4381/tFSoK - The Hawk's Eyes

tFSoK - The Hawk's Eyes
Date of Scene:	02 August 2016
Location:	Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
Synopsis:	Gough has his first medical checkup ever.
Cast of Characters:	Priscilla, Staren, 626, Lezard Valeth, Sanary Rondel, 908, 1014

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Priscilla has posed:
    It seems like for the next little while, people will be seeing a fair bit of this city. It makes sense, considering the first list of tasks open to the multiverse are being undertaken in the name of esteemed figures woven into its mythos ages ago, but it also lends itself well to conveniently skipping half a sceneset.

    Most conveniently, today's request involves no oaths or politics or sacred relics. It is a simple and 'humanitarian' cause, and so one of which Priscilla has been made personally aware, and readily approved. Considering who she already lets live in, and pass through, Anor Londo, any kind of oldschool racism towards giants is dead on arrival; doubly so considering that Hawkeye Gough is a legend amongst men nowadays.

    So able bodied Elites of relevant talents are lead into the palace itself, though named that only for 'castle', 'cathedral' or 'fortress' conjuring images that are too dour and less artistically inclined. They get a room properly /sized/ for a giant too, though that seems to be hardly uncommon in this place. It's bright, sunny, and just about completely cleared out save for some extremely thin looking white curtains drawn over several arches to let the light through but keep eyes out. Gough himself is seated cross-legged amidst a considerable circle of wood shavings as large as human fingers, and a small pile of bewilderingly carved objects.

Staren has posed:
    Once again, Staren opts to come without his armor. This is a peaceful mission, after all! He doesn't seem to have much with him, but between that magic bag and his matter manipulator, he could be carrying a small lab's worth of stuff! Staren takes in the room. It seems this is Gough's scultping room. "Hello again... How are you feeling?" He opts to open with a... normal question, rather than immediately jumping into sciencey queries for details on Gough's blindness.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
Kyra was looking forward to getting out again, even in this deadly, deadly world.

    She seems all geared up in regular traveling clothes-which means she's got pants on instead of her usual skirt AND she's loaded up with a well-worn traveling backpack. She's in fairly good mood too even though the world around her, sized for giants, seems to dwarf her. Occasionally, she does take a picture for posting later and she does have her Lifestream-ready camera on her. But a quick look at the camera will reveal that it has yet to be turned on, the red ring around the apature not present.

    "And more importantly..." Kyra adds to Staren's question, "How can we help you today?"

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard isn't particualrly concerned about the state of Hawkeye Gough, but one doesn't discover opportunity by just sitting in one's tower and NOT messing with people. As such, Lezard arrives with the other Elites, looking over the room with a strange look. "Hmm..." He looks down at the carved objects, his eyes squinting for a moment, before his gaze moves to the Giant himself. "It is good to see you again, Gough." Lezard greets the Giant. Despite not showing much interest in him before, at least the Necromancer of Midgard hasn't been working to aggrieve him, right?

Sanary Rondel has posed:
What's a diplomatic healing mission without some healers around? It'd be a lie to say that Sanary doesn't have some personal stake in this matter. Not because of Gough himself, but because of the potential ramifications of what could be if this works out the way she's hoping it does. The one-eyed healer arrives in a distinctly grayer-than-usual outfit, the coat still being needlessly long and her trusty gunaxe and buckler strapped to her sides. She's also got a staff strapped to her back just in case, although even she doubts it's going to be needed today.

     Still, it never hurts to be prepared.

     "Nice stuff..." She murmurs as she glances about and peers at those odd carvings, resisting the urge to pick any of them up in favor of just stepping towards Gough slowly. No sense making him think she's a threat or anything if she can help it, especially with the size difference! She does pause when she hears a few familiar voices, though, eyeing Staren suspiciously for a few moments and relaxing when she spots Kyra nearby. A fellow student! Lezard's presence also seems to help the healer relax a bit before she turns to Gough. "Hey there. Sanary Rondel, Confederate healer. Feeling alright enough to have guests over today?"

