High in Helena

[Draeris 3124]

Başıl and Kübek Karamanoğlu try the Hookah in the Helenian tavern, 17th of Alev Yenilgisi

 

High in Helena

Two Kardeşler try Boudewijn’s cactus green 

 

Ever since the Karamanoğullari had ventured to Helena as their temporary stop, the shenanigans by these Stone Yurt people seemingly had no end. The naïve Başıl doubted Boudewijn Haas’ big claims surrounding his new shipment of Cactus green, thinking: “this couldn’t be better than what they smoke in Al-Faiz..”

 

Ohh, how a man can make such a wrong judgment despite his conventional wisdom and many endeavours! Assuming the mildness of the substance, Başıl had invited his kardeş Kübek to try out the Hookah in the Helenian tavern. The first inhales were seemingly innocent: Kübek slouching down on his chair as a  Başıl  menacingly leaned over him. “You’re the only one of the  Karamanoğullari without a beard” he would chuckle, his hand leaning onto Kübek’s shoulder. “Beards?” Kübek laughed in his face “They are fine. But a strong moustache..” he’d look up “is much better”. Başıl laughed back, his eyes studying the hairs on Kübek's chin for a while. The inhaling would continue for a couple of hours afterwards, with the entire stash of Başıl being smoked up by the rusty Helenian Hookah. With some time having passed, Başıl began stumbling as he tried to stand up. He then beckoned Kübeck, giggling as he motioned with his hand intensely “Come..  Kardeş, I have to show you something..” They had never been so enchanted by Cactus green before. 

 

Once at the back plateau behind the tavern, the two kardeşler stood over the railing. Başıl pointed at the frozen river, stating: “I’ve never seen this in Korvassa.. Timur had only told stories about it.. But to see it is an entirely different thing..” Kübek would nod, observing “They’re like water crystals.. Is it hard enough to make jewels?” Başıl obtained an epiphany, struggling to explain it to Kübek as he gestured randomly with his hands: “Jewels..” he’d simply state, pointing down “Jewels.. Of water”.

 

Kübek’s eyes widened, his hands clasping the railing tightly “What a fantastic ornament that would be. But how could we make it?”  He’d look down “We should try to make it loose.” Başıl started to hang himself off the railing, beckoning Kübek to follow “I’ll go down first, let’s try it.”As both brothers landed, one on his feet and the other one on his behind: they now stood on the frozen canal of Helena. Kneeling down, they each tried to break the ice with their bare hands. Such an attempt was unsuccessful however, as the two Karamanoğlu were waving their hands in the air in pain and in tears. “Not even an arrow could pierce it.” Kübek muttered as Başıl swiped a tear away from his cheek. “Maybe we should ask one of the locals of the stone yurt to help us?” Both in agreement, they tried to stand up from their kneeling position. Kübek unfortunately sliding forward onto his belly, causing his amused brother to cackle loudly: “you can ride a steed but you cannot ride this water crystal?”. Kübek looked angrily at Başıl, stating: “Steeds do not slide beneath my feet, Kardeş”. Almost poetically, he then jumped himself straight onto the ice: maintaining perfect balance. They smiled at each other, now sliding towards the staircase to seek help with their quest. 

 

Once back onto the streets, they had a hard time finding a willing companion to help in their quest for water crystals. Giggling and looking around, Kübek noticed a small pool under the tree in the town square was frozen as well. “Look! The same water crystals beneath the tree! We don’t have to climb down again, kardeş”. They both walked towards the little pool of water, the two brothers would kneel onto the ice once more. “How should we break it?” Kübek pondered, looking over to Başıl. He tried to stomp through the water crystal, but to no avail. The surface stood strongly and only hurt his foot as well: merely showing some cracks around the place of contact. “Why would they place such an invincible crystal everywhere?” Kübek noticed the young Paulina Varoche balancing herself on one foot in the distance. Seeing an inhabitant of the stone yurt, Kübek beckoned Başıl: both now sprinting to the eight year old. 

