Nairn Tuckamore
As proud as Nairn was of 'her' oven, she was quickly swept away by the new ideas at hand. A travelling device you could carry with you - move with you - that could take you anywhere. She certainly hoped they hid it well - that kind of technology was something anyone would be excited to get their hands on. Of course, Anakita's news added an interesting element and reminded Nairn of another point of interest.
"That would be convenient...but it also suggests that they have a way for us to get to their world. Until I read Julius' books, I couldn't be sure that they were not Tyrian, though admittedly I had some suspicions, just...not at the right scale."
The norn took to pacing the length of the kitchen, head down in thought. "There must be one of those crystals near Lion's Arch - did they say? To have moved so many people through, they must be very powerful."
Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Anakita Snakecharm
"Has to be near Lion's Arch," Anakita agreed. "Or at least close enough that you can get there by gate. I'm assuming they used the gates at least once to get to the area near Hoelbrak, but they can't have been doing too much back-and-forth or the gate guards would have gotten suspicious."
It wasn't as if the gate guards did more than prevent obvious threats, though. They didn't appear to keep track of who went through the gate. Presumably the cultists had normal clothes - running around in wacky matching robes would draw too much attention. Even in Tyria. Though probably only because they matched.
The guards were not likely to be seriously considering threats from another world, at least as long as the strangers appeared to be along the same lines as the local population. With a hood up, an Elf wouldn't look much different from a human or Sylvari.
Still, a lot of unexpected traffic in a particular direction would at least attract notice. That suggested they weren't going far.
"Something that powerful has to leave an energy signature," Anakita mused. "Like... a resonance. Yes. We do things with resonances. And by that I mean an Asura hands me a device sometimes and I go someplace dangerous and push the button. Maybe we could do that in Lion's Arch. Or... or use the waypoints somehow! I bet Leepni can."
Leepni was completely, utterly dedicated to the Warrior's craft. Her devotion to physical combat baffled most of her fellow Asura. But somewhere deep within... very deep... there was still a tiny bit of researcher's curiosity. Anakita just hoped they could unlock it.
Suddenly, Anakita paused. "How did Iliana and Mikael get here?" she wondered. "You met them up north, didn't you, Nairn? All these people from other worlds are getting confusing!" She added to the Rutherfords, "No offense, of course!"
"Has to be near Lion's Arch," Anakita agreed. "Or at least close enough that you can get there by gate. I'm assuming they used the gates at least once to get to the area near Hoelbrak, but they can't have been doing too much back-and-forth or the gate guards would have gotten suspicious."
It wasn't as if the gate guards did more than prevent obvious threats, though. They didn't appear to keep track of who went through the gate. Presumably the cultists had normal clothes - running around in wacky matching robes would draw too much attention. Even in Tyria. Though probably only because they matched.
The guards were not likely to be seriously considering threats from another world, at least as long as the strangers appeared to be along the same lines as the local population. With a hood up, an Elf wouldn't look much different from a human or Sylvari.
Still, a lot of unexpected traffic in a particular direction would at least attract notice. That suggested they weren't going far.
"Something that powerful has to leave an energy signature," Anakita mused. "Like... a resonance. Yes. We do things with resonances. And by that I mean an Asura hands me a device sometimes and I go someplace dangerous and push the button. Maybe we could do that in Lion's Arch. Or... or use the waypoints somehow! I bet Leepni can."
Leepni was completely, utterly dedicated to the Warrior's craft. Her devotion to physical combat baffled most of her fellow Asura. But somewhere deep within... very deep... there was still a tiny bit of researcher's curiosity. Anakita just hoped they could unlock it.
Suddenly, Anakita paused. "How did Iliana and Mikael get here?" she wondered. "You met them up north, didn't you, Nairn? All these people from other worlds are getting confusing!" She added to the Rutherfords, "No offense, of course!"
Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Nairn Tuckamore
This problem was getting a bigger by the minute. Multiple waystones in their world. That...wasn't good. As concerned as Cullen had been about an invasion of their world by asura, Nairn was starting to worry that one had already happened in Tyria with no one the wiser. They need to find these portals...and too late she realized they'd lost an important piece of information that could help them. The book. The book was lost.
But its knowledge wasn't.
True, Mikael and Iliana would likely tell them how they got here, but what if the cultists had moved it somehow? Like how the Eluvians could be moved. They might go to the spot and find nothing. No, the knowledge was important. She needed to check the information in the book against what Mikael and Iliana knew to be true.
Nairn had said exactly nothing in response to Anakita's rather brilliant deductions, but made a soft grunting sound before stalking off into another part of the house to return with paper, ink and a quill. She sat herself on a stool, the taller counters of the kitchen workspace more conducive to her writing than the human-sized desk she'd taken the articles from. Her eyes grew unfocused as the norn seemed to lose herself in the patterns of the marble. Finally, her hand moved, dipped the quill, and began to write the words Nairn had read the day before. She didn't look at the page, but continued to write until she seemed to hit a visible wall. Her hand shuddered in space, hovering about the page, then moved down several inches before starting again. After she'd written a few pages, the norn came to herself and blinked down at the papers stretching out before her. Picking up the page with the blank space, she frowned at it, set it down and held the quill above it as though she were threatening it. She made a single line, then stopped.
As though only just remembering she wasn't alone, Nairn looked up and glanced at the faces around her. She gestured at the pages. "This is the portion of the book I showed you yesterday about the waystones." She paused, brow wrinkling even as she glared at the sheet in her hand, "I...am not as good with pictures as I am with letters. But, I hope these notes will be enough to see if Mikael and Iliana used this method to come here or if there is yet another portal system we need to look for."
This problem was getting a bigger by the minute. Multiple waystones in their world. That...wasn't good. As concerned as Cullen had been about an invasion of their world by asura, Nairn was starting to worry that one had already happened in Tyria with no one the wiser. They need to find these portals...and too late she realized they'd lost an important piece of information that could help them. The book. The book was lost.
But its knowledge wasn't.
True, Mikael and Iliana would likely tell them how they got here, but what if the cultists had moved it somehow? Like how the Eluvians could be moved. They might go to the spot and find nothing. No, the knowledge was important. She needed to check the information in the book against what Mikael and Iliana knew to be true.
Nairn had said exactly nothing in response to Anakita's rather brilliant deductions, but made a soft grunting sound before stalking off into another part of the house to return with paper, ink and a quill. She sat herself on a stool, the taller counters of the kitchen workspace more conducive to her writing than the human-sized desk she'd taken the articles from. Her eyes grew unfocused as the norn seemed to lose herself in the patterns of the marble. Finally, her hand moved, dipped the quill, and began to write the words Nairn had read the day before. She didn't look at the page, but continued to write until she seemed to hit a visible wall. Her hand shuddered in space, hovering about the page, then moved down several inches before starting again. After she'd written a few pages, the norn came to herself and blinked down at the papers stretching out before her. Picking up the page with the blank space, she frowned at it, set it down and held the quill above it as though she were threatening it. She made a single line, then stopped.
As though only just remembering she wasn't alone, Nairn looked up and glanced at the faces around her. She gestured at the pages. "This is the portion of the book I showed you yesterday about the waystones." She paused, brow wrinkling even as she glared at the sheet in her hand, "I...am not as good with pictures as I am with letters. But, I hope these notes will be enough to see if Mikael and Iliana used this method to come here or if there is yet another portal system we need to look for."
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Anakita Snakecharm The Rutherfords
It was hard not to watch as Nain wrote so quickly and yet so deliberately. Almost like a well-oiled machine. Fortunately, the Norn didn't seem to mind being watched - or even notice.
"You should ask Cara about the drawings," Cullen suggested. "She's quite good. It's a point of pride for her to be able to produce a serviceable sketch based on a description. I think she could help."
"I do apologize that we've dragged you into all this," Tempest said worriedly. "We don't intend to be a burden..."
