PlaneShift
Fan Area => Roleplaying (Communitive Storywriting) => Collaborative Stories => Topic started by: lyistra on January 04, 2005, 07:41:27 pm
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A being enters the tavern, settling down at a table, finding a clearing near the bar, after a few words with the barkeep, she nods. Sitting down upon a chair she draws up by the bar, she gets out her jhar`ath, a modified version of an eight-string lyre. \"Good folks.. If I could pray silence, for but a moment, I would gift, mayhaps, or at least share song.\" She nods, quietly, smiling a bit... the cheetah-based enkidukai smiling softly, as the room falls silent, for a moment, then closes her eyes, starting to play some chords...
The chords float out, haunting, sweet, more notes there than the simple pentatonic, the modification allowing grace notes, and notes that resonate oddly, adding to the cheetah\'s skill, who plays it sweetly, caressing it like a lover.
She begins to sing, a gentle contralto, a soft purring vibrato within each note.
I dance with thee softly, in yliakaum halls,
touch the clouds sharply, as the rain falls,
and as the crystal, rises above...
perhaps, perhaps, out there is love?
Dancing in meadows, near the cavern walls,
can you see me there, where the wind calls?
She stands, then, and begins to dance, even yet playing, never opening her eyes, starting to sing more brightly.
As the crystal lights our lives,
can we know, for what our heart strives?
Can we embrace yet, and touch the sky?
Why, cry I? Why must love die?
Sometimes the memory, from which it derives,
cuts our hearts later, like iron knives...
She twists, turns, dances, her flexibility, passion, her feel like fire, dancing, leaping, as she turns, and spins, jhar`ath clasped to her chest like a lost love, playing yet.
But, yet embracing, I grasp the wind,
softly, then facing, my oldest friend,
Do you yet know me, or turn away,
Whence has my heart gone, how does it stray?
I may have struck thee, but twas my end,
to make something beautiful, to share and befriend...
She moves, and gazes out, her dancing stopping...
Ahh, my Laanx, where have you gone,
as the day moves slowly, into the dawn?
Why has time moved thus your heart...
to leave, me, bereave me, softly depart?
But yet, comes to us, what we did spawn,
and play, and pray, as you moved on...
She weeps, softly... still yet singing.
For Talad and Laanx, tomorrow does cry,
yesterday but a memory, that slowly does die,
sometimes hate twists us, but redemption can rise,
like the emphyry, into the skies,
but auld love, embrace comes yet nigh,
then, softly slips away, as gods do cry...
She nods her head, the auld song lost, like the wings of the emphyry, shimmering away into lost distance.
She bows her head. \"I pray, good audience, that I might give thee a more cheerful thing, soon enow, to offset the sorrows of which I sang...\" she smiles, softly, gazing out at the room, aware of her talents, but... somehow burned more by them than by the arrows of life.
She smiles, nods, and sings, much brighter, the jhar`ath dancing in her paws, singing softly, the bardess turning.
Sparks leap into sapphire night,
dancing and turning, like my delight,
as the fireflies rise, so does my soul,
when the passsion, burning makes whole...
Singing of mysteries, dancing to the skies,
all eternity, there in your eyes,
Somewhere in silence, music can ring,
can I not fill silence, as I now sing?
She smiles, softly, sweetly, singing in that soft, purring voice.
Embracing the mystery of my yet youth,
so many things to see, where is the truth?
But I see wonders, and passions of life,
even through shadows, of endless strife...
Dancing for destiny, as moments turn,
can you embrace me there, as we do yearn?
Inspiring infinity, as khorath leap,
where in the moments, is time for sleep?
She grins, imitating the leap of the khorath insect, and winks, grinning at the audience...
Sometimes in sorrows, we get led away,
moments yet turning, from night to day,
but yet there is joy, there is a song,
that brings and bides, all days along...
Dancing and laughing, we can burn the earth,
or, so, same dancing, give it rebirth...
As the memories, so softly fly,
let us laugh and sing, for soon we die...
She assumes a sorrowful expression momentarily, then continues to dance, singing bright, her eyes closed tight, unaware of anything around her a moment.
Embracing ecstacy, lost in the song,
can our lives, living be wrong?
Grasping eternity, soft in our paws,
so long as we live, within our own laws...
Dancing, embracing, softly now chasing,
we can look ahead, to see what we\'re facing,
sometimes in memory, sometimes in life,
We can turn away, and get lost in strife...
She smiles, brightly, and continues, a swish, a turn, a swirl of her tail, playing stronger, then, sings yet again,
Crystal above, and earth below,
there\'s more to life, than even gods know,
dancing in wonder, we feel the world,
as to the future, we are now hurled,
Sometimes the darkness, seeming too long,
dances, and chances, to laugh with our song,
and as the crystal darkens with night,
chasing, embracing, we\'ll again see its light...
She purrs softly a moment, then falls silent, and opens her eyes.
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A man standing in a shadowy corner raises his mug with his right hand. His left is heavily wrapped in thick cloth despite the warmth in the air.
- \"Your songs bring warmth to my heart, Goodmistress,\" he says in an unfamiliar accent. But there is a saddness in his eyes. A deep pain that pulls at the Enki\'s heart.
- \"I would like like to request a song of lost love, if you know one.\"
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Lyistra nods to the shadowy figure. \"I am Lyistra. And I can find such, in my heart, should you wish. I sing only my own works, for the nonce, unless one has a request.\" She whispers, and thinks a moment.
She nods again, thinking, her eyes quiet, dark, a moment, then begins to again play, slight dischord in the otherwise smooth melody, adding an eerie echo in the dimly lit tavern. The notes are in a minor chord, slow, almost a dirge, played on that odd lute.
She sings, after a moment, lower, softer, her eyes once again closed.
By the bluffs, my true love lies, lost, to the shadows of time...
for by the heart of Laanx, in their disguise, lost, goes that love of mine...
Wandering quietly through caverns auld,
through fire-filled crevices, or ice so cauld,
broken, wandering, deep in the earth,
where has my love now gone?
Once, and moments, I knew my love, grasping eternity in grace,
But in the requiem, beneath and above, I have to look, \'pon crystal\'s face....
Moving closer now, I feel its power,
burning, more, hour by hour...
Broken, my soul, broken and gone,
where has gone my inner worth?
An argument, furious, brought him to fall, storming out into the night
not the hands of Laanx, as I recall, twas my fault for the fight....
Moving ever closer, the crystal\'s light burns,
not as much as my heart does yearn,
to go back in time, and restore the past,
but death is the only victor I know...
I weep, and sleep, then move closer yet, to touch the power, that made all in all,
I cannot remember, that there is still yet, more to my life than his fall....
I touch, and burn away, as moments do fly,
and my body, swiftly does die...
but my spirit must final go,
before the one, who made me at last...
She is gently weeping, eyes filled with tears, ears flatted, as she sings softly.
And then... and when.. I see them there, my body gone from this land...
Do I regret the moment I reached, and touched the crystal with my hand?
As I reach towards the fading light,
I cannot see you at all....
did... my heart love you too much,
or was it my anger... that brought crystal\'s touch?
She whispers softly, and closes her eyes. \"The story of a friend... who went to the crystal, after... their love died, in a cave-in, after storming from her home.\" She whispers softly. \"Each story.. holds deep meaning to me.\" she explains.
She shrugs a little, and smiles softly. \"I wonder sometimes.. if she found the peace she sought.\" She shrugs. \"I\'m not going to follow to find out.\"
She smiles softly \"There are songs both sad, and joyful.. shall I sing aught else?\"
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ooc: hmm, something different
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steuben had been leaning against the bar the while lyistra sang. he stared in to his mug of mulled rum. its warmth thawing his body and most of his soul.
\"at the end there is always peace for the body, and perhaps the soul as well,\" he says quietly.
he turns around from the bar. \"yes. give us something joyful. something that we can sing along to.\" he smiles with a mischievious grin. \"and perhaps something a little ... naughty.\"
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*[OOC] That was perfect! It seems that you somehow know my chararter\'s story, even though it is not yet completed.*
- The man gazes at his bundled arm, a tear in his eye.
- \"The past is never easily changed is it, my Lady Lyistra? Your song soothes me, I thank you,\" he looks at Steuben and nods.
- \"Yes, Goodmaster. A joyful song is called for. Something our fellows can dance to.\" He pulls a small, wooden flute-like instrument from his tunic and takes it in both hands, only the fingers of his left hand showing. He holds it gently and familiarly.
- \"This was given to me by someone dear to me. I ask that you let me join you.\"
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Lyistra smiles. \"I believe the forum is pg-13, but perhaps I can come up with something else later, I fear I\'m a touch distracted for the nonce. (RL stuff)
Edit:
She considers a moment, and thinks, her eyes closed as she ponders, yet another song perhaps coming to her mind, and just starts to play her instrument, not bothering to sing for now, the chords floating up into the air, somehow twining harmonious chords with a simple melody. SHe smiles, and considers, then ups the beat, to where the chords come with the beating of a heart. A moment later, she starts to think, to sing...
Bright the dance, bright the fire,
leaping turning, with desire,
laughing strong, the hidden way,
finds the strength to laugh and play,
living strong, and burning bright,
is the fire of our delight...
Sometimes turning, ever yearning,
dancing solemn in the breeze,
neath the forest\'s tallest trees,
Echoes soft, the hilltops loft,
lifting high, tween hill and croft,
touching soft, the whispring way,
that hides the truth we speak today.
She sighs. \"Alas, I grow tired, fear I. \" she blusehs. My talents are erratic when tired.\"
She puts down her lute, and closes her eyes. \"Mayhaps on the morrow.\"
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steuben smiles broadly.
\"no worries, lass. i think, perhaps, the floor will always be available for you. me, i couldn\'t carry a tune even if it was strapped to my back. but, you have both the gift and the talent. it is always a pleasure seeing both in action. espcially when presented in such a fine bundle.
\"but, it is the end of a long day. come, relax. enjoy the simple pleasures of good company, and good drink.\" he stops, looks down at his mug, and frowns. \"don\'t know why i keep coming here looking for the latter.\"
without looking he doges a swat from the barkeep.
\"but, for now it will do,\" he says with a smile.
he places his mug down on the counter with a few tria next to it.
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Again the cheetah bard slips in, her eyes a-dancing merrily as she steps and turns through the door, humming to herself. She looks about, finding the place quiet for once, then sits down by the fire, after purchasing a mug of ale.
She considers a moment, then starts to sing to herself, playing her lute quietly, her fingers dance over it, unnoticing of anyone that comes in, working the half-tones, and quarter-tones in with the crackling of the fire, weaving melody with harmony, her own style of magic, perhaps...
She sings, softly, her tail flicking to and fro, ears tilted, to listen to the echoes, tuning her voice to the area, letting it flow from her like a silken veil over the surroundings, losing herself in the music..
I glanced out... and there I stood,
by the fire, the burning wood,
glancing \'round, the shadow\'s sound,
brings out things both fell and good...
Turning sweet, the world I knew,
burning brightly, what is true?
Where went my heart, how to start,
on time\'s wings life flew...
Shadows sweet, or crystal skies,
echoes empty, in my eyes,
I am lost, like tree-tops tossed,
with the things I prize....
Blades of night, the shadow\'s edge,
as the planes shifting slowly dredge,
the one I love, to world above,
through the labyrynth where we pledge...
Soft and sweet, the mem\'ry\'s call,
as I stood, I did once fall,
could you forgive, and still here live,
I\'d give aught I have, it all...
Sometimes shadows spend the night,
spinning softly with delight,
lacking rhymes, the ageless times,
burn within, a song so bright...
Sometimes whispers softly call,
the endless memories to fall,
in ageless skies, I see your eyes,
through sapphire crystal tall...
Where are you, and who am I?
The masks I wear so slowly die...
through the maze, through shadow\'s haze,
I reach for you and cry....
The memory soft, gentle, sweet,
mocks my heart with words replete,
with shadoows cauld, and memory auld,
know I can\'t be... complete.....
She whispers the last line, and shakes her head, shaking off those tears, then starts to fiercely play another tune, a martial rhythm, a strong beat, that stirs the blood with fire and fury.
They say in the caverns, there is a tavern,
where tales are told of old,
and loosing their hair, the ladies they care,
to hear the legends unfold,
and as the notes sing from the rafters,
the laughter and beckoning call,
the bard she has stood, \'neath aging dead wood,
as no more teardrops shall fall...
In Kada-el\'s tavern, in Ykliaum\'s cavern,
the hours and moments they play,
and as strong and sweet, as the mead and the meat,
the hours are lost and away...
the moments of fury surround me,
but hours of laughter embrace,
so why should I, sit here and cry,
if I can dance in tear\'s place!
The temple of laanx, of Iron-made planks,
the stone of talad\'s strong tower,
embraces the earth, that gave me birth,
and laughs at time\'s fell power...
but moments of thought they surround me,
and laughter and love of the wind,
so wander must I, till mountains die,
and still sit here with a friend...
As laughter does call, the bardess shall fall,
the lady of sorrows is gone,
and moments of mystery, embrace the history,
time has turned and moved on...
and moments of light have embraced me,
empassioned the call and the flame,
as the crystal does sleep, no more shall I weep,
for my smile\'s all I have to my name...
She grins, and starts to dance to the turne, a strong dance, her blades drawn, *knowing* where she is, dancing slow and sure, after simply glancing where the blades are running, a martial dance, a blade-dance, the falchions shining as they gleam in the firelight, her eyes closed, glittering as she moves, in counterpoint, a kind of deadly jewelry with the motions, then falls still, smiles, after several moments, and looks out across the tavern.
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The cheetah sits down with several enki cubs near her feet, smiling at them as she shares some small dried fish and some jerked meat treats. She says, softly, in that quiet voice she uses,
Tonight.. we speak of old tales. Tales that would otherwise be forgotten. Books may carry the words of the wise, but stories carry their souls, and so, as of old, the stories are begun.
Of cloud-leaper, Jhamethaar Herasaii, who tried to catch something called the moon, in a place before the portals. I suppose the moon is kind of like a big ball in the sky, but it\'s forgotten what it looks like. It glows...\" She nods, to a young cub who asks. \"A ball in the air? is it stuck to the cavern roof?\" she smiles.
\"no, child. I seem to think that the legends said that it was so high that you couldn\'t find the cavern roof. So it was either a larger cavern than we can imagine, or another world entirely, which I don\'t understand, so much is lost. \" She smiles. \"So shall I continue my tale?\" she giggles... and hands out more sweets. Then starts to speak. \"This ball was very high in the air, but Cloud-Leaper tried to jump after it many times. He chased it through its path in the sky, and leapt after it as it passed overhead, then chased it farther as the light-cycles waned.\" she smiles. \"It mentions something called snow, which was like very cold rain, in tiny flakes of crystal that would melt on your fur.\" She smiles. \"I don\'t expect you to understand, it seems when rain gets really cold, it becomes snow, and turns white.\"
She purrs softly, and smiles. \"Cloud-leaper left behind a family and mate. They hunted for themselves, but their children were hungry.\" she smiles, softly, a little sadly. \"Cloud-leaper danced across a mountain.. and he found that the moon had led him to a lake so large, there was no way to see across it, so he grabbed something called a bird, which the accounts say were like a megara, but with plumes like the emphyry.\" she smiles, and produces one of the shimmering plumes, still dancing with its greens and golds in the firelight there in the tavern, as though still worn by the odd creature.
She tucks the plume into one of the children\'s hair. \"The bird flew for many light-cycles, gliding on the huge lake, till he landed on the far side.\" She giggles at a question. \"No, I don\'t know how he held on so long. Some tales say that he tied a rope to the thing\'s legs, nd used it as a swing, some say he managed to get on its back.\" She grins. \"Does it matter? After a long time, he came to another land, a land of giants. He continued to chase the moon there, through mushrooms sometimes as big as trees, climbing mountains and sometimes going through them in caverns. Sometimes his journey was long, and more than once he thought of giving up. Cloud-leaper found the top of the mountains though, and a plains in the direction the moon was traveling. WIth a cry of joy he ran towards it.. then awoke, to find he\'d fallen, and another enki was helping him. She was beautiful, with fur like the moon, and eyes of gold, hair more golden than the metal itself spun into thread. She had healed him, and warned him against following the moon farther, for it would lead him to more sorrow, for the things he had forgot.\" she smiles softly. \"I\'m getting to that.\" she winks to the child who asked what he forgot. \"You see, cloud-leaper asked the same question. \"What did I forget.\" he asked. \"You\'ll see, if you keep going the way you are... \" she whispers. \"Are you prepared for that journey? It will be a long one...\" she smiles. \"But going back, there are no birds to help you on your way.\" She smiles, gives another child a bit of dried meat, who was fussing about what the enki forgot.
\"Cloud-leaper asked the white enki to come with him, but she said that it was forbidden, for now. She would meet him when he remembered what he forgot. He laughed, and claimed he had forgotten nothing, he is hunting the moon, as he always had. She laughed. \"Foolish Enki, you can\'t catch the moon. No matter how high the mountain, you can\'t leap to it, no matter how deep the valley, the moon will not stop. It even flew higher than the bird that brought you.\" he nods. \"I will find the moon. I will catch it!\" She chuckles. \"What you catch will be illusion, what you grasp, nothing but your own foolishness.\" She whispers. \"Go.\" He turns, angered, and runs to catch the moon again, more determined than before.
Lyistra giggles softly. \"yes, he kept chasing the moon for many of its paths across the sky, and the moon mocked him by changing its size, disappearing sometimes then reappearing. it was many of these cycles, and he kept running.. one day, he ran across a valley and found.. a camp of enki... they were in mourning. He called out. \"Who do you mourn for.\" they called back. \"The mother of the clan, the moon has stolen her, and we have no wisdom to lead the hunt.\" He blinks. \"The moon stole her?\" he says, softly. They cry out. \"Our clan-father ran away years agone, seeking the moon, the clan-mother was old, and has died... \" he looked around and blinked once. Do you know what they said their clan-father\'s name was?
She giggles to the little one. \"no fair telling because you already know the tale.\" She smiles. \"yes, it was Cloud-leaper.. he\'d come home.\" she whispers. \"He found that what he\'d forgotten was his mate, his children, and he\'d run so long that time itself forgot him.. he was still young, still chasing the moon, even as his children were old, and his mate gone.\" she smiles softly. \"He looked at the graving of his mate.. but for the youth.. the white fur, and golden hair... were hers. A dream-sending.\" she smiles.
And that\'s the story of cloud-leaper. What happened to him after? That\'s another story.. for he took a new name. Stormdancer.
She smiles, and sends the children back to play, and settles, purring to herself as she sips some warmed milk.
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- A man chuckles to himself behind her. She turns and recognizes him from a few nights back, the one who asked for the sad song. He is grinning broadly, with an amused twinkle in his eye.
