A Gentle Breeze and a Falling Stone

[Hysteria]

The events of the previous few weeks haunted Talen like a bad smell. At night it seemed to work its way into his dreams, casting spider-like shadows across his mind's eyes. It stalked him during the day, catching the very corners of his vision. Talen felt that something was coming. He waited for it, remaining on edge no matter what he was doing. However, nothing came. There were no more tests, no more consequences. He could only guess that it was yet to coming.

Four weeks had past, and Talen had kept himself busy with mundane tasks. As always there were reports to be done for the Ixian Knights. Sei liked his information, particularly when it came to conflicts. There were more reports on the recovering war-torn kingdom, and of course on the dragon that had died in Alerar. People also seemed to be flocking to the wasteland country of Raiaera for some reason. It didn’t seem organised by a central group, but rather a push from different factions and groups to enter the country and provide assistance. Perhaps the the recent war had reminded them of past conflicts that had never been recovered from.

It was after much paperwork and checking that a very, very bored Talen received a letter.

Esteemed Talen,
We are from a small village to the north of Corone called Anklope. We have been plagued for a few weeks by a band of thieves that have raided any caravans coming from the rest of the country. Our only means of transport has been via ship, and if we keep this up we will not have enough supplies to last us winter. Please free us from this tyranny!

Jon Seagrass
Mayor Anklope

Talen lowered the letter with a slight frown on his face. Normally such letters mentioned a reward, and failure to do so probably meant that they had none to offer. That in itself would normally be a deal breaker, but Talen had two other considerations. The first was that the gang was probably hoarding some decent loot they had stolen that Talen could appropriate for himself. The second was the pile of paperwork that he had yet to complete.

“Time to get my hero shoes on.”

[Hysteria]

The air was crisp and clean. The sea had a way of washing away the stink of the city, filling the air with a mixture of salt and the last few summer flowers. The Mayor had not lied in his letter, with winter approaching the hold hand of winter would isolate the town.

A pool of darkness appeared on the ground and a moment later Talen burst forth. Beneath his boots the grass was fresh and green, and the trees tall and healthy. Sometimes it was easy to forget how beautiful the countryside was in Corone. Talen had transferred himself to somewhere near where the town was located. He wasn’t so powerful that he would be able exactly where he was going, not so omnipresent to know the landscape he was traveling too. Instead he had used a map of the country and found the mark indicating the town. While he hadn’t hit the mark directly, he knew it was within a mile or so.

This is where another of Talen’s talents came into play now. The youth lifted off the ground and rose through the green capped branches into the sky. The forest stretched out around him, the blue sky and yellow sun bathing the trees with its glow. In the near distance Talen could see a line where the trees ceased for a gap, following that along the trees grew more apart and a few trails of smoke lifted into the air. Given the size of the space, Talen knew it was a town.

The youth moved through the air, his cloak catching and riding the wind behind him. He would reach the town in a few minutes at his leisurely pace.

[Hysteria]

The ground was dark. Talen’s hand trembled, weak and lethargic they struggled to remain in front of him. His eyes lifted up as he swayed from side to side. A man, large as they come and bald as a newborn babe laughed. Another one, thinner and with a shock of dark hair lowered his spear towards Talen. A thrust. Darkness.


* * * *

The air around Talen turned cold before he could wrap his cloak around him. He was nearly at the town, but the closer he got the more he felt something watching him. He was only a stone’s throw away when the first net lifted out of the trees below him. For a moment Talen’s eyes opened in fear, a net? Or perhaps a spiderweb?

Talen twisted to the side, arching down through the air as the net shot wide. It was rope, he was sure of it. From the ground there was a sudden explosion of nets. The sides were anchored with stones and they span as they flew. Talen twisted left and right, changing his trajectory to head towards his aggressor.

It was then the air filled with more projectiles. Spears, rope nets, stones, arrows, it was a barrage intent on now injuring or killing Talen. Even given his speed and eyesight, he would not be able to dodge these attacks. A net struck first, a rock on the side slammed into his shoulder and the next wiped around. Talen span sideways, his vision now a twisting green and blue as trees and sky became an interwoven tapestry. Pain struck his leg as an arrow hit its mark. More, a spear hit the same limb, a rope net wrapped around him, another arrow to his stomach.

