[closedish]

[altusimperius]

WHO: Benedict & a handful of starters
WHAT: just a slutty little lad living his slutty little life
WHEN: what month is this anyway. Kingsway
WHERE: around the Gallows
NOTES: starters in comments, holler at me on plurk or discord if you'd like one

Comments

[altusimperius]

"Oh. Uh... no."

As in, no, he didn't misread his meaning, though that's all Benedict is willing to divulge at the moment; whatever his thoughts on Allumin in any particular light, he's keeping to himself.

[loversinverted]

"Ah. Very well, then."

And regardless of where the conversation had gone, the elf pivots from it with no more trouble on his face than if he had been talking about the recent weather.

"Suffice it to say, it really was a surprise to find him here. The both of us were at my estate before waking here."

[altusimperius]

"Huh," intoned again, Benedict tilting his head.

"It's not unheard of for two people from the same place to show up," he muses, "but you being actually together at the time... what were you doing?"
Perhaps the knowledge will shed a little insight on how Rifters work. Or, just as likely, it'll make everything more confusing.

[loversinverted]

A brief drumming of the fingers as Diabhall checks and double-checks his memory before speaking - searching for anything that he may deem key, before finally electing to simply tell the whole of it.

"He and a handful of his fellow adventurers were escaping assassination, and found themselves on my doorstep. I brought them in, let them tell me what was happening - and it was more than evident that they needed rest before anything more could be discussed or done. I settled them in guest rooms, then returned to work for a little while before I took to rest myself."

Realizing something, he opens his little book, flipping back diagrams and strange notes to jot the thought down. "I wonder if the delay between his going to rest and my own accounts for the gap between our arrival here. Perhaps some manner of time dilation."

[altusimperius]

"Assassination?"

Bene's eyebrows rise, and he's intrigued indeed. "So if you went back, right now, you'd still be dealing with an assassin?"

[loversinverted]

"Yes."

There is a subtle shift to Diabhall's tone at this - something approaching concerned, protective even. His face, however, remains relatively unchanged, eyes sliding back towards Benedict. "Probably. The assassin was sent away for now, but I imagine he will be back. He seems to have it out for our number in general - and I think Allumin may have drawn his ire by fighting back."

[altusimperius]

Benedict's brow furrows.

"Why was he trying to kill you?"

This seems important.

[loversinverted]

All right - how to put this succinctly?

"...We are part of a...for lack of a better term, a destined group. The assassin is a member of the opposing force, wishing to stop us from gathering."

Diabhall sighs a little. There's no way to put all this that doesn't sound unbelievable to the people here, really.

[altusimperius]

A small laugh escapes before Benedict can stop it, but he curls his hand over his mouth in case that will somehow make it not have happened.

"Um," he mumbles, "destined for what?"

[loversinverted]

Yes, well. That's about what he expected.

"That much has never been made clear. All we know is that we need to gather together to stop...well, some manner of cataclysm. Believe me, I realize how it must sound. Even in our world, most consider the matter a fairy tale."

[altusimperius]

Impressive.
"What? How many of you?"

It's not that unlike what's going on here, but there's definitely something to be said for being one of the only people needed to stop the calamity.

[loversinverted]

"Well, that's a matter of some debate. Possibly as few as twenty-two, but...there could be as many as seventy-eight."

Finished with his meal now, he slides the plate aside.

"I've been prepared for my role in it all since birth, but most still need to be located. Not all of us are as long-lived as I, and the roles have moved from one generation to the next."

[altusimperius]

"So... what'll you do to stop the thing?"

Seventy-eight isn't a bad number, but it's not a huge one either. Not military-sized.

"Do a ritual?" He pauses, fighting the urge to smile and partially failing, "sing it a song?"

[loversinverted]

If it were possible for Diabhall's expression to flatten any further, it would.

"...Likely the former. We have never been told what precisely we will be expected to do. I only know what my card is, and that I am one of the ones meant to lead the charge."

There is just a bit of resentment woven into his tone at this - the air of someone very tired of a role they never asked to play.

[altusimperius]

"Oh. All right."

He can't hide his smirk, at this point. "Sounds pretty important."

[loversinverted]

"As I said. I'm aware how it sounds."

He takes a drawn-out sip of his water, heaving a little sigh.

"I suppose I have been absolved of all that, however, being here. I don't know how they'll get on without us, or what will happen, but...it's useless to speculate."

[altusimperius]

"Guess they'll just have to manage," Bene muses wryly, "and in the meantime, here you are." Eating across from a useless commoner, seems to be the implication, even if he's neither completely useless nor common-- or at least, he wasn't.

The point is, he's here, and Diabhall is too, and neither one of them is doing any world-saving at the moment.

[loversinverted]

The implications and the tone aren't lost on the elf - there is, oh-so-briefly, a tensing of his jaw that may betray the hint of irritation.

"Frankly, being free of the matter is something of a relief. Being here is interesting...and at the least, I can apply myself to something that matters. I can build a new body of work here."

[altusimperius]

"By the sound of it, we're lucky to have you," Benedict continues, fully smiling, and not in a way that's especially kind. Having finished his meal, he starts picking things up to take his leave, offering one last wink to Diabhall as he walks away.

Best friends.

[loversinverted]

Watching Benedict go, Diabhall simply stares - bright eyes sharp and calculating. He does not return the wink, nor does he say anything further.

He simply watches the child skulk away.

And then gathers his own things. After all, he has work to do.