Wandering aimlessly through Lomedor's crowded city streets, the one-eyed boy known as Lance was once again lost in his many thoughts, his almost one and a half century-long memory. Though at the moment, he was focused on more current things, specifically gathering people to help him out with a plan of his.

The plan had seemed simple enough at first; find those that people seemed to reject, or who were being discriminated in some form, and offer them a safe haven. Unfortunately, though, he hadn't thus far had much luck in finding such people, save for a small few, even though he'd spent most of his time the last few days in the cities and towns; the more populated areas of Arda.

Sighing to himself, he glanced over to the side with his one red, left eye, noticing where he'd ended up this time. The library...well, never really knew what he'd find in there. He'd been to a few from time to time and found that he rather enjoyed reading, and relatively strange folk could be found in them simply trying to get away from the outside where all the people were. Feeling he had little to lose, he wandered inside and over to the nearest bookshelf, first scanning around to find something of interest to read before checking who else might be here.

Luc's soft footsteps fell upon the floors of the Left Wing. Luc's scroll supply had dwindled over the past few months, leaving him with barely a handful that weren't burnt, waterlogged, or half-eaten, and robbing him of the practice he needed even for a simple fire-calling spell. It was for this purpose that he had decided to attend the magic lessons offered in the Left Wing of the library. Consulting the piece of paper in his gloved left hand, he took a couple more steps before stopping in front of a closed door.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Who is it?" A gruff voice rang out. Two seconds later, the door opened to reveal the face of the conventional wizard: old, scruffy, and not at all attractive to the female persuasion, which explains why you never see wizards around at nightclubs and whatnot anymore. Luc spared a small glance at the wizard's portly belly before his eyes settled back into the steely eyes of the scruffy old man before him. "My name is Luc Midwell. I've come to learn magic, and I heard that this is the place to come." "Really? Well then, why don't you demonstrate what you know." Luc nodded and leaned back into a relaxed casting position, hand extended in front of him. "Pretty good, but you'll need to take off that glove there first. Leather can dampen magical powers, you know. Luc knew this, of course. Knew that it was just a load of hodgepodge, anyway. The true reason was that most wizards knew just what certain runes on certain hands could do, which was more than Luc did. Luc slowly took off his left glove, expecting the worst.

Half a minute later, he was outside of the Left Wing with the door locked behind him and the glove back on its hand. "I hate it when I'm right." With a sigh, he started making his way to the nearest bookshelf. If the wizards wouldn't help him, he'd might as well try the library itself. Still, he wasn't expecting much. Most books of magic had to be kept in special conditions because they were magic themselves. He had the right to hope, though, so he resigned himself to looking.

Glancing over at the doorway to the left wing of the library, the more magic-focused area of it which spanned a good amount of its total size, where a small conversation was taking place. Shrugging and ignoring it for the moment, considering it wasn't exactly any of his concern, he continued scanning through the books before him, hoping to find something of interest. Not that he was having much luck, and not that he hadn't read through a large portion of the books on the shelf before him in other lands, but it still didn't hurt to try.

Then he heard the door to the left wing shut and lock, not exactly the signs of a successful entry into it, and looked back over toward it. Just as he thought, the boy was still standing outside it, apparently putting the glove back on his left hand, and the old wizard was nowhere to be found, clearly back inside doing whatever it was they did in there. Lance himself didn't care about wizards or witches or the like...in a way, they reminded him of his old self, constantly after more power, but mostly he just didn't like the way that they didn't seem to care about those that weren't among their number. Well, the older ones, like the man at the door earlier, tended not to, at least.

"Looking for something in particular?" he asked the boy as he went to browse through some of the magical books outside the left wing of the library. "Can probably help you out if so. Not too familiar with this particular library, but I know a lot about books as a whole."