Talen dropped from the air like a stone. His body crashed through tree branches in a cascade of leaves, branches and youth. Pain filled his senses, ending with a thud as he hit the ground. He was dimly conscious as he heard shouting and running. He tried to look at them approach, but he couldn’t move. Darkness took over.

[Hysteria]

“Talen… Talen… can you heard me?”

The voice was soft, feminine and sweet. Talen tried to move towards it, to answer its alluring call. He couldn’t move though. His body wouldn’t answer his call.

“Talen, my little Talen. Did you forget me in your dream of light? Did you forget your mother?”

Mother…? Talen couldn’t speak. He couldn’t answer the voice.

“Oh Talen. Such foolishness... “

A face appeared in the darkness, two large green eyes set into pale, almost porcelain skin. The woman was beautiful, with large dark red lips and long flowing black hair. It seemed to swirl around her, unburdened by an force.

Was she swimming? What… where am I?

Talen could only see the face, but it was all he wanted, all he would ever want. The woman’s head moved around with her hair lazily trailing around her. Talen felt at home for the first time. Wait… The feeling was familiar. He couldn’t remember when, or how, just the feeling. His mind struggled to remember, but his eyes drank deeply the woman’s visage.

“Time to wake up my little shadow walker. Time to wake up.”

[Hysteria]

Talen’s blue eyes fluttered open. The first thing he noticed was the pain in his head. His fall had been hard, it wasn’t the first time he had been knocked unconscious. Given his penchant for shenanigans, it was unlikely that it would be the last. The next thing that struck him was the woman’s face. He could still see it in his minds eye, and with it he felt safe.

“You’re awake then?”

“Moth-” Talen cut off his word before it came out.

Talen knew he didn’t have a mother. Whatever that vision was, he didn’t think it was that. He turned his head towards the woman who had spoke and tried to focus blurry eyes. She was young, maybe eighteen or twenty. She had pale blue eyes like Talen, but long blonde hair and tanned skin. It didn’t take a genius to see that she was a farm girl. Pretty, even with a dirty face and unkempt hair.

“Awake?” Managed Talen.

“Oh good! We were worried that you’d be out for longer.”

Talen tried to push himself up, but the woman had to help him. He sat partially supported by the woman and looked around. There were a few other people in the room with him, which now appeared to be a cell of sorts. Talen went to raise his hand but felt them pulled back.

“Shackles.” Said the girl, “Seems they don’t want to take any chances.”

Talen nodded and looked down at himself. His body was several crude bandages where he had been struck while flying. Blood had seeped through most, leaving Talen to decide that it was his particular physiology that had kept him from bleeding to death.

“Try not to move, you’ll open your wounds again.” The girl paused for a second, it was obvious she wanted to say something. Talen looked at her until she did. “Did you really fly?”

The people in the room, who had until then only taken mild notice of him stiffened and a quiet descended on the room.

“It didn’t do me much good.” Replied Talen.

His answer seemed to calm some of them.

“Where are we?” He asked.

[Hysteria]

The story was laid out by the girl, Ana. They were in the camp of the gang that Talen had been asked to handle. The village he had thought he was flying to was actually their base. The size of the clearing was because it used to be a lumber mill next to a small lake. The base had water and was mostly isolated from prying eyes. He was now in one of several holding cells that the gang was using to house hostages. Most were being ransomed back to their families, a few were used as slaves to do the cooking and cleaning. Some of the gang had started out as prisoners as well, but made the jump to members when given the choice.

The people that shared the cell with Talen were old or young. Ana was from Anklope and had been caught trying to sneak down the trade route to find help. Talen figured that after her and the people she had come with had failed they had managed to get him the message by boat. The trip would have been weeks, Ana had been captive for nearly six months.

The camp itself was large and spread out. The cells were made of wood and in the centre of camp. This allowed a nearly constant guard to be kept on them, at the very least if one escaped they would have to sneak out through the full camp.

Talen spoke to Ana for a long time. He asked of the makeup of the gang, the surrounds and what she knew of the camp. Unfortunately she didn’t know much, her life for the last six months had been limited to the cell and daily cooking. The leaders didn’t come near the prisoners, and even some members of the gang hadn’t seem them. Despite being surrounded by the gang, Talen didn’t learn much.

The day drew long, and Talen decided that it would he would hang low for another day before making a move. There was something not right about the gang. It was too organised for the normal ruff-heads, and the feeling that something was amiss still nagged at the back of his head. He would sleep on it, gather information tomorrow and make his move.

