( catch-all ) sailin' away on the crest of a wave

[sorser]

WHO: Stephen and various
WHAT: A catch-all for misc. things!
WHERE: In and around Castle Thorne, maybe the Horizon
WHEN: Throughout the month
WARNINGS: Will add as they come up!

(( closed starters and assorted things below! feel free to PM me if you wanted something specific with Stephen, or if you wanted to plot! ))

Comments

[funbreaker]

[ That is a lot of information to try and process all at once when Thancred is already so disoriented. He breaks it down piece by piece, to make it easier.

Kamar-Taj. He does not know the name, he is certain of that. Given that his surroundings are so foreign, that isn't much of a surprise.

The stranger built this place for himself. That seems impossible, that one person could create such an impressive complex of structures, and so Thancred assumes that it is not meant literally.

It's a place where sorcerers train. Something like a guild, then? He's familiar with the idea, a place where like-minded people meet and learn and train together, and it is a comfort to find at least one thing here that he can wrap his head around.

He risks a glance to the other building behind him, one which appears to be out of place among the others, but his attention is quickly reset on the man as he explains more about this place. The Horizon. That feels correct, somehow, and Thancred nods. Yet the idea of simply being able to build things with his mind sounds like the subject of fiction. ]

And how did I come to be here? It's all rather hazy.

[ He glances down at his hands, already wondering what he might be able to build, or if he'll even be capable of it. ]

[sorser]

[That’s a question with a complicated answer to it, but Stephen won’t waste his breath with an over-explanation. Not when Thancred will benefit from less details, not more.]

That’s a long story. Basically, you asked me to take you here, and so I did.

[It’s technically true.]

Don’t worry about that for now. You can stay as long as you like, but first-timers like to wander and explore. I won’t be offended as a host if you do.

[funbreaker]

[ He asked him? When and how, if he has no memory of this man or any previous conversation with him? Thancred studies the stranger's face more closely, searching for some indication that he is lying or deceiving him, but finds none.

And if nothing else, he knows that he trust his own judgment with such things.

Yet there is one undeniable fact in all this: the man is right that he feels an urge to explore this area, to see more and perhaps to test whether or not the ability to create is something he truly possesses. ]

And if I wish to leave this place, what then?

[ If nothing else, he'd like to have some sort of exit strategy. Nothing here feels unsafe, but he can't ensure that will remain the case moving forward, particularly if he gives into his wanderlust. ]

[sorser]

[It’s a very reasonable question. No one can be hurt in his plane—well, not permanently, anyway—so the threat is not as looming in the same degree as the unexplored unknown. But there’s no point in trying to explain that to a newcomer, who treads upon uncertain ground with every step.]

Everything in this place revolves around will and intent. You want to leave, just focus inward and will yourself away.

[Maybe it sounds so simple that it’s esoteric, but there really is no better way to explain it. Alternately-]

Or come find me again. I led you here, and I can bring you back. [Hm, maybe a second introduction is in order.] My name’s Stephen Strange, by the way.

[funbreaker]

[ Focus inward? Will himself? Thancred does not quite understand, but maybe it is something that might become clear in time. If he can leave this place by his own means at any time, that does make him somewhat less wary about exploring.

And he is rather curious to see more of this strange realm that the sorcerer before him has explained. ]

Stephen Strange? Well, that's fitting. [ Thancred did not get his chance to make a comment about that last name the first time they met, the time he does not remember, but here it is now. After a pause, he remembers himself. ] ... No offense meant, but you can't deny that that is entire situation is, well, strange.

[ He continues to feel no ill will from this man, however, and can't shake the sense that Stephen's done him a kindness. ] That being said, you provided me with safe passage here, is that right? Then it stands to reason I owe you a debt.

[sorser]

[Given his interactions with Thancred before, regardless of whether or not the other remembers them, Stephen would have bet good money a remark would’ve been made about his name. He waits for it, really, with an expectant look — and isn’t disappointed.]

No offense taken. According to everyone else, I’m always living up to my name.

[Aha, a debt owed? Stephen doesn’t usually care for such things, especially since it was no trouble to bring him here; he’ll not twist his arm to return some ambiguous favor in the future, once they’re back in Thorne.

Yet given their repartee so far, he has to take some advantage of it.]

You can buy me a drink later. Catch me up on your explorations here. How does that sound?

[funbreaker]

[ While Stephen doesn't come across as particularly proud of living up to his name, he also doesn't seem to be bothered by the implication that he does. While Thancred would thus far call the entire situation strange rather than this one man, it does make him curious.

Yet that will have to wait for another time. Over the promised drink, mayhap. Thancred decides he likes the sound of that quite a bit, and he shoots Strange a daring smile. ]

It sounds good. I'll keep an eye out for an appropriate spot for us to have drinks as I get a land of the land, then. I would rather not disappoint.

[ Setting off into the unknown with little more than his own instincts to guide him — somehow, this is the most comfortable he's felt since he arrived here. Which, to be fair, hasn't been long at all.

He does turn to take a look at the structures that Strange himself has purportedly created, all of it rather enticing if only for the fact that it's so unknown. ]

Is there anywhere here you suggest I visit before I set out?

[sorser]

[Drinks it is, and maybe even within the sphere of Thancred's newly-fashioned Horizon domain. Already, he wonders at what it would be like; what kind of home away from home he'd create for himself, someone who carries the hallmarks of a warrior but is, relatively speaking, personable enough all the same.

As for the question, though, it's one of reasonable consideration. The Horizon is not a limitless space, but it is vast enough to get lost in, to stumble upon many of its residents' creations, for good or ill.]

Out that way- [He gestures in a specific direction, out past a certain sprawl of mountains that will not be present should Thancred wander that far.] -is the domain of someone I know. He's a good man. He'd welcome you into his home without a second thought. Don't hesitate to drop in if you find his house near the docks.

[He's sure Sam does not mind the invite from Stephen, aware of it or otherwise.]

You'll probably get fed, too, if he's there. Hope you're hungry.

[funbreaker]

[ While Thancred had been referring more to any notable spots within Strange's own domain, the fact that he first thinks to speak of someone else's is mayhap an answer in and of itself. It's not as if he told Thancred not to explore within these grounds, but it also isn't what immediately came to mind. Interesting.

There's someone who lives by a dock, who will welcome anyone into his home with a warm smile and some food? It does sound tempting, like the sort of place someone might wish to go after a long and taxing day, and yet Thancred finds that his desire to explore high mountaintops or dark caverns wins out, at least for now. ]

If I find myself tiring, I may have to stop by and say hello.

[ For now, he'll be traveling where his whims take him, having no obligations or duties to follow for now. It's an oddly freeing sensation, he must admit, and he suspects that it won't last.

With that, he turns to Stephen once more and bows his head to him. He reaches up to his own shoulder, as if searching for the strap of a pack that is not there. (Is it true, that he could make one?) ]

Once again, you have my thanks. You'll have that drink before long, mark my words.

[ And with that, he turns to set off on a journey into a strange unknown. ]