View Full Version : Everyone's Treasure
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Thudump. Thudump.
The sun shone brilliantly over the vast countryside of Corone, illuminating the area with its warm strength. A slight breeze rippled through the scattered trees along the fairly flat plain. Several birds flitted across the clouds, up and around one another, playfully enjoying the fresh air and open skies. A simple calm had overtaken the Corone countryside, for nearly everything was at ease.
Thudump. Thudump.
A lone rider thundered across the calmed field, kicking up bits of grass and dirt. He wore rather simple clothes, a black tunic with and black trousers. It matched well with his jet black hair which draped down over his solid features. A single scar marred his beauty, traveling below the cheek bone. A longsword was strapped across his back diagonally, the hilt just over his left shoulder, indicating he was right handed.
Thudump. Thudump.
The horse's hooves echoed loudly on the solid earth as it ran, the rider hunched over holding the reins tightly in one hand. In the other hand was a piece of parchment with scribbled writing. It read very simply, I have your Requias. Meet me at the tower on the map below if you ever care to see her alive again, Zachary Talion. This was the reason why he hurried, why he was pushing the horse to its limits.
Thudump. Thudump.
This was indeed Zachary Talion, an assassin by trade and a Shadowmelding Deimos by birth. Banished from his village just six years previous, he had never thought to see his love again, his precious Aleitha. She was a Requias, one talented with extreme Shadowmelding powers that took most several years to master.
How could this be? Did someone sneak into the village and kidnap her or did she leave on her own? We never leave the village, unless we are banished, of course. Why was she taken? Is she hurt? Questions were rapidly flitting around in his mind and he did not have an answer for a single one of them. That only led to other thoughts of course. How can I stand to see her? A great deal has happened in the few years. I have become an assassin, the leader of the Assassin's Guild. I have killed people. How could she ever want me?
A large tower came into view as the questions reeled through Talon's head. Made of small stones, the tower was nothing extraordinary. In fact, it seemed very run down, with massive holes all within it. Stones peppered the ground around the tower. He had no idea why anyone would take Aleitha and bring her there. Unless it was simply to get to him. In fact, she may not even be there, it may just be a trap. Though, no one knows my name except those within my village. Urrrrr, I don't know. Talon slowed the horse and dropped to the ground beside it. He took his blade from its place at his back and started toward the door.
"I'll just have to be careful," he whispered to himself.
Sorahn was enjoying the beautiful day in Radasanth. He found it much more pleasant to run trivial errands when it was nice outside. The markets were busy with citizens looking to buy their daily necessities and other random tidbits, while he was headed toward his favorite grocer to obtain some vegetables that Rehnahlia had sent him to get. It was a menial task, yet he was somehow in a good mood. He turned down a familiar street where he knew there would be less of a crowd, which he could navigate easier.
***
A man leaned against the wall, reading the news when from the corner of his eye he caught sight of a peculiar creature: a beast that walked on two legs and had the stature of a man, yet was covered in white fur and had long ears. He had never seen this creature before, yet it seemed as though the townsfolk were used to his presence.
Examining more closely revealed that the creature had several tattoos, one of which looked strangely familiar to him. Suddenly a revelation rushed over him. He motioned to another man standing near him, who leaned in close to him. “Go tell the boss I’ve found what he’s looking for,” he whispered. The second man’s eyes widened and he began searching around him. “I’ll handle it, just go!” ordered the first man, and the second reluctantly departed.
***
Sorahn turned down a shortcut he knew through a back-alley. Suddenly he was aware that another man had turned down the same alley. Knowing that no one else would have a need to traverse this alley, he became very suspicious. He tried to track the man’s movements with his ears while not looking as though he was aware of his presence.
“Excuse me, sir!” Called the man from behind him. Sorahn froze. Slowly he turned around to face the man. He was a rather tall man of muscular build who wore a black cloak. Sorahn, slightly paranoid, prepared himself for anything. “Y-yes?” He responded finally. Meanwhile the man was closing the distance between them, which made him uncomfortable.
