Sating Curiosity II [Job/Solo]

The next day, Kaveh was up before the sun. He was taking care of as much of his daily routine and chores as he could before setting out to go meet Akmet at the Historical Society. The red magician was moving at an unusual paces. He was operating much faster than he usually did. Perhaps it was because he was excited to go dive into the ruins again? No. It was DEFINITELY because he was so excited to go dive into the ruins. He didn't quite understand why, but everything felt right when he could do such a thing. Before he was finished with his chores, his mother made her way into the front room of the house. Kaveh blinked a bit confused as to why she was up so early. He walked over to her and sat next to her, letting the vegetables he was making for her come to a boil in a pot so they could be steamed appropriately.

"Ms. Lady, why are you up so early?" He began with a smile. He received a smile in return and a pat on the shoulder. "Now now. I remember when you were younger and YOU were the one who could never get up this early." She had a small laugh before sighing and leaning back against their couch. "Kaveh... I'm so glad that you found something worth getting up for every day. I haven't seen you so excited in such a long time. It makes me happy." The magician shook his head and kissed his mother's forehead. Her words held a bit of truth, though. Before he was approached by Akmet and Hassan, Kaveh's only reason for moving about during the day had been to take care of his mother.

The magician couldn't help but to think about what happened to his father. It wasn't a tragic end, by any means. He was doing a bit of travelling trying to peddle various goods to nearby villages when he was bit by a greatly venomous snake. He wasn't able to seek medical attention due to the line of illnesses that the noble families were experiencing at the time. Even though their illnesses passed, Kaveh's father's blood stream was still filled with the venom. Kaveh had found a way to cope with what happened and that source was right on the couch next to him. He ignored all of his grief and immediately began to tend to his mother. She was his driving force for so long, and now he seems to have found another source of motivation. He didn't think that his emotional state was so obvious to anyone. No one around Heliohapt seemed to be able to tell a difference, but she WAS his mother. A parent always can sense the innermost feelings of their child.

"Well mother, you are a big part of my excitement. I'm surprised that you've dealt with your son in your house for so long! You even still encourage me. So, I'm doing this just as much for you as I am for me." His statement caused a tear to fall from his mother's eyes. While he was thinking about the past and his father, his mother was thinking about him. Their day in his training area never left her mind: when he began to curse the nobility of Heliohapt and his rukh began to turn. She hadn't seen signs of it since, so she didn't worry much. Now that Kaveh was getting out with the Historical Society more, he would inevitably have to deal with the nobles more. She didn't want anything bad to happen. "Veh..." Kaveh raised his eyebrow, giving the woman his full attention. "Don't get into any trouble... Especially with the nobility here. We don't need to stir the pot..."

The red magician blinked, staring at his mother for a while. Then it emerged, their trademark smile: closed eyes, tilted head, closed lips. "I won't cause any trouble, mother." It wasn't long before the magician was off again. Leaving his home and heading towards the Historical Society's main headquarters.

---

Kaveh walked up to the Society's base of operations and was greeted at the steps by Akmet. The man had already been geared for their journey. As he came down the steps, Kaveh pulled his magic carpet from around his shoulders and sat on top of it, waiting on Akmet. "C'mon Akmet. We'll ride this there." The people nearby stared at the magic carpet and still couldn't get over the fact that Kaveh, a foreigner, had managed to get his hands on it. Akmet didn't skip a beat, showing how spry he still was by hopping onto the carpet. Once he was situated, Kaveh channeled enough magoi into the carpet to cause the item to fly at top speed towards the temple ruins he went to before.

Their arrival to the temple didn't take long at all. Kaveh had familiarized himself with the path the first time he went out to the ruins and didn't have any trouble. They disembarked from the magic carpet, and Kaveh wrapped it around his shoulders again as they descended into the ruins. Akmet stopped for a moment and just stood there. "The torches aren't lit! I thought you've been here before?" Kaveh grinned and walked passed the man. "I have been here. I didn't need the torches... Guide me." He gave the rukh the command again. The rukh responded to his assertiveness quickly, forming the small fireball ahead of him to light his path. "Would you feel better if all the torches were lit?" Kaveh looked back to the man and noticed Akmet nodding. Kaveh nodded back and faced the pathway, watching the fireball move in a zig-zag pattern to light all of the torches.

