#terramore

>start wondering about accuracy of the use of glaives/halberds/polearms in general while on horseback

>find mostly speculation and the recurring theme of "BUT X WAS BETTER SO"

      Karliah set off at a steady pace towards the throne room. Eager to talk to Cyrus and tell him of their new guests. He probably won’t be too happy about it, she thought, but when dealing with that wretch you can’t be too careful. As she rounded the corner into the throne room she noticed that the door to Cyrus’ chambers was ajar. Approaching cautiously she knocked on the door then entered the room.

      Upon entering she was met with the scent of honey and the spicy smell of cinnamon.  She sighed, Sari bothered him enough that he drank, glancing at the bottle on the table, and quite a lot very quickly from the looks of it. Shifting her gaze to the lump of cloth on the floor she walks over and sits down next to him pulling the cover off of him. He lay there snapping his fingers repetitively.

      “You know that won’t work in here your own magic prevents that from happening. Please stop trying to set things on fire it’s very unbecoming.”

       “Oh Karliah! It’sssss you!” he mumbled in a slurred voice, the smell of mead heavy on his breath, “I thought you were Sssssari coming to pessssterr me more.”

      She shook her head disapprovingly and stood grabbing the bottle of mead from the table and returning it to the shelf from which it was removed. “You’ve had enough of that for today, for the rest of the week really.”

      Returning to the Archmage she grabbed ahold of his shoulder and one of his hands and helped him to his feet, then walked him to his bed. He pitched forward falling on top of his blankets, with a groan he rolled over looking up towards Karliah with a wide grin, “You’ve got a pretty face.”

      For a moment she blushed then began laughing steadily growing louder until her sides pained her and her throat was sore. Then she said with a smirk, “One day you’ll tell me that when you have control of your senses and I may believe you.”

      “But you are!” He reaching for her hand and missing by a hairs breadth. Putting too much weight into his movement he began to tumble out of his bed. Karliah attempted to catch him but his weight was too much for her to bear and she collapsed on top of him. Gasping from her sudden fall she sat up quickly, frustrated with the archmage.

      “You can lay there on the cold ground, I’ve tried helping you!” Then she stood and stormed out of the room slamming the door behind her.

      I need a hot bath and she sighed then strode off towards her room.

                        *                       *                          *

      Sunlight steamed in from the window set into the east wall of his room. Cyrus began to stir annoyed by the light on his face. As he sat up he almost fell back down as a massive throbbing in his head. Cyrus cursed under his breath and clambered to his feet then headed towards his wash basin and splashed cold water into his face.

      The water made him feel a bit better although he still felt as if there was a large stone resting upon his head. He trudged out of his room and to his study hoping to get some peace and quiet before his day began. As he entered the study and sat down in his favorite chair to read one of the recent proposals from the council.

      He quickly read over the page without actually reading it, only to be interrupted by the door slamming open. “Good morning!” Karliah chimed with a smug expression on her face, “How did you sleep last night?”

      He grunted, “You know exactly how I slept last night.  Must you be so loud?”

      “Since you acted so impulsively last night, yes I do. Oh you might want to know, you have some guests who decided to stay. Remia said something about wanting to help you out, with your Sari issue.”

       “Oh did she now? She might be quite useful…” He thought scratching his beard then stopped quickly as the sound made his head hurt even more, “Two hundred and fifty years….and not one person here has figured out some magical cure to the day after a heavy night of drinking. We should really get someone on that…”

      “Now why would you do that? Then my day after your heavy drinking wouldn’t be as satisfying?” Karliah said with a wink as she turned and left the room. On her way out she called back, “Breakfast is ready by the way, it’s waiting for you down in the kitchens.”

      Cyrus grunted in response. After a few he finished reading over his page, he got up and set out towards the kitchens attempting to avoid as many people as possible. Upon arriving in the kitchen he spoke with the chef briefly and asked if he had anything that could help with his head, unfortunately the chef did not so Cyrus returned to his study with his food.

      Sitting in his study in the chair next to the one he had been sitting in earlier was Sari. With a sigh he sat down in a different chair and began eating and asked between bites, “To what do I owe this…pleasure? Did you not get your fill of frustrating me yesterday?”

      A joyful smile danced across her lips, “Cyrus dear, I’ll never have my fill of frustrating you. I’m here for another reason to tell you what I wanted exactly. I had to leave yesterday before I could tell you.”

      “What’s the point in telling me? Do you think by telling me the name or what it is or does that I will be more inclined to allow you retrieve it?”

      A glint appeared in her eyes for a second and her smile grew wider, “It might. What I need from the Apocrypha, among the bookshelves located within there is a book-“

      “A book!  Do you know what the Apocrypha is? It is a store of hidden knowledge, there are literally thousands upon thousands of books in there! I don’t even have a full list of what is contained within yet!”

      She flashed a look of annoyance at him, “As I was saying, there is a book within that rests upon a pedestal. The book is bound in black leather with very thin gold lettering on it. What the title of it says exactly I’m not sure as it is written in a script that the people of Aren used a few centuries ago.”

      Cyrus began to recall though his memories of the Apocrypha, “I’ve never seen such a book within the Apocrypha, so even if I wanted to help you I couldn’t.”