Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20141221010206/@comment-5583506-20141221210349

(@Psycho, don't forget to finish Rowan's storyline.)

(Anyway here comes the concluding part for Myling's storyline in this RP. See you in the next one.)

It would take them the rest of the day to finally find Folkvid's house. They had been asking around for what seemed like ages until they were led to his small apartment in the poorer districts of Riften..

Aldoran raised a hand and knocked on the door.

A small hatch opened above the frame and a hooked nose peered out of the gape. "Who are you and what do you want?!" growled a hoarse voice.

"Uhm, I am Aldoran from Ekendal and this is Myling. We have come to ask you about some book in your possession."

"And what book would that be?"

"A book about ghost oaks?"

The small hatch slammed shut and there was a sound noise of several keys turning around on the inside of the door before it opened. It revealed a short, old man with a hooked nose, a grey goatee and a pair of glasses in the shape of half-moons.

"Ghost oaks?" repeated the man suspiciously. "And why is it that you ask me about this rare tree?"

"There is one in my village", replied Aldoran. "And Myling here along with her mentor are studying it. They believe that the answers they want to find are hidden within your book, sir."

Folkvid corrected his glasses. "Hmph... Very well, come in. But lock the damn door after you! I have to protect my antique collection at all cost!"

"Collection?" murmured Aldoran. "Ooh", he exclaimed impressed when he saw the amount of bookcases within the old man's house.

Myling locked the door behind them.

"What's the matter?!" grumbled the man. "Have you never seen a book collector's home before?"

Aldoran shook his head. "Never."

"Well, this here is a very rare and antique collection. If so much as a single page is fragmented or damaged by you teenagers' greasy hands, heads will roll! Understand?!"

Aldoran and Myling nodded.

"Good", said the old man. "Glad we understand each other. Now, a bookon the subject of ghost oaks, was it?"

This time only Myling nodded.

"Cat's got your tongue, girl? Or are you just being polite by keeping your mouth shut unlike that other brat? Whatever, I will see what I can find", he grumbled and began searching through his shelves until he reached for an old tome bound in dark leather and put it on a table. "The Ghost Oak: An Explanation of Trees, Spirits and Stars by Starkman the Elder."

He looked at the pair as if he was examining them. "So... Have any of you ever encountered an apparition?"

Myling froze up when she heard the word.

"An apparition?" asked Aldoran. "What... What is that?"

The old man raised an eyebrow, sighed and then walked over to the book were he scanned through the pages until he placed a gnarled finger on a chapter. "Apparitions. A sort of ghost. They are said to be created in the precise moment when a life ends and the afterlife begins. They can take physical forms and are immortal beings, bound forever to the mortal realm."

''Forever... ''The word echoed within Myling's head like a church bell.

Aldoran scratched his forehead. "I... uhm... see? What has that to do with anything?"

The old man sighed even higher and then turned to Myling. "I take it that you must be the one who has an interest in these sort of things, am I right?"

Myling merely nodded. "Y-Yes?"

"I figured as much."

She then pulled discreetly in the old man's arm. "Could we... talk? In private?"

Folkvid glared at her suspiciously. "We could... But I must warn you that if this is a mugging, I have an iron mace store behind my bed! You won't leave her alive."

Myling turned to Aldoran. "Aldoran? Could you just stay here for a short while?"

He seemed unsure of what to do otherwise. "I guess I could..."

Myling then followed Folkvid out to another room filled with archives of all sorts. "What do you know about apparitions?" she whispered.

He seemed amused by the question. "Why the whispering?" he shrugged. "Your friend is right out there. Wouldn't it be better if..."

"He doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?"

Her eyes flickered for a moment. How could she prove it to this old man without causing a scene? But when Folkvid saw her worried expression his smile faded. He knew...

"You mean to tell me that you are... that you are...?"

She nodded.

Folkvid's face turned pale. "Fascinating. Can you prove it?"

"I... could, but it will be painful."

"You... you don't have to... I will take your word for it..."

Myling saw a nearby kitchen knife lying on a shelf and grabbed it before Folkvid had a chance to object. She gave herself a quick and small cut on the cheek and showed it to the old man.

He adjusted his glasses and watched as the bleeding gap healed before his very eyes. "Incredible", he hissed. "For... for how long?"

"Three centuries", she replied and rubbed her cheek. It still ached.

"My poor girl", he said and is angry demeanor seemed to have disappeared entirely. "Three centuries of immortality? How do you manage?"

"I don't", she said. "It wasn't meant to be in the first place. An Umbramancer took half my soul along with my experiences and memories and..."

"An Umbramancer?!" exclaimed Folkvid and backed away. "Stay away from me!"

"I am sorry", said Myling. "I knew it would be a mistake coming here since I already knew you wouldn't be able to help me. Nobody can."

"Poor child, I... I assume from what I have read about Umbramancers that you want to defeat this vile thing?"

She nodded. "Yes. But the longer it takes, the sooner I begin to realise the impossibility of success."

"Nothing is impossible", said Folkvid with a stern voice. "Some people would consider the fact of immortals among us as an impossibility, but yet here you are, standing in front of me. Girl, I will help you in any way I can. But I cannot and will not help you as close as you are to me now."

She smiled slightly underneath her scarf. "I understand, and I thank you."

"Have you told him?"

"Aldoran? No. I dare not. He would never understand."

"Well, I think you should. In the position you are in, you are gonna need every help you can get. I will come with you to Ekendal and see if I can help you out with whatever trouble you might have and explain everything to you. The connection between an apparition and a ghost oak. Alright?"

She nodded again. "Thank you. And I promise. I will tell, Aldoran... when the time comes..."

As Folkvid began to pack his things Aldoran and Myling travelled ahead and out of Riften. The Imperial couldn't help but notice that Myling was smiling.

"Did you get the answers you needed?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. But I do know that he will tell me everything that I need to know back in Ekendal. He is coming with us."

"I see..."

"And I promise you, Aldoran. That I will tell you all about myself one of these days. Now is not the right time, but I promise you that you will learn to know me."

He smiled back. "One can only hope."

-

"Ekendal? That's what it said, eh?" asked Razani.

"Yes, furball", replied Gwendolyne. "We will have to approach them carefully. I trust you brought our disguises with you?"

"Please", shrugged the Khajiit and held up a sack. "You didn't really think that sweet Razani would miss out on that. Did you, love?"

-

''Hmmm... Rowan's essence is nowhere to be found. But I can definitely sense that Myling is still at large. Heading back to Ekendal. She will be safe behind that Daedra whore's barriers, but it matters little. I will just lay low and guard outside that puny magic. Eventually she will leave and when she does... she would wish she hadn't....''