eastbound | audio | un: yiling patriarch

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audio | un: yiling patriarch

Hey, every one of us glorious abductees! A question, to those listening right now, brought to you by myself and Master Archeval due to the considerations of a friend, but: what would you make of being informed that, and here I'm quoting, "The man you trust was six years not among us?"

( A dramatic pause, for digestion purposes. )

All said and done, with that message slipped to me, I can say with certainty there's a handful I fully trust here, and there's none I trust entirely from here, no offense. However, there is one we've been forced to trust, ah? In hearing these words, what are your thoughts?

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If only.

For its people, though. I didn't know there was much sentiment for keeping the citadel out of death's hands. I'm more curious now, but I don't think I can be much more use.

Hmm, which may be the case... unless, do you have any particular closeness or back-and-forth regard with either Karsa or Haltham?

Not with Karsa, but Haltham, maybe. I've spoken with him at some length a few times and gifted him that new pick with the rest of the salvaged tools. He hasn't mentioned it at all, but I didn't expect to.

I hope he appreciated the gesture at least.

[Although those feelings are a little mixed now if they're suspicious of him as the one person he can think of that he can apply 'trust' to outside of themselves. He's always seemed so genuine from the start]

Would you feel comfortable and confident in contacting him for some questions related to what we've handled up here, like why the farm was his choice when its considered cursed, and roundaboutly asking about the past handful of years?

[Roundaboutly.]

I'll give the matter some thought.

As you should!

I think I've thought of a way I can do it.

What did you have in mind?

I wonder where Bloodbonnet meant to send us, if that's where we're going next, why we were sent here instead.

I'm also curious about when the undead began to take over the mine, if Unhalad's undead have been strengthening or weakening in recent years..

[He's taken your lying with the truth advice to heart]

Eastward is going to be the obvious answer there, and via port when they open, or via the mountains when the storms settle, so as long as those answers don't surprise you. Maybe ask what led him to think this was such a favourable place considering how many people it appears to have offended.

As to the rest, yes, why not? But be gentle, and as with most things, assume innocence before presuming guilt.

Yes, I'm hoping there isn't truly reason to suspect him of having been less than genuine.

Even if he's at cross purposes, I hardly believe it is out of anything other than genuine belief in something or another.

Yes, that is probably the case.

[Which honestly helps him feel a little better about doing this]

( BUT HOW DOES IT GO, ELEVEN )

People usually have reasons. Doesn't make them good or bad for us by default, but it helps, understanding what drives someone else.

Feel free to come find me later.

[~~TALKS ABOUT TREES INSTEAD OF INFO~~.

But after speaking with Haltham, he will come find Wei Wuxian, journal held at his side and barely maintaining a nervous smile.]

Do you have a moment?

( Wei Wuxian looks up from the talisman he was drawing: another for those he keeps on their walls at night, and smiles. )

Eleven! Yes, of course. What is it?

( He gestures for him to come over, then nods his head to the table nearby. )

I have hot water, are you thirsty?

( Might not be tea, but it does feel warming and filling and That's All That Matters, sometimes. )

[He nods. For all he'd prefer flavor, nursing hot water does help with maintaining warmth]

I ah, spoke with Haltham..

( Wei Wuxian sets down his brush and shuffles to pour Eleven a cup of hot water, bringing it back to him with his brows lifted. )

I see. How did that go?

( Not trying to be leading, just here to listen; after all, he hadn't been lying saying that people can treat you with some kind of sincerity and still want something from you contrary to what you want for yourself.

... But also, how did Eleven go about the asking... he didn't say what his technique was gonna be, so Wuxian admits to himself at least he's curious. )

[Eleven accepts the cup, then realizes he's holding his journal and pauses, a touch awkward. He glances around for a place to sit]

..Well, I'd forgotten he isn't the most straightforward when it comes to answering questions. Some things were concerning, but I can't say anything for certain myself. But you're more clever than I am, so I wonder what you'll make of it.

He's slippery, ( Wei Wuxian agrees, returning to the bench he'd been perched on and collecting his papers into a more neat pile to offer Eleven room for himself, the cup, and his journal. ) and affable about it.

