-
Scarlet sighed as she unceremoniously shoved the dirtied rag back into the catgirls mouth, far enough to cause her to choke. "This is why she's gagged. You'd think after all she's been through she'd learn to shut up." Scarlet muttered as she stood and wiped the grime and spittle onto her dress. Scarlet turned her gaze to Madison who was still leaning over Eteri.
"You two know each other it seems? She wants your help?"
This changed things. Scarlet didn't want any liabilities. If Eteri were to be let go by Madison, and start talking, it'd lead more trouble into the walls of the Seventh Sanctum. Scarlet didn't mind the Briarheart taking Eteri, if anything, it was one less piece of shit Scarlet didn't have to worry about. One less annoying thing. Still. It didn't set well with Scarlet, having that rogue element. It was something out of her control, and it was both interesting and frustrating.
"Madison...you're an astute woman, would you be able to mess with memories?"
The Briarheart turned over her shoulder to look at Scarlet with wary eyes. "I currently don't have the means to do so- but I can put them on my to do list. What do you need done?"
Scarlet pointed to Eteri, who was now quivering in fear and violently shaking her head. "That. She somehow made it to the Sanctum, safely I can't have people wandering around with that knowledge. I want it gone. Liquify all that she is for all I care. Use that as a good means for experimentation, that's what you wanted live subjects for, right?"
-
Well, I didn't exactly want or need live subjects to experiment on. The tests of my new breed of Briarbane parasites were extremely positive. I had them... probably 99.3% optimized for the second phase of my operation. Whether or not the host body was living or dead did not matter--the parasites would consume the flesh and work their way into what remained of their brainmeats and nervous system in order to gain control. I only offered to take some of the living because I knew that the dead were often fed to the boars that Lye kept around the Sanctum as threats and as pets, and I wanted to be sure I could leave with the couple dozen bodies that my plans required.
Seeing that I'm not exactly in the mood to femsplain this to Red, I let the lecture die on the tip of my tongue.
I regarded the sad little blue-haired creature writhing in fear and agony on the ground at my feet. The thing claimed that I lost whatever game she played for control of my soul, when I knew for a fact that she tricked me... But to be completely honest? My life had taken a turn for the better ever since she separated it from me. I mean, sure, I've been unable to tap into the powerful magic that the Forgotten One Pode granted me--and my experiments have suffered from it somewhat, to be honest--but I no longer heard her whispers in the dead of night, trying to nudge me back down the path of damnation. For the first time in... gods, in forever, I felt truly free.
I suppose for that alone I should at least have sent her a thank you card.
Maybe I could agree to take her off Red's hands.
But what could I do with her? What would I do with her?
I miss having an army of angry wasps at my beck and call and all, but... No, I could never take back my soul. Not a chance in hell. Nope. Ain't happening.
...What if we tried to find a way to get rid of it? I mean, for good? The cat-thing clearly had no interest in holding onto it for herself, screaming like she did about it trying to attach itself to her. I could study her rather uncanny ability to absorb the souls of others, and we could possibly find a way for her to give it up without giving it another host. Or maybe we could just seal it in a bottle and chuck it into the ocean, I don't know.
I always did like a new puzzle to solve.
"Sure," I muttered after mulling over the thousands of possible outcomes ahead of me. "I'll take her." Not necessarily liquefy her like Red'd probably like, but I'm sure I can come up with a way to erase the cat's memories of the Sanctum and how she got here.
-
Scarlet had bound the catgirl tightly in rope, ensuring the blue headed wrench was unable to use her claws to rip herself free. Although Scarlet was sure she had beaten most of the fight out of the waif, over the few days she had been here, she quickly fell into a muted subservience, she showed fear of Madison, and Scarlet was sure that there would be no issues in releasing Eteri to the Briarheart.
