The World of Rhune

Zayde tried not to let his sister's odd and weirdly instant mood dissturb him, right now he wanted to figure somthing important out. He strode back into Trei's chambers, noticing how hungry he was from no food all day, and puking up last night what he had had last. He wondered where he could find a staff personel and waundered slightly before he came up to the faithful girl Lili. "Could you arrange for a small meal to my quarters?" he felt awkward, again, but knew there wasnt really a better way to ask. The girl half-bowed, half-nodded and escaped down a hallway leaving him there. Zay sighed and navigated back to his rooms. He sat down and wrote a bit more of what had happened since he had last ended, annoyed that he couldnt have Kari help him. Zay read over the details he'd scratched onto the parchment yesterday, refreshing his lacking memory. He wrote about his night of pain, and left a black section for his sister to write her exeperiance of the night. He jotted down the morning, and wondered what Karillian had done; he left another black section. Zayde started writing in detail the shrubs that filled the garden below when Lili knocked with a tray in her hand. He smiled, trying to get the girl to trust him somewhat, and nodded; Lili didnt seem to want or need more than that. She walked in hurriedly, set the food on the table before him, and left. Zay nibbled at the food, wary of actually having somthing so close to night. He wondered whether his sister would be back soon, and instantly made his mind up that he didnt want to be around with her in that mood, only an insomniac would be. He swallowed the delicate sand-brown bread and took a sip of the light wine that had accompanied the meal, even though it wasnt requested. He took a sip and then wrinkled his nose in distaste, there was a reason he hated spirits, but he'd hoped Andato's would be a bit better. Zayde quickly put the cup down, and picked himself up and put it in the bedroom for his sister, who enjoyed the bitter taste. The prince scribbled down some more detail before his memory would lose it and then describe lightly his sister's attitude. He left a long blank after the words, wrote about the vulgar-tasting wine, and then capped the ink bottle. He blew upon the parchment in hopes of drying it quicker, and set it by his sister's bags, she'd done this more than once for him. Zay breathed in, wincing as the wine still tasted upon his tongue, and then brushed his clothes off for the little dirt that had tried to stain the tunic. "Finally," he said to himself and strode out the door, looking for the girl Lili again but hoped not to tip her off about the food. He looked down the passage to his sister coming back to the room, and he opened the nearest door, closing it quickly yet quietly. Zay sighed relief, his twin had had on the same arrogant face on as she had before, and he had escaped that wrath. He turned to a dimly lit room without windows and stone work upon the walls. A hearth was blazing but he saw it was being used to boil water rather than a comfort tool. A small maid bent over the water, stirring it and adding some type of spice to it. She turned and gasped at the sight of him; Zay quickly put his hands up in a 'no danger' sign. The maid clutched at her apron for a second before coming up to him. "Can I help you? Outside?" she asked hesitantly and quickly with nervousness. Zay smiled in what he hoped the girl would take as friendly. "Of course, I was just wondering where Prince Trei del Sol's study was, he's given me permission to look over his encyclopedias." he twisted his truth around as an excuse. The girl opened the door and he walked out, her right behind him. "Oh, um, I mean no offense, sir. Yet I'm not allowed to disclose information without directions from the governess." she seemed genuinly sorry that she couldnt help him, and Zayde played off it. "Could you point me in the right direction and I guess my way to the study? You wouldnt be telling me where it is, merely which direction would be the best way to the area where the study is near." The girl looked torn from formality and obediance. "You'll want to head in the direction of the portrait with the flowers in the trees, any other way would be such a long detour." the words rushed from the girl's mouth and then she cringed, and swept back into the room without another glance at him. Zay smiled at her weak concience, and at his ability to manipulate words. He set off quickly down the hall where the portrait was in and tried to quiet the heavy boots he was forced to wear through lighter steps as he walked down to where he hoped was the study.

"Only the gods would find this forsaken place!" he muttered as he finally walked into the small room where the prince's study was. The fire was low yet the room was furnished with a desk and many shelves of books. Zayde felt like collapsing into a chair near the fire after the hour's worth of looking, so said his stomach, but ignored his feeling and swept to the shelves. He'd allotted himlself so much time before the royal siblings of Cancri arrived and planted themselves into Trei's other guest chambers, forcing him to stay clear of the two and out of sight. He scanned the shelves until he came to the 'C' section and hoped dearly that the prince had somthing about his native country. He fingers brushed over the spines until he came to a thicker black-leather bound book with red stitching, odd since they were nearly the opposite of his country's perfered colors. He pulled open the book and briefly glanced over the contents, finding what he seeked and flipped to page 133 of the dusty novel. He looked over he animals native to Caryi until he came upon the Phantus. He scrolled with his finger down the glyphs until he came upon their poisin. "Deadly if enough is injected. The poisin burns the inside of the veins and muscles, inflames the body part and makes the skin pucker with puss unless oliander is applied." Zay looked to the blisters on his leg, wondering if his sister had done somthing like that. "The poising cannot be extracted like a snake's vemon but normally subsides after the first few days in intervals all during the daytime. The vemon kicks in with side effects such as burning, nausea, involuntary mucsle twitching, headaches, lack of feeling, blindness, over-production of saliva, little energy, and hallucinations. The Phantu's poisin works during the night when the victum is asleep or tired. This cycle can continue for two weeks to three months. " the paragraph ended all together and went on to the Serpa, and Zay stopped reading to himself. He held the book open to the right page and slumped into the desk's chair. He set the leather-bound book down and started to copy the text with the scrap of parchment and inkhorn that lay on the desk. It took him longer than he had expected, translating it into his native language from the native of Andato and then writing out the words, making certain he'd copied and translated soundly. The streched his arms and then a new thought came to his mind, if there was a book about Caryi, could there not be one about Xirra? He stepped up out of the chair quickly and scrambled to where the 'X' books were. He gazed upon the tarnished green cover that read "Xirra" on it's spine and didnt hesitate to take it. He returned to the desk, enjoying the small rest off his feet, and flipped through the book, scribling down interesting facts and things that would have to change for himself and Kari as they fled.

Zayde feasted his eyes upon his notes and passages he'd wrote upon the parchment where he'd originally jotted down the Phantu text. His feet navigated rather than his mind yet he still made his way to the right connections of hallways and doors until he was almost to the hallway where the guest chambers were located. He hurried though, he'd spent too much time pouring over the Xirra encyclopedia that he'd completely lost track of time. Atleast he'd expanded his knowledge of the country vastly compared to his meager store from his studies. Zay turned sharply down a hall, two doors and one hall before he slipped into the entry he'd been calling home. "Girl's names are characteristically applied to their level of status" he breathed and then crashed into somthing shorter than himself, yet sent them both to the hard floor. He dropped his parchment as he fell and looked at the blonde, gorgeous girl infront of him, yet she looked nothing like the maids or duchesses that roamed the palace. "Oh, my dear lady how thoughtless of me!" He couldnt help his instincts as he helped up the girl by her hand and waist "Are you okay, madame? I apologize again that the calling of my scroll was more than your own calling," he didnt exactly know whether the calling was her beauty or just her presence. He dropped her hand and floundered to pick up his parchment without his normal grace, causing himself to blush, though he knew no one could see it under his darkly tanned skin. He regained his posture and smiled naturally, still feeding the hope that someone besides his sister would take to him, especially this girl.