Grotto-esque

[flint rune]

As the sun set and the temperature around the guild dropped, a large dark shape made its way up the stream that connected to the grotto - not really knowing that it was de facto guildgrounds aswell.

Immediately, they notice the warmth. Albeit the water of the streams and ponds was quite pleasant, whatnot with it being summer - a concept they picked up a few weeks after coming topside - it was still not quite the same as back home.

The shape - a triton of diminutive size - surfaces tentatively, the dark green of her long hair still covering her features. There was a glow however, coming from her two large yellow eyes. And yet another, fainter one, coming from the glowstalk that momentarily lifted and then was tucked back into the hair.

-# "This place seems alright..."

She practically sighed in Aquan, as she took in her surroundings. Then she furrowed her brows, as there was clearly some obvious manmade interference visible.

Oh. So there might actually be people here...

[earnest moat]

As if on cue, a large Wemic makes his way into the grotto with a large bag of oils and soaps. He holds his back with his other claw and winces a bit as he walks.

"Stupid constructs, the nerve of that thing to run me over..." He mutters to himself as he approaches the pool, not noticing the creature within.

He places down his things and begins to make his way into the water, eager for its warmth to soothe his aching backs.

[flint rune]

The creature within, their senses quite sharp for things already in the water was unfortunately rather surface-ly blind. She only noticed the large Wemic once he almost stepped on her. She let's out a mix between a yelp and a hiss, darting away to the other side of the pool with a flash of yellow eyes and sharp teeth.

Thankfully, their hair again falls over their face, sparing Eddy from the horrific visage it possessed.

[earnest moat]

The Wemic initially reacts as if he had stepped by a fish.
"Oh! What the..." he says as he realizes that it is not a regular fish, but an individual, "My apologies, I didn't see you there."

He flashes a toothy smile and holds out a paw, "Eddy Imbroglion, and yourself?"

[flint rune]

The water around the triton still rippled, as they needed a few long moments to compose themselves. It was the first - and in their mind they prayed hopefully the last! - time that they had almost landed under the paws of a giant furry being like that. When the creature speaks, their voice is very small, sentences tapering off into a murmur.

-# "Ah. I did not notice you either."

She looks at the outstretched paw, still thoroughly intimidated by his presence.

-# "Um... Umbryn. And you don't need to shake my hand or anything, I can leave."

[earnest moat]

"A pleasure to meet you Umbryn," he lowers his voice a bit in an attempt to put her at ease.

"Now now," he says as he wades further into the pool, though not towards her, arm still outstretched, "I offer not my paw out of obligation, nor do I expect you to be forced out on my account."

He takes a more relaxed, sitting position, head and shoulders still above the water.

[flint rune]

-# "I don't know how pleasurable making acquaintance with me is..."

The triton mumbled into the water, barely audible but not as stealthy as she might wanted. She eyes Eddy from the safe distance for a good while longer, before very gingerly floating forwards to hold out her own hand, giving him one of the meekest handshakes up to date.

Her grip was damp and scaly in nature. The wemic could also see the slightly gnarled fingernails and webbing between her fingers. Or perhaps he couldn't, she was no optometrist.

-# "Oh! Oh right, I know someone that would've probably done it to get one over me."

She looked back down at her hand once she puts most of the pool between them, as if waiting for it to burst into flames. The yellow gaze drifts back up to Eddy, though not quite meeting his face.

-# "Uhm... Are you sure you don't want me to leave? What kind of place is this?"

[earnest moat]

Eddy continues his smile as he accepts the sub-standard handshake.

"Come now my dear, there is no need to be anxious," he gestures widely to the area, "This is the grotto, a place for guild members to relax."

He leans back, lowering himself further into the water.

"The perfect place to clean up, chat, or recover from getting run over by a multi-ton constructs," he says with a laugh.

[flint rune]

-# "Oh. So people do come here rather often..."

The realization seems to deject Umbryn, as she looks around. Alas, it had been too good to be true. She would continue to stake it out upstream. Another thing Eddy said made her think.

-# "And dear... dear who?"

Umbryn genuinely did not know what the Wemic ment by that. Once he speaks of constructs she hisses again, this time in unpleasant remembrance herself.

-# "You met some out there too? Uh... I mean the guild is stuffed with them, the parts I saw atleast. But... but also whenever I get dragged on jobs we have to deal with automatons and their crazed creators all the time. And.... uh... you laugh after being run over by a multi-ton construct? Are you... okay? Did it step on your head maybe?"

[earnest moat]

He chuckles once more, "It rolled over just about all of me," He says with a wince.

