Meeting the Landers: Roreil Dawn

Roreil Dawn is on the tall side for a Gnome! The man is standing on the docks, looking up at one of the merchant ships, waving his hand. He's just saying goodbye to someone it'd seem, coming down the planks, holding a large satchel on his back with one hand.

There's a few on the docks that wave at him, welcoming him back. It'd seem that mister Dawn is quite liked in this neck of the woods. He's certainly got a different charisma than the leader of the Sumaragi Dukedom. Something that speaks more to the regular people. The loyal, yet humble white knight!

Blonde haired, armored, one might wonder how he'd fair on a ship to be honest. He's also most certainly young looking. But, he's still a noble. He's got power, politically, and he's got power, personally. The question is, how will Proteus approach this righteous man?

Proteus is... a short Imp, which only accentuates her gremlin nature. Still, she arrives in her hood and cloak, stepping forward to look over this noble man. He seems to be level-headed and popular enough, and as on the level as one really gets.

He's a man who respects the law, and the law deals openly. Therefore, Proteus will meet him on his own terms... metaphorically, at least. She pulls her hood back, exposing her face and hair for a change as she steps forward to meet the Sumeragi scion. "Roreil Dawn." She says, greeting him with with a nod. "I am Proteus of Plant Hwydaen. A pleasure to meet you." The Imp smiles, her sharklike grin certainly making her look more trustworthy. "I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

Roreil dawn's blonde eyebrows raise as Proteus appears. The dark to his light. Yet, she is met with a pleasant smile for her approach. As her hood comes down, he touches a hand to his chest and bows just slightly. "Good afternoon, madam." He was clearly just about to state his own name, but she'd already declared his name.

"I am glad you are familiar with me, Madam Proteus." He doesn't seem at all taken aback by that shark-like grin. "Of course. We can talk. Please, I do have some things to attend to. Walk with me." He offers to her, motioning his hand politely at his side as he proceeds to casually walk in the direction of the Dukedom's castle. But it should be a sufficiently long walk that they can get some words in.

There is a nod, the Imp returning the bow with a short one of her own. She doesn't seem the type to figure out how to properly curtsey, which probably explains some of her difficulties with the nobility. Still, she moves right along, smiling. "I try to make it my business to know things, and people. Your name keeps coming up in all kinds of interesting places, Sir Dawn."

She folds her hands behind her back as she walks, and once they're out of casual overhearing, she begins to talk. "I'm someone who is researching various facets of this world for various reasons. I'm hardly the first and I won't be the last. I sadly lack a position so exalted as to smooth the way, like Akumeiji or others. But maybe you might have some insight as to some of the troubles one might have on the search for knowledge, Sir Dawn?"

Roreil Dawn walks alongside the Imp, stopping at a stall for a moment to pass some coin for a simple set of rice balls, and proceeds to eat as they walk. Politely only eating when Proteus speaks. "I am surprised my name would come up so often. I do not make that large of an impression." The Gnome answers Proteus, humble as usual.

Once far enough away from the stalls, Roreil raises a blonde brow at the name Akumeiji being mentioned. "You certainly don't have the bearing of a noble. You should not raise peoples' names so easily, madam Proteus. She's not a well liked name in these parts." Roreil Dawn points out.

"But if you are having trouble searching knowledge, perhaps people are getting in the way for your own good." Roreil Dawn points out helpfully. "Or, in the case of nobles, in order to make sure that their fortune remains theirs."

The Imp shrugs. "Everyone I've talked to said you are a forthright person who looks for the best in people. A honest dealer who punishes the wicked. You are the kind of person most would think of when they consider the term 'noble', and your humility only accentuates it. But that is the reputation of Roreil Dawn, and now I am meeting the man."

The Imp walks along further as they move along from the stalls, and there is some measure of asperity in the form of a noise of mild frustration. "I am in fact not a noble. I don't want to /be/ a noble. I probably will never fit in with the noble class. I am an Archaeologist and Adventurer. I wouldn't be accepted by them regardless. I have too much of a desire to get my hands dirty."

Purple eyes flick to the side, and she shrugs. "Who are they to decide what is best for me? Am I not my own person?" She asks. "As far as the nobles are concerned, they can protect their fortunes how they like. I have no interest in gold."

Proteus turns and gestures out on the lands around them. "This world is beautiful, Sir Dawn. The people of this land are beautiful too, in their own way. But where did it come from? And where will it go? What place do we have in it, and what are the reasons for those places?" She looks back to Roreil. "I want this land to flourish, and the people within it to flourish as well. But to do that requires understanding and adaptation. I have no place here, Sir Dawn. I hailed from Ezzo. I refuse to swear allegiance to another Kingdom after its fall. I am more at home in a monster-infested ruin than I am in a grand ballroom. But all of it is in pursuit of something better. That pursuit has already cost me. It will cost me more before it's over."

Roreil dawn makes an amused sound as the Imp speaks of his reputation, but doesn't counter it, nor does he spare empty words like 'you flatter me'. He just lets those words be. Letting the imp talk.

"For someone who doesn't wish to become a Noble, you most certainly know to draw the attention like one." Roreil Dawn remarks when Proteus has finally made her statement. "I admit. I am no Archeologist, but I'd done my fair share of fighting monsters in the past. Whenever I see ruins, I am less interested in just... finding out what was there. I just want to rebuild what was once there." The blonde explains to Proteus.

It doesn't seem he will go into the philosophy of the ruling class. "But if you are an Archeologist, then you know very well that Gold is not all they protect. Information is Power, as I have often heard both Nobles and Adventurers mention in equal measure." He declares, stopping for a moment as some guards pass by, raising his hand to make sure Proteus does not continue to speak until they have passed.