"Looking for something in particular?" Luc turned from his browsing and saw a young man, around the age of twenty. He looked relatively normal, but Luc had enough experiences with strangers to be cautious. With only one eye (and red at that), chances were that this person was a formidable fighter, though he didn't seem to be showing it now. "Can probably help you out if so. Not too familiar with this particular library, but I know a lot about books as a whole." He sure seems genuine... Yes, this could work out well. "My name's Luc Midwell. As for books, I'm not looking for anything in particular. Just something to help me with my magic since those idiot wizards kicked me out of their lessons."

Luc caught the curious look coming from the black-haired man and elaborated. "A while ago, I carved some runes in the back of my hands and treated them with... well, that's not important. Anyway, wizards view what I've done to my hands as some sort of curse, apparently. Nowadays, it takes a lot of doing to even get one to talk to me once he sees the runes. Now, you said something about helping me find a book?" Luc tried to keep his calm, even though he wasn't quite sure what was making him so nervous. No, that's not right. I know why I'm nervous- I mean, I've just told a complete stranger something that could get me shunned out of wizards' circles everywhere if it got out. I already get a hard time from them as it is; I suppose I should be glad that I'm so good with a sword and don't need their magic as much. Still, I don't understand why I felt the need to let him know about it. Luc left that train of thought behind for now. This young man was looking at him oddly. It never pays to let on to someone you don't know that you're worried, he reminded himself. Let's get on with this.

"My name's Luc Midwell. As for books, I'm not looking for anything in particular. Just something to help me with my magic since those idiot wizards kicked me out of their lessons," the boy said, and Lance raised a brow...well, his only revealed brow, in moderate curiosity. He hadn't really known wizards to reject potential apprentices, or people to learn from them. Clearly reacting to the curious look, Luc continued. "A while ago, I carved some runes in the back of my hands and treated them with... well, that's not important. Anyway, wizards view what I've done to my hands as some sort of curse, apparently. Nowadays, it takes a lot of doing to even get one to talk to me once he sees the runes. Now, you said something about helping me find a book?"

"Well, as for me, my name's Lance," Lance said, starting off with his name given that Luc had already now introduced myself. The whole rune thing caught his curiosity, strangely not having heard anything about people carving them into their own bodies. Tattooing them, maybe, or wearing them on clothing or adorning their weapons or items with them, but not carving them in. "Suppose if you're looking for a magic book, I should probably ask what type of runes you carved into yourself. Go ahead and just say them, I've been around longer than I appear, so I know plenty about them on the whole."

Luc was hesitant to answer, then decided to speak. After all, he had told the young man most of the story already. "The're called the runes of shame and defeat, though those aren't their real names." Luc took off his left and right gloves, showing Lance the two runes. "I don't know much about runes, unfortunately, and what I do know is from some cramming I did during the last two days of my last apprenticeship. I just know that if you paint a salve made of elementals' blood onto the rune of shame, you gain the traits of a wind elemental, and if you do the same with the rune of defeat, the same happens, but for a water elemental." It was then that a thought struck him, a chance to use this unfortunate slip of the tongue to his advantage, albeit a slim one. "Now, let's leave the book behind for now. You know about my history. Now I would like to know yours."

Luc didn't pride himself on knowing much about people; he simply hadn't wanted to spend much time with them after carving his hands. Still, even he could tell that there was something different about this person. Lance didn't seem like one of the young men that he had met before. He wasn't a scholar or a knight, and he didn't seem mischevious at all. Something in his stance and his single, blood-red eye seemed to say "I have something I must do, and nothing will stop me." Luc blinked, surprised by the thoughts that rushed into his mind. I can imagine so many times when I've said the same thing. He reminds me of myself, aimless but determined. I would do well to know more of this person. The sudden kinship was interspersed with warnings from his mind. Perhaps, though, it would be best to know more about this person before acting on these thoughts. Something about him tells me that he's more than he seems.

Lance listened intently enough to the boy's explanations of the runes he'd carved into his hands, as well as looked them over slightly. He'd seen both before, quite often, back home. Some of the other demons liked to mark their victories, or territories, or whatever else, and those two were fairly common, as with runes of victory.

