All those who wander are not lost. [ psl ]

[outpaced]

WHO Konrad Ziegler (outpaced), Gisil Ziegler (dispeller).
WHAT Family outings for the Zieglers tend to be rather... adventurous and/or danger-fraught.
WHEN Modern day.
WHERE Outside a rural city toward the entrance of an abandoned underground village.

It was a simple hike out to the latest point of interest for the Zieglers. Although it was not a new discovery outside the humble Canadian city, there was always something new to find if one knew where to look. One of Kurt's most valuable discoveries went like this: when something was new, everyone would descend in a flock until everything was picked clean and leave. Squatters would move in during the aftermath, make their own history in their hermitism or within whatever small community they formed, and leave their own legacy behind. Sloppy seconds, these were not.

The ruins themselves had hardly been disturbed for over a century. Nearly seventy years ago, Kurt had heard word of freeloaders taking residence, stirring a bit of local gossip, and then not much more in recent times. It had been enough to make a mental note, but not so drastic that he'd rushed out as soon the rumors had ceased. Now it was time to reap the benefits of that patience with his son.

Hefting his fairly unladen backpack over his shoulder, he glanced aside to Gil. "You've remembered to bring the lights, I hope. After that time a handful of years ago, I've had enough damp and dark to last me for another few decades."

Comments

[dispeller]

The best part of being his father's son is that he got to travel to the underground cities and villages of the old mages and explore where people once lived. He loved the history they had even outside of the spells the normally contained and part of him wished that he had been born back then just so he'd have the chance to live in a city just like the one they were going to explore.

At his father's question, Gil showed one of them to him so he'd know that this time, he did indeed pack them. "I thought you had enough of your forehead being a great beacon and showing the way for us, Vati. If you had enough of the damp and dark, we wouldn't be ready to head down into yet another ruin."

[outpaced]

For Konrad, he had much the same interest in the old ruins. Although he had lived long enough to see a fair number of them inhabited, they were all different much as every city had a different heart in it no matter similar design philosophies and some things that would never change. It was the attitude of the people who had lived there and their lives affecting the world around them, the story told in the stone and wayward magic still threaded in the air. Every little bit of it was an adventure.

"I've enough of the damp and dark," he corrected with a cheeky grin. "Just damp is something I can deal with. Had to deal with it all the time when I was a younger man. Dark? No, we had candles for that. Now we've got lights. Much as I enjoyed being a lighthouse, I would rather wear a miner's cap if I were going to try it again."

[dispeller]

"Even with the lights, it will still be dark outside of a small range," Gil pointed out as he followed his father, putting away the light until they needed it and checking his clothes to make sure that his enchantment runes haven't started to fade. It wouldn't be good for the enchantments to stop working while he was in the middle of climbing. He was getting on in his years and that was starting to take a toll on his body.

His gloves' runes were starting to fade and he pulled out an ink pen, starting to repair it with white ink that stood out sharply against his black gloves. He didn't worry about Konrad walking ahead, knowing he'd take note of what Gil was doing and react accordingly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you've gotten spoiled by modern technology."

[outpaced]

Despite the fact that Konrad was in the lead and didn't bother to look back and check on Gil, he knew what his son was doing and was pleased by it. Never was it a good idea to get complacent when doing something dangerous. Not for mortals, anyway, and it was something that had taken Kurt more time than it should to remember about the precious people around him: they weren't indestructible.

His pace slowed to accommodate, letting Gil do what he needed without forcing either of them to stop. "Candles aren't very modern, Gil, which is rather the point. Why do without something we've had for centuries anyway, hm?"

[dispeller]

While it had taken Konrad a while to remember that the people he was around weren't indestructible, Gil had grown up with the knowledge that people were far more fragile than they seemed at first glance and that he had to make sure to keep himself protected at all costs. It was why he kept his runes nice and crisp so that if they were truly needed, then they wouldn't fail him.

He snorted at his father's response, focusing on both the path and his touch ups with equal concentration. He was a good multitasker. "You were talking about a miner's cap and unless the history I know is mistaken, there were never miner's caps with candles as their lights."

[outpaced]

Konrad had nothing against people keeping themselves safe and protected. It sure saved him a lot of the hassle in protecting them himself when he brought them into overly dangerous situations. What he had something against were people who wouldn't even try just because there was a promise of danger rather than open their arms to the excitement of being alive. Thankfully his son was not one of those people to shirk, nor were any of Kurt's partners in both business and pleasure.

"Who taught you your history?" said Konrad in overzealous dismay. "They did! They wore candles in their caps and kept mirrors behind the candles to bolster the light. It was a low-effort, high-reward sort of contraption made even better by the utilization of electricity. This is the fault of public schooling, isn't it?"