"Right." Scarlet pulled on the rope and Eteri was helplessly dragged out of the dirtied cell. Flecks of flesh blood dotted behind her. "Want her thrown on the cart with the dead? Maybe rolling around a pile of rotting corpses would sedate her enough for you to put up with her?" Scarlet tilted her head, gauging Madison's reaction.
"No. That's unnecessary."
Scarlet shrugged as she let the iron bar door slam behind her. "Suit yourself." So her assumption was right, Madison had some sort of plan involving Eteri. She wasn't entierly able to figure out exactly what that was, there was talk of the catgirl cheating the briarheart out of her soul. "Heh." A small smirk fell across Scarlet's features. "I didn't think you were one to be easily fooled, yet this thing?" She gestured with her head to the bound catgirl she dragged unceremoniously behind her. "This thing managed something like that?"
"There's a first for everything Red."
Scarlet nodded, and they headed toward the exit. She figured that would be the end of it, done and dusted. One less thing to worry about. She'd have a free yard to fill with deaders, and a free cell to throw in some other poor sap. Madison would leave, she'd take her moody ass self, and her shitty jokes with here and that'd be that.
The end.
"Red, is that an Ar'Tuel?"
Or not.
Shit.
"Mmm?" Scarlet stopped and turned her gaze toward the cell that housed her, the one that called herself 'Zavine' she floated in a contraption that was powered by her own soul. As long as Zavine lived, she would remain stuck in that stasis until Scarlet chose to release her. "Yeh. I was going to offer her soul up to an Oni, but I haven't quite figured out the exact terms I want in exchange. Gotta word that shit carefully."
Madison scratched her chin, or at least the writhing vines that resembled her chin. She seemed to be in thought. "Could she translate the book?"
"Probably, she speaks Ar'Tuel. She claims that she has never been 'reborn' and that her body is the original one or- ah...." Scarlet ran her hand through her head in frustration. She didn't quite understand it, and she didn't find the reason to care. "She manages to make me feel something at least, but its nothing but annoyance. She's terrified of me, and sat there and cried at my fuckin' feet till I knocked 'er out. You could probably borrow her. But strictly borrow. I don't want to be fucked over by this Madison."
Scarlet turned to fully face the Briarheart. Madison's series of glowing eyes were on the floating girl. The woman always loved a mystery, and puzzles. "Honestly, I have a vague interest in the book at best, I once wanted nothing more than to know its contents, now, I struggle to care beyond a mild curiosity. However, I know you - and I am trusting you with this. If you take her, I want her back. Do. Not. Fuck. Me. Briarheart."
-
If I still had eyebrows, I would've arched one at her.
I know I had a reputation for stabbing people in the back, but every single time it was justified. It was with purpose.
What stories about me have been circulating behind my back? I've never considered myself the duplicitous sort. I lack the subtlety and patience for such things. Did Ulroke still have that much of a revenge hard-on after I buried him under the Sanctum for a year--again, fully justified, considering that he was about to send us all to our deaths in a second war with the Ixians--that he would poison the mind of his second-in-command with lies about me?
And who the fuck did she think she was threatening me? Me? ME?!
It didn't matter that she was some relic of a long-forgotten race of spirits, or elementals, or incarnations, or whatever. Those are a bent copper a dozen, and just as worthless.
I had no interest in "fucking" her. But if push came to shove, I'd tear her still-beating heart out of her chest and eat it in front of her before she could lay a finger on me.
...but I digress.
"Sure, whatever," I muttered before I turned my attention back towards this petite woman, this Zavine, who floated in the tank before us. "If she can translate the book, then we might find something in it that'll give you a reason to care. It might tell us something about this... this transformation you seem to be going under. Maybe even tell us how to diffuse this 'bomb'. So, how am I getting her back to my compound in Corone? Are we unplugging this contraption and pulling her out? Or are we bringing the whole thing?
