User blog:Eureka Enderborn/A Story (Part 2)

COMMENT, PEOPLE!

"You'll need to eat sssomething." One of the Iksar said.

"That would require removing my helmet. I've gone without food for longer than this on many occasions."

"Why don't you jussst remove your helmet and eat?"

"Because I don't remove my helmet."

By this time, most of the camp was watching him. "Why not?"

"Because I don't. My appearance is quite private."

"Well, if you're not going to eat, you may asss well work. The cccity isss that way. Go on."

"And do what?"

"Avoid ghossstsss and sssteal anything valuable. Actually, sssteal anything that isssn't nailed down. And everything that isss nailed down. And the nailsss."

"Wow. I've been told to steal stuff before, but this is something else. Alright, I'll do it."

"Pleassse tell me you have sssomething to kill thossse ssspiritsss."

"No, nothing to kill them. But they won't touch me if I'm holding this." He holds up his fabled shield, what had once been the Quinos Claymore. "I'm willing to bet that Venril Sathir never planned a contingency for this."

"What, the shield?"

"No, me."

As Jaukoehai walked in the direction the Iksar had indicated, he spotted a pair of rocks. Directly between those rocks was a pathway, leading to a small bridge over the river and into the city (or at least what he guessed was the city. The area was so misty he could only see about six feet in any direction). As he passed between the two rocks however, a serpentine tail wrapped around his armoured neck and yanked him back. The woman, Slythe, was suddenly leaning against one of the rocks.

"You weren't there a second ago!"

"What an assstute obssservation."

"My helmet helps me see invisible people. How did you do that?"

"I wasssn't invisssible. What do you think you're doing, going out to the cccity?"

"One of your people told me to go steal... everything, really."

"Not yet. I wouldn't wassste my knight in shining armour on such a menial tasssk. No, I have sssomething much more sssuited to your unique ssskillssset."

"What is it?"

"Follow me, knight."

"I have a name, you know." Jaukoehai said as she walked off. He followed her anyway.

A short while later...

"So let me get this straight. You can't waste my talent on stealing things from a heavily guarded city, so instead you relegate me to fixing old relics?"

"Not jussst any old relicsss. Thessse are sssome of the firssst sssteam-powered clockwork machinesss. I've heard ssstoriesss that you are a bit of a clockwork exxxpert. You're the only one here who can fixxx thessse."

"For what purpose."

She laughed. "Jaukoehai, that isss for me to know and you to guesss at."

As she walked toward the tent exit, however, Jaukoehai saw something. He reached out and grabbed her arm, looking at her left hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying to pull away. But he is the hero of Quinos for a reason.

"That scar on your palm. I've seen such a scar before. Only once. When a necromancer tried to steal my shield from me."

She said nothing, so Jaukoehai released her and asked "How much of my stuff did you try to rob me of?"

"Jussst about all of it."

"Why didn't you?"

"Becaussse a few of my employeesss told me ssstoriesss of you. I figured you'd be more willing and effective if you had all of your itemsss."

"Wait... You didn't remove my helmet, did you?"

"Oh you bet I did. It took a long time to remove, but... what'sss the matter?"

Jaukoehai had sat down hard. "Nobody... NOBODY is supposed to remove my helmet!"

She took on an almost psychiatrist-like voice. "And why is that?"

"BECAUSE!!" He yelled, now seriously thinking about taking his hammer to the entire place. "Because I learned long ago that my true appearance is something that people should never see. Ever."

"Why shouldn't they?"

"Because... because I don't want to be judged for what I am, for what I was."

"What makes your past scare you like this?"

"I'm not scared! ...My past, everything about it, is something anybody would be ashamed of. My life before I came to Quinos is a total mystery to everyone, and I intend to keep it that way. Part of that is hiding my face. If they saw it, they would guess. Then they'd put more pieces together. And I'll do anything to stop that from happening." There was a long pause, and Jaukoehai chuckled a bit. "It's funny. I've been hiding my face for so long I don't even know what I look like anymore."

Slythe smiled a bit. A smile on an Iksar is usually cause for fear. In this case, it may still be. She leaned down very close to Jaukoehai's helmet, her voice dropping to a sibilissant whisper. "You are an outsssider, an anomaly, even amongssst your own kind. I can relate."

She stood up then, and walked toward the exit. "Now get to work. I can't have you sitting on your metal behind all day." She said as she left.

Jaukoehai shook his head a little and stood up, shaking his head a bit. "What just happened?"

He was quite confused. Understandably, of course. He had never told anybody that, not even his twin/clone (though technically he already knows). And then this serpentine queen of thieves comes along and he spills more than he ever had.

He stood up and got to work on the clockworks, all the while wondering "What do I look like?"