Nomi Yanimura

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

Yeah go right ahead, just jump in.

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

xD

Yes, pretty much. Just hop right in and start RPing.
So long as you try and stick to the genre and make a mild effort to interact with the other people RPing in the thread, then we'll be golden!

Welcome to the party. Hope you have fun! ^__^

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

Silence had returned to the open clearing as the fleeing eighth bandit's voice had vanished completely from the distance he had put between himself and the miniature battleground. Guess he cared little for his 'friends' then, unless the group didn't know everyone involved. They certainly didn't know the men that they would be put up against. Nomi just sighed and turned to look down upon bloodied nose, who was still writhing about on the floor. Crouching down, the blind man started to pat over his pockets, swatting away the bandit's hands whenever he tried to retaliate. He stopping struggling after a couple of attempts and bloodied nose just lay there and allowed himself to be looted. Seemed he had a brain in that rattled head of his after all. There was no point in getting yourself killed over pocket change after all. But when the blind man found some cash, he ignored it and continued his scavenge for items. A minute passed and nothing of use seemed to be on him and after getting back up to his feet, Nomi used his right boot to push and roll bloodied nose over.
”Get lost.”
Bloodied nose took the advice and painfully scrambled to his feet before scrambling away himself.

The sound of clapping reached the blind man's ears and he turned himself about to 'look' in the direction it was coming from. Footsteps treading through dry grass were descending the hill and it sounded like the 'monk' was approaching that who had arrived late to the party. The two men shared words in a foreign tongue, D’ol Dath Tar, recognizable from the tongue heavy syllables and difficult for most of the common folk to speak accurately. It was no surprise that the 'monk' was able to speak it's language. After all, he had told the kitchen hand that Ornestoro was a D’ol Dathri, so it made sense that Jintaru could speak the native language. Nomi just scoffed and took a single step towards the richly dressed stranger.
”You did a poor job of 'testing' your little puppet, D'ol Dathri. Perhaps you ought send someone who KNOWS how to swing a sword next time?”
The blind man took a few paces away and swung his foot at the crow that had landed near the decapitated corpse in hopes of a meal, scaring the large black bird away. He crouched down besides the lifeless body and started to pat over the pockets of this one.

”'Best' sell-sword? Pfff! Saying that about six years ago would have me agreeing with you. The man who stands before you should have taken all eight of those men out before any of them had reached for their blades.”
Nomi didn't bother looking over his shoulder as he spoke up when hearing Ornestoro's comment. His hands continued to rummage though the headless bandit's pockets until he stumbled across a piece of folded parchment, stained with blood. Standing up and unfolding the parchment, the silver-haired man turned around to face the pair of men that stood in the body filled clearing. Nomi cleared his lips as he held the parchment up and read aloud like a town crier would.
”I, Ornestoro, hereby demand the head of a lone wanderer called 'Jintaru'. He is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous, last seen outside 'The Last Rest' tavern on the outskirts of 'Krasora'. A purse of one thousand gold shall be waiting for you and your men upon return of 'Jintaru's' head. Signed, Ornestoro.”
Nomi turned the parchment about to reveal the words he had just spoke and gave the D'ol Dathri a dark smirk, waggling the parchment so it rustled softly while dangling from his hand.
”One thousand gold? I hope you only wrote this one letter. We'd not want it's copies falling into the wrong hands now, would we?”

The blind man took several steps closer towards the two other men and came to a stop when he was a few feet away from then. So this was Ornestoro in the flesh huh? He was pretty much what you'd expect to see a wealthy man from the city to look like, but it was strange that he appeared to be here alone, with no guards or armed men to protect him. This wasn't a known bandit location though, so perhaps escorts and protection wasn't necessary, unless he was a capable warrior himself?
”For a man who 'won't speak', you certainly are talking a lot.”
The blind man said as he folded the bloody parchment up nearly and placed it within his satchel. His scroll fragment remained within his satchel for the time being, for there was no point in pulling it out to show the D'ol Dathri if he was here only to speak with the 'monk'. The ploughshare wished to become a sword once more, so perhaps the neatly dressed man was here to offer a job to the shaven-headed man and would then be off on his way. The silver-haired man just stood still and remained silent from here on out, 'watching' and waiting to see what would happen between the two other men.

