Ailtih repeated the words a few times until Llewelyn had the pronunciation right - or as close to right as possible - then nodded. She was a bit puzzled to know that they ate but that it somehow didn't work for them. Food was food, right? How could it not work? There had to be something she didn't understand somewhere...

Not that pictures that move sounded any more comprehensible: how could a picture move? Though with Interlopers...who knew. It wasn't like everything had made sense under the river after all, so she probably shouldn't expect it from Interlopers. “Sure.” She agreed: at the very least it could be interesting if she managed to see those pictures that move. And maybe she'd learn how to do it?

After a while though, she focused on the show, enjoying the performance and barely paying attention to Llewelyn or the other villagers looking at her. At the end, smiling happily, she stood up - it was time to get some new food samples! - and finally looked around which caused her smile to slip away. She frowned, obviously puzzled and asked Llewelyn, “Uh... Is anything wrong?”

In reply to Ailith (msg # 164):

Llewelyn looks back at you.  What Llewelyn's facial expression means...it is hard to say.  The Interloper has eyes and a nose and mouth.  But the way they use them, or at least Llewelyn uses them, seems so...flat.

No.  I enjoyed the performance.  Why do you ask?

“Well... It was funny.” Ailith edged, clearly unsure of herself though she did smile when she said it was funny. “It's just...” She lowered her voice. “Why is everyone looking at us like that?”

After a couple of seconds, she squinted, “Unless...” her head tilted to the side she considered Llewelyn, “They're just watching you, right? Maybe they want to ask questions but don't want disturb you?” Something she could certainly understand as she'd have rather not drawn attention to herself like that. Of course, since there was no way to revert that back, she just went along with it. “If you want to learn more, you should talk to them you know? Make it clear you're available to answer questions? No one will mind if you ask some of yours then.”

In reply to Ailith (msg # 166):

Llewelyn glances around.  Llewelyn's mouth opens and an odd noise comes out.  Like an escape of air that sounds rather mournful.

Oh.  I see.  I may have made things difficult for you.  My aplogies.

Llewelyn gives you a bow.  Thank you for your time.  Please enjoy the festival

Llewelyn bows it's head and moves away.

A woman standing nearby leans closer to you. "I'm sorry to pry.  But...are you close to that Interloper?"

Ailith blinked in surprised as she watched Llewelyn leave. She wanted to say that "things hadn't been made difficult for her" or at least not more than drawing the attention of the Interlopers was, but the said Interloper had already left. On the other hand, Llewlyn probably had other things to do, so it probably didn't change much.

So instead, she looked at the woman. “Close?” She seemed surprised. “Uh, no, not really? We only met yesterday when they all came see the Hiyal Masters, and...” She paused, groaned and hit her forehead, “Ah, I forgot to ask if it's he, she or it! Aaaah...” She sighed, obviously annoyed, “Anyway, Llewelyn that you've seen asked a few questions and wanted to know a bit more about us, that's all. I suppose everyone else was busy so I was the only one to ask...”

She shook her head then shrugged. Eyeing the food stalls, she asked, “Did you want to ask something to...err...Llewelyn?”

In reply to Ailith (msg # 168):

The woman quickly shakes her head.  Like the idea of asking Llewelyn something is so disturbing it must be dismissed quickly.

"No no.  Not at all.  I was just...curious.  They...they scare me.  Don't they scare you?"

“Scare me?” Ailith blinked, obviously surprised. “I don't know? Worry, a bit yes.” She had heard not too long ago what might have happened to the previous village who had dealt with them after all, and if that were true… Granted, it didn't mean the Interlopers were the cause for it, but… What were the odds?

Llewelyn on the other hand… “But I'm not worried about Llewelyn.” She tilted her head to the side, opened her mouth, hesitated once again with the pronoun to use, “That one is not taking any decisions I think. In fact, we are both apprentices apparently. Or what passes for an apprentice in their culture anyway. So no, I'm not worried about Llewelyn. As for the rest… She shrugged with a grimace, “I doubt I'll have to interact with any of them, and for everything else, we'll just have to trust in Master Matah, right?” Plus, it wasn't like she had time to spend in such things as worry.

