From Yesterday

[Tobias Stalt]

Closed to Ciato.

Eluriand was five days walk behind him, but from this elevation, the city's sullied splendor was no less visible. Even at full gallop, the horses had been unable to abolish the stain from Tobias' recent memory. The lone, sundered spire reached skyward like a fallen god, greedy to grasp at his lost fortune. Dank and murky darkness clouded the sky ahead, and mocking light shone down behind him. The mercenary disliked Raiaera, a country obsessed with its own legend. Magic was the most powerful force in all the world, once. It's time was gone.

Whispers among his peers of Raiaeran ruins from time forgotten had stolen Tobias from the war effort. The elven paradise lost offered insight into a myriad of possibilities; the war of the Tap left magic on Althanas forever broken, a shadow of what once was. If it was possible to break that, then perhaps...

Tobias tugged at the reigns and his horse gave an abrupt snort. "Easy there," he told the load bearing beast, "this path is narrow, and I'd hate to see you take that plunge. That'd be a great waste of my investment."

If the horse had understood his words, it replied only with contemptuous silence. Tobias steered the mount onward, across the narrow bridge that creaked beneath their weight. "Maybe I should have led you across," he pondered aloud. The horse gave a whinny that sounded like mocking laughter. Stalt frowned.

"I really hate your kind," Tobias told the horse. It shook it's pale cream colored mane indifferently. The feeling was undoubtedly mutual.

The path spiraled out ahead of them and wound behind the closest mountain, which marked the first vestiges of Orodrim Lomei, the "Mountains of Dusk." Beyond their furthest reaches stood Alerar, a memory he had no desire to dredge up; within them, though, there were ruins. Narenhad would be the first, according to several elves back at the camp, and remnants of a plague ravaged watch post held only sad memories for those who lost loved ones there.

The ruins he sought were far older, and longer dead still.

"Not one of those assholes could be fucked to conjure a map," he muttered in retrospect. "That would have been great. Now, I'm likely to be lost forever in the mountains." His horse whinnied again.

"Aye," Tobias hissed, "I'll definitely cook you up and eat you first."

[Ciato Orlouge]

“How like a cur to feast upon the flesh of an animal,” the voice came from a cloaked figure that made his way slowly behind Tobias. While the anti-hero for anti-magic sat around and argued with his steed, this figure kept several paces back, and remained mostly hidden from the sight of the horseman. His pale flesh blended in well with the caps of the mountains. Tobias turned his head, his golden eyes squinted at the sudden presence of another.

“Who the fuc---“ As Tobias began to let off a profanity, the garbed figure removed the hood from his cloak. Crystalline blue eyes pierced through the ivory backdrop of the area, sickly white flesh kept him hidden well like a natural camoflouge. He smiled, and the blackness of his mouth gave away his presence better than anything else. “Oh fuck, it’s you.”

“I am glad to see you remember me, Mister Stalt,” the revealed Ciato Orlouge spoke, his voice dripped with sarcasim, “it is not every day I have the honor of finding an equal to me on the battlefield, and rarer for them to bleed crimson and not azure.”

“What do you want, Ciato?” Tobias turned his attention back towards the paths and man made roads that lined the mountain paths. Many years ago, these mountains were the only trade route between Alerar and Raiaera, back when the young nations were still loose allies. Now, the two elf countries hated one another with a passion, and Salvar inadvertently was involved in their conflict because of geological placement. The routes were now littered with bandits and monsters alike, ready to make a meal on the tender flesh of Ciato’s rival.

“I come to you with an offer,” he said, the wicked smile still upon his features, “I’ve heard tell that you are on a journey for some ruins. Perhaps I could be of assistance?”

“And how the fuck do you th---“

“Because I, Mister Stalt, have a map.”

[Tobias Stalt]

"A map?" Tobias spat skeptically as he dismounted quickly. A hand flew to his mouth as the shock of being on his own two feet suddenly at their heightened elevation rattled his stomach. He braved the nausea and marched up to face Ciato with a mask of contemplation over his emotions.

Ciato Orlouge held his alleged map out for a moment and Tobias gestured to take it in hand, but the Mystic withdrew it quickly. "Patience, mister Stalt," Tobias wiped his bile drenched hand on his cloak and scrunched his face in discontent. "You will have the use of my map once I have your word."

