Flowers

[Hysteria]

Petals upon the wind
Flutters of orange and pink
Carries away my thoughts

No form or meaning,
Into the sky above me,
Purer eyes to gaze

Golden rays of light,
Slowly dying upon the horizon
Darkness falling quick

A final bleak thought,
Was it really worth it?
Nothing left to feel.

Winter’s bite had settled across the land. Crisp, fresh snow had turned into bitter ice, clinging to drains and gutters and turning the normally temperate Corone into an icy tomb. It was normal for Corone to feel the touch of snow in the peak of winter, but not like this. Fires burned in every house, just barely enough to keep the chill from settling into your bones. Our story starts in the back streets of Radasanth. The cobbles stones were uneven with years of neglect. The slush of dirt and ice found every crevice to fill and make every foot fall possibly your last. It was the dead of night and not even a mouse dared to stir.

[Hysteria]

The world of Althanas was an odd place. There was a time when I thought life was pretty simple. People went about living, or dying, in an ordered and rational manner. Sometimes wars happened, sometimes they didn’t, sometimes disease sprung up, and sometimes it didn’t. The seasons were sequential, summer, autumn, winter and spring. Like hands on a clock everything had a time and place.

Looking back, my life in the small no-name town in backwater Corone was quite peaceful. I lived with my parents for most of my life. When the other young boys and girls started coming of age my friends started to marry and take over farms of their own. A few of the boys were even interested in me. It seems so long ago now, like another life watched through someone else’s eyes.

The day the thugs posing as some semi-official militia came into town things changed. As if overnight the easy going atmosphere of my town was turned to darkness. Many of the boys joined up, the few that didn’t were killed. Then the demands became more and more extreme. A few months later and the town was empty. Everyone had either joined the militia or were killed. Where were the Corone Rangers? Where was our help? Our closest trading partner was Underwood, if they realised our shipments of food had stopped, they either couldn’t help or didn’t care.

In the end something did come, but not what I had expected and certainly not what I had hoped. He came as a child, cloaked in black and shrouded in innocence. His name was Talen. A former knight to one of the largest armies with a loose association with Radasanth, the Capital of Corone. He was a monster. He released destructive magics upon the militia and killed the hardened fighters and my former friends without care. It was obvious he painted them all with the same brush. Those that attacked him, and those who fled, all were enemies.

In the end? In the end he killed the leaders of the militia, the twins Leaf and Rock, and most of the militia itself. He had set traps, used magics and when that failed, brute force. Two days it took him, in two days my life changed again. I was freed from my servitude, and instantly taken up into another. I had nothing when I was released, so I followed him. How, oh how I wished I had walked in another direction. Just to turn and let him leave, then I’d be have been free; lost, but free.

That had been nearly a year ago now. My servitude had grown into an inescapable bond. I found out that Talen, my little Lord was a servant of the cursed Thayne N’Jal. The spider queen’s energies followed out of him constantly, corrupting anything that stayed with him for too long. The longer I stayed, the less human I felt, the more I started to resemble my Lord. I knew I could never leave him.

[Hysteria]

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

The words felt hollow in my mouth, like so much cotton wool. Talen didn’t slow down, or even make the subtle motions most people would make to acknowledge my words. I was walking behind him, looking down on his small frame with weary eyes. Each of my foot falls pressed into the icy sludge below and met a sickening squelch. My shoes were good but they didn’t stop the cold trickle of icy water from leaking in. I tried to push my discomfort from my mind and focus on Talen. There wasn’t much that I could do to influence him. Even if I spoke again it was unlikely that I’d even get so much as a grunt in acknowledgement. The only sound was our feet squelching upon the cobblestone and echoing among the frozen builds around us.

It was dark, close to midnight and very, very cold. Both Talen and I were dressed in thick dark cloaks as we made our way down the back streets towards our destination. It had been nearly half an hour and we hadn’t seen another person. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that people were watching us.

