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The Sailor's Rest Inn and Tavern was a relatively small building compared to some of the inns in the Market District, but it was popular nonetheless. Located in the Docks District, it's most common customers were sailors(obviously). Adventurers seeking wealth and glory from numerous nearby ruins and monster-infested caverns came there frequently to eat, drink, sleep, and prepare for their expeditions.
The tavern area was full, except for the back corner to the left of the door. The only person in that corner was a strange man wearing heavy robes with a hood that concealed his face.
[Edited by Murloc_Hugger on Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:20 PM]
Rethler Jaston reached the crest of the hill. The grass swayed gently in the wind as the sun setted on the horizon. Rethler took sighed slightly, not out of frustration, but out of peace. The scene before him was peaceful, serece, with no care in the world. He closed his eyes and stood alone on the hill breathing deeply. He opened his eyes and sighed again, the world was so peaceful.
All of this changed when approached the town. There were sounds of men yelling in joy, people drunk in the streets. In this place you had to be very careful. Rethler loosened his blades in their sheaths just to be sure. He was looking for a place to bed down for the night. He approached a man and said "Ummm, excuse me, yes, what are some good Inn's in this town?"
(OOC: Im gonna call him Reth from now on, its easier)
The man turned to him and said, "Well, the closest one is probably The Sailor's Rest. It's in the Docks District. Just go down that street, turn left, keep going, turn right after you pass the sign that says 'Docks District', and it'll be on your left. It's pretty good, actually, and cheaper than the ones in the Market District."
Matthias walked down the streets of the Docks District. He had recently arrived in town and heard rumors of evil creatures nearby. He had also heard that the Docks District was near several dungeons, so he had decided to check there first.
"Thanks stranger" Reth said gratefully and passed him a bronze piece of currency. The man beamed at him and thanked him and then skipped away. Reth then set out on the path that was set before him. When he finally got there he walked in to the lobby.
A man behind the counter said "May i help you?"
Reth replied "Yes, I need a room to stay in, ill most likely only stay one night though"
The innkeeper thought and then said "I have got the place for you" he got up and walked away Reth in close pursuit.
They walked through a lot of corridors until they reached a room. The innkeeper opened it and said "Room 18, its got the basics, nice view of the city, perfect for a one night stay"
Reth replied "Ill take it" The innkeeper left, giving Reth a chance to settle in. He made the room a little more roomy and dressed in some light cloths and went downstairs to the tavern.
It was humid day, the sun was shining in Kitos' face and he had to put his right hand to shadow his eyes so he could see properly. The tall wizard walked down the dusty road, trailing behind many merchants carrying their goods, and eying them in case they had something interesting to sell.
Kitos had been traveling for several days, and decided the next town would be where he would stop for a break. [i]A warm bed, nice blankets, maybe even a few pints of ale.[/i] He was filthy, his robe was ripped and covered in stains of dirt. He looked like a traveling beggar, except for one thing, he had a VERY large book.
Walking up the final stretch of the road, Kitos Tallaran finally caught eye of the city. He leaned on his staff, awing at it's strange beauty. It was a beaten up old city, but through a starving man's eyes it looked more welcoming than a lifetime of riches and relaxation.
He walked into the city, eying every little building and citizen on the street. As he walked in the Dock District he noticed an Inn 'The Sailor's Rest Inn'. Breathing a heavy sigh, he walked in to the building.
The wizard looked around him, "Sailors. Lots and lots of brain dead sailors."
Reth walked through the tavern. It was full of drunk sailors, a very dangerous enviroment if you didn't know what you were doing. However, Reth new what he was doing. He walked up to the bar and sat in a barstool, he shifted slightly to accomodate the space that the swords were taking up. "Bartender" Reth said to get the bartender's attention.
"Yeah, what do yah want?" He said rather rudely
Reth wanted to say something really bad, but realized that it would be better if he didn't and said "Give me an Ale please".