In reply to Ailith (msg # 170):

The woman gives you a look like she's not quite sure you're speaking in the same language, and then she giggles.

"I guess I am making assumptions.  Shame on me.  You're right.  Those wiser will make the decisions.  I should trust them."

You notice that a few others were listening in to your conversation.  They weren't even being very coy about it.  They seem to consider what you said.

The rest of the festival is fairly enjoyable. You are able to load up on more fried dough.  There is a torch show later.  Dyes and powders are mixed into the pitch on torches so they flare in varying colors.  Skilled jugglers toss the torches back and forth, creating a show like myzx during the nights of the Soon-Cold months.

You fall asleep easily and, for once, wake the next morning feeling refreshed.

---

It was good that you got a good night's sleep.  The following days are grueling.

Besides your regular duties, and working on your own project, you and the other apprentices have to work on inventory management.  Matah and the Interloper Captain negotiate.  You all have to bring them certain pieces and then cart them away.

The Interlopers place orders.  You work with the Masters in packaging up what is available in the storehouse.  Then the Masters adjourn to their shops to make up for any lack in the order.

You and Zez, as 'floaters', go from shop to shop, working at whatever task is needed.  You polish (always with the polishing), sand, carve, and even manage to work on some scrimshaw under Olk.  Iriz is furious. But she is just as tired as you.  Too tired to cause you any grief.

You manage to make time to pick up the scrolls from the Temple.  But you only manage to peek at them over the week.

Finally, the orders are completed and packed.  Matah declares a day off for everyone.  You begin your celebration by sleeping in an extra hour.

But you finally have to open your eyes.

What do you want to do first?

When she noticed that a lot more than the woman who had talked to her were listening, Ailith hesitated, not sure she liked her words having so much weight. Well, relatively anyway. Still, there was nothing she could do about it now and maybe more importantly, she hadn't said anything that she felt untrue. Granted, she hadn't said everything, but that wasn't the same thing.

So, resolutely, she turned to the festival, well decided to make the most of it and enjoy herself and have as much fun as she could. Though careful to not go to bed too late, as she was pretty sure the following day would be as filled with work as ever.

Which, somehow, still managed to be an understatement considering how brutal the following days ended up being, so much so that when she woke up the morning of her day off, despite it being an hour later than usual, she seriously considered going back to sleep. Despite that, she elected not to: she wasn't that tired - or was so used to being tired she didn't really notice it anymore - and any hour she could work on her own projects was good to take. If nothing else, it would hopefully get her closer to finally being allowed to have more time for herself.

So she started by going to the kitchens to quickly grab some food, which she brought back to her room: the first thing she wanted to do was study the scrolls. Not only because it might influence other decisions she had to take, but also because she had borrowed it and the sooner she gave it back the better. Plus, if she had any questions, she would be able to go ask them directly and wouldn't have to wait who knew how long.

As she read the scroll though, she was particularly mindful of her food: she really didn't want to spill some, or touch it with greasy fingers. That would definitely not do...

In reply to Ailith (msg # 172):

The scroll lays out the story of Kahk'tahn.  And Iledra is right.  It is a much different version of the story than you've ever heard.

This is the version you grew up hearing:

The people lived in one large group before Kahk'tahn.  They didn't move to the mountains during the summer years, and that lead to large numbers of the people dying.  Particularly the children.

Kahk'tahn came down from the mountains and, after some challenges, taught the people to read and write.  The first sentence he taught them was Go to the high places when the ground sears your feet.

And so the people did so, establishing the high villages and the traditions about the seasonal pilgrimages.  Kahk'tahn also established the clans to make sure resources were spread out.

The scroll is much different...

