Word: Eidolon

 

eidolon

[ahy-doh-luhn] / aɪˈdoʊ lən /

noun

1. a phantom; apparition.

2. an ideal. 

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                   Alex swung his flashlight around the dark hallway. He paused when the beam passed over some floating dust. He watched it move through the air for a few moments, only stopping when he realized the others were leaving him behind.

                   “Man, this place sucks.” Jim said. “There’s nothing here but junk and cobwebs.”

                   “I don’t know. Some of this stuff is pretty neat.” Ben said, looking at a partially broken dresser.

                   “It’s dumb is what it is. I thought the whole point of a haunted house was that there’s ghosts and stuff.”

                   “You actually expected to find ghosts?”

                   Even Alex got a good chuckle out of that. Sure there were a lot of rumors about the old house, but nobody expected there to actually be anything supernatural about it. Well, except for Jim, apparently.

                   “I…I just thought there’d be something, you know?”

                   As the three boys went through the house, Jim grumbled his way through. Ben occupied himself looking for anything that might be reasonably intact. Alex’s mind wandered. He wondered what a real ghost would look like. His answer came only a few minutes later.

                   Ben and Jim stopped in the middle of the room they were currently in. Jim’s flashlight began to flicker as it passed over the middle of the room.

                   “What the? This thing had brand new batteries. No way it’s dying already.”

                   Ben shined his light in the same area, only to have the same thing happen. “Okay, that’s super weird.”

                   Alex looked closely. The dust was behaving oddly. It looked like it was flowing around something. Something in the rough shape of a person.

                   “Hey guys, I think there’s something there.” He said.

                   The other two looked at him quizzically, then to the area the flashlights flickered over. As if on cue, a figure appeared. It was tall, floating and translucent. A spectral woman floated in the air, looking at the three of them. Alex’s breath caught in his throat. It, she, was beautiful. It was like an angel had appeared before them. The other two froze as her eyes moved over them. Alex assumed they were as entranced as he was.

                   “Wha-what the hell?” Ben asked.

                   “Oh god, we’re all going to die.” Jim said weakly.

                   Alex turned to look at Jim. The other boy’s eyes were open wide, but not with awe. With fear. Ben was much the same. In fact, Ben was shaking. The two of them took shaky, slow steps back. Alex had no idea why. The specter was anything but scary.

                   Her mouth opened and she let out a long, melodic cry that filled Alex with wonder. It was like the essence of an orchestra distilled and purified into one single note. Jim and Ben screamed their heads off and ran.

                   Once they were gone, the specter looked at Alex. Her head tilted from side to side. She let out another of her melodic calls. Alex smiled.

                   “Beautiful.” He said quietly. The specter seemed to have heard him. She looked surprised.

                   Alex heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw an old man walking towards him. The man wore loose clothes under a long coat, and moved with a slight hunch to his back.

                   “What did you just say?” He asked.

                   “Uh…I…I said beautiful?” Alex said nervously.

                   “Beautiful, is it. Tell me, when you look at her, what do you see?”

                   “I…I see a beautiful woman. Kind of. She’s floating and glowing and stuff, but she’s really pretty.”

                   A slow grin formed on the old man’s face. He moved next to the specter, who floated around him like a dog around its owner.

                   “That’s a rare thing, young man. Most people look at my eidolon here and see something terrifying. Twisted, ugly and inspiring of the worst fear they’ve ever felt.”

                   “What?”

                   “To see her as something beautiful is a rare thing. And it means you have the gift.”

                   “The gift?”

                   “Oh yes. In modern times you would call it magic, although that word doesn’t quite do it justice.”

                   Alex paused for a moment, thinking about what he had just been told. It sounded crazy, but given what he was seeing, he had hope that the old man was being honest.

                   “Are you saying I can be a wizard?”

                   “Hah! A wizard, he says. No, boy. You can be something far greater than any mere peddler of cantrips. You can be something far greater. Now, it won’t be easy. The journey to true power never is. But if you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach.”

                   Alex looked at the specter, the eidolon, and back to the old man. For some reason, Alex did not think the man was lying or tricking him. He stood a little straighter.

                   “Will I be able to do something like her?”

                   “The eidolon? Yes. Not right away, of course. She’s a very advanced working. But eventually, yes.”

                   “In that case, I’m willing.”

    

Word: Rogue

rogue

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noun

1. a dishonest, untrustworthy person; scoundrel.

   We were traveling in secret to avoid running into rogues and thieves.

2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp.

   The youngest boys are little rogues.

3. Archaic. a tramp or vagabond.

4. an animal having an abnormally violent or unpredictable disposition.

5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, especially a plant, varying markedly from the normal.

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                “Okay, so, we’re in agreement. We need a rogue.” Henry said, nursing his ale. He did not have any intention to actually drink it, but they were in a tavern. It would be weird not to have a drink.

                “Unfortunately.” Lilly grumbled. “Let’s just hope that whoever we get isn’t a brooding edgelord with an obsession with a ‘dark and tragic past.’”

                “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Henry said. “Those were all cliches even back home. I’m sure here it’ll be different.”

                Lilly, Jack and Claire looked at him. While none of them replied, Henry could tell what they were all thinking. They had been in this world for just under a month, and so far, the story cliches from their world were proving to be disturbingly accurate.

                “Okay, fine. Whatever. That doesn’t matter. It’s also a cliché that they become much more team oriented and trustworthy after a few adventures, so we should be okay. Now, let’s all split and meet up here in a few hours to look for one.”

                “Found one.” Jack said.

                “What?”

                “I found a rogue.”

