Karuka
08-10-07, 11:14 PM
Continuation of and conclusion to Power Surge (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4022). Karuka's Level Zero Profile still applies. Closed.
Count Uyen Barchon paced his study anxiously. He'd sent money for the party to pay the soldiers, but his page had reported back that only three soldiers had returned, all of them with fairly severe injuries. Of Captain Revelin Strozzi, nothing. Either the island had claimed him, or his orders had been found out and he'd been killed. But how? The gangly stick figure hadn't seemed able to kill such a doughty man, and the red-headed girl surely possessed nothing in the least bit useful.
And yet, they were the ones to survive, when he had ordered Strozzi to ensure their silence. They were the ones unscathed. He could only hope that the girl he'd summoned before him that evening had the artifact.
Going over to one of the massive shelves that lined the walls of his study, Barchon grabbed a fairly innocuous book from the rows neatly set before him and opened it, drawing a much smaller, much older book from within the dusty covers. His long, thin fingers turned the yellowed vellum pages with infinite care.
Within this book were ancient secrets -- legends that told of the wonders the Ancient Scara Braens had possessed before the Aneni Dynasty, the Dynasty to which he was the last heir, the Dynasty that the Valeena had overthrown. There was one legend in particular that had been nagging at his mind of late -- in fact, it had been nagging at his mind ever since he'd heard a madman utter a simple, but all too meaningful sentence not even a week before.
"The liviol trees are growing."
There was only one artifact of such power that it alone could cause a noticeable spike in liviol growth, and Barchon stopped as he reached the right page. The Heart of the Land. Every nation reportedly had one, somewhere, lost to myth and legend. Only in their own time would they return to life.
The Heart of Scara Brae had returned to life in his time. Bellari Valeena was ignorant, he was informed. He would claim the prize, and then HE would take over Scara Brae. The gears were already in motion, as a letter on his desk reminded him.
~*~
Karuka stepped carefully through the shopping center at the western end of Scara Brae city. She'd left Osato and A'rei behind, since neither of them knew what she carried, and since A'rei just wanted to start a new life and Osato wanted to go back to drinking.
The steady pulse emanating from her battered leather bag was either inaudible to the masses or they simply chose to ignore the sound. She held the strap tightly between her fingers, and kept the bag close to her, feeling its weight on her shoulder and against her leg.
The market was bustling with the sounds of housewives and maidens talking about their business of running their houses and bargaining for wares from flour to eggs, cheese, and other groceries. Deeper in were mostly men, looking for a good sword or trinket for themselves or their women. Sometimes women were looking wistfully over various pieces of jewelery, but that wasn't what Karuka Tida was looking for.
She had to see Queen Valeena. The glowing yellow crystal she carried with her was to be delivered to the Queen and the Queen alone. Anyone else that touched it would go mad -- a fate Karuka was saved from only by virtue of the liviol blossom she wore in her deep red hair. Though it had been plucked several days before, the bloom had lasted remarkably well.
Originally purest white, in her hands the flower's four large petals had flushed a bright crimson, each bisected by a wide night-blue strip that turned to obsidian black at the very tip. The center of the flower was such a bright golden it almost seemed alight, although there were darker tinges to the bright yellow -- in some places, the color was almost brassy.
Finally, Karuka found what she was looking for, a shop that specialized in beautiful clothing. The fact that she'd longed for something beautiful to wear ever since her mother had married the brutal and racist Calhoun aside, she HAD to get the Heart to Queen Valeena, and she had enough princess in her blood to know that she wasn't getting in if she didn't look presentable.
Tattered rags were DEFINITELY not presentable.
Fortunately, Karuka had some money on her, a little over a hundred from a week before added to whatever she'd gained from the Count's courier earlier that day. She hadn't counted, hopefully she had enough money to get decent clothing.
She entered the shop, ignoring the owner's scornful glare, and looked around. There were dresses of many beautiful fabrics and colors -- red ones in a heavy, shiny cloth, green ones in crepe and black ones in gauze, but those didn't hold her attention. The one that DID draw her attention was blue like the waters off the coast of her native Ireland when the sunlight struck them in the summer, and had little sparkling green beads scattered over the top, while the skirt was plain. As she reached out to touch the soft, sheer material, she noticed that the top and bottom were in separate parts, and that the skirt would flow from just above her hips to her ankles, and the top would cover her rib cage.
There was a set of jewelery that went with it -- a pair of bracelets and an anklet with blue and green beads, and Karuka picked up the set and looked at the shopkeeper.
"How much, fer these?"
Hani looked up from her accounting books and sighed. It wasn't every day that a girl dressed in rags would come in and ask prices on fine clothing. Either this one had saved up a lot of money to spend frivolously, or she'd stolen money and was looking for a way to disguise herself.
It didn't really matter, Hani reasoned, eying the golden-skinned girl as she brushed a raven lock out of her eyes. If the City Guard came looking for a thief, she could witness against the girl. If the girl was legit, she'd have good money in exchange for a good silk dress.
"The silk set? Three hundred gold. If you need it tailored, I'll do that as well, for an extra ten."
Karuka didn't know if that was fair, or if she was being ripped off...but she had the money, she was pretty sure, so she decided to take the offer. The money was the means to the dress, the dress was a means to her entrance into the castle, which was a means to her end of giving the Heart of Scara Brae to the Queen.
Not half an hour later, Karuka walked back out of the shop, the silken garment seamed up to fit her snugly and folded into her bag.
