Many Places of the World

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The laugh was sudden and hearty, "Honesty! So much of it, you are a creature of understanding then. Pretty lies will get you no where with me, and that is exactly why I don't believe I have a reason to lock you up." Roxanne hadn't expected the laughter after she had seen her Father's glare, the Father who wouldn't let her roam the streets was perfectly fine with this gnoll being free? Roxanne's beautiful mother just smiled at her husband's declaration and it occurred to Roxanne that she should probably trust her father's judgement more; though it didn't sate her curiosity of the worlds at large.

The guards visibly relax at hearing the king's laughter but none of them move to take Meryg into custody and with a faint smile Roxanne turns to him. "Well, see? I told you this wouldn't be so bad." She casts her eyes down a little as she mumbles something else. "Our world isn't cold and lifeless, that lack of 'true' life as you say. No we are a vibrant city and I would like to show you something since my father isn't going to lock you up. Once I show you this I will be sure to begin making my pleas to the Gods...maybe I can get you home if they decide to listen, but I will also use my knowledge to try and find a way. I don't want to rely on the Gods for everything. Well, do you wanna see what I have to show you, or would you rather leave for the city?"
 
"I imagine that I should stay by your side, Princess. There's nothing in your slick-stone city for me. What is it called, what the flowers are made of and what the buildings are built with? Is it some sort of stone?" he asked as they began their departure from the throne room. "It's like iron, but not like iron. It's stronger, it feels. Your flowers would make good spears, I think."

They walked in relative silence for a few moments before the gnoll kept her from answering by speaking once again. "And . . . perhaps I was too harsh. I meant true as in, well, the grass and the trees. The birds, the animals. The valleys that fill to rivers during the monsoon where the herdsmen take the herds. I think you would like the Plains, Princess. You would have much to learn about."
 
"It's brass, copper, various other metals. The city is a giant machine...but we have ways to pull pollution out of the ecosystem. Take this castle for instance, it's the heart of the whole machine, and it also happens to be quite capable of purifying the awful chemicals in the air, down below it keeps the pollution out of our water as well. Oh, pollution is very dangerous, it can kill people so the fact we have this huge purifying castle is essential." She was quite glad that he had chosen to stay with her because he would get to see what he hadn't had the time to appreciate before she had dragged him off, though she had her priorities.

"It's not harsh to call it as you see it, I don't blame you for saying as much." She shrugs lightly as she begins to ascend stairs and continuing to speak. "I would love to see the Plains...I would love to see all the worlds that exist. I've always wanted that, but I haven't even explored my own." She admits this with a voice full of disappointment but shakes it away as they continue up the many many stairs, this little trek is longer than going from her lab to the throne room but when they finally arrive at the top she stops before a plain metal door and smiles brightly at the gnoll. "Now wait until you see this, I think you will appreciate it."
 
"You said your world is polluted; I can't blame you for not being able to explore it. You can't rightly explore something that would kill you. The Plains haven't even been explored by my own people. We only know of the grass sea and the salt-water to the west. It's a dangerous place, probably just as dangerous as your own world. For different reasons, though."

The gnoll looked about more as the two of them walked to wherever it was they were headed. He was at the mercy of this girl, it seemed. He looked at her for moment, shrugging internally. It didn't seem an entirely bad thing to be at her mercy; she seemed quite nice, and she was rather pretty, he thought. Still, he had never seen humans before this day. Perhaps she was plain by their standards. He shrugged outwardly this time, looking to the door as they came to it.

"What's behind it?"
 
The question makes Roxanne grin at Meryg and she pushes open the door.

What's revealed is that first, they are on the very highest balcony of the tower; which would explain why it had taken awhile to get up here; two there were white birds flying just above this particular balcony, third they were surrounded by mountains on all sides, looking out one could only see mountains for miles and miles, a close look would reveal that there were animals living on these mountains and a scaly creature disappeared into it's den of a cave. There was only one dip in the mountains and at it's center was a probably huge lake, who knew when they were up so high and could clearly see there was indeed a lake. Looking out on the city from this high up, those metallic roses looked like real flowers, not like the metal they were actually made of and there were other plants, bushes and trees, some real, others seemed like artwork made from spare pieces of scrap metal; which is exactly what they were the only thing that grew from the rust were the roses. The city was far larger than anyone could have guessed and looking down into the streets below from up here would reveal huge crowds moving from one location to the next all wearing odd clothing; or what would be odd clothing to the gnoll.