"You're not," Anakita assured her. "We do stuff like this all the time. Don't we, Nairn? Besides, the end of all worlds would be bad for everyone. I don't want to spend the rest of eternity as sentient space dust floating forever without purpose."
The odd specificity of this fear puzzled Tempest - she had no way of knowing about the immortality curse - but Anakita was right that what was happening could affect everyone, and it was in their own best interests to help.
Arriving a short time later for breakfast as well, Cara was indeed happy to contribute her artistic skills to the project.
It was hard not to watch as Nain wrote so quickly and yet so deliberately. Almost like a well-oiled machine. Fortunately, the Norn didn't seem to mind being watched - or even notice.
"You should ask Cara about the drawings," Cullen suggested. "She's quite good. It's a point of pride for her to be able to produce a serviceable sketch based on a description. I think she could help."
"I do apologize that we've dragged you into all this," Tempest said worriedly. "We don't intend to be a burden..."
"You're not," Anakita assured her. "We do stuff like this all the time. Don't we, Nairn? Besides, the end of all worlds would be bad for everyone. I don't want to spend the rest of eternity as sentient space dust floating forever without purpose."
The odd specificity of this fear puzzled Tempest - she had no way of knowing about the immortality curse - but Anakita was right that what was happening could affect everyone, and it was in their own best interests to help.
Arriving a short time later for breakfast as well, Cara was indeed happy to contribute her artistic skills to the project.
Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Nairn Tuckamore
She had nodded with some satisfaction when Cullen offered Cara's services. Nairn was reasonably certain she could provide a good description aside from the words she had written down - she was practising to be a skaald, after all. It would be interesting to watch an artist at work. Sketching was something Nairn had been thinking about adding to her repertoire, but hadn't yet found the time. Perhaps at least for the short while, she'd have some assistance in the younger Rutherford.
"All the time." Her hand moved in a manner suggesting they simply couldn't help themselves from falling into predicaments where they had to save the world. Which wasn't entirely misleading. She snorted back a laugh at Anakita's last statement, though. "Space dust is a terrible way to end a story. How will I make my legacy with an ending like that?"
Of course, if Anakita were space dust, Nairn would be dead. Hence her humour. The norn was distracted from further thoughts on the matter, however, by the arrival of Cara. The young woman seemed eager to set to work and certainly knew her way around a pen and ink. Nairn described the scene in the book in as much detail as possible while she walked between the kitchen and the pantry. Anakita and Stefan were going to be emptied out by the time Nairn was through with breakfast by the looks of things. She sliced a side of bacon, chopped vegetables and started cracking far too many eggs into a large mixing bowl.
She checked the sketch over Cara's arm from time to time to make sure her words were what the artist needed to reproduce the picture in her head. Otherwise, she left the woman alone and gave no comments. The bread was shovelled out of the oven with similar efficiency as to how it was put in and the aroma of all the different mixtures filled the house. If anyone was still abed - they likely wouldn't be for long.
She had nodded with some satisfaction when Cullen offered Cara's services. Nairn was reasonably certain she could provide a good description aside from the words she had written down - she was practising to be a skaald, after all. It would be interesting to watch an artist at work. Sketching was something Nairn had been thinking about adding to her repertoire, but hadn't yet found the time. Perhaps at least for the short while, she'd have some assistance in the younger Rutherford.
"All the time." Her hand moved in a manner suggesting they simply couldn't help themselves from falling into predicaments where they had to save the world. Which wasn't entirely misleading. She snorted back a laugh at Anakita's last statement, though. "Space dust is a terrible way to end a story. How will I make my legacy with an ending like that?"
Of course, if Anakita were space dust, Nairn would be dead. Hence her humour. The norn was distracted from further thoughts on the matter, however, by the arrival of Cara. The young woman seemed eager to set to work and certainly knew her way around a pen and ink. Nairn described the scene in the book in as much detail as possible while she walked between the kitchen and the pantry. Anakita and Stefan were going to be emptied out by the time Nairn was through with breakfast by the looks of things. She sliced a side of bacon, chopped vegetables and started cracking far too many eggs into a large mixing bowl.