                This time it was the large man’s turn to be the center of skeptical looks from the other three.

                “He’s over there in the corner, looking right at us.” Jack tilted his head in the direction he claimed the rogue was.

                Sure enough, there was a slender man dressed entirely in dark leathers. Seemingly random bits of metal were attached to the outfit, and he had more knives and daggers than were strictly necessary. He wore a black cloak with his hook over his eyes, but it was still obvious the man was looking at them.

                “Okay, yeah. That’s definitely a rogue.” Lilly said.

After a little pause, three calls of “not it” rang out, with the fourth a split second too late. Henry let out a quiet swear. He stood and grumbled his way to the rogue. The black clad man quickly looked away, but sat a tiny bit straighter. Interest while trying to seem disinterested?

                “You a rogue?” Henry asked when he got close enough to talk to the man.

                “I am one with the shadows.” The man said. His voice sounded like someone trying to speak in a dark and mysterious voice.

                “Uh, okay, sure.

                Now that he was closer, Henry could see more details about the man. His face, the bottom of which was covered by a cloth mask, bore the look of one who was excited but trying to act like they were not. And all of his equipment was of the highest quality. His leathers were freshly oiled and polished as well as any metal. His knives were as much show pieces as weapons. This man came from wealth, that was for sure. Either that, or he had stolen it all from someone who had. And most surprising of all, was that he did not have a mug or cup filled with anything.

                 “My party is looking for a good rogue. Someone who can scout, pick locks and deal with traps. And, of course, someone who isn’t afraid of a good fight.”

                “I live on the edge of danger.” The rogue said, drawing out that last ‘r’ sound a few seconds longer than needed. Henry could tell the man wanted to draw a dagger. Probably to hold it by the point.

                “I’ll take that as a yes. I’m Henry the swordsman, my party members are Jack, our tank, Lilly, our healer, and Claire, our mage. And you are?”

                “They call me…Dark…Shadow…Blood…Blade.”

                Henry sighed at the obviously fake name that the rogue had clearly just made up in that moment. Henry could tell what he was dealing with. It was obvious. This was not an edgelord. This was a man trying to be an edgelord.  And from the looks of his gear, some rich noble who was doing this for kicks or a bet. He was not sure if that was better or worse.

                “Okay, fine. Dark Shadow Blood Blade. Let’s go meet the others and see if you’re a good fit for our party.”

                He turned to head back to the others. As he went, he heard something that sounded suspiciously like a teenage boy saying “nailed it” under his breath. Great. A noble’s son then. Hopefully he was actually decent. And that they could keep the kid alive long enough to not have some noble hunting them down.

Word: Schlep

schlep

[shlep] / ʃlɛp /

Also schlepp sometimes shlep,

verb (used with object)

Slang.

schlepped, schlepping

1. to carry; lug.

   to schlep an umbrella on a sunny day.

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                Why was everything so heavy? Nick was not thinking that on a conscious level, but some part of him certainly was. His conscious mind was too busy spouting out complaints to think about anything else.

                “Oh, stop complaining. It’s not that heavy.” Jill said from the landing.

                Nick plopped the large box he was lugging around. It was not a stable setting, but he needed to rest. His arms felt like Jello. The very thought of carrying more of them brought him to the edge of despair.

                “Easy for you to say.” He said through deep breaths. “I can’t bench twice my own body weight like some people.”

                “Twice? You need to update your info. I’m up to triple.” Jill said with obvious pride.

                “Okay, that just makes the fact that you’re not helping so much worse.”

                “What’re you talking about? I am helping. I’m handling the lighter stuff, while you, the big strong man, handle the big heavy stuff.” Jill said in an overly mocking voice.

                Nick groaned. Jill was great in a lot of ways, but damn did she hold a grudge.

                “You’re still on about that? It was last week, and I was drunk when I said it.”

                Jill crossed her arms over her chest. “Uh-huh. And you say that like it should matter.”

                “It does, yes. And you know it does. I mean, come on. How much of what you say when your drunk do you mean the next day?”

                Jill looked like she was about to say something, but did not. Instead, she found a sudden interest in the railing. He did not say anything either.

                “Okay, maybe you have a point about that.” She admitted. Nick could tell it was a reluctant admission, but he would take it. “But it still hurt you know. I worked really hard to get where I am. And then to hear my own boyfriend compare me to some…some She-Hulk—”

                “Wait, hold on. That’s what you’re mad about?”

                “Well, yeah. Shouldn’t I be?”

                “Jill, you haven’t watched any of those Marvel shows when they were on, have you?”

                “No. I don’t really like all that superhero stuff.”

                “So you don’t know who She-Hulk is?”

                “It’s a character? Not, like, a monster or something?”

                Nick pulled out his phone and did a quick search. He groaned slightly as he climbed the few steps to her. Then he showed her the image.

                “That’s…”

                “That’s She-Hulk. The superhero.”

                “So…you were comparing me to…her?”

                “Yup.”

                She worked her jaw for a moment, looking at the image on the screen. “So…you don’t think that I’m some big ugly thing and that only men should have muscles?”

                “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

                “I just…the name, you know? It sounds like some big horrible bulky monster, so I just kind of assumed.”

                “There’s no way I would ever think something like that. Especially about you.”

                “Ah. So, uh, I…I’m just going to go help move some boxes now. And, uh, sorry about…all that.”

                Nick sighed in relief as he watched her go down and lift the box that he had struggled with like it was nothing. He was glad this was an easy issue to resolve. Now he just needed to make sure not to make her mad about anything that was not fixable with a  quick online search.