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

The left hand of the silver-haired man flexed to and from a fist a few times, the armoured gauntlet that protected the blind man's forearm rattled against itself as he did so. He frowned and appeared to 'look' at his hand as he continued to flex it open and closed repeatedly. He had lost complete interest in the bandit who brandished his club much the same way as a young boy would play solider. He had no talent, no skill, no experience. If he had though, it had all been washed away from the display that the shaven-headed 'monk' put on only a couple minutes ago. A gurgle came from the bandit with the broken nose as he came to and rolled over onto his side, both his hands covering his nose and mouth as he groaned in pain.
”Hm, he had a harder head then I thought.”
The blind man quipped as his frown faded and a smirk reappeared across his lips. As he looked back up though, one of the other three men of the second group had taken advantage of the blind man peering at his hand, but the singing of an arrow and the piercing of flesh quickly halted his approach.

Before the bandit fell to the floor, Nomi reached up and took hold of the arrow, allowing the bandit's own body weight to free himself off the piece of ammunition. Bringing the arrow to his face, the silver-haired man sniffed the arrow head a couple of times and then shook the thin wooden object beside his ear. This was expertly made, but made from materials a normal fletcher wouldn't usually use. The only answer to this was that the 'monk' crafted these himself. Come to think about it, the 'older version' of the shaven-headed man used a sword and a sword alone. Did this 'change' regarding Ornestoro aid him in picking up a new weapon, or had he always been a capable archer? Nomi glanced over his shoulder and stared towards the man calling himself 'Jintaru', standing as still and as solid as the hill that the bandits had walked over. He smirked as he heard the jibe come from the 'monk' and Nomi stood upright, turning his attention back onto the club-wielding bandit and the seventh member standing beside him. The eighth who clung to the kitchen hand was still standing alone atop the hill.
”Have you forgotten, old friend? I told you back at the tavern that I've not fought since the last war. As capable a fighter you may think I am, I'd rather not kill a Gurtha Orc and have the rest of his clan hunt me across Mor Sgiathatch. Only a fool would pick a fight with an entire orc clan, especially those who live on the Black Mountain.”

The two bandits that stood a short distance from the blind man shuffled towards each other and started to whisper together. It was unclear what exactly they were saying to one another, but the looks on their faces spoke of worry and fear. Four of their fellow bandits lay dead, a fifth had a bloodied face but was still breathing. Two of the remaining three had weapons, the man with a club, about forty years old and a taller, larger man who had a two-handed great sword in his grip, the blade blunt and dirty. As they continued to whisper, Nomi grinned and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for them to finish. The pair of bandits shuffled over towards their bleeding comrade and knelt down to whisper with him too. Only various words could be heard, including; 'retreat', 'surrender', 'kitchen boy', 'Mor Sgaithatch' and 'treasure'. The silver-haired man tilted his head and he chuckled, looking back over his shoulder to the 'monk', where he shrugged his shoulders at him before looking back towards the bandits. The bloodied nose one had gotten back up to his feet and seemed to have stopped his eyes from watering enough to be able to pick up his own weapon again, an ordinary looking soldier's longsword.

The group seemed to have finished their little chat of tactics and strategy and started to spread out around the blind man. The club-wielding bandit stood at the front with the bloodied nose taking Nomi's left and great sword went right.
”You should have ran away...”
Nomi muttered as the bandits all rushed in at the same time to attack.

Due to their choice of weapons, even though they all attacked at the same time, their swing speeds differed. Bloodied nose went high, aiming his longsword for the blind man's neck. Great sword went low, trying to slice Nomi's legs off at the knees. Club bandit when for a good old fashioned overhead smash. Their plan was sound, but the man in the middle of this little situation was the unpredictable one. Suddenly he turned to his left, raising his left arm and using his armoured gauntlet to block the longsword. At the same time he twisted his hips and brought up his right knee, swinging his armoured boot around in a fast arc, smashing the top of his foot into bloodied noses nose once more, causing him to shriek and tumble to the ground, grasping his face. Flexing his left knee, Nomi hopped up into the air and stamped down on the flat edge of the great sword, ripping the weapon from the bandit's grip and causing him to stumble forwards. Lifting himself up onto his toes, the blind man twisted around as gracefully as a dancer, back the in the direction of the club-wielding bandit and with his right knee tucked into his side, Nomi threw out a hard front kick, sending the heel of his right boot into the nose of great sword, causing him to scream out and fall backwards onto his butt, before he collapsed onto his side and grabbed at his now flattened face.