"But it'd hardly do to roar in pain, laughter puts it more at ease," He smiles, "To say nothing of the inherent need to put on a brave face in front of fair maidens as is tradition in this line of work."

He quickly points a claw at her, "And don't you take that as another chance to ask if I want you to leave or something. Conversation is always a pleasant distraction from pain."

[flint rune]

Umbryn winces in unison with the wemic, unfortunately blessed with a rather vivid imagination. The triton looks rather dumbfounded when Eddy laughs it all off and then almost flustered as he also manages to read her mind. She crosses her arms and dips deeper into the water, only her head poking out. The green hair clumped together into long strands that bobbed like seaweed around her body.

-# "I am anything but fair, yet I find it more worrying if someone starts... uh... roaring with laughter once they get hurt. It makes it a bit harder to tell if they need some healing, or whether they are... are..."

She seems to struggle to find a word, blowing a few bubbles in the water.

-# "In some kind of reverie? And I don't know whether I am that good of a conversation partner..."

Her voice drifts off, before the glow stalk begins to snake its way out of her hair.

-# "...would you perhaps like some actual succor for your injuries? It's not even going to sting, or anything like that."

[earnest moat]

"Now now, don't be so self-depricating, that's a job far more suited to me and I don't take kindly to such intrusions, I'll sue!" He grins, "I appreciate the offer, I do think I am mostly healed aside from the pain but if you have experience in that regard I'd have no objections to such."

[flint rune]

-# "I mean... people always were deprecating to me. You saying you don't want me to do it.. implies you would rather be the one to do so?"

Umbryn spins his words in a way that make more sense to her. Surely he wouldn't just try to make her feel better. She was used to being the recipient of a lot of ugly language, so that thought almost made her feel right back at home.

-# "It will just feel a bit warm. Uhm... Warmer than the water."

The sickly white light from her glowstalk intensifies, until it shines golden, then red hot. Its light seems to seep into the wemic's skin and bones, like a soothing embrace of the afternoon's sun. [Healing Light +7HP]

[earnest moat]

"Oh my, now that truly is some impressive mental gymnastics my dear," he replies with a smirk, "I don't see any reason why I'd antagonize a guildmate in such a way, unless they were the one to start it."

He let's out a pleasant sigh as the light his him.

"Ah, that is quite the gift you have there, are you a Cleric of some kind?"

[flint rune]

-# "Its just... its just what people do. My presence alone was plenty of reason to cause.. uh.. antagonization."

As the wemic seems to relax a bit more, the triton sighs as well in relief. For all her worries and issues with the powers 'vested' in her, this was a part she was usually good at. And it had the benefit of not hurting anyone.

-# "I am glad that it also cured you from laughing over it for the time being. Cleric? Ah.. no. Not at all. Its... uh.. a side effect I think. What do you call it if something imposes its powers onto you and kinda sorta makes you follow its bidding?"

[earnest moat]

"Well, given what I've seen and been through as of late, your presence is as a sparkling lake amidst a churning sea," He smiles.

"Ah, a Warlock?" He replies with a raised brow, "Might I ask with whom you've cast your lot? I'm not especially opinionated on the matter but I recently spoke with one who pledged themselves to Asmodeus, quite the unpleasant individual. Though I would not accuse one such as yourself of something so crass."

[flint rune]

Umbryn shoots him a look of pure and unadulterated compassion and pity. To suffer something worse than her...

-# "Then your day must have been truly rotten beyond carrion, I am sorry to hear that."

The triton nods hesitantly, then shudders when Eddy speaks of the Lord of the Hells. She could guess, even though a certain tiefling had strong opinions about assumptions.

-# "Their name was not Cornelius by any chance? I.. know him to be very devoted to his deity, with all the horrible connotations that this carries. He.. is also not nice to me, but I am put at ease by it. I am with Kossuth, or... rather Kossuth is with me and I am trying to not get burnt up in the process."

The hand of her left arm brushes over her right forearm, the scales firmly bound in slightly darkened bandages.

[earnest moat]

The Wemic shakes his head and sighs as he reaches for his bag.

"My dear Umbryn, you have not been anything short of a delight since I nearly trod on you. You have nothing to apologize for."

He carefully selects a couple of oils that he then pours into on of his paws before beginning to rub them together.

"But yes, I do believe that was the fool's name, despite his vocabulary he was utterly lacking in sense."

He tilts his head at the mention of Kossuth, "Ah, name also rings a bell. You wouldn't happen to be acquainted with the little dentist would you? Fritz?" He makes a gesture of the Kobold's approximate size as he says the name.

[flint rune]

-# "It is just Umbryn."