- \"You do not believe my tale?\" She asks teasingly, almost a purr. He laughs out loud.
- \"No, Goodmistress Lyistra, that is not it. Your tale is much more believable than mine. I was born under the moon. But for all my years in this land, you are the first person to ever mention it.\" He looks upwards, through the thick timbers of the tavern and a shadow passes over his features. \"Sometimes... sometimes I miss the sky.\" He turns his gaze back to her and sees that she is viewing him curiously, only a slight disbelief in her eyes. He smiles...a knowing smile. \"Someday I will tell you of it... but not now.\"
[OOC] Is this better?
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ooc: wonders about caves of steel syndrome
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steuben shrugs. \"it\'s hard to miss something that i\'ve never seen. but, if half the legends are true then, it would be a glorious sight. and perhaps one worth trying to see before the end.\"
steuben takes a pull of his mulled rum.
\"but, perhaps we could trade tales of foolish mortals and gods? besides, aren\'t all such stories true? and some of them actually happend besides.\"
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She does blink and looks over. \"Fascinating, I\'ll have to learn more of that someday, I\'d heard the portals were still trickling in travellers, now and again.
I love to learn and tales of other lands fascinate me. That was one of the old tales of the vocal traditions my foremother passed to me, through her forefather. We have a long line of bards. The vocal history connects worlds with worlds, as long as we keep it alive, we live.\"
\"Born under the moon? Can you tell me of it? What it was like? I have some rumours that speak of many worlds and many moons.. what was yours like? I find many tales, few tellers, and I must keep all histories alive.\" she whispers. \"I am Lyistra, as I spoke before, a bard, (oocly in the fashion of the old skald, in norse mythology, a history-keeper, and a bearer of tales, the skald could break kingships by tale of cowardice.. so were respected in most courts) and talespinner. I am glad to meet another who can bring to light more stories.\" she purrs.
\"So tell me, sometime of yours.. and I will tell you aught of mine.\"
She turns to steuben \"Mortals and gods?\" she asks. \"There are many tales so told, also of spirits auncient, and worlds unknown.\" She smiles. \"or castles lost in the mists of time, broken by unknown forces.\" She grns wryly. \'Time can be an odd thing, tales twined with words lost... what tales should I then tell? Of the madman who tried to fly to the crystal, to embrace its light, like a foolish saethyr moth before a torchflame?\"
She grins. \"or perhaps more a story of the man who was challenged to move a mountain... by one of the old gods, who believed it could not be done.\"
\"there are many stories. But the most fun are those that put the gods and mortals at odds.. and the mortals end up setting things both awry and aright.\" she grins.
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- \"Lyistra, your stories touch a chord in me as well as your songs. Gods and mortals at odds?\" He unconsciously rubs his left arm, which is still bundled heavily. His head shakes sadly. \"Those stories seldom bring me joy. I will not tell you my past now; that story calls for a dark rainy night, with the wind howling at the door and thunder shaking the panes in the windows. Nor can I tell you my name. For now, not to be rude, you may call me Lura\'fen (loo-rah-fen). It means \'Hand of the Light\' in the Old Speak of my home. Or simply Fen, If you wish, meaning \'Hand\'. It is...was my title. But I will tell you of my moon.\"
- His gaze becomes distant, seeing something far away and long ago. A hush falls over the tavern.
- ?The last thing I saw as I came into this land was the moon. It was three days past full, meaning a sliver of it was covered in shadow. But still, it shone in the sky a bright blue-white ball, except for a lavender, tear shaped area near the right side. This was known as Ree?ann?s Tear, given the moment she died for her people. As your story told, the moon was big and so far away that it circled our world, untouchable. But if you held you hand at arm?s length,? he holds his right hand out to demonstrate, thumb strait up, ?you could nearly cover it with your thumb.? he opens his hand as if letting something go and lets it drop to his side. He continues, but his voice becomes more pained. The memories drawing some deep anguish to the surface. ?When the moon was full, it lit up the land in blue washed colors that mirrored the yellow sun of the day. In winter, another story for another time, the moonlight turned the white snow a sparkling blue. Especially when the air was so cold that your breath would turn to mist and hang motionless in the air. Sometimes I would sit for hours in the cold, just staring. The moon was free too roam across the sky, for there was no cavern roof, no cavern at all. Only the sky, a deep blue, almost black expanse that some say went on forever. But the moon was not alone in the sky. Bright specks of light dusted the void around the moon and a thin ribbon of light followed its path to touch both horizons. I was told the further Norent into the colder lands you traveled, the thicker the ribbon appeared, but I never saw this myself. Also, you could follow the moon, as Cloud-leaper did, or at least travel toward where it set each night, and someday you would come home.? His gaze drops to the floor and his voice lowers so that only Lyistra can hear. ?I have lost my moon and can not follow it home. The portals have been gone for generations, near as I know. And I could not go to them if they still were opened.? He takes her hand and brushes it with a kiss, careful to keep his left arm behind his back. ?I bid you good night Goodmistress, until the next we meet.? He turns away to the door, his shoulders hunched as if carrying a great weight. Only the shadows greet him as he passes into the night.
[OOC] Feel free to tell me to change anything, this is your thread.
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Lyistra listens, her tail flicking to and fro as the words are said, watching quietly at the being\'s face. She misses little, movements of the body, subtle variations in tone, her eyes a touch sad as she takes in the sorrow of the other being. She considers a little, and tailflicks, her head tilting as he continues.
\"Then mayhaps it\'s time to find a new moon.\" She whispers. \"And a new home.\" As his back disappears from the tavern. She looks in herself, making a decision to find more of who she is, find... peace, as she seeks, remembering things of her own best left forgotten. She shakes her head, shaking it off, and orders a drink, one with alcohol for once, a small draught of strong distilled spirits. She takes out a small packet, of a well-known root for sleeping, the nightstar flower root, and puts a very tiny amount in, then goes to her room, and sleeps, so as not to dream in the long night.
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Wakened in the morning by the sound of commotion, Lyistra wanders down to the tavern, just in time to see a young Enki female with rolling eyes, raving at the top of her lungs. She blinks a little, as there are several guards there, and sniffs the air once, twice, as the guards are standing there in a defensive posture against the diminutive girl.
\"What goes on here?\" She asks. \"You don\'t need four...\" she blinks, as she sees the guard signal to a fifth and sixth, both large diaboli males, wearing full plate, and boggles as the \'diminutive girl\' takes them down. \"One moment.\" She whispers. \"Put away your blades... this isn\'t the right time for that.\" She says, softly. \"Don\'t alarm her.\" is all she says. The previous night\'s stories are gone from her mind for a moment.
She looks down at the two diaboli who are writhing in pain, at the wounds that penetrate the armor.. she thinks a moment, pondering, and whispers. \"I\'m Lyistra.\" she says, very, very softly. \"It will be ok.\" She purrs soothingly, the enki\'s ears turn to follow her, her tail utterly still, fur bristled as Lyistra looks at her. \"Shh. It will be ok.\" She whispers. And purrs some more, soothingly, like a mother cat to her kitten.. the rolling of the eyes slows, though they still dart to and fro like a being in a full state of fear and panic. \"Shh.\" She whispers, approaching closer... \"take my hand.\' she whispers, both hands outstretched. \"it will be all right, I won\'t let them hurt you.\" She smiles a little, then blinks as the other female shifts on her feet, a footpaw lashing out at her, and shifts on her own paws, letting it pass by, the glimmer of energy at the clawtips not lost at all on her. As she falls, she grasps an odd pendant she wears, putting it to her muzzle, and with a small puff, a thud, a small dart appears in the other Enki\'s shoulder.
The enki blinks, pulls it out, and looks at it, her head tilted as though she can\'t understand what it is, then starts to cry, kneeling down and crying like a small child, though she\'s obviously an adult... the dart drops from her fingers, the tip discolored, and Lyistra stands up, and waves the guards back again. \"Just go. If you don\'t, more of you will be hurt.\" she growls. The other enki female slowly starts to calm, to relax. \"I\'ll deal with the legal situation later.\" She says. \"Go. Or I won\'t be responsible for the consequences.\" She says firmly, then kneels. \"Yiinhaaara?\" she whispers? (beloved child) \"there is nothing to fear.\" She whispers. As the drugged dart works, the other feline starts to calm, and slowly settles in her breathing, sitting down and staring at her claws dully.
\"Yiinhaaara?\" She repeats, the other enki looks up at her. And then throws herself at Lyistra...
The bardess waves back the two Enki males that attempted to help her, as it becomes obvious that the female is sitting there, holding her and crying. She pets her head, soothingly. \"Yiinhaaara, zherrro merrai, yazho miikhrram.\" (oh, my beloved child, the shadows wrought an awful burden upon you today) She just holds the youth, and says \"Come with me. I will keep you safe.\" she whispers. She touches the feline on the back of the head, and blinks at the sticky mass of blood. She looks at the two guardsmen, on the floor, as the healer deals with them. \"They were lucky, she has platinum on her claws. I\'ve not seen it in years. And some kind of blessing.\" She shakes her head, as the feline goes to sleep. \"No, I won\'t remand her to your custody. If I do, you\'re likely to die. She\'s seen something horrible. Something that sent her into the blood-madness, but also activated all of her innate talents. She must be trained. Or she, and likely a large section of the population, will die.\" she whispers, quietly. \"I have to find my teacher.\" She whispers, her eyes downcast, as she pets the young one, and uses a little of the crystal way to bind the head wound, and let it heal on its own without infection, simply cleaning the blood away and looking for any foreign object.
She growls suddenly, at a comment from one of the guards on the floor. \"Well, if you\'d look at her, she\'s got a head wound, and anyone should have been able to see that glow on her pa...\" She hushes the other, as the feline starts to stir again, looking at the necklace that the other wears curiously. \"Well.. who are you?\" she asks, softly, looking at the other feline\'s facial markings. She blinks, as she bears no tattoos, nor patterns shaved in the fur, as though she\'s grown up away from any other Enki.. another cheetah-type female, but with white and black fur. She tilts her head, curiously, and considers.
\"go.\" She whispers, very softly, but somehow manages to convey fierce determination. \"She is my charge for now. If that time comes, I will share her sentence for this. Just go.\" She whispers, sadness in her voice. She holds the other Enki close.. and gently as the other\'s muscles slump, lifts her and carries her to her room, uncaring about the rumours that she may have just started.
Several days later, she comes back down, the other following her, looking a little more shy than is usual, and very nervous... red-rimmed eyes as though she was just crying. She talks to the guard, quietly, and says. \"I invoke the right of Cha-Phaarh, under the treaty of the Otarch.\" She says. \"This young lady must not be touched. She has no memory of who she is, nor what she has done. Under your laws, and the laws of the city, according to the decision of the Great Council of 549, she is not who she was. She was mad, and injured.\" She says, quietly. \"If punishment must be meted, mete it to me.\" she says, very softly.
The other female looks a bit frightened, but stands still, waiting, the officer calling a clerk from the offices, Lyistra stands there, waiting. The clerk comes in and nods. \"It is within her rights.\" he says. \"The punishment for the murder of three guardsmen... One of the two she hit three days ago died, two trying to corner her here.\" He says softly. \"normally this would be death. In this instance, there must be an offering of flesh, of the punished. It is the law. The judgement will be delivered here, by an emissary of the Otarch.\" he says. \"And I applaud your determination, if not your wisdom.\" he smiles softly. \"And your knowledge, for that matter.
he turns and goes, and Lyistra orders a meal for herself and the other enki. Then simply sits and talks a while, at a corner table.
\"Perhaps someone might recognize you.\" she says. \"I\'ve been.. punished... before. \" she smiles, gently. And pats the other enki on the paws. \"We\'ll figure something out.\" She looks around, at the taverngoers. \"I don\'t know what happened, but that fear requires something very extreme.\"
She trails off, thinking, and drinking ale, mixed with milk. She doesn\'t say much, not even music as she settles there, just being there with the other Enki.
-
steuben walks into the tavern. his sword is carried high on his back. it is almost as though the sword is being carried so that it can see the surroundings, rather then being worn for use. he walks up to the bar and orders his usual mulled rum. turning around he sees lyistra and the youth. he walks over to the corner table.
he bows slightly. \"greetings, mistress wordsmith.\" he turns towards the young enki. \"and this is the young wolfling cub that i\'ve heard about.\" he smiles brightly with his lips closed. \"you\'re pretty lucky. given what i\'ve seen to date you\'ll never lack for a good song or story.\"
the smell of the mulled rum slowly fills space. the smells of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and citrus waft from the mug. he takes a pull from his mug.
\"mistress, you have take on a great risk to help this little one. if you need any help, of any skill that i poccess, please let me know.\"
he pulls up a chair sideways to the table and sit down. \"some of us have been lucky enough to have blessed by the gods. i have perhaps been forturnate that mine hasn\'t been visible.\" he gestures to the young enki\'s hands. \"perhaps, if you are willing i could tell you the story of the first that received, a gift such as mine.\"
-
Lyistra nods. \"Risks I take for my own reasons.\" She says softly, a note of warning in her voice, unusual for her, till she hears it, and slumps a touch. \"There are reasons I do this.\" She whispers. \"Reasons... for everything.\" she closes her eyes.
She smiles a little wryly, looking at the other Enki, then over at Steuben.
\"My apologies for being so.. uncouth. I have a lot on my mind.\" she says quietly. And smiles a little bit. \"I\'m going to call you Ehmaahre, after my twin, who was gone so long ago.\" she smiles, gently, and her tail flicks. \"I had no choice but to help. She can\'t even speak. I don\'t know if she ever has.\" She whispers. \"She can understand.. but...\" She shrugs, and smiles, a little, sadly, and touches the other Enki\'s cheek, who shies back, like fearing a blow. SHe simply indicates the scars at her throat.
\"I couldn\'t stand by. Angry soldiers, inability to explain.. and that much fear and a head injury, coupled with the power she has in those glyphs in her paws.. is a recipe for disaster, served up with quite a side-dish of catastrophe, and without a mug of ale in sight.\" she grins wryly.
\"Would I even knew who wrought them so, they must have had great mastery of the glyphs.\" She shrugs. \"it\'s as though they were made to slay diaboli, and ynnwyn.\" SHe pets the other\'s paw, gently, eyes tender on the other one. \"it\'s like when I...\" She blushes, and bites her lip.
-
steuben hears the note of warning in her voice. he waves his right hand palm down a inch or so over the table. it is a gesture of dismassal, of understanding circumstances. \"yes, your reasons are your own. and it is your choice when and to who you name them. but, for some things the reasons do not matter.\"
he pauses, seeing the scars for perhaps the first time. memories come back to him. memories of what he has done in the past, has seen done. he shakes his head, clearing the red tinged memories.
\"an injustice has been done to her,\" he continues. \"you wish to right that, or at the least attempt to heal her body, mind, and soul. but, you do not have to bear such a burden alone. if by blade, body, or soul i may aid don\'t hesitate to ask.\"
he looks at lyistra. \"i offer, my reason though. it is the right thing to do.\"
he stands up and puts the chair back. \"perhaps, another time for the tale. and remember that you need not be alone, either of you.\"
he bows slightly to lyistra. \"mistress.\" he bows slightly to ehmaahre. \"ehmaahre.\" he returns to the crowd in the tavern.
-
Lyistra nods to Ehmaahre, and pats her paw, gently, her musings private for the nonce, at least in her own mind. The days pass, the day of judgement approaching as she looks around at the world she may have forefieted, to help another. Emaarhe seems far calmer, as her wounds heal, and she gains back some of the health that was lost in her madness.
Lyistra considers the enki lass as she sleeps, her eyes gentle, and nods once, then, gently, wakes her. \"Emaarhe?\" she whispers, softly, the other\'s claws grasp her arm, and she winces, touches her cheek gently. \"emaarhe?\" She smiles, softly, biting her lip, as she wakens... and just leads her down to one of the founts in the city, having checked both blades and her plated leather. (three layers of leather, with two layers of internal overlapping steal plates, flexible leather, and relatively quiet, though heavy) She sits down, checking the shadows, a moment, then dismisses them. \"I wanted to tell you.. why.\" She whispers. Her eyes close. \"You... remind me too much of my twin.\" She whispers, ever so quietly. \"And too much of myself, when I was young... I was a wild one.\" She smiles, softly. She looks at the other Enki, quietly, with a soft purr. \"Yes, I know. I hardly look it now.\" she grins wryly. \"I lived in a small town on the second level.\" She smiles. \"Would that you could tell me what you know. Or what has returned.\" She whispers. \"The charm I worked to see it I can\'t afford again.\" SHe smiles softly.
She considers a moment, seeing the other Enki looking at her strangely, just ponders. \"I nearly killed someone. He\'d made an attempt for advances, because my colours were unusual. Then got... belligerent when they were refused, and attempted to force them. I didn\'t know he was fairly well-born. The truthsayers finally sorted things out. My solicitor told me of the law, and how it might be applied, but I was unwilling to use magic for it.\" She smiles, gently. \"They made it so I can\'t harm another truly intelligent being, save to rescue another.\" She whispers, and pulls back her leather, a bit, showing a glyph, right over her heart. \"It was... an experience.\" She whispers.
She shakes her head a moment, as she hears something in the shadows, shrugs, and smiles, deciding it\'s not important, covering herself with her leather, fastening it again. \"So I.. keep going. Every day.\" She whispers. \"And I help as many as I can. Quite the difference from who I was.\" She takes the other Enki\'s paw, and just looks at the glyphs of platinum worked into them. \"I don\'t know who did this to you. But... you are a mystery all in all.\" She smiles. and then returns to the tavern.
The next day, the clerk arrives.. leading three vegisimi. She simply nods in greetings to them... a small tremble in her paws as she performs the greeting, then says. \"What is the judgement of the council?\"
The clerk confers with the other two. And they speak back, then turn and say... \"The laws speak of one punishment for the slaughter of a guard. Death.\" The Klyros looks sad at that, her eyes gentle as she looks upon Lyistra. The Enkidukai male says \"This is our law.\" the Diaboli says, \"I would personally rather see such tools of slaughter put away forever. They are an abomination to my people. There is an alternative to death. The flesh offering must be observed. We debated over this quite a bit. We brought in scholars from across the lands, spoke with two of the Otarches themselves. The laws in this case are specific.\"
Emaarhe tenses, there is a click, that of several compound crossbows. Lyistra waves her back, her fear, for once, gone.
\"I will do what needs doing. But your laws need revision.\" she whsipers. \"My right to have the laws reviewed, after punishment is passed. There must be room for mercy and circumstance under the law. To put one of my people in the state that she was in requires a great deal of pain, and emotional heartache. A head wound easily could have sent her over the edge, if something else had happened.\" She says, her voice ringing.