[Hysteria]

Furious scurrying. Dozens of feet tapped across the ground, rustling through grass and along roof tops. Talen’s eyes fluttered open, his room in the Ixian castle was dark. The youth’s fevered eyes twisted to the window as moon cast an eerie glow through cloudy glass. Dark shapes were crawling across the other side; eight legged silhouettes.

What?! WHAT DO YOU WANT!?

Talen tore off his sheets and jumped to his feet. His room seemed to move with him. Each step and the floor twisted underfoot like some giant twisting rubber sheet. Talen didn’t care. He wanted answers. He wanted it to stop.

Talen dived at the window and smashed through the glass. The shards broke, powdered and fine sand cascading around him. As he fell more and more twisted around his little form. The sand was smooth, more like a caress than the coarse fingers he expected. Astarelle was above him. The sand princess danced through the air as Talen fell. Her sand moved around her like they were one. Twisting cascades of silver sand, born from moon it cried for the love of the sand priestess.

Talen twisted away from Astarelle towards the ground. It was miles away. The castle was speeding past him with its cold grey bricks, but the ground never rose to meet him. Talen thought of laughing but someone did it for him.

“Ha! Bed Wetter, what the hell are you doing here?” Jensen twisted through the air as white slip streams arched off his outstretched arms.

“Fantastic… I get the one person who doesn’t make sense in real life to be my dream guide.” Talen twisted around so he was facing upwards. Astarelle was gone, just the pale moon and the towering castle above. It seemed to stretch forever above and below.

“Ok… tell me you’re bit.” The air was whipping Talen’s hair as he eyes the immortal suspiciously.

“Tell you? I thought you were in my dream?” Jensen started laughing again.

With a twist of his body he arched up through the air and away. Suddenly the ground seemed a lot closer than it had been before. It also seemed to be moving. Hundreds of spiders had gathered on the ground. Their black forms were climbing over each other as they formed a mountain of arachnids. Talen crossed his arms and waited for the plunge.

[Hysteria]

Talen was surrounded by darkness and the hairy feel of hundreds of spider bodies. His descent was slowed, but not stopped. Onwards he fell, flashes of light revealing the tunnel of moving spiders that had enveloped him.

Then the ground. Talen looked down at his feet. He could feel the tiny hairs of the spiders below him sticking into the bottom of his bare feet, but he tried his best to imagine it as grass. He was in a large cavern, and every surface was covered by spiders.

“Oh-kay…”

In the centre was a large throne with its back towards the youth. Talen reached up and patted his cheeks. He could feel, so he guessed this was a more than a lucid dream. He made a mental note to ask Jensen if he dreamt of jumping of buildings. Knowing the idiot he probably did.

Talen approached the throne as the ground rustled underfoot. As he moved the room twisted, rather than reach the back of the throne, it twisted around to face him. The woman was there. She was the one that had come to him when he had lost consciousness. Now she was here, and she looked just a beautiful. He face was pristine, ivory to the obsidian of her hair. Talen could not look away. His eyes moved from her red lips to her green eyes, then down to her other rather appealing assets.

“My Child.” Her voice was deep and sweet, like honey.

“Mother?” Talen could barely bring himself to speak.

“Yes child, come to me.”

Talen lifted his arms and ran. He lost his normal facade of humor and sarcasm. He lost is neutral stare and calculating mind. He was a child, running towards its mother. He reached her, and she wrapped her arms around him. Talen wept. It was after a few minutes of sobbing he was able to speak.

“I… I can’t remember. Who am I?”

“Child… this is not the time for all the answers. This is a mother making sure her child is safe.” The woman lifted up Talen’s chin with her finger.

“Two fall from heaven,
The wind holds the rock in place
Take the serpent eyes.”

“I- I don’t understand.” Talen’s tear soaked face looked up at the woman’s.

“You will. Be safe my child.” She placed a hand on Talen’s head and kissed his forehead.

[Hysteria]

The sun’s peaked over the tree tops and cast a warm gaze into the cells. Talen’s eyes opened slowly, and for a second he thought he saw the woman from his dream. His vision focused and it was Ana, and Talen wondered how he had mistaken her golden locks for the dark mane of the dream woman.

“By the Thaynes!” Ana suppressed her voice and lent close to Talen. “Your wounds are healed!”

