Member
Ivory
Igneous dropped the two thieves at Ivory’s feet. They appeared to be Ashen, which wasn’t a surprise. The tendency of society to push their kind out would often resort them to deviant activities in order to survive. She leaned over and check their pulses. They were still alive, just unconscious. "We need to check on Caeleo and Tarkus," she stood, brushing dusk off her legs.
"I'll see what I can see from higher up," Sapphira responded, flitting her wings and rising above the heads of the two that remained on the ground.
"They're fine. They're with someone who has been following us since we left." Igneous spoke in a monotone cadence, as if his observances were obvious to everyone.
"What? How - how do you do that?" Ivory asked. She had attempted to read him before they left but as was common with a golem, she had no reading.
"Do what?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, attempting to mimic a human response. It unsettled her a bit.
"Assess a situation. Like the bandits. And how do you know they're fine?"
"I can hear them." He looked off into the direction Tarkus and Caeleo had gone. "They're headed back." Ivory strained to see what he could see but her human vision was apparently paled in comparison.
"Are you sure?" She didn't want to risk ignoring an injury but had no real reason to doubt him. He simply looked back at her and nodded. "Alright, well, would you like to gather some water with me? It looks like one of the barrels tipped over when..." she trailed off, motioning to the thieves that were propped against the wagon. Igneous' eyes briefly drifted to two men he had detained, then he walked over and grabbed the empty barrel.
"There's a river in this direction," he titled his head to the opposite side of the wagon. The gesture was so human that she let out a brief laugh. Igneous' face remained stone-like. Ivory called up to Sapphira, who was too high in the sky to hear her. She didn't want to waste too much time getting the fairy's attention so the two took off in the direction of the water.
At the river, Ivory peppered Igneous with questions, mostly interested in his creation. "So you don't remember anything?" She picked berries while he waded out to gather the coldest water he could.
"No." Talking to him was difficult with his brusque answers. It was similar to Caeleo's conversation style - as if it was only necessary to give and receive information. No small talk. She gave up and pulled more taffy out. When Igneous walked back up on to the shore, he strapped the barrel to his back. She handed him a piece of taffy and turned to head toward the wagon. A startlingly loud noise broke around them. Igneous cried out in pain and covered his ears. While the noise was loud, Ivory didn't have the same reaction. She pulled off her cloak and threw it around his head, attempting to muffle the sound. When it died down, Igneous stood. "Thank you," he said, without expression.
"Uh yeah, sure." Ivory strapped her cloak back on. What the hell was that? A stroke of realization told her that it was likely the Crystal. She looked up at Igenous who still had no expression. She decided not to ask him what he thought of the sound and the two left for the wagon. They walked the majority of the trip in silence. Ivory debated back and forth as to what she should do with the knowledge of Igenous' advanced hearing. Xen had taught her early that others could not be trusted and that lesson stuck with her every day. If the party turned on her when she went after Elk, it would be to her advantage to know things about them that they didn't know she knew. She needed to keep Igneous on her side as long as possible. Once the wagon was in view - including Tarkus, Caeleo and the new guest that Igenous had predicted - Ivory nudged Igenous' elbow, reminding him of the taffy he held in his hand. He looked down at it, seemingly still confused as to what he was supposed to do with it. Ivory smiled and made an exaggerated bite. He just stared at her.
Caeleo questioned the pair of them about the noise. Ivory chose not the tell him about Igenous' response and the golem didn't offer up any information either. Was it really the Crystal like it seemed? If it was breaking faster than they anticipated, it was possible that her mission was in vain.