She checked the sketch over Cara's arm from time to time to make sure her words were what the artist needed to reproduce the picture in her head. Otherwise, she left the woman alone and gave no comments. The bread was shovelled out of the oven with similar efficiency as to how it was put in and the aroma of all the different mixtures filled the house. If anyone was still abed - they likely wouldn't be for long.
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Cara Rutherford
Cara used a drawing pencil in the same way she used a knife - with absolute care and precision, patiently still until making a perfectly calculated motion, and utterly focused and confident. She was happy to allow Nairn to check her progress, but she worked steadily, occasionally asking for additional clarification or description to make sure the drawing was reproduced faithfully. The result was a striking likeness; an observer would have been surprised it wasn't a copy.
She held it up for Nairn's inspection. "Does this look about right?" she asked, just to be sure.
Meanwhile, the Snakecharm-Baruch household was more focused on the progress of breakfast. The family held some hearty appetites, and they were more than happy to have Nairn produce the fruits of her labors in the kitchen, since she was so happy to share.
Cara used a drawing pencil in the same way she used a knife - with absolute care and precision, patiently still until making a perfectly calculated motion, and utterly focused and confident. She was happy to allow Nairn to check her progress, but she worked steadily, occasionally asking for additional clarification or description to make sure the drawing was reproduced faithfully. The result was a striking likeness; an observer would have been surprised it wasn't a copy.
She held it up for Nairn's inspection. "Does this look about right?" she asked, just to be sure.
Meanwhile, the Snakecharm-Baruch household was more focused on the progress of breakfast. The family held some hearty appetites, and they were more than happy to have Nairn produce the fruits of her labors in the kitchen, since she was so happy to share.
Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Nairn Tuckamore
She paused from tending the pan of sauteing vegetables to inspect the completed page, wiping her hands on a cloth so she could take it up and scrutinize the final product. The norn was quiet for a solitary minute before she handed the paper back to Cara. While her face did not change from its customary neutrality, the shadows behind her eyes danced between warmth and excitement.
"Amazing. It is the very likeness."
It was, too. The pan required her physical attention, but it didn't need her mental attention. No, her mind was pouring over the details in the picture so faithfully recreated by nothing by spoken words and strokes of a pen. Nairn greased the edges of a large pan, then dumped the fried goods in, followed by the beaten eggs. A healthy loading of cheese followed by sprinklings of spices and herbs finished the piece before she popped it into the oven. Now, she could pay attention to the real task at hand for a moment.
Mikail and Iliana had followed their noses down to the kitchen, children in tow who were much less reserved about the idea of breakfast and at perhaps also about the crowd of people gathered there. Estella was noticeably absent, but Nairn supposed that the girl was still suffering from the multiple tragedies of the day before. It had only been a day, after all. While she thought she should probably ask after her, her curiosity was fit to burst. Taking up the two pages she'd written, one with Cara's illustration, she presented them to the couple.
"These wayshrines. Is this how you came here? How the others came here?"
She paused from tending the pan of sauteing vegetables to inspect the completed page, wiping her hands on a cloth so she could take it up and scrutinize the final product. The norn was quiet for a solitary minute before she handed the paper back to Cara. While her face did not change from its customary neutrality, the shadows behind her eyes danced between warmth and excitement.
"Amazing. It is the very likeness."
It was, too. The pan required her physical attention, but it didn't need her mental attention. No, her mind was pouring over the details in the picture so faithfully recreated by nothing by spoken words and strokes of a pen. Nairn greased the edges of a large pan, then dumped the fried goods in, followed by the beaten eggs. A healthy loading of cheese followed by sprinklings of spices and herbs finished the piece before she popped it into the oven. Now, she could pay attention to the real task at hand for a moment.
