“No, no, no - you have to hold it in, my man. Come on.”

Twilight held his breath, the smoke burning like embers in his throat. Eventually, he couldn’t bear it anymore and coughed it back out. Oscar the thumbling laughed so hard he nearly fell off the flycap he sat on. “Oh, you’re such a sissy, Twi!”

[colour=lightpink]”Easy for you to say! Your pipe’s so small!”[/colour] replied the man coarse as he pounded his chest with his fist. The thumbling eyed its own pipe, fashioned from a tree splinter, then the long, curved, carven masterpiece which Twilight had seemingly conjured out of thin air. He gave a little shrug and repositioned himself on the flycap as he took another drag.

“I’d say they’re about proportional,” he conceded. Twilight smacked his lips to taste the smoke, bobbing his head from side to side to demonstrate his opinion.

[colour=lightpink]”It’s decent, though. Where’d you say this pipeweed came from?”[/colour] With a divine finger, he poked out a smouldering bit of grass and eyed it carefully. Oscar sucked thoughtfully on a tooth. 

“Plucked it over by berry farmer Larson’s stead. He keeps a patch for when the nights get long and the kids get rowdy, y’know.” He gave the pipe a few smacking sucks and unleashed a plume of smoke the size of his head - or roughly the size of Twilight’s pinky nail. 

[colour=lightpink]”Y’don’t say… Any idea who made this?”[/colour] Twilight mumbled and gave it a sniff in search of divine origin. It smelled, unsurprisingly, of smouldering grass. Oscar shrugged.

“Couldn’t say. Always been, from what I’ve heard.”

[colour=lightpink]”That right…”[/colour] Twilight mused and clapped his teeth passively over the mouthpiece of his long pipe. A snicker suddenly overtook him. [colour=lightpink]”Hope you didn’t snatch all of farmer Larson’s grass just for me, now.”[/colour] Oscar waved a dismissive hand.

“I’m sure he’s got enough. Man smokes like a chimney, so he keeps a stash. Besides, I reckon he’d have no issue sharing with a kind-hearted vagabond. It’s not like we get a lot of strangers passing by.” He gave off a light-hearted chuckle. “Ain’t often people see our humble village for more than hollow stumps and mushrooms.”

Twilight sighed softly. [colour=lightpink]”Life here’s pretty peaceful, huh?”[/colour] Oscar puffed out a series of tiny smoke rings that could’ve easily been mistaken for snowflakes defying gravity.

“By Saint Adrian, it’s downright idyllic,” he agreed, pulling the rim of his round straw hat down over his eyes to meet the setting sun. He tapped his tree splinter pipe on the cap of the flycap to dump out the ashes before he started squeezing in a new bowlful. Twilight, meanwhile, was getting used to the soft burn in his lungs, and though the effect of the plant was much too weak to affect him considerably, there was something comforting about a hobby like this. Something to share with others. A moment of silence followed, during which the only sounds where inhales, lip smacking and heavy exhales. Eventually, though, Oscar gave the horizon a squint and asked, “So, where you headin’ off to, anyway? Heard you’ve been talking with ol’ Dick about packing up.”

[colour=lightpink]”Oh, y’know…”[/colour] Twilight clicked his tongue. [colour=lightpink]”Got places to see, people to meet… World’s a lot bigger than the horizon, after all - and I’m planning on seeing it all.”[/colour]

“Heh, is that right? You tall folk sure don’t let nothin’ stop ya, that’s for sure.” Oscar offered him a grin with his pipe firmly held between his jaws. Twilight returned the expression.

[colour=lightpink]”I take it your kind’s not the adventuring sort?”[/colour]

“Oh, now, quite the contrary, mister.” Oscar raised an objecting finger. “Thumblings are pretty well-traveled if I may say so.” Twilight snickered, but Oscar nodded still. “It’s true! Why, my uncle Roger over in Mossheap spent his youth hiking the continent around - in true Adriannic fashion, mind you! He was no quitter - no, siree. Didn’t lose his grip once, he didn’t. Whether it was elk or a pant leg, he held on like it was about life and death.”

[colour=lightpink]”Your kind sure holds this ‘Saint Adrian’ in high regard, huh,”[/colour] remarked Twilight with another suck of his pipe.

“How could we not? The man’s a legend. Stories say he rode the moon across the seas and all the way into history. Fought a fully grown askeladd with nothin’ but a pine needle, they say. Every Thumbling knows about that crazy sumbitch.” A plume of smoke punctuated his sentence.