Roxanne herself takes in the view with bright eyes, despite the fact she had never been able to explore her home world this was a rather amazing view and the city and mountains seemed to belong together, they didn't make one look bad. It blended together perfectly despite the nature of their origins. The natural world and the city were meant to be together here in Roserust, that was how it had always been.

With a deep breath she turns to the gnoll still smiling brightly, "This is my world, Meryg! It lives just the same as yours, although the cultures differ. I love my world, beautiful and metallic as it is." Roxanne sounded thrilled, more like beyond happy, it was apparent this was her favorite place in the whole castle.
 
"It's a lovely world, Princess. I had never doubted that fact, really," he muttered, moving to the edge of the balcony and leaning upon the railing. He closed his eyes, feeling the faint wind from the mountains. It was a cool wind, much different from the warm breezes of his homeland. "Still," he muttered with a frown, "I miss my own lands. I know you're excited; I don't mean to bring you down, Princess."

He stood fully and set his eyes on the distance, his mouth set in a hard line and his ears lying somewhat back. "How long, do you think, will it take to get me home? Do I have a chance of seeing the Plains again? Be honest."
 
Roxanne doesn't seem to become down at all, instead smiling at him, trying to be encouraging; and she was an optimist so when she speaks, it's a hopeful one, and it's easy to tell she believes her own words, "Of course you'll get to go home. I will make sure of it. Even if it takes me awhile. I won't stop looking into the things available to me and I will do everything I can. Father believes in my ability to do whatever I set my mind to, so I can believe in myself too, so, believe in me a little okay?" Even as she's saying this she drops to her knees and folds her hands, sitting up straight with her eyes closed. Roxanne's name was engraved around her neck and when she fell into this prayer position, the mark glowed blue and she opened herself up to the worlds and the Gods that watched over them.

Meryg can't hear what she prays for but she stays like this for some time, perhaps arguing with them, or perhaps asking for a little bit of guidance to help get him home. Since he can't hear the prayer he can only assume what's going on in her head. Does someone answer or not? When she comes back around she takes a deep breath and lets out a light sigh of relief. She got lost in her thoughts for awhile still not standing up. When she looks up she rubs the back of her head a little. "I've gotta find a way to get you to The Divine Gate..." She mumbles a bit before pushing herself to stand once more. "Do you know what the Divine Gate is?"
 
Meryg watched the woman as she prayed. At least, that's what it seemed like she was doing. Praying to Yeenoghu was a much more involved affair, for the Butcher Prince much enjoyed the drums, the fire and the dancing of the gnoll-folk. He also loved the blood they spilled for his sake. That is what he had always been told, at any rate.

"Divine . . . ? The what? No, I've got no idea what you're talking about. Where's this gate, then? Here in Roserust?"

He watched the girl for a moment before starting for the doorway. He turned about, motioning to her. "Come, then. Let's get to this gate and have me on my way home. How far is it?"
 
Roxanne grabs his arm to stop him from walking on and mutters a little. "Um...I don't know where it is. I have no idea how to get there. I just know what I was told...which was vague and cryptic, damn the Gods for being riddlers, I was told 'The Divine Gate leads the way' that's it. I don't know how to get to the Divine Gate; which is a kind of existence on it's own." She releases him rubbing the back of her head kind of nervously. "I'm going to do what I can...maybe one of the roses can open a gate, I don't know, maybe I can open the gate; but if I can I don't know how."
 
Meryg sighed and rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "So I'm stuck here, possibly forever. That is, unless a flower can open a portal to a place where we don't know that we're opening a portal to? Seems very hopeful, this whole situation," he muttered. "It's not your fault, I mean. Still, being stranded is more than a little . . . worrying."
 
