[ Silco held up a hand, to swallow back the burn in his lungs, as he kneeled to the ground. He held up a finger, swallowing back the burn of air to his irritated lungs, but it's only a moment, before he could finally catch his breath enough to slow it down, and he dropped his hand. ]
Yes, we were.
[ Still somewhat breathless, he lifted his head, to look over the panorama before them. The notice had said the middle, and so. ]
We'll probably want to continue in... that direction.
[ He pointed, the best approximation he had to dead center, from his memories of the map he'd peered at, before he'd decided to take on this task.
The money was too good, it would go a long way to helping with his plans for the near future. ]
I didn't want to keep going until I got my bearings.
[ He said, before he picked up again, his pace less... frantic, now that they were through. ]
Eh, we'll know we're going the right way when we see the smoke, right?
[ Falling star, probably very hot, a smoking crater made sense to Bruno. He would let Silco take lead, however, since he seemed to have some idea. Whether that was true or not, well, he wasn't sure it mattered in the end. It couldn't be that hard to miss the middle of this wilderness.
Once Silco was a few steps ahead, he'd readjust the bag over his shoulder with the faint sound of metal-on-metal clanking from within and follow along after. ]
[ Silco looked over his shoulder to look at him. ]
Supposedly, it's in the middle of all of this -- and it's several hours journey. I'm not taking a chance in hoping the wrong direction, and missing it.
[ Silco may be over-estimating how far one could see out in all of this, but he wasn't used to traveling outside of the winding alleys of Zaun -- with a small peppering of his required few visits he'd had to make to Piltover. He's not used to unknowns, which means -- he had to be cautious, until those unknowns were known. ]
What's in the bag?
[ He asked, turning forward, to start their long...long walk. ]
I mean, one of us could just pop up a tree and look for what direction the smoking crater is in because it's definitely going to be a smoking crater.
[ But Bruno already knew Silco would find it, one way or another. He also knew whatever was guarding the thing would burn him to death, which had been a far less fun part of that vision. Uh, anyway, with Silco asking about the bag, it was a topic he'd rather latch onto instead.
He gave the bag a shake, causing another tinkle of metal on metal from within. ]
Oh, this? This is how we're getting the shards back! You weren't planning on just sticking it in your pocket, were you?
[ He admitted. He'd though it would have been safe there, but now he's curious if that wasn't the right idea, and he narrowed an eye, before he looked back forward. ]
I suppose it's not unwise to be overly cautious. We don't know what this metal could be like.
[ A beat. ]
By the way, if you want to climb up the tree, feel free. I won't stop you.
You were? [ Silco! ] Sheesh, no wonder you were going to get yourself killed.
[ Again, referencing some mysterious death in store for Silco out here and, again, not elaborating. He paused briefly to look at the trees nearest to them, deciding which might be quickest to scale, and once he does, he looked back again to see... that Silco has kept walking on, not even bothering to wait. Oh.
Bruno rolled his eyes and picked up his pace a bit to catch up. ]
Orrr we can just keep walking randomly this was and hope it's right. Sure, great plan.
[ He rolled his eyes at him. ] I looked at the map, and planned my route ahead of time. I'm not an idiot.
[ Said Silco, a man who was used to just knowing where to go in a labyrinthine city, and not...in the wilderness, where he didn't know anything. He trudged along, and looked over his shoulder at the man, remembering that this wasn't the first time that he'd been told he was supposed to die.
Which...considering where they were... ]
You keep saying I'm going to get myself killed. [ He said, bluntly. ] First of all, I thought we were already dead -- second:
Mm, well, there's normal death and then there's, like... getting torn apart by monsters in purgatory death. Slightly different.
[ When you finally die for good, stop existing, gone forever, nothing left, do not pass go, do not collect a trip to heaven or even hell. ]
But the... that other thing... about you getting burned to, uh. Oblivion, I guess, if you don't want to say death. [ Death and double death could get confusing, sure. ] I saw it? It's. It's a thing I do, uh, unfortunately.
[ Silco blinked at him -- one eye blinked -- and his single eyebrow drew down in confusion. That didn't really make sense, did it? Not the purgatory death, that made perfect sense in a weird, confusing way. Silco had never pondered his "immortal soul", so thinking of it as being entirely destroyed was just...
Well, he'd thought he'd already gone through that. The fact that he was...thinking and feeling? Odd. Not what he'd planned for, as much as he'd "planned" for his death. After all, he'd gotten close a few times. ]
Well, yes and no. Sometimes I'll see deaths but it's... it's more of a... seeing the future sort of deal?
