Erikos stopped at the bottom floor, which was significantly less cluttered. There were hundreds of maps lining the walls, and an enormous, elaborate stone table took up a good portion of the center of the room. It was surrounded by elaborate chairs, each of the items appearing as if they had been waterlogged at some point. “This is the Lonakke stargate. My dad found it on one of his trips a couple years back,” he said, gesturing to the table
Daus hopped off of the ladder, releasing his hand from around his waist as he walked along the length of the walls, studying the maps. After a few long moments, he turned back towards Erikos and looked towards the stone table in the center before he glanced back up towards the other. "Lonakke? Who is that exactly?" Daus asked curiously, finding the name a bit familiar.
"A really old kingdom. It disappeared around 500 or so years ago, and no one is sure if it even exists. But this…table looking thing is supposed to be one of the things they used to track the stars," Erikos said, gesturing to the table. "It's pretty cool, in my opinion. My dad rescued it from a sinking transport ship on its way to a museum."
"I like it too," Daus agreed, nodding as he walked towards the table and peered down at it. "Can it do anything…or did they just use it for tracking?" He asked, glancing towards Erikos curiously as a small smile lit up his face. He had always been interested in the stars, so seeing something like this was quite exciting for him.
"Watch this," Erikos said, grinning as he reached across the table. There was a large gold ring set in what looked like a mess of gears, which he gave a tug on. This seemed to set a whirlwind of things in motion, causing the table to seemingly open to what appeared to be a large, ornate map of the solar system. A similar but holographic map flickered to life above it, casting a faint golden glow across Erikos' grinning face
Daus' mouth practically fell open as he watched the gears click into place and open the table up, a bright grin spreading across his face. Now, he seemed more like an excited kid than the godly force he was supposed to be. "Amazing," he murmured, stepping forward as he glanced towards Erikos before he looked back towards the golden hologram.
"Yep. My dad says this sucker is probably a couple thousand years old. Which is crazy considering this kind of tech has only just been invented," Erikos said, grinning like a little kid on Christmas. "There's supposed to be six like this. Two are confirmed broken as far as we know, but the other three are unaccounted for. They're called stargates because they're said to have the ability to teleport and even communicate with other worlds and dimensions."
"Really?" Daus asked excitedly as he turned to look at Erikos before towards the stargate once again. It was almost unbelievable that this kind of tech had been invented a couple of thousand years ago. "They must have been way ahead of their time," he added a small laugh escaping him.
"Oh yeah. Which is why my dad spent almost all his career looking for the Lonakke. At least, until he met my mom. Apparently river demons are just as good as entrapping sailors as sirens," Erikos said with a small laugh. He reached a hand out, waving it gently. The hologram turned with his movements, causing Erikos to grin even wider
"What was your mom like?" Daus asked, smiling softly as he watched the hologram move along with Erikos' hand. "Sorry, you don't need to answer that…" he added quietly, realizing that not all people wanted to talk about their past. And since Erikos' mother wasn't currently here…it might not be the best question to ask.
Erikos shrugged. "Don't know. Never met her. My dad said the strain of giving birth to me killed her. Apparently demons aren't built for…children," he said slowly, trying to think of the right words. "I still don't know how she managed to have me. Demons are supposed to be sterile without magic intervention."
Daus nodded in understanding, a small frown forming on his lips as he thought about what Erikos had just said. "I'm sorry about that, Erikos," he answered gently, hoping that he hadn't bothered them too much with the question. "Your dad and Vien seem really nice too," Daus added in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit as he glanced back towards the glowing hologram, waving his hand in front of it as well.
"Yeah, they're great. Dad is the best, he tries to be all big and tough but he's really just a giant teddy bear. And Vien, he washed up just like you about a year ago. He's an orphan. His family was burned at the stake, and he's got these nasty burn scars I still have to help him take care of sometimes. He's awful quiet, but he's nice," Vien said with a smile
"I like them already," Daus answered, returning Erikos' smile with his own faint one as he dropped his hand back to his side. He focused on the hologram for a few moments, wondering what it would be like to have a family like Erikos'. Of course, he had his shot as a normal human life before, but it had never worked out.
Erikos simply grinned, his bright blue eyes watching Daus through the hologram. If he was being honest, Daus was…really, really pretty in the gold lighting. He felt his face flush at the thought, and he quickly averted his gaze to the hologram
Daus laughed a bit as he waved his hand through the hologram, watching it for a few moments before he glanced back up towards Erikos, his own bright smile spreading across his face at the sight of the other man's own one. It was almost incredible that their eyes were such a bright blue against their darker skin, though he quickly pushed the thought away when he realized that he was staring.
Erikos had glanced up, catching Daus' stare before looking away. Why was it so easy to make him blush today? It must be just the heat. He reached towards the gold ring, turning it and reverting the table to its previous state. "We should probably be getting back. It's going to be dark soon, and being out here at night is dangerous
Daus nodded in agreement, not quite meeting Erikos' gaze for a reason he didn't understand. He watched the hologram disappear, missing the golden glow, though he was a bit curious about what Erikos said about the night being dangerous.
Erikos leaned over the stargate, making sure everything was closed in its proper place before beginning to walk towards the ladder. "This place is sort of secret, and it would be bad if one of the patrols saw us in here. People steal stuff all the time around here, and my dad would kill us if he lost this stuff."
"If someone stole something like this from me, I would be pretty mad too," Daus answered as he watched Erikos close the stargate. "Then I'd probably just zap them godly laser beams," he added, a light joking tone in his voice as he walked towards the ladder as well.
"I would pay good money to see that," Erikos said with a laugh. He clambered up the ladder, nearly tripping once or twice in his haste to get up to the bridge. He eventually made it to the top, and he gave a quick glance out the open top to make sure that the river patrols weren't going by before beginning to walk along the bridge
"I'll make a show one day just for you…'Daus' Show Of Laser Beams and Punishing Humans,'" He joked, smiling at Erikos' laugh as he made his way across the bridge as well, watching the river below as he walked along the rickety passage.
Erikos beamed back at him. "You'd do that? Really?" he asked, now so giddy he almost tripped over a plank. He made it to the cabin, making his way down into his room. The rest of the cabin seemed to have quieted down, with Vien in his room and Erikos' father out and about somewhere
"Of course," Daus answered, his smile brightening as Erikos looked towards him. A real, loud laugh escaped him as Erikos tripped over one of the planks, noticing how excited the other seemed to be.
"Shut your face," Erikos huffed before flopping down on his bed. He waited for Daus to climb into his room before shutting the trapdoor. Just as he did so a small, dragon-like creature came bounding into the room. It hopped into Erikos' lap, its forked tongue lolling out almost dog-like