The people lived in the low lands, huddling under the earth when the ground was too hot to tread upon.  The clans warred against each other over the rivers that flowed under the ground, each trying to control the vital passage of water from place to place.

Kahk'tahn came down from the Gray Mountain.  He lead fierce warriors who wore enamel pannels that tools could not cut nor spears pierce.  He conquered the clans and then claimed the rivers from them.

Listen all of you, Kahk'tahn told the clans. From your rising to your sleeping, you act out of your ignorance.  Those who I deem wise, I will take to the Gray Mountain.  There, the ground is always cool.  The waters move across the skies in the clouds.  And rain falls upon everyone.

And Kahk'tahn gave each woman and man, elder and child, a test.  And those that discovered the way through the labrynith he promised the Gray Mountain.

But to the others who failed, he had pity.  And he told them how to live in the high places during the seasons of heat.  And once he saw those who failed established up high, he lead those who succeeded to the Gray Mountain.  Where they learned of joy.

So the second is different.  You can see why Ildera said some would call it heretical.  Many clans claim to be descended from Kahk'tahn.  And this version of the story would seem to say none of the clans were.

And there is that word.  Rain.  What is that?

Quick note:  the word for 'rain' in Ailith's language is the same word as 'monsoon'.  There is no difference to her people between the two.  The scroll uses the term 'rain'.  She can sound it out phonetically.  But has no idea what it means.

Why the difference?  Guess we'll find out.

Once she had finished reading the scroll - and made sure she remembered the version she had heard about - Ailith considered the problem for a moment. She wasn't all that disturbed by the "heretical" status of it, simply because she…didn't care all that much about such things. After all, she didn't even know if her clan - her previous clan - was one of those that claimed to be descended from Kakh'tahn, much less about her current one. So as far as she was concerned, there was no problem one way or the other.

Two things however puzzled her: the first one was the most obvious, that word rain that she didn't know. Something she was going to have to ask Ildera about when she went to give the scroll back. The second one was the test Kahk'than had mentioned - according to the scroll anyway - and the "labyrinth". What kind of test was this? Where was that labyrinth? Why had it been forgotten? Though to be fair, it might be something relatively well known that she simply hadn't really cared to learn about in the past…

Shaking her head, Ailith decided to take the scroll and bring it back to Ildera: she could think about it for hours without going anywhere after all so it seemed much more sensible to ask someone who would know. When she found the eldest daughter of the Gry'k clan, she gave her the scroll back, thanked her, then asked her questions.

In reply to Ailith (msg # 174):

"Rain?"  Ildera looks puzzled.  The fact she has to unroll the scroll to find the word tells you she doesn't know either.

"Hmm.  That sounds like a word in the old temple tongue.  But..." She shrugs.  "I'm afraid I don't speak it.  None of my family do.  The family that cartakes the D'wala family shrine are probably the closest family that I know who does."

D'wala.  That is four weeks away by foot, at the edge of the Down Hand mountain range.

"You might could try writing them.  A merchant might bring them word."

A letter, huh?  Paying a merchant to deliver such a letter and deliver a reply would cost you a few coins.  How much you aren't sure.  But you would judge it to be at least all the money you have saved up now.

<Periwinkle>"The labyrinth I do recall in other old tales.  I don't know that any of them give it an actual physical location.  But it's another name for khayul.

Khayul.  The gates to the land of the dead.

Well, that wasn't good news: not only had Ailith hoped that if not Ildera, at least someone in her family knew more of the Temple's tongue to teach her, but to hear that the closest one able to do such a thing was four weeks away… Well, that wasn't going to help much. If nothing else, even if she had the money to send one letter… She wasn't eager to spend it to learn the signification of one word that, all things considered, didn't seem all that important compared to everything else.