Talen turned sharply and stopped to face a small wooden door. It looked completely non-descript, like many others we had passed on the way. Icy clung to the door frame and formed thin teeth-like icles. The only thing that I could tell that made this door different was that it seemed even more unused and decrepid than the others in the alley.

tap tap…. tap tap tap

The short, sharp rap of Talen’s knuckles against the door were a signal to whomever was on the other side. At first there was nothing, not even the scraping of feet that would suggest someone on the other side had heard our knock and was going to unlock the door. I wanted to say something, anything to break silence, but I couldn’t.

“Who comes here at such a late hour?” Said a voice from the other side of the door.

“When does the hour dictate the deed?” Replied Talen.

There was a shifting of bolts on the other side of the door and it swung open. A small man shuffled out of the way so Talen and I could enter. Inside was a long staircase leading down towards a flickering light. It was only after I had entered and started down that I glanced back at the door. The man that had let us in had settled down into a seat just behind the door, while two large men were standing on either side. I had walked past them without even realising they were there.

I nearly tripped down the stairs as I quickened my pace to keep up with Talen. At the bottom of the stairs the view became much more normal. There were tables and chairs, with flickering candles and a fireplace providing light and just a hint of warmth. There were all sorts of people sitting at the tables. I spied a few orcs and even some goblins. While the larger green skins were fairly common, goblins were rarely seen in towns. With their large crooked noses and beady eyes, they seemed far more cunning than the wild ones I had seen. Their large ears were pierced in multiple places and half a dozen earrings adorned each one. The sickly white-green of their skin was lined with red tattoos. I caught one of their eyes, remembering myself looked away hurriedly. Talen seem unimpressed and headed straight to a table with a human and drow and sat down.

“Ana, sit,” said Talen, and I followed his order like a dog.

“Madame,” said the human, flashing me a smile of slightly yellow teeth and green eyes between mattered blonde hair. The man took my hand kissing it in one fluid motion, “it is a pleasure to sit with one with such beauty as yo-”

The man’s words were cut off as a dark tentacle slipped around his throat. Talen’s magic pressed gently down, and the man’s green eyes bulged. The general mumble of the tavern grew quiet, at least except the Orcs that seemed oblivious and continued to laugh and grunt their language at each other.

[Hysteria]

“Boy, you presume too much,” snarled Talen.

I didn’t move, didn’t breathe and dared not think. The Drow just smiled at the show of force and lent forward.

“He does indeed. But if you’re wanting to hear the information he offers, then you’ll need to release him.”

The Drow seemed older and his once jet black hair was tipped with grey at the temples. I had never heard of a Drow going grey before. Despite his age, his eyes were keen and his voice level. Not for a moment had he shown concern at Talen’s actions.

The man coughed and spluttered as Talen released him. The grin that had been on his face was gone, replaced with a mixture of fear and anger. Talen and the Drow seemed unphased, even the murmur of the basement lifted back to the original level. The Drow placed a finger on the middle of the table to gesture Talen to place his part of the exchange. Talen handed over the bag of gold, of which the Drow liberated a few of the into his pocket and left the bag on the table in front of him. It was then I realised the Drow was acting as an intermediate between Talen and the man. Someone who wouldn’t be taken in by intimidation, and would ensure both parties exchanged their parts of the deal. The gold he took was his cut of the exchange.

“There are some monks, order of the Crimson Cloak or some such rubbish,” said the man, a hand still pressed against his throat defensively, “they seem to be making adamantium weapons. No one knows how, but they seem to have a lot of people go in, and only a few come out.”

Talen didn’t respond, instead he kept his piercing blue eyes focused on the man.

“Er… I was able to find this,” said the man.

He handed over a tiny rock, smaller than a fingernail. It was a golden copper colour, and extremely thin. Talen picked it up and tried to bend it. His little arms belied a much stronger capability, and yet even as his face started to turn red, the metal would not budge.

“Very well,” said Talen, “Give me the location.”

The Drow took the map off the man and handed it to Talen, passing the bag of gold to the man and pocketing his cut.

“Very well gentlemen, the transaction is complete.”