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Today Gudako is a pretty little snowflake. That is, she's wearing those black orange-yellow clothes that mark her as Totally Lezard's Apprentice For Real. It's not clear how much apprenticing is going on, since her face is glued to her cellphone like it always is, and not to some grimoire she should probably study. Maybe she found a .pdf. Since the narration is lazy:

    As she arrives from behind (presumably she came in with Lezard or something), she idly says: "Hey, hey, mister Valeth, how about story time for those of us who haven't met him before? Why's he called Hawkeye Gough and what's he done with you guys in the past?" If people are talking they can't notice she's just playing a videogame on her cellphone.

    Two spiritual presences orbit Gudako as well, powerful and difficult to miss; one seems distracted, wandering about while incorporeal, though the other is standing guard dutifully near the magus.

Priscilla has posed:
    It's surprisingly difficult to tell what those carvings are supposed to be. The wood looks completely petrified, as though fossilized in its entirely with all of its grain replaced by ancient minerals, which probably explains why it takes so long to make them. The designs on them are nothing short of utterly bizarre, but clearly not random; perplexing to the brain as it tries to register a facial feature here and a celestial icon there.

    "Feeling?" Rumbles the colossal figure, straightening from his stooped posture with the sound of a mountain moving. "The same as ever, I suppose. A day the same as the day before is something to cherish in these times. I had much time to sicken and die long ago, but somehow, I seemed to have procrastinated so much that I missed my chance!" It's some pretty black humour, but both the outlook and the good mood seem to fit him well.

    Slowly, he puts the 'knife', shrouded in heavy quotation marks, down to the immaculately 'tiled' floor, in equally heavy marks. He then places the carving at his opposite knee, letting the group see. It's the size of a fist, but compared to his size, it's like etching a grape. "What do you think?" He asks, showing a series of strange, swirling lines and contours in a symmetrical and elongated, nonsensical shape. "Is this not truly a face of gratitude?" He then follows with pride.

    So it's pretty clear that he hasn't seen a face in so long that he's forgotten what they physically look like, but . . . dammit if he isn't kind of right. Looking at it again, it's suddenly very easy to, somehow, make out a genially smiling and thankful expression in the mess of seemingly LSD-influenced whittling. One can practically hear the words "Thank You!"

    "I am little able to show otherwise, so consider this a reflection of the depths of my gratitude to the seven of you." Seven? Maybe that BS about being blind heightening other senses is true. "My apologies, nine." He then swiftly corrects as Priscilla enters the room otherwise unheard, with a very new-looking spear gently held in her arms, silver and red accented, with a head shaped as an angular Celtic Weave, or Norse Knot.

    "Think little of mine intrusion, Knight Gough." Priscilla replies, keeping well to the back of the room. "I hath little need, nor want, to intrude upon thine affairs. Thou art simply one of a few I must introduce this day." Gough seems to have some idea of what she's talking about, because he only replies with a sedate nod, and a thundering "Very well. I would be honoured."

    Though after that, he seems to hesitate, burly hands rising to that gunk-sealed helmet and then going no further. "Take heed that it is not for anyone that a giant shows his face. Think not lightly of the trust I am willing to extend for this purpose." He then slowly lifts it free with enough shedded dust to think it was welded to his head, and sets it aside with a bell-like clang.

    Upon this rare instance of a Lordran resident taking their headgear off, his face isn't quite as hideous or exotic as one might expect. It is, basically, humanoid, but with such a rough, nearly ashen grey complexion, as to look chiseled, and with strangely angular and sunken features as to suggest that the mason was of a remote, island culture. He is completely bald, but imagining hair growing on him is frankly weirder, and has an incredibly thick neck and trapezials.

    More importantly, his eye sockets constitute almost a single mask of horrific scars. He'd only said he got /resin/ in his eyes, but they look completely ravaged by burns that could be incendiary or electrical in nature rather than chemical, and the scar tissue itself hardly looks healthy, like a horrifically ugly bruise that had never healed. It's hard to tell whether the eyeballs themselves are gone or simply buried under seemingly melted and fused flesh. It is, summarized, not pretty.