Plus, she had to be really careful about how much interest she showed: the last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself, and question being asked. Curiosity could only take her so far. Though maybe she could pretend it had started as pure curiosity but she was now interested in doing something about it, somehow. On the other hand, if what she suspected was even remotely true, she really didn't want the interlopers to be interested in Kahk'tahn…

Still… “Well… If that labyrinth exists and we managed to find it…” It would certainly ruffle a few feathers, but… “It would settle a debate, wouldn't it?” Though… Who would want to find Khayul?

In reply to Ailith (msg # 176):

Oops.  Forgot Ildera wasn't periwinkle.  Switching her dialogue to red.

She blinks.  "Why would you want to find Khayul?  Are you one of the True-Word Speakers?"

You have no idea what that means.  She has a very odd look on her face when she asks you that.  Like she's found something unsettling.

Why would she want to find Khayul? That was her own question! Well... Of course, if one considered that she believed that there was more to that Labyrinth story, had indeed thought about finding Khayul. But it was only because of what it meant for the rest of it. Though she certainly wasn't going to mention that, now less than ever.

Still, there was something weird... “True-Word Speaker?” Ailith looked confused, “What is that? I'm pretty sure I don't know any word that you don't...” Granted, she had heard a lot of unknown words recently, but she hadn't retained most of them, if any. Plus, considering Ildera's reaction, it didn't seem to be anything good, and Ailith started to worry.

Maybe asking so many questions had been a mistake...

In reply to Ailith (msg # 178):

Ildera nods slightly and looks around, as if to see who else might be listening.

She leans closer.  "Don't talk about them too loudly.  Most just think they're lunatics.  But some clans react very badly to them.  Violently so."

She lets that sink in before whispering on.  "The True-Word Speakers believe Kahk'tahn was not of the people.  They say he was a traveler from somewhere below the ground.  They say venerating him is the same as worshiping demons."

For a second, Ailith considered Ildera, trying to determine if she was messing with her. In the end, probably deciding that it wasn't the case, she shook her head. “Oh, no, I'm definitely not one of those True-Word Speaker then. I don't believe Kahk'tahn came from below the ground, not at all.” In fact, she was ready to bet that Kahk'tahn came from above - much like the Interlopers - and not below. Though... was he of the people? Of that, she was much less sure of it. Not something she ought to say at any rate.

Despite that, Ailith started to consider if maybe the one she ought to bring to the river should maybe be Ildera: any one of the masters would draw too much attention and might not know any more than she did - alright, not know enough to be useful - but Ildera was another thing entirely: she doubted the Interlopers were looking at her closely - if at all - and she might be able to make sense of some things that went completely above Ailith's head. Some of the runes maybe...

It would have to wait though, for she'd need at least a couple of free days. Or maybe she'd have to convince one of the Master - like, purely at random, Master Yovo - they'd need some more emz. Well, at any rate, it was something to think about in the future. For now, she had other things to do than think about what could or could not be.

She nodded to Ildera, “I better get going, lots of other things to do. Thanks for the scroll and the history lesson. I think I'll have something more to talk to you about but I need to think about it some more.”

In reply to Ailith (msg # 180):

As you step back into the Hiyal compound, someone calls your name loudly.

"Ailith!"

Helza is striding across the courtyard towards you.  She has an annoyed look on her face.

"Were you the one who packed the shipment of isin masks?"

You recall the shipment.  You helped bundle it, but it was Zes who packed the crate.

Helza is continuing.  "The shipment was shorted by twenty masks! Can you not count?"

Ailith squinted as she considered Helza for a second, almost deciding to mess with her and proving that she was indeed able to count. Or maybe showing the opposite, which might be more entertaining. In the end though, with an internal sigh, she decided to try and be nice about it. Who knew, Helza might be so surprised that she'd just drop the matter entirely?

“Oh, really? Uh, that would have been embarrassing… Well, I'm so glad you picked it up! That was really thoughtful of you to check, thanks!” Maybe she was laying it on too thickly? Well, one way or the other… while she hoped it'd be enough, she doubted it: Helza was far too fond of her own voice to leave it at that…
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Wed 10 Feb 2021.