She simply submits... and shakes her head to the other. The Vegisimi confer a moment, nod, quietly. They speak again, and speak to the clerk, who takes out an obviously prepared scroll, and a glyph.
\"Lyistra Mentana. The council of Twenty, in accordance and with the blessing of the Council of the eight, pass judgement.\" he reads. \"The rule of law must be obeyed. But the council is not without mercy. A partial pardon has been implemented, and the sentence commuted, to a single count of manslaughter, with extenuating circumstances. Thus.. sentence shall be carried out, on this day.\" he says, softly. \"Your right to cha-paarh is over, in her case. I\'d advise, in the future, to be cautious.\" he says softly. \"Our truthsayers say that your intentions are good and honourable. And that the other knows naught of what happened, at this time... nor can she speak of it if she could...\" he ohs, returns to his scroll at the prompting of one of the others.
\"At this time, the representatives of the council offer to you the sentence you have been given, earned or not. In defense of another you have offered your own life. It is not in the interest of the council to punish this, but an example must be made to prevent others from escaping justice, in the way you prevent injustice. Your sentence is a glyph of Binding. It shall be added to your body, and can never be covered nor hidden. A marking, and a warning.\"
He nods to another, who entered in bearing a silver box, a glyph of the crystal way within. \"You have been punished once by the rule of law. This punishment was unjust, even by those who witnessed. This punishment is also, in the minds of the Council, unjust, but required by law. It is the rule of law that keeps our land together.\" he says.
\"Many witnesses were gathered from the land, deliberating this action. Many people testified about you.\" he nods to the others. \"It is from this, we give ou this glyph. The punishment must fit the... crime.\" he whispers. \"Apply it.\" His voice is quiet.
The glyph is applied right over her forehead...as it is pulled away, it glows, there.. like a third eye, a glyph of selflessness. A glyph to help others, to heal wounds, to right wrongs. A glyph of concience, usually only given to those who have none.. a very subtle difference is there, however.
\"And now we carry out the other half of the law you invoked.\" he says, gently. The guard approaches her, she nods. \"Emaarhe? Turn around a moment.\" She says, gently.
The other Enki does, but is visibly crying. Lyistra nods.. and as the other guard attempts to cover her eyes, she shakes her head. \"no.\" She whispers. And nods to the first.. a hiss of a knife, a flash of steel, a gentle hum, incongrous, of a spell being woven, a sound of steel and flesh... and an inch of her tail lies in the other\'s hand, the part still attached stiffening, the glyph removing the wound...
\"The flesh offering is appeased.\" They turn, and the diaboli turns back a moment later... as the others exit. \"I am sorry to be the instrument of pain for you. But the rule of law has no exceptions, even in exceptional cases.\" he shakes his head. \"We added the glyph for honor within the glyph of compassion... an indication of why... this was done. it is marked as a badge of honour, rather than a compulsion to it. As is the glyph of compassion.\" he nods, and leaves a scroll, as Lyistra goes over and hugs the other enki female, and nods. \"It will be ok.\" She whispers. \"it\'s done.\" She smiles, gently.. then looks to her friends. \"I\'ll need some help for a few days.\" She says softly. \"I.. will likely need some time alone to think.\"
-
steuben stands watching the proceedings darkly. his sword is worn on his hip. ocastionaly, but repeatedly, his hand drops to his sword, and draws it an inch from its sheath, and quickly returns it. the sound, if it could be heard over the proceeding, has the note of a chained beast wishing to be unleashed. he is torn between the desire to stop them, and his oath which won\'t allow it.
after the clerks leave, steuben begins to pace. \"justice,\" he snarls. the anger and frustration evident in his voice. \"they have the gall to talk about justice.\" steuben bristles, or at least as well as a human can copy the feline responce. he jabs his finger angrily in the direction the other left in. \"they decry its injustice. but yet, they hide behind the law. they should have done their jobs.\"
steuben turns as if to drive a fist through the wall. however, early in the the movement he stops violently. it is as if his own muscles clamped down against the motion. he stands not frozen, but unmoving. it is like a battle of the wills is occuring. after a moment steuben subsides, like a puppet whose strings have been cut but still held up. he straughtens, and turns towards lyistra and emaarhe.
\"no, they weren\'t doing their jobs.\" the anger and frustation in his voice, if not as intense, better masked. \"their job is to uphold justice, not follow the law. it doesn\'t matter what modifications they made to the glyph.\" the anger and frustration continue to disappear from his voice, but still appear in his eyes. \"it is still an unjust act.\"
he takes a pull from the mug of mulled rum which till then had sat unheaded and cooling. he stares into it as if trying to devine an answer to some great question. or perhaps seeing images of his own past and possible futures.
\"i could have stopped them,\" he says queitly, but still audible, and into his mug. fear and shame appear in his voice. \"so many different ways. so many different times. they wouldn\'t have been able to stop me. i stood so close to the edge. i was prepared to step off the edge into that abyss. only my oath held me back. it shouldn\'t be that way should it? if it ever failed, i\'d be like ... him.\"
he takes another pull at his mug. he looks up again. \"but, what ever help i can provide i will.\"
-
Lyistra looks sad. \"Their job is to do what they feel is right. Unfortunately those three have forgotten the law was set down to part right from wrong, not to legalize wrong.\" She whispers. \"I am sorry if I seem.. disjointed. I am.. oh gods, that was a bad play on words.\" she laughs, and settles back, looks at her tail, and shakes her head. \"Someone\'s going to pay for that.\" She seems more irritated by the tailtip than anything else that went wrong.
\"Anyway. I think we can assume for now that we\'re more or less safe, though I\'ve no idea what all that was really about.\" She seems a bit grumpy, but gets a little bit of milk, and tries to relax, buying one for Emaarhe as well, and then says softly. \"I think part of the problem is they\'ve lost sight of the fact the job of the law is to serve, and have gotten to the point where the purpose of the law is its own end. In other words.. where the law is inflexible, and unable to adapt, but you must follow it anyway.\" She whispers. Shee sems very drained.
-
steuben nods, not so much agreeing but, acknowledging that he has heard the words. he hears echoes of his own thoughts in lyistra\'s words. \"if you\'re still able to laugh at horrid puns, then you\'ll be alright. besides we all carry the scars of our choices. perhaps someday i can show you mine.\"
he pulls out a small earthenware vial, and places it on the table.
\"this may help take the edge off the day. it doesn\'t contain anything you won\'t find in any good ale. it does have a side effect though. just have some water nearby in the morning. but, go get some rest. the way forward will look clearer come the morn.\"
he leans forward to emaarhe. \"and make sure that she does get some rest,\" he says queitly to her. \"that stuff will do the trick, if i\'ve judged her tolerences correctly.\"
he straightens up. \"i have a matter i must... persue. mistress. emaarhe.\" he bows slightly before turning and leaving.
outside the tavern he follows the track of some voices he heard after the conclusion of events. he pauses over a manhole cover. its surface covering of dirt disturbed by the hands that had moved it. he crouches down. the tip of his scabard taps against the pavement. he looks through the grating, but not at what lies beyond it. he knows the dangers of chasing even a harried prey through such tight spaces as the sewers. the words he heard run through his mind.
\"Did she take the bait?\" one voice had asked.
\"bait? what did she mean?\" steuben thinks. a thought occurs to him. he turns his head towards the tavern. \"she couldn\'t be involved...\" the scars, the fear, were too real. but there could be other reasons. \"and down that road lies paranoia,\" he hears himself think, not really sure if it was him or his oath.
\"They\'ll never find us in the Oubliette.\" the last voice had said.
\"never is such a long time, my friend\" he says. \"and the world is very small, especially when it has a name.\" the look of ice in his eyes could possibly chill even the azure sun. his smile, a smile in form only, would give pause to many a blood thirsty predator.
-
Deep in the wild, a figure sits shadowed high in the crook of an ancient tree. The clouds pass and the man?s features are slowly revealed, the shadows giving way reluctantly. He appears to be a Ylian of nearly thirty years of age with shoulder length brown hair. He opens his brown eyes and looks up as the light of the Azure Sun falls on his face. The unmoving sun. They narrow in an angry glare.
?Damn you Lyistra,? he growls, ?Why did you have to remind me?? He tilts his head to the side, as if listening. Anger grows on his face before suddenly fading. ?No, the fault is not hers. She had no idea. Your sly words can not turn my will against her. She will need me soon. I feel it.?
He again listens, but this time the anger twists his face into a snarl. His right hand clenches into a fist. ?SILENCE! You will never speak of Lyistra in that manner again.? His voice lowers threateningly as he speaks. ?Sabrene is still out there, and in here.? He places his hand over his heart. ?No one will ever take her place.?
He shakes his head as the apparent conversation continues. ?You never give up, do you? Ten years makes little difference to me; I will wait forever. I don?t care how beautiful she is, the cat Songstress will receive my help and my friendship, nothing more. Now be still, something approaches.? He gazes into the thick forest, searching for the source of the noise. His hand goes to the cloth covering his left arm, ready to pull it loose, if need be.
Abruptly, a klyros comes running through the forest, bouncing off trees, seeming in a full panic... he bounces off several trees, the crack of breaking bones and tree limbs heard as the poor creature runs, its neck cracking as it runs headlong into the tree the man sits in. The poor creature is still, save for some slight after-death twitching, a scrap of paper in its hand... A glowing glyph sits on the paper itself, likely the cause of the poor creature\'s panic, as the paper has melded itself to his hand.
The man descends the tree quickly, seeming quite at home in its branches. He reaches the ground as the body stops twitching, but only goes near enough to try to read the paper. The words are smudged and barely legible, but a few stand out.
....Tavern.....the Enk....Lyistra.........Emaahre is........taken the bait.... Your servent..... The signature seems to be lost somewhere where the paper attaches to the person\'s hand, the wax seal seems to be crawling down and consuming the creature\'s hand, and the paper itself. Another black glyph reveals itself in the wax. The man backs away slowly, keeping his left arm behind his back. The glyph is a rather cruel dark way means of warding, mixed with the brown way, a fungus held dormant until the wrong person opens the paper... then consumes them with great agony, and rapidly following madness
?Yes, I see it,? he says then leaps back as the glyph on the paper catches fire, and the body itself burns with a white-hot flame from within, not even smoke coming up as the heat leaves a small pool of glass and moltend metal from the person\'s possessions, not a trace of who or what he was left.
?She is in danger,? he looks in the direction of the city, more than half a day?s run away. He sighs. ?For once I agree, horses would have been nice in this moon forsaken land.? As he begins to run, he answers another unheard question. ?I don?t know. She gave me her name first. She needed to call me something, and Fen was the first thing to come to mind. Would you rather she call me Yamuel?? He asks sarcastically and barks a laugh. ?I thought not. No mortal should take the name of a God.? The last word oozes contempt as he disappears into the trees.
[OOC] Dark blue writen by Lyistra.
Yes, this is my character from Chain of Souls. There may be a few spoilers contained here.
-
Lyistra sleeps that night, soundly, the draught of lseep having blessed her with no dreams, for most of the night.. she wakens to Emaahre shaking her, and pointing to the window, earflicks, nods, and looks out... a small flash is seen between two buildings, a shadow crossing the darkened alley. She nods again, and slips up to the revealed rafters in her loft, after placing a few logs from the fire artfully on the bed. She shrugs, and whispers \"can\'t be too careful.\" Then slips up into the rafters to sleep the rest of the night. She hands Emaarhe a small dagger, as well, and they both perch there, Lyistra now and again napping.
She earflicks as a soft sound is heard, a slight gurgle, then the door which normally squeaks badly opens. The being slips over to the bed, quietly, watching... He doesn\'t move much, just works a slight charm, then looks at the bed, hmms, and pokes at it, shrugs, and wanders back out.
Unseen in the rafters Lyistra went stiff a moment, her eyes a little blank, then as the man left, sat still, for just a moment. Emaarhe turns and pats her paw a moment, then indicates the floor... as the man slips out, the door closes.
Lyistra blinks. \"Where did he go?\" she whispers, still looking at the bed. \"Stuff must have been stronger than I thought.\" SHe shakes her head once, then wakens again.
She takes the tree trunks from the bed, then sits on the cvers. \"i sleep above them anyway.\" She winks, then starts to drift off again.
The next morning has crashes of thunder, the seasonal rains falling from beneath the crystal sky. A light drizzle turning to a pounding rainstorm rolls off the tavern roof, and Lyistra nods, once, then looks out. The few bedraggled people about seem mostly subdued with the rain and thunder, and she starts to play bright tunes, for a bit, her eyes closing...
For the crystal sky does burn,
as the seasons swiftly turn..
dancing quiet, with auld delight,
where can I find you, in the night?
I reach out, you\'re by my side,
touching me, holding me, my love\'s guide.
Echoes calling as stars cease,
How are you so my surcease?
As day turns to dusk and night comes along,
how then, are you there, and hearing my song?
How then can you see me, how can you laugh
here you are, you are my path.
Reaching, teaching, the dusk turns to night
Softly beseeching for your delight,
and as the shadows softly call,
ou are still there, my love and my all.
She blushes, takes the smattering of coins that she recievs, and pays for her room, and offers Emaarhe a few coins , who looks at them like she doesn\'t understand. She smiles, shrugs, and Lyistra buys her a fish breakfast, with a touch of fresh meat.
Lyistra thinks a moment, then shrugs. \"I\'ve forgotten something.\" She whispers, then shrugs aigain, the memory of the night gone from her. \"Slept well last night. Let me see that head wound.\" She checks it carfully, then nods, gently changing the dressing then stops. she shakes her head a moment, then shrugs. \"Couldn\'t be.\" She traces around a spot, shaped in an unusual pattern, then nods. \"Just coincidence.\" She smiles, a little sadly, then just stretches, and repacks the wound with healing salve.
She suddenly stiffens again as a man near the door guestures, and seems to pivot, as though controlled like a puppet on strings.. a ghastly caricature of her normal grace.
Emaarhe looks sad, and tears well in her eyes, then she gets up too.. her movemnts aren\'t as jerky, but it seems to be fear that moves her. Fear of punishment perhaps.
She turns towards the other even as Lyistra lurches towards him, then knocks a mug of ale from the table, into the lap of a dwarf, who leaps up and curses. The hammerwielder looks at her a moment, then backs away as she continues to lurch past like a ghastly flesh puppet.
The man nods, then simply activates a glyph, and vanishes, even as she collapses, a silence over the tavern for a moment.. then the glyph on her forehead glows, and people go back to what they were doing, the dwarf cursing at his own clumsiness at knocking the drink over. She blinks, looking about, and Emaarhe pats her shoulder, nods, to the chair, and smiles a little, sadly, looks at her claws, and then shrugs.
(ooc: Ohters may private message if they wish to this thread.)
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Fen (as Lyistra knows him) crouches on the roof of the building adjacent to the tavern. The pounding rain had delayed him though the previous day and night, so he had arrived only moments before. He scans the tavern and grunts.
?Yes, a Glyph was used here last night, but can you tell what kind?? He asks to the empty morning. After a moment he speaks again, ?A pity, I would have liked to know what I am up against.? He begins to side off the roof, but freezes suddenly. The cloth on his arm shudders, almost as if it contains something living. He hisses under his breath. His eyes narrow in anger. ?A Compulsion Glyph! I felt it being used. Those filthy things never should have been created.? He shakes his head and his teeth grind together. ?If you ever suggest touching one again, you will regret it.?
He leaps to the street, careful to keep his arm covered, and heads for the door. Halfway across the street the cloth shudders again, but this time Fen only grins grimly. ?A nice cover for an escape indeed,? he says, ?but the Mind Mist Glyph has its flaws... such as not working on me. Although, very few of them do.? He hesitates at the door. There doesn?t seem to be any commotion coming from inside. ?There is still a powerful Glyph in there, or more than one... we must be ready.? he pushes open the door, his left arm held behind his back. A man stands in the door way. He offers a breif greeting and attempts to pass. Fen glances at the man\'s hand and a dark look passes over his face. He reaches out to stop the man, but suddenly stops, slight confusion in his eyes. He drops his arm and lets the man pass.
\"That hasn\'t happened in nearly ten years,\" he says to himself, \"Why now?\" Few people overhear him in the growing commotion, and none pay him any heed. He looks to the stairs, appearently waiting for something.
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Lyistra looks about, her tail flicking, sensing something amiss, but unable to tell at all what occured. She looks over at Emaahre, and smiles gently, and tilts her head at the sad look in the other\'s eyes. She pats her paw, and smiles. \"Things will be ok.\" She whispers, unaware of what goes on out in the street outside. Her tail flicks to and fro, as she starts to sing, softly, an eerie song, her eyes closed, her voice floating out from the core of her being, unaware of anything, but the song, perhaps not even aware of that.
The voice has an unusual timbre for her.. in fact, it almost seems as if there\'s others behind her singing, or perhaps something else lies hidden in the notes, sounds of anguish or agony... her song is in ancient words, timeless words, perhaps, lost within the echoes of what is real, what is not, almost like the web that is woven across her mind... A taverngoer sobs, another glances up, startled... the voice grows to a near tangible thing, the air stirring and thicker even as she sings, growing in mass as the power grows, as the energy draws itself up, her being seeming to loose substantiality even as the other\'s substance grows.
As the notes fade into near silence, the other being, transparent, grows stronger, echoing more into shimmering reality, a sending or drawing brought forth perhaps from some nether planes, shifting and changing as it flows from one point to another, not stepping, exuding a tendril of itself then simply.. being there... it wanders through the room, as though searching.. ever searching, then floats through the wall itself, through a small knot, disappearing into the dusk, barely tangible at all in the mist that rises around the tavern... the others look at Lyistra, then a chorus of arguments springs up, her unaware at all of the sounds, breathing shallowly, even as Emaahre picks her up and cradles her.
A soft chuckle sounds by the door, as the being who puppeteered her earlier releases the glyph of sight blinding, then slips out the door, even as Fen approaches it. He seems startled to meet Fen, the commotion in the tavern rising even as he recovers himself, does a greeting, then attempts to go on.
-
ooc: sorry it took so long to get this out. it has been busy at work today. let me know if the graphic nature of the violence is a problem.
