View Full Version : Power Surge
All bunnying in this thread has been discussed and approvedRarely did anyone go venture into the waters at the northeastern end of Scara Brae. There was rarely any real need to do so.
True, the island visible from the sandy shores of Neverscale Beach was teeming with valuable Liviol wood, but the dangers were too great. Many a brave warrior that dared venture into the shadowy forests of the Liviol Sanctum never made it out alive.
Shattered survivors would tell of a dense, unnavigable jungle, of brief glimpses of an ancient castle, of a monstrous feline that could snap up a man in its jaws and swallow him whole, and of many other dangers -- and that was if they made it off the beach and out of the water -- twice.
Neverscale Beach itself was ideal and picturesque, gentle rays of sunlight caressing skin and warming sand lovingly, and the very grains of the sand sparkled like so many miniature diamonds...but lurking on and in the sapphire waters that so appealed to the eye and senses were such creatures as could (and would) kill an ordinary man...or a strong one.
Therefore, it was typically only the very brave, very arrogant, or very desperate that dared try for the treasures the Sanctuary grew.
No one knew which of these the man was. He had appeared in the city of Scara Brae late in the evening, just as the sun's light was beginning to turn the flowers that grew on Valeena Castle from their whites, pinks, and blues into various shades of auburn and violet.
He held a single log with him, an oaken plank, really, that looked as though it had once been caulked -- a part of a boat, perhaps. His dark hair was matted and smelled of the salt spray of the ocean. Had he come from the docks? Impossible, the docks were in the other direction?
His clothes, once fine vlince, were in shreds, and his cheeks were sunken in. His green eyes had a nervous, haunted cast to them, and he kept darting glances around. "Growing! They're GROWING, I tell you! NO!"
Fortunately, a few kind souls rushed him to the hospital. Unfortunately for the man, it appeared to be too late for his sanity, and all the nurses could get him to say was, "they're growing! They're growing!"
What, was growing, though...the nurses couldn't get him to say. They were even unable to coax from him where whatever this was that was growing was. It was like he didn't see them or hear them at all, like he still existed where the mysterious "they" were growing.
~*~
Later, the next morning
A red-head dressed in what could almost be considered rags sat on the edge of the fountain, after having bid her half-Drow friend a temporary farewell.
"I canna tell y', Mime," she said to her lanky friend, that sat across from her, "why he'd give me so grand a hallo and then jus' up an' leave. I s'pose I ne'er quite will un'erstan' his warrior tendencies, but 'tis, I s'pose, jus' tha' he has things he needs t' do, an' 'twould be grand trouble fer us t' join him."
Karuka Tida, the Irish lass who had walked through a portal to Althanas while on her way to India, rested her head on her arms.
She had hair just a bit lighter than wine-red, but much darker than blood red, with a tendency to curl and the occasional gold highlight. Her facial features were clean and slightly sharp, under a honey-brown skin. A red chakra adorned the center of her forehead, over naturally arched eyebrows and eyes that could best be described as 'sun-and-sky,' with an almost-white rim, a crystalline blue center, and a faint golden halo around the pupils.
Since coming to Althanas, she had met a spiffily dressed half-Drow warrior who had attached himself to her rather swiftly, and then, not even an hour after making her way with Arsenic into Scara Brae the city, she had clambered up into a seemingly-musical tree and had met a mime that had joined her with even more alacrity than the first.
"I wonder jus' wha' 'tis tha' we should do while we're waitin' on him. 'Tis nae any good t' jus' sit an' be lazy, an' I wouldnae mind a spot o' honest hard work if i' meant tha' I could get out o' these rags an' inta somethin' a wee bit warmer an' cleaner."
She took out her runes, just out of habit, something to play with, and laid out a few of the small white tablets. Sometimes when being idle like this, they said funny things, like "Plant your gifts for moving men," things that didn't really mean anything.
Today, though, the spread was thus:
Ansur, Ur, Rad, Thorn, Geoff, Lagu, Jara, Wyrd.
"Well, this do be quite th' odd spread here. I wonder what i' means," she said, not so much to her companion as to herself.
"Talk...t'...th' man, go on a journey, an'...there are plants...tha' will be a gift...leadin' t' th' revealin' o' th' unknown."
She looked up at her friend. "Well, I wonder whar he be. Let's find ou'!"
Quickly, deftly, the slender fingers gathered up the seven runes that had come out of the pouch and dropped them back in, and the pendulum came off of the slender neck.
It was a rather slow process, traveling under direction of pendulum, but eventually they were led to the hospital, up the long stairways, and finally to the room where the man was being cared for.
He sat, in no better condition than he had been, rocking back and forth clutching his knees to his chest.
"They're growing," he kept muttering over and over again.
"Well," muttered Karuka, tilting her head slightly, "'tis th' righ' place." So with that, she stepped forward.
"Hallo. My name is Karuka. Mi frien' tha' came here wi' me is Mime. Wha' d' yer name be?"
Perhaps it was the fact that a homonculus had just entered the room. Perhaps it was the odd woman with the strange accent. Perhaps it was a combination of the two, but for the first time since anyone had spoken to him, the poor frightened soul looked at the other beings that had entered the room.
"No," he said at length. "N-no! They're growing!"
Karuka nodded. "They're...growin', are they?" She took a seat on the edge of the bed. "An' 'tis a bad thing tha' they're growin'?"
The patient grabbed her by the shoulders. "They're growing!"
"Well..." here the lilting voice faltered a bit, "d'y' want us t' go an'...find what's growin'?"
"No," he shook his head, shaking his entire emaciated frame as well as her slender one. "No!"
"Nae? D'i' be dangerous?" Karuka's voice turned soft, soothing, like it had when she'd crooned her brother Cael to sleep all those years ago.
"Dangerous! Yes, yes! Away, stay away!" They were the semi-coherent jabberings of a lunatic...but in Celtic society, one in which you ate your enemies' brains, there were more than a few lunatics, as well as the so called "prophets." All of them were loony, and Karuka wasn't much fazed by this new one.
A nurse came in at the sudden increase of volume.
"You're disturbing our patient," she said softly to Karuka and the Mime. "I'll have to ask you to --"
Here the nurse was interrupted by the lunatic's ravings. "Stay away, girl! They're growing!"
Finding it more wise to ignore the nurse than the madman, Karuka asked another question of him. "What is i' that's growin'? Is i' a wee plant? A wee monster?"
"The Liviol trees. The Liviol trees are growing," he announced somberly.
A passing Count, on the way out from visiting a friend who had been mildly injured in a fight at the Zirnden, halted and poked his head into the room. He was tall and slender, with brocaded clothing, a neatly-parted mop of brown hair, piercing grey eyes, a narrow, aquiline nose with flaring nostrils, and a handlebar moustache that protruded over a slash of a mouth and a weak chin.
"The Liviol trees?" the Count enquired. This was Count Uyen Barchon, a resident of Valeena Castle. At this new voice, the madman screamed, dropping Karuka and curling into fetal position. The kind nurse, seeing this rag-bound slip of a girl responsible for this, shoved her (as well as everyone else) out of the room.
"Well, tha' 'twere..."
"FASCINATING!" exploded the Count, beginning to gesture emphatically with every word he deemed of importance. "Liviol trees only grow when magic saturation is high. Not only is the wood quite expensive, but do you have any idea what the location of such a source of magic could do for Scara Brae!"
Karuka shook her head, shrugging eloquently and bringing her hands up to indicate her lack of knowledge. "I dinna e'en kno what a liviol is, or wha' Scara Brae is, rightly. So I canna tell y' wha' magic can do fer y' here."
The Count sighed, mildly exasperated. Why did he always have to come across the stupid ones? The only reason this one hadn't been picked up by the city guards yet was because she traveled with this...freak.
"Let me put it this way...be the discoverer of this source of magic on the island to the north, and I will raise you from poverty to honor. If this discovery is great enough, your names will go down in the history of Scara Brae. But it must all be kept quiet. So there will be a retinue of ten men at a private ship in the docks at seven this evening. Be there, find the source of the magic, you can keep whatever of the wood you choose to carry off, and I will reward you handsomely for proof of it, and even more for bringing it back to me. How does that sound?"
"Personally, I think i' sounds a wee bi' fishy, an' I dinna kno' if we can accept. Our swordsman frien' isnae wi' us --" began Karuka, but again she was interrupted.
"Find another one, for all I care! He'll get rewarded handsomely, too. The Count Uyen Barchon's gratitude is not a thing to be sneezed at in Scara Brae!" With that he made a flourishing bow. "Be there tonight, milady, if you want to be welcome here come dawn tomorrow." Saying no more, he left, glad to be out of the Mime's chilling presence, and hoping the conversation had not been overheard.
Karuka sighed and looked at her friend the Mime.
"I dinna like him, Mime. Wha' d'y' think abou' all o' this, anyway?"
TRANSLATIONS: because Karuka is a hard language to grasp.
"I can't tell you, Mime, why [Arsenic] would just give me such an enthusiastic greeting and then just up and leave. I suppose I'll never quite understand his warrior tendencies, but it is, I suppose, just that he has things he needs to do, and we'd be trouble for him if we came too."
"I wonder what we should do while waiting for him. It isn't any good to sit and be lazy, and I wouldn't mind a bit of honest hard work if it meant I could get out of these rags and into something warmer and cleaner."
"Well...this is an odd spread. I wonder what it means."
"Talk...to...the man...go on a journey...and there are plants...that will be a...gift...leading to the revealing of that which is unknown."
"Well, I wonder where he is. Let's find out!"
"Well, it's the right place."
"Hi, my name is Karuka, and my friend here is Mime. What's your name?"
"They're...growing, are they? And...it's a bad thing that they're growing?"
"Well...do you want us to go find what's growing?"
"No? Is it dangerous?"
"What's growing? A plant? A monster?"
"Well, that was..."
"I don't even know what a liviol is. I don't even really know what Scara Brae is. So I can't tell you what magic can do for you here."
"Personally, I think this sounds a little fishy, and I don't know if we can accept. Our swordsman friend isn't with us..."
"I don't like him, Mime. What do you think about all of this, anyway?"
The Mime
01-20-07, 07:04 PM
There wasn't much good in standing around at the hospital, the nurse just gave them filthy looks as she took a few steps from the ranting...damaged mans room, Karuka seemed to be giving that look back as good as she could, Mime simply tapping her shoulder lightly to bring them back to matters at hand, gesturing that they should leave. Still felt weird to have so many people aware of him but couldn't do anything about that at the moment, keeping pace with the smaller red haired miss he reached behind him into the satchel, arm popping in so many wrong ways and bringing forth his notepad and pencil, bringing it in front of him with that arm in a horribly wrong angle, from shoulder to elbow it was jutting forward, forearm hanging down loosely and his hand tilted upwards displaying his notepad, the other hand taking hold of the pencil and pondering what to write down....many thoughts were going through his head on this venture.
A plant that requires magic to grow, they feed off those chaotic energies...father mentioned things like that but the kind of plants he knew of only fed off insects and light..but life would survive in anyway it could, would make sense that at some point plant-forms grew to feed off magic...
Ignoring the horrified looks he received from nurses and patients as they walked through the rather cramped wards, all eyes on that arm that by all rights would be hanging by a thread of ligament in that position he began writing up one of his questions...he didn`t need an answer but it always helped to be sure.
Plants do not make men lose sanity, also, something had to cause that outburst of magical energy, meaning something rather horrific is likely there correct?
Well...i' coul' be. Bu' i'...I dinna kno. He may ha' been batty when he went on o'er, an' maybe he was already scared o' wha' he was seein' an' i' jus' took one more wee li'l thing t' drive him o'er th' edge."
...Perhaps she dosen't wish to expect the worse..but something powerful would result in such a great change that has the attention of nobles...an offer that high would need to be insanely lucrative and intensely rare...hmm..
With another few pops his arm placed itself back into a human position, adjusting the notepad in his grip to get the right way up. The two were a little too preoccupied to notice the rather heavily built male patient moving beside them faint at that sight considering the wispy homonculous gave it absolutely no notice, almost as if he was merely flicking his wrist in contemplation. Another note was just jotted down and he turned the notepad for her to see.
That mans eyes shone of greed, I do not think we will be able to trust those he sends with us, motivated by money and not by honour they could flee at a given moment
He almost shocked himself with that bit of cynicism but while somewhat naive he wasn't entirely blind to those glints in a persons eye...also the high reward of the agreement made it even more worrying as such a deal could perhaps be forfeited with a force of arms...flipping the page he jotted down some further collections of thoughts along with a sampling of all the facts they had at the moment which were few and not altogether helpful.
The nearest Inn or tavern would be our best bet to find a willing sword, best to do it in the early hours before the drinks flow too high...P.T.O
This page he handed to the Indrish companion, not wanting to draw attention to her...well she didn't seem to grasp where she was at least, turning over the page she saw what had been written quite clearly.
Scara Brae is the country we are in at this moment
"Ah, an' here I thou' 'twere th' town. I canna rightly say...back in Irelan', i' th' fay folk dinna want us t' fin' somethin', they typically keep i' out o' our reach. Perhaps he's tryin' t' send us on after somethin' tha' were nae meant t' be used or e'en held by human hands...well, I s'pose I'll say humanoid. Th' only reason I think we shoul' do any o' this is because th' runes said 'twere a wee matter o' destiny, but I also dinna like th' greed in those eyes. An' he ha' a weak chin. Ne'er trus' a man wi' a weak chin. An' a really big moustache."
But...father had a mustache, was really big and bushy, he used to twiddle it when listening to my music, he used to tell me it wasn't hair but a small rodent he had trained to sit very still
"But aye, let's try an' find a sword i' th' pub."
All bunnying approved and agreed on
Osato sat back, relaxing for the first time in what seemed like forever. The Wizard and The Goat was a laid back establishment, run and managed by former soldiers of fortune. Like the soulless sell-sword, they had begun on Scara Brae and branched away into the true world of Althanas. Unlike the sell-sword, they had never run away from the Scara Brae Knights for failing to finish obligations… and then turned towards a life of shame and hiding.
“Another Ale, my good man,” Osato cried over the laughter of the crowd. On stage was a rather comical and enthusiastic duo, performing a routine that would make even the stone face of Hromagh crack a smile. The mercenary joined in with the rest, roaring with laughter as the two cavorted about like imps after sniffing a little Sillia Powder. It was all in good fun though, and Osato needed a good laugh.
Since leaving his homeland of Yerria, a moderate island off the southern coast of Corone, the young soulless being had found himself a new home. Scara Brae had welcomed him with open arms and cared little for what he was. Many had come to know the man as a sell-sword, a mercenary for hire. But a good majority had come to know him as a friend. As money began to slow, despite the uprising of the goblins and pirates of Hooligans Grotto, Osato was forced to place himself in the care and tutelage of the Scara Brae Knights.
The groups of men were wonderful. They gave of themselves fully, doing anything for the people. They were the true epitome of grace, humility, and strength. But after only a single mission and a rigorous training exercise, Osato quickly found himself being dragged under instead of going willingly. Like a riptide the men of the Knights were pulling him towards their order, forcing him to drown beneath a sea of responsibility and a demanding code of ethics.
Adventurous and full of life yet, Osato would have none of it.
Between travels from the great city of Scara Brae to his next destination for training, Osato took off. He left behind the training and demanding atmosphere. It was like a trap, closing quickly, a promise of release never coming. The soulless mercenary was too carefree and needed to be free of any binding contract. To join the Knights was the complete opposite of what he wished for. But his choice had turned the men against him. He was on the bad list for Scara Brae… not a wanted and outright known convict, but any of the Knights of Scara Brae could easily identify him.
“Thank you, love,” Osato said as the slender girl placed a large mug of amber ale before him. It cost a little more, especially with all the problems on Corone and the shipping industry, but nothing beat a good mug of Lavinian ale. “And here’s a tip,” the sell-sword said as he flicked a small golden coin through the air.
The woman smirked and walked away. Osato assumed she was taken by his looks, as most human women were. Her eyes glowed and her stride was light and full of cheer. A smile in turn found the face of the mercenary. It was always good to know that everyone still found him attractive.
As he turned back towards the slap-stick show, the door to the inn creaked open. Over the laughter and scattered conversations the sound of the opening door was neigh inaudible. Despite that, Osato happened to be turning around at the time, looking for the serving girl with the cute bottom. Instead his eyes fell on a ruby haired goddess.
The sell-sword found humanoids to be attractive just as connoisseurs chose their fine wines or artwork. They would always like something, know it was attractive, but there was undoubtedly something better that was yet to be discovered or created. Music was still being composed, art was always being created, and wine was always being perfected. Humans were little different.
The one that had walked through the doors at that moment was something altogether different. She had hair of the deepest red, ice blue eyes, and a skin tone that accentuated not only her high cheek bones but what little portion of her stomach was exposed. Osato looked past the tattered garb and straight to the picturesque, though lanky, woman.
The sell-sword scooped up his large ale, careful not to allow any of the rich alcohol slip over the dented steel mug’s lip, and made for the woman. It was a dance indeed to avoid to flailing arms of storytellers and the teetering chairs of the roaring people, but one that quickly brought the beautiful swordsman before the woman. “Good day,” Osato said with a flourish a small bow. The steel pauldrons creaked against the half-plate that covered his breast. “It is an honor. My name is Osato, a sword for hire. I could not help but notice you from across the room and came to make my presence known as well.”
Osato peered over her shoulder, taking a sip from his dented mug. It appeared that some circus was in town, for a man in an interesting mask had followed in after her. It looked like the man was wearing a mask, but the seams of it were difficult to see. Despite a rising sense of nausea, the sell-sword saluted the man with his mug and nodded before taking another draught.
"Hallo, Osato," said the slender red-head to the warrior that had come right up and introduced himself. If the odd amalgamation of colors and physical traits had caught his attention from across the room, the voice was a very rich and excellent icing on the cake. It was warm and lilting like a ray of sunshine, soft and soothing as the coo of a dove, musical as the notes of her little wooden flute, and sweet to the ear as honey was to the tongue.
"I'm Karuka, an' mi frien' here is Mime."
She looked at him...and he was truly impressive to look upon, a few inches taller than herself with shaggy brown and...purple? hair, as well as eyes bluer than the forget-me-not flower. Add to that a tanned face and rugged features...as well as the calm assurance that he was the most interesting man in the pub, and Karuka had rarely ever seen a more handsome man.
Now that she'd satisfied the immediate curiosity as to this new man's relative attractiveness, she noted he blanched a little in the presence of Mime. Well...she'd felt similar upon first meeting her mute friend, and she still felt that slight rising horror when he was approaching from behind and she wasn't expecting him. Not to mention...other people had had many a worse reaction just as Mime had entered a room, and this man that stood before them had not only acknowledged Mime, he hadn't bolted. This bode well.
This particular specimen of a fighter didn't quite look like he belonged to any organization...not that she knew which organizations ... wait, no. Sword for hire. Definitely a mercenary.
He had a breastplate and pauldrons over a shirt that looked like a very durable linen. He had a sword with a very broad and tapering blade base...she didn't know much about swords, but the weight at the back would lend some power to swings.
"Well, an available sword tha' drinks a good clear ale canna be all bad," she said with a grin, realizing that she was scrutinizing this new character a bit too long and hard for an acceptable amount of comfort. How she could tell a good clear ale from a bad murky ale at this distance? A wee Druid child learned which brews were best before she knew which cheeses were best, if she learned her cheeses at all. Cheeses were for the French.
Impulsively, she reached forward and grabbed Osato's free hand, giving it a firm shake before releasing it.
"Actually, me an' Mime, we were jus' lookin' fer a sword t' come wi' us. Somethin' abou' liviol trees growin' an' a source o' magic tha' one o' th' local counts...wha' were his name, Mime? 'Twere somethin' tha' sounded righ' ou' o' Chang'an, tha' i' did...ay big moustache, an' a weak chin...I canna stan' men wi' weak chins...th' name...was...Uyen Barchon! 'Twas right. An' he said t' meet a'..."
Here the naturally rouged cheeks drained of their blood and the pomegranate mouth twisted apprehensively. Her next words lost their cheery lilt, only holding that distinctive accent.
"A' th' boat. 'Twas a' th' boat. Oh no." The red-head let out a shuddering breath and rubbed her hands as they, too, went cold.
Realizing this was not the BEST impression she could be making, she struggled forth another smile.
"Well...there'll be enou' o' a reward fer taggin' along wi' us tha' coul' warrant y' t' meet us there or spen' th' res' o' th' day wi' us. If y' want to, tha' is."
The slender red-head looked almost a foot up and over her shoulder at her friend the Mime, before looking back at the swordsman.
"Isnae tha' righ'?"
TRANSLATIONS
"Hello, Osato, I'm Karuka and my friend here is Mime."
"Well, an available sword[sman] who drinks a good clear ale can't be all bad."
"Actually, Mime and I were just looking for a sword[sman] to come with us. Something about liviol trees growing and a source of magic that one of the local Counts...what was his name, Mime? It sounded like something straight out of China, it did...had a big moustache, and a weak chin. I can't stand men with weak chins...the name was...Uyen Barchon! That's right. And he said to meet at..."
"At the boat. It was at the boat. Oh no."
"Well, there'll be enough of a reward for tagging along with us that it might warrant you to come spend the rest of the day with us or meet us there. If you want to."
"Isn't that right?"
The Mime
01-22-07, 05:26 AM
The Mime often wondered how he had been...well not born but created so tall, it seemed unusual that with all these large, muscled warriors he was always looking down at them, probably didn't help the unease those would feel around him. He had still been writing before and after they entered the tavern, at times having to wrap his claws around the edge of his pencil and wittle back to a point...those curly letters and delicate formation of words did use up so much lead. Raising his head from the notepad as they passed in he looked over most of the hunched or boistrous figures in it, even skipping past the almost too perfect one approaching them...so many glances from the corner of their eyes, one or two even tightening the grip on those tankards, a sigh probably would have escaped but he was not allowed such an obvious expression. At least he was a little less noticable both in all this activity and that his claws were hidden, not many could only count to a maximun of six.
Bards...performers, so many possible stories and intensely exaggerated acts of heroism waiting to be told, a chronicler must have the feeling of a child in a sweet store..I do feel like that myself, perhaps after we come back sucessful they'll be willing to part with such tales
He had gotten a little lost in thought but as Osato drew closer he realised the warriors sight never left Karuka, along with many other eyes that had gotten bored of looking at the artificial freak. Aware of it or not she had some incredible ability to attract the attention of men..maybe that is also why the count parted with the job request so quickly or else he just saw them as easy to sweep under the rug if the profit was very large. There was that odd pang once again as those words dripped off the warriors tongue like trained doves, it sounded like the beginnings of a romance novel he had read years ago...
O...Ossanto..Ossatno...Ossato..
When your not capable of speech its important to work out how someones name is spelt, flipped through another page and began writing quickly, he knew while Karukas accent was endearing it can be quite difficult to comprehend the first time around. All those pertinent facts in a decent sized list and flipped it around for the new swordsman to get all the details while still paying attention to the red haired gem, even offering a slow nod to return the offering of greetings, it was important to be polite even to a fresh stranger.
I wonder how many he has slayed for the right reasons...what must it feel like to end a life...ughn..I do not like this feeling such thoughts provide
One hand moved to rub at his chest for a second, hopefully those around figured he had a right to feel uncomfortable with all this discomfort thick in the air of what should have been a center of entertainment and wenching. He watched Karuka carefully as the topic came of boats, he had travelled on a boat before, it was not a comfortable experiance...but it was good to travel on the waves, sadly he was forced into the crows nest simply to avoid the commonly superstitious men of the sea...but her reaction, one of fear it seemed...as she tried to force the topic onto easier subjects the Mime jotted down another note, this one he sliced off silently from the page.
What happened to you with sea travel?