Talen didn’t say anything. He knew that he would regenerate in the night time, but he didn’t want to try and explain it all to Ana.

“Yes, they tend to do that.” Said Talen.

The youth’s reached up and took the woman’s hand off the bandage on his stomach. His graps was firm, but not painful. He guided her backwards before standing himself. Her face was a confused mixture of wonder and fear. Talen needed her to be quiet for a bit longer. He ruled out killing her, the other prisoners in the cell would make a noise. He also felt slightly indebted to her, even if her actions had been superfluous.

“Ana. You need to be quiet. I have work to do.” Talen looked up into the taller woman’s face until she nodded. “Good. Now stay here and b-.”

Talen let go of her hand and it fell limply to her side. The memories of the dream come flooding back. The message seemed more confusing than helpful.

“Ana, does the Serpent’s Eyes mean anything to you?” Asked Talen.

“Um… no….”

“What about a rock?”

“A rock?”

“Or the wind?”

“I don’t understand… there are rocks and wind everywhere.” Ana looked confused.

Talen tapped his chin as he thought about the words the mysterious ‘mother’ had said. His mind started to drift off on a tangent as he wondered who she was, and what their actual relationship was. He was brought back suddenly by Ana.

“Oh! Gond!” said Ana, “Gond is elvish for rock isn't it?”

“Gond?”

“Gond. He is one of the two brothers in charge. His older brother is Gwaew.”

Talen paused for a moment as he tried to remember some elvish words. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that Gwaew meant stream. Gond raguly resonated with rock, but he thought pebble was a better translation. Pebble and stream seemed like the sort of names that elves would pick for siblings.

“Gwaew I think means stream.” Said Talen as he glanced back at Ana. She didn’t know at all.

“Well, I don’t know how that will help… but it might.” said Talen, “Now stay here Ana, and be quiet.”

Talen lifted his hands as a steely determination fell across his face. One moment the sun peered into the clearing, the next it was as black as night.

[Hysteria]

Talen’s body twisted into shadows and slipped through the wooden bars of the cell and manifested on the other side. His cloak was gone now, as were the bandages. His shirt was sleeveless, but his arms were coated in the black metal of his punch gauntlets. Talen started running through the darkness towards the direction of the leaders tent.

The camp was in chaos. Men ran around wildly trying to find sources of light. Some had been able to fasten touches, but the light barely managed to penetrate a few metres around them. Talen was able to navigate much better in the darkness with his superior vision, and those holding lights became easier targets.

Talen gripped two of his metal spikes on each hand. They were simple, sharp instruments that normally served as accessories to his main weapons. Today they were perfect. As Talen sprinted he aimed for the few specks of light along his path. His feet pounded the ground, pushing off suddenly to lift him into the air and fall spikes first into the surprised man. A crack of bone and a gargled yelp and the man fell with the spikes in his chest. Talen didn’t pull them out, instead darkness twisted in his hands and two more were formed. The spikes embedded in the man’s chest dissolved into darkness, and then nothing.

The little warrior twisted and slammed one of the new spikes into another man as he struggled to free his sword. The spike slipped in through his eye socket and he collapsed backwards. This was the trend for the youth as he moved around the fallen torch. Other felt the spikes before they heard or saw Talen. Some tried to defend themselves, but Talen was too quick and too strong up close.

The work continued for fifteen minutes. Darkness cloaked Talen, it cloaked everything. A few cries went out into the abyss, but without direction or anything visual to work off no defence could be mounted. After the fifteen minutes Talen phased out of the material world and back into the cell.

The darkness lifted up into the sky, appearing as a slow fade back of light. The sun burned a fiery glow into the mass of shadow, giving it a fiery red glow. It was an omen of sorts, a made portent of things to come. Then it was gone.

[Hysteria]

The shouts lifted into the air nearly as soon as the darkness was gone. Talen had counted twenty people he had killed. The bodies had fallen where they had been, within about thirty metres of the initial attack.

Ana didn’t speak when the darkness faded and Talen was standing near her. The other prisoners in the cell were too far away to know what had happened, or perhaps just not stupid enough to risk the ire of someone who had just slain twenty men.

Outside the cell the commotion continued. There were screams, as people found friends dead. Others searched in packs through the camp, but no one could be found anywhere other than where they should. Some of the gang searched the cells, looking for weapons or anyone missing, but Talen had was unarmed, and right where he should be. They were all searched multiple times, and didn’t bother resisting.