Twilight blew his own plume through pursed lips. [colour=lightpink]”Rode the moon, huh…”[/colour] He sucked a deep breath through the nose and knocked the ashes out of his pipe bowl into a nearby patch of swampy, moist moss. [colour=lightpink]”Adventure ain’t nothing for you, though, huh?”[/colour]

“Nah. My uncle’s the exception in my family, I’ll be honest - sure, we’re mighty proud of him, but… Us Bumbledrums,” he sucked on a tooth, “we ain’t need nothin’ more than a full belly and a warm hut to come home to after a day in the berry bushes.”

[colour=lightpink]”Yeah, I understand.”[/colour] With that, Twilight deposited his pipe on the inside of his belt, which was a length of rope simply tied about his waist, clapped his hands over his knees and rose up, stretching his hands over his head. [colour=lightpink]”Well, I think it’s about time I got back on the road.”[/colour]

Oscar pushed the rim of his hat upwards a little with the mouthpiece of his pipe to eye the horizon. “Y’sure you wanna be travelling at night, friend? It’s not like that spot you’ve been sleeping in’ll disappear any time soon.”

Twilight pressed his palms into his lower back and bent backwards. [colour=lightpink]”Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I feel more at home in the night than I do in the day, I’ll be honest. But hey, thanks for letting me stay as long as ya did. Hope I didn’t, uh, eat -all- the berries in your stock.”[/colour] Once more, Oscar waved dismissively.

“Oh, sure, you might eat for ten thumblings, but it ain’t like we’re starving.” He took off his hat and turned to Twilight with a smile. “You’ll have a good one now, Twi. Don’t be a stranger if you pass by lil’ ol’ Marshstead, now. I’ll tell Lotty to make ya a houllin pie when you get back.”

[colour=lightpink]”Heh, that’d be great, Oscar. You stay out of trouble now.”[/colour]

“Likewise,” replied Oscar with a tip of his hat. Twilight returned the gesture with a nod and moved eastward through the marshes. He moved ceaselessly through the whole night, except to stop and eat some houllin berries he’d brought along with him. He took his time crossing the swamplands, taking in the sights, smells and textures of the bog with gusto. He hadn’t felt anything in his sleep, but the only truth he knew now was how great it felt to be awake. The coolness of the murky water, the harshness of the air’s scent, the heaps and dips of moss and muck - this place was alive. Twilight adopted a little frog one day, keeping it on his shoulder for a good hour before it skipped off and disappeared into a large puddle. The avatar hadn’t even been sad nor angry - life was blossoming here, even in such dull-looking wetlands. The world of the gods sure was magnificent - and now -he- had that same power.

One night, a certain song overruled the squelshes and squashes of his steps in the boggy terrain. Twilight found himself entranced by its tunes, and he had to investigate closer. The voice was deep and baritone, siren-like in its attractiveness. As Twilight drew closer, the melody was complemented by the rhythm of the ocean waves. The sea came into view across the marshland meadow, reflecting as it was in the moons’ light. There, by a small fire, Twilight saw a colossal shadow dancing beside it. Its every step shook the earth, but there was nothing menacing about it - if anything, it was beautiful.

[centre][i]
As I went down to the ocean to pray,
Studyin’ about them good, ol’ ways ‘n who shall wear
That moonlit crown.
O love, show me the way.

Oooh, lovelies,
Let’s go down, let’s go down, c’mon down.
Oooh, lovelies,
Let’s go down, down to the ocean to pray.

As I went down to the ocean to pray,
Studyin’ about them good, ol’ ways ‘n who shall wear
That starry crown.
O love, show me the way.

Oooh, my wife,
Let’s go down, let’s go down, c’mon down.
Oooh, wifey,
Let’s go down, down to the ocean to pray.

As I went down to the ocean to pray...
[/i][/centre]

Twilight was smitten. He had never heard such music before - literally. It was as though his every sense focused sucked on the creature’s every note. He couldn’t help but be drawn closer and closer - he had to know what manner of creature was making this music. His feet felt the transition from sticky moss to cool sand, and the creature’s tremors reverberated through his bones. There was a foul smell on the air, souring the experience somewhat - Twilight surmised it had to be the rotting seaweed on the beach. As he reached a distance of merely three metres from him, he let out a sigh and said, [colour=lightpink]”You have the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard.[/colour]

The dancing giant stopped and turned, revealing a hollow-eyed, sinister grin as though made by a terrible amalgam of fish and man. Its skin sagged as though it had once been melting off its face and stiffened midway, and its teeth were vile and crooked. With a grateful nod, it spoke, “Why, thanks a bunch, mate. That’s awful kind o’ you.”

