From the Ashes... A new king's day?

[Dracos]

"You...You, You!"  He howled.  "This is why you cannot read the book!  It would break one such as you and traffic in madness before!  Flee child!  Flee from the truth of all things!"

Dracos

[Shukuen]

"Madness?" parroted Leets, restraining a bitter laugh. "I think it might be a little late for you and I," he quipped. "I doubt anything in that little book of yours can be any more inspiring then speaking to fragments of ancient beings."

[Dracos]

"Not ready yet are you!  Now leave here!" The man chortled.

[Shukuen]

"...fine," Leets replied patiently and continued on his way. He waited until he was far out of sight before circling back the long way. When the path began looking familiar again, he slowed down to a more sedated pace, focusing on staying unnoticed with his ability. He slipped close to the edge of a building just as the preacher came into sight, and waited there for the man to lower his guard.

[Dracos]

The preacher was continued to madly preach his way of absolution, the ratty torn up book kept tight in one hand as he gestured with it.

Dracos

[Shukuen]

Leets hummed thoughtfully to himself, waiting to see if the preacher would relax his hold any further. When it didn't seem likely, he worked his way closer, studying the preacher's movements for an opportunity to grab the book.

An opportunity presented, Leets rushed forward and snatched the book from the preacher's hands.

[Dracos]

The man spun, his hand tearing pages from the precious tome as Leets made quick his escape with most of it, the man left screeching in rage and soon chasing after the vanishing thief.

Dracos

[Shukuen]

This certainly brought back memories. Not very good memories, but still...!

Leets used his years of experience in escape and evasion to their fullest, as he put as much distance and obstacles between himself and the preacher, all the while weaving around pedestrians to keep himself hidden as long as possible. The trick worked a few times in the past where his pursuers, losing sight of him, would waste their time asking anyone if they saw him.

[Dracos]

The partially sane preacher was no match for Leets' footspeed or his skills in stealth, leets finding it almost childsplay to slip away with his precious book beyond the enraged shrieks of the man and even the guards that paid him heed and helped him in his hunt.

Dracos

[Shukuen]

So even the guards got involved? mused Leets. It would seem he'd have to lay low for a while.

Stealth still up, he slipped into hiding and opened the book, wondering if it was worth all this fuss.

[Dracos]

It was said that some tomes were not meant for mortal eyes.  That certain knowledge should never have been scribed to paper.  Some say this because the knowledge is evil.  That the power contained within would corrupt the user, spelling despair and terror for all who come before.  Some say even the benign ones can be dangerous, letting a mortal know things that their minds were not made to comprehend.  That what would be left behind was a being shattered where a man once stood.

As Leets sat down, hidden in a shadowy alley from the searching Baron guards, these types of sayings were no longer theoretical.  Slowly turning the ratty and abused pages of the so-called 'Player's Guide', Leets found himself staring into the heart of the universe, enlightenment coming upon him, matched with despair and with hope.  The man he had spoke to was not entirely correct, but nor was he wrong as he read of the refuge of that this world was made of.  His very being brought into question by even the first few pages, as only his in-born tenacity allowing him to continue turning the pages, showing before himself the life of the world in more detail than he thought possible.  Years and years of information spread before him as he continued on inevitably down the stories of the lives of people he knew and places  he had been and would be, continuing on towards....

But he would not know, for at a point, it stopped, pages from the end torn out, a shock through his battered mind as he groped confusedly for another page.  A shaken and recovering Leets was left, the book in his hands.

Dracos
Going over the details in PM.

[Shukuen]

Leets' fell to his knees limply, the book held between nerveless fingers as he stared incomprehensibly at some distant point among the pages. The newfound knowledge bombarded him, bringing back the arrogant words he had thrown at the preacher just moments before. Beyond our understanding indeed...

Broken laughter bubbled from his throat, as he felt his tenuous grasp on reality crack before forcing himself by sheer will to hold on to his sanity. He tightened his hold on the precious tome, clouded eyes staring back towards the open streets as a single thought began pounding in his head.

"The remaining pages... can I... should I?" he murmured, forcing himself to stand as he considered his chances of stealing them from the preacher.

[Dracos]

He knew with relative certainty that in his current condition, he'd have trouble stealing candy from a baby, much less walking more than ten steps in a straight line.  Stealing the rest of the pages from the crazed and probably very paranoid at the moment man was not likely to happen at the moment.

Dracos

[Olvelsper]

"Tell me why I keep going on people's errands, Yomi?" Jan rethorically asked the flying primordial puffball. "I mean, I owe them that much, at least."

He sighed as he overanalyzed.

"Let's check on the spears. At least I won't feel like a fifth wheel." He opened Pandora's Box.

[Shukuen]

Leets laughed, feeling his vision spin and legs wobble. "Not enough action points," he concluded amidst giggles as he stumbled out of the alley. He wracked his mind for a course of action, but exhaustion kept him from focusing past a single thought at a time. As he wandered in search of direction, a corner of his mind wondered if this was what it felt like to be drunk.