It was an two hours later, near lunch time when the cold air slipped its way through the camp. Talen recognised the feeling, it was the same one that had gripped him when he had flown over near the camp. If Talen’s hunch was correct, then soon they would be greeted by the brother.

Moments later gang members were running through the cells. They pushed people back from the backs, took away discarded plates and rubbish and generally tidied up. It didn’t take long before they had the area mostly cleaned.

“Sir!” Shouted a saluting gang member.

Talen stepped closer to the bars, careful not to get close enough to warrant a reprimand from one of his guards. He could just see the form of the elf walking past the guards. He didn’t look like a normal elf to the youth. There was no slick hair and demour cloths. This elf had a mohawk with the sides freshly shaven. Tattoos ran along the side of his head, stretching down onto his bare chest and back. Beads and pendants hung from his neck, and his skin was tanned from hours in the sun. He looked wild and untamed.

Time to do this.

Talen’s body disappeared and reappeared above Gwaew. In the youth’s hands was his spear, pointed directly towards the elf’s head. Gwaew smiled. The next second was a blur. Talen felt himself shoot backwards through the air. His hands involuntarily let the spear slip from his fingers. A shadow appeared above him, and Talen barely had time to turn his eyes towards it. It was another elf, this one far bigger than Gwaew. Talen knew without asking that this was Gond. The elf was wearing a vest, and his hair was tied back in a long brown ponytail. Like his brother he was covered with tattoos.

Gond’s fists lifted up and came down on Talen’s head. The youth shot like a bullet into the ground with a sickening crunch. The giant elf landed on the ground next to Talen’s crumpled form and picked him up with one massive hand.

Talen could feel nothing but pain. His vision was blurry, with only an outline of the elf holding him in the air. Through the ringing in his ears he could hear him talking.

“Thats him.” Came a calm voice, “Finish him, then tie him up as a warning.”

[Hysteria]

Talen felt the darkness wrapped around him. There was nothing except for his mind. Thoughts were slow and clouded by emptiness. He had been beaten, and beaten quickly. Gond must have been behind his brother, and leapt into action as soon as Talen had appeared. Talen tried to pull his thoughts together and focus.

Live….

Live!

The word reverberated, and Talen felt himself start to slip from the dark abyss. There was light, or at least a grey blur. Compare to the darkness it was the midday sun. It grew stronger, strands of light shifted and formed into things that were more real than not.

Talen’s bloodied body shifted and groaned. His blue eyes flicked opened as light flooded through them into his mind. He was alive, and he back. The first sensation that followed was his wrists. They were bound above his head. In fact his body was hanging from pole near the front of the camp.

“Told ya Gond.”

Talen turned his eyes down and the elf brothers were sitting on two seats near him. They looked like they had been waiting for him.

“Damn Gwaew... “

Gwaew lifted a crossbow towards Talen. The same cold wind gripped him, and Talen felt himself struggle to teleport away. It clicked then. Talen had assimed that the wind was a detection magic of some kind, but it was a supressor. He couldn’t dematerialise while Gwaew was chilling the air.

*thwak*

“Fu-”

Talen looked down at the bolt sticking out from his chest. His vision started to blur, and he knew that the bolt had struck his heart. Talen felt darkness once again.

[Hysteria]

The small boat underneath Talen rose and fell with the swell of the tide. Talen opened his eyes and looked up to the dark clouds above. They were completely still, more a mottled grey canopy than a true sky. The bot was black and hard, but Talen felt safe in its confines.

“-ck” finished Talen.
There was little the youth could do but wait. He had used his literal get out of purgatory free card, and now he had to wait for his body to regenerate. With arms crossed and his eyes staring unblinking into the clouds he tried to think of a plan.

“Two fall from heaven,
The wind holds the rock in place
Take the serpent eyes.”

Talen replayed the words of the mysterious ‘mother’ in his mind. The brothers were the wind and the rock, he was sure of it. It was possible that the wind somehow strengthened Gond. Or perhaps it wasn’t so literal.

“I was crippled by the wind, perhaps that’s what it means?” said Talen to the expansive ocean.

“What the hell are the serpent’s eyes? Some sort of med-” Talen broke off as his thoughts took over faster than his words could follow.

Medallions! That Gwaew was wearing a half a dozen at least. Gond probably had one under that vest he had one. But what do they do?