Mikail and Iliana had followed their noses down to the kitchen, children in tow who were much less reserved about the idea of breakfast and at perhaps also about the crowd of people gathered there. Estella was noticeably absent, but Nairn supposed that the girl was still suffering from the multiple tragedies of the day before. It had only been a day, after all. While she thought she should probably ask after her, her curiosity was fit to burst. Taking up the two pages she'd written, one with Cara's illustration, she presented them to the couple.
"These wayshrines. Is this how you came here? How the others came here?"
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Iliana Requa and Mikael Stormcrow
Cara nodded her acceptance of Nairn's praise - but she couldn't help a slight upturn of the mouth, showing how much it pleased her. Like anyone, Cara appreciated it when her efforts were acknowledged and lauded. Or perhaps she appreciated it more than most.
Iliana and Mikael studied the drawing.
"Sort of," Mikael replied, but then left the actual explanation of the magic involved to his wife. That had never been his area of expertise, and his people as a whole were cautious around magic. Mikael had come to accept it, but he wouldn't really claim to understand it.
Nor was it Iliana's forte per se, but she felt a little more confident. "Not an ordinary wayshrine," she explained. "Those allow us to travel across our own world, but not to others. A portal was opened for us at one of the shrines by a friend. A mage. So we would be safe from Julius. Little did we know he would follow us here. He must have been able to keep tabs on us by magical means. I can't imagine how else he would have located us. Thank goodness he could only track us, not attack directly by magic, or the story might have had a different ending."
"It appears our choice of a mountain village surrounded by snow and ice was a good one," Mikael observed. "Julius isn't a hearty type. Iliana can take the elements like a northerner, but most of her people can't. It kept Julius and the rest of his cult off our back until you showed up to help. Which I'm still grateful for, by the way."
Cara nodded her acceptance of Nairn's praise - but she couldn't help a slight upturn of the mouth, showing how much it pleased her. Like anyone, Cara appreciated it when her efforts were acknowledged and lauded. Or perhaps she appreciated it more than most.
Iliana and Mikael studied the drawing.
"Sort of," Mikael replied, but then left the actual explanation of the magic involved to his wife. That had never been his area of expertise, and his people as a whole were cautious around magic. Mikael had come to accept it, but he wouldn't really claim to understand it.
Nor was it Iliana's forte per se, but she felt a little more confident. "Not an ordinary wayshrine," she explained. "Those allow us to travel across our own world, but not to others. A portal was opened for us at one of the shrines by a friend. A mage. So we would be safe from Julius. Little did we know he would follow us here. He must have been able to keep tabs on us by magical means. I can't imagine how else he would have located us. Thank goodness he could only track us, not attack directly by magic, or the story might have had a different ending."
"It appears our choice of a mountain village surrounded by snow and ice was a good one," Mikael observed. "Julius isn't a hearty type. Iliana can take the elements like a northerner, but most of her people can't. It kept Julius and the rest of his cult off our back until you showed up to help. Which I'm still grateful for, by the way."
Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Nairn Tuckamore
She was half relieved and half disappointed that there were no such crystal-fed shrines in Tyria. It could have spelled disaster to have a widely-used mode of transportation lying around Lion's Arch - but it also would have made things easier in terms of tracking down the remaining cult members. The gratitude, she accepted with a simple nod of her head, barely remembering to respond at all in the face of all the new information she was attempting to parse.
"So, if a portal was opened from a wayshrine, is there a way to find the portals after they've been made? Obviously Julius had one that left him here, but the group we found in Hoelbrak likely didn't go by Asura gate." "or walk she finished in her head. The mages didn't seem particularly physically adept, but appearances could be deceiving. "I assume you have a way to open one back, or you would not have suggested we speak to your friend about the cultists."
Nairn turned abruptly, a silent timer going off in her head, and pulled the frittata out the oven. Sliding it into a central location, she followed up by grabbing several stacks of plates, throwing some cutlery into a pair of steins and setting a large knife over the steaming mass of eggs and vegetables. The bacon was pulled out of the pan and tossed into a large bowl to sit beside the main course. The norn herself picked up a loaf of plum walnut bread and tore it into four large chunks, reserving one for herself. Stepping away from the food, she seated herself up on the counter like she had the night before and delicately nibbled on the sticky loaf. As much as she loved to cook, Nairn was far too excited to eat.