Staren has posed:
    Staren frowns at Lezard and Gudako, but this is far from the only time he's ahd to be civil to mortal enemies or just Very Bad People.

    Staren chuckles at the joke about Gough putting off sickening and dying so much that he missed his chance.

    Staren looks at the carving. "Uhh, I dunno... Oh wait, I see it now! That's a neat trick..." he smiles. Priscilla gets a wave when she's pointed out.

    Staren's eyes widen as Gough moves to take off his helmet. It comes off?! Staren thought it was sealed on, and that that was part of the problem!

    "Oh... Oh my, so this is what we're up against... hmmm." Staren manifests his wings and flies up for a closer look. "You're completely blind, yes? Or with the helmet off can you see any light at all?" He shines a really bright flashlight at Gough's eyes briefly, just to check that there isn't something barely working, somewhere under that mess.

Heaven's Armory (1014) has posed:
    There was nothing like a spiritual presence, invisibly hiding, prior to the materialization of what looks like some noble's grey-haired, red-eyed daughter, now standing a few steps in front and to the side of Priscilla. The brief sparking in the air that heralded her would also be easy to miss, if one weren't looking toward the ruler at the time. Regardless, she is here now, with little in the way of significant aura to distinguish her and her diminuitive stature.
    The strangely-shaped spear, on the other hand, is highly and obviously magical to anyone with the faintest of supernatural perception and working senses. But the spear does nothing, being entirely inanimate. It is the girl that steps forward, glancing to either side to take in the sight of each gathered elite from multiple angles, and then fix her attention onto the giant. She stops at the significant distance that nevertheless seems reasonably conversational, here in a room made for those several times a human's height.
    "A pleasure, Knight Gough." She uses the same title as moments ago. "I am Svala, of that called Heaven's Armory."

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Staren's frown simply gets a pleasant smile in return from Lezard. He knows what Staren thinks. He knows Staren doesn't approve.

But if Lezard lived life caring about approval, he'd certainly never have achieved what he has. The Necromancer of Midgard looks over the proffered carving with a nod. "Fascinating work, Hawkeye. Despite your infirmity, it seems your hand and your /inner/ eye have not faded."

The question from Gudako causes Lezard to turn to her. "Ah, yes. He is called the Hawkeye because he was a peerless archer, using his bow to hunt the enemies of the Gods of Anor Londo. His weapon is a mighty bow whose arrows are larger than many siege weapons. Until the event which took his sight, he was unparallelled in his might. Between that and his unwavering loyalty, it is no wonder he is one of the Knights."

Lezard shrugs, then. "However, it is a complicated matter, it seems. The wound is certianly not one that even at a glance looks to be one that can be healed easily. I could perhaps manufacture replacement eyes using my homunculus tanks, But that leaves the peril of the actual surgery required to implant them... If that would even work. There is, of course, perhaps a more... extreme option..."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    As usual, there is no animosity, much less malice, in Gudako's eyes. No matter the stares she gets (looking at you, Staren!), nothing seems to be able to chip at her constant smile and creepy dead, empty eyes. Which are, honestly, a lot less creepy than what Gough just put on display, damn that looks like it must have been painful.

    She does listen to Lezard's story, idly, although the one to respond isn't Gudako, but Caster, the blue-robed, pink-haired foxgirl materializing next to her master and taking a polite bow after the fact. That must mean the other presence with her wandering about is Berserker. Don't count on seeing her today, is cat, is busy exploring.

    "I don't have spells that could regenerate eyes wholesale, either... but if we were going to go the transplant route, I make sure the surgeon has very favorable luck that day~." Catch-all blessings like that are pretty useful. "With a bit more time, enchanting the replacement eyes to make sure they're good or don't get rejected by his body could also be possible!"

    Either way it's clear Caster's contributions will probably be more secondary-- they'll enable others to do their own things a bit better, but they're not going to fix the problem alone.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary visibly relaxes when the giant... Giant shows that he still has a sense of humor about the whole thing, even laughing along with him at the thought of it all. She lets out a light half-whistle when he shows off that carving AND gets that accurate head count, although she does tense up just a bit when Priscilla arrives.