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steuben runs down the tunnel. he isn\'t sure how he got there, but that has occured before. he knows the smell is bad, but he really doesn\'t smell it. this wasn\'t unusual, it had happened before. he is following the mewling sound down the tunnel. he feels the pull of the water and sludge on his feet slowing him down.
he sees some forms down the tunnel. he knows that they have heard him and will try to stop him. he reaches for his sword but it isn\'t there. he reaches for the nearest head with his left hand. he feels his fingers slide into the skull. he squeezes slightly and pulls. he reaches out with his right hand for a neck. he squeezes, feeling the bones and cartilege shatter. it was odd, but he had done similar before, hadn\'t he?
he catches the falling sword of the first form in his left hand. he thrusts it into a third form and draws it up. the body opens spectacularly. the blade lodges in the collar bone. he releases the handle as the body falls backwards. he had seen others die like that, so it wasn\'t unusual. it felt unreal, but other times it had been like that.
he steps past the bodies and starts to run again. again following the mewling sound. he comes to a door, and looks through the barred window. inside the small stone room he sees two small kittens in the pool of light from the window. he tries the door to find it locked. taps the door in a couple of places finding whre the door pins and the lock are. he takes a couple of steps back and slams shoulder first into the door. the door doesn\'t shift. he felt the impact of the door, but no pain. it had happened before, he would feel the pain later. he slams into the door, a second time. a third time and the door splinters apart. the debris fly around the two kittens. the kittens stop mewling when steuben steps into the doorway.
he steps into the doorway. he feels hand grab him. they pull him away from the door. they turn him around, away from the kittens. they pass him hand to hand down the tunnel. along the walls of the tunnel faces form in the darkness. the faces of those that he has killed. at the end of the tunnel a face forms. it defies description. the hands start pass him towards the face. some of the hands try to pull him back. he feels a large hand trying to pull him back. but, he still is moving forward. he feels kittens\' paws trying to pull him back. the hands place him down infront of the face. the large hand has stopped pulling, but he still feels the kittens\' paws on him pulling him back.
he feels his sword at his side. he pulls the sword out. the blade blazes in the darkness. the face shirks back from it. it opens it mouth in an attempt to try and swallow both steuben and the blade. he brings the blade back into a ready position. he runs for the face a yell of defience on his lips. he leaps and brings the blade down through where the bridge of the nose would have been if the face was human. he strikes and passes through. he falls in the the abyss beyond.
steuben bolts upright in his bed. a cold sweat on his skin. he stares for a moment at the stuffed sacking on his walls. he had out them there so that he wouldn\'t disturb his neighbours. after the second night his landlady had agreed. the sound of the failing rain begins to reach him. he relaxes as reality forms around him again. he untangles himself from his bedding and swings his legs over the side.
he walks over to the window and looks out. the mist and rain have enshrouded the city. he considers the dream for a moment and then shrugs.
he walks away from the window and gets dressed. he puts on a cloak and slings the sword high on his shoulder. he walks out of his room into the day.
he walks up to the tavern. hearing the commotion inside, he breaks into a run. his cloak billows out behind him like the wings of an angel. the look on his face would suit an avenging angel.
he arrives at the tavern. he runs through the door and sees fen inside the door. he sees emaarhe and lyistra in one corner, emaarhe cradling lyistra.
\"follow me surface-worlder,\" he says to fen. his voice brokers no arguement.
he bulls he way through the growing tavern brawl. fen follows in his wake. with little grace steuben merely knocks the obstacles out of their way, both being and object. he takes a few blows but continues on his way to both emaarhe and lyistra.
arriving he places a hand on emaarhe\'s shoulder. the first time he has touched her. she jolts in fear and surprise.
\"guide me to your room,\" he says to her over the sounds of the brawl. \"carry her\", he says to fen. \"i\'ll clear the way.\"
he picks up a table and uses it as both shield and plow. they make their way to the stairwell. after the others had gone up he drops it, blocking the stairs enough to prevent the brawl from spreading up.
inside the room steuben closes the door and leans against it.
\"brute force gets the job done. finesse merely impresses the boss. emaarhe, if she didn\'t use that vial i gave you last night, could you pass it over? i think i could use some of it.\" he says breathing heavily from the exertion.
-
Lyistra sleeps deeply, drooling a bit, as her head lolls.. the few times she wakes, she mewls quietly, quite like a kitten, then sleeps again. Whatever happened to her seems to have drawn away much of her mind, barely reacting to even the snap of a fingers, or the clap of hands in front of her face... around the city, something stirs... the rats fleeing before it as it wanders through the sewers, crunching them now and again like some treat, leaving them behind... it seems to draw no disticntion between rats unable to run away fast enoguh, and a cripple who hid in the sewers to get out of the rain, and prepare for another day\'s begging... it grows stronger the whole while, the fell thing chasing something, that seems elusive.
After a time... as though a tufelsang on a hunt, it turns, and starts to run, loping through the city, now and again phasing through the brickwork as it finds some small channel... seeking, seeking, ever seeking... a pause, a nod, and it fades away into a large stone, in the middle of an empty chamber.
Lyistra seems to not change at all for several days, Emaahre starts to cry a bit, sometimes, then seems to draw her own strength, seeing to it the cheetah is fed. She looks out at the park, as though looking for something herself.. something she doesn\'t even know anymore.. or maybe, looking inward as much as out.
She picks up a pen, one day, to try to write something for Steuben, and the pen falls apart, frustrated, she pulls a charcoal-laden stick from the fire, and tries again for both him and Fen. The stick catches flame, and she drops it, stomping it out, looking more frustrated every moment. Finally, she picks up a knife and starts to carve a message in a piece of wood. The message says \'danger\' in one glyph, and \'difficult\' in another, then the tip of the well-made knife breaks off in the wood. She growls, and tosses it at the wall, the blade itself now like glass, shattering, and then uses her own claws to carve the message.
\"Lyistra. Taken. Forbidden to write.\" her fur around her fingers starts to smoke a little as she writes more. \"Hurt me when I do. They took her spirit. They took mine before.\"
Her fingers are smoking more, and she takes a mug of water, and quenches them, with an audible hiss, the water takes the fur that burned off, the fingers healing again rapidly... glyphs for fire, for harm, for weakness for enemies, for control, worked in platinum in each of her claws. She looks sad, defeated, and points at a sewer enterance, then sits down.
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ooc: taking place between the brawl and emaahre leaving the message
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after the sounds of the brawl have finished. steuben knowing that there is little that he can do here makes to head back down. he walks over to fen.
\"when you\'re ready meet me downstairs. i\'ll tell you what i know so far,\" he says.
he leans against the bar waiting for fen. a mug of beer sits infront of him. he thinks about things so far. but lyistra concerns him. he has seen many injured people but now like that. it is like she isn\'t even there.
fen comes down and stands next to steuben. steuben tells him of emaarhe, and the judgement. he rather strongly gives his opinion of the clerks. he finally speaks of his suspicions of emaarhe being an unwilling part of this somehow.
-
Emaarhe taps the table between the two of them, and then nods, jerkily. Each movement seems to be painful for her. She looks up the hallway, as though seeing Lyistra\'s room, her eyes filled with tears, even as she bites her lip.
She turns, and goes outside, tugging up the sewer grate, and the sound of the opening cover rings across the stones. She simply slips down the hole, and disappears, waiting down inside for the others.
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steuben follows emaarhe and watches as she slips into the sewer. he stands over the hole and straps his sword around his waist. he pauses. thoughts about how every sewer hunt can turn into a royal rat hey-hey!. but, the few that he had been involved in had turned out poorly for the other guy. he slips down into the sewer. the sound of the splash covers the rest of the sound of his landing.
he moves into the shadows to allow fen to descend. he pulls out his sword. the sound has the note of a carnivore stretching before the hunt, of a blood lust waiting to be sated.
\"lead the way, miss emaarhe, we\'ll follow,\" he says, grinning like a skull. his cloak adding to the effect.
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Emaahre nods, quietly, to Steuben, then sniffs the air once or twice, wrinkles her nose. She evidently didn\'t think too hard about the sewers, so she shrugs, and sniffs the air again, ears flicking and tilting, as she listens, for several moments, then, her ears flick foreward, tilting toward a certain direction, and she turns, then blinks. In front of her is a huge hunting cat, but ghostly, near transparent, looking at her.
The great cheetah looks at Emaahre for several minutes, then turns, the being is near transparent, but also seems to be darker in the body with lighter spots. Emaare motions for speed, her tail flicking as she starts to run after the other, who moves rapidly, flickering now and again, less solid under torchlight, as she follows faster.
The chase ends by a wooden door, some sonorous snoring coming from behind it.. the cheetah looking at the door, nodding, then flickering through the doorway itself, slipping in between the cracks or perhaps penetrating the door itself. Emaarhe looks at the heavy iron-bound zhandah-wood door, the wood nearly as strong as the iron, with dismay, turns to you both, and points at it, shrugs, then tries to pull it open, without effect.
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steuben watches as the ghost cat bounds downs the sewer. he follows after both emaahre and the ghost cat. his cloak billows out behind him. the splashing of the feet seems to carry down the tunnel. he winces slightly at the sound. it will alert anybody down there that they are coming. but, then probably the ghost cat would alert anybody.
he watches its movements. there is something about it that seems familiar. the coloring and pattern, such that can be seen in the faded out state, seem familar. the nature of a chase sometimes allows one to think. he continues to follow. his mind chases around things emaahre, lyistra\'s coma, this vaguely familiar ghost cat.
they round a corner. steuben watches the cat. the way it rounds the corner reminds him of something he saw once. when lyistra \"danced\" in the tavern, she had moved something like that. steuben follows round the corner riding high on the wall as he does so.
then some of the pieces click into place. he looks up at the cat, and slows slightly. \"lyistra,\" he says faintly. he picks up speed again, moving faster then before. now only two questions are focused in his mind who, and how to fix this.
steuben stops in front of the door, watching the cat move through it. \"typical,\" he says between deep breaths. he hears the snoring beyond the door. \"i think, i prefered the mewling,\" he says to himself.
he watches as emaahre tries to open the door. \"you\'re sure it\'s a pull door,\" he asks with a bit of a smile.
he motions her aside. he studies the door, his hand gliding over the surface. his forhead creases in concentation. it moves around the hinge mount bolts. he prods the door gently feeling its play. he crouches and studies the lock. he frowns as he stands up.
\"a properly made and mounted door. they never make things easy.\"
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[ OOC : this story is so great ill get in it :D]
Taser walks down through the sewers, on a petty rat hunt to gain a few hides and eyes to sell to the blacksmith. suddenly she hears something. her ears twitch and she sniffs the air and smells an eerie scent like nothing she has ever smelled before. it smells like pure evil in a sense. she hears footsteps and splashing water and she follows them, tail whipping in the muck and water.
she sees a man with a long cloak running down the channel and starts to follow him. She sees a ghostly shite figure that has no explanation. Taser yells to the man \"what are you chasing?\"
----------------------------------
well pick up if i contributed good ill stop by again if you would like ^^
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Emaarhe nods, quietly, then blinks as the other comes through, slipping to one side, watching the other, then attempts to silence them, almost vanishing in the shadows and awaiting, then leaping, attempting to tackle them.
The door itself is very heavy iron and wood, a well made door, warded with a glyph at the entry... the snoring continues, as Lyistra looks at her quarry, then blinks. She bites her lip, and just motions for silence, dusting the other off and looking at the door again. She gazes at the other for a full moment, her claws flexing as though deciding if they are a threat or not, then just nods to Steuben, still keeping a watchful eye upon the other.
Her paws run around the door frame, and she shrugs, and looks at it. She looks to Taser, curiously, then considers a moment. Motions, quietly, to see if the other has a knife or even a mining pick, or a flat strip of metal sewer grates that sit around, gazing also around the area. She tailflicks, as though.. sensing something, then nods, turning back to Steuben and taser, the scarring on her throat visible as she nods, indicating Taser, drawing the sigil \'safe\'.
After a moment she looks at the glyph, drawing an empyry feather from behind her ear, and brushes over it.. the feather sizzling as it falls to the ground, she jumps back as the substance exuded on it draws down to etch into the rock a half-inch.
She continues looking, motioning for a bar, or anything, not wanting to waste a blade on it, but.. she snags a dagger from an ankle-sheath, and offers it to Steuben, or Taser.
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Fen pauses in the dark and suddenly looks at a blank wall. Not at it, the others realise, but through it.
\"I must go,\" he says and walks into the shadows. Then he is gone.
(OOC) I will come back when I fix my computer, or get a new one. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long, but I haven\'t had access to the net.
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Emaarhe gazes at the shadow where Fen disappeared, and thinks for a moment, pokes the area around it, and shrugs, poking at the door with the dagger, the snoring still sounding. She pokes at the join of the door, running the thin-bladed knife around it, till she finds the hinges. Then nods, puts out her midclaw, and runs it over the door. Nods to the lock, signs for \'careful\' and mimes holding the door up. She sticks her finger.. into the door, a small clicking sound, and the door comes loose on the bottom hinge, then she starts with the top, leaning on it.
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with taser\'s arrival, steuben swings around, his sword high. his cloak billows with the motion of him drawing his sword. he fixes her with an icy stare. his sword stands ready to strike swiftly. seeing emaarhe\'s reaction to the new comer, he relaxes his pose. his sword returns to its sheath, the sound has the note of death willfully restrained.
\"later,\" he whispers as he turns back to the door.
steuben frowns as fen leaves, not that there would have been much that he could have done to have stopped him.
before emaarhe can finish with the top hinge, steuben motions her out of the way. he crouches down and takes the bottom hinge in one hand, and the door ring in the other. he lifts the door slightly. dispite the awkward position he manages to shift the bottom of the door outward about an inch.
he nods emaarhe back to her work.
when she finishes he douses his light, and motions to taser to do the same.
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Emaarhe nods a little, and cuts the top hinge, carefully.. the runes on her fingers glow a bit as she does so, then nods to Steuben, and Taser. She earflicks once, then carefully helps Steuben lift it out and away, laying it down on her cloak.. inside, it seems but a simple cell, a monastary cell, almost, but in the sewer? A small hole lies in the ceiling, a grate of steel in it. Above can be seen a mirror.. It\'s difficult to say where the mirror shines, naught else in the room, save a lantern on a stone near the door, the sound of snoring moving on, even as the cheetah-spirit prowls around the room, tail lashing, it stiffens, then closes its eyes. it is female, that much is definite, her tail lashing as she prowls the room, looking.. the snoring sound is more definite somewhere near the centre of the room.
A soft sound also lifts from the room, a soft sound, as though from a young child, the snoring stops, and the sound of a hand slapping. A soft cry rises from somewhere near the middle of the room, then silence, the sound of a small whimper, and Emaarhe stiffens, a look of pure rage on her face. She pokes around, but finds nothing, pawpads moving silently as she wanders through the room. She gives a silent growl of frustration, as the snoring begins again.
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steuben follows emaarhe into the room. he looks around taking stock, watching the ghost cat as it paces. he ponders the lamp in the corner for a moment. the way that it seems waver, as if it is on the cusp of reality.
\"they\'ll never find us in the oubliette,\" the words come back to him. \"and here we are,\" he thinks. \"but, then how to find you? how to see...\" his thought trails off. he looks up at the mirror. he crouches down in front of the lamp. it seems to waver even harder as if trying to avoid his attentions.
upon seeing emaarhe stiffen, steuben stands up and walks over to her. he places a calming hand on her shoulder. \"focus, miss emaarhe. else, you\'ll be able to help neither of them,\" he whispers. \"but, perhaps i have the next step.\"
he turns and reaches for the lantern. he pulls out a pump tinder box*. he pumps it a couple of times and uses the glowing tinder to light the lantern.
*ooc: this one may need a bit of explanation. basically it works like a diesel engine. the air is compressed and it heats the tinder until it begins to burn. the once reference i was to it was during the roman times. so it may be legit.
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Emaarhe looks curiously at the device, then at the mirror in the ceiling, the tilts her head, not seeing any way that the lamp can be tilted to shine on it... then blinks, tilting her head, looking up through the grating at the mirror, then down at her feet, a back wall of the tavern visible. She rubs her chin a moment, shrugs, and gets out a pocket mirror, and looks to steuben and Taser. She looks around, for a moment, then looks at the pocket mirror and up to the other one, blinks a bit as it doesn\'t show the same reflection and nods. She shrugs, offers Taser one mirror, holding the other up, and nodding to Steuben to control the lamp. Her toe traces near a small hole in the floor, not moving over it, as she looks at the lamp, then at the floor again.
The mirror above is concave. She tilts her had, pondering, then looks up at the reflection above.. the lamp is too big to fit up there, though there is another hole wherever the mirror focuses above. She seems a little frustrated, still, but has calmed down a bit. She goes over the walls again, uses a single fingertip to scratch at the floor, the sound ever so slightly different. She nods to the floor, and shrugs to the two present.
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steuben hears the change in the sound from the stones. he pauses for a monment while he considers it. he smiles. \"a rather novel idea for a door bell,\" he thinks to himself.
the lantern throws off a beam of light, steuben adjusts the position of the lantern, and motions the others until the beam bounces into the concave mirror and off to where it goes.
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ooc: if needs must \"position\" us a little bit to move it forward.
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As Steuben positions the mirror, Lyistra tilts her mirrors until the light hits it, then glares at it, it seems to flow on the floor, the floor itself shimmering a little, rippling, and she nods, then adjusts it a bit more. She motions to Steuben to move back a little, then nods again, adjusting the mirrors again, as he does so. She ponders a moment, then nods, as the floor slips back, she blinks, seeing what appear to be eyes on the surface as it fades and rolls away, some type of life form.
She steps back and looks down, the snoring interrupted again, and she nods to Steuben as it restarts, though it sounds a little forced at the moment... perhaps they\'re aware that there are others here.
She looks down, and points, signaling to jump down after her, if possible.
-
steuben gestures for emaarhe to wait. his first instinct is to have someone drop a fireball spell down there and sort out the pieces. but, that would displease emaarhe and probably wouldn\'t help lyistra.
he crouches and listens. he closes his eys, as he tries to hear the sounds coming from below. he hears two yliaki* snoring. one is wheezing, ill sounding. the other is slow, regular, what snoring should sound like. but, it never does.
steuben opens his eyes. he doesn\'t see any movement below. he shifts his position and looks again below. nothing obvious is moving below. but, it is usually not the obvious that kills you.
steuben stands and takes a few steps back. under his cloak he removes his sword and sheath. he slides his cloak off, silently to the ground.
he considers emaarhe\'s rope for a moment. but the words of an old seargent come back to him. suspended between heaven and earth is the surest way to hell. besides it never seems to be as quiet as yliaki think it to be.
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* http://www.planeshift3d.com/wbboard/thread.php?threadid=14670&boardid=13&styleid=3&sid=63d97db91e108edd2d305b1a56d8dd47&page=2
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[OOC]Just couldn\'t help myself, had to get back into the tale. This happens right after Fen dissappears. Hope you like it.
Roethus hums happily to himself as he walks down the dark alley. Ever since he used the Glyph on the Enki woman in the tavern, everything had gone just as his master had planned. No one could stop them now. His wide belly shakes with a self indulging chuckle. Barik, his massive guardsman, grunts in surprise at his side and stops, his hand going to the brutish curved sword on his back.