[ There are words for it but he has no idea who here would be familiar with what, so simply stating "sees the future" is straightforward enough. ]
I was hoping it was gone with how I'm, y'know. Not actually... amongst the living anymore or... or anything but... [ Yes, hoping it was gone, as though it was a troublesome thing. ] I guess not since I had to see you bite it. Can't say that was too much fun.
[ He said it, repeated it, but his eye blinked rapidly, as he considered what that meant.
That meant that this man knew what was coming before it happened? That he'd seen misery befall him, and had decided to change it? He sees the future? And not in a hokey, oracle shilling for coin kind of way? ]
It can't be as bad to see it as actually dying. [ He said, his tone blunt, but he looked back over the land in front of them, as they walked. ]
Now I have to ask, were you thinking of me specifically, or is this a... vague, and uncontrolled sort of deal?
It's not but now that's burned into my brain forever...
[ Forever might be very, very long here. ]
Uh, but no, I wasn't thinking of you. Sometimes they're just random and. And happen, out of nowhere. I have a way to control what I want to see but that takes a lot more effort.
It's not like I had a whole lotta time to track you down before you set out, okay? Besides, then you might not have... just... [ He might not have listened or he might not have let him tag along, leaving specifically so he couldn't, and, well. ] It. It made more sense to find you just then, that's all.
[ It meant he didn't have to go trekking through the wilderness alone. ]
Although, how, I'm not sure? I don't usually get involved but. But this time it seemed like a good idea.
[ It just made sense, he said. Silco had no idea what that meant, but he certainly thought that it meant that Bruno didn't have much of a convincing argument other than he saw it.
Well, no matter. He gave him another look over his shoulder, before he slowed his pace, to match it with him. ]
Couldn't resist some of this star metal for yourself, hm?
[ Yep, that's it, that's the real reason he's here following along after Silco rather than just warning him of his untimely maybe-demise. Second demise. Demise part two, the final demise? Oh, whatever. Bruno can't help but look down, immediately sheepish over being called out. ]
...well, there is that. Couldn't hurt to, y'know, what's the saying? Get two birds with one stone?
[ Actually, he can't help but appreciate it. After all, Silco was also a bit of a mercenary man, and he'd much rather hear from someone who was doing something for themselves in some way, rather than the kindness of their own heart.
It was a little less concerning, a little less like someone was trying to get one up on him, and a little more like there was just a second benefit.
Less that he owed later. ]
Well, then, we'll make sure we both get some. The posting said it was a few hours travel. I hope your shoes are up to the task.
[ If Bruno knew the thoughts that crossed his mind, he'd find it such a strange concept. Helping to simply help was a habit for him and, in some ways, not exactly a good habit, considering the stress the need to always be useful above all else had placed on them, but...
Actually, maybe it was better that he was getting something out of this for once. ]
Oh, I'll be fine. [ Said the man wearing sandals but, seriously, he would be absolutely fine. ] This won't have anything on the tower's stairs.
[ He asked, as he fished into his pockets for a cigar and a match.
Yes, Bruno and his sandals weren't going to be the detriment to this trek. It was going to be Silco, and his need to constantly smoke. ]
What tower? What stairs?
[ People always liked to reference things about the places they were from -- Silco did too, though -- and found the habit somewhat interesting. Why did they all do it? Did they want people to ask about their homes? Did they want to keep it alive, by saying things about the worlds that they were from? ]
[ Right, there was no way anyone else would know a thing about the tower, Viktor aside. He'd been the only one to take a peek at what was behind his door back in the Shadowlands but everyone else? It made for a weird thing to say, didn't it? ]
Just... somewhere I used to live before I. Y'know. [ Died. ] It was built real tall and there was like an hour's worth of stairs you had to climb to get to the top. Sure can't say I miss doing that.
There wasn't really anywhere else to go, I guess? Everyone in my family got a kind of magical room that. That was related to their gift somehow and I just. Got. That. [ Really fun, right? ] I think it maybe got taller as I got older but it's kind of hard to remember how it originally looked now.
[ But then he shrugged and jostled the burlap sack quietly clinking with metal against metal as he did. ]
I did technically leave it ten years ago. Found a literal hole in a wall to set up a new home in instead and, honestly? Better. In some ways.