-
Madison gave Scarlet a look as if she was arching her eyebrows, not that she had any, but be damned if it wasn't as obvious as a slap to the face. "Oh please Madison, don't give me that look." Her 'look' was nothing more than a tangle of briarknit plant tentacles. That's someone's kink, for sure. Still, Scarlet felt she noticed the nuanced scoff that barely came from the other woman. "You have a track record is all. I have no reason to mistrust you, but lets face it, every time I have placed it in someone it's ended less than favorable."
Madison shrugged in response. Damn straight woman. Even so, Scarlet sighed. She had a feeling that such a exchange would have upset her in the past, ahh, the subtle joys of not having such nuances to deal with. "I think the past me would be upset with...." Scarlet rolled her hand over and over, trying to find the right words to describe it. "This...scenario. So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're probably all out of whack with me threatening you, no?"
There was no response.
That meant Scarlet was right.
"It wasn't exactly a threat, It was saying that would be our ties cut. Although, I suppose you can't wait for that." Scarlet added as she handed Madison the rope that had been dragging an unconcious Eteri. Scarlet opened the cell door, it hadn't been locked. There was no need. "She is a battery, her life force is powering this device. You're not taking that, just her. This equipment is dodgy at best, and fuckin' expensive." Scarlet shifted to the side of the cylinder and pressed a few buttons in a quick sequence. The front of the capsule opened, and the clear liquid sloshed out, along with an unconscious Zavine.
Instead of Catching her, Scarlet stepped to the side, letting the white haired woman fall lifelessly to the floor. "She should be knocked out for a few good hours. Don't think there's a need to tie her up. She literally just goes along with anything, as long as it 'helps' someone." Scarlet shook her head. "Such a waste..."
Her eyes rose to meet Madisons as Madison again mentioned her status of 'ticking time bomb' and reversing the emotionless and dark state she was in. Did Madison actually care? Or was she just trying to bait Scarlet? "Might, who knows. Mysteries, fun stuff right?" She asked.
"So, are you going to stop for a pleasant cup of hot cocoa whilst the deaders are being loaded onto your cart, or are you just here for a quickie?"
-
By the gods, it was like dealing with myself circa four years ago.
An insufferable, passive-aggressive, not-giving-a-fuck damp rag.
Is this what I put everyone else through before I left the Crimson Hands the first time? Shit, I owed an awful lot of people an awful lot of apology cards.
I considered Red's offer for a cup of cocoa. Ten coins said that it wasn't for conversational purposes, given what she had devolved into. She probably wanted to attend to some more business.
But, I had about twenty-two more hours to kill before my teleportation stone regained a full charge, so I had nothing better to do in these frozen wastes.
"Sure," I said with a shrug. "I can stay for a cup or two."
-
The two retired to both Ulroke and Scarlet's personal quarters. She knew that the Crimson Hand leader would not appreciate bringing guests into his room but dammit. It was her room too, and if he could bring an Ixian Knight to their quarters she could bring Madison.
Lye's quarters were not as they usually were. His large polished onyx bed sat at the center, and his writing desk adorned with an array of alchemical concoctions and ingredients sat to the far left. However amongst the weaponry and armoury against the left side, sat stands with dresses, and more feminine attire. These were gifts to Scarlet. There was a small mirrored vanity, made of the same polished onyx as the rest of the furniture. It had small things scattered over it, hairbrush, ties, and papers with her own scrawled notes. Even the bed had extra pillows and furs thrown over it, most of them covered her side and it was clear the bed had been recently slept in by only one party. Scarlet could tell Madison looked at this things with a mild curiosity.
"You two have quite the cosy place." Madison commented. She sat in the plush chair next to the fireplace, briar knit hands cradling a cup of hot chocolate. Scarlet sat on the edge of the bed, her own cup sitting on the side table next to hair. It was barely touched.
"You think so?" Scarlet tilted her head, her eyes landing on a particular dress that hung elegantly on a dress makers doll beside the fireplace. It was made with a thick material and it shimmered in the firelight, almost like it was glistening in the wavering glow. It belonged to Lye's late wife, and he had given it to her. He had given her many things over the recent months. Perhaps Madison was right. "I felt this was more of a home than any other place I had lived." Scarlet responded.
