New Bookworm, Meet old Bookworm (Rowen)

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer was stuck, caught in a problem that not even he could solve. He had been in more frightening situations, like being at the mercy of a monster, or having a man whom he once trusted hold a blade to his throat. Though all of those were challenging, they were nothing compared to the difficulty and stress that he felt upon the matter at hand.

The book in his hand

It was an herbs book that Dreamer had bought with the some money he had earned working at The Ram. He figured that he had become an pretty accomplished healer with his magic, but what if he did not have his magic? He knew the chances were slim to none that his magic would evade him, but he felt he needed to prepare. Plus, with the kind of friends he discovered he had been making, a few of the more deadly uses would come in handy.

If only he could figure out what the hell the book was saying.

He had made slow progress after two days, reading a grand total of ten pages alone. But he was stuck, and his head hurt from the effort he was putting into the task before him. Though no matter what he did, he could not find the answer. Sitting in the back of The Ram alone at his seat, with a single candle lite, he moaned painfully and quiet.

He was doomed.

[rowen]

OOC: SO SORRY DREAMER!!! i've been late becuase i had friends over ALLL WEEKEND but now they're all gone xD

IC:
Rowen shuffled into the Ram, head down and shutting the door behind him hurriedly to keep most of the wind from blowing into the cozy, warm place. He wandered over to the bar and took a seat. He needed something to warm up his blood that seemed to be frozen in his veins. Waving a barmaid over, he ordered a mug of beer. When she returned, he nodded thankfully and handed her the amount owed for the drink. He took one swift gulp, then looked around the room.

He saw little than the usual - a drunk or two raving in a corner, bartenders rushing back and forth, people discussing the recent gossip. None of this interested him in the slightest. Instead of turning to his neighbor and striking up a conversation, as most of the bar's visitors seemed to be doing, he strolled to the back part of the building. He found a lonely booth and slipped in, pulling out a book and flipping over to his bookmarked page. He took one last look around and saw that a person near his booth was staring intently at a book, looking like he was facing a demon of some kind. He heard the boy groan, or thought he did. Maybe it was one of the drunks.

Standing quietly, he closed his book, went over to the boy's table and looked over his shoulder. A herb book, it looked like, from the descriptions drawings in it. "Having a bit of trouble?" Rowen asked. You could still detect the Cenred accent. It surprised even him that he was going to poke into this boy's business. It wasn't like him. Darn books. he thought. Sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Having a bit of trouble?

Dreamer almost jumped out of his seat from surprise. He had been so caught up in the book and the translations that he hadn't noticed the man walk up behind him. Dreamer felt safe in the Ram that he was hardly ever as attentive as he was out on the streets. The Ram had been somewhat of a safe haven, where he could freely express his emotions threw his music.

Except he wasn't worried about music at the moment, he was worried about his book.

Turning his head, Dreamer was able to see the skinny man wrapped in a robe. It wasn't fancy, or even all that clean, so he immediately assumed that the man wasn't a noble slumming it. Though he seemed to clean cut to be another cut purse out to trick him of his coin. Whatever the man was, Dreamer saw a casual curiosity in his eye as he peered at his book.

Dreamer wondered if he understood the words on the pages.

It was unlikely, not many outside of the noble class, aside from those of the guild, knew how to read. It was a skill not many saw as useful, since their time was spent working, not lounging about with a book in their palms.

In any case, That was enough split second thoughts.

"no no, well, yes a little" Dreamer said, looking back at his book, "Just a little mix up in some of the translations".

[rowen]

OOC: lol sorry again!! stupid snow knocked out the electricity for i dont remember how long!

Rowen examined the pages a bit more closely. He didn't recognize the language right off the bat, but he thought it seemed familiar. He knew a little bit in most languages, the basic greetings, good-byes, and the like, but this wasn't something that even looked like a language. It intrigued him. He was the kind of person who became interesting in things that most people would never think about. But the written word, history, and just books in general had always been the thing for him. Bookworm and proud of it, he often thought to himself. Then he would usually chuckle and get back to whatever he was doing.

He racked his brain for some reason he would remember this language. He was positive he'd once learned something about it. Then he realized that he'd seen the same type of words, in different order, in a different book. He couldn't remember the book's name, nor the language's name, but the odd-looking letters started to come together. "I believe that's... snowdonia hawkweed there," he said, pointing out a line in the book that had been troubling to the young man. He had no clue was snowdonia hawkweed was, but that was what it looked like."Maybe muira puama, wild dagga, and... kanna?" He'd never heard of those either, and he shrugged to show that he wasn't sure.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer listened to what the man said and then back down at the pages. Ran his hand over the text, gasped for a second, and then looked back at the book. For the next few moments he looked back at the page, to the man, then back at the page. Then he jumped from his seat, and hugged the man.

Thank you's flew from his mouth as he hugged the man for a minute, gathering a few chuckles from those around The Ram. They knew that there was no sexual interaction going on, Just Dreamer, their awkward entertainer, was showing his gratitude. Dreamer removed himself from the man finally, and asked him to please sit down.

Dreamer took his own seat and beamed at the man, offering his hand, "Dreamer" he said. It was his introduction, although Dreamer didn't know if the man would understand that. He hadn't thought of that the moment he had said it.

[rowen]

Rowen, completely confused, took the offered seat with a mumbled thanks and you're welcome. The chuckles from those around him made his face go slightly red, and he quickly ducked his head, trying to disappear right were he was. Why did he always get himself into situations like this? Well, actually, he'd never been hugged by a complete stranger, and that was what really freaked him out. He took the boy's hand and shook it.