Folding it quite carefully, having to avoid puncturing the paper he slipped it into her hand just as the crimson haired curiousity looked back at him, would be best not to bring up difficult matters in such a public place, it also seemed Karuka thought that the best solution with her change in tone.
Osato was no mage or caster, quite the contrary in all truth, but still the Mime’s affect spread. People that were common tavern-fillers, the sort of random person you could find in any tavern but never pay attention too, were also shifting away from the man. Most tried drowning out the sense of unease in their drink, attempting to kill their senses altogether perhaps. Others simply stood up and moved, nodding to the three in passing, as they were standing in the walkway that split the sides of the tavern. But the soulless mercenary, with a hatred for magic, slowly began to grow calmer as he took a step forward. The sense of nausea was replaced by a tingling wave of serenity that budded bumps along his skin.
“Well met,” the mercenary called as he accepted her hand and shook it. Her grip was firm, despite her size and demeanor. The smile broadened on Osato’s face as he thought to himself. The woman was a flare of charm and yet the sell-sword could not figure out what attribute to place at her core. Would she turn out to be calm and collected? Or would she turn into a roaring lion with pressure applied? Either way she was offering the man a job, and he needed one.
Despite his best effort, Osato could barely get anything of what the woman was saying at first. He had to take the words and process most of them again, and then piece the puzzle together. It was a rough form of tradespeak, but with half of almost every word vanishing before becoming vocal. Endearing though it was, the mercenary thought it would take some time to be able to quickly grasp anything from the woman’s mouth.
“A weak chin and large moustache,” Osato mumbled as he took another sip. The ale was quickly disappearing. But, even with the cacophony of noise that reverberated through the common room, the sell-sword could hear the cheer flee from her tone. Without the jovial tone her intonation was simply a burden to understand. “Are you going to be alright?”
Without waiting for a reply Osato turned to the bar. The barkeep was already on that side of the bar, watching the three with a rather angry eye. In one hand was a heavy mug, the other an almost clean rag. “We need an Ale, make it two of Lavinian’s Best,” Osato said. He had quickly taken Mime into consideration, and then rejected the idea. He didn’t even have a mouth, or so the soulless being assumed, how could he drink anything? “Thank you,” Osato responded as the man placed the mugs down. The sell-sword placed five gold pieces on the counter.
“Here, here, drink up. The color drained from your rosy cheeks.” Osato handed the woman the draught. Luckily the keep had not thought so little of them, for the steel mugs were frosted and chilled, a very thin layer of frost hanging across the robust body of the cup. Without waiting he quickly took a sip, and curiously watched the Mime tear a sliver of paper he had just written on. He handed it to Karuka, and the naturally curious Osato had to crane his neck to see. “I assume you don’t like the man… or is it boats? If it is the sea, you have not only found yourself a good sword-for-hire, but you have also found yourself a near expert at sea! Why, before I came to Scara Brae, I spent years in the service the marines of Yerria… I’ve never strayed too far from ships since my… birth.”
At the last word Osato choked a bit. Not many people could tell from looking at him that there was no soul residing within. Most saw his eyes, a heavy blue but truly empty, and were enthralled with the exotic. He was told that he almost always made people feel uneasy, in a good way, as if they were watching an animal never been seen before for the first time. The ex-knight never let out that he was a soulless being, and sometimes slipped on words like birth that did not actually pertain to him.
However, something made him feel like looking up at the Mime. The man was silent as the grave, and yet Osato felt that the little slip would be noticed by him especially. He wasn’t sure what the man was, but human was out of the list of choices. Osato would reveal himself when the Mime decided too.
Karuka took the ale with a nod of thanks and swallowed a mouthful. It was her first time to drink any Althanean alcohol, although by no means her first experience with the stuff -- after all, like most children of her village, she grew up with a bowl of beer soup in the morning.
The brew itself had a clean, smooth and rich flavor, with the faintest perceptible hints of the exotic and enticing she couldn't quite grasp at. The texture was just a tad thick without being too much so, and didn't have too much of a bite to it. Two things were apparent -- the first that whoever brewed this particular ale had put some love into it, and the second that Osato was a man who knew a good brew when he tasted it.
"Thank y'," she said at last, after thinking about how to explain her reaction when it finally hit her that they'd be taking a boat.
An' I dinna think o' i' when Count weak-chin sai' i' because...? 'Twas ay right slow on th' uptake there.
She took another mouthful before speaking again, holding the chilled mug between her hands. "Well...'tis jus' tha'..." She shook her head. "I' sounds righ' silly, I know, bu'...well...I dinna dou' tha' th' trip will be safe...bu'..."
She sighed, just letting it come out.
"When I was a wee lass...no older'n four...I was visitin' some family in Scotlan' wi' mi parents, an' I was ou' wi' some distant cousins on one o' th' wee lochs...there were nine o' us on i'...th' boat capsized, an'...six people ne'er made i' back t' th' surface...'twould ha' been seven if mi athair hadna dived int' th' loch an' foun' me so fas'. I've ne'er trusted boats since. I love th' water...I can sit by a lake or river all day, I love bein' a' th' beach...an' I love th' rain...bu' I dinna like bein' on th' water at all."
She grinned sheepishly, adding, "when Nic was bringin' me from Alerar t' this wee island, he ha' t' blindfold me t' get me on th' boat, an' I sat b'low th' whole time, recitin' th' Gayatri Mantra. Sounds righ' silly, I tol' y'."
She took another sip of this rich ale. "After we get back, I'll ha' t' buy y' a drink. Or d'y' make a point o' i' t' buy drinks fer ladies y' jus' met?"
The quip was made in genuine fun, and the natural blush was starting to return to those honeyed cheeks. Slender fingers tapped contemplatively against the still-cold sides of the once-frosty mug as the sun-and-sky eyes peered into the drink, as though trying to scry something from it.
"We need t' go t' th' local library b'fore we head on off," she said at last. "I wan' t' know what, exactly, is happenin' o'er there, as far as we kin fin' ou', b'fore walkin' merrily into i' like th' poor village moron."
TRANSLATIONS
"Thanks."
>>And I didn't think of it when Count weak-chin said it because...? I was right slow on the uptake THERE<<
"Well, it's just that...it sounds silly, I know, but, well...I don't doubt the trip will be safe, but...
When I was a little girl, no older than four, I was visiting some family in Scotland with my parents, and I was out with some distant cousins on one of the little lochs ((lakes))...there were nine of us on it...the boat capsized...and six people never made it back to the surface...it would have been seven if my dad hadn't dived into the lake and found me so quickly. I've never trusted boats since. I love the water...can sit by a lake or river all day, I love the beach, and rain is nice. But I don't like being on the water at all."
"When Nic was bringing me from Alerar to this little island, he had to blindfold me to get me on the boat, and I sat below the entire time, reciting the Gayatri Mantra. It sounds silly, I told you."
"After we get back, [Osato], I'll have to buy you a drink. Or do you make a point of buying drinks for women you just met?"
"We need to go to the library before we leave. I want to know what, exactly, is happening over there, as far as we can find out, before merrily heading into such a situation like the poor village idiot."
The Mime
01-23-07, 12:04 AM
As they sat down the Mime seemed to slink down a little more into his chair than most, despite his huge standing height with his own discomfort and unusual joints he was equal to Karuka on sitting height at the moment, an empty tankerd sat on the table from a previous patron. Glancing to see if any were to remove it the Mime edged it to him, deciding to at least keep his fingers active in some manner of fidgeting. A single claw running around the lip of the drinking vessel...even he had no idea why he required no food nor liquids, the Mime had not even worked out what did fuel him...he just tended to feel better around settlements.
Lowering his sight to the tankerd more fully he continued letting his solitary claw dance and trace along all those many lines, for such a simple thing they did have enjoyable decorations and carvings...his actions stopped as Karuka explained her story however, perhaps she felt more comfortable around this swordsman in order to divulge something like that..or was just a very open person, most likely both. That must have been an intensely heart-breaking experiance, Father had brought up that point one time with him, during a rescue...who do you save?...he wasn't sure what he meant at first but it becomes apparent when your own safety is as endangered as theirs...in that situation do you just cut your losses, do you get everyone you can and face death...he couldn't help but state that he would do it all, someone in danger cannot be ignored. His father..was somewhat disappointed with that answer, but not in any response to stupidity or such, it was simply his own personal belief that you save the one with the highest chance of survival, maybe he had hoped his 'son' would share all his viewpoints but was not to be.
A library...I wonder how long I have to pore through it before we must depart...choices choice, do I go for fiction, perhaps history or I could check the personal histories, discover the people who shaped this land, maybe I can...
His thoughts trailed off slowly as he looked to Karuka and Osato...wondering if, while studious did they enjoy literature as well...or would they just sit at opposite ends of a short table looking at each other...
I do not like this feeling in me...I must be thinking something wrong, push it aside...he seems unusual, the way he holds himself is vastly different from Nic..but then his personality is obviously a major step in a different direction..but there is something about those eyes and the general...picture perfect quality
Osato listened to the girl’s story with interest. Apparently the death of others was greatly weighing on her soul. The sell-sword and voyaged over the seas, fought on the seas and disembarked to fight on land. At all times others, friend, had died next to him and had been lost at sea. It had never truly affected the mercenary in a negative way, but instead in a strengthening way. The woman must have been quite young when the death of her friends had occurred, especially if the event still brought a shudder across her.
“Ha,” the mercenary responded as he took another sip. “I don’t buy them for everyone, just people that appear to be about to faint from thoughts long since past. But, when we get back, I’d love to take you up on that drink… I just hope that Mime will be participating in our conversation next time.” Osato meant by no means to be rude, but the man was beginning to make him uncomfortable. He never spoke, never took a drink, and did not seem to want anything. The sell sword let his cool, dark eyes look over the eerie and silent member of their party.
He sighed when the word ‘library’ was mentioned. Books were not his favorite of topics, reading in general had never brought anything of interest nor use to the mercenary. If she had suggested asking an oracle, a librarian, or even a random person on the street Osato would have accepted it. However, the library of Scara Brae was a rather large building, full of guards. It was taken quite seriously by the small island; they were always attempting to fill its never full hallways. But it was the guards that waited outside the doors that made Osato wary. If it was the Knights who were watching the doors, for whatever reason, than there was a likely chance that they would see and know him.
The mercenary ran a hand along his new clothes. The khaki cargo pants, strings of belts, and new armor were all a ploy to make it so that the man would blend in more. If the guards saw through it he would be quickly reported, if not apprehended on the spot. Either one would be a grave problem, resulting in years of prison time.
“Well,” he said with another sigh. “If we must venture to the library, I will meet you there. I have an errand to run still. That sound fine?”
"Ah, 'tis th' fears gained when we are but wee ones tha' stick when we're nae so wee anymore," said the red-head in response to his 'about to faint' comment.
She watched Osato closely as he mulled over the thought of going to the library. Those cold and beautiful eyes betrayed a nervousness...and the way he slowly rubbed along his clothing...there was something there he was uncomfortable about, if not outright afraid of.
She nodded when he said that he'd meet up with them at the boat. "Tha' soun's fine. Th' hour he sai' t' be there was..." she looked at Mime again, as though for confirmation of the hour. "Seven. Perha' we can meet a' th' docks half an hour a'fore tha'? Jus' t' fin' th' right boat an' nae be late."
Karuka finished her ale and stood, not even a little off balance...the ale hadn't been too strong, and she wasn't a new drinker. "We'll see y' then, Osato, unless y' change yer min'. But 'twould ay be a shame." The deep-red lips curled up in a smile, and Karuka patted the Mime on the shoulder.
"'C'mon, Mime." She gave her friend the same smile and stepped out of the bar with him in tow.
It was fairly easy to find the library...the building was gigantic, and she lightly tripped up the stairs to the entrance, where she was halted by a guard, who looked her over carefully.
"What business do you have here?" he demanded of her. Pity she's a tramp, he thought behind his veneer of duty. She'd be a looker otherwise.
Karuka met his gaze evenly and grinned. "I've jus' a wee bit o' research t' do. I promise, I've nae go' an interest in sleepin' in so grand an' cold a building, an' I dinna eat books. An' nae, my wee accent isnae a sign o' bein' too long on th' streets. I'm nae from aroun' here. So let us in yer wee buildin', an' 'twill all be fine."
She slipped past him and to the door while they were paying more attention to her accent and her belly-button ring (which, to be fair, was a very shiny object placed openly where most women had the sense to cover up) than to where she was going, and then reached out and pulled Mime in with her.
"We'll nae be any trouble. Thank y'."
With that, the honey-skinned red-head slipped into the library and started looking around. There were two stories to the library, and it was divided up into sections. Science here, religion there, art, math, literature, and everything else assigned to its proper place. A proper place for everything is a wonderful notion, for those who are familiar with the system. For those who are not, however, hours could pass and no gain would be made. A brief inspection of the library did nothing to help Karuka find anything useful, as she was terribly unfamiliar with the layout, and the scripting of the text even looked a little different than what she was used to...as far as English went.
Mime had slipped off somewhere to browse things of his own interest, but Karuka had other things to look for. She hoped her friend had fun, though. He'd seemed more than a wee bit excited at the prospect of a library, and she couldn't really blame him. She was excited to be here, as well.
Truth be told...she'd never been in a library before. She'd been taught English by the old crone who had taught her divination, and had had few texts to study. She'd heard of libraries, though, and what great tools they were. Maybe this wee trip were t' satisfy mi ain curiosity, she thought as she bowed her head, letting the hair that had fallen out of the knot fall over and obscure her chakra. I do ha' mi runes, an' they'd ha' tol' me right, if I'd asked 'em.
Sighing, Karuka slid the pendant off her neck and held it out. "What d' I need t' know here?"
For a few seconds, the slightly shiny dark-grey object wobbled indecisively, but then it swung boldly around, leading her from one section to another, to specific books. One was a little thing on the liviol wood itself...she just needed to skim it to learn that it needed a source of magic to grow and prosper, that it came in such odd colors as dark blue and purple, that it had magic or anti-magic properties, and was worth more than a pretty wee penny. She put it back.
The other book told of the legendary dangers of the Liviol Sanctum...a wail that survivors spoke of that drove men mad, a disappearing village, a gigantic feline, and rumors of a strange castle. It was said to be the castle of an ancient times, one that was heir to a great magic...one that had since been lost.
Karuka read that paragraph again, passing her fingers over it. Ba-BUM. She stiffened...she could have sworn that she heard it...but it did not come again.
She leaned back in the great chair she was occupying, contemplating. I' soun's like they've a wee ban-sidhe an' a wee fay village. Nae too much t' worry abou'...an' maybe a wee colony o' jaguars...maybe nothin'. There was nae any detail on th' cat...or on anythin'. None ha' stayed, or lived, t' tell th' real tale. 'Tis right creepy, 'tis. We'll ha' t' be greatly careful.
Outside, the great bell-clock started chiming, informing the people outside that it was time to go home and to supper.
I've a'ready spent an hour in here? 'Tis amazin', 'twas only four when I came in.
The great musical notes trickled through the town, marking the passing of the hours.
Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong.
She sat straight up as the sixth note sounded, red hair bouncing in its ponytail. Six already! How had she missed the chiming of five? I'm goin' right deaf in mi old age. Lithely, she sprang up, running around to find the Mime and tell him it was time to go, and then it was time to start heading to the docks.
The very notion of going out onto a pier made Karuka a little queasy...but she'd be on a boat in the morning, like it or not, best to go the way that wouldn't get her banished from the wee island forever.
There were several ships about...big ones, small ones...and one a bit bigger than a Viking longboat (and built more like an English clipper) at the far end of the dock, with ten men loading provisions onto it.
The sun was just starting to go down, and a sea breeze was running along the dock, smelling thickly of salt water and seaweed. Ropes and boards creaked softly as the ships they belonged to bobbed gently in the water.
Subconsciously, Karuka grabbed hold of the Mime's arm...she really hated boats and being this close to them.
"There 'tis, Mime. I see i'. I...guess we'll wait for Osato an' then...get on th' boat." She'd gone pale again, and the fingers wrapped about the slender arm had turned icy.
TRANSLATIONS
"Ah, it's the fears we gain when we're just kids that stick with us when we're not so little anymore."
"That sounds fine. The hour he said to be there was....seven. Perhaps we can meet at the docks half an hour before that? Just to find the boat and not be late."
"I just have a little research to do, is all. I promise, I don't want to sleep in such a big, cold building, and I don't eat books. And no, my little cute accent is not a sign of being on the streets too long. I'm not from around here. So let me in your little building, and everything will be all right. We won't be any trouble. Thanks."
>>Maybe this trip was just to satisfy my own curiosity. I do have my runes, and they'd have told me right, if I'd asked them.<<
>>It sounds like they have a banshee and a little Fay village. Not too much to worry about...and maybe a little colony of jaguars...maybe nothing. There wasn't any detail on the cat...or on anything. None have stayed...or lived...to tell the tale. It's a bit creepy, really. We'll have to be very careful.<<
>>I've already spent an hour in here? Amazing. It was only four when I came in.<<
>> Well, I'm going right deaf in my old age...<<
"There it is, Mime. I see it. I guess we'll have to wait for Osato and then...get on the boat."
The Mime wishes to relinquish his turn this round.
Osato smiled as the woman seemingly understood. Despite not translating his distress into actual words, she had obviously seen his discomfort. Silently he thanked Am’aleh for giving him a decent group to adventure with, much less a pretty girl to accompany him. It would be quite the change from the battle-hardened and unemotional company of the Knights.
“Perfect,” Osato replied. Seven would give him plenty of time to mill about and find what he was looking for. Of course, he would have to employ the wares of shops and vendors that he did not ordinarily do business with. If the Knights were truly looking for him they would easily find him if he stopped to flirt with the pretty lass at the sword shop, or the stalwart veteran at the blacksmithy. “We will meet half and hour early then. Good luck with your… studies.”
As the woman turned, leaving the mercenary to his own devices, Osato could not help but watch he walk away. Her deep red hair was tied back, such as shame too. With a smirk still on his face he set his mug down. “Thanks again,” he said as he waved to the barkeep, who simply nodded. And out the door he went, leaving the tavern behind.
Less than an hour later he had already located the herb he was looking for. It would be especially interesting and necessary for the trip ahead. He only hoped Karuka would appreciate the gesture. “What a fine day for a voyage,” he noted. Overhead the sun was already on its way towards setting, but was quite far from parting for the night. “I only hope…”
Words were cut short, however, when the sound of a muffled cry caught Osato’s attention. He was, by no means, the resident ‘hero’, but a cry was always something to be investigated. Without looking around to see if others had heard it as well, the sell-sword picked up his stride and rounded the corner. Before him was a dingy alley, small and tight, with three men almost directly at its center.
“Our money,” the largest of them said, “We need it now.” At his feet was a slightly bruised young girl. Her eyes were shut tight, and even from the distance that Osato was at he could see that she was shedding tears. Across both sides of her face were fresh bruises, not quite fully bloomed. Apparently she had been cuffed a number of times by the ruffians towering over her.
“Yeah,” the second of the three added. He seemed to know little about intimidation, for ‘yeah’ was far from exemplary. However, he was holding the girls dirty blonde hair, pulling the long locks upwards to hold her in place. In his opposite hand was the only drawn weapon that Osato noticed, and it was little more than an average cudgel.
“Is there some problem that I can help you with?” Osato said as he shuffled into the alleyway. Unfortunately it was barely a foot on either side of his shoulders, meaning too narrow to draw his sword. But, what really bothered the sell-sword was the fact that he was doing it at all.
As a Knight of Scara Brae one was forced to help any and all in need. Osato had seen his fair share of fights in bars, alleyways, and even in the middle of the streets. He had taken part in them, thrown a few fists for good measure before arresting them. But since his sudden departure from the Knight’s halls, he had no further obligations to the defenseless and poor. What’s more, Osato was a free man and had all rights to watch and simply walk by.
But that chivalric code of conduct and honor was still beating within him. Even if he was not a practiced warrior, even if he was nothing more than a dingy mercenary, he would always put others first. Not to mention, defending the defenseless was a nearly full time job. There would always be weak and manipulative people somewhere, and the stock of cruel and sour villains would never run too low.
“What’s it to you, bub?” The skinny man said. His voice was firm and resolute, confidence flashed behind his grubby visage. The other, the third, was little more than a boy. He was different from the other two. His head snapped up, fear and anxiety flashing across his face. They had been found out. The young boy looked like a goblin caught stealing from the dragon’s gold. “If you’ve got a problem with the way the Scourge does business, take it up with our offices…”
The two ‘men’ cackled at the joke. But Osato did not. He had not stopped walking towards them, his stride light. When he got within ten feet the one with the club let go of the young girl’s hair and started forward. “You maggot,” he said, swinging the club. It rattled against the cobblestone building to Osato’s right, and before it could make contact the mercenary attacked.
He ducked low, swinging a heavy fist at the man’s ribs. The strike hit home just as the man’s arm fell and bounced off the soulless warrior’s pauldron. The bandit doubled over, but could not fall near fast enough before another fist cuffed the side of his head. Before he hit the ground his arms had already gone slack, and it was with a jarring thud that his skull connected with the alleyway.
Osato pushed off the irregular stones of the street, slipping slightly on the layered grime. But it mattered little, for it was only two steps before another strong punch caught the big man across the jaw. He staggered back, falling into a dingy puddle. The man was out. “A weak jaw,” the mercenary said through a smirk as he turned towards the cowering third member. “Go, now. And leave this nonsense with the Scourge behind. It’s not worth it, and you will eventually just be like these two. Face down in a muddy puddle in some alleyway, left behind because the Scourge only uses its members…”
“And you,” Osato said to the girl on the ground, the last of the bandits already having run away. “What is your name?”
“Andraea, sir.” The girl was still curled on the ground, cowering before Osato. “But if you don’t mind sir, could I perhaps accompany you? The Scourge has broken my supplies and I have nowhere to go.”
“Stand up, collect what you can off of those bandits,” Osato said instead of answering. Ahead of him was an important task with a pretty lady. If the boy was to come along he would be nothing more than a retainer for the mercenary. Perhaps in time he would be useful, as a fighter or a squire… “Make sure to take anything of value, and pop ‘em once more for good measure. You’ll be coming with me. We’re off right now though; have to trade that stuff in for some clothes and a weapon for you. And then we’re on our way to the docks. I do hope you can keep up.”
((Sorry for the length. Bunny me coming on whatever if you want… Andraea (http://ic3.deviantart.com/fs10/i/2006/075/8/d/__Druid_Girl___by_GhoulSoul.jpg). That’s a rough idea of what she looks like after buying new clothes, and she’s half-elven. Any other questions will be slowly fleshed out with each post…))
Karuka was still looking fearfully at the boat when Osato came up. She only noticed him approaching because his shiny armor glinted in her peripheral vision.
She looked over and grinned. "Hallo, Osato. 'Tis ay good t' see y', we weren't sure if y' were still comin'."
She noticed his companion...well, it made sense that so gorgeous a warrior would have a pretty girl to accompany him, and one that didn't look half so shabby as she herself did. Not that Karuka was looking for a man at all, in all fairness...but it was nice to look, sometimes. The exotic red-head smiled at the Elven girl.
"Hallo, 'tis ay good t' meetcha, and 'twill be nice t' ha' another woman here t' chat wi'. 'Tis ay been a long time since I've been able t' talk wi' a girl mi ain age."
Her grip on the Mime's arm had loosened, but the fine hands clenched again on the twig-like arm in a death-grip as she looked back at the boat. Her stomach turned at the prospect of boarding, and the thought of being on the open water was enough that between force of will and force of terror, she stayed right where she was.
"Well...'tis th' boat, there," she finally said, lamely. "Perha'...we shoul'...well...perha' 'tis ay time t' go."
She KNEW the others were looking at her strangely...why did she have need, yet, of being so terrified of something so safe? But she couldn't help it. She just couldn't board a boat. She'd been bounced from a wee fay ring in Ireland to the great one in Angland, to a similar construct in Bretagne, in an Fhraing. No need for boats at all.