Twilight felt his heart nearly stop from the sight and he tossed himself down in the sand, burying his face in between the dunes in an effort to forget what he had just seen. Into the ground he screamed, [colour=lightpink]”BY THE GODS, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE?!”[/colour]

The giant blinked and patted its face. “Oh, scentin’ seawaves! ‘Ang on, mate, pardon that.” There came some rustling from behind Twilight and the avatar allowed himself to sneak a peek of what was happening. The giant was facing away, looking to be digging through a large pack until it found a circular, shadowed object, which it put on its face. “A’roight, should be good!” The giant turned back and sat down, its face now covered by a large, white mask with two eye-holes, as well as a smiling mouth drawn on it with charcoal. “Again, sorrey ‘bout that. Wuz singin’ to my wife ‘n, y’know, she likes me better withou’ the mask, if ye catch my drift.”

Twilight gulped and clutched his chest instinctively as he turned back to face the giant head on. The shock within him had yet to subside, but at least it wasn’t reinforced now by a second exposure to that… That face. He was certain it would’ve killed him. The giant looked expectantly at him. “Must say, you’re farin’ much better than other ‘umies I’ve run into wivvout the mask. Most, uhm… Well… Must keel roight on ova’, to be honest. Hurts me to the bone, it does, but gods demanded I look like this, ‘n… Y’know… S’long’s wifey is happy, so am I.”

Twilight conjured forth a lemon and contemplated squeezing it into his eyes. [colour=lightpink]”Who exactly demanded you look like this?”[/colour] he replied sourly.

“Why, that’d be Lady Moon, of course,” the giant replied faithfully. “I’m a troll, after all.”

Twilight curled tightly his fists. [colour=lightpink][i]That useless goddess![/i][/colour]

“Not bitter about it, though!” added the troll, as thought it could sense what Twilight was thinking. The avatar blinked curiously at it and the troll nodded. “That’s roight. Oh, sure, every now ‘n then, it really isn’t pleasant to scare people to deaff, but you eventually learn to git aroun’ that, y’know?” He pointed to his mask. “Wearin’ this makes it pretty nice to interact wiff people, actually. Some’re nicer than ovva’s, of course - ‘umies tend to be pretty bitter against my kind. Not wivvout reason, of course - my kinsmen’ve done some mean fhings. Makes me curious, though - why ‘aven’t you run for the hills yet? ‘Umies usually do.”

[colour=lightpink]”That so?”[/colour] replied Twilight somewhat sarcastically. The troll didn’t react much, though. The man cupped his face in a propped up hand and sighed. [colour=lightpink]”Well, let’s just say I’m not like most other humans.”[/colour]

The troll nodded sagely. “Yeah, that’s about roight. Seen many ‘umies fall over like you did, but very few get back up. Whot’s your secret? Might be nice to share with the rest of my kinsmen.”

Twilight frowned as he contemplated his reply. As he did so, he pulled out his pipe and patted some of the pipeweed he brought along for the journey into the bowl. [colour=lightpink]“It’s, uh… It’s -this-!”[/colour] He held up the pipe. [colour=lightpink]“This, uh, grass keeps me calm and focused.”[/colour] The troll leaned down and eyed it thoroughly.

“Ain’t that somefhin’... Where’d you get that?”

Twilight thumbed westward. [colour=lightpink]“The grass is from the bog. The pipe, I made myself. I could show you how, if you’d like.”[/colour]

The troll smiled even behind the mask. “Why, I’d be ‘appy to learn!”

And so, Twilight and the troll sat down together - Twilight with a knife and a small log; the troll with a flat boulder and a tree trunk - and got to whittling. They whittled together for a day or two, moving back and forth between the beach and the troll’s cave in the night and day respectively. They shared stories and jokes, and the troll, who Twilight learned had been honoured with the name Tidemand, explained to Twilight the nature of his kin and why he would spend every night singing for his wife to come back to him.

“See… Draug wives, they like the seas a bit better than us lads. They go swimming for long periods of the years, or they move way, far away down the beach. Only way to guide ‘em home is to sing to ‘em.”

[colour=lightpink]”Has it worked?”[/colour]

Tidemand’s gaze had lowered somewhat at this. “My wife’s gone for a long swim this year… I pray to the gods every day that all is well wiv’ ‘er.” This left Twilight with a clump in his chest. 

After four days, their projects were completed: Twilight had carved himself a wholly new pipe, this time from scratch, and Tidemand had fashioned himself a similar craft, only that it was longer than Twilight was tall. The avatar had conjured forth some pipeweed, pretending he’d harvested it himself, and the two had spent the fifth night admiring the sea to the sound of smouldering grass and exhaled smoke. Tidemand had carved a small hole in his mask for the mouth piece to slip through. After days of conversation and banter, they sat in complete silence, enjoying each other’s company.

[colour=lightpink]”Say, Tidemand?”[/colour] Twilight suddenly mumbled.

“Hmm?”