Then Luc asked about his own past, no doubt a fair enough exchange for learning about a bit of his. But there still was the fact that Lance's was a long and hard past, one that he sorted through continuously for over a decade now until finally giving up on finding out what had happened the one day that had changed everything for him.

"Let's say...I've done a number of things in my past that I'm not particularly proud of," Lance started, glancing over the books as he sorted through what to say. "I've killed, I've tortured...I've done it all. Not really sure why I changed...maybe I just got tired of it all, though at this point I've given up wondering about it. Still one thing out there that's still tying me to my past, though, which I have to get rid of someday..." Then he changed the subject to an extent, to his more current goals. "As for right now, though, I'm just searching for other people, or creatures, like me who need a place." He was successful enough in that explanation in his own mind...he hadn't gone into the fact that he was truly a demon, straight from the Underworld, though he had put his dark past in rather blunt and accurate terms.

Wrong account. Please ignore this post.

Killed and tortured? ...I have to assume that he's telling the truth; I don't see why anyone would want to make that up. Still, why? He's just as young as I am; there's got to be a reason. Still, it's not my place to inquire. Luc knew when to leave well enough alone, and this was certainly one of those times. Still, someone Lance's age capable of torture and murder? As far as Luc was concerned, you needed quite a lot of training to suppress the inherent good in a being. Either this person was older than he seemed or he had been trained from an early age. Luc chose the former as his assumption; it was far more likely. Nine-tenths of angsty heroes you meet on the street were used at some point in their early lives to further evil causes; Luc didn't see why this had to be an exception for Lance.

Still, nine-tenths chances don't always work out. With the large magical signatures all over Arda, most people who know about such things are surprised enough when tomorrow follows today, let alone chances working out. How else can you explain the way that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten?

Back with Luc, something else about what Lance had said caught Luc's attention. "Bringing together others who need a place? Sounds unique. I know of dentrassi ex nué, or desires of fate, as they say in Ondolond, so perhaps it's not as farfetched a goal as I assumed. The shunned brought together by destiny to form a union... Do you believe in such a thing? I know I do, and I would be glad to assist you." Yes, I know that he has a less than stellar past. He's admitted it to me himself. Still... I want to become part of something other than myself. And the dentrassi ex nué... the Elvish concept of Sué Koden... yes, I think that this arrangement will suit me well.

"Bringing together others who need a place? Sounds unique. I know of dentrassi ex nué, or desires of fate, as they say in Ondolond, so perhaps it's not as farfetched a goal as I assumed. The shunned brought together by destiny to form a union... Do you believe in such a thing? I know I do, and I would be glad to assist you," Luc said. Destiny...after being alive for so long, going through so much, it was hard for one such as Lance not to believe in such a thing. Nonetheless, though, it seemed he now had at least two people to join him in the cause he'd eventually put before himself. After spending so much time looking for a purpose, it seemed like a good time to finally simply give himself one.

"I've pretty much been around too long, witnessed too much, not to believe in fate or destiny, personally," Lance said, looking back over to Luc and diverting his gaze from the bookshelf. "So I suppose now I have two people, you and one other, to help me out with this little cause of mine. Now I've simply to find more people, and wait for the tower in the Misty Forest to be finished."

Luc smiled slightly. "You do not believe in Fate, yet we meet here and almost immediately become allies. I'd say that that's a pretty convincing proof in and of itself. Still, there are more important matters to discuss. For instance, the guild. That is what the tower is for, is it not? Can you perhaps show me there, or at least give me instructions as to where it is? I'm curious as to what it is like, even if it is still being built. And, of course, how you can afford to build an entire tower. Are you descended from an ancient royal line? They're a dime a dozen over here, I'm afraid."

Unknown to the two youths (of whom one just happened to be 140 years old, an admittedly large age for a young man in his condition), a shadowy figure listened from a few bookshelves away. Of course, shadowy is a relative term. The only reason that this figure fit that description was that he stood in the shadows and wore only black and white. Even his face held nothing but white and black paint. He had been hired by a much more shadowy figure the other day in order to find any information about the new guild that was rumored to be starting up in the Misty Forest. It's not every day that he got a job like that, but you have to admit that when it comes to listening quietly, a mime is the best man for the job.