“UGH! Maybe I should just destroy the whole damn camp!”

Talen lifted his hands up to his temple and started rubbing. He knew he needed to stay calm, but the frustration he felt was worse than when he sparred Sei and the mystic kept on using mystic protection. He hadn’t even gotten a shot off at the brothers. He needed to separate them. Gwaew hadn’t shown any offensive abilities other than the crossbow and Gond only offensive.

“Or I could kill everyone but the brothers in the camp…” Talen put his hands under his head and peered into the dark sky. “ugh…”

[Hysteria]

The first rays of light broke over the forest, and with it Talen materialised amid a swirl of darkness. The youth turned his face towards the sun. His pale blue eyes reflected a cold stare. He didn’t have a plan, just a desire. In his hands more darkness twisted into material form and Talen’s serpent rifle formed.

“Ok…” Talen lifted the rifle up, “Lets do this.”


* * * *

Talen darted out of the tree line and hugged the back of a tent. inside he could hear some guards talking. They were discussing the massacre and the brothers catching and killing Talen. The youth felt himself tense in anger and did his best to calm himself. He wanted nothing better to burst in there gun blazing, but he knew he needed to be patient.

Talen slung his rifle over his shoulder just before shifting his body into shadows and entering the tent. He moved quickly and covered the ground to the table where the two men were sitting. He leapt on the first, letting his leg swing out and crack into the face of the other. With a twist of his arms the first man's neck snapped. Talen shoved himself backwards and onto the second and cracked his neck as well.

It would have been a lie if Talen hadn't had some extra pleasure finishing off the two men. But he had forced himself to so it quietly. The rest of the tent was empty save for a few weapons and crates of yet to be disposed off goods.

Safe in the tent Talen grabbed the closest guard and pushed his neck back into place with a crack. The youth studied his face for a few seconds before his own body started to shift and change. It took moments, but Talen’s face and body became tall and tanned, with sandy blonde hair and a large nose. Talen’s close likewise shifted and changed into what the guard was wearing.

[Hysteria]

It took the better part of an hour to find Gond. Each minute was one that brought his discovery closer. The elf had turned out to be holding a training session for some of the more inner members. The area was nearly a cut copy of every training camp Talen had seen. A large dirt circle was where the trainers practiced, and around the outside stood othe rmembers watching.

Gond threw the man he was supposed to be training out of the circle and roared with laughter. The elf was not training the men, he was showing that he was superior. Talen pushed to the front and watched as the elf paraded around the training circle at his victory.

Talen’s eyes caught the elf’s bare chest, and as he had guessed, he wore a single yellow pendant. In the centre was a black spot, which made the gem look like a serpents eye.

“Who’s next!” Gond roared.

There was silence, it as clear the last person was not a volunteer.

“I!” Called Talen, throwing his plan for a sneak attack to the wind.

The youth, still in his disguise slung off his cloak and shirt and let them fall to the ground. He was careful to let his weapons disappear before pulling back the cloths that had been hiding them. The person’s body he copied had been hidden, so he had assumed a muscular tanned body.

“Shit John, you been working out?” Said a nearby member, but Talen didn’t react.

Instead the youth’s eyes, currently green were locked on Gonds. The elf was smiling in anticipation. The pair moved to the centre of the ring, and Talen bowed slightly. Gond struck, throwing a punch directly at Talen’s dipped head. Talen’s knees buckled, pulling his head back as the fist just stopped short. With a fling of his own arm, Talen sent Gond’s out wide.

The fight was on the moment the attack had been parried. Gond flew into a rage fueled charge. His fists were a flurry, thrown over and over in a relentless attack. Talen moved like a leaf, letting the blows graze but never connect with him. The movements started to speed up, and Talen flicked left and right as blows rained. Around them was silence. It was apparent that no one had managed to dodge Gond’s blows before.

“Stay still!” Gond screamed, throwing a punch easily able to know a man off his feet. Talen’s hand flashed, catching and snatching the pendent off his neck. Instantly Gond’s movements slowed, and Talen’s other hand came around as darkness wrapped around his fingers.

[Hysteria]

There was silence. Talen’s left hand was coated in his gauntlet. The long dark fingers ran straight as his tips dripped with blood. Gond’s face looked surprised as Talen ripped his hand out of the elf’s head. Blood oozed out of the side, where three large cuts had pierced his brain. Talen slashed again, this time cutting across the elf’s neck. The blood this time flowed quickly.