The bartender scoffed and said "Just another drunk for me to deal with" under his breath. Reth used all of his mental capacity stoping himself from saying something. He was successful and the ale was brought to him without incident. Reth started sipping his ale slowly, he was interested. There was a dark figure in robes in the corner of the tavern eyeing him suspisously.
Matthias walked by a building with a sign that said: "Sailor's Rest Inn and Tavern". He walked inside. It was full of sailors, drinking, laughing, and yelling. He looked at the bar and saw what seemed to be another adventurer(Reth). He walked over and said, "Good sir, a moment of your time."
Reth was suprised, he had been sipping his ale cautiously and then a man walks up to talk to him. Reth set the ale on the table and said "Yes what do you want?"
"Do you happen to know of any sources of evil nearby?" Matthias asked.
Reth thought about the question for a whle. He had heard of a cave of very large spiders near by that were killing travelers. He replied "Yes actually, I heard at the edge of town there are a swarm of giant spiders killing townspeople, why do you ask?"
(OOC: keep in mind that we're all supposed to get recruited by the old man for that job)
Matthias said, "Thank you, sir. I will leave to destroy them tomorrow. The spiders, that is."
(OOC: Is the guy in black in the corner the guy thats gonna recruit us?)
"Well you do that" Reth replied sarcastically. He went back to his ale only this time he was taking bigger gulps.
(Sorry for the shortness of the post, but i need to know more about the story. Like who is the recruiter, what are we going to find ect.?)
(Sorry for the shortness of the post, but i need to know more about the story. Like who is the recruiter, what are we going to find ect.?)
(OOC: I'll tell you when we get there. First, we need to get everyone at that table.)
The man in the robes motioned for Matthias and Reth to come over to his table.
"Do you think we should go?" said Matthias.
[Edited by Murloc_Hugger on Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:22 PM]
(OOC: I'll tell you when we get there. First, we need to get everyone at that table.)
(OOC: Alright, this might be my last post for a couple of hours)
Reth looked at the bottom of his glass. It was almost empty and there wasn't much left. "Sure why not, i got nothin better to do" Reth said and got up from the stool.
Cyranthir, Archmage of the White Tower, entered the inn known as 'The Sailor's Rest inn' It looked to be the roughest place in the town, but he had to enter, his dream had told him to enter. As he entered the room a few of the patrons eyed him, he looked easy meat to them, frail and pale, what they didn't notice was the gleam of power in his eyes.
Thus it was that five men closed in around him.
"Hey friend," One said with a sneer, "Come and have a drink with us." he said calmly as he placed a knife underneath Cyranthir's ribs.
"I do not drink friend," he said with a smile "and neither do sheep." he smiled politely and the man with the knife looked at hims puzzled then after a vlink from Cyranthir he had turned into a sheep and the knife had dropped to the floor, in the midst of all this cyranthir was now holding his staff high and had drawn his sword to a battle ready position.
"Err... we... we don't have time for elves." One said as he noticed his ears and the elven blade, within seconds they had melted away and Cyranthir had returned to his frail appearance and made his way to the bar.
Kyla strolled down the street, stretching and reaching for the sky. Her was face tilted up to the warm sun, and she smiled. Looking back down to pay attention to where she was walking, her temporary euphoria perished and was replaced immediately by curiousity. Standing on the corner of the street, she stared at the entrance of "The Sailor's Rest Inn." She felt drawn to it and instincts told her no woman like her should go waltzing into a place like that alone.
Arriving in the doorway of her temporary destination, she took a deep sigh, gathered her thoughts, and attempted to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Knowing it was a bad idea to show any sign of weakness, she did her best to ease her nerves. It wasn't working. The second she stepped through the door, she dropped her head and made a bee line straight for the bar. She felt as though everyone was staring and wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
Ensuring no one could make eye contact with her, she ordered her food quickly and shuffled off to a table on the opposite end of the room, hoping if she hid in a corner, no one would see her. It was unusual for her to be this terrified in a room full of men, but it truly wasn't the people she feared. Something wasn't right in here, and she could sense it. Looking up for the first time, she saw a man in robes sitting in a corner by himself as well. Fear replaced itself with a phony confidence. She stared, and in return, chills shot up her spine.