"Was?"
"I don't exactly have warm fuzzy feelings Madison. To me, it's just a place to throw the days spoils, and to rest."
She took a long sip of her drink. "And are you okay with that?"
Was she? Was she okay with not having emotions? It didn't exactly bother her, at least not right now. Scarlet shook her head. "I always acted on emotional impulse before. It is better this way. This way I don't have that clouding my judgement. This way, I don't wake up hurting. It's just a cold and empty feeling and I can honestly say that's far better than what I was dealing with before."
-
No matter how I tried, I couldn't stop glancing over to it.
The chair in front of the mirror where Kyla Orlouge sat when she died.
Where most of my problems of the past few years originated.
Such a simple piece of furniture, really. Simple, utilitarian, utterly plain. And yet the person who sat in that chair, whose ghost probably haunted these halls with all the other poor souls who met their end here, it was the mystic's demise that changed so many plans and damned so many more.
"Place hasn't changed much since I was last in here a couple years ago," I casually remarked as I tried to find anything else, anything at all to focus my attention on. The decorative weapons that hung on the wall. The ornate furniture that decorated the otherwise desolate room. Paintings, tapestries, and other things, the only flourishes in the entire Sanctum.
"Oh?" My host cast me another one of her blank glances. "What for?"
"An argument," I replied flatly.
"Another argument," Red corrected.
I nodded. "That's all we did before I locked him under the mountain for a year. Just a bunch of angry bickering, the minute I got back from Eiskalt."
"You sound like you regret it."
My eyes flashed with unknowable, mixed emotion. "I regret a lot of things, lately." And then I changed the subject.
-
The direction of Madisons quite obvious stare did not go unnoticed by Scarlet. "My, I didn't pick you to be the vain one." She tilted her head to the side, scratching her chin in mock thought. "How do you brush a swath of shifting vines anyway? Is there a remnant of a humanoid head amongst all those pretty glowing eyes?"
Madison slowly shifted her gaze back to Scarlet, and changed the topic stating that the place hadn't changed much. "Do you really think Mr. Edgelord is the type of person to keep sentimental trinkets or let me have anything that I could truly call my own." Scarlet lifted her hands, "Everything in here is a testement to him and whatever dickbaggery he committed over the years, I was nothing more but another notch on his belt." Scarlet leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now I'm a threat he's getting pissy. Others are moving and he's placing contingency plans in place. In the place of his inevitable death, I'll pick up the scraps of this place and actually do something with it. I've already got connections with the nobles of Salvar, all I need to do is take down the Church."
Madison cocked her head, "I hate the church as much as anyone, but why?"
Without skipping a beat Scarlet answered. "Why? To create a sovereign nation so we can operate more freely."
Just then, there was a knock followed by the scrape of the door opening. The man who used to be known as Taka, lead of the Ixian Knights peered his head through. "Mistress... Miss Briarhearts cart is ready." He stepped into the room like a stoic figure, offering the two a bow.
"Good." Scarlet stood, "Well. Shall I escort you out of your happy trip down memory lane?"
-
Name of Thread: Bring Out the Dead
Type of Judgement: No Judgement
Rewards:
Briarheart receives:
2277 EXP
149 GP
Amari receives:
1881 EXP
171 GP
Eteri receives:
132 EXP
17 GP
Inclusive of Althanas festival rewards: 1.5 x and also Amari's Noble Commerce Ability.
“Red", I write "is the color of life. It's blood, passion, rage. Beginnings and violent end. Red is the color of love. Beating hearts and hungry lips. Roses, Valentines, cherries. Red is the color of shame. Crimson cheeks and spilled blood. Broken hearts, opened veins. A burning desire to return to white.”
― Mary Hogan, Pretty Face
“I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer -- and what trees and seasons smelled like -- how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden
“It is better to win souls than to conquer nations.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo