The Account of Professor Cunnings and the Gray God
A man in his mid thirties entered the dim room and lit a large candle in his hand, illuminating the windowless study. He removed his spectacles and rubbed his dark eyes with his clean unwrinkled hand. It was late but this was something he had to do; he sat at the red oak desk and opened a brand new, professionally leather bound journal and dipped his feather quill into its ink well. He pulled out additional candles from the desk's drawers as he predicted that this would be a long winded writing session.
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This is the account of Professor of Culture and Archeology Holden Cunnings regarding the events that transpired within the Library of the Gray God and a recitation of my findings within it. In all consideration this recollection shall be taken as either theory or unproven fact as my word alone cannot suffice. However my reputation and standings within the academic community as well as my well received published works shall be the proof of my truth and fact. Even the Universalist Church acknowledges my publications as well as endorse my purely academic research regarding the Gray God and the faith it surrounds. This is a purely personal perspective regarding the events, however, as I only saw what I saw, nothing more. As such some events may be interpreted as pure illusion or a misunderstanding.
Roughly four months ago I discovered several location references within the Tomes of Alignment and the accompanying Book of Light and Dark. Each volume presented a hidden reference to a location that, when combined, provided the location to a temple. Such a task was child's play and it dawned on me that if this is indeed a new discovery then my contemporaries are beyond hope within this field. Such a find within the compendium was a marvelous discovery to me as to date I have only discovered three Gray God temples as opposed to over five dozen temples dedicated to the White God and fifteen to the Dark God. I brought my findings to my guild's board members and they accepted my plea for exploration. Unfortunately they declined to offer funding for the project. At the time I was confident in alternate connections within the kingdom and the church, which offered me a small funding grant to perform my research. As usual they cautioned me that such research was purely academical for the sake of all knowledge and learning. Honestly... I wish they have given me more than a small sack of gold coins.
The location revealed to me was north beyond our borders. To the north was the Overgrown Lands island chain and to the northwest was the Edo Continent. As anyone with a proper education knows, these lands are dominated by the ‘Beasts’. They are rather hard to generalize given their diverse appearance but I suppose they can be described as 'humanoid animals' to a degree. The Overgrown Lands in particular were flooded with diverse species and communities. It'd be a compliment to call it a melting pot. It was more like a hodgepodge collection of equally bitter creatures united only in mutual need for trade and sustenance. According to our books and history, Edo to the Northwest is far more cultured and dominated by a single type of Beast we call Vulpins.
It has been decades since any man has left beyond our cliffs and traveled north but I have little choice in the matter. Relying on my cultural knowledge of the Overgrown Lands, I set out to find willing volunteers, hoping to lure them with the gold I carry. The journey to these lands and the ensuing subterfuge is hardly of any worth to explain in detail— all I will say is that I obtained two volunteers. They were both Beasts... and they confounded me to no end. Hanse Akayuki and Kiba Bloodfang, traveling partners and friends.
When Hanse Akayuki entered my shack, I immediately understood his name... or rather his representation of it. He was a Vulpin as evidenced by his thin profile, pointed ears and muzzle, and bushy tail. He wore a bright white silk outfit with bright red on its borders and seams. He was a strange Vulpin with regards to his coloration, bearing a bright silver pelt with dark gray tipping his appendages and ears. His ruby red eyes seemed to top the surprises this one brings to the table. However his height intrigued me, normally vulpins hardly reach waist height yet here stands before me one who easily ascends to my chest. I was rather taken back by his size.
“Hel... hey now... I wasn't expecting this...” Was the first thing he said to me. “Humans never come up here.”
He was shocked indeed though he took my appearance here rather well. He returned a smile... a very mischievous one. This one is going to be tricky to handle, I thought.
Kiba Bloodfang, possibly a native of these island chains though the first name had me on edge. Kiba was much shorter than Hanse, standing as high as my knees. He also appeared very differently, contrasting Hanse's bright silver with a dark gray pelt and a dark 'mask' over his face. I smiled slightly when this one's tail reminded me of my pet back at home, similarly ringed. He also wore a great deal of blue.
Introductions over with, I paid them in advance with all the gold coins I had and we set out for the Gray God's temple. The whole trip had been a trial for me to get used to the presence of Hanse and Kiba. Hanse was a highly animated beast, every step he makes on his digitigrade legs was different from the last and each stride moves differently from the last. Even when standing still he shifted his weight side to side or tapped his clawed toes on the wooden floor of the vessel. Kiba often followed in Hanse's antics as if he was imitating him.