And, a few dimensions to the right, Fate looked down on one of his more loyal followers (that is, Luc). "I have given you what you want: a way to become part of something larger than yourself. It is for you to take it if you wish." "Fate, are you playing with your little toys again?" "Luck, do not interfere; simply watch. We may play games with the lives of mortals, but you must remember the importance of positioning pawns. Now, let us watch and see what happens next."

"You do not believe in Fate, yet we meet here and almost immediately become allies," Luc started. Don't believe in fate? His words must've been misinterpreted...oh well, it happened sometimes. "I'd say that that's a pretty convincing proof in and of itself. Still, there are more important matters to discuss. For instance, the guild. That is what the tower is for, is it not? Can you perhaps show me there, or at least give me instructions as to where it is? I'm curious as to what it is like, even if it is still being built. And, of course, how you can afford to build an entire tower. Are you descended from an ancient royal line? They're a dime a dozen over here, I'm afraid."

"Well, it's hardly complete yet, but it's around the middle of the Misty Forest, hidden in the constant fog. Although when it is finished, people should be able to see the top from just outside the forest, and they should be able to go from there," Lance said. Royal line, though? That was...slightly hard to answer. There wasn't exactly demon royalty, but he was certainly part of a less common and often more powerful race of demon. He'd just go with his old adoptive family's line, which was simply common. "I'm not descended from any royal line or anything that I know of, just a normal family."

ooc: Oops, I guess I misread your post. Ah well, it's too late now.

"How exactly can you afford to build it, though? I mean, if you're not- huh?" Luc looked away for a moment to see a rather awkward-looking mime surreptitiously peeking over a bookshelf at the two of them. Quick as a flash, though, he ducked behind the bookshelf again. Luc weighed whether or not to tell Lance about the eavesdropper for a few seconds before deciding not to mention it. "Sorry. As I was saying, I'm curious as to how you paid for the tower. If you aren't part of royalty or nobility, then I'm surprised that you came up with the funds." The mime peeked his head over the bookshelf again, apparently trying (and failing) to secretly listen in on the conversation. Luc glared at the mime for a few seconds before he (the mime, not Luc) fell down from the top of the bookshelf. The fall was silent, but, according to the natural laws of comedy, a small mushroom cloud of white makeup floated from behind the shelf before dissipating. Still, Luc was determined to hide the knowledge of the mime from Lance. It wasn't that he didn't trust him; it was just that the mime would probably stop listening if he thought that the both of them knew. It would make it that much harder to catch the performer when they left the library..

"Anyhow, I'd still like to see this tower, so would it be too much to provide me with directions? If I'm going to be a member of your guild, I'm going to have to know where to go. It's probably too much to ask for you to take me there, but still..." Luc didn't finish the question. Lance was here at the library on his own business and wouldn't have time to take him. Luc shook his head. "Never mind. Some instructions would be good, but I don't want to impose on your agenda. I'm sure you came to the library for a reason." Then again, so did I... Still, learning magic takes second chair to learning about this spur-of-the-moment guild choice. Following these thoughts, he turned his concentration fully to the conversation with Lance, the mime's presence forgotten.

Lance noticed the person spying on them, that was true; his particular demonic powers allowed him to notice all sentient creatures nearby, and usually identify their species, in this case just some human it seemed. No real concern of his, in short...instead, he ignored the person and listened to Luc. True, he wasn't nobility or anything...but he'd been living his life for quite a while having nothing much to spend his money on, so he'd accumulated quite a bit over the years.

Then it seemed the person had tried to climb the bookshelf, but had fallen off. He also heard some sort of powder or something, which was odd, but probably nothing to worry about.