"Let's...go?"
The wee group moved forward to board the boat. Osato and his female companion went aboard with no difficulty, but Karuka, with her grip still on Mime's arm, recoiled as she stepped onto the wooden pier from the street. She stepped back, as though she'd stepped on an open flame, and the slender body flinched, as though she'd been struck.
Shaking, she reached forward once more with her foot, but again recoiled. She tried a third time, barely able to breathe, she was so terrified, and then, with tears in her eyes, looked at her silent friend.
"I canna do this an' see where I'm goin', too. So I'm gonna close mi eyes an' trus' tha' ye'll get me ont' th' boat in safety."
Looking at him, she knew she could trust him, knew that he'd suffer no harm to befall her, much less lead her into any himself. So with that assurance, she took a deep breath and firmly closed her eyes. She moved forward as his arm pulled her along...it was so hard to go. Each step felt more and more like an invitation to the forces ruling the world beneath to come take her away for daring to venture beyond the safety of land.
Finally they came to the ramp where they would board the boat. The first few steps went well...at least, as well as the ones down the pier, but then a wave bumped the boat gently, as tide was coming in, and with the boat it bumped the ramp.
Karuka froze, keeping her eyes shut, and cowered there on the ramp. An insistent tug from the Mime urged her forward again after a minute, and finally they were on board, and the men grabbed the ramp and pulled it up.
Karuka's sun-and-sky eyes opened as they started the process of casting off, and immediately she bolted for the area below. A hardy soldier was starting up to the deck as she touched down, and he turned her around and marched her back up.
"That area's for the men only, missy," he informed her gruffly. "It isn't too cold for you up here." He then released her and went to help with preparations.
Deprived of her hiding place, Karuka rushed to the ship's stern...too far to jump to land, and they were starting to cast off. Aft...nothing but water, and the same at the sides. Finally, she was left with no recourse but to hunker down between the rain barrels, and with shuddering breaths she began one of the mantras her father had taught her when she was just a wee lass.
Aum Bhūr Bhuva Svaha
Aum Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayāt, Aum
She didn't know exactly what this one meant, but she did know that it invoked the knowledge of the Brahmin and the illumination of the sun. What you know, my daughter, her father had often said, will not frighten you.. That didn't help much now, but they were underway as the setting sun tinted both sky and sea blood-red.
And the waves against the side of the ship as they started their voyage sounded faintly like a pulse.
TRANSLATIONS (place names in blue)
"Hi, Osato. It's very good to see you, we weren't sure if you were still coming."
"Hi, it's good to meet you, and it'll be nice to have another woman here to chat with. It's been a very long time wince I've been able to talk to another girl my own age."
"Well...that's the boat, there. Perhaps...we should...well, maybe it's time to go."
Angland = England, Bretagne = Brittany, an Fhraing = France
"I can't do this and see where I'm going, too. So I'm going to close my eyes and trust that you'll get me onto the boat in safety."
The Mime
02-03-07, 11:06 AM
The Mime did as Karuka asked of him without any real questions really, but as he led her onto the lightly swaying vessel he had time to mull a few things over...such as what were the circumstances of Osatos new companion, he seemed to have the air of someone who collected...but truly seemed a better person than one to collect other living beings, a noble deed likely rested in the meeting of those two, maybe it was warriors like Osato that led to the writing of the Spriggan novels he had pored over in his...well..child-hood hardly seems fitting, he was always the same height after all, normally children were signified by being somewhat small. His mind doing a small two-step back to reality, realising Karuka had stopped and in so doing, the flow of traffic onto the boat had been stalled somewhat...he did so hate to be rough but perhaps she would forgive him and gave a light tug upon his arm to make her steps resume.
Please Karuka fears are meant to be defeated, you mustn't let yourself be controlled in this way by a simple rolling of the tides, despite the loss...
By her sudden departure from his grasp the Mime was forced off balance for a moment, the Homonculous revealing to those who had watched his unusual structure as his knee bent backwards, shin bending out in front of him, the other leg sliding in the opposite direction to steady himself before rising up into his original posture, though immediately his shoulders and neck quailed under the eyes of those sea-faring men...they were famously superstitious on most vessels and he hardly boded well, with a look to Osato and his companion the Mime quickly jotted down a small note and offered it to the new arrival in a form of greeting.
Apologies for that miss Andrea and Mister Osato
His claws seemed to have impeccable traction on the deck of the ship, the Mime seeming to be entirely unaffected by the gentle swaying currently had as they moved out onto open water, he had merely glanced where Karuka had been forced to rush off after being man-handled back to the deck.
"Ere you!...watch it boney"
The Mimes progress was halted as he looked to a particulary burly sailor, he seemed chiselled from rather filthy lime-stone...not that the man was dirty but he must have at one time been pale-faced until becoming salt-beaten and wind-swept. He certainly had on him an expression that was hewn from granite though...a rather large chunk of granite that one would hurl at an enemy...at the least it was approaching and attached to that burly sailor, who was starting to become a little more uneasy...not just from the Mimes un-natural aura but by how the Mime on straightening up was much taller than the sea-farer.
"Yer bloody foots gone and hacked through a few of our spare lines"
What?...oh!...oh my..umm..
He quickly gathered up his notepad and pencil attempting to apologise through written word but found his writing arm trapped by the Sailors grip,he was attempting to squeeze the Homonculous' limb.
"Don`t you go ignoring me damn you, you gonna reimburse us for that or what?...we ain`t got no use for ruined rope"
Ale...does this man wish for a confrontation...indeed I see no rope cut...his grip hurts, perhaps this is still my fault?...did I goad this man to such actions...
"Well, come on say something ya pale fingered frigger!"
Fighting against the sailors grip, which certainly raised the brow of those two or three idle ship-mates wanting to see a good ruck, the Mime managed to finish his message, along with an addition.
Please I give my heart-felt apology. PS: I am also mute
His wrist twisted and turned until the note was in front of the sailors eyes...but there was something in those eyes that worried Mime as he took the page, those words and letters seemed to swirl in the mans eyes.
"Ere Boyjordee what the hells this scrawling about?"
I suppose I did take it for granted that most could read...
The smaller, pudgier, but by no means less muscled sailor Boyjordee-
What a curious name...sorry continue..
-let his eyes travel over the page and then glanced to the Mime, a small thin smile creeping up on his lips...those kind of smiles were not ones of true enjoyment.
"Sez' 'ere your a nancy-boy Jerome"
Wait I said no such thing and...I cannot express that...oh no...
It did not take much perception to notice what was coming next, the Mime quickly leaping from the deck and as the Sailors arm flew through the air the Homonculous performer flipped and let his claws touch the approaching fist, using it as a simple boost before landing upon the sailors arm standing straight up on his feet, looking down upon the throng. Its amazing how quickly one can recall their true skin complexion when faced with something like that, a six foot six individual who jumped past your fist and is now standing on your stretched out arm without feeling much weight pushing down on it...all that weather-beaten tan went out of the sailors face-
Jerome wasn't it?
-Jerome...and returned to his birth-given pale skin tone, the Mime giving a simple hop as the sailor recoiled and like his brutish friends fled for other parts of the ship, perhaps in some desperate need to change their duty roster upon this voyage. Without a click or tap the Mime landed realising he still had yet to find Karuka and began to head for those rain barrels he had seen her clamber against.
....they were so very rude...
As he saw her there,shivering and murmuring some foreign language that was likely not native to any land here, the Mime lowered himself down a great deal to reach her height. A coin sneaking out between his claws and rolling along them before lightly tapping Karuka, placing that coin in her hand before jotting down a quick, yet elegantly written note.
Penny for your troubles Miss Karuka, can I help?
"Where are we headed?" Andraea's voice was sweet, melodious almost, now that an imminent threat of bodily harm was no longer looming over her head. Osato only smirked as he took her slight hand and stepped aboard the ship. The girl seemed young, but all people of elven heritage had a clever deception regarding their age. The girl, who appeared no older than fourteen in human years, was barely five feet tall. Her body was slender and almost emaciated, weak and gaunt compared to the muscular form of the mercenary. If it was not for the powerful vibe behind her silver-red eyes, the sell-sword would have written her off as just another useless person. "I assume it is somewhere interesting?"
"I should say so," Osato responded as the two of them walked across the deck. The people that were wandering it, deckhands and the average sailor, did not so much as look at the two as they walked by. Silently the sell-sword offered a quick prayer for safety to Am'aleh, the demi-goddess of the sea. "We will be heading for the island off the Northwestern coast, the Liviol Sanctum. From there, who knows. As much as I know is that we are headed there, not sure why even..."
Andraea sighed, as if she had known Osato forever. Her head rolled towards him with a playful smile lighting its angular features. The sell-sword only smirked and nodded to the girl. He then turned, watching as the young red head was verbally berated for taking up accommodation's amidst the 'mens area' of the ship. Osato felt sorry for the young girl. She was cute, though a little emaciated, and had a spark that he rarely saw in other young girls. If he had not been incapable of 'loving' he would have loved to have the girl in bed, as people always spread rumors about.
He shrugged however, leaving the impossible to thought. Andraea gasped as Mime's struggle began. She pointed a finger towards the man as he danced and spun, awe across her soft jaw. It seemed, though, that he extended hand was also glowing a faint greenish color. The sight of the elven maid's sudden change was far more interesting than Mime's escape, but far less so than the group of troops that was coming up the ramp.
Hastily the mercenary ducked behind the nearest sailor and made for where the Mime and Karuka had moved to. The two were still sitting, a piece of paper passing from the man to the girl. Smirking still, Osato moved through the small area to the two. Osato caught only a glimpse, but it was enough to understand that the Mime was wondering the same thing as he.
"Yes, what is your problem?" the sell-sword said compassionately, though the words could have easily been taken rather rudely. He shifted uncomfortably to the other side of Mime, keeping the two between himself and the sudden soldiers arrival on the ship. "And, if I may ask, why are those soldiers on the ship?"
Though he felt like giving the reason for his concern, he felt it would be too much of a risk to mention the one he knew. If the one Knight that was with them caught sight of him, recognized him, it would be a very tedious trip to the Liviol Sanctum. That is, if he even made it that far. So far out at sea, it would be the honorable Knight's word against the lowlifes of the crew that Osato had not started the fight that would be his end...
Count Uyen Barchon looked to the west as the sun started sinking over the horizon. Yes, there it was, the small swift ship designed to carry the curious collage of charlatans from Scara Brae to the Liviol Sanctum. A servant softly knocked on the old oaken door unsummoned.
"Enter," commanded the Count, curtailed from his cavalier conceptions. The servant treaded lightly on the cobblestone floor before making a bow to his lord. He waited for the Count to acknowledge his presence before he could stand straight and speak.
Barchon, for his part, was satisfied with allowing the worm before him to remain in the servile position he’d taken, and ambled from the window to the desk without seeming to see the lackey standing before him. He poured himself a glass of wine admiring the color of it, and the scent that wafted up to his delicate nostrils before allowing himself to appreciate the full body and mildly sweet taste of the wine.
"Are you still there?" The demand was not made from forgetfulness, rather from a display of power. This man’s life…no, the lives of his entire FAMILY belonged to the Count, and there was no way to forget that.
"Y-yes, sir," stammered the heretofore silent servant. "I was requested to give you a letter, the bearer stated it was urgent."
The Count rolled his eyes, bored. "Give it to me," he sighed. So many letters were given to him each and every day, ‘urgently.’ It would be nice if these undeserving plebeians who masqueraded as nobility would just leave him alone. Him, the TRUE heir to Scara Brae…the last surviving member of the line that had ruled before the Valeena treachery.
The letter was passed from the servant’s trembling hands to the Count’s pale ones, and Barchon took a small dagger-shaped letter opener and glanced down at the seal. His eyes gleamed with a terrible and malignant light as he saw the ominous and curling mark upon the wax, and he broke the seal to get to the letter within the parchment envelope.
Our forces are ready to begin their rites on the behalf of the last Prince of the Aneni Dynasty…but your claims had better be true.
Barchon chuckled. Although over three hundred years ago his family had been taken down lied to and subdued by the "Great" King Ekonill Valeena, the family had still managed to keep some power, eventually with his father becoming very close to the late King Tayjus Valeena. This confidance was passed down to Uyen, and when the King had passed away, who else would young Ballari Valeena turn to but her father’s most trusted counselor?
Have no fears. Within ten days’ time, the artifact will be in my possession, assuming those fools I hired come back alive at all, and so long as the mock-Queen’s head is used to adorn my castle gates, the souls of this nation will belong to your cult, and no longer will you need to skulk about at night.
Barchon folded up his response, slid it into an envelope and sealed it, and nonchalantly handed it back to the servant. "Send this reply, and be snappy. I don’t know how I abide the sheer laziness that serves as work around here."
"Y-yes, sir," the servant replied tremulously. "As you wish, s-sir."
The Count turned back to the window as the door shut behind the servant. There, in the distance, was the little ship taking that ragged red-head and freakish stick figure to the Liviol Sanctum, along with what other riff-raff they’d managed to pick up. Their chances of survival were not high, true…but the quieter this little business was kept, the better his own chances of success.
Soon, Bellari, thought Barchon with a venomous smile. Soon, everything that you own, everything that you love…will be mine.
~*~
Karuka had her head buried in her arms with her forehead pressed against her legs, and was just about to start the second recitation of the Gayatri Mantra when something hard and sharp gently tapped her hand.
She looked up in time to see the gleam of a tiny copper coin flit with surprising ease between the Mime’s clunky fingers before settling in her hand.
"Wha…" was the question half out of her mouth, before the Mime had his message written and passed to her. Just then, Osato settled down, half obscured by one of the rain-barrels, as though he was hiding from something himself – or someone. Karuka let him ask his two questions before speaking.
"Well…th’ guy tha’ hired us said he’d send a few men along t’ help us nae die on th’ trip…apparently there are some frigh’ful wee beasties on th’ islan’ we’re headin’ t’, an’ th’ more brute force an’ brawn we ha’, th’ better."
She then looked back down at the note the Mime had written, and reflected on the concern she’d heard in the sell-sword’s voice.
"Well…th’ problem...I tol’ y’ a’ th’ tavern I’ve been afraid o’ boats since I were jus’ knee-high t’ a luchorpán. An’ now I’m up above where I can see th’ water…I dinna so much min’ th’ motion o’ th’ boat…I jus’ min’ bein’ on th’ boat isself…an’ th’ ol’ crone what taught me how t’ properly read th’ runes, she tol’ me tha’ ‘twould be only somewhere dark an’ col’ an’ terrifyin’ t’ me tha’ I’d reach th’ end o’ my time…an’ there’s nothin’ worse than th’ open water. I dinna like boats or bein’ on ‘em," she repeated at the end, with a somewhat helpless air.
She looked back at the Mime. "Y’ ha’ yer violin wi’ y’, nae? If y’d like t’ help…play me somethin’ soothin’ an’ spring-timey."
TRANSLATIONS
"What?"
"Well…the guy that hired us said he’d send along a few men to help us not die on the trip…apparently there are some scary little monsters on the island that is our destination, and the more brute force and brawn on our side, the better."
"Well…the problem…I told you at the tavern I’ve been afraid of boats since I was just knee-high to a leprechaun. And now I’m up above where I can see the water…I don’t so much mind how the boat moves…I just don’t like being on the boat itself. And the old lady who taught me how to properly read the runes, she told me that it’d only be somewhere dark and cold and scary that I’d die. And the thing I’m most terrified of is the open water. I don’t like boats or being on them."
"You have your violin with you, don’t you? If you like to help me…play me something soothing and spring-timey."
The Mime
02-12-07, 02:13 PM
That is horrible...to hear of how you will wind up deceased...then again it is rather vague and seems more of method for warning children and those of a less wary nature which places to stay away from
The Mime had only lowered from his monologue on hearing Karukas question for him, at the least he was getting a much firmer grasp of her accent in so short a time...but spring...timey...
That might prove a challenge, my songs are effected by the enviroment, I was able to play that song in my tree with great ease due to the wind sweeping through the branches..that rustling bringing my mind back to the shores of home...well let me see
Giving a soft nod the Homonculous gave Karukas hand a soft pat with those seemingly bone claws, such a chill to them. Glancing about him in part to check if sailors were nearby and secondly to find a good spot...his arm twisted and flipped into such an awkward fallacy of a humans joints to pluck out the violin case inside his pack, other hand brushing against his so far, neglected harmonica.
Not yet...your sound cannot soothe this womans fears, you are to excite and mourn
Shifting himself without any real effort the Mime brought himself onto one of those rain barrels, perching with only one foot clutching at the side, the other resting upon it in some unusual mimicry of sitting with ones legs crossed. The reason for that became clear as, when popping open the violin case he lightly gripped the instrument and the bow before using his other hand to deposit the case in the gap between his legs. Flicking the bow between two fingers he left one free to lay the violin against the opposite shoulder...a single claw running across the strings to check its tone, barely audible he could tell that she was ready to play yet again.
But what song...perhaps..yes perhaps I should try something new, upon a boat, the natural sway of the sea...while not steady it is wild and free, the spirit of a venture in front of us, a chance for excitement but also for growth...yes I think I have something
Slowly he began up the melody, a few strong strokes across those hardy strings lazing through the air like a morning mist...but as he slowly gained up speed it turned to a light rain-fall, a refreshing mizzle that worked right through aching muscles and wind stripped skin. But while he played he incorporated the swaying of the boat, his form bending and moving now with it though entirely intentionally, the rougher bowing of the vessel would not stir him from his music and slowly the tune came together. Visions reaching the Mime of a fishing boat just being pushed off from the harbour...though still tied to it and of two children picturing themselves as pirates, clambering over the steady vessel, not a hint of fear in the air and just enjoying the movement not present in the ground normally.
....I really must get to less open lands, all my music these days involves the beach and surf...still, I do enjoy these settings
This song...this was not spring...not merry and light...and land-based. This was still ocean music, still the feeling of being on the open water with naught but the sea, and Karuka shuddered and pressed her forehead back against her knees.
Aum Bhur Bhuva Svaha...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Later, after the meal of bread and cheese, Karuka sat back between the rain barrels. The men had dropped anchor for the night so far from the shore of Scara Brae that the land was no longer visible...and even if Karuka were brave enough to jump on one of the little boats and row for it, who knew what lurked under those so-blue waters?
It just wasn't worth the risk.
Sighing, Karuka opened her satchel. There were the three things she had on, other than the rune pouch at her right hip, the useless sword at her left, and the rags she was wearing. The two big items were a woolen cloak to keep warm and a canvas poncho to keep dry. The small item was in a little bag to itself, and she grabbed the little bag and slid it out.
She'd had the wooden flute a long time, but had never been that good at playing it. She sometimes wished she was, because it would be a great comfort at times like this. She enjoyed seeming to be happy. It made other people enjoy being around her, despite her looks, and made their day better. Maybe it even gave her a little knowledge of what it felt like to be happy. She didn't know the true feeling of happiness, though. Nor did she know love. All she really knew were sorrow and loneliness, and the acute desire to be accepted and loved by someone...anyone.
Bu' no one coul' e'er love someone like me. I dinna deserve i'...an' I ne'er will.
The scrawny red-head sighed, putting the little wooden flute away. She'd have to smile again if someone came...slip into that facade so old it had become comfortable. But sometimes it was good to stop pretending, if only to herself. The Norns had not thus far spun her a very kind fate.
Speakin' o' fate...
Karuka took runes from her rune pouch, one at a time, until several were spread face-down before her. Wha' is goin' on wi' this mission, when Barchon dinna ay e'en know wha' we coul' do? That was the one question that had been bugging her and she couldn't logically reconcile to the situation.
She turned the runes over, one by one. The reading was scattered and confusing, leaving only a warning of deception, danger...and possibly of death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the morning, the captain of the vessel informed the Knight to whom Count Barchon had entrusted the mission that they would arrive at the Liviol Sanctum in the afternoon. This did not concern the Knight. The sailors were doing their jobs, the gangly figure was staying out from underfoot, and the two women weren't causing trouble. One of them -- the one that he'd been told had elicited words from the mad man -- just hunkered back between the barrels.
Let someone take a piss on her, and then she'll learn to look lively.
But there was ONE of them that didn't sit well with the Knight, and that was the swordsman accompanying the little foursome he was babysitting. He could have sworn he'd seen him before, and had a reason to dislike him.
Unfortunately for Osato, he was looking for some morning exercise, too...
Translations -- only a little this time, what hey!
>>>But no one could ever love someone like me. I don't deserve it...and I never will.<<<
>>>Speaking of fate...<<<
>>>What is going on with this mission, when Barchon didn't even know what we could do?<<<
Sighing, the sell-sword placed his head on his cross arms. Things were not looking up for him, especially. Everyone seemed to have their own little problems, but Osato seemed to have too many indeed. He looked up suddenly, a soft hand was resting on his armored shoulder. Instead of the Knight's accusing eyes and harsh words, he was looking into the unique eyes of the girl he had saved. In her cautious and soft eyes the man could see concern.
"No worries, love," Osato said as he shifted and let the girl sit next to him. But no matter what cheery visage he put on, he knew there would be trouble soon enough. The Knight had undoubtedly spotted him, and if they were not only escort them on the ship but too on the island... Osato worried about the consequences of his previous actions. "I'll be fine."
He let his blue eyes, deep like a void, shift away from the slender elf and back to the cute red-head. She too had an instrument, and the man half mused to himself whether everyone on Althanas could play some random tune. He too wished he had something to take his mind off of the threat ahead. Instead he let himself be transfixed and overtaken by the beautiful melody of the Mime's violin.
As Karuka removed her little rocks, with their symbols painted on them, Osato let his head loll back and rest against the boat. It would be a long trip, he could tell her that, one filled with too much drama to deal with, almost.
~*~
Osato awoke to a rough kick.
His eyes snapped open, his hand dropping to the hilt of his new sword. Fear and apprehension had assumed their places across his face. A fight, so early, it was what he dreaded. But all was for good reason, for standing before him was the Knight that was accompanying them. A single finger was placed over his mouth, a signal for silence, and quickly he started to flick his hands.
He was signing, speaking to the sell-sword in a secretive language that was among the first things taught to prospective Knights of Scara Brae. Osato could not help but understand, and without thinking responded. "I know you know who I am," he signed, "but this is not the right place or time to fight."
The man smirked, letting off a cold and almost destructive glance with his eyes. "You are wanted," he responded, his hands moving in an almost threatening manner. "Knights do not abandon each other. We also do not let one who has abandoned their comrades get away. Prepare yourself, traitor."
The man stood and walked away. Osato watched him, turning his head just enough to see him move away without waking Andraea who had fallen asleep on his chest. Malice, a dark intent followed the man as he turned the corner and walked away... blocked by the water barrels that Osato had once felt so comfortable hiding behind.
The sell-sword sighed. Overhead the night sky was still looming. Stars were slowly being consumed by the rising sun, a heavy cloud cover had floated over the ship, and he felt alone. But he could not let a summons, threat, or challenge go unanswered, and there would be little time that would be better than before they went ashore.
Carefully he moved the young elf's head so that she was resting on the ship and stood. The others were still asleep, or so he assumed. Great, he thought as he adjusted his sword-belt and stretched every so little. If they did not wake to his booted feet walking away, then they were sure to wake when the confrontation between the two started.
He only hoped they would understand.
((Wow, i think I'm back. Do what you will... wake before or because of the fight... either way's cool with me. And bunny me however you feel necessary.))
The Mime
03-04-07, 11:40 AM
For some reason The Mime was feeling... compelled towards the crows nest, perhaps this was the comfort spawned from a force of habit. Either way he had taken his leave of Karukas company and spent his time practically flitting up through the rough ropes and netting. While it was fully natural to him, he was aware his agility was so very strange and perhaps even unheard of to those not experianced with the fae... but the fae were often beautiful, or androygenus humanoids... they did not have claws or a presence that made men quail. Hand after hand raised up along the ropes, then with only his claw-tips pressed against the wooden boundry surrounding the crows nest pulled himself right up into the air.