With the club still in descent, Nomi switched legs, putting his weight onto his right and bringing his left leg up, knee tucked into his chest, cocked like the hammer of a flintlock rifle. With a smirk still spread from ear to ear across Nomi's face, he looked like he was having fun.
”TAH!!”
He suddenly yelled as he let his left kick fly, sending a side kick into the middle of the club, shattering it into splinters and causing the last bandit to stumble back in surprise. Nomi pounced and smashed both his open palms into the temples and ears of the poor bandit, causing him to screech and grasp at his ears to try and make the high-pitched ringing go away. A firm right punch sunk deep into the bandit's stomach followed by a hard left knee to the chin as he lurched forwards. The blow had enough power to lift the bandit off his feet, causing Nomi to snicker as he watched the now unconscious fool collapse in a heap in the grass before him. From the 'monk's perspective though, the whole scene would have been over in seconds. Dusting off his hands, Nomi glanced over his shoulder and gave the 'monk' a thumbs up, before a petrified wail was heard quickly disappearing down the back of the hill, the kitchen hand picking himself up off the floor from where the final bandit had thrown him.

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

The sun shone down upon the blind man's head, warming his grey hair and the scalp underneath. With each step further away from the tavern he took, the louder the songbirds started to sing once more. The noise in the tavern grew distant and only the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves and grass on opposite sides of the dirt road was what accompanied the two walking men. Every now and then, the 'thunk' of a farmer's hoe would mix into the bird songs and the warm breeze as the farm tool was swung down into the dry dirt to help break it up, making the sewing of seeds easier. The song that Nomi's blade sung continued, as subtle as it was. Even though the weapon was being held as still as a spring water lake, the edge of the blade sliced the air in two with no effort. His footsteps however, were giving away his position as the crunch of dirt sounded from each and every one of his steps. There was no need to hide himself from the 'monk'. It would be impossible to ambush this man and have him be completely unaware. 'Jin Long' was still in there. Those warrior instincts belonged to the man whom Nomi travelled with all that time ago. Those kinds of instincts, those reactions, they were taught. The 'monk' may have changed his name, changed his image, but the old man, the real 'Jin Long' was underneath the charade.

”Those words are what the old you would speak, not this fake clown whom walks before me.”
The blind man continued to walk forwards as he heard the shaven-headed man venture off the dirt road and head through the grass. Nomi came to a halt at the spot where the 'monk' left the road and turned his head to 'glance' in the direction the man he was following had headed. A frown was spread across the silver-haired man's face, visible even through his blindfold. Lifting his head up a fraction, it seemed that the pair were not alone, for a group of man were hiding behind a hill several feet away. The closer the 'monk' got, the noisier these hiding people became, until they finally emerged from over the top of the hill. Nomi turned to face the group and took a step forth as he felt the presence of the kitchen hand being restrained within them.
”You'll be dead before you could even think about hurting that boy!”
Nomi taunted from he road and allowed his frown to turn into a smirk, poking a finger in Jintaru's direction several times, as if trying to alert them of the impending danger.. Perhaps using his blade on this 'monk' could wait.

Watching with interest, the 'monk' had placed his purse down behind him and took a page out of the blind man's book. He taunted the group, challenging them to try and take his coin off him. The 'sight' caused the blind man to let out a short, loud and entertained 'Heh!', as he swung his blade up over his head and slot the steel weapon back into it's scabbard, the handguard 'clicking' lightly as the blade locked into place. This was followed up by the blind man folding his arms across his chest and taking several more steps forwards, coming to a stop when he was roughly six feet away from the 'monk'.
”Oh my, you're starting to sound more and more like me. Perhaps there might be something worth while to you after all.”
As the group of bandits started to approach, their footsteps heavy and clumsy, the blind man started to count in his head.
One...
They drew closer, completely unaware of what they were even doing. They had no idea of the man they thought they could defeat with sheer numbers. Perhaps if there was a hundred of them, then maybe one of them might get a lucky enough strike in to do some damage.