"Anyhow, I'd still like to see this tower, so would it be too much to provide me with directions? If I'm going to be a member of your guild, I'm going to have to know where to go. It's probably too much to ask for you to take me there, but still..." Luc continued, unperturbed by the spy, but not quite finishing what he was saying. "Never mind. Some instructions would be good, but I don't want to impose on your agenda. I'm sure you came to the library for a reason."

"Not really, I rarely go anywhere for any particular reason. I'm just a wanderer, going where ever my feet take me," Lance responded, knowing that Luc had seen the spy himself, but not showing that he knew this, instead simply making it seem like he hadn't noticed a thing. "Anyway though, if you want to see the guild hall in its current progress, I can take you there, although I'm sure you'd want to finish up with what you came for here first."

"Just forget about that. I saw something on weather manipulation earlier, so I'll check that out. Besides that, though, we can set out right away. If my knowledge of Arda's layout is correct, and I like to think that it is, we can set out for Estolad and make our way across Salquedor to get there. After that, though, you'll have to keep me from losing the way."

A shelf away, the mime made rapid notes on a piece of paper, a task that would have been a lot simpler if the sheet and pen weren't imaginary. Once he was finished creating a satisfactory report, he made his way to the entrance, getting a few odd looks, including a rather stern one from a man in a red coat, sitting in an armchair and reading "How to get rich quick! - Volume two, let's get illegal!" However, that's a different story altogether. Luc picked up the book that he had found and walked over to the counter, a brief flash of annoyance visible on his face as he saw the mime mingle into the crowd outside just before the doors shut. Still, his mind turned to other things as he gave his book over to the librarian. So if a butterly has wings with ruffled edges, then its wings' edges are infinite because of fractals, and thus make its wings infinitely large, in a quantum sense. But that can't be right... Well, they do say that a butterfly flapping its wings in Taurerosa can cause a sandstorm in Anfauglir, so I guess it must be. I said that his mind turned to other things; I didn't say that those things were important by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, he finished checking out the book and walked over to Lance. "Well, I'm ready to go when you are. Do you have anything to finish up?"

"Just forget about that. I saw something on weather manipulation earlier, so I'll check that out. Besides that, though, we can set out right away. If my knowledge of Arda's layout is correct, and I like to think that it is, we can set out for Estolad and make our way across Salquedor to get there. After that, though, you'll have to keep me from losing the way," Luc said. Then Lance could feel their spy rush out into the street after a brief pause. It was somewhat tempting to go after them, but he'd still remember the feel of them, so if they were ever around him again, he'd know. Then he walked over to the librarian for a few moments, checking out the book he'd pulled out before returning to Lance. "Well, I'm ready to go when you are. Do you have anything to finish up?"

"Can't say I do...didn't come here for any particular reason anyway, just for some relaxation," Lance responded. "Anyway, though, suppose we can get going to what currently exists of the tower now." With that, he wandered over to the door, holding it open politely and glancing over in the direction he'd felt the spy wander off. Hm...it was basically on the way to the Misty Forest that way anyway. Perhaps now would be a good time to find out what they were up to.

Luc stepped out of the library and into the streets, breathing in the fresh, lukewarm air. Even in wintertime, Lómëdor never got too cold. It was too close to the sea for that. Still, it was probably going to be quite cold in the grasslands, and he needed to be prepared. Or, of course, he could just hitch a ride with a fur trader. But that would be cheating, and he'd probably invoke some kind of divine retribution for making the journey too comfortable. For, you see, it is absolutely necessary that journeys must be 1. Uncomfortable, 2. Danger-Fraught, and 3. Exciting. Otherwise, it can hardly be called a journey, can it? It'll just be a carefree excursion across the countryside. Anyway, Luc had the last two requirements in the bag, what with already finding a spy within the first twenty minutes of the journey. As for the first one, traveling by foot or even by horse should satisfy anyone watching.

It became rapidly clear to Luc that, thanks to his rather unique views on transportation, that the simplest way to proceed would be to delegate the task to Lance and accept the first option that Lance came up with. Luc explained this to Lance (in shorter sentences, of course; the full explanation would probably put Lance to sleep) and proceeded to follow Lance's lead. However, let's turn away from this for a moment and follow the mime.