Reth and Matthias walked over to the table where the man motioned them to. Reth looked and saw a girl sitting at a table with some food. He thought "This is hardly a place for a lady" as they sat down. Reth questioned the man "What do you want?"
The man said, "I have a job for you. Meet me in room 15 tonight at midnight, and I'll explain the details."
As the two walked away, Matthias said, "I'm not sure I trust that man."
Meanwhile, the man motioned to Cyranthir and Kyla to come over to the table.
Kyla watched as words were exchaged at the table on the other side of the room. She felt obnoxiously obvious just sitting there and staring, but she couldn't help herself. Finally she felt like she could breathe again. Her eyes followed the two men as they left the table and whispered to each other.
Diverting her gaze back to the man in robes, she watched as he beckoned to her. A frail looking man sitting at the bar was also being motioned to. Standing up, she grabbed an apple from her plate of food and made her way across the room. She flopped down in the seat in front of the robed gentleman and took a bite of her apple, hoping no one would notice how truly frightened she really was. In a room full men, a proposition wouldn't be out of the ordinary, especially for a female of her description. Right now, she didn't feel like dealing with that kind of trouble. One woman in a room full of men, most of them untrustworthy, meant the odds of escaping without any assistance were not very favorable.
"If you're asking me to accompany you, forget it," she said arrogantly, "if its just business, I'm all ears."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Kitos walked over to an empty table and plotted himself down on the hard wooden chair. The young wizard groaned, his back was in pain. He leaned his trusty staff, Beater against the wall. He soaked in the atmosphere, everyone in bar was social, and some were out of place.
He noticed a table full of people, all of them looked out of place. [i]Though it is a bar full of sailors, I must look terribly out of place.[/i] Readjusting his robes, he picked himself up and grabbed Beater, he walked over to the innkeeper. "I would like to have a room tonight." said the young man.
The innkeeper looked up, obviously perplexed by Kitos' strange apparel. "Sure, whatever you say." The wizard reached into his pockets and grabbed five gold coins, handing them to the innkeeper. The man handed him his room's keys, "have a nice rest."
As Kitos turned around to make his way to his room, he bumped into three men. All of them looked suspicious, and as he noticed them holding their hands underneath their cloaks, they all had weapons ready to attack him at a moments notice. "Hey there friend. Would you like to have a seat with my friends and I?"
[i]I'm too tired for a fight right now.[/i] He nodded, sitting himself down beside two of the man's lackeys, or so he supposed. "So what is this about?"
"If you're asking me to accompany you, forget it," she said arrogantly, "if its just business, I'm all ears."
"Oh, I assure you, it's just business. I need you to meet me in room 15 tonight at midnight. I've got a job for you." said the robed man.
Reth made his way back to his room. When he got into his room he looked at the grandfather clock in the middle of the room. It said ten o' clock, he had 2 hours until the man wanted him to meet him in room 15. Normally he would scoff at this like nothing, but this time it fealt...........right. Right like he was destined to be there. He sat down on his bed and pulled a book out of his backpack. The book was about deseption and bending people to your will and was medium sized. He settled in and went to the page where he left off. Although he was not really reading it, it was just something to pass the time.
"Oh, I assure you, it's just business. I need you to meet me in room 15 tonight at midnight. I've got a job for you." said the robed man.
A smirk creeped across her face and she lifted her brow in slight disbelief. [i] Sounds a bit like a proposition to me... [/i] "I'll be there," she said, as she rose from her seat and tossed her apple to the side. Having time to kill, she wondered about the two men how had spoken with the robed stranger and made her way past the drunk men around her to speak with the bartender. She laid some coins on the bar in front of her and recieved a room for the evening.
Leaving the bar, she went to her room and sat down on the bed. "I'm not sitting here this long alone," she said to the empty room. "I'm going to find out who those other men were."
Stepping out into the empty hall, she stomped loudly, hoping to catch the attention of one of the men she had seen leave the tavern before her. Seeing there was really no response to her obnoxious behavior, she thought about knocking on every room's door until she found one of the gentlemen she was looking for. Deciding against that option, she sat down in the hall on a chair right oustide her door, and waited.