With that, it was over. Our information source went straight to the bar with his payment while we headed for the door. Talen reverted to his quiet self, not sharing anything about the fragment of adamantine, nor the map. It was back into silence and making our way through back streets. My heart felt like it was going to spill out of me chest as we left and I couldn’t say a thing to Talen. This was my life now.

[Hysteria]

“That little brat nearly killed me! You did nothing to help me Ais.” said the blonde man before taking a gulp of beer.

“You were being foolish, calm yourself Brot,” replied the Drow, “and it is Aisgust.”

One of the tattooed goblins slid from his table and moved towards Aisgust and Brot. His movements were measured and slow, he nearly glided towards them. His small eyes meet Aisgust and he gestured towards Brot.

“Yaar gar luck. Dek nee prokksec luck.” said one of the tattooed goblins.
(He has taken the bait. We need to dispose of our bait.)

“Thank the Thaynes my torment is over.” replied the Aisgust.

“Your torment? Dammit Ais, I was the one-” Brot’s words were cut short as Aisgust pulled a red gem from his pocket. Brot’s eyes went wide as he snatched the gem from the Drow’s hand. The lines of worry that had been etched on his face were smoothed away in an instant as he stared into the vibrant, scarlet gem. Brot went to speak, but his voice failed to come. His green eyes shot to Aisgust as he moved to give the gem back. His body failed, his eyes lolled in his head before rolling back. Brot’s lifeless body fell forwards into Aisgust’s waiting arm.

“It’s Aisgust you fool,” said the Drow as he lay Brot on the table softly. The hum of talk and laughter from the other patrons didn’t change. It appeared as just another drunk that couldn’t handle their drink. out on a table. The Drow gently prised the gem from Brot’s dead hands with his own gloved ones before slipping it into his pocket.

“Aiscgoost kksec yevit,’ said the goblin.
(Deadly as always Aisgust.)

“Humans taken anything offered to them if it’s shiny,” replied Aisgust, “Let's go Slaag, we head to the temple.”

Aisgust stood and made for the exit with Slaag following. The other two goblins got up from their table and followed, with one stopping to fish out Brot’s purse from his pocket with long thin green fingers. The goblin slipped it into his cloak and followed the rest.

The underground bar continued as normal, drinks were consumed, and crass jokes made. The drink was starting to do it’s work, and slowly but surely more patrons left, or simply slumped in their chairs. A man, tall and lean with burnt brown skin walked over to Brot. His hand rested on his neck and confirmed that Brot was indeed dead. The man fished through Brot’s pockets and pulled out a few coins and a small map.

[Hysteria]

Sunrise the next day we set out. It took several days for us to travel to the location marked on the map. Talen would normally step through shadows to reach wherever he wanted to go, but he had mentioned there was some magic stopping him. I tried to question more, but he refused to explain further. This wasn’t the first time that magic had prevented him from shadow stepping, but it was unusual that it would cover such a large area.

We travelled by horse, my least favorite method. Given the snow that covered the land however, it was preferable to walking. Out thick cloaks offered some protection, however their dark material was highlighted with the white of the softly falling snow. The sense of unease that had been sitting in my stomach was only growing, and with it Talen seemed to grow more distant. I didn’t know how to get through to him. I knew a bit about my young master’s history. I had to guess at what inner demons tore away at him from inside, taking away his happiness and leaving only anger and disdain. An obsession also grew, something between him and the war in Eiskalt. I had gone with him several times to Dragon’s Folly to investigate the mysterious poison that still emanated from the dragon’s corpse.

The thin smattering of trees that lined the road in front of us broke on one side to make way for a small path. It was just wide enough for a wagon to get down, and only one at a time. The trees seemed to grow thicker as the road moved down into a valley. I couldn’t see what was down there, only that it seemed to end in darkness.

“This way,” he said as he shoved the map back into his cloak. He said it and I followed.

* * * *

“Jomil’s breath it’s cold…” Seph trailed off the curse as he peered at the map. He had managed to get most of the way by hitching rides with travellers, but no one was going to head down the little path that veered off the main road.

