Why did I start making these so long all of a sudden!? No good! Must say I’m really looking forward to mondays theme, then I will finally be back in my comfort zone.

Enthusiasm

“This is amazing!” Cauri gaped at the intricate paintings covering the very tall walls of the ruin. “How long do you think it took them to make this, my lord?”

Lord Randilië stood next to her admiring the Zulian craftsmanship with equal awe.? “A very long time. Although, I would think there were many master among the old ones. If they all worked together there is no wonder they could accomplish all this in their time. A pity we can’t reproduce them.”

“We are fortunate enough to have them close enough to home to not have to.” Cauri picked her bags from the floor and started walking down the hall. “Some things we can copy and take with us however, is their texts and books. Lets see what more we can find.”

Randilië couldn’t quite tear his eyes from the walls yet, but he was well aware that there were even more impressive things laying around. He soon followed when the curiosity got the best of him.

***

“Ah, look at this! These parchments shouldn’t be too hard to copy. ” Cauri had her arms full of tubes, all in a very good condition. The library was full of all kinds of books and documents. Unfortunately the Laerthri had only managed to translate a fraction of the language so reading them was out of the question.

“Excellent.” Randilië replied looking up from a very thick tome.“See if you can translate something. Especially if it contains some history.”

“I’ll get started right away, my lord!” Cauri bowed as deep as she could without dropping anything.

She settled down at a dusty table amazed that the wooden furniture was still intact and sturdy. While the outside world had transformed and continued to do so, the interior of such ruins as this never changed. Cauri gently unpacked the ancient parchments and placed them on the table together with her own papers.

The writing was just as beautiful as the art and it took much concentration to copy the symbols down properly. But it was no bother, it was a pleasure. So much knowledge and wisdom could be found in the simplest of notes.

She had no idea how long she had been working when she leaned back in the chair and flexed her hand. It felt stiff and cramped a bit after intense writing. But as soon as it relaxed again she leaned back over her work.

“Even elven eyes need a rest sometimes.” Randilië entered the room bearing a lit candelabra. “The sun is starting to set. You should get something to eat. I’m guessing nothing will keep you from doing this all night.”

“We’re staying for the night?” Cauri tilted her head to briefly look at her lord, her quill hovering inches from the paper.

“We got a bit carried away I believe, it is too late to return now.” He settled down at the table and placed the candelabra in the middle of it. In his other hand he held the same tome he had been reading earlier.

“But… Is it safe?” Her voice held a hint of worry yet her gaze kept falling back to the parchments.

Randilië shook his head. “There are no spirits here, and even then we have given them no reason to be angry with us.”

Cauri’s face beamed with joy. “I’ll get something to eat then. Mind if I bring some back with me?”

“Not at all. I’m sure we could use the energy.” He gave her a warm smile and they both got back to their business.

Other participants: Anastasia V. Pergakis, S Frankie Blooding, and Veronica R. Calisto.

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