Technically, his name was _____. Miming was the family business, and names never really seem important to those who use no words. Those who knew him called him "Bean," out of the simple need to call him something. At the moment, in this carriage going down one of Lómëdor's less-frequented avenues, his employer was speaking this name. "Bean. Bean, Bean, Bean," the shadowy figure repeated, sounding as if he were adjusting his tongue to an exotic name. "I trust that you've found the location of this newest guild?" The mime nodded vigorously. It didn't pay to be half-hearted with a voice like this, especially when you felt three crossbow bolts against the back of your head. "Excellent. Tell me where they are headed, and then follow them. I will continue when it is convenient." Following a short round of charades, Bean stumbled from the vehicle, doors closed and bolted behind him.

Lance glanced over to Luc in curiosity as he explained something about travelling, apparently planning to delegate the mode of transportation to Lance himself. He'd never really known there was some kind of special custom for going places...as for him, he always just walked. It was time-consuming, sure, but he didn't expend much energy like most mortals did, and in truth he had all the time in the world, quite literally, being immortal.

"I suppose we probably may as well rent some horses, at least up to the point of the Misty Forest, where I doubt they'd want to go and it would be easier for me to navigate without them anyway," Lance said, noticing out of the corner of what could be called his mind's eye, his sense of those sentient beings that were around him, the return of the spy into his range. It was rather clear that they'd just reported to whoever was currently employing them, and would now be back on their tail. Truth be told, he rather looked forward to seeing how the spy, if nothing else, attempted to shadow them in the open fields when they got between Lomedor and the forest. But that wouldn't be for a short time...first they needed to get a pair of horses, mainly for the sake of cutting the travel time shorter and making it easier on Luc.

Luc found a horse dealership a few blocks away, a welcome sight with an unwelcome smell. Still, a bad smell meant a lot of horses, which meant a thriving business. Luc pushed open the door, which had apparently been designed by a man who thought that sulfur-yellow was an appealing color, and stepped into the empty room, briefly holding the door open for Lance. The room was small and drab, and as dusty as if the sandman himself lived there. Still, judging by the sheer number of footprints in said dust, this place did business with quite a few travellers. Behind the counter, leaning back in a dusty chair, sat a wrinkled old lady with grey-blue hair, calmly filing her nails and completely oblivious to the pair's presence. Luc cleared his throat, causing the lady to look up. After some brief confusion as to why a mime was peeking in her window, the lady turned her head to the two customers.

"Yes? How can I help you?" "We need a pair of horses. We're-" "Say no more, say no more," the lady said as she drew herself up. "We've got plenty of horses for you, and I'm sure that we'll find the perfect horse. Why, you're just the quintessence of equine affiability yourself!" Luc scratched his head in confusion. "Er..." "It means you're good with horses, dear. Now come this way into our storeroom. I've got a good deal to show you." The lady stepped through a door that had been previously unnoticed by Luc, leading the way to the back room where the horses were displayed, spouting off information all the way about the importance of horsepower in a horse, a confusing set of terms to say the least. "Now, we've just recieved a pair of horses, so these will be perfect for you. Just wait here." She zipped out the door and returned a few seconds later, leading two horses into the room. They were strong, looked fast, and seemed quite easy to manage. After a few minutes of display from the horsemistress, Luc was quite certain that he wanted these two, no matter how comfortable the journey would be. "So you've decided to rent Sundance and Kidd? Wonderful!" The lady clapped her hands and rubbed them together in earnest. "And now for the bill."

Shortly thereafter, Lance and Luc stood outside the dealership with two horses and, in Luc's case, a woefully empty money pouch. Nobody said that a journey would be easy on the wallet. "What now?" asked Luc.