?What is it now, Barik, another rat?? Roethus asks in irritation before he sees the figure out lined in the lamplight at the alleys mouth.
?Who goes there?? Roethus demands.
The figure stands motionless, waiting silently.
?Kill him,? Roethus growls to his brute.
Barik grins and pulls the sword free of its sheath with a rasping hiss and begins a slow advance on the figure.
?I have no wish to kill you,? the figure states calmly, ?I am here only for answers.?
With a roar, Barik rushes the smaller man with his sword held low. His thrust meets only air as the man dodges easily to the side.
?Draw your weapon, fool,? Roethus laughs, ?You give poor Barik little sport as you are.?
The man glances down at his left arm, which is heavily bundled in coarse cloth.
?As you wish.?
He brings his arm up to meet Barik?s overhand swing. The brute?s triumphant grin turns to shock as his sword is turned aside with a metallic ring. Before Barik can recover, a short length of silver colored chain extends from the man?s bundled arm and slams into his chest with sound of breaking bone. Barik?s bellow of pain is cut short by the chain whipping into the side of his head. He drops unconscious to the ground. The man turns to Roethus, light from an open window falling on his face.
?You!? Roethus gasps, recognizing the man from the man from the tavern. The man who called himself Fen.
?Yes,? Fen says as the chain disappears back into the cloth. ?Fate did not allow me to stop you at the doorway, but I will stop you now. Give me the answers I seek and you may yet survive this night.?
The fat man reaches into his pocket.
?You should have stayed in the tavern, Fen. Now you will burn!? he finishes in a shout and throws the Glyph he pulled from his pocket.
Halfway to Fen, the Glyph bursts into a billowing fireball and rolls over Fen. Roethus barks a laugh, but his eyes widen as the smoke clears.
?Your Glyphs mean nothing to me,? Fen says and steps toward Roethus. Not even his cloths are singed.
Roethus turns to run, but again the chain flashes from Fen?s arm. The cloth loosens and falls away as the chain extends to its full four pace length and wraps about the fat man?s legs, dropping him in a heap. Fen walks over to him, the chain coiling itself back around his arm as he goes. He rolls Roethus over with a foot to look into the man?s terrified face.
?What are you?? Roethus whimpers as he sees that Fen is not holding onto the chain. Instead, it seems to sprout directly from his palm.
?I walk Fate?s path, that is all you need to know. Now, who is your master??
?Le?Leckard,? the fat man stutters, unable to take his eyes from the chain. ?He will kill us both.?
?Then you had better tell me where he is.?
Roethus opens his mouth, but only a gurgling sound emerges. His eyes bulge as his tongue swells from his mouth and turns black. A glowing Glyph appears for a moment on the bloated flesh before bursting into flame. His body gives a final death spasm and lays still. Fen shakes his head.
?No, I didn?t feel it before it activated either,? he says to himself, then nods, ?Weak, but effective.?
A groaning draws his attention. Barik is just awakening. Fen grimaces in disgust, then after a short pause draws a small dagger from his belt.
?You are right. A man can say much?even without his tongue.?
[OOC] For more info on \'Fen\', as you know him, read \"Chain of Souls\".
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(ooc: My apologies for bieng so idle, been a tad sick RL)
Emaarhe jumps in, lightly, and looks around the chamber, then ties a rope to the grate, shrugs, and jumps, sliding down the rope, and off to one side, looking about the darkened chamber, her tail flicking as she bares her teeth, looking about, her ears flicking as the snoring stops, trying to adjust her eyes for the light, her ears flared to catch the sound, then freezes, a chuckle. \"Ahh, our prodigal returns.. we won\'t be needing your replacement.. but we might just use her anyway.. if she is as good a tool as you.\" he hmms. \"How many are there above?\"
Emaarhe raises a paw, and then struggles to fight the fingers raising.
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steuben watches as emaarhe leaps down. he listens to the exhange below. as he listens he reattachs the sheath to his belt. he sighs and shakes his head as he picks up the rope. he slides down it quickly, landing heavily on the floor below.
\"none,\" he says as he straightens up. \"but, since we are all here, perhaps you can turn up the light?\" the ice in his eyes belying the mild tone of his voice. \"i would like to see the face of the puppet master.\"
-
The man chuckles. \"Only one? I\'m almost insulted.\" he sneers a moment, then hmms. \"odd blade. No matter.\" he chuckles. \"Both of you. Kill him.\" he nods to Emaarhe, and a relatively young Enki girl, probably only ten years old.
\"Do feel free to kill them.. blood will only make the Shadow stronger.\" he chuckles.. the ghostly cheetah coming between him and Steuben. \"In anther two kills... this will be all that\'s left of your cheetah bard.\" he snorts.
\"Though I admit, I\'d much rather employ you than kill you.\" he continues. Emaarhe is still standing very still, though the kitten leaps toward Steuben, ferocity in her moovments. \"I told you to kill him.\" he says, frowning. \"Very well.\" his distraction is plain, as he fingers a rune on a bracelet, and Emaarhe goes down in a writhing heap.
-
\"You will not have her,\" Fen says from a dark shadow. The young Enki slides to a stop, her claws carving deep furrows in the floor. She looks from Steuben to Fen, seemingly confused as to which one to attack. \"Lyistra belongs to no one.\"
\"I thought you would be back, surface worlder,\" Stueben says. ([OOC] I can change this to whatever you wish Steuben)
Fen eyes the spirit cheetah, sensing the soul contained inside it. He feels the change that is starting to take place. There is not much time. He was going to have to act fast. He knew what he had to do.
It WiLL bE DANgeroUS, the voice in his head says, YOu wILL NoT be abLE TO FIght, anD sHE MAy DIE.
It must be done Yamuel. Fen thinks in return.
\"You must deal with these two yourself, Stueben. Lyistra needs my power now. Hold them for as long as you can.\"
Steuben nods as Fen steps to his side, unwrapping his arm to reveal the chain beneath.
\"I am sorry Lyistra, this is going to hurt.\" The chain uncoils itself and shoots through the air, peircing the spirit. As Fen begins to draw its Aura (what Fen calls a soul) into the chain, he feels that something is wrong. The chain begins to vibrate violently.
SomEThiGN holds IT. YOu muST breAK ThE bOND, Or we WIll DIE.
\"NO!\" Fen shouts. He draws deeper on the Aura, pain begining to overcome him. Suddenly, he feels whatever is holding the spirit break. The puppet master\'s eyes widen as the ghost cheetah vanishes into the chain. Fen drops to one knee and the chain goes limp.
\"It is done. Now it\'s up to you, Steuben.\"
Now if I can just reach her body , Fen thinks as blackness overtakes him. If only he had had time to tell Steuben what he had learned from the brute.
He falls to the floor and dreams for the first time in over ten years. Dreams of a beautifull young woman with red-gold hair and the world he left behind. An Enki with cheetah coloring sits to the side, smiling with wonder as the yellow sun sun sets in the clear open sky and the blue moon begins to rise.
-
ooc: hmm, non-trivial situation. i\'ll have to ponder this one.
--------------------
\"sure take the easy job,\" steuben mutters. but, he knows that fen would be better able to recover lyistra then he would. he wasn\'t looking forward to having to use alternate means, especially with emaarhe present.
he pulls the sword from its sheath. it has the note of a beast rising to a challenge. but there is a note of reluctance to it. it as if it doesn\'t want to do what it is about to do.
he waves the sword infront of the kitten. \"you had best worry about me, mistress.\"
the kitten focuses on him and begins her attack again. he dodges her attacks. his moves are smooth and lithe, almost enki like. the ferocious energy of her attacks make it difficult. but, on the third pass his chance arises.
he brings the flat of the sword across the back of her head. she collapses, and rolls hard up against one of the walls. she is bleeding from the pressure cut. she lays there in a heap. her sides rise and fall slowly and regularly.
steuben turns towards the puppet master. \"sendng a little girl after me.\" he steps towards him. his eyes are like ice. he is smiling in name only. \"i am insulted.\" rage begins to seep out at the edges.
he reaches out and grabs the hand that is rubbing the rune. he pulls it away from the braclet, as he does so he begins to squeeze. he feels the bones shift slightly. he drops his sword and it falls to the ground. its ringing seems to fill the room. he reaches with his now free hand and grabs the puppet master by the neck. he backs him up against the wall.
the puppet master tries to peel away steuben\'s hand from his neck. but it is like working against the grip of a kran. steuebn releases the other hand. it remains motionless despite the puppet master\'s attempts to move it. steuben squeezes the neck. not enough to cut off the air, but enough to make it difficult to breathe. the puppet masters feet skitter on the ground. steuben leans in close. his face blocking everything else from view.
\"i have thought about what i was going to do when i found you. for what you have done to lyistra. to emaarhe. to that little one. to how many others?\" steuben tilts his head to one side. \"would it be fast?\" he tilts it to the other. \"would it be slow?\" he moves his face in till it almost touches. the look on his face is almost carnivorous. \"or would it be lingering?\" his voice has the sound of evil delight to it. he pulls his head back a bit. \"and then i realized exactly what i should do.\" the note of evil delight is gone.
steuben brings up his other hand. in it is his dagger. its curved edge gleams in the light. the pupper master\'s eyes are drawn towards it.
\"this will be but the beginning,\" steuben says coldly.
he brings his hand back. he pauses a moment. he swings it towards the puppet master\'s head. the butt of the dagger strikes his head. he sags unconscious. steuben releases his neck, and he falls to the ground in a heap.
\"the rest will come in the light and the open, as it must,\" he whispers.
he walks over to emaarhe. he picks up his sword, and slides it back into its sheath. it has the note of a beast heading back to its lair to rest. he helps emaarhe up.
\"come, miss emaarhe. it is almost finished. but, there is a bit more work yet to be done.\"
she sees the puppet master laying against the wall. she starts towards him. steuben holds her back.
\"no,\" he says. \"after lyistra is whole again. then, then we shall see what we can arrange.\"
-
Lyistra looks around in this new place, where time is not time, and the skies go on forever, a little dizzy, she sits down, but continues looking around, shading her eyes from the bright light, as the ball in the sky moves. She looks over to Fen, and tilts her head... \"Where am I?\" she is a little dazed. \"I was dreaming about trying to find my friends, but...\" She notices the other lady. \"Hello.\" she whispers.
She folds her hand son her lap, watching as the moon rises, blinking a little, then the stars come out, and she shivers. \"The cave ceiling must be high, and those must be some very big glow-bugs.\" She giggles a little, nervously, definitely rattled.
-
Fen looks around, a little confused himself. \"Not what I thought would happen, but it worked.\"
A beautiful young woman stands at his side wearing green scale armor that reaches from the top of her neck to her boots, leaving only her arms bare. Her red-gold hair waves in the slight wind. She looks at Lyistra with dazzling jade eyes. \"Hello, Goodmistress,\" she greets in return. She sees how Lyistra is looking questioningly at Fen and leans towards him. \"Aeden, who is she? She seems to know you.\" There is an unmistakable tone in her voice.
\"She is just a friend who needed my help.\" Fen grins. He had almost forgoten about her slight jealousy. \"Lyistra, this is Sabrene... the woman I asked you to sing about.\"
Sabrene suddenly stands very still, not even breathing, frozen in time. Fen looks at Lyistra, his face serious.
\"This place is not real, Lyistra. At least not here. Not even Sabrene.\" He reaches out and touches Sabrene\'s cheek. \"We are inside my mind, my memories. This is the world I grew up in.\" He looks at the rising moon. Saddness sweeps though him. \"I stopped coming here after I lost her. I couldn\'t bare the pain of seeing her, yet still being alone.\" He sees how Lyistra is looking at the stars and remembers the first time he saw the Azure Sun. He must have looked much the same. \"There is no cave, it goes on forever as far as I know. Those are the stars I told you about. I can change it, if you like.\"
-
In the \'real world --
Emaarhe picks up the kitten, then blinks, her ear swiveling, and draws a dagger in a smooth move, the weapon singing as it flies and hits an old Ylian in the chest. The man drops the throwing knives he was using, they clatter as they hit the floor, and she shakes her head. it was a sloppy shot, the man falling to the floor was hidden in the shadows, a robe around him that shimmers with colors behind it, giving a kind of effective invisibility. \"free\" he says, with a sih, and a smile. \"Look for LeLackard\" he wheezes. He pulls the dagger out and looks at it, the wound bubbling, as he coughs. \"Finally.. free.\" he whispers, and falls to the ground.
Emaarhe strips the cloak from him, and then looks around. Finding a small block and tackle, and a cart, she climbs up to toss the block to Steuben. After winching the cart up, and helping with the three of the unconcious folks, she struggles to move the thing through the cobby sewer.
In the \'dream world\'
Lyistra looks about \"There must be some story to this.\" She whispers, and looks about, her eyes gleaming. \"I would.. have liked to meet her.\" She whispers, and smiles to Fen. Then looks about. \"No.. cave.\" she whispers. Then looks to the full moon as it rises. \"I feel ill, like something in me was.. violated.\" She makes a face. \"I dreamed I was killing things and couldn\'t stop. I..\" she shudders.
\"No.. no need for change, unless it causes you pain. Fen.. isn\'t your name. But then you never claimed it was, you just said to call you that.\" She whispers.
After considering a few moments... she says softly. \"Thee was much I.. didn\'t want to talk about. I wonder if death is like this.\" She whispers.
She shrugs. \"I.. feel a little lost here.\" She whispers. \"Almost like I\'m fading somehow.\"
-
Sabrene fades from sight.
\"You may yet meet her someday. She has to be alive,\" Fen puts his hand over his heart, feeling the chain under his shirt. Feeling the one gold link. \"Or I would not be. Hope keeps us all alive, in the end.\" He sighs, remembering the last time he had been called \'Aeden\'. The ship had never returned. He shakes his head. \"Fen is only something to call me. As is Aeden.\" He looks to where Sabrene had stood. \"I don\'t have a name, though Aeden was the closest I came to one since mine was taken. I will not go by it until she returns to me.\"
He looks at Lyistra, knowing what he has to tell her. He knows how much it will hurt her, but she needs to know. \"Lyistra, I have to tell you...\" He begins to tell her what had happened since her spirit was taken. Watching the horror spread across he face hurts him deeply. After he finishes, she is very quiet, but there is one last thing to say. It hurts the most. \"You will die here, if I can\'t get your Aura back to your body soon enough. I am sorry, it was the only way.\"
The moon is now centered in the sky, trailing its lace. Fen tries to wake himself and return to his body, but something holds back. He looks to the Enki. \"We seem to have some time, and I promised you my tale. All we need is a storm.\" The sky suddenly flashes with lightning as storm clouds roll in. Fen leads Lyistra to the small house up the path. The house of his childhood. Rain begins to pound the roof, with the wind howling at the door and thunder shaking the panes in the windows. They sit at the table and Fen begins to speak.
\"It was still early morning when the sunlight crept across the bed and fell upon my eyelids, trying to invade my dreams....\" Fen tells his story. It is a long one, filled with hope, despair, and the love of a girl. Halfway through (because I haven\'t finished it yet) he stops and looks up. \"Something is happening.\"
[OOC]That\'s it for now, I will be back Monday.
-
steuben whirls around as emaarhe throws the knife. i\'m slipping, he thinks to himself. he should have seen him first. but any mistake that you live thourgh isn\'t a mistake, or at least not a major one. steuben soon takes over pushing the cart. part of it is becauase of emaarhe\'s difficulty, and part is becuase of a need for self punishment. he shouldn\'t have made that mistake in the first place.
as the cart rumbles through the sewers, steuben considers their next move. where to take them? probably back to lyistra\'s room with fen. but, what of the other two? the kitten, she would probably be okay at lyistra\'s with emaarhe there. but what of the puppet master? he can\'t be turned over to the guards, at least not yet. i can\'t keep him at my place. steuben sighs.
\"i guess it is back to lyistra\'s with the lot of them,\" he says. \"perhaps when fen wakes up he\'ll be able to shed some more light on this.\"
they walk along in relative silence for a while. steuben replays the previous encounter in his mind. steuben pauses, and lowers the cart.
\"miss emaarhe,\" he says. she turns and looks at him. he pauses as he seaches for the words. \"thank you,\" he finally says.
-
Emaarhe just nods, and earflicks once, just keeps pushing the creaky cart. As it returns to the hotel, she earflicks, pushes a small pouch she got from the oubliette into Steuben\'s hands, a pouch of circles, a few octas, and several hexas. She says nothing, unable really to speak, and continues to the back door. She slips one of the coins to the cook, and helps carry the child up the stairs, checking the puppetmaster\'s bonds quietly. She glances around, then takes the stick of glyphs, looking at it dubiously, slips it back into the pouch, and hands it to Steuben with a shiver, a look that says \"I\'d rather not have the responsibility\'\" plain on her face.
As we carry the puppetmaster and Fen upstairs, she settles Fen in the bed near the cheetah, shrugs, and looks lost, waiting. She nods to the puppetmaster, mimes gagging him, so they don\'t end up with too much attention, then checks the kitten. She nods, and traces a glyph in the air, her eyes quiet, the crystal energies feeding into the glyph, then settling on the girl. She nods once, and settles quietly, her eyes on the puppetmaster with a look of venom.
After a moment, she checks Lyistra,tears in her eyes. She pets the cheetah-bard\'s forehead, slowly, then rests her cheek against the other cheetah, cradling her against her. She looks at Steuben, anger and fierce determination in her eyes. She looks down at the runes on her fingertips, and sets Lyistra down, picking up a dagger. She looks to Steuben, pain in her eyes, then picks up the dagger, sharpening it, and nods again, as though coming to some inner decision.
She takes a roll of leather, sticks it in her muzzle to keep her from biting anything else, and then gets out her bandage kit, and with a careful cut, removes each of her claws with those glyphs, the knife smoking as they get too near to the claws themselves.
-
*In the dream*
Fen glances at Lyistra. \"Your body is near, I can feel it. But there is something else. I don\'t know what it is, but it feels...wrong.\" Lyistra tries to answer, but no sound comes from her. She is fading, the walls clearly visible though her body. \"No! You should have more time!\" He reaches out to take her hand but his passes though hers. \"Shades...I won\'t let you die.\" He tries again using all his will and meets solid flesh. He lets his own strength flow into the Enki, her form solidifies. \"We must leave here now, but I am going to need your help. We have to work together to break through what holds me here. I can\'t do it alone. Listen carefully, and do exactly as I say.\" Lyistra nods as he begins to gather all his will...
*Lyistra\'s room*
Steuben is bandaging Emaarhe\'s paws, but stops in surprize as Fen suddenly arches his back and gaspes. A deep growl escapes Fen\'s mouth. \"It is mine now,\" he hisses, only his accent has changed.
