Day
115
My mind races with
the number of topics to discuss. Not just because of all the details each one requires
me to convey, but how to manage their importance when each one screams at me no
less than the others. Chronological seems the best method, even if my excitement
drives me to rush towards certain points.
I attended my
meeting with my would-be benefactor at the appointed time. Entering Eulmore was
no issue, as I was expected, and allowed to ascend its grand tower after a bit
of bathing. I would like to presume that I have kept myself well enough, but perhaps
so long on the road has made me lose sight of what that truly means. What I am
more inclined to believe is that the people of Eulmore simply have much higher
standards than the rest of Norvrandt.
Nor can I blame
them for such. The style of life they are allowed to lead in Eulmore is higher
than I could have even imagined. The city itself reaches for the ceiling of the
sky itself, but somehow their reach extends even further. They fear for nothing,
dear reader, a prospect I would never be able to grow used to.
If the people of Eulmore
are hungry, they eat. If they are tired, they sleep. They have no labors, for
the true citizens have people to perform such menial tasks for them. They laugh
in raucous crowds or discuss any number of banal topics in quiet pairs. If they
desire something, they dredge it up from the dregs below, of which I suppose I
can now be accounted amidst.
Much as I have
thought about it, I cannot tell if I am amazed or disgusted. My stomach churns
at the thought that so many can laugh and play while those below them suffer.
And yet I cannot but feel impressed that they are not content to wallow in
their fears and doubts while waiting for the end. The rest of Norvrandt has
lived in sorrow, and the people of Eulmore scoff.
I wandered the place for an hour before my
appointed meeting and feel that I have likely barely scratched the surface of
it. The tower itself is tall, and with its population and their desires, I imagine
that its corridors are filled with uncountable points of interest. At the designated
hour I returned to the top floor, and found the requested spot, a table along
the edge of the plaza, with a prime view of nothing but the wall of the Flood.
After seeing the horde of carefree denizens,
I assumed that I would be left waiting for some time. That my would-be
benefactor would be wont to keep me waiting. From laziness, or out of
arrogance, or for something else striking their fancy, perhaps. Dear reader,
this moment set the stage for each of my surprises.
My contact was already there, halfway
through a glass of wine. I made sure to stand and observe her from afar for a
moment, to best plan my strategy for whatever their goal was. The woman’s black
gown was immaculate, her purple hair allowed to drape well over her shoulder.
There was a boredom in her gaze, one that seemed to instantly lift when I
stepped into view. Once she had invited me to sit, her focus rarely drifted
from me. And yet, dear reader, I felt as though I was but one of many things on
her mind. I dread to think of what the other topics might have been.
We made our introductions, and I learned
that she, her name being Presé, was a patron of Eulmore. One who had taken an
interest in myself, having heard of my goal through a grapevine from the
Crystarium. I can’t imagine anyone from there having wandered all the way out to
Eulmore, but am forced to reckon with the fact that I myself was there, all the
way from Holminster. She told me she herself was interested in seeing someone
ascend beyond Norvrandt, beyond the Flood. To that end, she made her offer
plain.
She had resources in Eulmore and could also
make recommendations on pieces I could search out in the Crystarium. She
refused to inform me of how she was so well acquainted with the subject, though
she did ask me to also consult with my pixie companion on the matter. I presumed
she must have been acquainted with the pixie’s moving between their ‘realms’
and what not, though only after getting over the startle that she knew my
traveling companion, even though they were not present.
Though unsurprising, I was still caught
off-guard by her offer of residing in Eulmore for the duration of my research,
as one of her charges. I certainly did not know how to answer at first, as she listed
off the benefits. A proper bed, proper meals, a roof over my head. The thought
of my cot certainly made me consider it, but I could not bring myself to
dedicate. I was open to the resources she could provide, but I am not a person
made for staying in one place at a given time.
Lying here now, I certainly doubt that
choice. My tent will soon need tending, my supplies refreshed, but I will press
on. I plan to journey to the Crystarium for a time, to consult the recommended
texts.
I had hoped that documenting this day would
help me bring it to a close, and yet I still cannot bring myself to sleep. My
mind races at the very thought, at the entirety of my misguided search. I
sought a place beyond the Flood. A physical place that was beyond the Flood.
But my now benefactor has told me that it is not just beyond the Flood, but
beyond all of Norvrandt. A star not unlike this one, with sights not all so
unfamiliar. She spoke with such certainty, that I feel inclined to believe her.
Even as a dream, an impossibility, what a fantastic one it seems.
No comments:
Post a Comment