Dreamer, if it was the boy's name, was an odd name. Rowen almost suspected that he was just fooling around. But, when you offered somebody a hand shake and then said something, usually it was your name. So he just decided not to ask and assume Dreamer was his name. "Rowen. Nice to meet you, Dreamer." He set sipped a bit from his mug and set it back down.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer was glad that the introductions were over, and now they could enjoy a common conversation. Looking down at the book, and then at Rowen, Dreamer decided on shutting his book. Putting his elbows on the table, he rested his chin on palms. He kept smiling up at Rowen, an act he found to be normal.

Creepy to everyone else

"So what do you do for a living?" Dreamer asked, engaging into the conversation.

[rowen]

Rowen, looking a bit unsettled, leaned back in his chair, trying to distance himself from that smile. Dreamer was really starting to freak him out. And obviously several other people thought it was quiet amusing, for Rowen heard snickers and giggles. Ignoring these, Rowen answered Dreamer's question. "I'm a scribe," He thought that maybe he was starting to regret his decision to come over here, and he sipped his beer. He suddenly asked himself why he'd gotten beer. Of all things, he almost never drank beer. He didn't really care for it. Ah well, maybe today it was worth it. "So what do you do?"

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

"So what do you do?"

"I do a lot of things" Dreamer told him, "But for employment, i play music here at The Ram". Dreamer was slightly shocked that the man had not already known that. Many people came threw the Ram, and many people watched him play his music. Recently he had become a bit popular amongst all patrons at The Ram. Which made his boss happy, because they always seem to have more patrons.

He shrugged it off though, he figured that the life of a scribe must be difficult and full of long hours. He didnt feel jealous over the man. Dreamer enjoyed reading, but he had enough on his plate with his studying.

[rowen]

"Ah, I see," Rowen said. He didn't much like poking into people's lives, so he left the personal questions at that. He would ask only what he was asked. "I don't come here often, but it's a slow day, what with this blasted weather and all." It was slightly true, but Rowen couldn't find anything else to talk about. Maybe the kid would get bored or something, wander off, and Rowen could exit and retreat to his office in a quiet manner. But then Dreamer seemed very weird, so 'maybe's were not going to cut it. His eyes wandered to the book the boy had been reading. "What language is that?" he asked.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

"Its in...." Dreamer looked down at the book, then opened to pages flipping threw it. "English" he said, knowing that it was the common language spoken in Camelot. He closed the book again and looked back up at Rowen, "Ive been putting some time in...." he paused for a moment to think of the correct word to use, "Medical care, so i figured i could learn to read and learn more about medicine at the same time".

Dreamer thought it would be more productive to learn both at once. He liked the word productive, he had deducted its meaning earlier. Deduction was a good one to, he enjoyed thinking it to himself.

Dreamer let his thoughts go as he stared a little closer at Rowen, and noticed the man edging away slightly. "Do i make you uncomfortable?" Dreamer asked him, interested in the answer.

[rowen]

Rowen glanced uneasily around him before answering the question. He didn't want to seem rude, but he couldn't just lie. He had never been good at either lying or hiding his emotions. "Yes, you do," he answered after a second. "Quite a lot, actually." He heard some snickers from the left, and felt his face flush a bit more. Why couldn't these darned people stop listening in and concentrate more on their own conversations? Well, Rowen had butted in on Dreamer and his reading. But the boy had been having trouble, so Rowen felt himself justified. It only then dawned on him that the boy had answered 'English'. Well, it must have been a very old version of English. He just let it slide without question.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer frowned, he didn't want to be an inconvenience to the man. He sighed and scratched his hair for a moment before pushing it aside. He accidentally pushed it all the way, showing both of his eyes. Then he caught it and let the hair fall back in front of his face again.

"Sorry" he mumbled to him, looking over to a table beside them. It was full of some of some local men. The Ram received business from all types of people. Everyone from the slums to the military, and an occasional noble who was slumming it. At this particular table was a group of soldiers.

Dreamer raised his finger and waved it in their direction, "Now boys, mind your own business please, i do have a guest". The soldiers just laughed and nodded at him, "Alright Dreamer, whatever you say". The soldiers turned back to their own conversation as a barmaid returned to their table to give them their drinks.

"Sorry about that too" he said.

[rowen]

Rowen's brow furrowed as he noticed the multi-colored eyes. Gold and blue... An odd coupling. But then he just shrugged it off in his mind, figuring that if the boy hadn't mentioned it, then he might not want to. It still puzzled Rowen, but not enough to make him ask. He'd already gotten his nose into more trouble than he should have.

He felt a little bad for making the boy seem a little less peppy. A little, only.

He glanced sideways at the soldiers as Dreamer addressed them. A little odd as well; a young boy, teenage, telling army men to mind themselves like they were friends or acquaintances. Well, since Dreamer did work here, he might know the men. At least they just stop snickering and laughing, going back to their own business.

"It's fine, thanks," he mumbled slightly.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer and Rowen sat their in silence for a few awkward minutes. Nothing really could be said between the two it seemed, but Dreamer didn't want to get up and walk away. He sat there and watched the crowd, glancing at Rowen every now and then. He found the man interesting, he could read really well, and yet he forgot the language he had read. So he must know many languages, and write many words. That fascinated Dreamer, but he couldn't do anything if he made the man uncomfortable.

So they sat there, sipping at their drinks, even as the table full of soldiers left to either go home or take their turn on patrol. Dreamer just watched them, and even waved as one of them gave a half fast salute as he walked by. That made Dreamer feel awkward, and he glanced at Rowen for only a moment, hoping he didn't notice.

Dreamer had yet to get used to the whole Mage thing

Above all the noise, not far from their table, two men were arguing quiet loudly. It was hard to understand, mostly because they were both drunk. So worse came to worse, and one left his fist fly and suddenly the whole bar was in uproar. Everyman was for himself suddenly, and Dreamer was left their to sigh and shake his head.