How many have ever seen a rolling vessel at this high up, upside down being tossed by the waves... there is naught but the feeling of wind and rain... at least, I beleive so
Climbing further up he now rested at the highest point of the ships mast, perched upon it with only one foot, his right foot dangling off to the side, though utterly motionless. His left arm stretched out into the air, watching as the rain pattered off him, but did it?... on closer inspection he watched as the water trailed from his shape but not a drop of moisture remained on him. His arm and in fact his entire body was un-sodden, so very curious, what repelled it... why was it he could walk on sand and never leave a single mark...
Perhaps the pursuit of magic and those who study it could reveal what father never felt important to explore... he had created a being with its own mind and a nature without violence, he was right there was nothing more important than those two things... but I still wish to know what I am capable of, why I need no food, nor water
Slowly those long, clawed arms brought themselves inwards and hugged the unnatural, slim homonculous form.
I miss you father...
Karuka had not slept well at all the past night. Something about the bobbing of the boat beneath her woke her every time she had fallen asleep.
As a result, the red-head was awake when the confrontation began between Osato and the knight. Awake and grumpy. She watched the two square off, and two steel blades glinted in the dawn light.
I canna let this happen.
She unfolded her legs and started marching toward the two, hoping to make it before they started actually fighting. On her way, she saw a mop and a bucket full of dirty mop water, and she swooped down and grabbed them.
'Twill ay do nicely.
As she descended upon the two, they lifted their blades, tensing as though to strike, and Karuka lifted her bucket and splashed its filthy contents upon the two.
"That'll ay be enou' from th' dh* o' y'," she hissed.
The knight of Scara Brae whirled, lashing out at where her neck had been, but Karuka was a lithe little thing, and she ducked under the blade before bracing the mop's head against the deck and thrusting the end into his gut, as she'd seen the hunters spear boars.
"Ghk!" was all the man had time to get out before Karuka stood back up, whirling the mop so that the raggedy head collided with his.
"Ta'en off guard ay so easily," Karuka noted, walking around him to stand between the two combatants. Her blue eyes flashed cold fire.
"Now, I dinna ay know why th' dh* o' y' feel th' need t' figh'. But what I d' know is tha' we're all stuck on th' same boat, an' then we'll all ay be stuck on th' same islan', an' gods willin', then we'll all be stuck on th' same boat again."
She glared at the knight, keeping her mop leveled towards him, and then flicked her gaze to Osato to glare at him, as well.
The knight straightened up, leveling his sword at the ragged wench who dared oppose him. "I don't recall you being put in charge of this mission."
"An' I recall th' person who d'manded tha' we go on 'this mission' tellin' me tha' he'd send alon' some people wi' us, nae in charge o' us," Karuka snapped. "D'y' e'en know wha' 'tis yer lookin' fer? I dinna think so. Now run off, an' keep yer petty problems t' yersel'. If there's ay a reason fer y' t' go a'ter him, i' can AY wait."
The soldier opened his mouth to speak, but Karuka's Irish temper had flared for the first time since she'd come to Althanas and she cut him off, stepping forward as if to confront him herself. Osato, standing behind her, was wiser, lowering his sword and stepping back.
"AN'...if we werenae t' ha' done anythin', y'd ha' ay been given orders t' kill us all soon as we got out t' sea, would y' nae ha'? Nae...we're 'spected t' die on th' wee island...an' yer s'posed t' fin' somethin'. Somethin' y' dinna kno' how t' fin', because th' wee islan' isnae mapped ou'. So yer hopin' we ha' better luck findin' what e'er 'tis so y' can go back successful. Well, I'll nae cooperate so long as y' try an' attack frien's o' mine."
Her eyes glinted dangerously for a moment.
"An' if y' try i' again, I'll ay see t' i' tha' y' ne'er hol' a sword again."
The knight looked around. Could he take out both of them without being noticed? Likely not, and annoyingly, there was at least one man in his unit that would report the incident as it occurred, and not as he wanted it reported. Damn...there the little pest was...not interfering, but watching. This left the captain no recourse but to wait.
He sheathed his blade and turned away. "Be mindful who you insult. This incident will not be forgotten."
With that, he marched briskly away from Karuka and Osato, and the ship's crew seemed to settle.
The girl let out a sigh and let her shoulders slump before planting the mop on the deck of the ship and looking at Osato over the top of it.
"'Twere ay a lovely way t' start a mornin'."
TRANSLATIONS
>>>I can't let this happen.<<<
>>>This'll do nicely.<<<
"That will be ENOUGH from the two of you."
"Taken off guard so easily..."
"Now, I don't know why the two of you feel the need to fight. But what I do know is that we're all stuck on the same boat, and then we'll all be stuck on the same island, and gods willing, then we'll all be stuck on the same boat again."
"And I recall the person who demanded that we go on 'this mission' telling me that he'd send along some people with us, not in charge of us. Do you even know what it is you're looking for? I didn't think so. Now run off, and keep your petty problems to yourself. If there is indeed a reason to go after him, it can WAIT."
"AND...if we weren't to have done anything, you'd have been given orders to kill us all as soon as we got out to sea, wouldn't you have? No...we're expected to die on that little island...and you're supposed to find something. Something you don't know how to find, because the little island isn't mapped out. So you're hoping we have better luck finding whatever it is so you can go back successful. Well, I won't cooperate so long as you try to attack friends of mine."
"And if you try it again, I'll see to it that you NEVER hold a sword again."
"THAT was a lovely way to start the morning."
Massacre is joining in now.
Massacre
03-07-07, 08:16 AM
Beneath the deck it was grossly warm and wet. The strong smell of salt making A'rei's nostrils flare as she awoke. There had been a leak before they departed, and the crew had plugged it with some odd white material. At least the captain of the ship didn't like slave traders, A'rei was glad of that even if her spot on the ship wasn't exactly great.
After escaping from the Violet Crow, A'rei had run to this ship, found the captain and prayed he was an honorable man. He was, he told A'rei that once they were out at sea for a couple of days she could come up and interact with everyone else like a passenger. It didn't matter that she didn't want to interact with anyone else. But her spot beneath the deck was so humid and smelled strongly of salt and ale. A'rei hated ale, it made fine and honorable men act in ways they normally didn't. The blond was far too used to that.
Well, I suppose I'll just go up and see who's on the boat...
A'rei sat up from her little nook and walked out of the cargo hold, the hallway had a slightly damp feeling under her feet from the earlier leak in the boat. She walked the way she had came and found the stairs. Suddenly the hatch opened and A'rei saw a burst of light and flinched. A crewman walked down, "You're A'rei? I was just comin' ta tell ya that ya can come up now."
"Oh, thank you. I figured I could anyways. After you." A'rei stepped up onto the first stair and hesitated a bit. Taking a deep breath she walked up and onto the deck.
What a sight to behold, there were two men, a rough looking man who had the look of a mercenary and one of the Knights of Scara Brae. The rugged man who she assumed was a mercenary had his back turned to her, both men had their swords ready to strike the other. Suddenly a feisty young red-headed girl, about the same age as A'rei lunged at the two and spilled filthy deck cleaning water all over the feisty couple.
The knight swung his sword and A'rei watched in horror but the girl was very quick and ducked right under it, placing a mop end right into his stomach and then quickly into his head. A'rei couldn't hear what they were saying but the Knight walked away and the mercenary and the red-head were left standing there.
A'rei walked up to get a closer look at them without being too conspicuous. However she tripped and almost fell, attracting the attention of the two. She looked up nervously and hoped they wouldn't laugh or just walk away.
Tight lipped and resolute, the young mercenary stared into the fierce eyes of the Knight and waited. The two stood merely six paces apart, but the distance was never to be underestimated. Osato had watched proud recruits fall on the ends of wooden practice swords with more distance than what was between the two. He had been present when instructors had not even removed their blades, but had defended themselves and counterattacked with their bodies alone. Never, in all the training he had witness and taken part in, had he seen a knight with such anger behind their normally docile facades.
The sell-sword shifted, just slightly, and the man was moving. Neither made a noise, but both held unsheathed swords before them. The steel was cold and rasping with the sudden motion. A sly, wicked grin slipped across the Knights face. There was little hope, Osato knew, without help from outside. He would not walk away from the fight, never step foot on land again.
“Dying at sea, after spending so much time fighting from boat to boat… what irony,” he thought grimly as he nodded to the knight. It was time to finish what the knight has suggested.
Dirty water, tinged with grime and filth struck from his shoulders upwards. It continued over his head like a liquid wall to strike the knight in the face and drip down his chest plate. If anticipation had not so quickly been masked by confusion than the vain young swordsman would have began puking at being so covered by such disgusting waste. However, instead of blanching, Osato snapped his attention away from the knight and to the fiercely approaching red-head.
Everything that followed moved like a dream. The world seemed a haze, confusion was hard to shake, and movement and voices drummed at his conscious in staccato pieces. Things were hard to follow, but before he could understand the surroundings, Osato’s opponent was being turned around and shunned away. Before him stood the thin frame and blue-eyes of Karuka.
“Umm… sure,” he said, still stunned. Without giving her any more incentive to yell at him, he replaced his new sword within its peculiar sheath. He turned away from her, just in time to see a young, cute blond stumble from below deck. Her clumsy nature caused her long locks to sway about enticingly, and her vibrant green eyes flashed perfection. “Oh my,” Osato said as he shifted towards the new comer.
Enthralled? To be exact, Osato would have shed his armor at that point and given to a life of farming if he could have the woman for the rest of his life. Or, he thought, whatever would appease her and draw her to him. He left the face of Karuka behind, and ignored the emaciated Andraea for the new beauty. Osato was anything but caring for the female race, luckily each new one never knew about the last.
“My dear,” he started, kneeling and extending a courteous hand to the young girl. “Are you alright? You seem to have taken a bit of a stumble. Please, allow me to help you…” Despite being wet with dingy mop water, the sell-sword offered the woman a perfect smile. If the sun had been high his straight teeth would have glinted, his eyes would have sparked, and the world would have ended all wars. Unfortunately, the sun slipped behind a heavy cloud and the world went on as usual.
The Mime
03-09-07, 04:00 PM
Something had been happening down on the deck, something which had caused some distinct noise to be stirred up and wafting along the wooden vessel, bringing forth a handful of minds and piqued their interests. Noise however was lost to the Mime currently, his perch upon the highest point of the ship, feeling it sway and bow beneath him. That long scarf flapping silently in the rushing wind and as it hit against his form and that of the wooden construction beneath him drowned out anything. Sounds were not required however, those empty slits in his face looking downwards with vision sharper than any human, but to him was simply normal... he saw a mixture of colours, those were familiar... Karuka getting herself into the middle of some exchange in heated body-language.
He had been pondering for quite awhile what these travelling companions meant to him, the picturesque swordsman seemed good to learn from, a warrior gains scars as their career progresses but he seemed seasoned and yet unblemished. Karuka... he was still confused on the newness of attraction and jealousy, he was more interested in fact by the feelings jealousy brought than her or being with her... another alien notion that just seemed ill-fitting to his puzzling existence. With a soft sway he brought his dangling leg forward, letting claw by claw of its oppositely sided twin release its grip and fell to the... railing he supposed was name for it, running around the crows nest.
This is such a tall ship... heights are an unusual thing to see from the opposing angles...
The thought was rather hollow and he himself did, wet-marks still appearing by those eye slits as his night had been full of nothing but memories of his earlier life. Standing there with but a single foot upon the rail he leaned forward, arms merely hanging at his sides and released. From that immense height he had silently let go of anything to hold him from gravity, plummeting towards the deck, those figures he had been watching growing in size and detail with incredible speed... his scarf lashing out into the air above him, his figure spinning and tossing in the winds sweeping past him.
But like his drop, the landing was without sound and disturbingly graceful, his foot landing upon Osatos shoulder, the one lowered and featuring his outstretched arm, without the tinest jolt of force. It felt like a sharp edged feather had merely landed upon his armour, the Mime looking down upon this blonde stranger before taking a step down Osatos arm and then hopping off. He wasn't sure if it he should apologize, it did seem the right thing to do. It only took a moments scribbling before two notes were passed, one to Osato and one to the stranger, Karuka he felt had already noticed his sudden entrance and since he was not unknown to the red-head, nor had he landed upon her person without permission felt a note was not needed for her.
They simply stated.
Apologies Osato but there were no other clear landing spots
The other...
Greetings
Stepping back from Osato, arms folded behind his back with those huge claws dangling out to the sides, he was feeling odd... and wasn't sure if he should continue to brood, or just leave it behind him.
To clarify...Massacre and I did this over MSN to get us off the water and on with the story.
Just when it seemed things couldn't get any MORE unusual...a new young blonde stumbled up from the area from which Karuka had been forcibly repelled the night before.
A'rei took Osato's hand, looking at the handsome sell-sword with the same wonder as most women did. "Thank you," she said politely, but stepped back as a willowy figure landed on his arm. This new arrival filled her with a sense of amazement...and a tingling fear that rose up her spine as he held out a note to her. What was this?
"Well, hallo. 'Twould appear tha' y' ha' a wee bi' o' a spill," said the girl as the Mime dropped down. She'd remained silent up to this point, as though the scuffle from before and the suddenness of A'rei's appearance had taken the talk out of her. Then the red-head grinned at the new arrival. Meanwhile, Osato and Mime began a glaring contest, leaving Karuka to deal with the blonde herself.
"Hallo, Mime. Anyway...th' aon wi' th' long black hair is th' Mime, an' he plays ay nice music. Th' drippin' wet 'un is Osato; he's a fair han' wi' th' sword. An' me...I'm Karuka. I dinna ay do much, jus' provide a wee bi' o' sass an' do a rune-readin' from time t' time. What's yer name?"
She speaks strangely, thought A'rei, but she was mostly-understandable despite that, and sounded friendly. "Oh, my name is A'rei. Nice to meet you all." She glanced nervously at the Mime; despite her words...she couldn't help reacting to that disturbing feeling that hung around the creature like an aura of doom.
"Well, A'rei, I dinna ay know what bro'tcha here, bu' I b'lieve 'twill be ay dangerous. Then again..." the ragged maiden glanced around the ship, narrowing her blue eyes. "Mayna be ay safe fer y' on th' boa', either."
"Oh, don't concern yourself too much with my affairs -- the captain has assured me safety." Despite her words, A'rei looked around at the sailors. "This crew may have different intentions, they seem like a nasty bunch save a few."
Karuka shrugged. "'Twill ay be yer choice, t' stay or t' go. But I've nae seen th' captain since we cast off."
A'rei's green eyes widened. "You mean... I can come with you?"
"Well, I dinna ay see a reason t' nae, if y' dinna min' th' danger. But I dinna think there's a safe place lef' in th' worl'. Nae now, an' nae here. Nae until we set foot back 'pon Scara Brae."
A wave struck the ship, and Karuka flinched, gripping the handle of her mop tightly, and A'rei nodded in agreement with her previous statement.
"You have a point," she admitted, looking at the Mime and then Osato, "and you seem like a nice bunch but who was that Knight? He seemed awfully vicious compared to the others."
"Him?" Karuka shrugged dismissively. "I dinna kno'. He'll be comin' along, tho'. I dinna b'lieve he'll much be trouble. Eno' t' worry abou' on t' wee islan'."
"What island is this boat due for anyways?" queried A'rei. I just took... refuge on it. The captain was kind enough to take me for free."
"'Tis called th' Liviol Sanctum. Heard i' ha' an ay gran' cat, an' a ban sidhe."
A'rei's forehead scrunched up in thought as she tried to remember where she'd heard the term "Liviol" before. "...Liviol, Liviol," Her forehead smoothed and her eyes lit up as the memory sprang forward. "Oh yes, I've heard of the trees, I'd be glad to get off this salt infested boat anyways."
"Then 'twould appear yer comin'," stated Karuka, without any sort of embellishment to her otherwise oddly-spoken words.
~*~
The rest of the voyage passed fairly uneventfully. It appeared that the knight and Osato were still about ready to tear each other to bits, but on a ship there is always mop water, and Karuka had already proven that she wasn't afraid to hit someone in order to keep the peace.
Late in the afternoon, they came to the shore of the Liviol Sanctum, and parties were formed. The ten soldiers would go with Karuka, the Mime, Osato, Andraea, and A'rei, to "keep them safe." Beyond that, most of the sailors were to go to the island to collect as much liviol wood as possible while three would remain with the ship at all times.
The journey would begin first thing in the morning.
~*~
Two boats took the exploration party to the island. The Knight in charge of the Scara Brae soldiers had made sure to separate himself from both Osato and the red-headed spitfire so he could read the letter he'd received from Barchon one final time.
Get the artifact, then kill them all.
It was a simple mission...if they lived. That was the problem with the Liviol Sanctum. So few came back alive.
~*~
Karuka jumped onto the sand of Liviol Sanctum's beach before the boat even pulled onto it, so eager was she to have something solid under her feet once more.
Thank th' gods, 'tis lan' again.
Ahead of her was a thin line of hardwood trees, but through those she could already see pale blue trunks. An' beyon' tha', i' gets e'er darker, 'till 'tis ay a deep purple.
She took off her pendulum, letting it swing as the others got the boats onto land and gathered up around her.
"What's this?" the Knight demanded gruffly.
"'Tisnae anythin' bu' a direction finder, an' 'twill work better than anythin' else y' ha'. This way." She pointed slightly northwest, and started off in that direction before anyone could complain.
The determined march didn't last very long, though, as Karuka saw something that caught her eye...and unfortunately, the red-head had about the same attention span as a fly, so she clambered right on up the royal-blue tree to see what was there.
Liviols grew much like bigger, stronger versions of the dogwood tree, but they have much larger and lovelier flowers than that weak wood. This particular tree was covered in the lily-white blossoms, and Karuka thought they were beautiful.
"Look!" she called down to the group, plucking one to hold out. For a moment, the flower simply remained flawless white, but then veins of color started spreading rapidly through the four spade-shaped petals. From the base to the top, in a narrow band, a deep blue spread, and out from that, covering the rest of the petal, was a deep scarlet. The very tip of each petal blackened, and in the center there was a little yellow glow.
"Well...'tis ay lovely!"
Karuka wound her flower into her hair, before grabbing four more and jumping down, hastily shoving them into the hands of the other non-military members of the group. "Here, try i'!"
The flowers' colors and patterns are representative of your characters' innermost selves.
Translatorialism. Dang this is a long post.
"Well, hello. It looks like you had a little bit of a tumble there."
"Hi, Mime. Anyway...the one with the long black hair is the Mime, and he plays nice music. The dripping wet one is Osato, and he's a fair hand with the sword. And me...I'm Karuka. I don't really do much, just provide a bit of sass and do a rune-cast from time to time. What's your name?"
"Well, A'rei, I don't know what brought you here, but I believe it'll be dangerous. Then again...might not be safe for you on the boat, either."
"That'll be your choice, to stay or go. But I haven't seen the captain since we cast off."
"Well, I don't see a reason not to, if you don't mind the danger. But I don't think there's a safe place left. Not now, and not here. Not until we set foot back on Scara Brae."
"Him? I dunno. He'll be coming along, though. I don't think he'll be much trouble. Enough to worry about on the island."
"It's called the Liviol Sanctum. Heard it has a big cat and a banshee."
"Then it looks like you're coming."
>>>Thank the gods for land under my feet.<<<
>>>And beyond that, it gets ever darker, until it's a very deep purple.<<<
"Nothing but a direction finder, and it'll work better than anything else you've got. This way."
"Well...that's really pretty!"
"Here! Try it!"
Massacre
03-14-07, 08:28 PM
The Knights had insisted on taking their own boat to the island, which worried A'rei a bit. They seemed to be resentful of the rest of the group, Mime the most. He hadn't said... well, written, much since she had first seen him jump from the crow's nest and landed on that handsome mercenary's arm.
The crew anchored the boat and promptly loaded the groups onto the rowboats to get them to the island. The captain approached A'rei.
"Oh, you shouldn't go down there, it's very dangerous you know." The captain lightly grabbed A'rei's arm.
"Stop that, I'm well aware of the dangers, I've heard the stories." A'rei tugged her arm away from the captain and turned around to get on the boat after everyone else was on already.
"Please dear, I must urge you to stay on the boat where it's safe, you may even stay in my cabin." The captain turned her around a little more forcefully than when he had grabbed her arm before.
"Captain, I know the risks. Let me go." A'rei quickly jumped onto the boat as it was being lowered and they were on their way to the island. They were quickly rowing to the island. A'rei saw the Knight that Osato had his little confrontation with pull out a note, read it quickly, and put it back into his pack. A'rei figured that it was his orders, unfortunately they were on a different boat and A'rei put it out of her mind, concentrating on the people in her own boat.
A'rei turned to Osato, he had cleaned up somewhat thankfully, she admired the flawless face and the beautiful smile he managed even when dripping wet with gross water. He seemed trustworthy but A'rei couldn't help but be cautious, she wouldn't talk to him first. She didn't have any interest in becoming another play thing for some heartless man.
Mime seemed ridiculously emotionless in that mask. A'rei hadn't seen him do much other than hand her the note that greeted her. She had been too distracted by Karuka to respond to him... or was it a her? A'rei wasn't sure so she just kept quiet about the subject. He seemed to be looking around thoughtfully.
The boat was almost to land when Karuka jumped off suddenly. She had seemed rather nervous about the water but A'rei didn't want to ask in case it was a sensitive subject for her, like A'rei's own past. The blonde was chuckling to herself about how quickly Karuka had gotten off the boat. She waited until her boots wouldn't be totally submerged in the salty water before stepping out of the boat.
After they had been walking for not too long, just enough to be in the Liviol trees, Karuka almost ran up a tree, apparently getting the flowers that were blooming from the odd Liviol trees.
She gave one to A'rei, Osato, and Mime. A'rei followed what Karuka had done with hers. It suddenly turned a deep, rich purple and then black leaked out at the end of the petals with a bright orange center blooming up. After A'rei had admired the beauty for a bit and saw the Knights about forty paces away from their own group. A’rei decided to go and investigate them.
As she walked over there the Knights hushed themselves, one stood up and greeted her, "Yeah?"
"Oh, nothing, I'm just coming over here to see if you would happen to know what we're searching for--"
"We don't, go away."
A'rei caught up back to her own group, sighing slightly, "What are we even looking for here?”
“Do you want me to come along?” Andraea’s tone was unsure, cautious. Her eyes were glowing and yet held a looming sense of apprehension. Since Osato had taken notice of the new blonde haired woman he had talked a lot to the elven woman. However, his attention and thoughts seemed elsewhere, as if he was simply using her to distract himself. She was a bit angered, but did not even know the man enough to understand why the sense of jealousy was so strong in her. “I could be of help, especially in a land so lush with vegetation and spiritual energy.”
Since the breaking of the fight, Osato had taken the time to know and understand a little more of the woman that was with him. She was a unique person, versed in lore and magic apparently. Her practices revolved around an almost druid reverence to nature and that with called it home. Across her arms and back were crude markings, tattoos of some sort, which represented her belief. She said that when her magic became stronger the tattoos would also grow more clear, more detailed.
“I’m not sure, love,” Osato said as he turned his blank eyes back to the woman. He met hers for only half a second before the elven woman looked away. She seemed hurt; an emotion that the mercenary was only beginning to discover did not follow him but rode on his back. She was another in the wake of heartbreak that he left behind him. Unfortunately, he saw a lot of potential in the woman, a potential that could be focused and harnessed for his own gain. “I’m not sure if it’s going to be too dangerous. Are you sure you’ll be able to protect yourself, or at least bolster everyone else?” the mercenary chuckled, “You don’t look like the kind of person that can hold up too well in a fight, if it came down to it.”