     "We'll keep that in mind, ma'am. Uh.. Hn." Taking a deep breath, Sanary turns her gaze back to Gough, looking somewhat baffled by the sight of... Resin? That's resin in the giant's eye. That doesn't belong there! Also, the burns. With how old they are, it's probably not a huge surprise that the next noise to come out of the Confederate healer's throat is a troubled grunt.

     "Fact that you can get all this work done like that... Impressive." There's still some hints of sympathy in there even as she compliments Gough's work, approaching the giant once more to try and get a closer look at his face without making contact yet. The healer glances over at Gudako with a chuckle and nod, then at Svala with a raised eyebrow when she introduces herself.

     That's not a name she's heard before. Something to take note of! "Maybe if we... Hm. Does healing magic work on you? If it does..." She looks over at Lezard and grins slightly at the mention of replacement eyes, then over at Kyra (as a fellow healer) and Gudako (as a make-sure-things-don't-explode) expectingly. "I ain't a surgeon, but I'm thinking maybe we can try and cut off some of the blockage first. We can fix up the damage from that first, then when Lezard gets the eye thing going, we get everyone together and... Do that?"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
Ashen grey complexions are not a surprising thing to the likes of Kyra, but the rest of the angular geometry of the giant's face is of /much/ interest. She stares openly, her hand reaching for her camera-but wavering. It would be a vast betrayal of trust to actually photograph this guy-even the impulsive, irreverant Kyra knows that much.

    But that cannot go uncommented on: "Gough, what happened to your eyes? Is that...infected? I've never seen scar tissue like that before."

    Once the attention is turned away from Kyra for a second, she will quickly cast a Scan spell on Gough under the impression that such an effect might be magical in nature. "I don't see why not, Sanary. If it is extraneous scar tissue, I might be able to remove it, though uh...I haven't taken the surgery classes yet, only dissections.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Helpfully, Gudako tells Kyra: "Don't worry! A surgery is just like a dissection, only the body'll scream to let you know you're messing up!"

Priscilla has posed:
    Obviously Priscilla is totally unsurprised by Svala's appearance, but Gough seems to have been expecting some other nebulous thing more than a voice. "Ahh, well met, Lady Svala. Am I to assume you are a confidant of our Archlord? Or at least, an adherent of our 'White Lady of Disaster'?" He follows that with another short laugh. "I cannot imagine she would bring you here at a time like this did she not have the utmost faith in you, and if there is any other than my Captain, my King, and our Princess deserving that faith from myself . . ."

    Despite his reticence, Gough seems to be long past the point of visceral shame or embarrassment regarding his condition, though partially in the way of one resigned to not even know how it looks, and never wanting to ask. Staren shining the flashlight at him finds that the eyes themselves don't /seem/ to be obliterated so much as the sockets are partially filled in with a mix of charred and blistered tissue mixed in with what looks like melted and hardened wax. Still, it's almost certain they're damaged under that.

    "I will take your praise wholeheartedly, grand sorcerer." Gough says to Lezard. "I am happy to say that I have heard all about you, as you apparently have of I, and happier still that history remembers me in such favourable light. At this rate, yourself, amongst several, may go down as greater dragonslayers than I!" He shrugs with a noise like boulders rolling down a grassy hill.

    "The Miracles worked by the faithful of Anor Londo are great, but all but lost to time, until the gods should take new followers. Even then, I fear they would not be enough, for the most difficult wound to heal is always time. I would hazard only Lady Gwynevere perhaps capable, but my shame could not bear asking. I would trust in the magic of outlanders before nothing at all. If you fear for my health, you will find it about as obstinate as the rest of me."

    Despite being, very well reiterated, blind, and Caster's formerly invisible presence, Gough 'looks' at her pretty closely. "Ah, a goddess of fortune, have we? Your kind is few in number, and rarely long-tenured. I would not dare beg anything more than the sight I previously owned, however. A knight earns his title through skill and perseverance, and it would shatter the honour of one called Hawkeye to be given greater vision out of charity." Then finally, to Sanary. "It is less impressive when one considers the time I have had to practice. I have no reason to believe otherwise, however. An old Knight of Gwyn is hardly stranger to battle wounds closed by divine healing."