As the fireball lit the torches, the men followed behind it, Kaveh leading Akmet to the temple library. At least, the red magician thought it was a library. Once they arrived, Akmet began going through the books. Kaveh didn't pay much attention to the man. Akmet knew that Kaveh would want something more intricate than another diary so Kaveh felt that Akmet would find something interesting. Kaveh, on the other hand, was searching for another artifact for the man to take with him. The men seemed to finish their search at the same time. Kaveh returning to Akmet with an Urn with strange markings; on the other side, Akmet returned to Kaveh with a tome that he said was about the Rite of Passage Ceremonies.

The two men gave each other satisfied looks before heading towards the entrance of the ruins once more. Once outside, they boarded Kaveh's flying carpet and made their way to the Historical Society head quarters.

When the duo returned the the Historical Society headquarters, they were met by another group of archaeologists. Kaveh was a little confused by the sudden appearance of them and they seemed to flock to Akmet due to the tome he had retrieved and the urn Kaveh was carrying. Wrapping his carpet around his shoulders, Kaveh followed the group of men inside, a little uncomfortable with all of the attention. Once they were inside, the men began analyzing the urn: dusting and breaking down the characters that outlined it. Kaveh was flagged over by Akmet while all of the commotion was happening. The heat magician walked over to his diving partner and sat next to him.

The old man began to explain to him about the different trials of the Torran people to be considered an adult. Kaveh was engrossed in these stories just as much, if not more, as he was from the diary last time. The hunger that Kaveh's mind exuded for the information about these people both intrigued and worried the man. He had seen men obsess over knowledge like that before and many of them lost their lives. He could see promise in Kaveh and didn't want the young man to end with the same fate as so many of his colleagues. With a clearing of his throat, Akmet put his hand on Kaveh's shoulder. "Kaveh... It was a bit strange to me when you came back from the last assignment with so much interest with the Torran people. I felt quite refreshed by your enthusiasm, though. I hadn't seen someone around here with that much Excitement for things since Hassan joined us!" Kaveh was beaming. He felt like the man was giving him a compliment. Before he could open his mouth to accept it, Akmet began speaking again.

"This troubles me. I was going to extend membership to the Historical Society to you, but I fear... that you may be too obsessed with the Torran people. Know that, if you are accepted by the 'Higher Ups,' obsession leads to death. There have been many a researcher who have died in these temples, tombs, and ruins. I would hate to see you become one of these men." Kaveh blinked and his head began to sink a little. He was surprised that this man that he had only known for around a week would be so considerate of him. Heh... perhaps this is how my grandfather was. The red magician's face lifted for a moment and he smiled to the archaeologist, tilting his head. "I completely understand! I wouldn't let myself get too carried away though. A man has to have SOME self restraint... Were you really going to extend an invitation to me?"

Akmet let out a laugh at Kaveh's question. This action caused a bit of confusion in the man. He felt a little insulted, too. The next thing he knew, the men and women of the Historical Society were standing around him. "This IS your invitation Kaveh! I am one of the heads of the Heliohapt division of the Historical Society. We do require a test from you though... This is a dangerous life. Any man or woman can lose their lives at any time in these ruins! Your test will be a simple one: You will have to explore the Torran Library we found. We have been through that library multiple times, there didn't seem to be any traps set... except for one. Hassan lost his brother to it. Therefore, Hassan will be your diving partner, this time. The rest of us aren't capable with our old bodies. You two youths should be fine." Akmet stroked his beard for a moment before patting Kaveh on the shoulder.

While Kaveh was processing all of this information, Akmet had begun scribbling on a piece of paper. "Wait.. this is real? If I pass this test, I can join the Historical Society?" Akmet nodded and stroked his beard a bit more as he finished his little project. "Yes. At least, of this division. There are more tests to be considered part of the Society in the large scheme. As far as the larger branches are concerned, you are a volunteer archaeologist... but among us, you will be one of our colleagues. A brother, if you will. Now, as far as your objective. I need you to retrieve a tome with this writing on the front of it." Kaveh looked at the piece of paper and tried to memorize the markings. After a few second, he took the piece of paper and stuffed it into his pocket.

Standing, the red magician looked as if he was going to begin at this moment! Akmet blinked and waved his hands at Kaveh. "Wait wait! You begin in the morning! Not now!" This made Kaveh laugh. He understood that he became impatient when it came to learning things... but he was even tired. "Oh I know! I was going to return home. I'll see you all bright and early!" With that, Kaveh left the HQ for the night. Returning home to his mother, Kaveh began to tell her of his day.