“Well, so high-and-mighty warrior,” her tone was offended, but a bit playful. He wrapped her thin hands first through his long hair and then gripped tightly. He was forced to look into her eyes, forced to allow her to look into the void where his soul should have been. “I can not only bolster, with small charms, but I can give true support as well in a more… martial manner.”
“Well,” Osato said as he thought. Testing her magic would be good, knowing what she could or could not do would be advantageous in any situation. However, he had saved her before, saved her from a small band of ruffians that should have easily been able to dispatch. If she was so able, so strong, why had she not simply rescued herself? “I suppose, but I will request you stick close. I’m not trying to be pushy or ‘high-and-mighty’, but I don’t want to see anything happen to anyone on this trip.”
~*~
The mercenary hopped off of the small boat just after A’rei. He watched as the woman’s soft blonde hair tossed in the gentle winds that drifted off the water. What a marvel, what a beauty, he thought to himself as he followed after her. His heavy boots splashed the lapping tide aside and silently he thanked Am’aleh for the safe passage across the waters. It was ritualistic and rather idiotic, considering the mercenaries lack of faith, but he followed the regular practices none the less.
After he and Andraea dragged the dinghy onto the shore just enough that the high tide would not take their means of escape off, they followed after the others. It seemed that he was following a lot lately, doing little else besides what the others requested. He still had little idea of what exactly it was that his little group was supposed to be looking for, and it bothered him a little. However, adventure and especially exploration were first and foremost on his mind.
He stopped and looked at the almost mythical forests before him. Imagine, he thought to himself, an island made entirely of a magically grown and produced tree… what wealth one could amass if a lumber company could strive to break the mythology. Perhaps the group would be the ones to introduce the island to the rest of the world, to bring wealth and fortune to the aristocracy of Scara Brae. What a reward they would get for that.
But the prosperity the forests represented was not the only thought that came to mind for the young man. Its beauty also broke through. The bows of the trees were light, thin, like the trees themselves. They gave of an eerie glint of bluish coloration, light at the trunk and turning into an almost soft sapphire towards the crown. Around each the hedge was thin but vibrant, a mix of flowers as amazing as the trees and brush as vivacious as emeralds.
“Amazingly beautiful, is it not?” Andraea’s voice broke his thought and reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing. “I’ve only encountered the tree once, and that was the time I got this…” From her loose robe she produced an almost completely blue rod. “It’s a small boon that enhances my ability to touch nature… a carved piece of liviol.”
Osato came upon the small group just as Karuka decided to hand out the odd little flowers she had found. Each one was already beginning to tinge to a crimson hue, matching the one that she had in her possession. Reluctantly the mercenary took his own flower. The red bled out of it, and was momentarily replaced with a pure white. That slowly faded in favor of a black center with a spot of gold, the petals became a sharp honey.
“A heart of gold,” he said with a chuckle. He took the flower and handed it to Andraea, allowing her to keep it. Its center turned a sickly gray, but the petals flashed a vibrant emerald, shifting and pulsing between lime and jade. Interesting, he thought to himself as he watched the center of the flower keep its sickly coloration. Whatever it meant, he watched it little further before turning at the sound of an approaching person.
He flashed a cheery smile and watched as A’rei sulked back to the three of them. Her soft skin was glowing with the reflection of the sun off the lapping waves. He could do little but smile and watch her approach. She looked as though someone had just struck her down. “A thing,” Osato pitched in unhelpfully, “A thing with big cats and magic trees surrounding it. And we have the pleasure of the Knights and his cohorts as our ‘escorts’. Lucky us…”
The Mime
03-22-07, 08:33 PM
The Mime found some things about regular people rather odd... merely from his inborn perspective that couldn't really be shaken, such as seeing them be tossed and swayed by the rise and fall of the tides. He himself felt not the slighest hint of danger to his equilibrium and in fact was quite enjoying the small boat ride despite how big the caresses of surf came from behind. In a fitting characteristic he had remained quiet on the little jaunt, not really speaking to the others... not out of any meanness, his melancholy had even seen fit to flee him for a time... no he was merely just admiring the sight of an island hoving into view with greater and greater clarity.
A great mass of white parting with every crest of a wave to display shapes and patterns throughout its great mass... petal by petal the flora of Livol exposes itself as we approach... like one meeting a stranger, bit by bit as time goes on they grow closer and the true features of the persons character are revealed. But then, some characters are very well versed in disguises and surely a land of this beauty would not remain untouched if it were not for a very ugly or protective side to this splendor...
He waited until the boat was safely moored before taking his leave of the small vessel. Giving a soft hop onto the sweeping waves, only to be greeted by silence... not a splash, nary a drop being ushered out of the surface, his legs merely sweeping through the liquid, as did his claws. Not even a grain of sand was sifted from those large claws as the Homonculous made such an unnatural way up the beach, despite how it was perfectly normal to himself. Such a subtle beauty radiated in the air, but the closer he stepped to it the more he was feeling almost... held back, like the Mercenary knight had rigged him to the ship.
Perhaps it makes sense... a being of magic should be sensitive to a land so heavily steeped in it... best to try and shrug this off for the others sakes...
It was no great feat of will that brought his feet further and further up the bay, but there was still that constant niggling at the back of his mind... perhaps this was what others felt in his presence. He had just about returned from his silent ponderings when a flower was placed between his main claws, looking down upon the pure white flower... it remained white. His sight travelled to the others, seeing how theirs changed to, maybe suit them, though perhaps that was wishful thinking... his however did not change at all.
Does this mean I am a different stimuli to these plants?... they are unable to react with me, or mayhaps a change is simply not required... but to beleive myself so pure it is, well rather egocentric, maybe to save face I should speckle it with ink... if only I had some
Still, while its reaction to him seemed non-existant that did not make the flower anymore impressive, its petals so very soft and even when plucked they felt full of vitality... with a gentle rolling between his claws he brought it out to the tip, lightly pinching the stem between two claw tips and then placing it softly in the slack material of his red scarf. Nestling close to what could pass for a neck if it was in sight, his botanistic impulses taking his attention away from the blonde girls issues... she seemed unaware of their purpose and considering how they all met that was not impossible to believe.
Indeed that is something worth thinking on more... all this... and it was merely on the beach, what would ly further that would prompt a small expedition... one escorted by fairly armed men of battle...
With a very slow movement of his unusually proportioned arm the Mime gave A'rei a light tap upon her shoulder, his other arm jotting down a quick, yet of course eloquently written note, using his own raised thigh as a good support. Once finished he swapped which arm was gestured to her and offered the note, simply stating...
We were asked here to perhaps discover why this island has not been made use of, to discover if rumours of creatures are true and to secure this locale as something marketable to those obsessed with monentary gain.
Now that she had satisfied herself as to the nature of the flowers, Karuka had her pendulum back out and was letting it swing. She heard the Knight grumbling about getting direction from a necklace...and maybe he was right to be a skeptic. Not every necklace was a pendulum, and not everyone who had a pendulum knew exactly how to control one. She hadn't, at first...and at times, it seemed more like the little lodestone necklace was controlling her.
Lead me on t' dharma...if 'twere dharma t' come, 'tis dharma t' seek, 'twill be dharma t' fin'.
Eventually, the pendant's swing directed itself more toward the center of the island, and once it had a steady course, Karuka started walking. She hadn't looked at the Mime to know what he'd answered A'rei, but she had heard Osato's answer. A thing wi' big cats an' magic trees surroun'in' i'. Ay, that'd be abou' i'.
"Osato's jus' tol' y' abou' all we know," she said to A'rei. "Fer some reason, these trees havenae been growin' lately, an' this man came t' Scara Brae all makin' a fuss 'bout th' Liviol trees growin'. Y' shoul' ha' heard him, he was really yellin'. 'Stay away! They're growin!' We're jus' s'pos'd t' fin' ou' why they're growin'. Then I think we're s'pos'd t' do somethin' wi' th' source o' magic tha's makin' 'em grow...but we'll figure tha' ou' a' th' en'."
She turned her head to grin at the blonde. "I think he jus' wan'ed us out o' th' way. But dinna worry...we'll be all righ'."
And she kept leading them deeper into the forest...
~*~
As dusk fell, the group set up camp and assigned watches among the guards. It was looking to be a long night, but they'd been lucky in that thus far, they hadn't seen anything. There had even been an avoidance of conflict amongst the group, as the Knight kept to the rear, away from Count Barchon's "commissions."
He couldn't believe that such a rag-tag group had been allowed to come. Why not just have them eliminated quietly? This way, they were only obstacles.
Meat bags, the lot of them...the lot of us, he thought. No one stood a good chance of surviving. And how dare that beggar-girl think she had the right to lead them? She sounded half insane. At least she was heading toward the center of the island. If she hadn't been, he would have taken away her illusion of authority in an instant.
Now all he had to do was make sure they didn't run.
~*~
The sailors had been working hard all day. Already they had two Liviol logs on the ship, and that would more than pay for their troubles. The next day's logs would be pure profit...maybe they could get another three.
They had heard some growling, but nothing had come out of the forest to attack them, so they had kept working with merry hearts and song.
Now it was too dark to work any longer, so they sat around and gambled and drank.
"Pity that blonde dream left with the suicide party. We could be having some fun NOW, eh, Jerome?"
Jerome snorted. "Captain wouldn't suffer us to touch her. It would be him and the mate that got dibs, I assure you. We could have all the fun we liked with the red-head, though."
His comrade shook his head. "I wouldn't trust that one. She looks like a wild animal. I think she'd bite."
A third sailor plunked down beside the two, handing out pints of grog. "Make her all the more fun, then."
Meanwhile, just on shore, there was a party of two guarding the life boats. In an hour, another pair would come to relieve them, but for now, they sat on the beach, keeping each other awake.
"I dunno, Selkirk," one was saying to his comrade, swirling sand between his fingers. "I just don't think...hey, did you see that?"
Both men stood up to get a better look. Not too far from them was a little ball of dancing light. "Do you think it's a fairy, Dennis?"
"Wouldn't s'prise me a bit, with everything else on this island. It's kind of a cute little fella, though. Seems happy."
The men approached the little dancing light, followed it, and soon it was joined by dozens more, just dancing around. About a mile from the shore, they came to a clearing. There were hundreds of the little lights there, making the clearing bright as day.
"It sure is purty," murmured Dennis.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is. Let's catch one and get back." Selkirk slowly approached one of the little glowing spheres, no bigger than his fist, and quickly cupped it between his two meaty hands.
"Owww!" He released it, only to see blood dripping from his hand. He started cursing a blue streak, and showed it to Dennis. "#$*^ thing bit me!"
"I...don't think that's the worst of our problems, Selkirk..." Dennis pointed at the other spheres...which were all descending slowly upon the two hapless sailors.
~*~
Unnatural screams pierced the night, awaking the sleeping party in the jungle.
"The Wailer," moaned one of the soldiers, clinging to his sword.
"'Tisnae a ban sidhe," whispered Karuka, loud enough for the group to hear. Her skin crawled at the haunting sound of the screams, and even moreso once she knew what it was. "'Tis a man...y'd hear screams like tha' when they got gored by a boar...'parently aon or dh* o' th' sailors got int' some trouble. They're some distance from here...t' scream like tha'...they mus' ay be sufferin'."
"We can't do anything for them from here," said the Knight gruffly. "Best to just go back to sleep and let the sailors deal with their own."
Everyone lay back down to try and sleep...and it was only a few minutes before the screams stopped.
Translations
>>>Lead me on to dharma...if it was dharma to come, it is dharma to see, and it will be dharma to find.<<<
[Alt: Lead me on to destiny...]
>>>A thing with big cats and magic trees surrounding it. Yep, that would be about it.<<<
"Osato just told you about all we know. For some reason, these trees haven't been growing recently, and this man came to Scara Brae making a fuss about the Liviol trees growing. You should have heard him, he was really yelling. 'Stay away! They're growing!' We're just supposed to find out WHY they're growing. Then I think we're supposed to do something with the source of the magic that's making them grow...but we'll figure that out at the end."
"I think he just wanted us out of the way. But don't worry...we'll be all right."
"It isn't a banshee. It's a man. You'd hear screams like that when they got gored by a boar...apparently one or two of the sailors got into some trouble. They're some distance from here...to scream like that...they must be suffering horribly."
Massacre
03-29-07, 07:35 PM
Osato was right; the Knights didn't seem like pleasant fellows. They had been rather harsh despite A'rei's dashing looks and they were cold, rude, and seemingly ruthless so far. The former slave wasn't the best at making impressions but this lot didn't seem to be such a nice group.
"Yeah, lucky us, huh?" A'rei smiled slightly at the warrior, trying not to give away her slight infatuation with the man. The blonde kept trotting along lightly beside Osato. She felt a light tap on her shoulder shortly after, she turned around to see Mime holding a small note out for her to read.
That sounds rather interesting, and dangerous... perhaps I shouldn't have come along...
"Magic trees, monetary gain, and creatures huh? This sounds more dangerous than I had anticipated. Oh and of course I forgot to introduce myself to you, I'm A'rei." The girl looked at Mime with as little fear or curiosity as she possibly could.
A'rei shifted her attention as Karuka's odd necklace swung around, pointing in a constant direction most of the time. It was odd to see something like a magical necklace guiding them. A'rei had never liked magic, she had seen its prowess at destruction and didn't like the thought of something going haywire and hurting anyone in the small group. The redhead seemed to know where she was going but A'rei doubted she actually did, but the necklace she had was rather interesting.
They had been walking through the trees for quite some time, A'rei slightly tripped or caught a portion of her pant leg on the shrubs and roots portruding from the ground. Feeling clumsy wasn't something that the girl was used to, but the unruly terrain was compromising her usually graceful and easy trot.
A'rei hadn't taken much notice to Osato's companion, apparently named Andrea. She had an elven look to her although A'rei wasn't quite sure, the only elves she had ever seen were men. She had a sharper, and beautiful face like an elven male though, one could only speculate. A'rei took note of her, she would talk to the girl later.
~*~
Night had fallen on the tiny island and the group had set up camp. They were deeper in the forest now, A'rei couldn't see the beach any longer. The darkness seemed to pierce the night among the small opening they had managed to find for a camp. A'rei decided to try and converse with Andraea.
A'rei wasn't sure if everyone else was asleep but the girl looked half awake, "Hi, I'm A'rei if you didn't know, you came with Osato--"
The shriek pierced the darkness of the forest. It had been the most horrible sound that A'rei had heard in a long, long time. It almost sounded like the ghastly women her father had spoken of. They were called banshees or wailers if A'rei remembered correctly. One of the soldiers groaned her exact thoughts but Karuka quickly dismissed that idea. Now that she thought about it, it did sound like a person's scream.
The poor man must be in agony...
A'rei followed the Knight's advice and nodded to Andraea and quickly fell asleep on the ground.
Ever since the little group had left the shore, following the odd little trinket that Karuka had with her, Osato had quickly become uneasy. Magic seeped through the very ground they walked on. The soulless mercenary was not one to deal with magic. He had been toyed with by all sorts of spells, poked and prodded by different magicians on Corone while he was there. The sell-sword, since then, was very wary of anything dealing with the unexplainable power.
"Are you alright Osato?" Andraea's sweet voice caught the man off-guard. The man let his eyes drift towards the girl and watched her quietly as he walked. She too wielded the art of magic, she too could change and manipulated the unseen forces. "You seem... distant."
Osato only sighed and kept walking. The small scrub of the liviol was something that he had not seen before. Though the bushes were tall they seemed to impede the procession very little. Relatively few of the scrubs were adorned in thorns, and even fewer were thick enough to slow the movement of any of them. Instead of answering, the soulless man kept up his pace and allowed the elven druid to pass.
"I suppose I will be fine," he finally responded to the back of the woman. "It's just that this place makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't know what it is about this island, but since we left the beach front a weird an unexplainable feeling has built at the base of my spine and only worked its way around my body."
"I know what you speak of," she responded without turning. But the sell-sword hardly believed she did. She was not afraid, she was not feeling an unending terror of an unexplainable power. Osato could not touch the invisible force, could not feel it unless it was being used on him. By the time it was touching him, he would no longer be near so casual and gentle. "I hope that you won't become so inconvenienced as time passes."
~~~
Inconvenience only seemed to follow the small group though.
Time had passed, and the sun had passed with it. Overhead the small sliver of the silver moon hung languidly. No clouds obscured its pristine light, instead the canopy of the liviol trees cast strange shadows. The lack of wind did little to ease the already discomforted mind of the sell-sword.
Osato rolled over in his little area. Right next to him was Andraea, who had insisted delicately on sleeping between him and A'rei. He looked past his elven companion and right at the edge of the blonde's head. Oh if he could only be so close to her, close enough to speak out to her with mere whispers. Instead, however, he rolled back away from the company and said nothing to anyone.
When the cries snapped and tore through the forests Osato's eyes snapped open. He hopped to his feet, whipping his new blade from its sheath. The others simply spoke to each other, so nonchalantly that it worried the sell-sword. It was a hauntingly sobering scream that brought the man to wake... a cry that would undoubtedly last for weeks to come.
"Os," Andraea said with a pleading tone. But the swordsman let the girls words fall on deft ears. He was in no mood for comforting. Like Karuka's fear of ships, Osato had his own. His was very real and very present. It was a fear that tore at him, a fear of being weak and powerless in the face of an opponent. What was worse, it was not an opponent he was facing, but the very spirit and life of the forests that surrounded him on all sides.
"Go back to sleep, if you can," tersely the sell-sword responded. He was not angry at the lithe woman, or anything she might have said or wanted to say. He was not angry in the least. Osato was simply unnerved and unable to contain and retain his composure. "I will be back in a second."
The sell-sword left not only the gaping elven woman and her possibly hurt pride, but the rest of the people as well. He did not care if the wished to follow him. He did not care if they wondered or worried. There was too much on his mind to sit still... too much on his mind to allow him to fall back to sleep. Being idle would do little more than cause the feelings to linger and grow, giving him little confidence in not only himself but in his party as well.
He would not walk far, but it would be just enough to leave the others behind and allow him to think till sleep took him once again.
((Shitty week, sorry for the long wait and the probably shitty post))
Being of the opinion that almost two weeks is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for an otherwise active member of the thread, I'm moving on without the Mime. Should he desire to remain in this thread, he may take his next turn in a timely manner.
Karuka didn't like the thought of anyone going off alone, but Osato seemed very jumpy all of a sudden, and he was strong enough to take care of himself, as well as any of the warriors could that had been sent along with them. She could understand him needing to go off a little ways for a while to calm down. Death screams like that were unnerving, the first few times.
The ragged red-head rested her head on her arms, looking around a little bit at everyone else. The Knight didn't seem too unnerved by what had happened, although the rest of the fighters did. The poor men had probably never been called to duty outside of the city before. This was entirely unfamiliar to them, even as much as the city was to Karuka.
She sighed, closing her eyes once more to rest.
~*~
She was awakened not half an hour later by a rustling beside her, and looked up. There were a few small globes of light...and they seemed so warm and friendly that she, too, wanted to get up and follow after it.
'Tis ay a wee pretty ligh' in th' darkness...a wee will o' th' wisp...Wills o' th' wisp!
The red-head sat up straight. "Stop!" She grabbed the soldier's arm, shaking her head. "Dinna follow a will o' th' wisp, 'twill leadja ay only int' trouble." She looked around...there were almost a dozen little balls of light that she could see.
"Dinna go after th' wills o' th' wisp, an' dinna let anyaon else go after 'em. I'm goin' t' go get Osato an' bring 'im back."
The Irish lass slipped her pendulum from her neck, asking it where the sell-sword was, and then heading off in the direction he'd gone.
There were several flitting around the tree she found him against, flying past him like fireflies. One, when he wouldn't come with them, got bold. Dimming its light, it drifted up almost to Osato's cheek, before a dark hand swatted it out of the way.
"Bi falbh!" commanded Karuka, slapping the little lightball again as it came back at her. "Osato, y' shouldnae be ou' now...nae wi' th' wills o' th' wisp ou' in force. They're ay dangerous wee bugs."
Suddenly, dozens -- hundreds -- of the little creatures rushed past them, flying away as fast as they could. Karuka looked after them, eyes narrowing. "Tha' 'tisnae normal behavior fer a will o' th' wisp...won'er wha' happen'd...canna be good." She looked back at the mercenary. "We'll needja back a' camp."
~*~
Somewhere, out in the darkness, there was a predatory sigh...and a low growl.
Translations
>>>It's a pretty little light in the darkness...a little Will o' th' Wisp...Wills o' th' wisp!<<<
"Don't follow a will o' th' wisp, it'll only leed you into trouble."
"Don't go after the wills o' th' wisp, and don't let anyone else go after them. I'm going to go get Osato and bring him back."
"Begone!" ((Gaelic))
"Osato, you shouldn't be out now, not with the wills o' th' wisp out in force. They're dangerous little critters."
"That's not normal behavior for a will o' th' wisp...I wonder what happened. Whatever it is, it can't be good."
"We'll need you back at camp."
Solace and solitude, two gifts the very sociable mercenary was not used to. Both floated on swift wings, taken away as quickly as they came. But in the quiet woods of the liviol sanctum, they seemed forever suspended. It was a mute calm, the proverbial calm before the storm. Osato did not like it, but accepted it nonetheless. His eyes drifted about the quiet wood, searching, but even he not what for.
“If only this peace was forever,” he thought, despite his grated nerves. His mind was still lingering with questions of disbelief and confusion. The screams had been deathly. They had been filled with pain and anguish, a pain that the mercenary could only wince at with his imagination. “And yet, it feels so empty.”
Osato let the void of the forests drift through his mind while he watched the leaves and boughs shiver under an odd, sudden breeze. His eyes lifted at the sight of lights, springing from seemingly nowhere. They were the wrong direction, coming from neither the direction of the shore or his party. The emergence intrigued him, drew him in. The lights grew closer, drifting methodically through the thick woods and brush.
“What is this?” He said as he rose from his seat and unhooked his crossbow. But he did not draw it, leaving the ready bolt at his side. The lights did not seem immediately threatening, and he was more than a little reluctant to put a weapon at the ready that he was not sure he even wanted to use. The lights grew more resolute, more tangible, and with them came small faces and bodies. Each one was a separate entity, a small fae. Osato had only heard rumors of them, but the facts were right before him. “Seems friendly enough…”
Before he knew what happened he was surrounded, both him and the tree that he had but seconds before been leaning against. They were everywhere. Small voices called out in a rhythmic and harmonious tone, singing a melodious and methodical song. He was not sure how, but their magic was touching his mind, delving deep within his conscious thoughts. Being soulless had its perks though, and a slight immunity to emotional magic. But the magic of the little fae was strong, and made it almost impossible to resist the allure.
Just as one got close enough to touch the man, Karuka appeared and ‘rescued’ him. For once the mercenary was truly thankful that someone else had rescued him. The little bugger was swatted aside, batted towards the ground. The way it fell, catch itself on its membrane wings just before hitting the ground suggested that it had not expected the sudden attack at all. The young sell-sword snapped his head towards the woman and gave her an almost dumbstruck look. His mouth was slightly agape, and even his perfect face gave away the look of embarrassment and confusion. “Th—thank you,” he said as he drew his crossbow and looked away from the woman. “Indeed, things seem to be getting out of hand, and this looks like the beginning of something very bad.”
~*~
Osato and Karuka returned to the makeshift came. None seemed asleep, all eyes turned towards him from their resting places. He gave the others a cautious glance, looking from eye to eye. Something was stirring in the forests. Once again the solace and quiet had descended over the forests. Osato was no longer near so at peace as he had been when he was alone…
Massacre
04-28-07, 01:28 PM
Karuka had rushed off quickly to find Osato and the others were simply left there, not knowing quite what the girl had been talking about. The small lights were apparently bad, but there were none here and no reason to worry about them right this second. What the blonde was worried about was the fact that Mime had suddenly disappeared. He was nowhere to be found, had he been scared off by the lights or did he simply grow tired of the group? A'rei didn't have the slightest clue. Either way, he wasn't anywhere to be seen and it seemed like they had more important matters on their hands.