I leaned on the wooden beam of the ship's mast and began writing observations of my time since arriving in these lands. So much has changed... it all came as a shock to me. The books had spoken of an untamed land and rampant violence among the races here but the townships I hired these two in was highly developed and civilized with an active trade economy established. I shook my head at the thought that back at home the new generation of children were being taught with horribly outdated materials. As an academic I couldn't help but to feel like screaming...
“Hey Professor...” Hanse said as he leaned on the mast.
“Salutations.” I said abruptly. Hanse seemed to have taken my greeting as an insult of some kind as he scowled at me.
“...do you have a problem with me of some sort?”
“Perhaps. I take your apprehension with me in a similar vein.”
“I can live with it.”
“Only because I gave you my gold.” I said as I stood away from the mast and closed my journal. I wasn't looking at Hanse but I suspect his ears would have folded back in frustration with me.
“As if you'd understand...”
“Oh I understand well enough, Beast,” I said, raising my journal to eye-level and adjusting my glasses. “Consider your position in this world. Akayuki is an Edo name meaning Red Snow and your apparent attachment to it shown quite clearly by your selection of wardrobe. You hail from Edo correct?”
“Your point?” Hanse replied, indeed his ears were folded back when I looked back at him.
“But you don't hail from there... do you? No, not even close. Hanse is a derivative of Hans which stems from the eastern cultures. Why would an Edo native wear such a name from such a far away land?” Hanse narrowed his eyes, those vertical slit pupils piercing my own, “I know exactly why Hanse, you are not of Edo. Your fur colorings also give you away far too easily. You are a Silray, an amalgam of Silver, Red, and Gray vulpins only obtainable through a complex breeding process. One that is not possible in Edo. No, you are adopted and raised in Edo.”
Hanse sighed deeply and closed his eyes, leaning softly against the mast. Dead strike, I knew it!
“Edo culture has a trial of adulthood involving the acquisition of honor for the family. For you to go so far from home... you must be desperate to bring honor to your foster family.” I grinned deeply, savoring my victory over the beast. “The gold means nothing to you aside from food and shelter; you seek something not so well defined. The quest for honor goes badly I assume?”
Hanse shook his head and left the mast to myself. Before he entered the cabin he turned towards me. “Professor you may be, but you hardly understand how the world outside your books really works. Unlike them, us 'people' aren't so easy to define.”
I chuckled at his comment and brushed it aside. However, I felt a bead of sweat drizzle down onto my cheek. Was I that nervous? Nervous of what? I brushed that thought aside as well. We were almost there anyway. I could already see the landmass appearing at the horizon. My fingers rubbed one another intensively; the wait wouldn't last much longer. Something ached in my heart, though I cannot put my finger on it.
The landing and treks through the forest were rather uneventful and hardly worth explaining save for Hanse's apparent quick recovery and return to his usual antics. He led the way with a machete to cut through the bush. I scoffed at him quietly on why he wouldn't use his Edo katana which would be far sharper to cut with than that rusted machete. In fact he carried more than the curved katana and its sidearm; he carried on his back an interesting weapon. It was highly curved, far more so than the katana and had a large blue blade. It had a strange ring hole near the hand guard; I assume one puts his finger in to keep a hold of it. Kiba traveled to my side, holding a staff of some sort. A mage's staff? Perhaps, though beast mages are exceedingly rare whereas I can count in the thousands of human magic users. Still... I just had to ask something that has been bothering me...
“Why 'Fang'?” I asked Kiba abruptly. He looked at me with a bit of confusion.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Your name. It means 'Fang' in the Edo language. Why is that your name?”
“Oh! Well...”
“I named him that!” Hanse shouted over the sounds of cutting brush up ahead. I looked back at Kiba.
“Why?” Hanse suddenly stopped cutting and stuck the machete into the dirt. He proceeded to grab Kiba by the scruff of his neck and holds him out to me. He used his other hand and opened Kiba's jaw wide open.
“H...hey what the... awwrr!”
“His teeth are sharp!” Hanse said jokingly though I wasn't that impressed. After all... omnivore teeth aren't that sharp. Hanse put Kiba down and resumed cutting until his machete suddenly snapped.
It was a long pause as Hanse seemed to scan the broken machete as if he was scolding it or hoping it'd return to normal. Hanse promptly shrugged and tossed the machete over his shoulder and barely missed me. Clumsy fool...