Two...
A large brute of a man with an axe as big as he was took a wide, uncontrolled swing at the 'monk', but his fate had already been sealed. To the bandits, it would have looked like the 'monk' didn't move, almost as if he were standing in one place and then standing in another a blink of an eye later. To normal man, this speed was only heard of in the greatest of swordsmen, but to the blind man, he actually allowed a small 'tut' to escape his lips.
Three!
Nomi stepped forwards and using the toes of his right foot, he curled the coin purse onto the top of hi boot, which he flicked up, tossing the purse into the air much like he had done his sword from earlier. Like a snake springing forwards to snap it's jaw at a prey, did Nomi's hand strike out, snatching the purse from the air only seconds before the crimson spewing from the large axe-wielding man, covered the ground red where the coin purse originally sat. The blind man flourished away from the life blood that streamed from the man's severed wrists before any of the droplets touched him, retreating a safe enough distance away to watch the rest of the scene before him without being disturbed.

As the next two brave men approached and swiftly made their demise, executed most professionally by the shaven-headed swordsman, Nomi just chuckled to himself darkly as he started to stride forwards, pausing to glance down at the head of the poor headless bandit. He grinned and turned, bending down with his hands on his hips to get a better 'look' at the lifeless head.
”What a waste.”
Dishonourably, the blind man turned and kicked the head over towards the remaining group, causing the lot of them to flinch and back up a few paces as the decapitated body part rolled to a halt a few feet before them. The silver-haired man approached the 'monk' and slapped a hand on his left shoulder, smirking in his face as he passed in front of him.
”You've slowed down. Still got the power though.”
He chuckled coldly, almost sarcastically and he tossed the coin purse towards Jintaru's face. Turning his back on the shaven-headed swordsman, Nomi started to take several steps towards the remaining group, lifting his right hand up and slowly counting each of the four men individually with a point of his finger.
”But scum like this don't deserve to be victim of such professional swordsmanship. Just bashing their heads open with a rock is all they should receive.”

Another dark cackle sounded from Nomi's throat as he felt the remaining group take a couple of steps backwards, one of them was trembling so badly that his tremors could be felt from even where the blind man was standing. Lifting up both his hands and punching his right fist into his left hand, Nomi cracked a smirk and tilted his head right and left, cracking his neck as he did so to loosen himself up.
”I'm not going to be as 'gentle' as the clown behind me. I'm going to make each and every one of you suffer. But, if you give me that boy, you can all walk away with your lives and limbs intact.”
It was a reasonable offer, he thought.
”Piss off blind man! What can you d-”
The sound of knuckles crushing a man's nose echoed throughout the clearing, cutting the bandit's sentence short, as the blind man darted forwards and planted a firm straight punch of his left hand square into the bandit's face. Much the same as back on the dirt road, to those untrained, it would have appeared that Nomi had vanished and reappeared in front of the bandit almost instantly. As a howl gurgled from the throat of the bandit as he reeled backwards, the blind man glanced to his right and smirked at a second man who gripped both his hands about the handle of his club so tight, that he was making his knuckles turn white.
”Can I hurt you too, or will you run away now?”

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

The tavern had grown far too loud in such a short amount of time. It was frustrating, as the one peaceful and relaxed atmosphere had now been shattered since everyone was feeling on edge ever since the cloaked woman and the flamboyant 'pirate' had arrived at this place. Even the birds chirping in the nearby trees had silenced themselves and retreated deeper into the forest since the three gunshots had been fired. The blind man just shook his head from side to side a few times and took hold of his small cup of sake, drinking the liquor down before he immediately filled it back up. His second bottle of sake was running low now, which was as good an indicator as any that he had spent enough time at this place. He met the former 'Jin Long', confirmed the location of Ornestoro and revealed the scroll fragment that held the dark and ancient power. That should be enough for the time being. Nomi knew that as hard as Jintaru was playing, he'd not be able to rest easy from here on out knowing that the silver-haired man was out seeking something of great power.