She was half relieved and half disappointed that there were no such crystal-fed shrines in Tyria. It could have spelled disaster to have a widely-used mode of transportation lying around Lion's Arch - but it also would have made things easier in terms of tracking down the remaining cult members. The gratitude, she accepted with a simple nod of her head, barely remembering to respond at all in the face of all the new information she was attempting to parse.
"So, if a portal was opened from a wayshrine, is there a way to find the portals after they've been made? Obviously Julius had one that left him here, but the group we found in Hoelbrak likely didn't go by Asura gate." "or walk she finished in her head. The mages didn't seem particularly physically adept, but appearances could be deceiving. "I assume you have a way to open one back, or you would not have suggested we speak to your friend about the cultists."
Nairn turned abruptly, a silent timer going off in her head, and pulled the frittata out the oven. Sliding it into a central location, she followed up by grabbing several stacks of plates, throwing some cutlery into a pair of steins and setting a large knife over the steaming mass of eggs and vegetables. The bacon was pulled out of the pan and tossed into a large bowl to sit beside the main course. The norn herself picked up a loaf of plum walnut bread and tore it into four large chunks, reserving one for herself. Stepping away from the food, she seated herself up on the counter like she had the night before and delicately nibbled on the sticky loaf. As much as she loved to cook, Nairn was far too excited to eat.
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Whispers from the Peaks (GW2)
Mikael Stormcrow
When breakfast was served, no one in the Snakecharm-Baruch household seemed hesitant to dig in. Plates were filled, passed, and filled again. Nairn had made a generous amount of food, but she was faced with some hearty appetites. It was a good thing they all got a lot of exercise.
Once Mikael had made a good dent in the food on his plate - the northerners of his world enjoyed their meals just as much as the Norn did - he returned to the subject of Nairn's question.
"It was always our intention to return when it was safe to do so," Mikael explained. "We had to get away from Julius, but we had a life back home. Our farm..."
He missed the farm. Tilling the soil and working the land had always appealed to him. More than politics and diplomacy, and certainly more than fighting and bloodshed. Unfortunately, those had been necessities of late.
"Our mage friend made us a sort of key," he explained. "A stone in three parts. We keep the parts separate for the sake of safety, but when we need to open a portal back home, we can put the parts together and use the key to select our destination."
"There are three options, depending on how the key is oriented," Iliana explained. "So that if needed in an emergency, we could go back without running straight into Julius if he was trying to corner us. All three destinations are places that are safe for us. Our farm, the home of the friends Mikael told you about, and my sister Galina's house in the islands. With all the clever tricks Julius has up his sleeve, it's nice to have some of our own."
When breakfast was served, no one in the Snakecharm-Baruch household seemed hesitant to dig in. Plates were filled, passed, and filled again. Nairn had made a generous amount of food, but she was faced with some hearty appetites. It was a good thing they all got a lot of exercise.
Once Mikael had made a good dent in the food on his plate - the northerners of his world enjoyed their meals just as much as the Norn did - he returned to the subject of Nairn's question.
"It was always our intention to return when it was safe to do so," Mikael explained. "We had to get away from Julius, but we had a life back home. Our farm..."
He missed the farm. Tilling the soil and working the land had always appealed to him. More than politics and diplomacy, and certainly more than fighting and bloodshed. Unfortunately, those had been necessities of late.
"Our mage friend made us a sort of key," he explained. "A stone in three parts. We keep the parts separate for the sake of safety, but when we need to open a portal back home, we can put the parts together and use the key to select our destination."
"There are three options, depending on how the key is oriented," Iliana explained. "So that if needed in an emergency, we could go back without running straight into Julius if he was trying to corner us. All three destinations are places that are safe for us. Our farm, the home of the friends Mikael told you about, and my sister Galina's house in the islands. With all the clever tricks Julius has up his sleeve, it's nice to have some of our own."