[ He doesn't miss that everyone in his family got a magical room, which... well. He filed away, but jesus, bruno. Way to rub in the fact that you and yours had places to live guaranteed.
It's hard for him to even conceive of a place like that. It makes him think of those estates topside, where families had their own wings. ]
Although without the stairs, I can imagine it's better. Personally, I'd prefer the hold in the wall. A little more... humble, don't you think?
[ Than a tower. In your family's estate.
Not that he realizes that Bruno's hole was in the same home. ]
Oh, sure. It had plenty of upsides. No sand, no stairs, no rock's falling down the tower's inside like they did time to time, and absolutely no one bugging me to tell them their future. I mean, sure, wasn't really space for a bed and there were the rats but I actually like rats, so... that was fine?
[ He did, in fact, like the rats. They were his only friends. It was great, just great, nothing weird or wrong about that, ha ha. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Yes, we were.
[ Still somewhat breathless, he lifted his head, to look over the panorama before them. The notice had said the middle, and so. ]
We'll probably want to continue in... that direction.
[ He pointed, the best approximation he had to dead center, from his memories of the map he'd peered at, before he'd decided to take on this task.
The money was too good, it would go a long way to helping with his plans for the near future. ]
I didn't want to keep going until I got my bearings.
[ He said, before he picked up again, his pace less... frantic, now that they were through. ]
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[ Falling star, probably very hot, a smoking crater made sense to Bruno. He would let Silco take lead, however, since he seemed to have some idea. Whether that was true or not, well, he wasn't sure it mattered in the end. It couldn't be that hard to miss the middle of this wilderness.
Once Silco was a few steps ahead, he'd readjust the bag over his shoulder with the faint sound of metal-on-metal clanking from within and follow along after. ]
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Supposedly, it's in the middle of all of this -- and it's several hours journey. I'm not taking a chance in hoping the wrong direction, and missing it.
[ Silco may be over-estimating how far one could see out in all of this, but he wasn't used to traveling outside of the winding alleys of Zaun -- with a small peppering of his required few visits he'd had to make to Piltover. He's not used to unknowns, which means -- he had to be cautious, until those unknowns were known. ]
What's in the bag?
[ He asked, turning forward, to start their long...long walk. ]
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[ But Bruno already knew Silco would find it, one way or another. He also knew whatever was guarding the thing would burn him to death, which had been a far less fun part of that vision. Uh, anyway, with Silco asking about the bag, it was a topic he'd rather latch onto instead.
He gave the bag a shake, causing another tinkle of metal on metal from within. ]
Oh, this? This is how we're getting the shards back! You weren't planning on just sticking it in your pocket, were you?
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[ He admitted. He'd though it would have been safe there, but now he's curious if that wasn't the right idea, and he narrowed an eye, before he looked back forward. ]
I suppose it's not unwise to be overly cautious. We don't know what this metal could be like.
[ A beat. ]
By the way, if you want to climb up the tree, feel free. I won't stop you.
[ He also...won't stop at all. ]
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[ Again, referencing some mysterious death in store for Silco out here and, again, not elaborating. He paused briefly to look at the trees nearest to them, deciding which might be quickest to scale, and once he does, he looked back again to see... that Silco has kept walking on, not even bothering to wait. Oh.
Bruno rolled his eyes and picked up his pace a bit to catch up. ]
Orrr we can just keep walking randomly this was and hope it's right. Sure, great plan.
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[ Said Silco, a man who was used to just knowing where to go in a labyrinthine city, and not...in the wilderness, where he didn't know anything. He trudged along, and looked over his shoulder at the man, remembering that this wasn't the first time that he'd been told he was supposed to die.
Which...considering where they were... ]
You keep saying I'm going to get myself killed. [ He said, bluntly. ] First of all, I thought we were already dead -- second:
What are you going on about?
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[ When you finally die for good, stop existing, gone forever, nothing left, do not pass go, do not collect a trip to heaven or even hell. ]
But the... that other thing... about you getting burned to, uh. Oblivion, I guess, if you don't want to say death. [ Death and double death could get confusing, sure. ] I saw it? It's. It's a thing I do, uh, unfortunately.
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Well, he'd thought he'd already gone through that. The fact that he was...thinking and feeling? Odd. Not what he'd planned for, as much as he'd "planned" for his death. After all, he'd gotten close a few times. ]
You see deaths? Or... permanent deaths?