The triton mumbles, not knowing how to feel about being 'dear' to anyone. Even if she was aware that Eddy did so either in jest or to tease her, the latter she received quite a lot from a certain sea kobold.

-# "He is a cleric of Asmodeus. You know... Ruler of all hells? Corruption, temptation, comical evil-that-goes-on-forever? I don't know whether he is foolish, he seems to know what he wants out of his... entanglement with that deity, even though it scares me. And he is scary at times too."

Again she shivers, hugging her form in the water. But the name makes her light up a bit. And then she looked worried again, as if hearing that someone close to her got in trouble.

-# "Fritz? Of course! We came to the guild together, he wrote in my application and everything, because I found Basha to be far to scary to talk to. Did you say dentist? I am sorry if he has bothered you, his intentions are... good. Perhaps... a bit too experimental, but good!"

[earnest moat]

"If you insist," He shrugs, "Umbryn."

He begins to work the oils into his mane, "You wouldn't believe the effort it takes to maintain this," He chuckles.

"But yes yes, I am well aware of what he is involved with and I mean exactly that when I call him a fool. Fiendish bargains never end well for mortals, he's simply determined to find that out too late. Quite frankly I feel more pity than fear, he's all talk, wasn't even willing to spar me."

"Fritz; however, cowardly is a certainly a word I could not use to describe that one. The first thing he did was go right up to my mouth and start measuring my teeth to see how thick he should make his armour!" He laughs, "Thus the nickname."

He shakes his head, smiling.

"Few creatures would so eagerly get so close to the maw of one whose head alone is bigger than them."

[flint rune]

Umbryn seems to sink yet a bit deeper into the water, taking one of her own strands of hair between her fingers. She blubbers a sigh.

-# "I do not. Maintaining at all is difficult though. But if everything is hairy..."

She let's her words trail off, more attentive to his words about the cleric of the lower planes.

-# "Which... is also very much in character. I doubt a follower of Asmodeus would ever fight fair, or in a battle that he has little chance winning. But... uh... so would I. Not that I am supporting the creed of getting involved with fiends! The Kossuthan faith is diametrically opposed to that actually, its like one of the two tenets. Beyond that.. I don't know. People do things for reasons that seem reasonable to them. Or they get forced into things."

Once he regales his encounter with Fritz she snorts, then hides in the water as the sound was a bit embarrassing.

-# "Yyyeah... That is Fritz alright. He is very, very smart but also willing to go far to far in his pursuit of knowledge. At times it feels like he sees the entire world just having waited for him to show up with his syringes and measuring tapes. I... uh... I owe him a lot, so I try to stick close by him whenever he oversteps.

[earnest moat]

He grins widely and his ears twitch at the sound of the snort.

"Ah ah, don't try and hide it, that was a laugh," He chides, "So you too can practice my art of pain tolerance."

He grabs some more soaps as he continues his routine.

"I have only met the little dentist twice, but he certainly seems like a good friend to have. Certainly a lot, needs to be kept in check, but his heart is in the right place. He'll do well in life if you manage to keep him from being eaten in the pursuit of oral hygiene."

[flint rune]

-# "Nuuu... Maybe..."

The triton's voice grows even smaller as she tries to make herself entirely unheard. Again she wanted to disappear and yet again Eddy reeled her back in with Fritz. As she thought about her mental phrasing of that, she had to frown at herself.

-# "He is a handful, but he is my handful. I will do whatever I can to keep him safe."

The resoluteness in her quiet voice was unusually fierce, even if she did not raise her volume at all. Then she pauses and slowly tries to go back in their conversation... Suddenly feeling rather bashful.

-# "Oh. We... just kind of talked about me and my friend, I am sorry. That is rude, or... rather selfish. I don't really... know how to people. Uh...What is a normal topic to talk about?"

The words had already left her mouth, spoken aloud instead of being actually thought.

[earnest moat]

"Umbryn, it is quite normal to discuss yourself and your friends. Do not distress yourself over such things as conversation. Like with any muscle, it is something you train with practice."

He gives a big smile, "And I do like that resolve you have there. It is good, he needs a friend like you."

"Now, I apologize if this is a challenge but I think you're up for it, what do you like to talk about?" He asks as he continues to work on cleaning the machine compressed dirt out of his fur.

[flint rune]

-# "Uuhh... You do sound like the head priestess of the temple Fritz and I were inducted in, before coming to the guild. T-That is a compliment, I swear."

The triton groans, rubbing her face under the curtain of hair that covered it. She nods.

-# "I... worry that people might try to let Fritz do things untethered, maybe out of morbid curiosity. As for him needing a friend like me? I don't know... I hurt him very badly once. You know, his mechanical arm? That and... other... things was my fault."

