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Blackstone Foundry and Forge, Thursday

What was green, wiggly, large, and cranky?

Fjord trying to shake the jello off on the foundry's front stoop, not wanting to set foot inside today while he was sticky all over. He'd been around for December's strange precipitation, of course, but even the falling sugar was relatively innocuous compared to the slime that was slowly oozing its way down the back of Fjord's shirt, prompting another horrified shudder out of him.

He'd actually get to work eventually. Probably. But for the time being, he was mostly just wondering why it couldn't be raining something easy to deal with, like... he didn't know, maybe water.

Hell, as more jello squidged its way down his back, Fjord was reasonably certain he'd even take falling turnips.

[OOC: Open!]

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Honestly, today was a little weird. The jello rain had put a damper on any work that could be done at the graveyard. So Caduceus decided to take a walk, and explore the town. Luckily most of the jello matched his hair already.

And there to his surprise was a familiar face out on the stoop. "Fjord!" he called out and then paused. Ah. He had tusks. No. Not quite. "Sorry. I think I need to explain. I'm Caduceus Clay," he said holding out his hand for a handshake. "I know you but you don't know me."

"... That's a hell of an ominous way to introduce yourself to somebody," Fjord noted, looking at the offered hand, and then up at the man who had offered it, before hesitantly reaching out to shake it. It was probably the squishiest handshake he'd ever had the misfortune of experiencing, right there. "It's... a pleasure?"

Beau had warned him that there was some guy who knew them on the island.

"You wouldn't happen to be the fella who came through a wall on fire sometime the other week, would you?"

"Oh, yeah. That would be me," Caduceus said cheerfully. "I was trying to avoid a-"

He stopped for a second. Timeline reveals could be a problem if they were revealed.

"-rather antagonistic creature and walked through a wall and ended up here. Now, I already met Beau and I'm going to tell you the same thing I told her. I know you from a later date than when you left Wildemount. Trust needs to be earned, and I realize you don't know me as well as I know you. So while you have my trust, I recognize that I need to earn yours."

As a blob of jello bounced off his head, he gave the half-orc a smile. "Maybe we could have this conversation inside."

"Inside, right," Fjord agreed. And then paused and considered the forge. "A few steps in, at least until I can lay something out so we don't get this shit all over the floor. C'mon."

He led the way through the door, remembering a, "Mind your head," on the way in, because most doors around here weren't exactly built with firbolgs, or even average-sized half-orcs, in mind.

"So," he said, as he set about to pulling his boots off so that he could squish his way over to grab a tarp, "you're tellin' me you're from my future?"

Caduceus let out a friendly chuckle. “Well, I’m assuming so. Both you and Beau aren’t... well you don’t look like you were when I met you. And it was a couple of months when you got here before I met you as well,” Caduceus said amiably as he picked off a blob of Jello and tossed it outside.

Fjord's brow creased as he listened, unfolding a sheet of tarpaulin on the floor as he did so, and then, with a sigh, starting to shuck his armor.

"Couple of months before we meet you, huh? Except for now, when we're meeting you... now." Well, that sentence went a little sideways. "So you're... what, to us?"

“A friend,” He said amiably. “Your friends approached me for assistance at one point and I joined on after that. You understand that I can’t tell you too much as there’s several steps you need to take, I think. Important ones. Journeys tend to leave their mark on you and help you grow. I don’t want to take that away from you.”

And now Fjord was mostly just looking perplexed. All this talk about the future mostly just raised more questions, and he wasn't so sure he'd get the answers even if he were to ask.

"Wouldn't want it taken away," he hedged, a little uncertainly. "I don't think, anyway." He would regret just rolling with this someday while he was being carted up alongside Jester and Yasha, being prepared to be sold as slaves. "Seems like this journey leads to having people in my life who'll call themself 'friend.' I can't complain about that, can I?"

Caduceus had to chuckle about that. After all Fjord hasn't met Caleb or Nott yet.

"For the most part," he agreed. "I'm leaving out a lot but I think it's important for you to make this journey without the burden of knowing what will happen. Specifically, I think it's important for the journey you may eventually take."

That is if Fjord ever goes back to Exandria.

Going back was definitely in the cards! Probably!

They were working on it!

"The journey," Fjord echoed. "And this journey, it's an eye-opener, is it?"

"If it doesn't open your eyes then it wasn't much of a journey, right?" Caduceus pointed out. He gave Fjord a sympathetic look. "I know a little bit of what you are going through. If there's anything I can do to help, come by the graveyard and I'll make some tea and we can talk. No pressure. I'm just here to help."

Fjord hesitated for a moment at that offer. Opened his mouth a bit. And then closed it again. Pondered what to say.

"Makes me curious what you know," he went with. "Because what I'm goin' through? I don't really understand yet."

Caduceus frowned. "There's not much I can tell you now," he said sympathetically. "But at this point, I have to ask you if you've started having the dreams and the part where you spit out sea water."

Fjord's reaction to that was an immediate blink and a slight recoil. If there was any doubt before that this man was who he said he was, well...

"Once or twice," he replied, a little guarded. "Keep getting told something's watching."

"That sounds about right," Caduceus said with a nod. "I have a feeling a lot of things are watching us right now. One way or another."

He certainly wasn't surprised or offended by Fjord's reaction. "Don't worry. I'm not telling anyone what I already know. Or what you might know. I say that to let you know that at one point you trusted me enough in my timeline to share that with me. Hopefully at some point on this island I can earn your full trust."

Fjord gave a slow nod, processing that, too.

"Well," he said, picking at his words carefully as he went, "I appreciate your... discretion. It is good to see another person from home around here, even if I don't quite know you, yet."

Another pause.

"The graveyard, you said?"

"Yes. It's sort of a family profession. And a calling," Caduceus explained with a small smile. It's not the first time he's had this conversation. "As part of our duties to the Wildmother."

He held up his holy symbol of Melora for emphasis.

"Huh. Wildmother." Fjord eyed the symbol thoughtfully. And then shrugged. "Wouldn't have thought that serving her would take anyone to a graveyard. I see the lighthouse tribute they built to her whenever our ship would pass by Nicodranas, but never really thought much about it."

Caduceus got a little dreamy at the mention of the statue. There was more to that statue than it let as was the caretaker. But that was for another time.

“Well, nature is all about the cycle of life. Death is just a portion of it. There’s a story about that happened but it’s long and for another day. Just remember if you need to talk or just want a cup of tea you can find me over there. Or if you’re hungry. Not for this weird thing falling from the sky but I make a mean stew.”

"Stew sounds a hell of a lot more appetizing than..." Fjord gestured at the glop that was gathering in piles on the tarp, and then melting in the heat of the building. "You know, I might just take you up on that at some point, Caduceus. Thank you."

This was still... weird. Very weird.

But it didn't seem like a bad weird. Fjord could live with that.

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Blackstone Foundry and Forge, Thursday

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