Stepping out into the empty hall, she stomped loudly, hoping to catch the attention of one of the men she had seen leave the tavern before her.
Matthias, noticing her stomping, turned around and said, "Is there something you need?"
Kyla looked up and smiled. "No, just trying to think of something to do, or someone to associate with until I have 'meeting' I have to go to."
Her father would probably kill her if he knew what she had done. She walked into the Docks' District alone, sat in one of the most notoriously bad taverns and spoke to a man she didn't know, much less didn't trust, and decided that instead of speaking up to get what she wanted, she resorted to stomping in a hallway! [i] Get ahold of yourself, you fool![/i] she screamed inside.
Collecting her thoughts and pushing them aside, she looked back to the man and with a calm and cool demeanor, stated, "I'm Kyla."
"Hello, my name is Matthias. So, tell me, when exactly is this meeting? I also have a meeting to go to soon."
Meanwhile, the man at the table motioned to Kitos and Cyranthir.
"Midnight. I saw you in the tavern." [i]When I wasn't staring at the floor and wishing I wasn't in that room.[/i] "You spoke with the same gentleman I did, only I thought he was propositioning me." She laughed a little and blushed at the thought, although it wouldn't have been entirely strange for her. She'd had plenty of men offer her a 'job' for the evening, but now that she was speaking with Matthias, she was feeling a bit more at ease about the situation.
"Well, that would explain it." said Matthias. "You must be getting the same job as me."
"I suppose that would make us partners, wouldn't it? Where did you friend go? I think its about time we head to our 'meeting'." Kyla laughed. She didn't like secrets being kept from her, and especially wasn't keen on surprises, regardless of the situation.
The clock struck midnight in Reth's room. He looked up from his book to the clock and seeing that it was time, he bookmarked the book and went to the door. When Reth opened it he looked on his left and saw the man in armor that he was talking to earlier and another girl talking. On his right at the far end of the hallway was the door marked "Room 15". He walked over to the door and knocked on the door. A voice inside replied softly "Come in". It was so soft Reth barely heard it. He turned the knob on the door and stepped into a normal sized room, dimely lit by candle's. Reth looked and in a corner sitting in a chair was the man in robes.
The man they had seen earlier locked the door once they were all inside.
"So, I see all of you are here. Here is your task: You must travel to the ruins of Fort Might. There, you must go down to the lowest level and find a door with this symbol on it." He held up a small stone square with the symbol of a ten pointed star inside a circle on it. "Take this. When inserted into the center of the door, it will open it, allowing you to enter the hidden vaults." He handed Reth the square. "Once inside, search for a small leather pouch that also has the symbol on it. You may take anything else you see in the vaults for yourself. Once you have the item in question, return me. I'll be waiting."
"What's so important about the pouch?" Kyla asked, still staring at the stone that laid in the hands of her traveling companion. "And how do we know there's anything in the vaults themselves? Where can we find you should we return with what you want?" The questions spewed out of her mouth before she could stop herself and she bit her tongue to silence herself. Taking a breath, she regained her composure and stood calmly with the men.
Reth looked at the stone, the craftsmanship was beautiful. He looked at the girl companion of her's that was spitting out question's and said "My your the inquisitive type, I think that he wants to keep this information secret, for what reasons we are not meant to know, am i right?"
The old man looked at them. "You can find me at the abandoned warehouse on 55th street in the Market District. Oh, and one more thing: Whatever you do, DO NOT OPEN THE POUCH. Now leave. I have... things... to do." He got up, then unlocked and opened the door.
Reth watched as he left and then just stood there. He was confused, what was in it for them? Besides everything in the vaults beside the pouch, what were they being paid? Reth sighed softly and said "Well it appears we are now partners so we better get some sleep and set out tommorow."
((ooc: sorry didn't have time over weekend))
Cyranthir, whom had been hiding in the shadows of the room stepped forward to reveal himself.