It was only her and Andrea left now, they were both sitting there in wonder at what was going to happen next. It was only their first night in this dreadful forest of azure and already things were going horribly wrong it seemed. With Mime gone there was no one to scare away the Knights should they approach and try anything on the two women.
A low growl came from the darkness beyond the visible azure trunks of the liviol trees. Something that didn't sound quite nice, like a predator. A'rei looked over to the Knights whispering quietly to eachother, slowly drawing their weapons.
What, are they coming for us?
A'rei turned over the Andrea, "Do you think we should--"
Suddenly Osato and Karuka returned. Their return was shadowed by the Knights though, they suddenly got louder as a flash of blue fur flashed in, and disappeared just as quickly, taking one of the Knights with it.
"Shit! What the hell was that?!"
"I.. I don't know!"
The Knights were scrambling to get into their fighting formation. Another growl came and the scream from who the blonde assumed was the Knight. Things were going horribly wrong now, and they were seemingly powerless to stop it. It was then that A'rei saw the creature that had killed the Knight. It was gigantic, three times as tall as Osato and even longer than that. It had the look of a tiger, only with azure fur with odd color patterns adorning its side, matching the odd trees it stood against. Then, it was gone, running the opposite direction of the camp. The trees now blocked A'rei's view.
"D.. did you see that?" A'rei looked around at her companions who were paying more attention to the Knights than the direction the blonde was looking.
Osato was far from comfortable. The sell-sword’s mind was working at a fast pace, his thoughts were muddled though. What was happening? What were those little flitting lights? Why had their very presence broken through his normally sharp façade and taken a good crack at his sanity? Whatever thoughts he could muster, each one was filled with doubt and worry.
Behind the two’s reappearance came the knights, trailing them at a good distance. They too were mumbling, speaking in harsh whispers and even sharper retorts. Osato ignored them, however, and wandered towards A’rei and Andraea. The two girls, sitting next to each other… what a careless idiot the mercenary had been, leaving so inconsiderately and forcing Karuka to come find him. “Very sorry you two,” the mercenary apologized as he approached them, “I didn’t mean to be so stupid and leave you two here… alone.”
Andrea rose and walked towards the soulless man, her eyes alight and a smile crossing her face. Good thing she had not lost him, good thing indeed. They would be quite angry if he had died with her so close to him, much less against something that she had been prepared for. “Don’t—“ just as she was beginning to respond a quick blur caught the attention of the party. Her eyes watched as the blur tore through the despondent knights, taking one with her.
Osato turned, seeing the fear and the reflection in her eyes. One of the knights was, indeed, missing. His screams carried through the forests behind him. The others scrambled to form a ring of steel, drawing their weapons and taking up defensive stances. The sell-sword moved just as quickly, drawing a crossbow in either hand. His skill was minimal with one, and almost nonexistent with both at the same time, but a readied bolt of two was of much more use than a sword.
“Karuka! To me!” Osato backed towards A’rei and his companion. His crossbows were both leveled towards the knights, but his eyes were searching the woods. However, his focus was mostly on the red-headed spit-fire, completely worried about her safety. “Come on! We need to be close… if that thing, whatever it is, comes back it will take us easily if we are too loose.”
From this point, the thread is closed to Osato and Massacre. The Mime will not be joining us further in this quest.
While Osato went back to comfort A'rei and Andraea, Karuka sat down by the still-glowing embers of the fire. This situation, whatever it was, bothered her. The runes had foreseen this, but so vaguely that she hadn't predicted anything of the nature she'd gotten. Magic flowers, wee fae wills o' th' wisp...and now the Mime was gone, probably distracted by something or enjoying the scenery for another two or three days. He'd been in a tree for three days when she'd met him, and she wouldn't be surprised of that sort of behavior from him. And where in Hel had the soldiers, just returning, gone off to?
The red-head slipped a hand into her rune bag to try and find some answers when a gigantic creature lunged out of the shadows a mere few feet in front of her, bowling through the mass of guards and carrying one away, the man's screams echoing through the dark and quiet of the woods. It had been a rush of moonlit-blue and black, but beyond that, Karuka hadn't seen much.
As the soldiers formed a ring around the camp, the red-head bounced up to her feet, about to run after the man to try and save him before Osato's shout brought her edging back to the main group. He was right...there wasn't anything more to be done for the soldier. The screams had already died down, replaced by the sickening crunch of metal and bones. These sounds, too, horrible as they were...lasted only a few minutes before silence returned to the night-time forest.
"An padir agam, air chall," breathed Karuka. "Iochd, déathan...iochd."
She held a single rune tightly in her fist, not knowing what it was she held. Right now it didn't seem to matter. The only thing that mattered was the fear felt by the small group, shortening their breath and heightening their senses. It had a beat of its own, matching the pounding hearts of every member of the group. The rasping of their breath rang through the small clearing, and each rustle of cloth seemed like it was a cry to the horrible creature, to come back and finish the job. But several minutes passed in silence.
"M-maybe," stammered one of the soldiers, "it won't come back."
Indeed, another few minutes passed, and the soldiers started sheathing their swords. Karuka took the opportunity to glance down at the rune she was grasping in her hand, feeling the sudden chill as blood started rushing back through her fingers. When she looked down at the little clay tablet in her hand, she paled. She had drawn Nied.
In spellcasting, Nied was a divertive rune, something that would distract an opponent for the few precious seconds the red-head needed to escape. When divining, however...it meant a constraint or a cause of sorrow.
"'Tis comin' back..." her words were a murmur, audible only to those few nearby her.
Only moments later, the guttural sound of a low growl rumbled through the forest, followed by the rustling of branches and snapping of leaves. The soldiers all gripped their weapons again, tightly, and Karuka bit her thumb, smearing the rune in her hand with the blood and mouthing the words to a prayer in her native Gaelic.
Loki, God of Strife and Deception,
It wouldn't be unlike you to have placed in our path this foe.
Show us your power to defend us from it,
By the power of your rune...
She waited, though, before finishing the prayer. She needed to see her target, and it wasn't quite there yet, choosing instead to stalk its prey, sitting like a lump on the forest floor. Karuka felt her own heart palpitating with the fear of being stalked -- a common, reasonable fear, in this circumstance. She imagined that she could almost feel the creature's heavy breath on the back of her neck, but the only ones behind her were A'rei and Andraea...and doubtless they felt the same fear, gnawing a hole in their bellies, as well.
Finally, it stood before them, illuminated like a hell-beast as it stood over the dying embers of the campfire. Its fur looked the exact same color as the blue trees in the flickering light, and it had long, dark streaks that curled around to end in eye-spots. The tallest man in the group didn't even come up to the beast's knees, and it snarled down at the group with teeth as long as Karuka's forearm, with massive green eyes that glinted with bloodlust. Scraps of flesh still hung from between its teeth, a nauseating reminder of its most recent snack.
Many of the soldiers either cried out to some god or started cursing, and the red-headed rune mage was very tempted to do the same. This creature could knock them all out of its path with a single swipe of one of its monstrous paws. Instead, she looked at the creature, focusing on it so hard that she couldn't see anything or anyone else.
Nied.
The creature glanced at her for a moment, then blinked, looking back and forth as though confused as to what it should do. It even took a step back, and snorted, its paw hovering in the air. Maybe it would have left in its confusion. Maybe it would have attacked. What it would have done if left to the effects of the spell is something that can and may be debated for decades...but it didn't happen. The Captain waved his men forward, yelling for them to attack.
The sudden noise and attack snapped the great feline out of its confusion, and it snarled again, lashing out and swiping at the soldiers, knocking three through the air and snarling as the weapons opened shallow wounds on its legs, chomping down on another, biting the man's head and part of his torso off. Karuka put a hand on Osato's arm to get his attention, then looked back at Andraea and A'rei.
"Dinna go after th' creature. If they canna drive i' off, we'll ay need t' get out o' here."
Subtitles.
"A prayer for you, the lost. Mercy, gods...mercy." ~ Gaelic.
"It's coming back."
"Don't go after the creature. If they can't drive it off, we'll need to get out of here."
Massacre
05-13-07, 10:30 AM
It all happened so quickly, the beast had reappeared and was stalking them. A'rei could tell, the feeling ran down her spine; that thing was watching them. The snarls from its throat were vicious and filled with primal rage. When it came out and stepped over the dying embers of their once lively fire, it looked vicious. The dark streaks on its side were more evident than A'rei could see before and it was getting ready to pounce, if that word could be used, its victims. The beast must have been twisted by the strange magic that lie dormant until now on the strange island.
Now Osato was in front of her, and Karuka as well, the Scara Braen girl didn't know quite what to do. So she stood and watched what ensued.
Chaos.
The red-head was mumbling prayers to herself, perhaps she thought she was going to die, A'rei didn't know. Suddenly Karuka looked at the beast and it stuttered in confusion, swiping at the air.
What on Althanas..? A'rei looked at Karuka who had a rune in her hand. That must be it! Shortly after though, the sailors ruined any chances of them having the large cat-like beast run away; they attacked. Karuka spoke the truth then, they had no chance to survive if the soldiers failed in their attempt to kill the creature. Without hesitating, A'rei tugged on Andrea's arm and began to run the opposite direction, deeper into the forest. The azure trees were a blur as she ran, the girl didn't pay attention to whether or not the rest of them were behind her. Rather, she concentrated on the twigs snapping underneath her and making sure that she didn't catch a foot on a root or stray brush.
Finally, she stopped and looked back to see if the others were behind...
{Not sure what's next, I'll let you handle it}
Karuka's hand reached out to snatch at A'rei as she started running, but to no avail. The girl was gone. It was more than obvious that she'd never encountered a wild beast of this type before. It was lethal to make sudden movements around predators -- it only triggered a chase instinct. This feline was no different, looking up from the soldiers beneath its paws and leaping after the running girl.
"Malchadan," hissed Karuka. She looked around, searching for something, anything that might help -- and found a long stick not far from the edge of the clearing. She dashed for it, picking it up before the cat had fully exited the clearing, drawing a rune at the same time. Her thumb traced across its surface with a little jolt of pain, but that just smeared the blood across the surface. The sickle-curve of the rune told her exactly which one it was...and thus exactly what she needed to do.
She plunged the tip of her stick into the fire, clutching her rune tightly in front of her face and starting to speed through a prayer*. She focused on the embers, and in particular, the embers that surrounded the tip of her stick.
Brigid, goddess of flame,
By the power of Ken let me be your torch-bearer.
The embers burst into life, followed a few moments later by the tip of the deep-blue stick. As she pulled it out, the flame roared to life, and she started speeding after the cat, following its heavy foot-falls as it chased the blonde girl.
Please dinna let me be too late...
~*~
By the time A'rei had stopped running, so had her pursuer. Now it chose to stalk her slowly and savor the scent of her fear. It let its feet crunch in the forest surrounding her, let its breath come heavy, and it even growled softly, circling the area with her as the center.
Finally it tired of this play, and leapt out at her with a loud roar, opening its mouth wide and baring its huge fangs, its final boast of power before it was going to devour her.
This roar was met with a yell, and as the beast glanced away from its prey, distracted, it let out a yowl as a burning emblem slammed down on its nose. It snarled, swiping at the little bug that had attacked it, and growled angrily, swatting again and again as the prey-creature dodged it.
Karuka swung her brand with both hands, shouting each time she did so, keeping the beast's attention on her . It kept forcing her back and back, and it was getting closer -- one time, the tip of its claw opened a deep gash on her shoulder as she pulled away. That was the end of the fight, as the rest of the paw knocked away the burning stick.
The cat let out a roar, threatening the red-headed prey-beast with an inevitable death...and was surprised when it let out a roar of its own. Not as loud as his, of course...but no one had done that before. He snarled, looking down at her as he bared his teeth...and he was met with a snarl and a flash of the teeth. This was incredible...this was bewildering...what was this creature?
He looked down and into her eyes, and she looked into his, and for a moment, the two were locked in a silent and intense gaze.
BA-bump. BA-bump.
There was that heartbeat again...so strong that Karuka could almost feel it through the ground -- and much slower than her own pounding heart. Apparently the cat heard it too, for he growled softly before leaning down to sniff Karuka for a moment...and she let him. Whatever he smelled on her, he was satisfied, for he let out a snort and nudged her gently toward the center of the island with his nose...and then vanished back into the forest with hardly a sound.
Karuka wasn't entirely sure what had just happened...but she knew it had happened for a reason, and maybe she'd get to figure that reason out someday. For now, though, her thumb was throbbing where she'd bitten it, pain was lancing through her arm where she'd been cut, and suddenly she felt nauseas and dizzy. The red-head let herself collapse against a tree and released a deep breath, shaking slightly as the adrenaline began to wear off and the fear that she'd suppressed coursed through her scrawny frame in full force. "Great an' merciful gods..."
Translations
"Dammit!" (lit, Curses))
* Yep, still praying in Gaelic.
>>>Please don't let me be too late.<<<
"Great and merciful gods..."
Chaos indeed.
It seemed that in the split second since the arrival of the beast, the waking world had been turned into a twisted dream. It was a nightmare, possessing reality. And amidst it all, Osato stood, lost. He turned his head from one flank to the next; all around him was the thick brush of the Liviol Sanctum. The boughs of the trees were shifting uneasily. No songs of night life echoed from trunk to trunk, even the crickets and night life knew better than to be present when the beast was. But what struck the sell-sword the strongest was the overwhelming waft of blood, and the metallic taste that intruded upon his delicate palate.
He spat to rid himself, but it served only to force him to inhale deeply. The aroma was nauseating. He held back the waves of vomit that threatened and yearned to be expelled. Instead, he tucked his arms in a bit closer and used the belts across his waist to steady his quivering arms. This was not some silly battle in the Citadel; death would be permanent on the island. “I am far too young to die, and have far too many adventures yet ahead of me. This is ridiculous!”
The harsh reality of the situation brought something far worse than bile. His sense of ease had skipped into an overwhelming dread. He was horrified by the sudden, disgusting upheaval of the knight’s smug looks. He could have been one of them easily, could have blindly followed the small band of adventurers into the sanctum. If he had remained, he too would have blindly and willingly given his life at the slightest command of the next highest ranking Knight.
“Now! While it is distracted!” The cry of the captain snapped Osato out of his thought process. He would have been one of the three that were swept away by a single stroke from the massive monster. But no, fate and destiny had allowed him more chances to change and adapt to his own preferred way of life. The mercenary watched the men fall at the hands of the cat, carnage and confusion playing across the battle scene just as fear played across his face.
“Wha… yeah, damn…”
Osato turned towards Karuka, her fierce yet caring blue eyes comforting. It was not the proper time to take comfort though, not the proper time to lose himself to her. He spun, digging thick grooves in the soft loam underfoot. The heels of his feet dug in tight, allowing him to push off of them and away from the fight. However, his concern quickly shifted from his own safety to that of the beautiful A’rei. The naïve fool, she was running, and with a creature of prey about. He knew it would only lead to more nonsense and possibly his own demise. But he would not let harm befall any of his party, especially those that he truly cared about.
~*~
Awestruck by the power of the fiery red-head, Osato could do nothing more than stand and gawk. He had chased after the girl, following Karuka, but had only found him, like the others, surrounded. Behind him the anguish of the elite Scara Brae troops cried; he ignored them. Instead he quickly, loosely hooked one of the crossbows back on his belt and held up the second. In both hands, steadily aimed, he watched the beast approach his red-head.
“By the Thayne,” he muttered as he forced his eyes to adapt to the flickering embers and shifting shadows of the trees. The beast slowly approached the woman. From its mouth slow trickling saliva dribbled, its sharp teeth glinting with the soft light of the moon through the forest canopy. Frozen in terror, and unable to find a suitable mark, Osato stood still. He was about to witness the death of one of the first women he was ever admired for more than her body… “I will not let her die.”
Instead of firing from his distance, the sell-sword charged forward. He dropped the crossbow, the weak trigger from the common manufacturing set the bolt flying. But it did little more than strike a heavy tree, the tip barely nicking it before falling harmlessly to the ground. Osato’s wavering black blade was forced from its sling, his hands wrapping around the leather handle. Before he could close, the beast poked Karuka innocuously, then leapt into the forests.
It was gone almost as quickly as it had come.
“Karuka, A’rei! Are you both alright?” Osato slowed his approach, his metal gaiters clapping slowing with him. He fell to his knees next to the red-head, his sword being dropped to his side. A hand touched his armored shoulder, causing him to turn to see the worried and hurt eyes of the elven woman. He had completely forgotten and ignored Andrea in his haste and worry about the other two. “It seems we are all still in one piece, though Karuka’s wounded… what now? We have seen the flickering lights that haunt the forest, and the beast that was once only a myth...”
Massacre
06-05-07, 06:43 PM
A'rei fumbled about while she watched the red-head fend off a beast tenfold her size. It was amazing how the beast was discouraged by the fire on the end of the stick. Despite all that, Karuka had been wounded and Osato was asking if they were all right. The Scara Braen girl looked around wildly, expecting to see the cat jump and pounce out of the forest but nothing came. With her heart still beating rapidly, she replied to the attractive mercenary, "Yes, yes I'm fine."
Without looking toward Osato or Karuka, the girl stood up, wiping off her clothes briskly and walking around the small opening that the morbid scene had taken place in. There was nothing out of place to speak of except the dirt was scrambled about and the deep recesses the creature had left. The greenery was swished around and flattened by both Karuka's and the cat's footsteps. Still paranoid, A'rei walked around to each tree in the immediate area, lightly touching the bark and rubbing her hands afterwards. How could this have happened to us, I thought these beasts were just legends... A'rei thought.
Everything she had been taught now made no sense. In the world of myths she had been told there was a cat and fairies that inhabited the island, but to actually see the legends of her youth was something that she had not been prepared for. With her former thoughts shattered the girl didn't know what to think now, it had to be the island, it had to be cursed. There would be more, she thought, there would be more and as they got closer to their precious treasure the trials would get more difficult. She hoped that against the odds they could pull out alive and make it back to the main island but that was nowhere in sight yet. She could flee however which sounded like a prospect worth considering. The blonde's faith in herself and her companions was fleeting now and something needed to be done.
The most immediate of these things was taking care of Karuka's fresh wound and getting back to the camp. As the girl came back from her distant thoughts she found herself near the duo already. She bent over and whispered so the mercenary and the red-head could hear her, "We... should probably go back to the camp." A'rei lightly put Karuka's good arm around her shoulders and began to gently lift the girl.
Karuka nodded to Osato as he asked if she was all right, watching the distressed A'rei pace the clearing. The blonde girl seemed more distressed than the red-head did...but that was the difference between running from a predator and bashing it on the nose with a burning stick, she supposed. The difference between getting taken by death from behind and by surprise, and staring it in the face.
"Ay...I'm all righ'." She looked down at her shoulder as A'rei hauled her up, and regained her own feet. "'Tis but a wee scratch. Perha' 'twill need a wee bit o' needle work t' help i' heal proper, bu' 'tisnae life-threatenin'." She glanced around and walked through the trees to where her torch had been thrown, picking it up and returning to her friends through the inky darkness.
"Well, c'mon. We shoul' get back t' see how much damage th' beast did."
~*~
Back at camp, the soldiers were starting to clean up. Two more had died, with another seriously injured and the final six sporting various cuts and contusions. The ones with lesser injuries were trying to save the ones with greater, binding the broad leaves from the liviol trees with spider webs and using them to try and staunch the bleeding. The firelight barely provided enough light to see by, and through the flickering shadows, the soldiers were trying to help each other.
As the first bandage was applied, the soldier cried out in agony, causing the Captain to hold him down. "Stay still...you'll bleed to death if you don't let us bandage you." The cries didn't die down, and to lessen the risk of the solider being heard and attracting more predators, his sleeve was ripped off and stuffed into his mouth.
'Tis an odd reaction fer a man bein' bandaged so loose, reflected Karuka, thinking back to the day she'd accompanied the village on a boar hunt and one of the hunters had been mauled by the creature. He'd taken his bandaging without so much of a grunt, and this man was screaming.
Perha' 'tis somethin' wi' th' leaves...
Tossing her burning stick onto the fire, Karuka grabbed one of the leaves, as big as her face, and ran her hand over it. It was smooth on one side, and rough on the other, but the bandage was made with the smooth side against the soldier's skin. Cobweb felt sticky on the wounds, but didn't particularly sting...so what could be the matter? She folded the leaf, exploring it a little, and the skin broke, letting thick sap ooze out. A little got into the cut on her thumb that was scabbing over, and agony lanced through her entire arm.
"Ai! Tch tch tch tch tch...." She put her thumb into her mouth, tasting the burningly bitter sap...but not blood. She released her hand, looking at the skin where the cut had been . It wasn't there anymore, there was barely even a scar, and the pain from the balm was already dying down.
"'Tis a miracle plant...'tis hurtin' him, but healin' him, as well."
She turned to Andraea, digging through her satchel to find a needle and some thread, mindful that blood was still dripping from her arm. "Wouldja mind t' stitch th' arm? 'Tisnae scabbed o'er yet, meanin' tha' i' dinna wish t' heal all alone."
~*~
The Knight, meanwhile, went over to A'rei and patted her on the shoulder. "Good thinking, girl. By distracting the beast, you saved most of my men at risk of your own life. You're a real soldier, and I'll see you get commended once we get back to Scara Brae."
"Yes, I'm all right. It's only a bit of a scratch. Might need a little stitching to make it heal right, but nothing life threatening."
"Well, come on. We should get back to see how much damage the beast did."
>>>That's an odd reaction for a man being bandaged so loose...<<<
>>>Maybe it's something with the leaves themselves...<<<
"It's a miracle plant...hurting him, but healing him as well."
"Would you mind stitching me up? It hasn't scabbed over yet, meaning it doesn't want to heal on its own."
It was eerily quiet after so brazen an attack. The only physical reminder of the large beast was its footprints in the soft loam, and the few fallen leaves of the lower boughs. Osato knew, though, that the visions of the gore and carnage, the lingering screams, it would all stay with him for quite a while. He brushed a gloved hand over his smooth arms, rubbing warmth to rid himself of the unsightly goose flesh that had been crawling across him. His other hand was pressed gracefully against his chest, counting the rhythm of his beating heart while he tried to catch his breath. If sleep did come it would be fleeting, but the mercenary doubted he wanted to brave the world of dreams quite yet.
The hurt face of the elven woman came back to him. He turned to her, her eyes wide. He could barely make out facial features in the murky darkness, but her eyes were as bright as the full moon. “Andraea,” he muttered as he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She turned her face blank. She seemed to be mumbling to herself, something in elven, but the sell-sword could not make it out. “Come on,” he continued, “we’re going to go back now. We need to be out of these woods before the lights return, and despite not like them, we have to check on our escort.”
~*~
The camp was a mess. It was a makeshift spot anyway, but there was blood splattered across the opening at random places. The bodies of the soldiers had been dragged away by the less injured who were not tending to the others. Thick grooves tore through the soft ground, blood mixed with the mud to form slick pools of muck. The sight was grisly, but Osato had seen battle, and so small a scene was hardly anything compared to real combat on a mass scale.
Despite himself, the mercenary wandered towards the knights. He had left them, he was hunted by them, but he still had a feeling of obligation to them. Whether they got along, he had looked at them like brothers for months, and they had taught him. Unfortunately, as he saw it, the head knight had not fallen with his troops. He was tending one of the wounded though, attempting to hold him down to the ground while the other applied a leaf and webbing to his wounds. The man was screaming fitfully, thrusting his body wildly about. But the wounds were slowing their bleeding, and amazingly starting to close up despite his thrashing.