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[ There are words for it but he has no idea who here would be familiar with what, so simply stating "sees the future" is straightforward enough. ]
I was hoping it was gone with how I'm, y'know. Not actually... amongst the living anymore or... or anything but... [ Yes, hoping it was gone, as though it was a troublesome thing. ] I guess not since I had to see you bite it. Can't say that was too much fun.
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[ He said it, repeated it, but his eye blinked rapidly, as he considered what that meant.
That meant that this man knew what was coming before it happened? That he'd seen misery befall him, and had decided to change it? He sees the future? And not in a hokey, oracle shilling for coin kind of way? ]
It can't be as bad to see it as actually dying. [ He said, his tone blunt, but he looked back over the land in front of them, as they walked. ]
Now I have to ask, were you thinking of me specifically, or is this a... vague, and uncontrolled sort of deal?
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[ Forever might be very, very long here. ]
Uh, but no, I wasn't thinking of you. Sometimes they're just random and. And happen, out of nowhere. I have a way to control what I want to see but that takes a lot more effort.
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[ He said, and took a few more paces. ]
And instead of warning me before I left you... decided to tag along?
Why? How does that keep it from happening?
[ He's curious, ok? ]
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[ It meant he didn't have to go trekking through the wilderness alone. ]
Although, how, I'm not sure? I don't usually get involved but. But this time it seemed like a good idea.
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[ It just made sense, he said. Silco had no idea what that meant, but he certainly thought that it meant that Bruno didn't have much of a convincing argument other than he saw it.
Well, no matter. He gave him another look over his shoulder, before he slowed his pace, to match it with him. ]
Couldn't resist some of this star metal for yourself, hm?
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...well, there is that. Couldn't hurt to, y'know, what's the saying? Get two birds with one stone?
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[ Actually, he can't help but appreciate it. After all, Silco was also a bit of a mercenary man, and he'd much rather hear from someone who was doing something for themselves in some way, rather than the kindness of their own heart.
It was a little less concerning, a little less like someone was trying to get one up on him, and a little more like there was just a second benefit.
Less that he owed later. ]
Well, then, we'll make sure we both get some. The posting said it was a few hours travel. I hope your shoes are up to the task.
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Actually, maybe it was better that he was getting something out of this for once. ]
Oh, I'll be fine. [ Said the man wearing sandals but, seriously, he would be absolutely fine. ] This won't have anything on the tower's stairs.
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[ He asked, as he fished into his pockets for a cigar and a match.
Yes, Bruno and his sandals weren't going to be the detriment to this trek. It was going to be Silco, and his need to constantly smoke. ]
What tower? What stairs?
[ People always liked to reference things about the places they were from -- Silco did too, though -- and found the habit somewhat interesting. Why did they all do it? Did they want people to ask about their homes? Did they want to keep it alive, by saying things about the worlds that they were from? ]
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Just... somewhere I used to live before I. Y'know. [ Died. ] It was built real tall and there was like an hour's worth of stairs you had to climb to get to the top. Sure can't say I miss doing that.
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Not exactly the kind of place I'd be motivated to leave.
[ Really, yuck. ]
Why didn't you go elsewhere?
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There wasn't really anywhere else to go, I guess? Everyone in my family got a kind of magical room that. That was related to their gift somehow and I just. Got. That. [ Really fun, right? ] I think it maybe got taller as I got older but it's kind of hard to remember how it originally looked now.
[ But then he shrugged and jostled the burlap sack quietly clinking with metal against metal as he did. ]
I did technically leave it ten years ago. Found a literal hole in a wall to set up a new home in instead and, honestly? Better. In some ways.
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[ He doesn't miss that everyone in his family got a magical room, which... well. He filed away, but jesus, bruno. Way to rub in the fact that you and yours had places to live guaranteed.
It's hard for him to even conceive of a place like that. It makes him think of those estates topside, where families had their own wings. ]
Although without the stairs, I can imagine it's better. Personally, I'd prefer the hold in the wall. A little more... humble, don't you think?
[ Than a tower. In your family's estate.
Not that he realizes that Bruno's hole was in the same home. ]
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[ He did, in fact, like the rats. They were his only friends. It was great, just great, nothing weird or wrong about that, ha ha. ]
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[ He said, idly. He wouldn't choose it, and certainly not if the tradeoff was just stairs, but maybe Bruno was just lazy? ]
Sand though... [ Ugh. He made a face. ] Perhaps you made the wiser choice.
fast-forwards to ze crater i hope that's ok
ye ππ
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