In reply to Ailith (msg # 182):

Helza snorts.  "Of course I picked it up!  I had to redo your work after all!  No wonder you don't have a master.  Your incompetence is astounding!"

So much for her letting it go.

"I had to waste my afternoon fixing your mistake.  You should at least sweep up Master Nazin's shop to make up for it."

Alright, it had been too much to ask for, and Ailith had pretty much expected as much. Still... Did Helza need to be that insufferable about it? Squinting, the young apprentice looked angrily at the older one. She considered saying a lot of different things, most of them not particularly pleasant, and almost decided not to. In the end though, she was unable to let it go just like that. “An entire afternoon just for that?” She snorted disdainfully.

“I've already thanked you. I might take care of sweeping your Master's shop tomorrow for it, and if I do, it'll be more than enough to repay you. Now if there's nothing else, I have things to do.” Not waiting for an answer, Ailith turned away, obviously intent on going back to her room.

In reply to Ailith (msg # 184):

"Filth..."

Helza mutters that under her breath.  She probably mutters some other things too.  But that's the one you catch.

Still marching off?

Ailith froze and looked over her shoulder at Helza, obviously a bit shocked by what she just heard. After a few seconds, she turned around, “Seriously?” She balled her fists and walked to Helza, apparently not much caring that the other apprentice had a few years on her. “You caught on a mistake and you feel like a thank you is not enough?”

“So first, you can swipe your master's shop yourself, I'm not going to do it for you. I'd hope it'd teach you some humility, but I'm not sure anything could do that. Second, you have a problem with me? What is it? I don't remember a single case where said anything even remotely insulting to you, much less tried to mess you. So is it that I don't strike your ego as much as you feel that I - or anyone for that matter - should? Come on tell me, I'm right there. It'd do you good to not talk in someone's back for once.” Which she couldn't be sure Helza was actually doing that, but... It didn't seem too much of a stretch.

“Or is it that because I never confronted you, you think you can walk all over me, do anything and I'll just take it? Is that it? Do you think you can bully me however you please? Well try me, and we'll see.” She growled, obviously quite pissed. “You're an arrogant bitch who doesn't have half, no a quarter of, the talent she'd need to be this much of an ass.”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Sun 14 Feb 2021.

In reply to Ailith (msg # 186):

She looks amused at first.  But her eyes narrow when you mention 'talking behind someone's back'.

"Like you're one to talk about something like that!  And talk to me about no talent when AND ONLY WHEN your sorry ass actually gets a master.  You know. When someone who has talent actually agrees that you have talent too!"

And with that, she turns on her heel and storms off.

Ailith snorted disdainfully, not bothered at all by Helza's insinuations: after all, how long had she been here? Plus, she was pretty sure that her still not having a master was not a question of talent, but of having a lot to learn...and something that would likely change in the short term anyway.

More importantly, if an apprentice were gifted in one specific domain, it was much easier to match him or her to one master, so if nothing else, it might not be a lack of talent at all... Though of course it wasn't just a question of talent: Helza had probably wanted to be recognised as soon as possible, and Iriz to attach herself to her master for...well, she had her own reasons.

Not that Helza's opinion about her talent mattered all that much. Or at all for that matter. Ailith was relatively certain Master Matah believed she had talent, so Helza's opinion - or taunts - didn't affect her at all. No, what she found interesting was Helza's reaction to when she had mentioned talking behind people's back. It had been a bit of a guess, but given the other apprentice's attitude...

There wasn't all that much she could do about it - and she didn't particularly care - but instead of walking to her own room, Ailith changed directions and went to find Zez: she was ready to bet that Helza was going to try to make a mountain of the isin masks mistake, and it could be hilarious...but only if Zez knew what was going to happen: it had been his mistake after all, and who knew what kind of story Helza was going to tell everyone...