The man finally approached him. "I just wanted to tell you that-" He began to say, but cut himself off as he suddenly threw a punch toward Sorahn. Ever ready for attack, Sorahn leapt backward to avoid the blow and made to ready himself for a counterattack, only to find that he was suddenly grabbed from behind by another man he hadn’t seen, causing him to drop his spear. Almost instantly the new attacker had pinned his arms behind him and held him still.
Sorahn looked up to the first man, who was now smiling to himself. “Come take a little trip with us.” He said calmly as he picked up Sorahn’s spear. He suddenly swung the blunt end toward Sorahn’s head. He heard a crack as the wood made contact with his skull, and everything went black.
Zachary Talion slowly made his way into the tower to make a startling discovery. The tower itself was hollow. More debris was scattered throughout the inside, amidst scattered patches of grass. Using his clever eye of detection, he spotted a staircase the cut down into the ground. Talon approached the staircase with a great deal of caution. Glancing down the stairway he saw only darkness. With a look of sheer determination, he leapt into the darkness. He felt his body being pulled into the shadows, emerging into the Shadow World. The white plain revealed every shadow within his ten foot range.
There were portals to shadows outside the tower as well as inside the hollow facade, but he could find nothing. Unless every nook of the room was filled with light, there was no way it could be possible. Yet, it was. Which meant he had to go into the room the old fashioned way. He tightened his grip on his blade and emerged from the shadow at the bottom of the stairs, in front of a wooden door with an iron lock. He tugged on the door and, finding it unlocked, tugged it open.
He stepped into a room filled with brilliant light. His eyes stung as they slowly adjusted to the luminance within the room. It reminded him a bit too much of the sorcery of Daven Logarthu, the one that got away. Finally, his eyes adjusted to the light and he saw that there were two people in the room. The first was a black-haired man, draped in a crimson robe. He held a staff in one hand, which was glowing a bright white, obviously .
The other was her. His love. Aleitha. His precious Aleitha. She was as gorgeous as he remembered. Not the tallest girl alive, her lovely brunette hair framing her face and draping down her back in the braid she always wore. She wore leather trousers and a white buttoned shirt, very uncommon attire for one from the Deimos village. His breath eluded him as he looked over her gentle features.
A very unsubtle clearing of his throat brought Talon's attention back to the man. His blade was pointed straight at the other man. "Who the hell are you?" Talon demanded. His longsword was pointed straight at the man's jugular.
"I am Galavat Kereanthos and unless you aid me in my quest to open this door, I will kill the girl." It was at that moment that Zachary noticed the massive door that he had thought was simply was a wall. It was covered in various symbols and was etched in a strange language. A snarl came across his face and he charged at this Galavat. Suddenly, he found himself being thrown against the far wall by a force he had never felt before.
"Zachary!" Aleitha exclaimed, she ran to his side and lifted his head. He slowly found his feet and crouched. Picking up his blade from where it dropped, he stood again, Aleitha clutching his arm. Damn, sorcerers. They give me all types of trouble.
"Clever trick." He placed his hand on Aleitha's her smooth skin electric under his touch. I wish I had my dagger. With one throw I could take this guy down. Damn you, Logarthu
The door suddenly burst open and in walked Sorahn’s attacker, carrying an unconscious Sorahn over his shoulder. The other man who had held Sorahn back followed him.
“Boss!” The man carrying Sorahn said, with a grin on his face. “We’ve found the creature that can open the door.” Galavat simply stared at his lackey for a moment, trying to identify the furry beast he had draped over his shoulder. “Why did you not tell me about this?”
“We just found him boss. I sent Kalenth here to inform you.” He shot a dirty look to the man standing behind him. “But he instead stayed back to help me get the creature.”
Galavat looked angry. “What makes you think that white… thing on your shoulder can open the door?” The lackey just smiled. “Look at his tattoo. He roughly dropped Sorahn on the floor, revealing the Ranoan symbol on his chest, which looked similar to the ones carved into the door.