Staying silent for a little while, Lance simply listened in on the somewhat confusing, and it seemed rather one-sided, conversation. The woman apparently selling and tending to the horses didn't seem to pay him much attention anyway, seeming to be talking mainly to Luc, not that he minded at all. He hardly knew a thing about horses, and wasn't even quite sure if he'd be comfortable riding one now for the first time.

Sundance and Kidd the horses' names apparently were, strange names to him no doubt, but people always tended to give strange names to animals. Maybe just because that set them apart from those that walked on their hind legs and had a known language they communicated with, he couldn't be sure. Regardless, they seemed like fine enough horses, and in the whole apparent deal of nobody paying attention to Lance currently, the woman let Luc pay for them, which was rather costly.

"What now?" Luc asked, and Lance glanced with his one eye to one of the horses.

"I suppose we should probably direct them to the edge of the city, then ride from there across the grasslands until we get to the forest. After that, I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do with them, to be honest," he admitted. While he'd been in the human world for a bit over two decades, there were still many things he didn't know, especially special occasions, animals, and renting.

Luc shrugged, then nodded. "Seems as good a plan as any." And without further ado, he took Kidd's reins, pulling him or her (Luc paused to check. Sure enough, Kidd was a mare.) down the street, headed for the city gates. Unbeknownst to Luc, the two of them were being shadowed by Bean again. The little mime dashed from alley to alley, staying in shadow when he could and running when he touched bright sunlight. Needless to say, he made a bit of an odd figure. Still, thanks to Luc's unfortunate habit of never looking behind (He could still hear his mother repremanding him. "It'll invite bad luck!"), he didn't see the rather conspicuous figure of the mime.

Of course, it also helped that Luc was wrapped up in his own thoughts. Let's take a peek at them and see what's distracting him so much, shall we? Lance... He shows up out of nowhere, and within an hour I've joined his guild, dropped all of my plans for the city, and set out on a journey for the Misty Forest. It's not like I was won over by any charisma; he barely talks at all when he's not prompted. Still, I wonder what it is that led me to him. It couldn't have been a coincidence that out of all the libraries in the world, he just happened to walk into mine. But if he doesn't have charisma, then why am I following him? And, of course, why does he change the subject when I ask him how he could afford to purchase an entire tower? And I haven't even started on his history, or lack thereof. He's hiding something. I'm not sure what, but he's definitely not used to cities, whoever he really is. I'll just have to watch him more closely, and this journey should provide an excellent chance to do just that.

As that thought ended, Lómëdor's city gates rose up before them. Feeling a bit giddy at the suddenness of the arrangement, Luc felt the need to provide a suitably dramatic farewell speech. "Well then, we're off. Goodbye, Lómëdor, and especially your library. If I see the likes of your teaching staff again, it will be too soon." It wasn't much, but it was good enough.

"Seems as good a plan as any," Luc responded, directing along the horse known as Kidd, if Lance recalled correctly, leaving him with Sundance. Not to mention it left him the short time it would take them to reach the edge of the city not to potentially embarrass himself. Who was to say what would happen on his first ever horse ride...the only thing he'd ever ridden was a dragon.

Then there was that annoying little spy of theirs, dashing from alley to alley in an attempt not to be seen by them. A good attempt, he didn't doubt, though he couldn't say since he wasn't bothering to look behind him. Luc didn't seem to be either, and Lance knew that he'd caught a glimpse of the spy earlier in the library.

"Well then, we're off. Goodbye, Lómëdor, and especially your library. If I see the likes of your teaching staff again, it will be too soon," Luc said, and Lance noticed then that they'd reached the edge of the city, apparently having been lost in some thoughts once more, a thing that happened often. So often, in fact, that he'd developed an instinct to let his senses guide him between crowds and the like so he didn't bump into anyone.

"Right then...off to the forest, I suppose," Lance said, not missing anything in particular about...well, anywhere, really. He never became very attached to anything these days, perhaps because there was nothing for him to be attached to it seemed. Mentally shrugging off these thoughts, he glanced over to Luc, doing his best to hide the fact that he barely knew the first thing about horseback riding.