\"Be gone, Yamuel...your power is ended,\" he says in his normal voice, \"I will not let her die. Leave off now, and I will forget your punishment.\"
\"No, it...is...MINE!\" the last word is howled in agony. Fen\'s body relaxes as he opens his eyes. He tries to move, but cannot. He sees Steuben and Emaarhe sitting next to the bed.
\"Quickly!\" he says, urgency thick in his voice, \"The Den\'feire must touch Lyistra\'s body.\" The others look at him in confusion. \"The chain! It contains her soul. It won\'t last without me. You must hurry! Touch her with it!\" Fen tries to move again but his body only flops weakly.
Steuben leaps to his feet and grabs the chain. He gives Fen a last look. \" I hope you know what you are doing, surfaceworlder,\" he tells him and lays the chain across Lyistra\'s arm.
Fen sighs with releaf. \"It is done, she is safe.\"
\"That is it?\" Steuben asks.
Fen nods. There are tears in Emaarhe\'s eyes. He feels sleep coming back upon himself. \"She will wake soon. Give her as much rich broth as she can take. I must also recover, but Lyistra has the knowledge you need now.\" Steuben\'s face fades to darkness as Fen slips back into sleep.
-
For the first time since she was taken, Lyistra stirs in her sleep, muttering softly, and shifts again. Her eyes open, a gasp of intaken breath, and then she tries to sit up, her weakened body simply falling back again, with a bit of a panting breath, \"Fen.\" She whispers, glancing over, then settles once again, her tail moving slowly. \"He told me. LeLackard. He has to be stopped.\" she whispers, sagging back. \"Got.. to..\" she stops as Emaarhe presses her back, with bandaged fingers, and she blinks. \"E.. Emaarhe?\" she whispers. \"It..\" She touches the other\'s cheek, and nods, tears running down hers, as her hand drops back to her lap. \"Not a lot of time.\" she whispers. \"I.. I don\'t know everything that happened. But... he\'s done enough.\" she whispers.
She curls back up, taking Emaarhe\'s wrist carefully. \"I need you to find Wilheven.\" She whispers. \"City guard. Council of the Otarchy.\" she whispers. \"I trust him. Known him for years. there may be a way to bring this to a close.\" She whispers, the sigils on her glowing on her fur, her eyes closing tight.
\"Find him. Tell him I have what we were waiting for, and the trap is closing.\" She whispers, her eyes burning fever-bright, then closing, as she settles back, her lungs rasping a little, as though coming out of the coughing-sickness.
Emaarhe nods, then writes this down on a sheet of paper, with far less pain it seems than the claws caused, at their removal, and then nods to Steuben. She nods to Lyistra, writes. \"Guard.\" then disappears, into the night.
-
[ooc: sorry it took a bit longer then i expected to craft this one. blue is lysitra\'s work. but, hopefully the \"dance\" scene comes across well.
as i write it, might as well put the warning up graphic violence and death. ]
As Lyistra lies there, actually sleeping instead of comatose, now and again shifting, a commotion comes from outside. Emaarhe bursts in and nods, panting, her nostrils flared, her chest heaving from her exertion.
She writes \"They come.. on my tailtip.\" She nods out through the window where a small phalanx of guards, led by a Xacha male, come marching up to the door.
The leader waves his men back. \"I\'d rather do this peaceably. He says. he nods to you, quietly, \"I\'m Wilhelven. Is she all right?\"
\"she is ... sleeping now. a few days of rest and good food and she will be back to normal.\" steuben responds.
\"There\'s been quite a commotion, someone\'s accused her of magicking the murders.\" he shakes his head.
\"she\'s been here with ... fever for the past several days. it only just broke.\" both yliaki knowing it for the lie that it is. steuben offering it anyways, as a way out.
\"Be that as she may, I\'ve got fifty men, you\'ve got a prisoner, and I\'ve got a way to hide him. I need to take Lyistra in, mostly to protect her, partially for questioning, on the official end.\"
\"I\'ve got a pretty good idea of part of the people involved, I just need a few names. That way I can know what to write on a few eulogies.\"
He looks to Steuben. \"She\'s my friend.\" his eyes are quiet, honest and dark with anger at what\'s been done to her. \"I want to thank you for helping her too.\" he shakes his head, and offers a package. Inside, though hidden from others, perhaps, is a sheathed dagger,with platinum and gold inlay along the blade, and glyphs of protection. \"not much, but you may need it.\" he passes you a note as well reading that in the handle is a note of deputization, in a criminal matter. He shrugs, then nods, winks once.
steuben pulls the dagger slightly from its sheath. he runs his thumb along the exposed flat of the blade. he feels the high quality of the inlaid glyphs. his brow furrows slightly. he carries the solider\'s mistrust of magiked weapons. he resheaths the dagger. his hand disappears beneath his cloak, reappearing empty.
\"Sir? Will you stand aside in the name of the otarchy? We have come to take the accused, One Lyistra Mentana, to the Cells of Phaal-mor. She will then be questioned, to await trial for the murders of one Klyros, two Enkidukai, and four Xacha.\" he looks in quietly, nods to a bearer of a kind of litter. \"We have heard of her power in the Crystal Way, and of her weakness. It is for this we bear a litter of glyphs of warding and sealing.\"
steuben stands aside as the litter works its way up the stairs. wilheven motions the bears to place the litter on the floor and leave. the bearers do so. He nods, touches a glyph, and everything goes silent outside. \"Nothing will be heard in or out of this room. Nobody must know what\'s going on, or all of our lives are in danger. Your prisoner can be held in here safely, we\'ll carry her atop it. We\'ve had.. sensitive prisoners before. She should be safe. The Otarch of Hydlaa is interested in this case, he has had his own suspicions for a time.\" he nods, as the person is put away. \"Feel free to join us for a bit, we could use a good hand.\" he looks outside. \"Have a feeling if the opposition attempts anything it will be on the way back. I fear that they will be desperate if we can get her into the Cells. They\'re inviolate, inside and out, only authorized people can enter or leave.\" he nods to Emaarhe. \"She is allowed to come in and out with you, as you need. You have my full support, but be discreet, or I could be executed. \" he turns, and waves the others on.
before they leave steuben says. \"i only have one name. which may or may not help. lelackard\"
steuben and emaarhe walk near the middle of the column. steuben breifly glances up. movement out of the corner of his eye had caught his attention. he sees someone pull out of sight over the crest of the roof, in a different location from the movement.
he whisphers to emaarhe, \"don\'t look up. yliaki are gathering on the roof tops. it will come first from there. be ready. and becareful with those.\" he nods towards her paws. \"you don\'t want to reopen the wounds.\"
they walk for a short while longer. suddenly several fireballs rain down from the rooftops. some explode with the clusters of guards at the front and rear of the line. however, most explode on the street itself. of those, many land near the guards immediately surrounding the litter. the air is filled with smoke and flying cobble fragments.
to the right of the column, through the smoke come running several ylaki. they brandish a variety of weapons. the guards around the litter turn to face them. steuben turns as well. his cloak billows out, as it does he draws his sword. the sound of steel on leather has the note of a great beast moving for the attack, blood lust in its voice. his face a smile in form only.
two of the attackers head for steuben. one weilds pair of shorter swords, the other a longer heavier one. they both attack simultaneously. somehow they seem to not foul each other. but, they don\'t work together either. steuben blocks and doges the strikes. frequently he blocks two of the swords, and simply dodges the third.
at one point during the contest. a yliak approaches from behind. he had recently dispatched one of the guards. seemingly incidentally steuben disembowls him. never even having turned around and still is able to bring the sword back in time to block a the trio of blades.
shortly there after steuben finds a suitable opening. he brings his sword into chest of the one with the the single sword. steuben\'s sword stops halfway through and slides out. the swordsyliak releases his sword. steuben catches it by the handle before it falls. he brings it up in a smooth motion.
\"now. let me show you how it is done,\" he says. a note of evil glee in his voice.
steuben\'s now twin blades become a blur as he attacks. the four blades ring furiously. the now solo swordsyliak retreats under steuben\'s onslaught. one of steuben\'s opponent\'s blades shatters, hit by the claimed blade. steuben brings his blade through the other arm. it is severed midway between the wrist and elbow. steuben drives the claimed blade into the heart of his opponent. he sags to the ground dead.
he turns in time to see the litter being carried off by the attackers. some of the guards have given persuit. emaarhe is still engaged with her opponent. the smoke is just beginning to clear.
steuben begins to give chase. as he moves he sheathes his sword. he passes by emaarhe and her opponent. as he passes he simply reaches out and crushes the neck with the nearest hand. he falls forward barely missing emaarhe.
\"come,\" he says as he continues on.
emaarhe swallows at the display of brutal and almost casual strength and violence. she turns and follows. they are far enough back that they see the nets that are flung from the roof tops. the metal weights on the edges glint in the sunlight as the they rotate. the guards a caught to the yliak in the nets. the nets spinning faster as they settle, ensnaring anything caught within.
steuben looks up in time to see the nets coming for him and emaarhe. he pushes her against the wall of the street. she hits heavily and stumbles. he heads for the other side and bounces against the wall. the nets fall to the ground and slide. one of the nets slides under emaarhe\'s feet as she works to regain her balance. she rolls forward.
steuben continues forward. his cloak billows out behind him. the cloak and the look on him face make him appear like an avenging angel. it is made all the more terrible, because he is coming after you. he closes on the litter. he reaches behind his back as he runs. he pulls out the dagger that wilheven handed him. he throws it. it buries itself in the back of one of the litter bearers. he stumbles and trips the nearest bearers to him. the litter hits the ground and slides a bit.
the unwounded bearers look behind them. seeing steuben approaching they quickly scramble away. steuben runs up to the litter and the wounded bearer. he pulls the dagger out and resheathes it. the bearer manages to roll over. seeing steuben standing there manages to painfully scramble to the wall and half stand up. steuben follows. he grabs the ylkai while he is still hald standing. one hand arund the neck, he lift him of the ground. the back pressed against the wall. with his good am the yliak tries to break the grip.
\"hmm,\" steuben says. \"with that wound, it looks like you will live. that is my friend there. and i am not pleased with who is behind this.\" he looks to his right. \"you will either talk to the guards, or... you will talk to me.\" notes of evil pleasure creep into his voice. \"so, the first question is, who do you fear more? your employer? or me?\"
as if in answer a gurgle escapes steuben\'s grip on his throat. his eyes bulge as his tongue swells from his mouth and blackens. as if giving the final word of the repsonse a small glyph appears and bursts in to a brief flame. the body spasms once under steuben\'s grip.
\"impressive,\" he says. he gently lowers the corpse to the ground. \"may what you have taken in life, be returned in death,\" he says half prayer like.
emaarhe arrives first. \"another three. perhaps this one as well.\" he speaks towards the wall. exhaustion, weariness, and perhaps shame are in his voice. \"i don\'t enjoy it, you know. i hate it.\" he looks down at his blood covered hands. \"it\'s just... it\'s just that i am so good at it.\" he looks over at her. he smiles, this time a real one. \"i don\'t mean to burden you with my troubles. you carry enough of your own.\" the remaining guards arrive. \"come let\'s elp them get her to where she has to go.\"
-
Oh good... my turn. Been waiting for this, though I have none of Lyistra\'s clues to go by. Guess I\'ll wing it. *grins evilly*
A body drops wetly to the ground next Steuben, seemingly from nowhere. His blade whispers of a hungry beast, wary of the prey that it stalks as he draws it from its sheath again. Another body drops to the other side, just as wetly, all bones seem to have been broken. Steuben and Emaarhe recognize the first body as one of the litter bearers who escaped. The other looks to be a mage of sorts. A low laugh comes from the darkness above them. A familiar laugh, though twisted. Emaarhe looks worriedly at Steuben miming the symbol for friend with question in her eyes. Steuben shakes his head, not sure. He keeps his sword at the ready.
\"Sssssssteuben,\" a voice hisses from above. It is Fen\'s voice, but the accent is wrong. \"Are you looking for Fen, Sssssteuben? And pretty Emaarhe. So pretty. Almost as prrrrety as Lyistra. And a very, very pretty sword Sssssteuben.\" Something silver flashes out of the darkness and strikes the sword with such force that not even Steuben\'s might can hold it. It flies across the street to land with a loud ring against the far building. A ring sounding of defeat. A shadow moves two stories up directly above the two, revealing Fen crouched on a narrow windowsill, vulture like. A twisted grin masks his face, the chain dangles from his arm.
\"What is the meaning of this, Fen?\" Steuben asks, feeling there is something very wrong.
\"Poor Ssssteuben. Missing his friend already.\" Fen suddenly twists fluid like on the sill, falling backwards. But somehow his heels catch on the sill. Fen laughs again with an evil childlike glee, hanging upside down from his heels. \"I have missed this so much. Your little Fen doesn\'t take enough...joy in his life.\" The chain snakes out to caress Emaarhe\'s cheek. She recoils, looking to Steuben.
\"That will be enough, Fen!\" Steuben commands, the force of a thousand battles behind his voice.
Fen lets go of the sill, but the chain darts into crevices on the wall, slowing his fall. He comes to rest lightly on the ground a few short steps away. \"Fen is sleeping, Ssssteuben. I am Yamuel. Don\'t reach for that pretty dagger. You would be dead before it ever reached me. And that would upset Fen, now wouldn\'t it. We don\'t want to upset Fen, do we.\" His voice turns to anger near the end. A deep seething anger speaking of unimaginable hate. The chain vibrates violently, before calming again. The hate and anger fade from Fen\'s face...mostly. \"You have no reason to fear me, my mouse and kitten. Fen will wake, and I have no wish for punishment. I simply want to help. That would make Fen,\" a shade of anger enters his voice again, \"hhhappy.\" The chain coils back around his arm, links hissing passed each other. Speaking of their power in a voice Steuben knows all to well. The sound of leashed death. Fen looks at the man with the smoking tongue and grins. A truly amused grin. \"You have to remove the tongue before they can speak. Fen found this out too.\" He looks at Emaarhe, the grin twisting into something more foul. \"Even silence can be broken with the proper...motivation. Right my pretty Emaarhe.\" He caresses her name, leaving no doubt at his meaning.
\"You touch her...\" Steuben lets the threat hang, making it seem all the more potent.
\"A threat left unsaid is the only threat worth heeding,\" Fen says, sounding like he\'s quoting. He bows deep. Steuben\'s hand twitches toward the dagger, but stops as Emaarhe mimes friend again, then sleep. \"I am at your service Master Steuben. Be sure to tell that to...Fen when he wakes.\" His eyes go back to Emaarhe, filled with unspoken regret, \"Ah, too bad. So, so pretty. Better check the guards my pet. See who yet lives.\"
[OOC]:evil: How do you like that? A little twist to make things interesting. I do believe it is the most twisted thing I have ever written. This is as far as I can proceed without Lyistra\'s guidance. As always, I will change anything I wrote about others if I have it wrong. I don?t like to put words in your mouth that don\'t fit. PM me with any changes.
Changes made at Steuben\'s request. PM me if you think of anything else, or know where the tale goes from here.
-
Emaarhe blinks once or twice, looking over at Fen, at Steuben, simply looking dazed, then goes looking for Lyistra, She finds her still atop the litter, sleeping, a small amulet pressed into her paw... she blinks a little, looking at it, then looks at Steuben and fen.
As the chain touches her cheek, she shivers a little, her mouth opening as though unwilling, a thin croaking sound coming from her throat. The scars at her throat are deep, it almost appears from the patterns she used her own claws to make them, but across her form something shimmers at the contact, something odd, something, perhaps.. utterly alien, yet within her, an echo of that panther spirit that came from Lyistra, activated by the small sound from her throat.
She nearly falls, as though the flicker weakened her. her eyes closing as she falls to her knees. She looks up at Fen, saying nothing, her eyes hollow, as though every nightmare ever seen lives there, as though everything has come to naught for her, for a single moment, a glimpse into the parts of her mind she keeps hidden, where so much sorrow is held.
She stands again, after a moment, and flame burns in her eyes, looks to Fen, to the chain, to that golden link, and to Lyistra, tail flicking, then, as though unwilling, kneels quietly, her head bowed, though it is no doing of the chain or even the bearer, almost as though her strings were cut.
Lyistra is held there, on the litter, even as the city guard arrives, a cry is raised from a nearby home, a cry of murder, and theft. Emaarhe reaches for the amulet, finally, and is frozen, her hand on Lyistra\'s by the power of the box, touching the amulet.
The city guard tries to sort out the mess, looking at Fen and Steuben, they demand answers, then look to emaarhe and then to the gesticulating Hammerwielder. He spots the amulet, and draws his hammer, a snarl of rage on his lips, going in a dead run for the two frozen beings.
-
nearly simulatenously steuben and yamuel move towards the hammerwielder. steuben comes in high with a tackle. in the process he takes a hammer blow across his back. yamuel sends the den\'feire low. he enwraps the hammerwielder. the chain moves up the body around the neck. the chain slides along the arm holding the hammer. steuben rolls off as they hit he ground.
yamuel lifts the dwarf off the ground. he struggles against the chain with his free hand. the rage on his face is mixed with panic as he feels the raw physical power of the chain. the links shift slightly, like a python around its prey.
\"another fun toy to play with,\" yamuel says. evil delight showing on his face and in his voice. the links around the body and neck begin to tighten. the rage on the face of dwarf is replaced with panic. but, the rage stil smolders in his eyes. the struggles against the chain become more frantic.
\"release... him,\" steuben wheezes. the blow had knocked the air from him. he stands up, gasping as he tries to refill his lungs.
\"must i?\" a false whine in yamuel\'s tone. the sound of bones creaking comes from the dwarf. the struggles becoming weaker.
\"the dead can not explain themselves,\" steuben says meeting yamuel\'s eyes. his voice stronger now.
the chain around the body and neck slacken. the chain around the arm, however, shifts. \"ahh, well then. he won\'t need this.\" the links around the arm begin to tighten. the links around the joints tauten. it is as if yamuel is trying to rip the arm apart. the dwarf cries out, rage and pain on his face.
\"release him,\" steuben orders. his voice having the tone that had ordered the march of hundreds of yliaki to their deaths, and some further then that. some of the guards present reflexivly snap to attention.
\"ohhh, veryyy well,\" yamuel says with a sigh. the chain immediatly slackens. the dwarf falls hard to the ground. the dwarf begins to struggle to his feet. steuben plants his foot firmly in the dwarf\'s back and shoves. the dwarf goes down.
\"hold him,\" the tone of command still in his voice. a few guards move to obey and hold the dwarf securely. steuben looks at yamuel. the look on his face is one of the matter is held in abeyance, and will be discussed later.
edit: just cleaning up a turn of a phrase.
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Very good! :D I shall report back later tonight with my part.