Looking a bit dejected she yet again hides mostly underwater, only the topmost part of her head and fins sticking out of it. After a long, uncomfortable pause of Umbryn chewing on her lower lip for a while she answers.

-# "I... uh... I don't really talk much to people. Back where I came from I had a tutor... for a while... and then spent my time near some black smokers... those are like... thermal vents? Out of which gunk comes out all the time, but it keeps the water warm! I talked to some gulper eels that I fed and trained a little? I am not sure whether that counts."

[earnest moat]

"I doubt he blames you for it," He chuckles, "I smashed his suit in a bit of training and he rather quickly turned to thoughts of how to improve it. I doubt he'd want you beating yourself up about it."

He dunks his own head underwater to wash out the soap and surfaces slightly closer.

"You certainly sound like you've had an exciting life even before coming to the guild. I'm sure you'll find yourself comfortable here in time."

[flint rune]

-# "I wish he got upset at me more. Him just smiling and making jokes right after... I don't know how that makes me feel. It confuses me. I-I mean, if its genuine? Then I am glad, but I also worry he is putting on a show... or I don't know."

And that was really the crux of just about most issues she had with people. She did not understand why people bothered to be nice to her - or put her at ease, especially when they had reasons to be angry with her.

-# "Mmm... It was just life for me. I didn't really know that there were others ways of it until I was forced to leave. And I don't know how I feel about the kind of excitement that this place provides... W-What do you enjoy about it?"

[earnest moat]

"With that one? I doubt he'd be able to fool someone for long," He replies, "Intelligent though he may be, the little one seems to speak whatever is on his mind."

He pauses to dwell on the question posed to him.

"Well... It pays well for one thing, better than any other place I have worked. Hours are flexible, no need to get up early most days. A nice library, interesting people..."

[flint rune]

-# "I.. He.. ugh..."

The triton retreated into the water yet again, not able to fool herself as her argument crumbled that easily. Once she surfaced she let her crossed arms on the rim of the pool and looked away, pouting.

-# "This is the first work, like, proper work I ever did. Fighting things is still something... very scary. A-And do you also remember faces of people you killed? I do and I was only here for a few weeks! Does.. that get better?"

Something in her stomach turns as she processes what she said. She tries to quickly move on to a lighter topic.

-# "Oh! You read? Any particular topic or... like pleasure reading?"

[earnest moat]

"Some of them," He replies, "Though often I've been able to talk my way out of fighting more reasonable folk. There will almost always be a need for violence in this line of work though, but I grew up a hunter so blood and such don't bother me much."

He does let out a sigh though, aware of how flimsy a coping mechanism that is.

"As for reading, I enjoy a good mystery novel."

[flint rune]

-# "I-I'm not good at talking, but I did manage to scare some things or people away. But then when things come to blows and one of my spells lands just right its... its really not good. They kinda..."

Wringing her hands, the triton just gestures a ball that then bursts, her also adding a wet 'Pfsh!' sound to give him an idea of the soundscape aswell. She let's her hands fall into the water again.

-# "Ahm... I'm torn. Once I achieve my goal here I on one hand never want to inflict any violence to anyone... but I also met someone that was trapped a-and if I didn't step up they would've most likely been kept held down. A-And knowing I could stop that but then deciding not to because... its scary and kinda gross? Doesn't sound right either."

Umbryn speaks fast, as if these words have been lying bare on her mind like beached whales, yet only now managed to actually leave her lips. She then looks down and tries to remove some dirt that had gotten stuck to her finger webbing.

-# "I know its naive also. And I quite like books about marine biology."

[earnest moat]

"And what is your goal here?" He asks, leaning further into the water, only his head now above the surface.

"This job is often gross, but, as you've observed, you get to accomplish things you wouldn't anywhere else."

"Ah, an interesting topic. While fiction is more my interest, I do study a bit about giants so as to improve my use of their magic."

[flint rune]

-# "Get all of... this... somewhat under control, go home - such as it is - and deal with... with something very, very horrifying. Its... uh... its part of the reason why Kossuth took interest in me at all. Fritz and I witnessed something that we need to stop."

This time Umbryn trembles throughout her recollection of what happened and what needs to be done.

-# "There is something in the deep, or... something that is to come from the deep that must be stopped, although Fritz and I are way, way to weak and ill equipped for it."

Taking a few breaths and fully submerging under the water, the Triton needs a good while to compose herself, but being underwater did not impede her senses at all. On the contrary. Her voice is more steady when she resurfaces. Now she seems very curious.

-# "You can use the magic of giants? How did you manage to do that?"