[colour=lightpink]”I, uh… I heard you singing to the seagulls earlier. I mean, you know I always love hearing you sing, but… Are you doing alright?”[/colour]

The troll gave him a curious frown, then burst out into a guffaw. Twilight was a little taken aback. [colour=lightpink]”Woah, hey, I’m just asking!”[/colour]

Tidemand sniffed and wiped a tear away from underneath his mask. “Oh, Twilight, forgive my laughin’, but… ‘Aven’t you ever ‘eard of the Worldsong?”

Twilight frowned. [colour=lightpink]“The what-song? Is this a troll thing?”[/colour]

Tidemand chuckled again. “No, friend, it’s the gift o’ Macsal to the world! I can’t say I’m an expert at it, but, well… It helps with keepin’ the gulls out of my food.” With that, he started rumbling in his baritone voice, a fantastic hum that seemed to calm the oceans and the winds. Twilight watched in awe as seemingly godly feats slowed down the natural forces as though they were sung a lullaby for. Then he heard it, ever so faintly, a million small voices singing back. He looked around searchingly and Tidemand nodded sagely.

“Ah, it’d seem you, too, have the gift of spiritsong.”

[colour=lightpink]”The gift of what?”[/colour]

“Of spiritsong! Macsal’s gift’a music to all fhings, from rocks te birds. Takes some time t’ learn how te sing back, but… I’ve found that listenin’ in on it really takes the sorrow out of bein’ alone on this beach in the night.”

Twilight eyed the sand ponderously as he took in the words, as well as the seemingly omnidirectional music coming from everything from the ground underneath him to the clouds above. It carried with it the emotions of everything - every part of Galbar, divine and mundane. It truly was a world song.

[colour=lightpink]”Could you… Could you teach it to me, Tidemand?”[/colour]

The troll sighed. “No, my good friend. That, I can’t.”

[colour=lightpink]”Wait, why?”[/colour]

He shrugged. “‘Cuz I ‘ave no idea how! It’s a miracle that you can even ‘ear it after such a short exposure! My, you really are an oddball as far as ‘umies go, huh…” When he saw Twilight’s disappointed expression, he tapped the part of his mask that covered his chin. “Well… I might not be able to, but… I know this ovva’ lass ‘cross the pond.”

[colour=lightpink]”Across the pond? Is it your wife?”[/colour]

“Nah, more like a cousin. She ain’t draug, though - she’s drighina - my kin, but still a bit different. Much closer to Macsal’s Worldsong than me. Veslemoy, is her name.” 

Twilight pursed his lips. [colour=lightpink]”Which pond’re we talking about, by the way?”[/colour]

Tidemand pointed at the sea before them. Twilight blinked. [colour=lightpink]”That’s it?”[/colour] Tidemand nodded. [colour=lightpink]”I have to swim across the ocean?”[/colour] Tidemand nodded.

“It ain’t small pond, I’ll admit, but if you want the experts, you’ll find ‘em on distant Kobasar. That’s whot the land’s called.” Tidemand dumped a bucket’s worth of pipeweed ashes out of his pipe and smacked his lips. “Give ‘er my best if you find ‘er, a’roight? Ain’t seen ‘er for a few years, so I hope all’s good wiv’er.”

Twilight emptied out his own pipe and stood up, stretching his back. [colour=lightpink]”I’ll have to cross that on my own?”[/colour] Tidemand shrugged.

“Dunno. Are ‘umies good swimmers?”

[colour=lightpink]”I mean… I might be,”[/colour] Twilight proposed with a shrug of his own. As he waded into the sea, he turned to Tidemand and bowed respectfully. [colour=lightpink]”Hey, Tidemand. It, it really was a joy to spend time with ya.[/colour]

“Likewise, Twilight. Make sure you don’t drown now, alright? Oh, and thanks for the pipe. I’ll make sure to teach this craft to everyone I meet.”

Twilight grinned back and then started swimming eastwards to Kubrajzar.

[hider=SummaREEE!]
Twilight smokes weed with a thumbling, then goes east from the Weeping Plains to find a draug on the eastern Toraan shore. He nearly has a heart attack from seeing the ugly sumbitch, but then realises draugs are hella nice. They carve weed pipes together and smoke. The draug, named Tidemand, then teaches Twilight about Worldsong and tells him to seek out a drighina to learn more. Twilight then gets swimming towards Kubrajzar. 
[/hider]

[hider=MP SummaREEE!]
Gibbou/Twilight 5MP/3DP
1MP: Teach technology - Twilight teaches draugs to carve pipes and smoke pipeweed. This knowledge will likely spread all over the eastern coast of Toraan with draug migrations.
Gibbou/Twilight 4MP/3DP
[/hider]