Seph wasn’t normally one to head out into the middle of nowhere during winter in search of an ‘X’ on a map. In fact, his decision was more than a little based on some bad wagers that had seen him with a very short time frame in which to pay up or make himself scarce. He had chosen the latter. With a sigh he started trudging down the road.

[Hysteria]

Talen and I crouched next to a small wooden hatch at the base of the church. The building was set deep in the woods and far from prying eyes. Once it might have been a holy place, but rot had set into its walls long ago, both figuratively and literally. We had hidden the horses back up the path we had taken, although I didn’t know if we would see them again between the wolves and cold. I tried to focus on the task at hand, glancing around the crisp air for anyone that might spot us. There was only the sound of my heavy breath and the resulting puffs of mist. Talen was calm and collected, like aways. He worked a small knife between the wood and the metal latch and pushed. The wood was soft and stretched away from the metal bolts with only a small tear. Talen pushed open the hatch and gestured for me to enter.

The hatch led to a tunnel under the church’s walls filled with darkness. Once I entered Talen pushed passed and took the lead. My footsteps were muffled as I walked, the sides and bottom were covered with moss, fed over the years by of water and dirt that had washed in. I didn’t have much time to think about it, the moss was packed in on a thin layer of dirt over stone and each step threatened to send me head over heels tumbling down the steep incline.

Talen had an annoying number of talents, one of which he was utilising to move easily and silently down the tunnel. He hovered slightly above the ground, hands firmly planted in his pockets and completely ignored my struggles to follow him at the same pace. We made our way down the tunnel for some time, far longer than warranted the basement of the church. I wondered how deep the structure beneath us actually went as I made a slow pace with a hand on each wall and unsure steps. It was probably five or ten minutes into our descent when I first heard the chanting. It was muffled by distance and stone, but given the silence between myself and Talen it stood out.

“My Lord?” I asked.

“This is a temple after all, it makes sense that they’ll be chanting some mumbo jumbo.” He replied, still floating towards our goal.

I didn’t respond, even with the touch of doubt running fingers far colder than the frozen air down the back of my neck. One does not suggest reassessing the plan with my Lord. It was rare enough that there was a plan to begin with. So we continued, the chanting growing louder and louder with each step until I could just make out the words.

“Toricht. Nachkomme. Verzweiflung. Missgunst. Siphon.”

The words repeated over and over. I had no idea what they meant, it was a language that I had never heard of before; if it was a language at all. It could have been a cry to some ancient gods. I had to settle on the fact that this was probably part of whatever mysterious method the cult was using to create adamantine weapons.

N’Jal spare me… my Lord is going to end up getting me killed again. The thoughts were bitter, resurrection for my Lord was painless. I had flesh that needed to be mended, and a day of slowing being put back together by necrotic energies was worse than being flayed alive.

*craackk*

Talen pivoted on the spot, his eyes burned into mine with fury, but the noise had not come from me. It had come from much further up the tunnel from something we had passed.

The sound of water was evident before we could see what it was. A slight shimmer, illuminated by what little light made it’s way down the tunnel, then the rush of gallons and gallons of water.

“Shit,” said Talen simply.

[Hysteria]

A figured made small by its hunched stance stood at the top of the hatch. The figure pulled a metal lever out of it’s cloak and shoved it into a tiny crack in the stone work. Two green skinned hands, marked with red tattoos strained against the lever and brought it down. Inside the hatch metal scraped against metal and the sound of rushing water filled the air. The tattooed Slaag laughed as a shout of surprise echoed up the tunnel.

“Some trap you got there!”

Slaag turned on the spot as a tree branch smashed into his face. The goblin collapsed into the snow and Seph stepped up with the branch in one hand and a length of rope in the other.

“I can’t have you going anywhere now can I?” asked Seph.

* * * *

The water completely filled the tunnel. There was nowhere for us to run, nothing to brace ourselves against, all we could do was try to brace ourselves and wait. The moment the water hit my body felt like it had been struck by lighting. It was so cold, colder than I could ever imagine. Later I would taste salt, realising the water had been kept from freezing by pouring salt into it. The force of the water lifted me off my feet, throwing me into Talen and carrying both of us down the tunnel.