[earnest moat]

"Sounds exciting," He smiles, "But having sparred the little dentist I have to agree that there is a lot of room to grow before any huge threats can be tackled, you'll get there in time though."

He stretches and gives a light yawn as he waits for her to resurface.

"The giants employ runes for their magic, it is simply a matter of learning their language and understanding how it interacts with the weave."

He exhales a little cloud that he blows towards the triton.

"Very Elemental in nature.*

[flint rune]

Umbryn sent a stink eye Eddy's way from behind the curtain of hair, evidently of a different opinion.

-# "If your exciting is my deathly terrifying... maybe."

As he explains the nature of giant magic and blows a cloud towards her, she does a small motion with her hand, a spectral eel appearing and slicing the cloud in two with a spin, before disappearing again. The triton's voice sounds a bit softer.

-# "I guess it is not all bad... But uh... did you have a tutor amongst giants, or... I am rather curious how you managed to get your ha- paws? On it. Uhm... But you obviously don't need to tell me, sorry."

[earnest moat]

"We face death just about every week around here," He replies, Fortunately, such is reversible."

He smiles at the display of the spectral eel.

"Oh, well," he reaches back over to his bag and fishes out an amulet, "I got this from a Cloud Giant in... let's call it a battle of wits, He grins, "It put me down the path to learning more tricks."

[flint rune]

-# "Well that is equally reassuring and kind off terrifying.. have you...?"

She let her voice trail off, not feeling like it was her place to ask - yet also being morbidly curious.

-# "A battle of wits, aha?"

The triton parroted, sounded slightly dubious. Eddy phrased it in a way that made it sound like there was a good bit more to that.

-# "Uhm, I am sorry, but I do not really see how clouds are that... useful in fights? You seem very... large. N-Not in a bad way! There is just a lot of you, I assumed you were someone that would attack someone with their paws... or weapon? Ah, sorry for assuming."

[earnest moat]

He shakes his head, "No, I have not died myself, but I have met some who have."

He smiles as the questioning and exhales some more clouds, many of them taking on faint shapes.

"They can be used for distractions, making it harder to hit allies, enchanted to redirect attacks, and if you think I'm large now..."

His own body begins to take on cloud like properties, expanding outwards and rolling atop the surface of the water.

"It is quite a handy trick, allows me to hit enemies harder with my weapon, I seldom use my own claws in a fight but I could if needed."

[flint rune]

The thought of talking to someone that should be dead was... strange. Perhaps this was reassuring in some way or the other? Strange. It was mostly strange. Her yellow eyes widened as Eddy expands, her disappearing into the water until he spoke again.

-# "Point taken, that is actually really scary."

Knowing that Eddy most likely would not come down on her like a thunderstorm, she surfaces a bit more from the water, though still thoroughly intimidated.

-# "How does it feel like being all... that?"

[earnest moat]

He begins to return back to normal size, the clouds dispersing and the wind subsiding.

"Sorry, figured I'd give a bit of a show," He chuckles, "It makes me feel stronger primarily, larger, more confident, perhaps a wee bit more chaotic though."

[flint rune]

With Eddy returning to his usual size, so does Umbryn mostly resurface but remaining at the same respectful distance as she had before.

-# "Well, you certainly succeeded on producing some shock and or awe, haha. And.. if it is really an invocation of elemental power, that... would make sense. Uh. That it made you feel like there is... less control? But you do keep control always, yes?"

[earnest moat]

"So far I haven't had any problems with such," he replies with a yawn, "Though I mostly use it in battle as I cannot maintain that form for very long, combat is chaotic already."

[flint rune]

Umbryn hums, slowly noticing that the Wemic seemed to be nearing incapacitation.

-# "I see... Well, that is good to know if we ever work together. Uhm... Are you alright? I guess my presence can be draining, do you want me to leave maybe?"

[earnest moat]

"Oh, no," he waves a paw, "Just the warm water after a long day making me sleepy."

[flint rune]

-# "Ah."

The triton exclaimed quietly.

-# "Uh... if you feel like dozing, I can stay around and make sure you do not drown in your sleep?"

[earnest moat]

He chuckles and stretches some more before leaning an arm on the side of the pool.
"I certainly wouldn't be opposed. Been quite a long day, just need a moment to..." he yawns again.

[flint rune]

Umbryn slowly let's herself sink a bit under the water, effortlessly floating in suspension just a few inches under the surface. Hopefully without having direct line of sight on her, Eddy would find some more restful, well, rest.

[earnest moat]

The Wemic slowly rests his head on his arm along the side and shuts his eyes and almost immediately falls asleep.