Binders and birds

SUMMARY Rona runs into Murder while attempting to learn more about the Artificer's Binder she recently acquired. 

Yelrona is talking quietly and intently with an elderly Druid who might work here. There's a mostly destroyed book on the counter between them, which the Druid clearly wants nothing to do with.

A loud sneeze is heard, followed by coughing. Murder slowly and carefully returns the bottle she was sniffing to the shelf, before sneezing loudly again. She subtly tries to wipe her nose on her cloak, before glancing around and shuffling a few shelves over. The Gobbo's ears perk up as discussion over a book can be heard.

"Oh hi!" Rona greets the gobber with a wave. "It's been a while. It's Murder, right?"

Murder tries to pretend that she is not there, but her shoulders slump slightly and she nods. "Yes, that's my name. How could you forget?" Her head cants slightly to one side and she grins toothily. "So uhm, is there a good business in burnt books?"

"To be fair, it _is_ distinctive. Yelrona," she adds, indicating herself, in case the gobber had forgotten her far-less-distinctive name. "And, no," she says with a laugh. "I got this one for free... I'm just trying to find out more about it."

Looking slightly disappointed at her burnt book plans falling through, the Goblin snorts and steps closer, trying to eye the book in question. "I haven't forgotten your name, Yelrona. It's not like I have been gone that long." Murder stands on tiptoe. "Is it readable at all?"

Yelrona nods. "It is," she agrees. "Kulthian. I can read it all right, but it doesn't make much sense. Artificer stuff." She shrugs. "The artificers tell me it's... well, that it's not good. Necrotech. Banned pretty much everywhere but Charn. Which, probably not coincidentally, is where I just returned from." She shrugs again.

Murder's eyes widen slightly and she looks away. "What were you doing in Charn?", she wonders casually. Looking back to the book, she nods. "

Murder's eyes widen slightly and she looks away. "What were you doing in Charn?", she wonders casually. Looking back to the book, she nods. "Yeah, artificer stuff is usually in their own crazy language, but on top of that they have their own secret little codes wrapped inside of it and yeah... necro anything is a sure way to earn the attention of people you'd rather not earn the attention of."

Yelrona nods. "Yes, exactly. As for Charn... I was looking for a friend of mine, and tracking down the folks hunting Chay. Do you know Razen?"

The Goblin's eyes widen and she giggles. "Yes, I know Razen. He seemed to like Baz. Oh..." Her expression turns serious. "Is he missing, then?"

"He was," Rona explains, folding the damaged document closed and slipping it into a lead-lined fabric envelope. "He's not, anymore."

Murder nods then, "That's good. Is he okay?" She eyes the envelope. "Sending it somewhere, then? Is that a good idea?"

"He will be," Rona replies grimly. "Eventually. It will take a while, though. He's a brave man. And no... this is how I received it. It's lined with lead... I assume to prevent divination."

"Oh. Was it Charn who got a hold of him? Or something else?", she wonders, her glance dropping to the floor. "I haven't seen Chay in a bit... do you know if he's alright?"

"Yes, Charn. Or, at least, the Charneth agents who were operating in Alexandria. Spies. Slavers. Traitors." She shrugs. "The usual. And Chay was fine the last time I saw him. And he should be fine now... the contract on him has been retracted, I think."

Murder goes still. "Really? That's awesome!" She lets out a breath. "I kind of got lost in all that. I'm sorry."

Yelrona waves the apology away. "There was a lot going on. It's fine. The important thing is that the problem got taken care of."

Murder nods. "You're right. So... what are you up to now? I mean, aside from that book?" She gestures to where the envelope resides. "Any news?"

Yelrona laughs. "Well, you mean _besides_ resolving the Charneth situation?" She chuckles. "Well, the Veyshanti slave connection turned out to be the same ship that was running Charneth spies to and from Alexandria, so we got to shut down two birds with one stone. So I'm not really up to anything much right now... taking a bit of a much-deserved break. How about you?"

Murder hmms and looks down again. "I have a boyfriend now. And a Worg mount. Had an interesting adventure in a dream portal that wasn't all dream. That's where Wilfred, my worg, came from. So that's about it for new stuff, from me."

Yelrona blinks. "So the worg is a dream, and the boyfriend isn't? That's nonstandard," she observes with a grin. "So tell me about the boyfriend!"