”It must be a simple life, being a nobody, knowing nothing and being as blind as I am to the world around you. How boring.”
Listening to the commotion going on within the tavern, the blind man sighed loudly as he picked up his cup of sake and made it vanish down his throat like the others before. He returned the cup to the table, somewhat violently as the wooden surfaced creaked and rocked from the strain of having pressure put upon it. The next set of words that left the 'monk's lips had frustrated the blind man further and as he left the table and walked away, the silver-haired man rose his head and glanced towards the tavern.
”Waitress!”
He shouted over the noise coming from within. A few seconds passed but the young jasmine-scented girl scurried out of the tavern and rushed to the blind man's table, a worried look spread across her voice which carried into her voice.
”Y-yes sir? How m-may I help?”
After fetching his coin purse from his belt, Nomi handed her enough gold for more sake, asking for two bottles, unopened. Upon taking the gold and nodding her head, the young woman vanished back into the tavern, hugging the walls and taking a longer route to into the back of the tavern as to avoid the noisy people in the middle.

By time she had reappeared, the blind man was standing up. His satchel was slung over his right shoulder with the bag itself resting on his left waist. With a smile, he nodded his head and took his drinks off the waitress.
”Thank you.”
Gently placing his order into his satchel, the silver-haired man turned and took his leave, walking to the dirt road and heading directly across it to the adjoined farmland. As dusty footsteps turned to the soft crunch of fresh grass, a farmer, about mid forties, flinched and ducked behind his small wooden plough as he noticed the blind man approaching. Seemed he had heard the gunshots from earlier and was taking cover to protect himself. Smart man. Nomi however, paid him no mind at all. He instead walked onto the farmland where a small grassy mound rest. Using his boot to kick the grass away, a katana was revealed to be laying peacefully on the ground. Rolling the sheath onto the top of his right boot, the blind man flicked the weapon up into the air, which he caught with a snap of his right hand, snatching the weapon from the air.

Slinging the blade over his shoulder and fastening it to his back, the blind man returned to the dirt road and turned after Jintaru, following him. He clearly wasn't happy, as evident by the sound of his blade being pulled from it's sheath. The mirror-sheen of the blade flicked beautifully in the sunlight and the blade itself sung with the subtlest movement. After having waited enough he was far enough away from the tavern to be a distraction, the silver-haired man flexed his knees and suddenly launched himself towards the 'monk', almost vanishing entirely from view as his tapped into his colossal speed, leaving naught but a small cloud of dirt where he once stood. Catching up to the 'monk' in mere seconds. He 'appeared' a few feet behind the 'monk', but did not act further. He didn't need to. He just continued to follow the man in silence, blade drawn and waited.

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

That sounds a lot like the Mist from Final Fantasy 9 mixed with the landscape of Avatar xD

How far away is this fog from where the RP is currently taking place?
It is effected by wind and can it move closer or furhter away?
Do monsters of all kinds spawn from the fog?
Can humans breath the fog and be okay?

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

No problem ^__^

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

I do prefer a posting order when more then two people join a thread. If it's okay with you guys, I'd like the post order to be as it currently is in the thread.

That being, Jintaru >Nomi > Feisty-Pants > ClocktowerEchos > Jintaru --

I hope this is okay.

A New Day, A New Dawn - [Closed / Ended]

Like the embers that burned in the end of the 'monks' pipe, was the fire too burning through the veins of the man calling himself Jintaru. Nomi could feel it on the skin of his bare arms as if he were standing before an actual fire. It was magnificent, a wonderful feeling coming from the shaven-headed man, but is words were still concerning for the blind man. Perhaps he really was speaking the truth and had 'killed' his old self in order to try and live life anew. A pity that the silver-haired man was still living and breathing to remind the poor pipe-smoking warrior that his past would never leave him. He would always be haunted by his nightmares, by his mistakes. However, the middle-aged blind man had felt as if his former comrade had been teased enough for one day. He didn't want to make the fool explode from anger so soon. Nomi needed the shaven-headed man before him alive and well, and preferable sane, for when he met with Ornestoro. The tricky part was going to be how the blind man would get an audience with the 'peddler of information' if Jintaru continued to refuse to ask for him. That was if this Ornestoro was as silent and as cautious as the 'monk' had described.