Then, he turns towards her. "You are espouting many things, Madam Proteus. But I feel like you are running around the... block, is it?" She's trying to remember an Adventurer's saying. "Speak straight to me. You have come to me, seeking me out for knowledge. But earnestly, I do not yet know why."

"I'm drawing attention because I'm asking about things they don't like. They try to hoard their knowledge like a miser does gold. There are people in my Guild who also wish to rebuild upon what was there... And more. I don't delude myself into thinking I can be an architect." She pauses. "The last time I tried, the tunnel almost collapsed in on me. It wasn't pleasant." She shrugs, chuckling for a moment.

She does, however, grin as Roreil points out what Proteus was dancing around... But waits for the guards to pass before she speaks again. "You're right. Knowledge is in fact Power. And that is what I am gathering in my own way." But Roreil faces to her and basically asks her to get to the point. Proteus shrugs. "All right. I'm looking for the Book of Sarla." She says, simply. "People are trying to block me from finding it. Do you know anything about the Book and where I could find it?"

Roreil Dawn's smile fades rather quickly when Proteus speaks true; of what she seeks. There's a pause there, as the man considers Proteus, hand on his sword for a moment. "I do not know how you've heard of the Books of Sarla. But they aren't something an Adventurer would find use of, I imagine." Roreil Dawn proposes.

"Why do you wish to learn about such a dangerous Relic?" Roreil Dawn asks of Proteus, clearly betraying that he knows what those are. "Is it because of the knowledge within?"

"Really." Proteus replies, her brow arching as she sees when his hand moves to his sword. "What's so dangerous about the Books that people would consider them worth this level of security? But yes, I want the knowledge inside it. I learned of a person who was awaiting their destiny, which was written in the Book. And I wanted to learn of that destiny so I could see what it held, why it mattered so much to them." Never mind that it apparently already happened.

"Is that truly what you wish though?" Roreil Dawn then asks, as his expression turns... different. Almost inhuman in the way he looks at her. "The Books of Sarla are bound tight to this World's future, madam Proteus. People who obtain them, are bound to the World's future. Bound to follow its instructions to the letter." He explains with a very firm tone. "Unable to step outside of the Law that it binds them to."

Proteus grimaces as she hears what Roreil says about the Books and what they do to people who possess them... And the strange expression Roreil has as he talks about it.

Her eyes narrow. "But that makes no sense. That doesn't follow the level of security around them. Wouldn't those who follow the Law /want/ them in the hands of people, then?" She asks, and then folds her arms. "Especially those of Mac Anu, those who keep the Law. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Sir Dawn?"

Roreil Dawn slowly crosses her arms as Proteus continues to speak on the matter of the books. "There are only so many of Sarla's Books, Madam Proteus. And as someone who enjoys Knowledge as Power, you would know that such a thing is not easily given up." He answers her with a firm tone. "The question is, is that something you are interested in?" There's a tenseness in the air. Roreil Dawn is clearly not engaging on the topic of the Temple of Law at the moment, but is instead interested in sizing up the Imp Adventurer in front of him.

There is a moment where Proteus goes quiet, considering this. The tension is heavy in the air, as the matter of the books hangs in the balance. Proteus could try to claim one, perhaps... But in exchange...?

It would destroy everything she believes in.

There is a sudden movement as Proteus turns away, her cloak swishing in the air dramatically (she practiced that move, damn it). "No. I am not interested in being bound to the Law of the World. Far from it. I learn the rules of the World for a different reason, Sir Dawn." She glances over her shoulder back towards him. "There are kinds of Power that I will not accept, and some costs that are too great even for me. I will unravel the puzzle of this world without it."

Roreil Dawn watches as Proteus suddenly does her dramatic turn, and begins to step away. As she glances behind her, she will see that his hand has come off of his blade. "Then I can not help you." He answers her in a way that sounds like he's making a fact about nature itself. He <cannot> help her.

"And if you do find that power, I recommend you do not show it near me." He adds to that. "The Church of Law frowns heavily on people seeking to push agains the Law of the World." Roreil notes, a fact that Proteus is all too aware of already.

Unfortunately, there isn't exactly a 'church of chaos' or a 'church of screw the feds'. Which makes Proteus' search so much more difficult and arduous.

"It's fine," Proteus responds. "I know very well who you are affilliated with. I didn't lie, though. You are a noble man, and you are someone who holds fast to your principles. I respect that. I will do my best to not disturb you with my actions in the future."

She turns to him fully, and gives him a bow once more, before straightening. "Where was the Law, Sir Dawn, when it destroyed my home, stole my power, and trapped me in this world? I did not see the priestesses of Mac Anu in Ezzo that day. I fought out of that chaos and helped raise that barrier with my own hands. And with these hands I will continue to carve out a place in this world that is now my home. For myself, and all others like me. I am not your enemy, Sir Dawn. In the end, we both want a beautiful world."

Again, she turns away. "But your path is not mine. I hope to see you again at the end of it. I may send others to you. You may find them more... compatible to your liking."

"The Law didn't rule that region of Yamato. You can blame the one who sat uselessly upon her throne, looking down from her tower." Roreil Dawn answers Proteus when she speaks of the Ezzo Empire. "That Kingdom has rejected the Law ever since it became that desolate place." Roreil seems to be rather aggrevated as Proteus makes that claim.

"I am glad you raised that barrier. But it should never have come to that." And with that, Roreil Dawn too turns away, and steps on along.