    Then the question finally comes from Kyra, though Priscilla intercepts it first. "Mine apologies, for this may not have been entirely clear. The resin of certain trees is of popular employ by warriors as augment to their weapons. Cured and conditioned, such substances art valuable as the valorous counterpart to an assassin's poisons, bearing flame, lightning and magic upon the steel proudly." So they're clearly not just dealing with 'got glue in the eyes'. "I can at say to the young lady, at the very least, were I or my kind prone to the diseases of mortals, my head would have rotted off entirely by now!" Gough brushes it off.

Heaven's Armory (1014) has posed:
    Svala answers Gough, "I am her spear." It is a simple summation, and stated as if it requires no further explanation. "I regret that I cannot provide great help in the matter of your healing, but you may trust me to serve her, howsoever a spear can." Her voice is soft, yet carries surprisingly well, with the enunciation befitting her appearance
    Presently, her sight turns toward Sanary. Sensitive to eyes upon her, perhaps. But it does not linger long, for she retains a question for Gough, if he is not busy speaking of the primary matter at hand with the others here. "I have not yet been introduced to those you mentioned. Are they within the city?"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
"G-gudako..." Kyra facepalms. "I don't want to make this guy scream! Really! He should get better quality medical care than that!" She settles down a little at the explanation-in particular, Priscilla's interjection.

    "...which trees, exacty, are used to make this resin? Scientific curiosity." Her scan spell stops. "And just to double check, you don't really need help with your eyes right now, right? Given your other heightened senses? Just double checking."

Staren has posed:
    Staren winces, and then flies down to Kyra, showing her what he saw on a tablet. "I'm no doctor, but I think step 1 here is surgically removing the resin and the scar tissue so we can even /get/ to his eyes. What do you think? You're the actual healer, I'm just here to provide more tools and stuff."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "Well, it's true," Gudako reiterates to Kyra. "Surgery is just dissection performed twice, once backwards!" To enjoy the simplicities of life. Oh! Her energy just capped, she'd better spend it. Gudako's face glues itself to her cellphone again.

    Caster gives a nod to Gough, puffing up just a bit from the praise and adoration. She does like it! She doesn't seek it out quite as badly as a certain emperor does, but humble can't describe the spirit(s) Gudako summoned.

    "I'm a goddess of many things! Someone as humble as you definitely deserves the best we can give!" Gough is pretty knightly, and that sort of behavior wins points all around with Caster. "Ah, ah~ but I won't force you to accept every offer. I'll be happy just to make sure your surgeon gets lucky and that your body cooperates. I can't make your eyes regenerate but I sure can help speed the healing process!"

    Sometimes it's nice to do some good.
    Though she's sure her master had ulterior motives for coming... Caster won't complain if, just this once, Gudako is too busy with her mobage to introduce all sorts of nasty conditions in the deal. Lezard still might, but RIGHT NOW, Caster'll revel in the fact she's KIND OF being worshipped and not let it bother her.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard chuckles. "One doubts that they are as favorable. You serve your people with honor, did you not? I am no Knight... But I accomplish the goals I believe are necessary nonetheless."

He looks to one side, shrugging despite the man being blind. "The slaying of the Dragon was one of those such things. But it is no matter, we are here for your needs, are we not?" Prideful he may be, he knows how to tone it down a notch when necessary. "Whatever the process used, it will likely be quite unpleasant. One cannot undo an old, dire wound such as this without travail." He smirks. "One supposes it really becomes just a question of the proposed methodology."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"Still... Really nice stuff you've made here. Wouldn't mind trying one of these some day if that's alright..." Sanary comments with a hearty chuckle while looking around the workshop once again. Even without sight, the idea that anyone could make things like this...

     That's certainly not going to contribute to any inferiority complexes or anything.

     "I... Uh. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm kinda curious how you got that stuff in your eyes, yeah." Would knowing that help? Perhaps not, but it might shed some light on just how Gough's face got all that-like. "Depending on how strong it is, we really might need some good weapons just to carve it out." A nod towards Svala, then at Staren. " Maybe inject some numbing things in there first so it's not too painful, although..."

     Sanary turns to Kyra again. "You got any numbing agents in there? I know there's stuff back in Medical I could try and bring, although if we're doing this tonight... We'll probably need to make sure he doesn't bleed out or something." And back to Gough! "How much of a rush are we in to do this? I'm fine with working on it now if everyone else is. With Gudako to help make sure luck's on our side, it should be fine."

     The one-eyed healer sounds confident about that, at least, and nods at the point Lezard brings up. "That's a thing, too. Even with numbing, it's still probably going to suck. Just... Er. How much."

Priscilla has posed:
    Gough does a remarkably good job of taking 'I am her spear' in stride. Even if he can clearly tell Svala is there now, there's no practical way for him to ascertain that there is a spear in Priscilla's arms as opposed to something else. "Then you are very well spoken for one!" He concludes. "It pains me to say that my King has long since gone; sacrificed himself for the good of all of us that are left. My Captain, I believe you will meet shortly, as the leader of us four knights, and the old army we once served. Our Princess is dead Lady Gwynevere. It is not mine to say when our Archlord may deem it fit. I can only imagine what business they have to close between them."

    Priscilla remarks offhandedly towards Kyra, more trivia than anything. "I believeth some trees of gold resin yet grow within the depths of the Darkroot Garden, but I wouldst not consider such safe to forage for as long as Lady Alvina remains stubbornly in charge. Pale resin involves much refinement from its ordinarily useless state. The black charcoal is a more common staple of those pines that groweth rarely around Sen's Fortress. Else, thou couldst simply find sale of them somewhere here."

    Despite all the talk of dissections and the performing of them forwards and backwards, Gough's mood seems only to steadily improve, oddly reflected in his kind of Easter Island face. "It does one no good to spurn a lady of fortune when she feels it prudent to look upon one kindly! Such is a good sign for matters of risk, honour, and personal achievement. Asides, this one is already far more personable than Fina."

    He then shakes his head slowly, though not insistently, at Lezard. "It is no simple feat to be one of those to finally dust that great bat. Make no mistake that such an accomplishment is not easy to mistake the significance of to these people, and a large part of what you enjoy here for the moment, else I imagine you would have many more challengers. Vinheim seethes with envy." He looks pensive as he thinks to address Sanary, but Priscilla softly interjects instead.

    "It is a very old story, and best left as incomplete as it is. Suffice to say that the old guard was less amenable to the idea of any other than the gods and their people serving closely to the Great Lord Gwyn, and didst seek sabotage of an otherwise historical occasion, though it cost them their lives. Old hatreds art well liked to be buried."

    Gough thumps his chest lightly with his fist. "I would be a pale mockery of a dragonslayer were I to flinch at the thought of mere scalpels and sutures. I am patient, however, and I cherish my carving. I would not have you hurry on any account of mine. Only know that . . . well that I have quite the surplus of blood to spill after failing to lose any in battle all these years!" If only all patients were that happy about it.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"Aah.. I think I get it." Sanary doesn't get it at all. Something about old people and buried art? She did catch the mention of Sen's Fortress, though, and that's enough to send an awkward shiver through her spine.

     Better not to dwell on that for too long. Gough's comment about his patience gets a nod from Sanary. "Good, good. We'll need the time to get some proper tools together, yeah. I mean... You're huge and all! We might need a sword instead of a scalpel, honestly." She chuckles, then pauses with an awkward tone coming into her voice. "N-not that we're gonna stab you in the face or anything! But... I mean... Surgery is kinda like that, so... Er. We'll be careful, though!"

     Way to reassure a patient, Sanary.

     "Does that sound like a good plan, then? We get some numbing agents, tools sized for Gough's face, get that resin off, then... Surgery? And then we can get the fresh eyes in at the same time or just make sure everything's fine before doing it later."

Staren has posed:
    "If new eyes are needed." Staren notes. "It may or may not be possible to heal the eyes that are under... all that." he gestures vaguely at the tablet.