She was on her way to clean up quickly before she changed into her new outfit to actually wear it.
Count Uyen Barchon paced his study anxiously. He'd sent money for the party to pay the soldiers, but his page had reported back that only three soldiers had returned, all of them with fairly severe injuries. Of Captain Revelin Strozzi, nothing. Either the island had claimed him, or his orders had been found out and he'd been killed. But how? The gangly stick figure hadn't seemed able to kill such a doughty man, and the red-headed girl surely possessed nothing in the least bit useful.
And yet, they were the ones to survive, when he had ordered Strozzi to ensure their silence. They were the ones unscathed. He could only hope that the girl he'd summoned before him that evening had the artifact.
Going over to one of the massive shelves that lined the walls of his study, Barchon grabbed a fairly innocuous book from the rows neatly set before him and opened it, drawing a much smaller, much older book from within the dusty covers. His long, thin fingers turned the yellowed vellum pages with infinite care.
Within this book were ancient secrets -- legends that told of the wonders the Ancient Scara Braens had possessed before the Aneni Dynasty, the Dynasty to which he was the last heir, the Dynasty that the Valeena had overthrown. There was one legend in particular that had been nagging at his mind of late -- in fact, it had been nagging at his mind ever since he'd heard a madman utter a simple, but all too meaningful sentence not even a week before.
"The liviol trees are growing."
There was only one artifact of such power that it alone could cause a noticeable spike in liviol growth, and Barchon stopped as he reached the right page. The Heart of the Land. Every nation reportedly had one, somewhere, lost to myth and legend. Only in their own time would they return to life.
The Heart of Scara Brae had returned to life in his time. Bellari Valeena was ignorant, he was informed. He would claim the prize, and then HE would take over Scara Brae. The gears were already in motion, as a letter on his desk reminded him.
~*~
Karuka stepped carefully through the shopping center at the western end of Scara Brae city. She'd left Osato and A'rei behind, since neither of them knew what she carried, and since A'rei just wanted to start a new life and Osato wanted to go back to drinking.
The steady pulse emanating from her battered leather bag was either inaudible to the masses or they simply chose to ignore the sound. She held the strap tightly between her fingers, and kept the bag close to her, feeling its weight on her shoulder and against her leg.
The market was bustling with the sounds of housewives and maidens talking about their business of running their houses and bargaining for wares from flour to eggs, cheese, and other groceries. Deeper in were mostly men, looking for a good sword or trinket for themselves or their women. Sometimes women were looking wistfully over various pieces of jewelery, but that wasn't what Karuka Tida was looking for.
She had to see Queen Valeena. The glowing yellow crystal she carried with her was to be delivered to the Queen and the Queen alone. Anyone else that touched it would go mad -- a fate Karuka was saved from only by virtue of the liviol blossom she wore in her deep red hair. Though it had been plucked several days before, the bloom had lasted remarkably well.
Originally purest white, in her hands the flower's four large petals had flushed a bright crimson, each bisected by a wide night-blue strip that turned to obsidian black at the very tip. The center of the flower was such a bright golden it almost seemed alight, although there were darker tinges to the bright yellow -- in some places, the color was almost brassy.
Finally, Karuka found what she was looking for, a shop that specialized in beautiful clothing. The fact that she'd longed for something beautiful to wear ever since her mother had married the brutal and racist Calhoun aside, she HAD to get the Heart to Queen Valeena, and she had enough princess in her blood to know that she wasn't getting in if she didn't look presentable.
Tattered rags were DEFINITELY not presentable.
Fortunately, Karuka had some money on her, a little over a hundred from a week before added to whatever she'd gained from the Count's courier earlier that day. She hadn't counted, hopefully she had enough money to get decent clothing.
She entered the shop, ignoring the owner's scornful glare, and looked around. There were dresses of many beautiful fabrics and colors -- red ones in a heavy, shiny cloth, green ones in crepe and black ones in gauze, but those didn't hold her attention. The one that DID draw her attention was blue like the waters off the coast of her native Ireland when the sunlight struck them in the summer, and had little sparkling green beads scattered over the top, while the skirt was plain. As she reached out to touch the soft, sheer material, she noticed that the top and bottom were in separate parts, and that the skirt would flow from just above her hips to her ankles, and the top would cover her rib cage.
There was a set of jewelery that went with it -- a pair of bracelets and an anklet with blue and green beads, and Karuka picked up the set and looked at the shopkeeper.
"How much, fer these?"
Hani looked up from her accounting books and sighed. It wasn't every day that a girl dressed in rags would come in and ask prices on fine clothing. Either this one had saved up a lot of money to spend frivolously, or she'd stolen money and was looking for a way to disguise herself.
It didn't really matter, Hani reasoned, eying the golden-skinned girl as she brushed a raven lock out of her eyes. If the City Guard came looking for a thief, she could witness against the girl. If the girl was legit, she'd have good money in exchange for a good silk dress.
"The silk set? Three hundred gold. If you need it tailored, I'll do that as well, for an extra ten."
Karuka didn't know if that was fair, or if she was being ripped off...but she had the money, she was pretty sure, so she decided to take the offer. The money was the means to the dress, the dress was a means to her entrance into the castle, which was a means to her end of giving the Heart of Scara Brae to the Queen.
Not half an hour later, Karuka walked back out of the shop, the silken garment seamed up to fit her snugly and folded into her bag.
She was on her way to clean up quickly before she changed into her new outfit to actually wear it.