Sorahn suddenly felt his body hit the floor. He slowly regained consciousness. His head was pounding. With effort he managed to sit himself up and look around, trying to determine where he had been taken. He rubbed his head, which now had a large bump on it.
“Who are you?” Sorahn turned to see who had asked, and saw Galavat. Hesitant to respond, he turned to the others in the room. He didn’t recognize anyone. Instinctively he reached for his pole, and then realized that his attacker had taken it. Slowly he got to his feet.
Ignoring Galavat’s question, he said, “Why have you brought me here? Who are you?” Galavat smiled. “I am Galavat Kereanthos. You are here to open this door for me. Now answer me, who…” Galavat paused, looking Sorahn over, “… and what, are you?”
Sorahn, rather offended, responded, “I am Sorahn un’ Rohnahmeh. I am a Ranoan.” He said, restraint evident in his voice. He turned to examine the door behind Galavat. It was a massive double door, covered in various locks and bars and large gears. It looked very old, and like it would’ve been easier to breach a castle wall than open it. He could see that the door had Ranoan writing on it, which astounded him, but he tried to look as though he hadn’t noticed.
“How am I supposed to open this door? It looks as though it would take no less than 50 men and a battering ram to even dent it.” Suddenly he felt the cold metal of his own spear resting on his shoulder, dangerously close to his neck.
Galavat smiled. “I’m sure you will figure something out, or you will die.”
The scene suddenly changed around them as a fur covered creature was brought into the underground room by two men, who seemed to be mere goons to this sorcerer. The creature was dropped to the ground and one of the men held an exquisite staff that seemed to belong to the creature. The furred thing awoke and slowly sat up. At this angle, Talon saw markings on his chest similar to those that were on the door.
Galavat and the creature spoke for a moment, revealing a great deal about the creature, this Ranoan. Sorahn looked over the door for a moment before feigning no knowledge of how to open it. Talon noticed subtle signs that said otherwise, however. Subtle changes in breath, tightening of certain muscles gave him away. Obviously, the sorcerer did not believe him either for his lackey held the staff at Sorahn's neck.
The sorcerer grabbed Sorahn by his arm and flung his toward the door, showing nearly inhuman strength. With fury in his eyes, he spoke silently to the Ranoan, words that Talon could not understand. Then he turned to his lackeys, shouting aloud so all could hear. "Kill them, they are worthless to me now." Then he turned back to the door and the Ranoan, all thought of Talon and Aleitha gone from his mind.
Talon turned his attention from those two to his own problems. Galavat's men came at them, one holding Sorahn's staff and the other wielding a rather crude blade. The assassin took a step back and pushed Aleitha back against the wall. "Stay here, I'll protect you." Aleitha chuckled and stepped forward, picking a thin rapier off of the ground that Talion had not noticed before. "A great deal has happened since you left, Zachary. You were not around to protect me anymore, so I had to learn." Talon nodded and faced the approaching men, longsword at ready.
Sorahn hesitated, the blade still dangerously close to his throat. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get himself out of this one. The thought had occurred to him that he might have sealed his fate when he told Galavat he was a Ranoan. Someone who was this interested in this door would probably know that it was of Ranoan construction. He was totally baffled as to what the door was for, and why it was on Althanas. Having seen a few other Ranoan artifacts on Althanas, he was beginning to wonder if Ranoans had lived on Althanas ages ago.
The writing on the door was primarily High Ranoan, the ancient language spoken by his race thousands of years ago, and now reserved only for ancient writings and scholarly texts. He was educated in a few High Ranoan words before he was abducted from Ranoa, but he was unable to make out what was written on the door. However he knew that Galavat would not believe him if he said he didn’t understand it.
Suddenly Galavat lost his patience with Sorahn’s hesitance. He grabbed Sorahn’s arm and flung him with surprising strength toward the door. Sorahn’s feet left the ground and his body slammed painfully into the heavy door before falling to the floor with a thud.