*grins at the thought of being an evil power leashed by good*
Here it is... Sorry for the length, I got a little carried away.
Yamuel gives the guards a friendly grin. A false grin, if they could see into his thoughts. One by one, he mentally strips them of their skin, crushing their bones to pulpy powder. Steuben frowns, seeing something of Yamuel?s thoughts in the grin.
?From this point, Yamuel, you will obey my commands.? Steuben orders, using the Voice of Command learned by every soldier, but mastered by few.
Yamuel grinds his teeth through the frozen grin. Steuben would meet a special fate, if he had his way. A slow death, till he breathed his last agonized scream. Then his soul would be extracted and placed in a new victim, starting anew. The pretty Emaarhe and Lyistra would have a?special place in his plan. Yamuel?s grin deepens at the thought of it. But, there is still his master, his leash holder. If he awoke? And that sword?that cursed sword. If Steuben only knew? A growl rumbles in his chest, beast-like. Steuben steps closer, using his greater height(?) to give his Voice more command.
?You will obey me?or Fen will hear of it. Whatever ?punishment? awaits you, I shall have him triple it. Obey!? Steuben says, his face almost touching the beast?s.
Yamuel shivers reflexively. Triple? His master could not be so cruel. He looks at the frozen Enkis, remembering another pair of cat eyes from long ago. Yes he could. ?Yes, Cassaren,? he says and bows, deeper than before, almost formal. There is no mockery in it this time. He would obey?even if it killed him. His gaze falls back on Steuben as he rises. But he would not die alone.
Steuben nods, apparently satisfied. ?Good. Now retrieve my sword.?
Yamuel turns immediately, striding across the street, covering the chain on his arm with his coat as he goes. He does not hear the long relieved breath Steuben lets out. [OOC]I recommend starting your next post here, Steuben[/OOC] The remaining guards step out of Yamuel?s way, reminding him of scattering blackbeetles, when a light is lit. He chuckles to himself, amused at the thought of crushing them under foot. He reaches the sword, picking it up gingerly, repulsed by its very presence. The ring imprinted on the blade draws his gaze. He can almost feel the blow that put it there. The fool had no idea what he created with that blow. A master should never use his own weapon. Yamuel returns with the sword. The guard and Steuben abruptly fall silent. Yamuel knows something had passed between them. But what? The guard nods to Steuben, eyes Yamuel warily, and walks away to talk quietly to the other guards. Each of them in turn gives Yamuel the same wary look. Yamuel hands the sword back to Steuben with a small bow. ?The strongest trust is easily broken by the weakest betrayal, Cassaren,? he says, again sounding like he is quoting. Steuben nods, seeming to understand the veiled Oath. One more ancient than Yamuel himself.
Steuben holds out an amulet. ?What do you make of this?? The road of trust, then.
Yamuel takes the amulet by its dangling chain, feeling the Glyphs inside. He grins at the cruelty of them. ?Perhaps one of the guards could open it? No? Then I shall do the honors.? He looks around, seeing a small clear area in the street. The guards back away, their hands on their weapons. Yamuel looks around, slightly disappointed that none of them are close enough. He grins at Steuben. ?Your ?Fen? would have done this the hard way.? He pulls the coat off his arm, the chain uncoiling. The guards take another step back, some of their eyes going to the two dead men with crushed bodies. Yamuel tosses the trinket into the air, catching it with the chain. He briefly feels it, feeling where the power lies, feeling the soft paper, even the ink, then with one swift, intricate motion, crushes it with the chain. Too everyone?s eyes, the space around the knot containing the amulet seems to bend and twist. Odd lines of vile looking colors appear, only to be sucked back into the knot. Black liquid begins to ooze from the spaces between the links, hissing as it hits the ground. Yamuel quickly unravels the knot, unfolding a paper as he does, holding it at the corners with the chain. He studies it in a glance -memorizing the entire thing- before it suddenly starts dissolving, a black fungus crawling across its surface. Yamuel chuckles, amused that beings can sometimes be crueler than even him. He crumples the paper with the chain, unheeding of the fungus, and tosses it aside. It begins to eat a hole in the cobblestones. ?We take the Ladies to the cells, then we go to the second level. There is someone dieing to meet us there.?
Frightened people begin sticking their heads out the windows, some taking up the cry of murder, others slamming the shutters. Suddenly, the sound of many feet is heard, and a group of twenty or so rough looking men turn the corner. Most look ex-military, all look dangerous. They draw their weapons, advancing slowly. Yamuel looks from the bedraggled guards to the tried, injured Steuben, Wilheven at his side with a bleeding arm. He knows they would not survive, he could let them all die?but his master would be angry. He sighs in disgust at what he is about to do. ?Get the Ladies to the cells, Cassaren. I will lead the way.? The chain slashes the ground in anger, ripping loose chunks of rock. Not disgust at the killing?disgust at the saving. The seething boiling hatred of his master returns as he walks towards the approaching men. The frozen grin slides into place. At least he had something to take his anger out on?
[OOC]Then I would go to the cells, skipping the ensuing gratuitous violence, as it matters not to the plot. As always, feel free to change anything.[/OOC]
Unless you like gratuitous violence. :evil:
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[ooc: so much overlap, so little time.]
steuben nods with apparent satification. \"good. now retrieve my sword.\"
steuben lets out a slow breath. it could have gone either way. \"i\'m getting too old for these pissing contests,\" he thinks. he isn\'t sure if he could have beaten yamuel. but, one of them would have carried the scars to their grave. he had faced others like yamuel, all but one had eventually died. but, not without great cost along the way. the guard captain approaches steuben.
\"can you control him?\" the captain asks.
\"no. he can\'t be controlled. he is barely leashed right now.\"
\"do you trust him?\"
\"as i trust the asp.\"
the look in the captain\'s eyes warns of yamuel\'s return. steuben turns to face yamuel. he takes his sword from yamuel. \"the strongest trust is easily broken by the weakest betrayal, cassaren,\" he says.
steuben nods, accepting the ancient oath as given. \"ancient oaths are rarely as they completly appear,\" he thinks to himself.
[ooc: *fast forward to the arrival of the goon squad, and the end of last post.]
steuben turns to face the new arrivals.
\"no,\" he says. \"hold the rear. we\'ll head a different way.\" he turns, to wilheven, \"quickly. move.\"
the beating of the chain distracts the arrivals. the guards scramble away, carrying the litter with them. steuben says to yamuel, \"if you don\'t come back in one piece. both fen and i _will_ kick your --\" he is interuppted by the begining of the assult.
he turns and follows after the guards. he swiftly moves to the front. the sounds of panicked combat follow them for a while. they slow to a normal pace. they are within sight of their destination.
\"i thought, i was in charge here,\" wilhelven says.
\"you are,\" steuben responds.
\"not when you give orders like that.\" he pauses, considering steuben for a moment. \"who were you before all this?\"
\"a smith.\" steuben responds. his tone indicating that he won\'t discuss it further. but, the question is in wilhelven\'s face, where does a smith learn to command like that.
wilhelven, looks back over his shoulder. \"will he be all right?\"
\"yes. but, he may take longer then he should. always dangerous that.\"
yamuel arrives, dancing along the walls and eves. he is somewhat speckled with blood. glee and delight show in his face and his actions.
\"enjoy yourself?\" steuben says, a bit cooler then he perhaps intended.
\"yes, immensely. you and fen have no idea what you are missing?\"
\"i may,\" steuben responds queitly.
\"oh? do tell,\" expectation on yamuel\'s face.
\"maybe later. we\'re almost there.\"
the building is built heavily. perhaps, more so then the city itself. they pause as the great door is opened towards them. the four crossed layers of wood swing by. they walk into the holding space. the door closes behind them. the inner door opens away from them. they step into the courtyard. the warden meets wilhelven. they talk briefly. wilhelven turns and dismisses the guards not carrying the litter. the remainder, including steuben, yamuel, and emaarhe, follow him and the warden.
they enter the central building and head down some stairs. they stand in front of the designated cells. the doors is buily heavy and thick. the dense wood of each door is bound in heavy iron. carved and inlaid into the wood are glyphs of warding, sealing, and a few others of arcane purpose.
the three prisoners are split up and headed to their cells. though, the puppet master is released from the litter only after it is securely in the cell. the twin iron bolts on each door close and lock with a resonating finality.
\"i hope i have done the right thing,\" steuben says quietly. \"if not, it will be fixed one way or the other.\" he finishes with grim certainty.
-
The cells it is?
Steuben watches the door close. He seems to be considering what to do next. ?Well beast, you said we go to the second level. Why??
Yamuel doesn?t answer. Instead, he stands very still, the blood spattered on his face and hands giving him the look of fresh death. He can feel him? his master. Pushing up from the bottom, from the very depths of the chain. He was waking. Yamuel glares at Stueben, hating him for his freedom. The only thought that comforts him is that all men die someday. May he die screaming. Yamuel grinds his teeth?his master?s teeth, he corrects himself. He hated having to ask this man for anything. ?Tell him?tell him how I helped?? With those words, he feels himself begin to fall backwards, into the darkness he called home for so long. He is looking through someone else?s eyes, feeling another presence. His master has returned. Yamuel fights to hide the hate, the anger, as the hands that should have been his are raised up into his view. A voice comes from the mouth that would have been his if not for that trull Sabrene. But Yamuel remains silent.
?What did he do?? Fen asks, hoping that the blood on his hands was not that of an innocent. Yamuel?s punishment would be severe, if it were. He could feel Yamuel?s subdued anger, but could not see into his twisted mind. Their was no fear. Perhaps the beast had been able to control himself.
?Nothing more than he had to,? Steuben answers, but Fen can hear the slight lie in his voice.
NoT much moRE than I HAd to. Yamuel corrects, a tiny bit of fear creeping into his mind. But also a brief flash of morbid joy.
Fen shakes his head, not wanting to think about it. Anything that would bring the beast joy would be the stuff of nightmares. If he ever slept again. He hoped silently that that change was not permanent; Steuben would not always be around to keep the beast in check. ?How is Lyistra?? he asks, hoping for happier news.
?Still sleeping, but a natural sleep. She is locked in the cells, accused of murder. Emaarhe is with her. She hasn?t left her side since?? Steuben pauses and glances at Fen, it is a worried look. ?Since we unlocked a Glyph box that had shielded her and Lyistra until a few moments ago.? [ooc]problem fixed[ooc]
Fen looks down at the Den?feire, unsoiled and unscratched, but protruding from a bloodied palm. He knows Steuben isn?t saying something, he feels it. Fear brushes through Yamuel again. He looks back at Steuben. ?Tell me.?
?He did something to Emaarhe. It scared her.?
?What?? Fen asks in his mind. Yamuel cowers.
I gaVE her voiCE back.
There is something more to it, but before he can press the matter, a guard with a bandaged arm walks around the corner. He seems to be of high rank. And by the look Fen sees on his face, he has met Yamuel.
?This is Wilheven. He is a friend of Lyistra?s.?
Wilhelm looks confused at the introduction. Fen nods in welcome, understanding. ?You can call me Fen. Yamuel is gone now.? Wilheven looks at him warily before looking to Steuben, who simply nods. The guard looks back to Fen again.
?Do you still have the information we need??
?I will,? Fen says turning his thoughts on Yamuel, who begins spilling the knowledge in almost a panic. After he finishes, Fen looks to the others. ?LeLackerd waits for someone to bring Lyistra to his fortified mansion on the second level, but he shall receive us instead. He will pay for what he has done. Fate has no forgivness?and neither do I. Let?s see if the fenkis feel the same.?
[ooc]I wonder if Lyistra shall join us to storm the castle. We could use a few fresh recruits. And a plan, even the chain can\'t stop arrows...well, not many.[ooc]
It\'s \'Wilheven\' not \'Wilhelm\', can\'t believe I mixed that up. :rolleyes:
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The hammerwielder upon questioning reveals that his attack was due to his wife\'s murder, and her amulet, or a perfect copy, ending up with the felines. He admits, however, he doesn\'t know how the magic of the glyphs of warding could be so violated, to place it in the feline\'s hands, even through the glyphs.
As Lyistra speaks of the things she heard, she clsoes her eyes, her head lowered, something dark and feral deep in her soul growing stronger. She growls a moment, then shakes her head. \"I.. am no puppet.\" She says, in a cold whisper, a whisper with the sound of a thousand deaths coiled in it like asps.
She looks to Emaarhe, then squeezes her paw. \"Thank you.\" she whispers... the other looks back at her, the feline\'s eyes very quiet, the white cheetah gazing over at Lyistra.
After a moment, she speaks. \"Ly\" she whispers. \"You.. grew up a lot.\" Her head shakes. \"I.. am a little lost.. so much time.\" She whispers.
Lyistra, for the moment, is dumbstruck, then she squeezes Emaarhe\'s paws, her eyes opened wide, so many questions fighting to spill from her lips that they stumble over each other, and Emaarhe\'s paw simply touches her lips. \"No.\" She says, softly. \"No.. don\'t ever force me to speak on those things.\" She whispers. \"I never want to remember or relive them.\"
Lyistra\'s head nods, at that, her muzzle closing. \"Sis...\" She whispers, softly, tears in her eyes. \"Lelackard has much to pay for.\" She growls softly. \"So much..\" Her eyes harden, and she addresses Wilhelven. \"Sir.. I would see Fen and Steuben, should they be willing.\" she looks to Emaarhe, and just holds her, rocking, this time the white cheetah whispering the \"Yiinhaaara\" and continuing.
\"I..\" she whispers, closes her mouth. \"Guess it doesn\'t matter. had so much I wanted to say. LeLackard isn\'t the ultimate here. There\'s another darkness.\" She whispers, hoarsely as though her voice is rusty, from disuse... as Steuben and Fen arrive, she nods to them both \"My voice is back, which poses its own dangers.\" She whispers, the cheetah-spirit shifting within her. \"They\'ve been planning this for a long time. We need to get to the basement of his manor, as well.\" She winces, as the spirit seems to snarl, free of her face, for an instant. \"third column, left side of the entry. The grapes, there\'s a bronze one among the copper.\" she whispers. \"Can\'t speak much longer.\" She says, then starts writing, the shifting changing in her, settling, as she continues.
\"The charm made my voice the vessel of the beast\'s release. I.. stopped the voice. It made me useless for that part of the plan, but it made Lyistra very attractive. Our Mother was a Walker in Spirit, she passed it to both of us, gifted by laanx, perhaps. it\'s hard to say, Talad might have done it as well, or it might be something else.\" she shakes her head to clear it. \"Lelackard carries control stones below his keep. Part of the flesh of each person is kept there.\" She closes her eyes. \"In my case, it was taken from my toes.\" She looks at her missing toe, after a moment, anger burning there. \"Lyistra from her tail.\" She looks at her sister\'s tail. \"And from the youth... it was the umbilical. She\'s my daughter.\" she writes, eyes sad. \"It controls us both.\"
She looks at Steuben, and Fen. \"We will stop him.\"
She nods to the clerk, then growls softly, as Lyistra simply nods, then blinks, as the clerk brings in a box, handing Lyistra her weapons, and each of the feline adults an amulet. \"It will protect you from control, for a time. You must act quickly, we\'ve a Megara ready to carry you, with a spell of avoidance for sight. He\'ll be expecting his column soon, we\'ll march some of our soldiers there.\"
The clerk nods. \"May Laanx help you find vengeance.\" as he turns, and releases the seal. \"This LeLackard will be judged by his own doings. We must see the evidence before he can be judged.\"
Lyistra simply nods, and puts on the amulet, helping Emaarhe with hers. \"Sir?\" She offers. \"Take care of the youth. She\'s very young.\" She whispers. Then nods to Steuben and fen. \"Let\'s go.\"
Lyistra supresses a stab of terror as the Megara lifts off, her eyes gazing over at Emaarhe, looking through the distortion at the other two birds, as they circle the central chasm, then start to fly down, to the second level, floating toward a large fortification near the central pit. The trainers land a decent distance from the castle, as close as they can get without the spell burning through... then fly away, nodding to the troops nearby, they must have left just after Lyistra and Emaarhe were taken into custody.
Lyistra nods, then looks at the castle. \"Well.\" She whispers. \"We have a couple of choices. There\'s supposed to be an old servant\'s entrance, or Emaarhe and I can pretend to be controlled.\" She whispers, \" \"And bring you two in, Fen wrapped in his chain, and Steuben by oath.\" she whispers. \"Know you both are worthy of trust, or I\'d not be here.\" She shudders. \"Up to you, or we can storm the place, but I\'d rather the casualties be minimal.\" She whispers. \"I.. I\'ve seen. too much bloodshed.\" She whispers, something brittle and at the edge of hysteria in the sound of her voice. \"Let\'s end this.\"
-
*raises mug in the air*
To the end, then...
Stealth? Mayhem?
*looks at Steuben*
Perhaps we shall have some of both. I shall return to fill out this post.
*edit* With great saddness, I inform you that this may be my last post in this story. We have come far together, and made a few friends on the way. But I fear that I have over-extended myself with work, play, CoS, and life in general.
This does not mean you will see me any less on the forums. But I don\'t want to delay the writing of Cos: Soul\'s Mirror.
I shall strive to make this one of my best...
~Fen nods, then looks to Steuben. ?You have been a good ally, even when I did not deserve it. I could ask for no better.? His eyes go to the castle. Somehow, he feels that if he follows into its depths, something terrible will happen. ?But I cannot go into the castle with you. I?,? he pauses, looking to the fenkis. Emaarhe looks away, but then seems to force herself to meet his eye. ?I can?t be trusted. You know this more than any other.? His heart fills with sadness, knowing that he may never see these people?his friends, again. Fate was a cruel master. ?I will aid you how I can.? He again looks to the fenkis. He can feel the separation that is trying to take place. Placing Lyistra?s soul back in her body did not break the Glyph?s power, as he had hoped. It merely delayed it. And Emaarhe?Yamuel would pay for that. But there was a way he could make things right, if he was strong enough. ?Yamuel, guide me?and I will forgive you this once.? he thinks to the shadow in his mind.
I obEY. Yamuel uttered.