Moments seem to stretch, wrapped as we were in the icy embrace of the water. I don’t know how long were were in there, trapped in that darkness. I thought my lungs were going to explode. I wanted to breathe, more than anything I had ever wanted before. The darkness of my vision became ringed with red. It pulsed, growing larger and larger as I lost myself to it. It seemed like the end, just before I was sure I would pass out the tunnel opened up into the air. I inhaled deeply as the fire in my lungs burst and cool air entered. It was just a moment of release before I struck hard ground. The pain was nothing compared to the relief that flooded through me. I became dimly aware of the light through fuzzy eyes, I tried to move but my head was groggy. I must have hit the ground harder than I realised, as feeling came back it felt as if i had completely split my head open. I managed, somehow, to turn over and look for my lord.

There were flaming torches on the walls and a large open space of grey stone brick. I could see my Lord standing a metre of so away from me. I became aware, very quickly, of the glowing light that surrounded Talen. I pushed myself to my hands and knees, but collapsed a moment later. Talen was struggling against whatever trap had encased him, and I was powerless to help.

Sparks of energy burst off the white bonds that had wrapped themselves around Talen’s body. The trap seemed to be struggling to contain his power. Small strands of white burst out from the threads lashing him and fell to the ground. The chanting that had been echoing past us down the tunnel grew louder and I became aware of the growing crowd of red cloaks that were entering the chamber.

A drow stepped forwards and pointed at Talen.

“Get him!”

Half a dozen jumped forwards and leapt onto my Lord. His cries of rage grew louder as he was pushed to the ground.

[Hysteria]

The next few moments passed slowly. I saw Talen’s form twist within the white binds. His sword, his maul and a few other pieces of his equipment burst from his form, even as the white bonds constricted tighter. The red cloaks holding him down seemed to suddenly panic. The astral bonds slithered over them along with my Lord. Their shouts of surprise rose into the air with Talen’s roars as the constricting white magic started to pull them inwards. I tried to push myself to my knees again and help my master. It was too late, there was nothing I could do as a blast of white magic ripped outwards from my Lord and the unlucky cloaks around him. It knocked me, and everyone else in the room backwards. For a few moments everything was dark and everyone was silent.

Quick footfalls echoed around the chamber. I pushed myself up to a sitting position. Everything hurt, and what didn’t was numb. More red cloaks streamed into the room. There were far, far more of them than I had realised. They entered quickly, slowing only to circle around me and something else. For a moment I didn’t understand what I was looking at. Where Talen had been lay a single golden sword. It was ornate, far more than practicality would allow. The blade’s form still twisted as if the energy within fought to be free. Where was my master? Why was there a sword?

I couldn’t think. I needed time, but instead arms roughly grabbed me and dragged me out of the hall. I tried to remain conscious, but darkness was creeping in the corner of my eyes. Whatever adrenaline had kept me going this long was quickly fading. I felt heavy and lost. The person pulling my leash was gone, and like the obedient dog I was, I froze on the spot. Without any guidance I gave into the darkness.

* * * *

Seph moved quickly down the tunnel after Talen and Ana. The water had cleared away much of the moss and dirt

The figure following Talen and Ana moved easily down the water way. The tunnel had been cleared of all the moss and dirt that had built up. Despite the precariousness of the wet stone the figure was unperturbed. His feel moved one after another, falling softly and making little sound. Half way down the tunnel the figure had climbed over the two bodies of the red cloaks he had dispatched. They had drowned, or perhaps had been slammed against the side of the tunnel by the force of the water. Either way they would not be around to report in. The figure moved quickly with that in mind.

As he approached the sharper incline leading to the end of the tunnel he slow his pace to a creep. The flickering light illuminated the man’s face. His complexion was dark, tanned both by heritage and a life of travel. A small grey gotee adorned his chin, and similar grey hair poked from his hood. Despite this he was fairly young, young enough that he should not be touched by greying hair.