( Wei Wuxian hasn't minded, because he hasn't expected genuinely helpful things from most any quarter: their ragtag group included. At least he hasn't tried nicknaming Haltham, unlike Karsa.

Still, he sets his elbows on the table, eyes dropping to Eleven's journal. )

I'm happy to offer my thoughts. I take it you wrote down parts of your conversation? Will you read those off to me?

[Eleven accepts the seat with some relief and nods, able to open the journal in his lap while he cradles the water for its heat. Runes litter the pages, alongside rudimentary drawings of trees and copies of the mark on the back of his hand in the margins as he flips swiftly through them for the right page. When he lands on it, his index finger slides through them- albeit out of order]

He mentioned something wicked in the mines, that he hasn't been there in awhile.. We likely shouldn't venture there ourselves. But it seems he isn't well travelled, so wherever it is he hasn't been, it wasn't far- unless he was lying, I suppose. But he said he's spent time in the forest and the mountains. I wondered about that- the mountains are where those voices came from, isn't it? But he only spoke of the clean air up there rather than anything ominous. ..Granted, the timelines on anything I asked lacked clarity.

Mm, the mountains are where they're strongest, and they travel on the wind.

( So to speak. Or are entangled with it? He's not sure how to describe, and it's more idle statement after listening to the rambling sort of words Eleven's shared. He sits back, tapping his fingers on his cup. )

Six years gone doesn't have to be far. For the merchant, it's only logical. He's not from here, he would be gone for many years, depending on what he's trading in. For Haltham, six years gone, an avoidance of the mines that he's claimed before to have been important to him and his people... I don't know, Eleven. The man's got one arm, has admitted to living in the forest. Doesn't bat an eyelash at leading us to an area that's annoying both sides, for slightly different reasons.

( He takes a sip of water. )

At minimum, he's probably part of the Anurr, and I don't know if that's when or how the arm was lost, but it does fit to particulars of their legends. Though mutilation as part of joining anything is extreme.

( Said with a short, exaggerated shiver, and then a small uptick of a smile. )

It could be just that simple, that Haltham works for the interest of the Anurr coming back to power, and wants us to help align things in that direction. If he's who Tamaiu's talking about, six years going native with the people of the forest, taking up a trade other than his traditional one, coming back down at an opportune time when he can pass and knows people in both places... doesn't seem so unlikely.

( He takes another sip of his hot water, not looking too concerned. More... annoyed, a touch, and thoughtful. )

With that in mind, what are your own thoughts?

[He hadn't thought about that- the arm connection. It makes sense, like something that should have been extremely obvious]

I think.. he certainly isn't affiliated with Unhalad at least. It would make sense, why he helped free us beyond common decency..

[Although he'd hoped that had been his only motivation, Eleven's heart sinks with this new knowledge]

I think you're right. He expressed some familiarity with this farmhouse, as though he used to spend time here- either as a child or as a refuge I can't say, but.. everything makes a great deal more sense if he's aligned with Anurr in some fashion.

( Wei Wuxian cocks his head to the side and quirks up his eyebrows. )

He did? Isn't this place where Anurr is supposed to have met previously with, I don't know, whatever people he needed to in order to run a... ( he gestures with his hand. a very small empire? a region. a whatever, before and after it was a possessed-like zombie run state? )

Not to mention those accounting books are all old. I don't think you casually could, but—how old is Haltham? ( Another pause, thinking back. Not on Haltham in this case, but on the wolves, the twice living who were of Anurr's faction. ) How much of Haltham is Haltham?

Edited 2021-06-14 06:00 (UTC)

[Eleven takes a bracing sip of hot water and peers back down at his notes, sliding through them to one particular line]

He said he'd only been able to mine for a few years before they were overrun. I couldn't press him for an exact number without rousing suspicion, but he'd said the mountains used to be peaceful, that him and the other children? Were able to play before..

[His brows furrow] When was it that Unhalad came to power, however? It couldn't have been too recently.

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