"I can see how it would be worrying. I bet you've got a really nice wife back home or would you call a female companion you care for a mate?" That made Roxanne think for a moment before walking around Meryg and heading back down to her lab area. "Oh yes Meryg if you get hungry feel free to say something, the kitchen is big and downstairs but I think the cooks would panic if they saw you suddenly come into the room. Most people would, but well I personally am not most people." She lightly tugs on Meryg's wrist before beginning to descend the stairs to her lab area and her graden.

She walked in silence for awhile as her thoughts rushed around her head. I really wanna help him but I don't know how...maybe once of the ground roses can be used as fertilizer to enhance odd rose growth...? Roxanne is lost in her thoughts and at one point on the way down some steps she trips on her kind of long brown dress and starts to fall down the stairs. "Ahh!"
 
Meryg kept silent as she spoke and began to lead him down the stairs. She talked an awful lot, Princess Roxanne. He wondered if she talked this much all the time, or if, perhaps, it was something she only did when meeting new people. He thought she might just be the sort that spoke out their thoughts often. She seemed to do that a lot as well. Still, it was doing no harm. It was endearing, actually. It showed that she was an open and truthful person, he thought.

He looked down at his feet as they descended the stairs. He had never been upon stairs before, and climbing the red rocks of his homeland was much different.

In a flash Meryg reacted to the falling woman. He rushed forward, arms extended, and caught the princess before she could continue her descent. "Got you! That was close . . . you should be more careful." He smiled down at the princess.
 
Roxanne had shut her eyes tightly when she felt herself falling but the jerking sensation of being caught made her open one eye to look at Meryg which makes her sigh in relief. "Oh thank you so much, I really ought to save my thoughts for when I'm not trying to walk on steps." With a nervous laugh she rubs the back of her head and steps back from Meryg. "Normally I'm not so clumsy...." She mumbles this a blush turning her face red with embarrassment.

With a gentle tug she pulls from his grip and hops down the stairs lightly more focused on where she is walking now. Though it wouldn't take them much longer to arrive back at the lab room which also happened to be her bedroom. "Well...now that I'm thinking about it we've got to figure out where you can sleep..."
 
"There's nothing to thank me for, Princess. It would have been a nasty fall; I couldn't let you take it after what you've done for me so far. Just don't make a habit of falling down them. I won't be around to catch you much terribly longer, Fate willing."

Looking about the room when she spoke of where he might sleep, he gave another noncommittal shrug. "I've slept on harder things than this floor," he murmured, stamping his uncovered foot on the floor of her laboratory boudoir a couple of times. "If I hadn't dropped my pack and bedroll I'd be plenty well equipped to sleep outside under the stars."
 
"Well there are a lot of guest roo---" a sudden loud whirring and metal on metal sound starts inside the castle cutting Roxanne short and she gets up quickly rushing over to a desk where she pulls out these two mask like items. She throws one at him while covering her own mouth and nose with it suggesting that Meryg should probably do the same.

Almost as soon as she does this; hoping Meryg has done it as well. A huge black cloud can be seen outside her balcony and she goes over to slam her doors shut and locks them quickly. A bit of the black cloud gets into the room and Roxanne backs away quickly bumping into the gnoll with her who she quickly shoves against to make him move. "That's concentrated pollution, deadly poisonous back up all the way please!"
 
Panic and confusion were paltry words to describe what he was feeling when the princess reacted so drastically to the blackness which had seeped through the closing doors. He put the mask over his face as well as he could manage, for they were clearly not designed for a gnoll, and backed away from the cloud of what the princess had called poison.

Eying it momentarily as it wafted through the air, the gnoll narrowed his eyes. "Why would it be allowed here?" he asked, as if the poison was some thinking thing which could be banished.
 
The mechanical whirs grow louder and the black smoke gets pulled into the vents in the room, with a sigh of relief she uncovers her mouth. "I mentioned pollution before yes? Well our castle is the purifier. We always have to pay attention to the sounds. No one down below realizes just how bad it is to actually live here. We could be poisoned at any time." She explains before the whirs seem to calm down then kick back up and a new cloud is spouted out of the vents it's white and floats outside before disappearing. "There are periods of time we cannot drink water either." With another relieved sigh she plops onto the edge of her four poster bed covered in a violet quilt, some of the first color the gnoll has seen other than Roxanne's duel colored eyes and the roses.