The knowledge Fen needed began to flow into him. The knowledge of the Ancients. He pulls three objects from his satchel. One appears to be a banded throat collar, silver crescents dotting the three black leather bands. Another is a simple jade amulet wrapped with silver wire in the shape of Lyistra?s lyre. The third is a tiny white flute hanging by a silver chain, much like he had shown Lyistra before, only smaller. (beginning of the thread) He holds up the collar, undoing its silver clasps. ?The silver smith thought I was crazy when I asked for silver moons. Tell your sister about them, Lyistra. They are my hope, and I wish the same for her.? The Den?feire uncoils from his arm, then gently wraps about the three objects. Fen gathers his strength, focusing the power of the chain on the objects, as Yamuel had once done countless ages before. The silver shifts, changing, absorbing the threads of energy he places on its surface. Space seems to fold around the objects for a moment. Then it is done. He unwraps the chain, letting it recoil about his arm. The collar, amulet, and flute appear to be no different than before. But the silver is no longer what it had been. It more closely resembles the material of the Den?feire, now. But no one else besides himself or the Ancients themselves would be able to see the difference. Fen holds out his finished work, the collar to Emaarhe, the amulet to Lyistra. They take them gingerly, as if unsure what he had done. ?These contain part of my power. As long as they are with you, no Glyph can harm you?not even the ones that now possess you.? He holds the toy-like flute in his hands, staring at it for a moment. Then he folds it in Emaarhe?s hands with the collar. The pain of memories washes over him. He could save a life this time. ?This is for your daughter. She will be free.? He touches the collar as he lets go of her paws. ?Sing her a song for me. Use your voice with out fear.? Fen steps away from her, wishing there was more he could do. ?If you ever have need of me, place my gift in a dark shadow, and I will come.? He tosses something to Steuben. A single chain link resembling those of the Den?feire, only done by a less skilled hand. A master?s hand, true, but nothing compared to what had crafted the chain in the first place. Steuben looks at it with doubt. ?Don?t worry,? Fen says, remembering Steuben?s distrust of empowered objects, ?It only has the calling charm. You will have to deal with magic as you have always done.? Fen turns away from them, facing the castle. ?Once you are inside, look for my distraction. Farewell.? With that, he walks away, not looking back. Nothing good ever came from looking back.
A good time later, a figure emerges from the shadows at the base of a tall tower. Any who had seen him would wonder if he had stepped from the shadow, or appeared as he walked out of it. But none see him. He waits. The others must be in the chamber by now. He reaches out his hand to one of the support columns, a chain extending from his left arm, wrapping around the thick stone. For a moment, nothing happens. Then there is a sharp crack. The tower shutters as the wide column is crushed. The figure walks to the next column, doing the same, stone again sent flying in broken chunks. The tower groans, dust falling from loosening joints. One column remains too this side of the tower, the last support. The chain coils around it. For a moment the figure looks up, then the column is crushed like the others. The huge tower collapses with a deafening roar, sending tremors throughout the entire castle. Men begin shouting, asking what had happened, running to where the tower had stood. If any of them would have been there to see the figure step into the shadows at the base of the crumbling tower, they would have given him up as dead.
They would have been wrong.
-
steuben turns the link over in his hand. he looks towards where fen stood. \"we\'ll meet again either in this world or the next,\" he says. his hand slides into his cloak, and re-emerges empty.
he looks towards lyistra and emaarhe. \"well. you know who we are heading against. you\'re judgement for the course is better then mine. we shall end it one way or the other.\"
-
Lyistra watches as one of the towers crumbles, nodding to Emaarhe as she gets out a material made of charred wood ash, grease, and scent-blinding compound, starts applying it over the few bright spots in her own fur, then helps the other enki with hers, making a face at the scent, while it numbs her nose a bit, it\'s better than attracting attention, she nods, offers it to Steuben, and watches the people running toward the tower, then nods again. \"Good time to hit it.\" she mutters, her eyes calculating. \"They\'ve withdrawn from the wall, the main keep is exposed... umm.. the main keep is crumbled.\" She mutters. \"If he\'s still alive in there, we\'ve got to stop him, and find out what else he\'s done.
Emaarhe nods, then says softly. \"They walk the dark path.\" She says. Then looks at Lyistra. \"I will sing for my daughter, if you can teach me.\" she looks to Steuben. \"Thank you sir.\" She looks over at the tower, a growl on her lips.
\"Let\'s take them.\" She draws a unique set of weapons, designed to cover her paws, gotten from the armory, made of steel, with silver and platinum, and gold inlays. She settles in a stance, stretchign a moment, Lyistra also preparing herself, her falchions at the ready.
The enki nod, preparing, then with a nod to Steuben, start running to the keep, finding a breach in the wall, as the two shadowlike enki seem to be of one mind, out for blood.
Emaarhe approaches a side door, Lyistra near behind her, and nods to Steuben, pretty much undetected as a fire starts nearby. An old, grizzled guard sees the pair, grins, nods, winks to them, and tosses them a key, laughing, then drops his seal and armour, and straightens up, starting to toss torches into various buildings, mostly the armoury and guardhouses, whistling merrily as he then proceeds to leave the keep, as though washing his hands of the whole business.
Lyistra raises an eyebrow. \"Looks like our erstwhile host isn\'t that popular, all in all.\" She blinks, lookign around finally, seeing a set of gallows and an executioner\'s block, all of which still bear bodies, all female... \"I... see.\" She says coldly. \"killing the families to force the guards to work.\" She nods to the guardsmen who are taking what they can, and moving as many of their family as are left out as possible, one claws at his throat, falling, another, as a man in resplendent robes curses at them from nearby.
Lyistra prepares her atlatl, and placing the shaft on the end of the throwing stick, pulls it back, the stick and shaft both bending as she puts her might into the throw, and the stick flies at the enchanter... she growls, almost a feral sound as the enchanter disappears into the rubble, and nods, her blood up as Emaarhe runs after.
-
steuben follows after the pair. he watches the unfolding chaos. it isn\'t the guards that they will have to worry about. it is the ones who guard te guards. they will be loyal for reasons other than simple fear.
one of the guards runs by. steuben reaches out and grabs him. the guard\'s fly out as steuben grabs him. he pulls the guard towards him.
\"cut them down,\" he says. he nods towards the gallows. there is no threat in his voice, simply an implied promise of what will happen if he doesn\'t do what he is told. whatever fear of his masters that the guard had is replaced by the much more immediate fear of steuben. the guard rushes off, in the direction of the gallows.
he sees lyistra rush towards the rubble. he looks along the path and sees the wizard disappear. as she crests the pile of rubble she looks around wildly. her falchions glint in the fire light. he come up beside her. he had seen the look in her eyes before.
\"focus, mistress,\" he says. \"he\'ll flee back to his master soon enough. and we just follow the trail.\"
a rock flys through the air towards them. absently steuben reaches out and catches the rock. he drops it to the ground, with a thud.
\"besides, it doesn\'t appear to safe out here.\" he looks towards the central structure of the keep. \"it may be safer in there.\" he grins like a shark. \"at least for us.\"
he walks towards the door at the structure\'s base. as he approaches his sizes it up. there is never a good way enter a building when shilloutted from the back. he pauses infront of the door. he slips his cloak to the ground he kicks it off to one side near the door. he pulls out his sword. the note as the leather slides against steel is that of a hunting beast ready for the kill.
he kicks the door. the door flies back. before the door can swing back closed, he slips in the door. the door bangs back shut. it hangs skew on its hinges. steuben\'s hand appears in the gap between the door and the frame. he gestures them in.
-
[ooc]Had a little time, and needed a break from CoS:SM, so here you go... Tybis is a 21 year old dermorian elf with short redish brown hair. He wears guard\'s chain and plate, light armor -no helm. Tall and wiry, he has a short sword at his left side, a long dagger at his right.[ooc]
Tybis trembles as he cuts the last body down and his fellow guardsman Jote lowers her to the hard planks of the gallows. Even through his tear filled hazel eyes, he can see that the swelled, blackened face no longer resembles his beloved Lowisha. His young wife. He stands slowly, loss and pain consuming him. Then, very slowly, burning hate.
Jote stands with him. The grizzled warrior looking to Tybis with concern. \"I\'ve seen that look before, young elf. You still have a young daughter and baby boy. Don\'t throw your life away just yet.\"
Tybis closes his eyes and clenches his fists. He can see the faces of his two young children. Jote was right, they needed him, but Lowisha was dead. He had to do something. \"What should I do?\" he asks, opening his hands and staring at his sword calloused palms. His own voice sounds hollow, empty, hopeless. He wishes that man had killed him, instead of sending him to the gallows. He had seen death in that man\'s eyes, and though fear had made him obey, he secretly wished for that death. That release.
\"I won\'t ask you to leave this place, since you won\'t. But I ask you to be carefull. Think of your children before you draw your sword. You know as well as I where the swordsman and the fenkis are headed. The best way to achieve your vengence is to help them achieve theirs.\" Jote looks to the door where Stueben and the fenkis had vanished. \"Take the lower path, you should beat them to the secret chamber. Remember, the bronze grape is the trip, the copper are poisoned. Talad be with you.\"
He holds out his hand for Tybis to grasp. Tybis holds the grip for a long moment before dashing off on the lower path to the mansion, snatching a shortbow and half full quiver off the ground as he runs. No matter what Jote said, Lelackard would pay this day. He was going to make the foul beast pay back the blood he had taken. And that swordsman was going to help him.
---added---
Tybis slowly enteres the columned room of the lower level. He isn\'t able to tell if anyone has been here yet, but the secret door is still closed. He walks to the third column on the left side of the entry, searching for the one bronze grape. Seeing it, he pulls out his dagger and pushes the grape with its tip. A tiny needle thrusts out from the center of the grape with a sharp click, the tip stained black. If he would have touched any of the copper grapes, a fine mist of deadly spores would have come forth, instead of the needle.
Sheathing the dagger, Tybis walks over to where a section of wall slowly slides open. Steps lead down into the dark, but not too dark for his nightvision. After thinking a bit, he walks over to one of the scones and pulls the torch loose, snufing it on the ground. He then goes back to the door, just in time to hear another click. The door begins to slide shut, but he jams the torch into the opening, stopping it, he had a glow crysal if he needed any light, anyways. He places a flint and steel on the torch and pulls his dagger again. Pulling a white cloth out of a pocket, he ties it over the blade -the sign of piece- and lays it next to the torch. If the swordsman and fenkies were behind him, this should be an open invitation for them. With that thought, he heads down the stairs, into the darkness, his anger and hate lighting the way...
-
Lyistra and Emaarhe continue down the corridor, their paws quiet, the claws not even ticking on the stones, from fairly long practice on Emaarhe\'s part, having been used as an assassin and thief before. The bardess, mostly from hunting, sometimes over stone.
Lyistra wanders, till she spots the white cloth, then blinks a litle, tilting her head as she gazes into the narrow opening. She nods to Emaarhe, her gaze fierce, her tail flicking as she grasps the opening, using muscles she rarely does, trying to press it open, then grabs one of the nearby braziers, breaking a statue, then taking the iron spear to use as a lever. She nods to Emaarhe, looking down the hole, her nightvision active, then pulls, the door slowly grating back a bit, till Steuben grasps the opening, and with a sort of groaning sound, something gives behind it, leaving the door open almost three feet. She looks at the door, then nods. \"Well, this is either an obvious trap... or someone is definitely wanting us to find this.\" She growls. \"By Talad\'s stone...\" She blushes. \"Umm. Nevermind.\" She looks down, then shrugs, steps through.. not having anything hit her immediately, she looks around, small markings of paint of orange marking traps that have been disabled, or that can\'t be... she looks, nods. \"Some help, maybe.\" She whispers, grasping her blades. She slings her lyre across her back, growling softly, then nods. \"Well, they\'ll likely know we\'re here since Fen\'s... announcement, so let\'s go.\" She whispers, something dark and cold in her eyes, fire simmering under it all the hotter for the tight control.
Emaarhe nods a little. \"Let\'s give them a tune.\" She whispers. She gives a kind of wry grin. \"I figure they deserve it.\" She gives a soft chuff sound, then deep rumble, almost going to a basso profundo, then a soft howling mrowl, then almost into chanting, which Lyistra joins, the echoes enjoining it into a kind of martial chanting that would stir the blood, or chill it, almost sounding like a hundred voices, or a thousand with the echoes... they continue down, to a large chamber, marked along the floor with some sand in a very specific pattern, a small amount of wear right around it, almost invisible. She hmms, nods to Steuben, then looks at the mirrors on the sides, considering again. She nods to Steuben, meanwhile Emaarhe just steps out on the pattern, her eyes showing she has nothing really left to lose, her paws following the trail, then finishing at the other side, still chanting the whole while.
-
steuben looks around the room. the wear pattern in floor indicate the style of usage. but, the actual usage itself he couldn\'t determine. as he looks at the pattern on the floor, it seems as if it is shifting. it is like the lines refuse to be fixed in his gaze.
he looks at the mirrors. they are arranged to that they bounce the images back between each other, or almost so. as he looks he sees the sligh curve of the path to the repeated reflections. he didn\'t believe in mirror magics. but, that doesn\'t stop other people from believing in it. he shifts the mirror so it points in a different direction.
as steuben shifts the other mirrors, he sees the look in emaarhe\'s eyes. he sighs and shakes his head. those with eyes like that, still had one thing left to lose. he shifts the last mirror a fair bit as he turns.
he crosses the markings on the floor. as he does so, it looks like he is moving through a severe storm. the bits of metal in his clothes have a blue nimbus around them. occasionally a small spark pops off. he stops in front of emaarhe. he pulls his sword out. the sparks pop numerously off of it. he drives the sword straigth down into the pattern. the stone beneath the tip splits from the force.
waves of force seem to ripple back and forth allong the pattern. the nimbus on the sword turns into a series of cold lightning bolts striking the ground around it. they leave no marks on the stone or the sand where they strike. the \"movement\" of pattern seems to have stopped where the sword has pinned it to the ground. but, the movement else where has seemingly become more frantic.
\"miss emaarhe. you will not simply throw your life away in this.\" he works to keep the tone of command out of his voice. \"vengence is an empty goal. it won\'t bring them back.\" he gestures towards the gallows. \"it won\'t undo what is done.\" he steps out of the pattern. he pulls his sword out of the stone. the sand resumes its previous appearence. \"i don\'t want to have to carry you out. but, if i have to at least make it work something.\"
ooc: sorry it took so long. had a serious case of block on this one.
-
Across the room in a shadowed corner an Enkidukai sipped quietly at his ale. He was larger that most others of his race and or slender build. A rogue by profession.
He tried hard to block out the songs and sink more into the shadows. to merge as one with them. He did not feel in the mood for songs. They either brought back painfull memories or didnt relate to his current mood. and his current mood was simple depression.
He did not like to be seen upset . in fact he did not like to be seen. People came and went to quickly in his experiance before they left him with nothing or were forcefully taken from him. So he had hardened himself and blocked everyone out, he felt only the coldness and showed only coldness. He had become a rogue for this reason, everything else ment people. Attachments to people. This way he could meet people for a few seconds , exchange words and money and then be on his way to carry on his solitary life.
-
Tybis pauses at a set of huge black doors of a dull unknown material. There is no latch, no markings of any sort, in fact. But he knows of the doors\' secret. A secret passed through the ranks of guards for an time such as this. A time for revenge.
Slowly, he turns around and faces away from the doors, then backs up until his back is pressed to the cold surface. For a moment, nothing happens, but then a knocker appears before him, floating in mid-air. He reaches out and grasps the knocker, swinging it against nothing. The doors at his back vibrate silently in response, then slowly begin swinging inward.
Nodding to himself, Tybis takes the orange paint out of his arm pouch and begins writing on the now open doors. He is glad to put the paint to good use for once. Instead of marking his former master\'s prisoners and slaves with symbols of their supposed crimes, he had marked all the dangers for those who followed him. Each mark had felt like a declaration...a strike at the one who caused his beloved\'s death. Now, he writes out the instructions for opening the doors, then after a moment, starts writing again.
~To the Swordsman who gave me my life and the Fenkies at his side, I wish you safe passage though these doors. They will only open per the above instructions. I do not know your names, though I know your hearts. And my heart is the same. Be safe, and avenge those that have done you ill.
-Tybis
He steps back and moves to toss the vile paint away, but stops. He brings the paint to his own chest and draws a single rune on the breastplate. The rune for betrayal. He tosses the paint against the wall, shattering the jar. He was done with that life.
As he enters the door, the chanting that he had been hearing cuts off. At the \'Illusion\' room, if he wasn\'t mistaken. A small smile turns up the corners of his mouth. Maybe he should have left a mark telling that that room was no danger. His former master had just liked the way it looked and the pretty way it made steel glow. Ah well, they would find out soon enough. Besides, the real danger was behind these doors.
[ooc]Too be added to. There is something on the other side of those doors you need to see. ;)
Tybis walks down the long, wide hallway on the other side of the doors. Behind him, he hears the doors close softly, hardly making a sound. The only light in the hall now comes from greenish glowing runes on the walls and high ceiling, giving everything a sickly pallid cast. The end of the hall opens up into a cavernous round chamber, hundreds of feet across. Columns circle the room, green runes adorning only the sides facing in, so what lies behind them is shrouded in deep shadow.
But what lies at the center of the enormous room is what holds his attention. Hundreds of black chains dangle from the darkness overhead. At the end of the chains, just below head level, hang glass spheres wrapped in iron straps. As Tybis approaches them, he sees that they are filled with a clear reddish liquid, which almost seems to have a glow of its own. Something is floating in each of the spheres. Tybis reaches out to touch one, but recoils in disgust as he realizes just what it is they contain. Bits of fur rest in the globe he had been about to touch. In the next one over floats the pointed ear of an elf. On the other side, an eye stares blindly out at him. He backs away slowly, fighting revulsion. In every one of the glass spheres floats a small part of a body, from hair to skin to fingers.
Tybis turns away, he had been ready to face anything, but not this. What sick purpose could this room serve? How many had suffered to complete this?
A noise from the darkness behind the columns cuts his thoughts short. Slowly, as if resisting each step, a figure emerges. Tybis gasps. He cannot believe his eyes. It simply can not be!
?Lowisha? It is you! But?I saw you?dead,? Tybis says and begins to rush towards her.
?No, Tybis?stop!? Lowisha forces through her teeth. She raises a dagger in a trembling hand. ?Get away from me! I?I can?t stop myself.?
Tybis stops, nearly stumbling at her words. Why would his own wife hold a dagger to him? More footsteps from the dark proceed many more figures coming forth. Tybis shakes his head in disbelief. Most of them are in black, full plate armor and helms, but the ones that aren?t are the women he had just cut down from the gallows. The dead women?but they all alive.
?How?? Tybis asks, dazed.
?It is easy to fake a dead body, Tybis,? a man?s voice says from somewhere. ?All you have to do is convince everyone that they are really dead.?
A tall cloaked man steps out from behind Tybis?s wife and touches her cheek. She trembles, but doesn?t -or can?t- pull away. ?They make much better soldiers this way?or pets.?
Tybis stands in shock, finally seeing the black soldiers for what the were. They were all slender, even in their armor, not a one of them large enough to be a man. They were all women. The women he and his fellow guardsmen had thought dead. Their wives, their daughters, their sisters. All thought to be killed to ensure obedience. Alive?and enslaved.