"Well it appears we are now partners so we better get some sleep and set out tommorow."
"If you are not to fussed, I was offered this too and after careful consideeration i would travel with you." standing there cyranthir looked like a rich know it all in his fancy garbs, and to the untrained eye however to those that knew where to look his eye showed great power and knowledge. "but i am with you, sleep would be a good idea....." For a moment he seemed to look around the room "but may i advise you sleep somewhere other than this inn."
Reth looked at the new figure before him. He was dressed like a preist and was holding a book. Reth thought to himself "Wizard" and considered this. A wizred wouldn't betray them so he ruled that out. A wizard would be helpful in some situations but would get in the way in others. He would be constantly forced to protect him while he casted spells. "Alright New guy, well sleep outside, just let me get my pack" Reth said as he walked into his room to get his items. When he walked out he said "You have yet to mention your name?"
"You have yet to mention your name?"
cyranthir looked at him.
"My name is Cyranthir Menelmacar of the Asur." his voice had changed, no longer frail, it was graceful and fluent like that of a normal High Elf, though still his body was not up to it and it was obvious that a curse of weakness had hit him from an early age.
"If either of you feel uncomfortable about sleeping in or around this inn, we can set off now, i can cast some minor magics to allow you not to feel weary." Cyranthir made to walk out of the room and out of the inn, he meant to spend as little time here as possible.
"If either of you feel uncomfortable about sleeping in or around this inn, we can set off now, i can cast some minor magics to allow you not to feel weary."
"Well, that sounds like a good idea. I should probably leave before one of these sailors violates my code." said Matthias. "Well, since everyone seems to be here, I believe introductions are in order. I am Matthias. I am a paladin and an adventurer."
"Im Reth, the adventuring fighter" Reth said confidently.
Kyla stood in the midst of introductions and smiled. "I'm Kyla Maelstrom, and apparently the only female here,"she joked. "Why do we have to leave the inn?"
Kyla was not thrilled that she just paid for a room and now was being advised by an elf to sleep outside. Her demeanor read indignant and ignorant. She was not one for sleeping outdoors when one could be warm and comfortable in a warm room and soft bed. While Cyranthir had advised they sleep elsewhere, he had done only that, advised. She made her point known by her stance and facial expressions while she stared at the old elf, challenging his advice.
Cyranthir turned to the female and saw how defensive her stance was, she was obviously trying to prove something to him her whole demeanor to cyranthir was ignorance, could he cope with ignoreance even if it meant he got what wanted.
"You can sleep here if you want 'child'" he emphasised the child part to inform her that he thought she was shwoing all the knowledge of a child "but might i hazard a warning about the countless thugs that would knife you while you sleep....." Cyranthir thought for a reason why "just to prove that they can."
Cyrnathir made his way to the door then turned round
"I for one will not be sleeping till we are far away form this place, you will find me waiting at the stables for you, may Asuryan wtch over you, if you are still stupid enough to stay here." he bowed as he exited the room, a slight bitter smile came across his face as he thought of many scenario's of how the woman would react.
Reth jumped in "Look, why are we fighting, its going to be the same wherever we sleep because [b] I[/b] will not be sleeping, i will be doing tonights watch, someone will take it tommorow"
Reth sighed and said "Fine we will take a vote, wizzy over there makes it apparent that he wants to sleep outside, i can go either way, what are your thoughts?"
Reth sighed and said "Fine we will take a vote, wizzy over there makes it apparent that he wants to sleep outside, i can go either way, what are your thoughts?"
"Well, I don't really care where we sleep either." said Matthias.
Cyranthir's words hurt. Though he had a point, he didn't have to be so vicious in his tone and delivery. Was it truly worth it to endanger the party's life, and her job, just because she'd spent her hard earned money on a bed? The older wizard may have been wise, but he was certainly not friendly, and if looks could kill, the look she gave him as he turned his back to her and the rest certainly would have been painful.