“Osato,” the mercenary turned to see the elven woman with three vials extended towards him. “Please, collect some of these leaves. I must take them for study later, and having extra with us in case we find more trouble would be useful. I must stitch up Karuka and help dress the wounds of the soldiers too.”
“Of course,” he responded, taking the glass vials from her and turning to get the leaves. Behind him he could hear the woman mutter something. A race of chills ran across his back, but not from fear this time. It was magic, and a powerful source of it. I turned, walking sideways towards the woods, staring at the woman. Her hands began to glow a light green for a second, and then the light passed into the thread and needle in her hands.
“Do not worry,” she said as he leaned down to begin stitching the red-heads arm. “I have simply infused the thread and needle with a spell to sterilize them, and another to add a small boost to the healing cells around the area of use. The first has already worn off, the second will by the morning.”
~*~
When the morning came Osato was far from prepared for it. The sun cast its heavy light through the thick canopy, casting an emerald light across the landscape. But it was absorbed by the morning mist almost as soon as it made it down. In the light the mercenary was better able to see what had happened. Scuff marks of a foot as big as his head marred the ground everywhere. The grooves of the fallen soldiers were spotted by small pools of dried blood and loam.
Osato winced, but he had grown used to the smell over night. He rubbed at his sleepy eyes, but dared not close them for what remained of the night. Instead of waking the others he simply shook his head and rested it on his knees, they would wake on their own. He had a headache already, the bothersome noise of the armored knight’s group and his owns chatter would only add to it.
Massacre
06-14-07, 12:23 PM
As the Knight spoke his words of commendation, A'rei looked up at the taller man and smiled, "Uh, thank you."
She had run out of fear. Fear of dying, fear of seeing death, and most of all fear of the unknown. The cat was a mysterious creature and it seemed as though Karuka had shown that she was indeed the stronger individual and had an iron will. A'rei found herself feeling bad that the girl had gotten hurt on her behalf and because of her stupidity but that was something to address later, there were wounded men that needed help and the Scara Braen wanted to give as much aid to her countrymen as possible. She took a liviol leaf off the ground and walked over to where the wounded lay, running her small fingers up and down the leaf slowly, the texture was pleasant and soft.
"Hey! Someone give me some more leaves!" A Knight was holding up one hand while pushing on the chest of another with his knee to hold him down. A'rei quickly ran over to where the Knight was and hand the man a single leaf, he took it and applied it to the man's shoulder who writhed and screamed in pain. "Oh it's you, thanks by the way, without you this man would be deader than a stone."
"Oh, sure, I didn't really mean to--" A'rei stopped at a scream of pain from the man on the ground.
"Oh shit, please stop!" He screamed as he squirmed under the pressure of his comrade's knee. With that, the girl walked away to see if Karuka was all right. The red head was being stitched by Andraea who was being as gentle as could be.
"Karuka, I just wanted to say thanks..." A'rei half-whispered. Her cheeks went red and she quickly walked away. Why am I embarrassed?
The girl went walking into the woods by herself, she needed the break badly from everything. Just to escape was a gift all in itself. She didn't wander too far as to avoid encountering any more large beasts or fairies that maimed people, but just far enough so she could escape the groans, aches, and screams of the soldiers. It was a macabre scene that she wanted no part of for the moment. The azure trees about her stood invitingly, waiting to be rested against and the girl did just that. She sat on the ground with a thump and rested her back against the liviol wood. Her eyelids slowly closed and she began to feel herself drift away...
~*~
When she awoke the sun shone brightly through the leaves but was diluted by the mist that fell over the island like a blanket that morning. The girl rose slowly and raised her arms high above and got on her tip-toes in a stretch. Yawning and rubbing her eyes, she began her slow trot back to the camp, admiring the beauty of the magical trees and their colorful blossoms. Remembering her blossom, her hand went absently to her head to take another look at it and surprisingly it was still there after the running she had done.
The scene didn't look quite as solemn in the daylight as it had at night, though the blood stained on the ground was still there, the sun revealed a much nicer way looking at it, no matter what had actually happened. Seeing that almost everyone was recovered was a good thing, too. There were only three of the Knights who hadn't been fully recovered, two of them were talking while the third lay resting, slightly absent-minded. The Captain approached A'rei.
"Can you tell those three to head back to the boat by my orders?" He inquired. "I'm busy getting all of our stuff together, dear."
"Oh, yeah sure." A'rei replied absently, she was still tired but she walked over the the three men anyways. "You three are supposed to head back to the ship."
"Says who?" One asked sharply.
"Your leader..."
"Damn, look, that bastard is nodding at us," the Knight looked to his companions, "all right, help me get him up, Eudo."
The two Knights stood and roused their companion, gently lifting him to see feet as his face winced in pain. A'rei turned around to find her companions, they had to be near. After a bit of walking, A'rei found that everyone was set to head out, where A'rei didn't know.
"Hey Karu, where are you headed?" A'rei walked up the small group.
"Still tuath...an' a wee bi' ear." The red-head pointed toward the center of the island.
~*~
The trees had gotten considerably thicker by the step, each trunk was thicker than the last and each time A'rei looked up, the canopy seemed to blot out the sun more and more. It was getting so dark that it began to get hard to see...
Translation of Karuka's statement in the last post: "Still north, and a little bit east".
Count Uyen Barchon stood at his study window, watching as the sun started climbing higher. Even though he knew that it was unlikely the group had penetrated the forest and made it to ruins so ancient that their existence had turned to mere legend, he was already impatient for their return.
For within those ruins is the very artifact I need to snatch away Bellari's ill-gained kingdom. If they can survive and find it...then I will have the help I need to take it back. The Valeenas thought that they had subjugated my line. We even changed our name from Aneni to Barchon, symbolically giving up that which is rightfully ours. But soon...
A knock came on the door, and Count Barchon turned, smoothing down his moustache. He just had to endure a few more days, and then either send out another team, or he would have his prize in hand. Captain Strozzi was completely loyal.
~*~
When the longboat went over in the morning to relieve Selkirk and Dennis, then begin the day's work, they discovered that the watch had abandoned their post. The Quartermaster, who had gone ashore to oversee the day's work, cursed irritably. Either those oafs had abandoned their post for some incomprehensible reason, or the island had claimed them.
The trail wasn't overly hard to track. Selkirk and Dennis had been life-long sailors; traversing the forest wasn't something they were well equipped to do. The on-shore party tramped through the slightly dense forest, walking past the light blue trees and over vibrant green ferns until they reached a small clearing.
What they found in that clearing made the more superstitious of them utter an oath, and even the most stalwart and doughty of them blanched. Lying in positions contorted by agony were two fresh skeletons, picked absolutely clean. And the most jarring thing of all was that they were wearing the clothes of the lost sailors -- intact and blood-stained.
The Quartermaster looked warily at his men. "It's an ill omen, lads," he said at length. "Let's...let's get them back to the boat...and stay there. No sense in dying for more logs...never get to spend the money, anyway. Come on men...take 'em up...gently, now."
With a solemn and uneasy care, four sailors picked up the denuded corpses and carried them back to the boats, and eventually back to the ship. There would be no further expeditions to gather Liviol wood that mission.
~*~
I have lost men...good men...chasing a legend. And then I made orders to send off the three least likely to survive back to the boat. But we can't afford to be fewer when going into dangers I thought were only mythical.
Captain Revelin Strozzi looked over the procession of torches to the rag-tag group that led the party ever deeper into the cursed woods. He had orders to kill them, if they survived the trek. The treacherous Osato Lysser he would kill gladly, and would have gladly killed before they'd even touched land if only the red-head hadn't interfered. He would probably have to get rid of her, first. She was a nuisance, but nuisances didn't deserve to die just because they were annoying. Then again...she and her silly little necklace could be leading them into danger.
She started veering from the relatively stable course she'd kept, adopting a slightly westward course. A westward course wouldn't lead them to the center of the island, and where else would a castle be kept on an island such as the Liviol Sanctum? Revelin tapped the soldier in front of him, instructing him to take the rear, and went forward to correct the woman.
"We are heading to the center of the island. That is where the artifact will be."
The ragged red-head glanced at the Captain from the corner of her eye. She didn't seem too impressed with his armor and authority, which was odd in a girl of maybe sixteen. She lifted her left hand, from which swung her necklace.
"Th' pendulum says t' go this way. Sin' y' dinna ay ha' a map tha' points t' where th' wee thing we're after is, an' y' dinna ay ha' a good idea o' where th' thing is, I'm ay more inclined t' trus' this than yer thou' o' knowin' ev'rythin' in a place y' dinna know anythin'. If we're ay mean' t' fin' i', we will. An' if we arenae, then we're bein' drawn this way fer a reas'un."
The Knight's eyes narrowed. How dare an inexperienced girl lead his group of professional soldiers? What gave her the right? Due to her guidance, they'd been attacked by the little light balls and by the legendary Liviol Cat.
"Listen, you," he snapped, "I am in command of this mission, and will be assuming leadership -- " he was cut off abruptly as the red-head pointed.
"Is tha' th' place y' seek? Yonder, throu' th' trees an' t' th' niar?"
Through the dense forest, a splotch of green and gray could be seen faintly. If someone had good vision and was able to pierce through the trees, he would see part of an overgrown and sprawling structure -- the crumbled ruins of an ancient palace or metropolis.
Revelin stuttered. He didn't like being shown up in front of his men, but darn if the girl and her funny necklace hadn't been dead on when finding the most likely location of Count Barchon's artifact. The Scara Braen Knight gestured to the redhead.
"By all means, then...lead on."
Allowing the red-head to continue at the head of the expedition, the Knight dropped back, intending to take the rear again. As he did so, he noticed the beautiful A'rei, about whom he had forgotten in his irritation at the other girl. It was due to her that he and the six soldiers under him had survived the dreadful attack of the previous evening. She had almost sacrificed herself for them. It would be a sin and a violation of his Oath as a Knight of Scara Brae to allow her to be harmed.
What to do? To fulfill one oath is to break another...but wait...she was a stowaway. Barchon doesn't know of her.
This thought gave Captain Strozzi a smile. He could protect her. The other two women, likely not, but they didn't matter. Gently, he reached out and touched A'rei's arm.
"Good noon, valiant lady," he began. "May I have a word with you?" Not exactly waiting for a reply, he guided her a little back through the ranks with him and then began to speak softly to her.
"Listen...as far as everything goes...I have certain orders regarding the civilians in our group. If you can keep quiet about what happens, I can keep you safe in Scara Brae. Please...be smart, my lady...and keep safe."
That said, he released her to get back to the other civilians in the group.
~*~
As Karuka led the procession through the dense trees, she couldn't help but feel a tingle of awe and wonder travel through her body. This was a very ancient wood, and had to have been sacred to someone at some time to be so heavily guarded. The trees here, near the center of the forest, were so big around that if the eight people remaining in the group had linked hands, they might be able to just barely encircle a single tree. Her free hand went up to check the flower that was still tied into her hair. It felt as much alive as it had been in the tree, and had somehow stayed entwined in her hair. Amazing...that it had come from a younger version of these sky-high trees.
As she led them toward the ruins, the thick darkness seemed to grow deeper and deeper until suddenly it broke, and they were standing in the light. Not far before them rose the crumbling pieces of what had been a grand structure, but time and the forest had reclaimed it. Moss and ivy created a verdant blanket for the once-white stone, and a few trees grew around the area that was otherwise a clearing. But these trees weren't nearly as big as the giants growing just a few paces away. They were whip-thin, and maybe two or three feet tall -- saplings.
But now she was sure that this was the place that she was supposed to be. She could hear, faintly but steadily, the sound of a heartbeat coming from within.
"'Tis here. B'yond a dou'."
"The pendulum says to go this way. Since you don't have a map that points to where the thing we're after is, and you don't have a good idea of where the thing is, I'm way more inclined to trust this than your thought of knowing everything in a place where you don' know anything. If we're meant to find it, we will. And if we aren't, then we're being drawn this way for a reason."
"Is that the place you seek? There, through the trees and to the west?"
"It's here. Beyond a doubt."
Osato shifted uneasily back to camp, his footfalls heavy. He felt a burden on him that weighed more than any material possession, something deeper and more profound. It was a cliché burden, one most heard about in stories. But everyone could relate to it at one point or another; an emotion so fully ingrained within a person that it slows their thoughts, actions, and words. The sell-sword, however, had no soul with which to feel the emotion, allowing him no reprieve from a weight he could not fully understand. Instead of worrying about it, he pushed it aside, as he did all things he could not understand.
The morning light was softer the deeper the party moved, but dimmer too. The soft trees grew more stout, their branches thicker, and their crowns higher. It was a majestic sight to see, something he knew few others had ever seen. But it was one that was concerning. Many had undoubtedly ventured to the island, many had seen what he was viewing, but not many had returned… those that had were hard-pressed to speak of what they had encountered or saw. “Now I know why,” he thought as he let a gloved and gauntleted hand pass over the smooth bark. “This place is a legend for a reason, there are dangers far greater than most could imagine… it’s as if the island wants to remain away from the eyes of society.”
Whatever the reason, it mattered little to the man. He had come because… well, a pretty face had asked it of him. He was an adventurer by heart and trade, but when a pretty face asks something of him; it was far beyond him to refuse.
“Osato, are you alright?” The deep, void-like eyes of the mercenary shifted from the ground before him to the girl at his side. Andraea’s brows were knitted in a puzzled look. Her soft eyes were dull, flickering across his armored body instead of shining like they normally would. “You seem more troubled than most, you also seem to have not gained any sleep…”
“How could I sleep…” he muttered. But he knew she would hear it anyway, she was an elf after all. Sleep would not have come without nightmares, without waking in a cold sweat or a scream so loud and long that all the air would escape his lungs. It was a split-second decision, months ago, and yet it was one that had taken him out of the idiotic grasp of the fledgling government and allowed him security and safety. He had only to depend on himself. If he had stayed one more month… he would have been trapped forever as a Knight of Scara Brae, going on missions such as this with a reckless trust as his guide and hope. “Don’t worry about me; we have plenty to worry about ahead of us.”
And so the group did. Ahead of them loomed a bastion of an age long since lost. It was a castle of ruins, a broken and shattered dream of a people passed. Osato had only to search the walls to know what had done them in. It was a mixture of time, elements, and the very volatile nature of the Liviol Sanctum. But he had to wonder to himself, was the Liviol Beast and the flickering lights around so long ago? Or had the humans, or whatever it was, that had lived on the island been somehow an influence on their creation?
He sighed and shook his head; it was all too much to ponder over. Instead he allowed listened to the quiet, distant sounds of the forest’s life. They were not following the group, nor growing stronger despite the larger trees and more dense forest shrubs. Another eerie coincidence. Osato’s thoughts lingered on it only so long as it took for them to break through and find the light once again. He quickly turned his head and covered his eyes, hiding from the light that burned so bright.
Without watching the others the mercenary moved directly to the ruins. His hands passed over the worn stone, sending small falls of dust and dirt. The mortar had long since been ruined, replaced by thick vines. The stones were battered and cracked, but held in place by thin shoots of roots. If the plants died, for whatever reason, he doubted the castle would remain standing. “Here,” he turned to see his elven druid pointing at a gloomy looking archway, “This is a way in. There is a little light, what filters through the cracks…”
Osato took the lead this time, allowing Karuka a break from possible danger around every corner. At hand was his blade, the weapon probably too big for the proximity of any threat they would encounter. He kept it anyway, security. Every footfall brought a plume of dust and grime, every breath was filled with stale air. He could taste the scent of the plants that ravaged the ruins. He could hear the groans of the stones underfoot. It was not stable, but he doubted anyone of the group planned to take up residence.
“Come on,” his voice was resolute, oddly enough. “We only have a bit to go, then we’ll be off this island and back to Scara Brae. I for one am more than ready.” The voice of the mercenary doubled dully off the stone walls, the escaping air caused the dusty air to dance. It was gross, and the pristine sell-sword was not welcome to it, but he dealt with it all the same. The sooner he got whatever the hell it was they were looking for, the sooner he could be rid of the knights and be back in a bar… chasing women and drinking.
Bunnying of A'rei approved as per this thread (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=6542). Good luck, chick.
As Osato led the way down into the darkness of the ruins, Karuka stepped in lightly behind him, bare feet gripping the dusty stone. The pulse she'd been hearing from time to time here was so strong she could feel it reverberate through the floor, but if anyone else felt it, they hadn't mentioned it. She slid her pendulum around her neck. After all, if anything was going to lead her to the artifact, it would be the call it was making to her.
The soldiers followed the sell-sword and diviner into the dank darkness of mythic ruins for a thousand years left to the Liviol Forest and its feline guardian. The already-lit torches illuminated the dusty cobwebs of spiders long dead. One of the soldiers set the webs on fire, clearing out a path and revealing a ceiling full of cracks and sagging as if it were on the verge of collapse. If a war caused these ruins, time hadn't been any more merciful to them.
A'rei balked at the thought of going down into the tunnel, and maybe she had the right idea. As the last of the cobwebs burned away, an ominous crumbling sound came from the ceiling and it collapsed upon the group almost at once. The blonde beauty rushed out the open door while there was still a chance of escape, and just kept running and running through the thick azure woods.
Within the belly of the ancient castle, all was chaos. The bombardment seemed to be coming from every side, and it was all Karuka could do to dash away from what seemed to be the center of the collapse and throw herself forward, and cover her head with her arms. Time seemed to slow down as the heavy rocks beat mercilessly on her scrawny body, and it seemed a veritable eternity before the thundering of falling rocks fell silent.
When the dust settled, Karuka pushed herself up from under the pile of rocks that had covered her, checking to make sure that she could move all her limbs freely. Finding herself no more than bruised, scraped, and contused, she stood up and looked at the tree roots that were now the only ceiling, and then to the pile of rubble separating her from the rest of the world.
"Osato!" she called out, hoping someone would hear her. "A'rei! Andraea!"
Only her echoes responded to her, if everyone hadn't been crushed, they were too muffled to hear or they hadn't heard her. She tried again, calling louder, but again to no avail. She had to assume she was alone from now on. She didn't like the feeling. What if everyone else was dead?
A hand slipped into her dusty rune pouch, tracing over the face of one of her runes. Ing. Ing was a life rune -- granted, a beginning of life rune, but it meant that most of the party was likely alive. That, at least, was something to be grateful for, even if it meant she was going to walk alone in the utter darkness of the castle.
From somewhere to her left there came two rustles, one nearer and one further away. The grunts accompanying them were distinctly masculine, and the nearer one pulled up a torch that had miraculously escaped being smothered. It lit Captain Revelin's face, bloodied and swollen where one of the smaller rocks had hit him directly, and he looked around him, dazed, before standing up and stumbling over the rocks toward his underling, who looked shaken and as bruised as the redhead that was slowly picking her way through the rocks.
Once Revelin had checked on his man, they called for the others, but met with the same results as Karuka had met when calling for the unseen Osato and A'rei. The pile of rocks in front of the door was just too high to get out, and there was a huge slab of the once grand building that blocked the passage to the other side of the rockslide, where any survivors might be. There wasn't any point in trying to dig past or around -- it would take a team of horses to move the biggest chunks.
Turning away, Revelin looked at the redhead as she gingerly made her way over rocks. His orders were to not let her or the others leave the island alive. He could execute her now and be done with it, or he could take the brash mendicant with him and hope that three were more likely to survive the treacheries of the Liviol Sanctum than two were. If they all survived to find an escape from these catacombs, he could do his job then. And there was no denying that she had been right on track the whole time when trying to find this place -- if this was, indeed, the location of the artifact that Count Barchon wanted.
"Come on, girl," the brown-haired Knight said forcefully. "We're finding the artifact, if it's here, and then trying to find a way out." He looked over the exotic redhead with her rags and belly-button ring. How she'd survived this far into the Sanctum was astounding. Here at its heart, the dangers were much likely worse, and she was ill-prepared to defend herself. She'd just enhance his and his underling's chances of survival.
I feel the frustration of this lingering thread for both of us, Os. I'm going to finish it off, just you deal with your RL issues and don't worry about this anymore.
Karuka knew that the sudden willingness of the knight to have her along didn't stem from the fact that he wanted her along, but from the fact that there was safety in numbers. She didn't know what she'd be other than a sacrifice. Underground or in buildings, she had but two spells she could call useful, and both of them took too long to cast to really be useful at all.
Whatever the reason, there it was. She was traveling through these ancient tunnels with company, as opposed to being alone. Even better, they had torches, and the flickering light made the ancient shadows dance on the long-untouched stone.
Each step left another imprint in the trail of footprints. Each motion forward stirred heretofore undisturbed centuries-old dust and insect moltings, covering feet, boots, and legs as though the decrepit fortress was already trying to claim them as fresh bodies for its crypt. Each time her foot hit the ground, Karuka could feel the reverberations of the pulse she'd been hearing, each beat drawing her closer to the inevitable destination, whatever it might be.
The minutes stretched on and on in silence, Karuka ahead of the knight and soldier if only because she had an idea of what direction to go -- and if something jumped out from in front of them, she would be the initial target. The red-head knew and accepted it, and as the minutes stretched on into an hour, Karuka led the two men through an elaborate system of catacombs.
As each twist and turn led them further and further away from fresh air and pure sunlight, everyone started getting nervous. Revelin and his man kept their free hands on their swords, and Karuka picked at the calluses on her fingers. The sound was overbearing, and she knew it would drive her mad if it lasted much longer.
BA-BUM. BA-BUM
It was a wonder it hadn't already made one of them start screaming and gibbering, but she didn't think that the other two could hear it, for some reason. Was it a malevolent call to her and her alone? Was it a great secret that only a woman could unlock? Then why hadn't A'rei or Andraea mentioned anything? What if she'd never heard anything at all? Then why had the cat turned away instead of biting her in half? What in Hel was happening on this island?
Sighing, Karuka ran a hand through her hair and was surprised to find the soft Liviol blossom still blooming amidst her curls. She'd expected it to fall out or be crushed during the night, but somehow the broad-petaled flower remained.
Without warning, a patch of floor behind the trio collapsed with a thundering CRACK! as the ceiling had earlier, and as it did, the soldier at the back lost his footing and tumbled down. Revelin whirled around, grabbing at his man's hand, but his hand grasped only air, and the soldier fell, meeting his death with a sickeningly wet crunch of bones in the cavern below.
"MILO!" Revelin dropped to his belly, trying to spot a man that he hoped against all odds had not been killed in the fall.
"MILO!!" The torch Milo had held guttered, a last attempt at piercing the darkness casting a garish light upon a broken and mangled corpse before dying.
Karuka said a soft word of prayer as the Knight whirled upon her angrily.
"YOU! You were the one that got that...that lunatic to talk, weren't you? Are you proud of what you've done? Of the men that you have killed? These men had lives...families! Brothers, sisters, parents, wives...children! Milo has a little girl, and another baby on the way. And you! YOU have taken their father from them."
Karuka shook her head. "I dinna ask fer these people t' come. I dinna e'en ask t' come misel'. I'm ay sorry they ha' t' die in this place, far from th' families tha' loved them. I'm ay sorry tha' Count Barchon thou' tha' whate'er is here, 'tis worth th' lives o' so many people t' ha'. I'm sorry fer th' bairns tha' dinna ha' athairs anymore, an' fer th' women who will ne'er again know their lover's touch. I dinna want any'un t' die," she said with a quiet earnesty.
"I dinna want any'un t' die. But this place is a sacred grove. I' ha' secrets tha' i' dinna wish t' give up, an' i' killed ay so many o' th' invaders fer 'em. Any tha' are unworthy t' th' grove will be pursued by i' an' killed by i'. Those tha' flee may be given th' chance t' escape, an' I pray tha' 'tis th' path tha' th' others took, howe'er many survived i'. We dinna ha' a choice but t' go for'ard...an' perha' 'twill kill us, too."