 

“You!” Kübek pointed towards Paulina, distracting her “why do you have invincible crystals beneath the tree?” She would turn pale, eyeing the two Karamanoğullari surrounding her: “W-what..” Başıl took the child by her shoulders, shaking her “Child! Share us your wisdom!” as Kübek elaborated “Why is there, the water crystals!? How do you break it?”

 

Paulina would eventually trip over her one foot, muttering on the ground “B-break it?” as the men now towered over her. “Great, she’s deaf!” Kübek would throw his arm in the air out of frustration, scoffing at the child. As she would stand up and scratch the back of her head, she’d notice that the men were talking about the ice underneath the tree. “Water crystals..” she’d mutter confused “You mean the ice?” 

 

Başıl would turn to Kübek, his cheeks red as his lips were compressed: he was trying not to laugh. “Hey kardeş” he stated: “Ice.” They both now chuckled at each other, rendering the poor Paulina extremely confused. “Mhm..” Paulina would reply “Ice is like, frozen water”. 

 

“How do you break this ice then?” Kübek inquired as Başıl took some steps forward in anticipation of her answer. “Well you either heat it up, or hit it hard” Paulina would muse, confused as to why she knew more than two men in their mid twenties. Probably for the first time in her short life, the eight year old felt like the adult in the square. “Can you help us break it then?” Başıl inquired, crossing his arms as his head tilted. “I’m a kid.” Paulina stated blankly, crossing her arms as well. “But you understand the ice!” Başıl would giggle to himself, the word still somehow funny. As Paulina couldn’t find a proper response: the kardeşler simply gave up. Scoffing at her with dismissive motions, walking away as Paulina couldn't fathom what she just had experienced. Going to the courthouse to seek warmth instead, the kardeşler sought a proper place to rest for a while. Sitting in front of the central lectern in the courtroom, Kübek observed: “How come that they have so much art?” Başıl shrugged, taking off his shoes “Compensation? It is a waste of colours regardless.”  He would lean onto Kübek's shoulder: his head feeling light for the first time in what seemed to be a day. 

 

As they discussed the intricacies of the courtroom, giggling at the ridiculousness of having so many decorations and the general difficulty of dealing with the Stone yurt men:  Başıl grew increasingly sleepy. The warm shoulder of Kübek served as a proper alternative for his hay pillow from his own yurt. With a few giggles and random comments here and there, they both closed their eyes periodically. Although they had quite the adventure: never would they underestimate the wares of a Helenian merchant ever again. If they hadn’t been so high, maybe they could’ve properly mined the ice for jewelry. The thought of such a wasted opportunity saddened Başıl, who couldn’t keep his eyes open. Kübek would silently stare into the courtroom, taking in the architecture. What a day people could have in Helena.. 

 

[MadOne 4945]

Kübilay Karamanoğlu looked in a disappointed manner at the wet sack that Başıl tried to bring to Al-Faiz, to display to his kinsmen the jewels that the ground produced. Yet, the man seemed to be lying, since all he carried was an empty sack, soaked in water. He simply brushed this aside with a wide sway of his hand, shaking his head in a negative direction. “I do not see the fallacy of this...ground-crystals as a true fact. It was probably the product of the infidels that you have consumed, impairing your vision and connection to Kashgar.” He would simply grunt

[Draeris 3124]

10 minutes ago, MadOne said:

Kübilay Karamanoğlu looked in a disappointed manner at the wet sack that Başıl tried to bring to Al-Faiz, to display to his kinsmen the jewels that the ground produced. Yet, the man seemed to be lying, since all he carried was an empty sack, soaked in water. He simply brushed this aside with a wide sway of his hand, shaking his head in a negative direction. “I do not see the fallacy of this...ground-crystals as a true fact. It was probably the product of the infidels that you have consumed, impairing your vision and connection to Kashgar.” He would simply grunt

 

Başıl Karamanoğlu grew frustrated with the disbelief from his relatives, nudging Kübek on the shoulder as he nearly shouted: “Tell them! Tell them what we saw!” It wouldn't have mattered however, for the water crystal jewels remained a distant dream regardless.