Murder giggles and shakes her head, "No, the Worg is real. Which is odd, since it was supposed to be a dream. But anyways! Er." She looks down at her feet this time, her toes wiggling. "Hmm, he's an Egalrin. Erakirak, though I call him Rak for short. Heh, a few years younger than me. Just got his wings... well, I mean, he can actually fly now, not just glide around. A ranger... has himself a griffon, too."

"Oh, that's interesting! Have they met Erithamiel and Elian?"

Murder rubs a cheek. "Yeah, he knew Ga'Elian and met Erithamiel before he met me, I think. Or maybe after. I dunno, but he does know them. The two griffons have met, also." She lets out a breath. "I've been staying out at the Aerie, the egalrin place in the old dwarven fortress."

Yelrona looks interested. "Oh! You know, I've been here for years now, and I have never visited the Egalrin Aerie. You're living there? That sounds exciting... what's it like?"

Murder hmms and taps her chin. "It's kind of like being in a giant bird cage. I mean, they're birdlike, obviously, but uh, they make all kinds of different calls and such in their language. And the dwarven fortress is huge, they take up a miniscule amount of space compared to what they have. So, it can be fun exploring the empty parts. But then, they also lack a bunch of stuff a city like Alexandria has... which is a mixed blessing."

Yelrona nods. "Yes, I'd gathered... the Egalrin do a lot of trading in the city proper. Which makes sense, I suppose... no point in duplicating everything." She muses a bit. "Do you like it there?"

"Welllll..." The Goblin shrugs, looking at her feet a moment before looking back up. "Yes, but only because Erakirak is there. I don't think I would like to live there on my own. I like being able to... get stuff whenever I want. I like the feeling of lots of people around, the Aerie feels preactically empty to me. I need the feeling of... I dunno. Lots of people. I wouldn't force Erakirak to live in Alexandria... I think his discomfort living there would be far greater than mine is living in the Aerie."

"Yes... it takes getting used to. I grew up in a relatively small settlement... though larger than the Aerie, it sounds like... and it took me a while to get used to Alexandria. Though I can't imagine living anywhere else, now."

Murder nods enthusiastically. "Then you know how it feels. Most of my life has been like that. My tribe was close knit, and being far north, you had to stick together or you'd freeze to death in the night. And Alexandria has that same sort of feel, just... loads of people all on top of you, almost. I.. honestly need that to sleep. Though Erakirak is a rather nice, fuzzy warmth at night. That helps a lot. Being wrapped in wings... hehe."

Yelrona grins. "Sounds nice." She looks down for a second, seems to be about to ask a question, thinks better of it, asks instead "So where in the north is your tribe from, originally?"

The Goblin peers curiously at her pause, and blinks. "Er, well. I can't remember. My tribe was ... slaughtered when I was very young. My sister and I were rescued by Baz. And bought here. Well, not here, here, but Alexandros. So, all I can say is that it is cold and snowy most of the year. That's how far north. We had a forest, and we had Worgs and we fought against Human barbarians and other Goblin tribes and Orcs too."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Rona replies. "I didn't mean to stir up bad memories."

Murder waves a hand. "It's alright, you had no way of knowing. I can't really be upset at you. But uh... what was that you were going to say? Looks like you changed your mind about something."

"Oh... ah, well," Rona admits, "I was actually going to ask you what Egalrin are like in bed. Like, anatomically, I mean."

Murder's eyes widen and her pale green cheeks redden brightly. "It's not like I have much to compare him to, yanno!" She huffs and crosses her arms.

Yelrona smiles. "Well, yes. THere's a reason I changed my mind."

Murder snorts and huffs again. "It's a bit different than Elves and uh Orcs. Those are the only kinds I've seen. Other than his. I guess it feels differently."

Yelrona nods. "And I imagine feathers are rather different, as well," she observes with a grin. "But anyway, I'm glad it's working out! How does Wilfred get along with the Egalrin?"

Murder hmms, and shrugs. "He's a stubborn wolf. We butt heads all the time, but he seems to leave others alone now. We've been training together and that has helped. Alba was a big help there."

"Ah, yes, that makes sense," Rona agrees, then regards the envelope in her hands. "Well. It's been great catching up with you, but I should go see if I can find a helpful Artificer to puzzle this thing out."

Murder offers a wave and nods. "It's been good to see you. Take care then and see you later, yes?"