The man’s name was Sephtis, but it had been a long time since anyone had called him that. He went by Seph, a shorter name for a world where the only formality of those he dealt with was if you stab someone in the front or the back. Seph’s green eyes watched Ana be dragged away by her captives. The remaining red cloaks gathered around the gold sword, unknown to Seph to be what was left of Talen and several red cloaks.

[Hysteria]

I remember a dull light and a splitting headache. At first, I thought there was a thumping drum between my ears, but then I realised the drum beat was coming from outside, though each beat felt like a sword blow to the back of my skull. I forced my eyes open through caked on blood. I was in a small room of stone with a thick door of wood and steel. I slowly became aware that I was hanging from the wall. My arms were cuffed above my head and had gone numb some time ago. I couldn’t think, all I could do was think about my Lord and the white light. I had failed him… I was lost.

I don’t know how long I hung in that cell alone with only darkness and my thoughts. It seemed an eternity passing by in a blink, and yet one moment dragging out into hours. I was snapped from my thoughts by the lock turning in the door. A man entered wearing one of the accursed red cloaks that the freaks of the depraved church wore. The man entered slowly and I remember wondering why he was wary of me.

“You’re alive, good,” said the man with a surprisingly posh accent, “I’ve been looking for you.”

“You locked me up, are you all so incompetent that you’d lose a chained prisoner?” I spat back, trying to lock eyes with the man.

“Not quite,” he replied.

The man pulled back his hood and revealed his face. He had short grey hair cropped at the sides and a small goatee a slightly darker grey. His skin was oddly tanned, making guessing his age somewhat hard. Even stranger was the small squirrel that poked it’s head out from the red cloak. The man reached up to the cuffs binding my hands and fiddled with the lock. He didn’t have a key, instead he used a small bit of wire to pick the locks. The moment I was released I fell to the ground. I didn’t even have the energy to push myself into a sitting position.

“Fuck you…” I mumbled with my face resting against the stone, “do me a favour and finish up before the feeling returns in my legs.”

“Wh-?” the red cloak looked confused before a look of horror passed over his face.

“No! No, never,” he stammered, “I’m here to rescue you.”

His words would probably have made me happy another time, but not now, not while I was separated from my Lord. My mind paused on the bitter thought and a realisation struck me. This man might be able to save my Lord.

“You need to save my Master!” I hissed, just able to turn my head from the floor and look up at my mysterious saviour.

The man dropped to his knee and placed a hand on my side. He didn’t seem to pay any mind to my words as he fished out a small piece of candy from his pocket. With one hand firmly around the small piece of toffee and another on my waist he closed his eyes. I had no idea what sort of strange ritual he was going to do when the first feeling of relief washed over my body. It radiated out from his hand, flowing over my numb limbs and splitting headache. It felt as if my pain was washed away, leaving only the feeling of calm.

Suddenly unburdened by pain and exhaustion I sat up. The man’s hands came up and took hold of my shoulders to slow me. I felt a wave of dizziness flood me and would have fallen back down if not for his hold.

“Who are you?” I managed, looking up at his big green eyes.

“Call me Seph, and this is Bonbon,” he looked down at the squirrel that seemed to have fixated it’s gaze onto me.

“We need to go and find my master…”

“I saw what happened. I’ve never seen anyone turned into a sword before…. And I sure as hell don’t want to be next up. Seph the short-sword doesn’t quite suit me.”

Seph gave a weak smile at his joke, but I didn’t react. I focused on his eyes, attemopting to bore through them with force of will alone. It didn’t take long before he shifted uneasily under the weight of my gaze, even if I was looking at him with blood and dirt across my face.

“Dammit….” he said as he looked away, “We’ll have a look around, but these guys are dangerous. Stupid, but dangerous.”

Seph fished out a spare red cloak from within the folds of his own and handed it to me.

“They were checking on you every hour or so. We don’t have long before the alarm is raised. Do you know where he might be?”

I grabbed onto his shoulder and pushed myself up. He wobbled and steadied himself. This time I ignored his question and pulled the cloak over my head. As soon as I was ready I turned to him and flashed him a toothy grin.

“No idea!”