“I will remember you well, Samson. Now then...” he scanned the surroundings for a few seconds, “Nope, can't go farther.”
My patience was dwindling by the second. I told myself that this is just his antics... he'll use his swords, I know it. Oddly enough it took a comment from Kiba to get that through.
“Hanse...” He said slowly, “Just use your swords. Isn't that a waste?”
“Use brings wear, tear, and rust. Now that's a true waste.” He said, holding a finger up. I laid my palm on my face; he just can't be helped at all. He chuckled a bit and drew the long blue blade from its scabbard. “Oh all right, let’s move on then.”
From that point on we moved along far faster than before but the irony struck me that moment... wear, tear, and rust... like that machete. The sudden realization made me burst out laughing for a moment. If I wasn't so distracted I am betting Hanse was smiling right then. Clever fool...
We cut through the overgrowth and into a small cavern. The natural walls of the cave were foiled by the artificial path that barrels its way through the caves. Hanse and Kiba appeared rather astonished and confused, not at the nature of the cavern but the path. I smiled as I knew what it was and they didn't know. I would lecture them about it, something I knew and they didn't. It always filled me with pride to divulge my knowledge to those of lesser folk. Kiba raised his staff and illuminated the cave with a soft white light. That settled it— he was a magic user.
We pressed onwards without making a sound though the silence was broken by Kiba.
“Professor Cunnings, you never really told us about this place.”
“Indeed. I haven't and for good reason.”
“And why is that?” Kiba seemed to grow impatient with my frequent aversions, much like Hanse.
“I shall repeat myself, one: I don't know what the place looks like, our eyes will tell us when we get there. Two: Again, your eyes will do better to understand the history of the place.”
Such impatient beings and they never listen.
“Can't you explain it just a little bit?”
“The atmosphere at the moment is inappropriate.”
A long groan from Kiba and we moved along for roughly an hour, engaging in minor conversations and trivial discussions. We rounded a corner and saw the exit of these caverns, a bright light far down the tunnels leading from the exit. My heart raced as we neared my final destination... just a single flight of stairs and we will be in the temple. We emerged from the cavern path....
I stood there gazing at the temple... or library more like it. It was a massive cylindrical structure leading upwards with a large spiral staircase to ascend it. The staircase stopped at every level within the library where lines upon lines of bookshelves, broken and intact at once, line the spiraling path. A faint blue light filtered through various holes and windows, each casting a dense light beam as it crossed the dust filled void. The place was in poor shape however, in fact some parts of the spiral staircase is damaged beyond repair and books lay strewn everywhere. Such a massive mess indeed... but this all tells a story...
“A library... a library!” Hanse yelled, “You know I kind of expected something of a trap laden tomb. But a library?”
I chuckled a bit; the meaning of this place came to me promptly. I wondered if I should explain it to them now.
“Hanse?” I called, “We're going up, clear the way for us.”
“Alright! I am going to fly.” Hanse cracked his knuckles and stretched a few times. He dashed towards the first flight of stairs and quickly ascended them. He approached the first gap in the floor and leap right over it, grabbing an exposed rod from the wall and swinging clear over the gap. One obstacle over another he bypassed each one with incredible agility and ease. I was astonished at his progression, thirty seconds and he's already on the third level and yet he kept running.
“Wha? Wait! Hanse! Stop!” Kiba yelled as loud as he could. Right at that moment Hanse obliged... exceedingly obliged. He halted his legs immediately and fell onto the floor with a loud thump.
“Oww! Hey what's the matter!?” He shouted as he crawled to the edge to see us.
“Hanse! You need to clear our path, remember?” Kiba pointed to the many treacherous gaps and holes along the path. I nodded in agreement.
Hanse narrowed his eyes and looked about the path he just cleared as if his display was all for nothing. He slid over the edge and dropped down level by level and returned to us. I handed him my satchel, it had everything I brought with me for exploration. Including the all important rope and lots of it.
“Take your time,” I told him, “We're in no rush.”
He nodded in agreement though he proceeded to scale the library almost as fast as he did before but cleared our path. He knotted the robe on a dead lantern against the wall and led it across, tying it to the other lantern before cutting the rope and moving on. We arrived at that robe and understood the solution to getting across. We'd leverage our feet against the wall while holding the rope tightly and slowly shimmy across the gap.