Turning, she sighed into the air hung thick with dust. To be honest, the thought of so many deaths unnerved her, and she knew that if she hadn't been able to make the insane man talk, maybe no one else would. Maybe Barchon wouldn't have heard, and maybe she'd be off running through the streets of Scara Brae, learning about the new world she'd found herself in, rather than chasing after an old shadow within a grove that didn't want its secrets revealed.
"Look yonder. There is a ligh'."
"I didn't ask for these people to come. I didn't even ask to come myself. I'm sorry they had to die in this place, far from the families that loved them. I'm sorry that Count Barchon thought that whatever is here, it's worth the lives of so many people to have. I'm sorry for the children that don't have fathers anymore, and for the women that will never again know their lover's touch. I didn't want anyone to die."
"I didn't want anyone to die. But his place is a sacred grove. It has secrets that it doesn't wish to give up, and it killed so many invaders for them. Any that aren't worthy to the grove will be pursued and killed by it. Those that flee may be given the chance to escape, and I pray that it's the path the others took, however many survived [the roof collapsing]. We don't have a choice but to go forward...and maybe it'll kill us, too."
"Look yonder. There is a light."
Indeed there was a light at the end of the tunnel, but whether it was good fortune or ill, neither Revelin nor Karuka could say at first. Even the rune Karuka grasped between her fingers was blank, revealing nothing other than that the moment of truth was before them. Truth could be for good or for ill.
Revelin stood proudly, glaring down at Karuka with a cold rage. If he made it out of this deathtrap, killing her wouldn't be the murder of an innocent to keep her quiet. It would be an execution for murder.
No. Even if I do not make it out of this Hell alive, I will make sure that she does not. Let the grave she's sentenced so many good men to swallow her alive. How dare she look and speak like an innocent when all there is in truth is a scheming mendicant trying to make her way either out of poverty or into history?
Without another word, he marched forward, towards the light. Hopefully it was a way out. If so, he'd tell Barchon that there was nothing resembling a power source on the Liviol Sanctum, just some anomaly with the trees.
The reality made Revelin doubt his sight.
Whereas everywhere else in the crumbling ruins had been dusty, where it had held the ancient stench of death and decay, where dust had hung thick in the air and clogged the mouth and nose, where spider webs of long-dead arachnids hung thick on the wall, this was entirely different. It was an octagonal room with a large podium in the exact center, three stairs leading up to a high table on which a crystal sat. Not a speck of dust floated in the air, not a web hung from the walls or ceiling, and not a single carapace was on the floor.
"What in the name of..."
The source of light was the crystal, and it glowed brightly before dimming and glowing again in pulses.
"What the heck?"
"'Tis a heartbeat."
Revelin whirled on Karuka. "How do you know that?"
The soft blue eyes were not looking at the armor-clad captain, they were watching the crystal's glow crescendo and decrescendo, and she let the Captain wait a moment before responding.
"I can ay hear it."
Whatever this was, it was the entire reason she'd come to the Liviol Sanctum. It was what had been calling to her ever since she'd set foot in the library, and all the way across the sea. It had brought her this far, and now what?
Revelin didn't wait or wonder. This thing was what he'd been sent to get, and Thayne permitting, he could throw it in Barchon's face in exchange for financial security for the families of the men he'd lost.
Taking his hand off his sword, he climbed the trio of tall steps and set his hand on the crystal, thinking to yank it up. Instead, he doubled over as pain lanced through his skull and body. A wave of light washed through the ruins, and suddenly the Knight screamed in agony, jerking back from the crystal and falling down the stairs.
As Karuka approached him, hand extended to offer assistance, he curled up in a fetal position, hands clamped over his ears.
"No. N-NO!!"
He turned to Karuka, insanity blazing in his eyes. "They're growing!"
Suddenly it all clicked. Liviol trees required a very powerful magic source to grow. Since she was standing in the midst of a massive Liviol Grove, it made sense that in ancient times there had been a people or an artifact of great power, but massive amounts of growth had not been recorded in a long time.
Because th' thing here ha' jus' woken up.
"Ay. They're growin'."
"NO!"
The scream that tore from Revelin's throat was almost beastial in its intensity, and drawing his sword, he lunged for the slender red-head. Karuka was caught unprepared and a burning pain went through her body like a shock as the blade bit true, and she staggered backwards to try and avoid more of the attack. Revelin, in his crazed state, slashed again and again at the retreating red-head, and finally charged her, intent on impaling her.
His charge would prove to be his own demise, as Karuka stumbled and fell over the steps at the center of the room.
Flying past her, Revelin tripped. As his feet scrambled for a steady grip on the floor, his hands fumbled around the hilt of his sword as two instincts fought each other for supremacy -- the instinct to keep a grip on the sword, and the instinct to throw out one's arms to prevent a fall. Neither won out, and as he fell, the sword turned in his grip, impaling him as he landed. He lay on the floor, maddened and confused. The only things he was capable of understanding was that he was dying and that they were growing. He wasn't capable of understanding what that meant, but he did know that it was likely to change the Scara Brae he knew forever.
"N...no..."
It was his last word before he died.
"It's a heartbeat."
"I can hear it."
"Yes. Yes...they're growing.
Karuka laid on the cold, smooth stone of the ancient antechamber, the scent of her blood and Revelin's fear mingling into the scent of oncoming death. Had she really been brought this far just to die at the foot of the very object that had called her here in the first place?
I knew dharma t' be a funny thing, but I dinna know i' ha' a sense o' irony.
As the blood seeped out of her wound, Karuka could feel a numbness and a sense of cold slowly spread throughout her body, and her world went very softly black.
~*~
Is she all right?
Easy, easy. Give her space to breathe. The Liviol Balm did its job well enough, she should be coming to any moment now.
Where am I?
There it is! She's waking up!
Let me see her.
Karuka opened her eyes as sensation returned to her body. The long gash that had been at her belly was simply a long, pale scar that still stung a little bit, as though she'd just been healed of the wound she thought had killed her. Maybe this was Valhalla, although that wouldn't make sense, since she hadn't died in combat. It looked fairly peaceful, though.
She was in a dome-shaped room, lying on a pile of soft cushions. Light streamed through from all around, and there were three people kneeling around the bed -- two in light blue uniforms, one with a vial in his hand, and an elderly man in rich robes. He was the nearest one, and looked at her with a lively sparkle in his dark green eyes.
Karuka Tida. I always wondered what your name would be, but how could you be anyone else?
His lips didn't move, but his voice reverberated through her head, a gentle and warm voice. It was actually rather close to what Karuka thought a grandfather would sound like, if she'd ever had one.
"Where...?"
The society that you are going to see has been dead a thousand years and forgotten for hundreds...but the place is known in your time as the Liviol Sanctum...and this is the Palace.
"Where I died?"
Died? No, my dear girl, but you were close. Your blood on the stone awakened us from our slumber. We are the spirits of the society that came before -- conquered by the Aneni clan, and that was later subverted by the Valeena dynasty. We were a people of great magic, which is why, even from the world beyond, we were able to heal you. Now stand. There is much to share, and not much time.
Karuka stood, feeling the smooth stone floors beneath her feet, and followed the old man out of the room and onto a hanging garden. There were flowers blooming in exquisite jewel-tones that the Irish lass had never seen before, and the old man offered her a seat before sitting down himself. Beyond the garden was a sprawling city and bustling people, and in the distance Karuka could see the docks.
The ferries went to the larger island. This was once the capital of a society spanning two islands, before we were eradicated and the Scara Braens forgot us. I sealed away our memories inside our greatest artifact until a dynasty could prove itself worthy of possessing it once again. I was...the last king of the Liviol Sanctum. My death was a millennium ago...but even then, I knew you'd come.
"How?"
Because someone is always at the right place at the right time to keep the wheels of fate turning. You, little one, are an agent of fate, otherwise you would have never made it here. Our cat would have stopped you, as he did some of the others you traveled with, or you would have gotten lost, instead of coming straight to us, and you wouldn't have worn the flower that saved you from the madness of the wrong person touching the crystal.
"So th' cat...? An'...an' th' flower?"
Is an ancient beast -- more a spirit. He is the guardian of the island, and of the spirits within. I think he will not bother you again, although the Heart will be leaving with you. And the Liviol Blossom is merely the sign that let you through the wards and into communion with us -- with me.
Karuka's brow furrowed at the mention of a heart, ignoring the part about the flower now that the question had been answered. "Th' heart?"
The Heart of Scara Brae. The crystal that you saw in the Octagonal Chamber. You will take it and give it to Queen Valeena...it belongs to her and her descendants now, and the madness shall not affect them. You just had to be the one to come find it. It holds the memories of our people...but beyond that, it is the Keystone of Dynasties. As long as it glows, the family that holds the stone will flourish...but when it goes dark, the line will come to an end. We were too bold, and we were punished. Tell the Queen that she must always be cautious.
"Ay...but...why me?"
Because you were the only one that would listen...health on your journey, and do not trust the Aneni, for they are traitors and will seek your destruction...
The light faded, and Karuka once more fell into darkness.
~*~
Karuka opened her eyes and sat up. The gash that had been pouring blood from her stomach was closed, in its place a long, light scar, and it still burned a bit, as though just healed by the sap of the Liviol leaf. Putting a hand to her forehead, the red-head tried making sense of what had just happened, and found none to be made. Then again...she was finding more and more that Althanas just...didn't make sense.
Standing up, she looked at the crystal, glowing yellow in pulses. She could still hear it, but the sound had faded so that it wasn't overwhelming to her senses.
"I'm...ay s'posed t' take y'?"
She looked over at Revelin's body. She knew that what had happened had happened because he had touched the crystal, but she didn't know if it would happen to her or not. Would she go insane? Or would she be all right? Her sudden healing was only explicable if she wasn't affected by the madness, so climbing the stairs, she reached out and touched the crystal gently.
Her hand recoiled back as soon as she touched it, but she didn't feel anything abnormal about herself, so she grabbed it and lifted it. Again, nothing except a feeling of warmth in her hand, so she grabbed and lit Revelin Strozzi's spare torch, saying a brief prayer and using his flask of oil to light him on fire for a makeshift funeral, before shoving the crystal into her satchel and slid her pendulum off her neck to find a way out of the ruins.
"So...the cat? And...and the flower?"
"The heart?"
"Yes...but why me?"
"So...I'm supposed to take you?"
As often as Karuka's pendulum led her into danger, it had the redeeming trait of guiding her on safe paths, and she had no trouble finding her way out of the catacombs and into the sunlight. To her right was the cracked shell of a small dome that had once been seated on a tower. She was at a different part of the island, and the morning sun shone down on her face.
She wanted to see if the dome was the same one that she'd been in during the vision, so she slid her pendulum back around her neck and made her way in. The space felt familiar, but now held a distinctly animal smell, and she saw the cause of the stench as she turned into the chamber that she'd lain in a thousand years in the past -- in a dream.
The great Cat of the Liviol Sanctum was lounging against the back wall, having made the room his home, and his great golden eyes opened as the slender human entered. She was the same one from the night before the last, that he knew. He could smell her and hear the faint pulse of the object he'd been set to guard in her bag. She'd gotten past him, the little lights, the crumbling fortress, and the ward on the crystal himself, so she was the one he'd been instructed all that time ago to let pass.
Karuka stood, regarding the beast as he regarded her. She could see his steel blue fur for the first time in the light, and the beautiful lines of a beast made to hunt and guard the forest in which he lived. His face, which had so recently seemed terrible and vicious, held a sagacious wisdom in the light, and he did not reach out to attack, meaning he probably wouldn't.
"We ha' an understan'in', ay? Or more like...y' ha' an understandin' wi' some'un else, long since gone, an' I'm jus' th' wee messenger."
A soft smile graced the girl's face, and she stepped forward slowly, watching the beast as he watched her. Had he moved a muscle to attack, she'd likely have died then and there, but an ancient pact now bound the two, protecting her. Each step brought her nearer and nearer the great beast, and he didn't stir as she finally reached out to touch him, gently stroking behind his ear.
"Yer ay more real feelin' than mos' guardian spirits I've ay heard o'. I hope y' spend an ay long time more here on th' islan', protectin' it. 'Tis a beautiful grove y' ha'."
A low purr emanated from the beast's chest, as though he agreed, and he nudged her gently with his nose, urging her up his leg and onto his back, just in front of his shoulders.
"What...d' y' think yer doin'?" She was somewhat wary -- she was still much smaller than he was, and very, very edible.
If he'd ay wan'ed t' eat me, though, I think he'd nae ha' bothered t' let me touch him firs'.
Her answer wasn't long in coming, as he lifted himself from the floor and lithely made his way out of the dome, stretching out and walking over to a Liviol tree so that Karuka was directly beneath a couple of the broad leaves.
"Take 'em?"
The beast grunted, and held still as she plucked the leaves from the broad tree. As soon as she had them secured in her satchel, he took off running, each powerful stride and graceful bound sending them soaring across the island. Trees and leaves passed by in brilliant blurs, deep blue lightening into the pastels from the island near the shore.
Finally, the cat stopped just before the line of trees ended, and Karuka could see the golden sands of the beach beyond the sky blues of the trees. In the water, a rowboat sat, and in slightly deeper water was the ship, getting ready to weigh anchor and get out of the Sanctum before anyone else could die.
"Looks like I'd ay do bes' t' hurry," she said to the cat, and got a murmur of assention from him as he laid down to let her off.
Petting him again, Karuka smiled. "I dinna think I'll e'er see y' again...so may th' road rise b'fore y'."
With a snort, the beast rose and vanished back into the woods like a great blue shadow.
Nothing keeping her to the Liviol Sanctum anymore, Karuka rushed out onto the beach. She balked about getting in the boat, but since her choices were "go and live," or "stay and die," she climbed in and made quick work of rowing over, catching the ship not long before its departure.
The Captain himself helped her over the side of the ship while the men hoisted the little boat back onto the deck, looking genuinely surprised to see her.
"So, ya made it out alive, missy. We'd left you fer dead."
"Ay, but what o' th' others? Osato an' A'rei, an' Andraea? An' th' soldiers sen' back? What o' th' Mime?"
"We have three soldiers, and the others made it before our watch cast back off for the ship. The mime's been sitting in the Crow's Nest since the day the rest of you left. Are there any other survivors?"
Karuka shook her head, red curls bouncing around.
"I dinna b'lieve there t' be."
The Captain nodded, then turned to his men. "Cast off, boys!"
It was likely the last time Karuka would ever see the Liviol Sanctum, even if she lived to be a hundred.
"We have an understanding, don't we? Or more like...you have an understanding with someone else, long gone, and I'm just the little messenger."
"You feel a lot more real than most guardian spirits I've heard of. I hope you spend a lot more time here on the island, protecting it. You have a beautiful grove."
"What...do you think you're doing?"
>>>If he'd wanted to eat me, I don't think he'd have let me touch him first.<<<
"Take them?"
"Looks like I'd do best to hurry."
"I don't think I'll ever see you again...so may the road rise before you."
"Yes, but what of the others? Osato and A'rei, and Andraea? And the soldiers that were sent back? What of the Mime?"
"I don't believe there are."
The trip back was much quieter and uneventful than the trip to the Liviol Sanctum had been, sailors and soldiers alike somber in the contemplation of fallen comrades, and Karuka mostly stuck to herself on a VERY secure section of the ship. When she thought about what would happen next, she drew a rune, and that rune hadn't been reassuring.
She had drawn Nied. It meant that there was someone that didn't want the Heart to go to the Valeenas...someone that would work very hard to make sure it didn't happen the way the ancient king wanted it to. Someone that wouldn't be above killing her to get what he wanted.
~*~
Count Uyen Barchon was surprised when, a mere five days after the ship had departed, he saw its sails from his study window. At first he thought he must have been mistaken, but the sails were distinctive in their salt-gray color, and he at once sent a page.
It must have been a wild success to have them back so swiftly.
~*~
When the ship docked, Karuka was more than glad to get off and onto solid land again. She almost started running through the busy streets of Scara Brae City in hopes of finding the palace, to give the Heart to Queen Valeena and be done with it, avoiding the person that wanted to do her ill, but she was halted by a pasty boy about her age.
"Count Barchon requests that you rest from your journey and come to the palace this evening to report to him your findings on the island. He also requests that you take this gold, with more to come from him personally."
The message was delivered blandly, as though the page had distaste for handing off all that money to some girl who could just run off with it, but her type were normally motivated by the promise of more money, he thought. Turning, he walked away.
Karuka frowned. So, Barchon thought he was getting the artifact that was specifically intended for Queen Valeena. She understood that money meant she could buy food and clothes and have the kind of life she'd never gotten to know back in Ireland, but she also understood that to deny fate generally meant disaster. Barchon would just have to be out of luck.
Splitting the money with A'rei and Osato, the red-head made her way once more through the busy streets. She needed a bath and something decent to wear before she could expect to approach a Queen, even if it was an important artifact she held.
Spoils Request:
For each PC (Karuka, The Mime, Osato, A'rei):
1 -- Liviol Blossom, which has no special qualities other than a basic overview of a person's character and personality, as defined by the colors the originally white blossoms adopt when held. They will bloom as long as they have constant exposure to a magic source (a spell caster or magic item) and a weekly exposure to water.
1 -- Small Liviol Item -- mod discretion.
For Karuka, Osato, and Massacre:
Gold (but not enough to harm EXP)
Osato: 2 4 oz vials Liviol Balm -- the juice from the leaf of the Liviol Tree, this sticky liquid has potent healing properties, using a few drops to heal tiny wounds and at least 4 oz to heal serious wounds.
A'rei: 1 4 oz vial Livol Balm
Karuka -- 2 Liviol Leaves -- containing some Liviol Balm, mod discretion how much.
Like Minds -- An animal empathy skill, Karuka can make her will known to various beasts if she can maintain eye contact (not always easy), and may be able to persuade one beast to act in accordance with her will. This works better the more intelligent the animal is, but worse the more willful it is.
The Heart of Scara Brae -- approved by Atzar, to be lost in the sequel, powers as defined in post 48.
Amaril Torrun
08-16-07, 09:56 PM
Let me just say that I’m looking forward to the next part of this quest. As the thread got deeper into the story, I found it harder and harder to stop reading.
STORY
Continuity- 6- Karuka, you gave just enough background information to let me know a little about her past and why she was in Scara Brae, but I would have liked to read a little more. Mime, I would have like to read a lot more about your character’s reasons for joining Karuka. It seems that you left Karuka’s short explanation from a past quest as the sole basis as to why Mime was in the quest. Osato, I had very good information about where your character came from. Massacre, you did a good job of entering the quest late without really hurting the flow of the quest. Being a stowaway was a nice touch.
Setting- 7- I had a good sense of where everything was in relation to the characters and it was easy to picture what the liviol forest should look like. Mime’s acrobatics on the boat and Karuka picking flowers once in the forest made the world seem even more concrete and manipulative. The forest really did feel like a living organism. Readers need to feel like the places they are reading about are real and can be interacted with, and you guys did a great job of doing so. The very beginning of the quest wasn’t as strong as the rest in this area, and it seems like it took a few posts to get into the groove of things.
Pacing- 5- I have to say that having everyone but Karuka drop out of the quest was a disappointment. With that said, as each member left, the remaining writers did a good job of continuing the story and giving possible reasons as to why each person left. It was easily believable that Mime would simply wander off, distracted by his many surroundings. Having A’rei run out of the ruins in fear also followed well with her character, seeing as how she was constantly wondering why she joined the party in the first place and that she already fled from the feline. Osato’s disappearance was kept simple, as I believe it should have been. The entire thread flowed as a solid story for the most part, but at some points some of your posts got repetitive with those that wrote before.
CHARACTER
Dialogue- 9- The dialogue of this quest was superb. Karuka’s thick accent is something one would expect from such a distant foreigner. Not only was her speech written creatively, but other people’s reactions to it was also played out which made it even more believable. I also enjoy Mime’s writing as his sole means of communication. Having a mute character takes guts, and I particularly like the part where the sailor couldn’t read the message and wound up trying to fight. A’rei’s speech was also well done. She seems to be unsure of herself in dangerous situations, and it shows when she hesitates in the middle of sentences. Osato’s dialogue is something commonly found in a mercenary with average or slightly higher intelligence, which is what he is.
Action- 7- The action was well spread throughout the quest in appropriate areas. The Mime’s unwillingness to get into a fight and hopping onto the sailor’s arm instead is an odd thing for anyone to do. But he is such a peculiar creature that the move is something I could see him doing. A’rei pretends to be tough, but when the time comes for action, she runs or hides. Having her trip during her initial introduction made me laugh, in a good way. I liked Karuka’s almost stubborn Irish nature. While still a teenage girl, she is tough, and it shows in her actions. Getting between Osato’s and the knight’s battle as well as taking control of the expedition is something a strong Irish woman would do. Osato’s second guessing himself during battles and making mistakes is a nice twist from the average warrior. It is always refreshing to be reminded that characters aren’t perfect people, and can sometimes miss a gigantic cat with a crossbow.
Persona- 7- The characters in this thread don’t seem to have anything in common, but they somehow managed to mix in well with each other. I loved that while Osato doesn’t have a soul, you still brought emotion to his character. Things such as flirting with women and constantly thinking about what he would be feeling if he had a soul made the warrior more humanistic. I liked the Mime’s constant thoughts about his surroundings, taking things in and pondering the meaning behind them and himself. It makes him out to be a very deep thinking character. A’rei’s constant fear of all the dangers the party encountered were obvious results of a harsh past life. Karuka is everything that an outspoken, strong willed, and good natured character should be, end of story.
WRITING STYLE
Mechanics- 5- There isn’t much to say about this. There were grammatical errors in the thread from all four of you, but nothing too major. There were some times when I had to reword a sentence before getting its full meaning. The most significant mistakes in the thread are extra words in a sentence that don’t belong. These usually come from editing a post but missing a word or two. Reading through your posts an extra time should catch most of these errors.
Technique- 6- “the voice was a very rich and excellent icing on the cake. It was warm and lilting like a ray of sunshine, soft and soothing as the coo of a dove, musical as the notes of her little wooden flute, and sweet to the ear as honey was to the tongue.” This is from Karuka’s second post.
Writing like that is something everyone should strive for. All four of you wrote some very vivid imagery, but I would have liked for some more. Sometimes it felt like some of you were just putting a post in because it was your turn and they didn‘t seem to have enough effort put into them. Other times posts had serious impacts on the thread, and they were inspiring.
Clarity- 6- The thread had some weak points where I had to reread a paragraph or two in order to find out what was going on, but for the most part I could follow the quest rather easily. The end of the thread seemed rushed, most likely due to almost everyone dropping out before the end, and it affected the writing. It is hard not to get excited or tired when nearing the end of a thread, but you still need to take your time to finish it strongly.
Wild Card- 7- As the thread got deeper into the story, I found it harder and harder to stop reading. The characters were so strongly written that I now want to follow all of their stories, wherever they may go.
Total Score- 65
Congratulations!
All requested spoils are rewarded.
Karuka gets 1904 exp., 700 gold, and a liviol figurine of the giant spirit cat. She doesn’t know it yet, but will be able to call on it for a VERY short amount of time. Each of the leaves contain 6 oz of liviol balm. She also discovers that a third leaf must have slipped under her clothing during one of the more chaotic moments of the quest, but she doubts she’ll ever know exactly when. She gains the ability, but I better not see her make a dragon bash its head against a boulder or anything to that effect.
Osato gets 1194 exp., 500 gold, and a solid branch of Trakym Liviol that grants slight resistance to magic, since he is so uncomfortable around it.
A’rei gets 538 exp., 300 gold, and a liviol staff that is 4 feet tall because she didn’t bring out a weapon throughout the entire thread.
Mime gets 579 exp., 300 gold, and 3 sturdy pieces of liviol freshly cut off the trees by the sailors, about a foot in length each, because he seems to prefer natural things.
EXP/GP added! The Mime, welcome to the next level.
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