“I am not one to be played with.” Galavat said to him, barely above a whisper. “I know this is an ancient Ranoan door. I know you know how to open it. And you will open it for me so I can obtain what’s inside, or I will break every bone in your body, one by one.”
He turned quickly and instructed his lackeys to kill the others, so he could focus his attention on Sorahn. Sorahn, who now had a few bleeding scrapes on his face and arms, was still trying to think his way through the situation.
He is obviously quite powerful. I’m not sure I can fight him. But he assumes I know how to open this door. How would I know how to open an ancient door I didn’t even know existed?
He looked up at the door he had just slammed into. For the first time he noticed a red orb set into the middle of the door. Somehow a symbol was etched into it, beneath the surface. He climbed up onto his knees to examine it. He recognized the symbol as the ancient word for “Ranoan” or “Ranoan people”. Standing, he tried to decipher the other symbols. The only symbols he recognized, however, were the same symbol for Ranoan, and then the word “only” or “exclusive”.
A thought suddenly occurred to Sorahn. He placed his hand on the orb, which instantly began to glow a bright red. His eyes widened as he cautiously stepped back from the door. Suddenly a very loud creaking noise issued from the door as the thousand year old gears and bars slowly began to move.
Galavat’s face twisted into an evil grin.
The two brutes that Galavat commanded slowly came at Zachary and Aleitha. Talon did not wait for them to come any closer before he leapt into action. He ran full speed at them, his shoes flicking up small bits of water as he ran over the wet stone floor. A step before he was on top of the kidnappers, he shifted his weight and pushed off of the ground. The assassin flew through the air over their heads and landed softly behind them.
Both men turned their heads to look at Talon and with their attention off her, Aleitha sprinted silently at them, her rapier held quite proficiently. The one holding Sorahn's weapon noticed her at the last moment and parried her swift stab with one of the staff's prongs. With a subtle twist of her wrist, she sent the razor sharp rapier deep into his left shoulder. He shouted out in pair and fury as his arm went numb. He swung the staff in a broad arc at Aleitha with his remaining arm.
Talon could do nothing to help his love. He was embroiled in a battle of his own. The second man, who wore a meager wool tunic and wool pants, came at him, swinging the blade wildly. It was fairly obvious that Galavet did not pay this man very well, nor was he trained. Kalenth's partner, for that was what the other man said his name was, was far better dressed and better trained and seemed more of an associate than one who mindlessly followed orders. Either way both of them would have to die.
The assassin easily knocked the wild swings aside, brutally beating the sword from Kalenth's hand. In one motion he slid his longsword into his opponent's chest, ending Kalenth's life for good. He dropped to the ground, cold and still. Quickly, he turned to assess the situation. Apparantly, the bright light had subsided a long time earlier as both Sorahn and Galavat had entered the now open door. Aleitha and Kalenth's partner were still going at it, but the woman was holding her own, at least that is how it seemed at first. However, the kidnapper knocked aside her careful strike and managed to pin her weapon to the wall with the staff. Now he had her cornered and she had nowhere to go.
Talion growled aloud, before sliding into a shadow that was beneath him. Seconds later he emerged directly above the other man and dropped onto him. The sudden weight on his head knocked him clean out. Quickly, Talon rose to his feet and helped Aleitha to hers. She picked up both her rapier and Sorahn's staff. She looked deep into Zachary's emerald eyes and smiled.
"Thank you, my love." She ran toward the strange doorway. "Come on, Zachary, we have to help that creature, Sorahn." With that she ran through the doorway.
Talon brought one hand to his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. How can I do this? Aleitha is my truest love, but my hands are too stained for her to take me back. I cannot stop being who I am, I am to invested in this lifestyle to change it now. How can I do this? What do I do? He moaned aloud and slid his longsword into the fallen man's chest, ceasing the breathing motions, before hurrying off after his love.
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