Talen didn’t bother to keep his secret form. His skin lightened, his hair darkened and his eyes faded blue. The youth kept the adult size, but he was clearly the same person who had attacked the brothers the day prior.

More darkness lifted up to Talen’s hand and his rifle came into existence. The crowd was still stunned, that was until the first of Talen’s shots ripped the flesh of three people in a crack of flames. More shots and the crowd screamed and ran. Those that couldn’t move fast enough were left to die, although Talen didn’t bother to finish off those attempting to crawl away.

Talen’s display took a few seconds before it called Gwaew. The air whipped up the now familar cold and the wild haired elf leapt from between tents to land near the youth. The elf’s eyes flicked from Talen to his brother. He made to move, but Talen let his gun drop to the elf’s face.

boom

Gond had been struggling to breath as he clutched his neck. The shot from Talen’s gun ripped what little life was left with its fiery blast. The smell was foul, but Talen didn’t care. Gwaew’s eyes opened wide with shock. His hand rose to his chest, and Talen watched with interest as he clutched his pendent. It was obvious that Gwaew was waiting for something to happen, something that seemed to be taking longer than it should have. Talen fired against, this time Gond’s body charred and darkened. Another short and he was a smoking mess of charcoal. It was then that Talen lifted his free hand and held the pendant for Gwaew to see.

“Oops.” Said Talen.

The floodgates opened. Gwaew lifted his hands towards Talen and the air ripped away. Talen’s lungs were suddenly bereft of air, and his body hunched over as he struggled to inhale what wasn’t there.

Talen disappeared. He appeared above Gwaew, his gun firing a blast that quickly burst and sent a wave of gummy goo over the elf. Talen landed next to him as he struggled against the bubblegum shot, and calmly reached out and plucked the pendant off his chest. Gwaew’s eyes opened wide as he realised he had been outdone.

“How? We told no one!” Gwaew struggled to know how Talen had found out their weakness.

“I duno.” Said Talen, firing the gun into the immobile elf’s face.

[Hysteria]

Most of the gang members had fled as Talen made his way through the camp. A few were hiding, and some foolhardy ones even tried to attack him. A blast of fire was enough to finish them off. When Talen reached the cages he was greeted with wary eyes of the other prisoners. The youth released the locks, and people gingery made their way out into freedom. There was no fanfare, no sudden rush for freedom. Just a released lock and a few steps onto the grass.

Some tried to speak to Talen, but he waved them off. He didn’t care what they did now. Most made for the mess tent to eat, some rushed to pick up weapons just in case their captives regained some sort of willpower, but Talen doubted it.

Ana approached Talen with her hands gripping the front of her skirt. Her eyes looked down as she mumbled a thank you. Talen stepped up to her and lifed her chin so she was forced to make eye contact. Now he was taller than her, and given what he had just done, she was intimidated by him.

“You’re mine now.” He said.

Ana didn’t know what to say, she stood there and looked into his eyes. She just nodded. She had nothing to go back to, and nowhere else. Talen could tell when she had told the story that those she had been traveling with had been killed. The unsaid words had spoken volumes, a lover? Perhaps a husband? Dead and forced into servitude she had lost who she was. When Talen told her how could she say no?

The rest of job was wrapped up over the next few days. Talen travelled to Anklope and let them know that he had completed the job. He told them of the location of the camp and after two days they had checked it out and started bringing the stolen goods back to the town. In payment Talen had taken some money, as well as Ana. Talen had plans for the girl, but for now they would travel together. Talen also took the two pendants. Although their power had been severed by the death of the elves, they still carried power within them that Talen could use.

Spoils!
Can I get:
Serpent Eyes: These two pendants have magic power, that can be crafted into a magic weapon for a total of X gp.

Can x GP be the total GP I can get as a reward for this thread? If possible with the spoil discount added? If not, then just as much GP worth as possible. I want to craft a sword, and need more dollars to get there.

[Philomel]

Submitted to Workshop for commentary.

Hysteria (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?2481-Hysteria) receives:

3100 EXP
442 GP

Spoils:
Originally requested:
"Serpent Eyes: These two pendants have magic power, that can be crafted into a magic weapon for a total of --- GP."
Edited to gain maximum of GP possible, via exchange of EXP.



Congratulations!