"Clearly, a foolish girl can't make a decision. Cyranthir obviously believes that I'm an idle-headed child." She crossed her arms, slightly mocking Cyranthir in his decision to treat her the way he did. She realized what she'd said may have proved Cyranthir's theory about her to be correct, but at that point, she didn't care. Child or not, she had been hired to participate just as he had. In some form, that meant she was an equal. It was time she proved that she belonged with them.
"He's old, and he may be worried about being stabbed in here, but it's entirely more dangerous to be alone, regardless of where you're sleeping. None of us should be left unattended. My vote is to stay with Cyranthir."
"Well then its settled, we will go sleep with Cyranthir outside, lets go meet him by the Stables" Reth said as he started walking out the door. He was confused, he expected the girl to want to stay inside. Clearly he underestimated her.
Just as Cyranthir knew would happen, thus did they come to the stables, yet there was one problem, as far as he knew none of them had a steed and even though his magics might sustain 4 shadow steeds he had no intention of keeping 4 spells going for so long.
"Does anyone have a steed?" Cyranthir asked matter of factly once they had all gathered.
Waiting for a response his ears twitched and pointed up straight, what he had just heard worried him, but his face was a stone calm, not a blink of emotion showed on his face, though he did dust off his robe and then grip his staff a bit more anticipating what may happen.
"No, at least I don't." Kyla stated,"But that's why I carry this." She moved her hand to her hip and grasped a bag of coins she carried. The jingling of the money inside indicated what she was referring to. She studied Cyranthir standing before them and noticed a glint of satisfaction in his eyes when they followed him. She wanted to rip that look from his eyes, or just rip his eyes out. Whatever came first didn't matter. Though she was all for an exciting adventures to far away places, she wanted this one to be over with. Reth and Matthias had been complacent, never once verbally judging her. Cyranthir was proving to be more unbearable by the second. The sooner she was out of his company, the better she would feel.
Kyla studied the old wizard carefully, and watched his grasp on his staff tighten. She didn't trust Cyranthir, but she did trust his instincts and her muscles tightened in anticipation. Whatever it was, good or bad, she wasn't going to let it know that it's presence had been sensed by the group. "Where do you suggest I find a decent mount?" Careful not to mention any names, and in no rush to reveal her identity, or anyone else's, she carried the conversation on as if nothing was wrong. She glanced around the stables and cursed Cyranthir under her breath. She hated being caught off guard, and at least in the tavern, they'd been protected by walls and locking doors. It was the "wise old wizard's" brilliant idea to leave them as sitting ducks outside. She was in no mood to deal with some criminal on a power trip, thinking he can rip off the whole lot of them. She clenched her fists at her side and remained still, watching for the source of her tension to reveal itself.
"Where do you suggest I find a decent mount?"
Reth was aware of the situation, he heard the noises. Kyla clearly knew too because of her clenched fists. Reth smiled slightly when he knew what was happening, Cyranthir's muscles were tightening so he knew too. Reth didn't bother to look at Mathias because he was a paladin and most likely knew.
"Kyla, i know where to find some horses, there is a stable not far from here that i know of" He glanced around at the surrounding bushes slowly.
"Kyla, why don't you come with me and we will get some horses, Mathias and Cyranthir stay here, and don't worry, the boogyman won't jump out and get you." He tried to say that as casual and normal as possible. He walked over to Kyla and put a hand on her shoulder and ushered her away in the dirrection of the stable. He glanced back at Cyranthir and winked.
What was supposed to happen now was that the enemy would jump out thinking they had us divided. Then Kyla and Reth would jump back into the fray.
((Deliria, Cyranthir never showed any emotion about them following them, he kept his usual face, he very rarely shows emotion, accept when caught off guard))
Cyranthir stood quietly carefully listening to any more sounds, an elf's ears were second to none for hearing and he could hear the breathing of three dogs and then sudenly heard the muttered speech of Kyla, though he was unable to obtain what was said he knew it was a curse, he gave a slight smile as he watched he watched Kyla and Reth wander off. As they rounded the corner the four thugs and two dogs appeared from behind a house.
"Oi, pointy ears!" one snarled "give us your gold" Cyranthir pointed his staff at one and gace a breif bitter of smile.