"About what?" Tobias snapped. His patience for games and riddles was thinned mostly by his stomach and the ill company of an equine. "I ain't kissin' you again, you pale faced fuck. You can forget that."

Ciato grimaced at the atrocious language Tobias deigned to employ for their negotiations, but he had never anticipated tact from the former conscript. "Your drudgery bores me, Tobias, though your skill certainly makes your company bearable. No, what I want is a promise of compliance."

"Go on," the mercenary managed to say between grating teeth.

"I want full cooperation with me until the end of our travels and whatever we find, we will share down the middle. Fifty percent and no less. Do we have an accord?"

"You came all this way to find me with your map, and didn't once think of taking the treasure for yourself? That's mighty fine of you, ghostskin."

"Your lack of decorum fascinates me, Stalt. You know I have a collection of tongues I've carved out for less."

While the veiled threat was likely not rooted in fact, Tobias did not put such acts of malice and violence beyond Ciato. "Wonderful," he snorted, "I'll bet you have a collection of erectile penises, too? That get your rocks off, eh?"

"You're as childish as my brother was at ten, Stalt. Show some dignity. This demeanor ill suits a warrior of true skill."

"I'll make a note of that," Tobias drawled. "Fine. I agree to your terms. Now, the map, please."

[Ciato Orlouge]

Tobias Stalt ws without a doubt the very difinition of a rogue. His mannerisms and language were something that Ciato abhorred, but the man's skill with a blade, as well as his affinity to affect magic in different ways, was an asset the Mystic would need to find his treasure. He handed the parchment over to his temporary partner, the paper dilapidated and worn through the years.

The writing was barely legible, but the illustrations were in a lot better shape, showcasing the destroyed ruins that Tobias sought after. Of course, on paper they were still pristine and pretty, drawn with pillars and rooftop still erected as well as the mountain path clear and easy to traverse. The bumpy and hazardous roads that laid before the two warriors illustrated just how long it had been since the map was drawn. Ciato watched as Tobias' eyes peered over the map, taking in every little detail. When he finally lowered the paper, his pointed towards the picture of the ruins. "What the hell does ZW mean?"

"That, Stalt, stands for Zodiac Weapon." Ciato looked at his nails as he spoke and examined under them for any debris that may have snuck its way into his clean cut cuticles. "I am sure you are familiar with them? Sei happens to own one in those double swords of his, as does his boorish bodyguard Ambrose. They are weapons of immense power that suit the needs of the user specifically. I am of the opinion that this map was drawn by someone who was seeking one of the weapons for themselves."

"Why would I need a magic weapon?" Stalt asked as he handed the map back and turned from Ciato, "Get the dicks out of your eyes and pay attention. I can't do magic."

"Oh, but that's what fascinates me so, Mister Stalt!" Ciato slung his arms into the air and spun around as though he were being rained on. "I believe that the Zodiac Weapons can even suit your needs. I believe they exist on a celestial plane, different from anything else here on Althanas. I believe that -if- there is indeed a Zodiac Weapon hiding in these ruins of ours, that you would be able to use it to suit your own agenda as well."

"Until you stab me in the back, right?" Tobias mumbled the words but made them clear enough for Ciato to hear. The Mystic took note of the appalling way his partner walked, his feet dragged against the ground and kicked up dust and dirt into the air with each step. Ciato's eyes widened as he placed a hand upon his chest as though an arrow struck him true.

"I do -not- go back on agreements, Tobias," He said as he matched his rival's pace, his steps more methodical and feet gently raised above the ground. "In fact, a lesser man would not inform you about the ambush about to happen, and just simply take what I need off your person."

Tobias paused. "Hold on a fucking minute. Ambush?"

Before Ciato could answer, three arrows launched out of the cavern the two had just traversed. Green hands gripped the edge of the cliffs as the Mystic and anti-magic anti-hero stepped away from the arrows that descended upon them, a mere foot from striking the heads of the warriors. "Goblins," Ciato answered, "They like their territories to be kept secret. Let us make sure we dispatch them quickly before they can summon reinforcements, eh?"