
Finally Kella placed an object wrapped in rotting fabric squarely in Val's hand. It was a bridle coiled up, made of silver and black leather, with a bit worked in intricate designs of lions.
"My knight friend, gave me that." A remembrance seized on her like a swath of sunlight, brightening her countenance.
"Oh and this too!"
As the woman reached up to fuss with her earring, her sleeves slipped down betraying a bright waltz of tattoos seeping and winding about her arms. The earring Kella kept balanced in the center of her palm as she displayed it toward Val. It was made of softly glimmering silver, depicting an emblem of a knighthood long gone in the past, one of those who defended the Queens of Aelyria.
"Mean anything in particular to you? I have some ideas, but I'd like a fresh pair of eyes."

[Gossamer]

The bridle in Valanthia's hands gleamed. It was made of fine stuff, expensive, and though old... it was still perfectly usable really betraying the fineness of its quality. The girl would notice something else as well. Black Lions of deliberately darkened silver gleamed up at her, rampant, displaying on each of their rearing forepaws five toes. Five. The sign of royalty. No one in the kingdom of Aelyria would ever own such a thing if their blood wasn't absolutely royal. But it didn't make sense. This was a functioning bridle, a knights piece. Royalty didn't become knights. They had ornamental parade bridles and rode to battle in plain gear as to not stand out and thus be safer. She looked closer, passing a thumb absently over one lion, and the tarnish slid off. There was a black vertical slash worked into the detail concealed by the grime of years. Each lion was slashed through, the mark of a bastard. It made sense now. Someone proudly wore their heritage on their heraldry, and the state of their birth in order to get away with it. It also meant that to be a bastard, this was probably the property of an offspring of a King.

Umbrosus meanwhile, set off dutifully. It wasn't so much a matter of 'fetching' the gardener. No, it was merely a matter of influencing one to slowly walk away from where he himself was standing looking rather hungry, thus mildly coaxing one towards his bondmate and her companion. And, in the true pride of his work, he not only got her one, but fetched her a rather nicely ranked one himself.

Kalvin Tula smiled nervously. "Evening ladies? Is that big dog bothering you? I must say, I thought no dogs were allowed in here. That one looks like the size of a pony... must be a new breed." He added, figiting. He was an elderly man, medonian by the looks of him, and completely dressed for the part of a gardener, complete with the clippers sticking out of his back pocket. "So, anything I can show you in the garden today? If we... well don't decide to get invited to lunch?" He said, glancing at the virkyn once more. His dark skin was sweating, and his black eyes were flashing about. Definitely, he was nervous.

[Valanthia L'Evienne]

Vals? The half-vysstichi girl raised one eyebrow in amusement, though she didn't comment directly. Then she nodded to Umbrosus, and the Virkyn went off to return them a gardener. As he left, she took the bridle in her hands, turning it over, and glancing at the earring as well.

"Your friend comes from an interesting family," she said to Kella, her voice losing its normal hesitation as she entered academic mode. "See this?" She pointed at the slashed insignia on the bridle. "Royalty, but bastard royalty. Who is this person? And..." Mentally, Val reviewed the last few leaders of the Empire. "Erm...how old is your friend?" It seemed like he'd have to be reasonably elderly to have something of this nature in his possession, though once again, Imperial history was easily Val's worst subject.

As Umbrosus returned, the gardener in tow, Val had to smile. "You do good work -- I owe you one," she said to him through their link; Kella wouldn't hear anything, but she would be able to detect her new friend's happiness. Her bondmate was the best at what he did -- and since this was a quality Val valued in herself, perhaps above all others, it was something she valued equally highly in him.

"Oh, he's...he's quite tame," Val said to the gardener. "I wouldn't worry about him. But we did have some...some questions about the garden. We're interested in pieces depicting mounts." It was a bit vague, but the bastard child of royalty might well be riding something exotic, like a griffin or one of those bug-things from Lauryl...bantis, they might have been called. "If you've got a piece with the word...darkening in the title or in the history, someone mentioned to us that it might be of interest." Val deliberately refrained from giving any more details, hoping not to interfere with the man's memory by asking something misleadingly specific.

At the same time, she looked over at Kella. The other girl, of course, had a better idea of what she was doing, and if she had any other information to give the gardener that might help them locate what she was looking for, Val wouldn't want to interrupt.

[Kella Greeran]

When Valanthia began to be swept away in her pedantic tone, Kella was enthralled by the history a better education could afford. Secretly she vowed to relinquish reading at least one book of prose for a decent tome of history. Something that had yellowed pages and the musty smell of authority.
"Bastard royalty!" she seemed more impressed by the royalty aspect than offended by the bastard status.
"Diana's knockers and Jalat's stones! Royal blood and royal adultery." Remembering the refinement of her company, Kella colored about her ears and cheeks and mumbled a quick, "Sorry."
Attempting to shift a bit of the blame, she added, "Circus folk taught me my swears."
And that was likely the mildest one she acquired in her colorful childhood.

Val's inquiry into her friend's age prompted a look half between a smile and a nervous grimace. The girl scratched the back of her head again, a sign of hesitation. Kella could be a fairly discreet person, but, at he moment, she was not particularly afraid of transmitting her tells to Valanthia.
"Well… you see… he's really old. So old as to be highly impaired. And by highly impaired I mean…" At that moment, Kella gave up trying to be circumspect. She huffed a breath and her countenance became flatly resigned.
"…Dead."
She wasn't even trying to not appear rummy.
"There was this big Selhaim thing. And I was captured by this trio of men and they wanted to do nasty things to me." Nasty was a bit of an understatement, as far as Kella was concerned.
"And poof! Ghost avenger. Incredibly handsome and heroic of course but still, of course, incredibly dead. And…"

The Virkyn's approach and his new quarry sealed Kella's lips. She turned from Valanthia to the nervous groundskeeper and gave a little wave.
"'Rale, there. Thanks for coming." Not that he had much of a choice, but it was nice to pretend.

Kella almost slapped her palm to her forehead when Val suggested that the mount might be something other than a horse. She'd forgotten royals had the resources and education to be creative in what they chose for transportation. At least she had something mildly useful to chime in.

"If 'darkening' isn't familiar, maybe the name 'Atalias'."