"Feel the fury of khaine!" blinding white balls of power struck one of them, from there all hell broke loose
Matthias just looked at the remaining thugs. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to stand down." When they didn't, he drew his sword to make his point more forcefully.
"Who do you think you are, shiny guy? Just give us the money!" He charged Matthias, hitting him in the face with a club.
"I warned you!" Matthias slashed the thug who had stuck him, who then fell over bleeding. The dogs, startled at how quickly two of their masters had been killed, ran off, barking as though they had seen a ghost.
Cyranthir looked around of the orginal attackers two were killed and two were in front of them.
'Where is the other one?' he thought to himself, as he looked over to the two that had meant to ambush them he saw that last thug coming up behind the girl, his mind raced, if he shouted the thug might get wise and run, this would be good, if only he thought the thug wouldn't bring more.
There was only one thing for it, it was basic spell, but one he had only ever cast on himself but it would protect the girl. Turning to face her he pointed his staff, his face a stone calm and spoke one word.
"Etheral." Nothing seemed to happen, there was no light, nothing, nothing had changed, but a half smile appeared over Cyranthir's face, the spell had worked and the thug would get a nsaty surprise.
((ooc: Kyra is now sort of invulnerable, no mudane weapon can hurt her, instead it will just go straight through her, its good for only one minute as isn't designed to be cast of other people))
Kyla watched Cyranthir and Matthias beat the thugs to death. For an instant she thought Matthias was going to be slaughtered, but he proved that theory horrifically wrong when she watched him brutalize his attacker. She moved up slightly, ready to help them fight off the remaining men when she saw Cyranthir turn and point his staff at her.
[i] This is no time for a 'Here's lookin' at you, kid.' moment![/i] she screamed at him, but only in her mind. Suddenly she felt the presence behind her and in one swift movement, she crouched down and pulled her dagger from her left boot. Keeping it clenched in her fist, if it came to that, she whirled to face him.
"Pick on someone your own size!" she snarled at the ugly brute. His stench was lingering...alcohol and lack of hygiene. "I always like the pretty ones." he hinted at her and her stomach wrenched with disgust. "You'll love me." she whispered and shot a white power ball much like Cyranthir's, but smaller, at the thug. She knocked him away from her, but she didn't think it'd killed him. As the thug fell back, he flung a knife at her chest, and Kyla cowered as it headed straight toward her. The Knife should have hit her but she felt nothing and heard it hit the ground with a thud.
Realizing what had just happened she spun around to Cyranthir. "What the hell did you do to me?" she said grinning. She glanced back to make sure her attacker hadn't moved, and seeing that he laid stone still, she relaxed.
"What the hell did you do to me?"
Cyranthir gave a sly smile.
"A basic spell for my people, but one few humans can cast." Cyranthir scanned the area, there were no more thugs, the dogs had ran off and now they must go into the unknown.
"perhaps if you are a good little girl," he smiled like a shrewd master over a new student "I may teach you how to do it, but for now know that you were neither in this world or the next, you were somewhere in between." Cyranthir nodded at his own explanation, it was very complicated to explain that spell, though his people had used it for so long, they had only found out about it by accident.
"We still have an issue about horses, if it comes to it I can summon a shadow steed," he seemed to look strained as he began the next bit "or four, i suppose." He shook his head, even he, an archmage of the white tower had his limit, he just wished it wasn't so close in becoming apparant."
She couldn't make up her mind. One minute she hated the old wizard because he belittled her, the next thing she knew, he's saving her life and offering to teach her his magic. Magic her family could never have taught her. The thought was thrilling but she didn't entertain it for long, once again remembering Cyranthir was the one to who led them outside. "I'd like for you to teach me what you know, if I survive that long."
"Shadow steeds seem unnecessary to me." She stated, quickly changing the subject. "Why should we drain you of your powers and draw excess attention to our mission? Horses will do just fine, perhaps a little slower, but just fine. Something tells me we'll need all of our abilities. Wasting Cyranthir's will be a serious blow to our defenses." She crouched down and stuck her dagger back into its hiding place.