This is interesting. I doubt there is anyone else who knows about this scroll fragment... I have a couple of ideas where I could start to look, but I really don't want to walk back to Mor Sgaithatch...
The blind man thought to himself as he watched the 'monk' clear his pipe and tuck it away into his belongings. The shaven-headed man's threat came as little surprise, what with how much he had been provoked and goaded. THIS was the man Nomi remembered. These words, these threats, that look in Jintaru's eye, the look of wanting to desperately kill someone, to kill the blind man. This was 'Jin Long'. Nomi smirked and remained silent, though there were several taunts and insults just dancing on the tip of his tongue. Instead, the silver-haired man just crossed his arms over his chest and allowed a smirk to remain present on his lips.
No, I must get an audience with this Ornestoro and my only key to him is sitting right in front of me.
Nomi tilted his head a fraction, turning his left ear forwards slightly as he seemed to 'feel' something approaching. Pushing it to the back of his mind for the time being, he spoke up instead.
”What is it you consider 'work' these days? If the man I know is dead, then that sword by your side will be blunt and your ability to fire those arrows, useless.”

As he sat here 'watching' his friend stare back at him, a figure was approaching the tavern with a very unusual air about her. She carried a scent that both intrigued and wanted to make the blind man retch. It sounded like she had a hood or some type of cloak covering her person, but the silver-haired man could see through that as if it weren't even there. His brow tightened a fraction, any emotion of teasing or provoking the 'monk' had vanished entirely and was replaced with concern. A quick 'glance' at Jintaru told the blind man that he too had felt her approach. Nomi grinned again and he tapped a finger on the table before the 'monk' a couple of times to regain his attention.
”Whatever plans you have in mind for yourself, have to wait. It seems we're in the company of Miss Annaveya Kushrina. Do you know her?”
He asked with a lowered voice as his grin grew wider. This day was full of surprises! What on earth was someone like her doing in a place like this? And if she wasn't enough herself, there seemed to be someone else approaching the tavern as well. This chap, he was loud and full of himself by the sound of things. He smelt like he had drunk an entire tavern's worth of alcohol. As they both disappeared inside the tavern, the blind man returned his attention onto the 'monk' sitting at the same table.

”I'm not sure who that other person is who just went inside, but I doubt he's anything to worry about. Mind you, it feels like we might currently be surrounded. Can you feel them? Please tell me you have kept up with your training since the last war...”
Though it seemed his words may not have been fully heard, as a stranger had approached their table and placed down a few gold coins onto the table. Five in total, which the shaven-headed man took into his grasp. Weren't those the same coins he had given the kitchen hand earlier? The blind man placed his left elbow onto the table and he turned himself around fully to glance behind himself, the table and stool creaking softly as he shifted his weight about. Who knew what he was 'looking' for, but he soon returned back to normal and faced Jintaru once more. The boy was fast and seemed smart enough from the brief time Nomi was able to be near him. Had he been caught or attacked? It wasn't everyday you saw a young lad like him running as he was. Did someone think he had stole something and had reclaimed the 'stolen goods', returning them to the 'monk'? This was a setback. If Ornestoro was not going to be informed of Jintaru's visit, then neither him nor Nomi were going to get what they wanted.

Before he was able to say anything though, two gunshots rang from inside the tavern and visibly caused the blind man to wince and turn his head away from the sound. This entire area was peaceful, quiet and relaxed up until now. Now there was a general sense of panic and urgenecy spreading throughout each and every patron that eat and drank here. The group of three man nearby all ducked low and the elderly couple yelped and cowered at their table. It seemed the only two people who didn't duck for cover were the blind man and the 'monk'. Nomi had looked to where the sound had come from and was visibly flexing his hands to and from visits. A gun was a weapon for a coward, the same type of coward who would hide a dagger on his person. Nomi hated cowards. If you were going to be in battle, if you were to draw blood from your enemy, then it should be done with a blade in you hands and performed with the skill and knowledge of a man who dedicated his life to that very same blade. Or her life. Nomi had met his fair share of women who could handle a blade.
”Now what are you going to do, my old friend? Find the kitchen hand and leave the fool with guns to harm the innocent, or do you deal with the problem here and hope the boy isn't bleeding out in a ditch somewhere?”
Nomi smirked and he leaned forwards on the table, pressing both his elbows onto the wooden surface as he brought his face closer to the 'monk'.