"If you only need a bed roll I can obtain that for you and you can sleep on the floor in here or on the balcony with my flowers." Roxanne still sounded nervous as she stared at the ground a slightly dark look in her eyes as if remembering something awful.
 
"An unfortunate place to live," he muttered. "It reminds me of my yurt in Sah, my home village. If I forgot to open the top of it, then all the smoke from my fire pit would end up in the room with me." He chuckled at the thought; however, his yurt was no longer his home, for it had been set ablaze upon his expulsion from the village. "A bedroll would be lovely, though. Thank-you."

Meryg shuffled about the room for a moment before eying the princess. "You're troubled. I can feel it. Something you care to talk about, Princess?"
 
Roxanne blinks herself out of her thoughts as soon as he had started to talk about what she could only assume was Meryg's home, it made her curious. "Yurt...? Is that what you call a house?" She tilted her head kind of curiously for a moment before getting up and wandering over to a closet in her room; she kept a bedroll in there because occasionally she would go and lay outside by her roses. For awhile though, upon him asking about what was bothering her she remains completely silent, thinking about if she should tell this stranger about that or not. He seems nice enough...I don't think it would be so bad to tell someone although I haven't talked about it in years... Her thoughts are slightly dark but she turns to face him, tosses the bed roll at him, and resumes sitting on her bed.

With a deep breath she turns her head to stare out the window in her lab/room and begins to talk, "We were young children, my little sister and I when one time we decided to wander the castle; we had never been outside and we wanted to see it. It was a childish wish, you know? Well...it didn't end very well. We had fun while wandering around found all the balconies around the castle, some showed us the city, others showed us the mountains and natural life. We loved it and didn't go back to our parents for awhile...but well...I don't know if we just had bad luck or what but we ended up in the main chamber where the castle purifies that poisoned air." It starts to get a little harder for her to speak as she keeps talking, "W-Well you see...it activated, pulled in the pollution from outside...we were surrounded by it trying to hold our breath long enough to get through it, eyes tightly closed, mouths shut, doing our best not to let it contact anything but our skin. But two little girls can't hold their breath forever..." Roxanne's voice trails off as she looks away staring out the window. It could be assumed what happened, though it was a curious thing, she said 'little girls' as in neither of them could hold their breath, so how was Roxanne sitting in front of the gnoll who had been taken to her world while her sister was not. It was obvious why she had panicked so bad upon hearing the machine kick to life earlier though now.

(hopefully this doesn't seem too quick to trust your character... >.<; she's a trusting girl...)
 
[OoC: No worries.]

"It's round and small, not like you humans' houses, but yes."

Meryg caught the bed roll and listened to the young woman's story. It was an unfortunate thing that had happened to she and her sister, but that was the way life was. Not everyone survived. People died, their souls went away, and life went on for those left behind. It was a fact of life that he had learned from a rather young age himself.

The gnoll sighed, moving to sit at the foot of the bed, for he was unsure if the human-sized furniture was strong enough to support his weight. "When gnolls are only pups, they're encouraged to fight. It's in our blood, the violence, and we have to let it out somehow, so we practice combat and killing at a young age," he began, looking at the girl and frowning a hard line. "Sometimes gnoll pups chase one another into small places. Sometimes only one comes back out, and no one misses the other. It was weak, so it had to die eventually."

"That . . . probably doesn't help you much, actually."

He thought for a moment, a more heavy frown coming onto his features. He pinned his ears slightly. "I never met my mother. My father died as he was supposed to: in battle."

"We've all lost, Roxanne. I know it doesn't make you feel better to know so, but we've all lost."

Meryg thought it best not to ask how Roxanne came about to survive where her sister did not. Perhaps, he thought, she was simply stronger. It was a trend that the stronger survived while the weaker died off.
 
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