She rose and brushed her clothes off. Sliding her hand to her side, she made a mental note that her bag of coins was still attached. " I say we go see what we can find. If the horses aren't cheap, then maybe we can bargain with a merchant for them. Either way you look at it, we need those horses."
" I say we go see what we can find. If the horses aren't cheap, then maybe we can bargain with a merchant for them. Either way you look at it, we need those horses."
"I already have a horse." said Matthias. He whistled, and a loud neighing sound came from the direction of the stables. Within seconds, a noble white horse in brilliant armor came running to him. "This is Sunstorm." said Matthias.
Reth saw them and thought that they would be fine. Kyla ran over to help them and they were quickly killed. Reth decided to go get a horse. He walked down the road until he reached a stable with horses for sale. When he was about to buy a nice white horse a man walked in with a sword drawn behind him and pressed it on his back.
The shopkeeper put his hands up and said "Now we don't want any trouble"
The man with the sword was dressed in black said "But i do, remember me Reth, well this is a warning, im gonna be following you now"
Then he was gone. Reth had a look of sorrow on his face and sighed, then handed over the coins.
Realizing Reth had disappeared in the midst of the skirmish, she knew she was the only one who hadn't had a solution to her transportation-less predicament. It wasn't smart to be alone and she couldn't trust anyone. She couldn't even trust Reth to back her up. [i] Maybe if he had come back in the stable with me, I wouldn't have been attacked from behind. He could have warned me.[/i] Disappointment drew breath on her face, and she sighed.
She stepped past her companions and walked down the stable aisle further to find the manager. Seeing a groom, she politely asked him if there were any horses for sale, and held up her bag. The groom's eyes lit up with greed and he led her to a stout, muscular gray mare. She was not nearly as fine or delicately structured as Matthias' horse, but would do just as well. She was a work horse, and though her pedigree wasn't decorated with champions, she had endurance, speed, and intelligence. For a few coins more, Kyla purchased the nicest tack the groom could offer. It wasn't much, but it would do. The leather was marked and beaten with usage, but was well worn to fit comfort for horse and rider. Watching the groom count the money and leave, Kyla stepped up to her new mare and patted her forehead. "Sica," she whispered, and the mare's ears twitched. Leaving her newly purchased friend and her equipment locked safely away in a private section of the stable, she returned to the men.
"I have a horse."
Cyranthir nodded, he was still horseless.
'oh to have malhandir.' the thought came to him and he realised that he had left his horse outside the town, in the forest.
"once we leave the town i will get a horse." he rested on his staff, though he was frail he was definately not old at only two hundred years old, but the curse of his family line had hit him hard, it was why he was like he was, he felt like he couldn't let anyone get close, or he wouldn't allow it. For siome bizzare reason though he liked this girl, she showed an interest in magic and when he had mentioned teaching her, he could of sworn he had seen a glint in her eye, but he put it down to the magic that probably had just left her.
Reth walked into the clearing where the others were standing with a white horse in tow.
"I have a horse"
Seeing that everyone else had a horse, and he didn't think that Cyranthir wouldn't have one somewhere, he knew they were going to be ok.
Reth knew that Tarath would be somewhere in the forest following them, but if would be impossible to find him. Reth let out a sigh and then smiled at the rest of his companions.
Kyla turned to Reth. She was furious. Speaking in a hushed tone, she still conveyed her anger without causing unwanted attention by any passers-by."You coward! How dare you turn away and keep walking when the rest of us are under attack!" More than anything, she wanted to slam him in the chest with one of her power balls, but she resisted. To use magic, you had to use it wisely. She decided to let her tongue do the damage. Storming up to him, she attempted to get right in his face, and noticed he was considerably taller then she. At this moment, size no longer mattered.
"We could have been killed! How do you know how many attackers there were? What if others had heard the scuffle and attempted to rob us as well? You just decided to skip out and hide like a weak damsel, waiting for everyone else to do the dirty work. Do you realize I was attacked from behind? Had you come like you should have, I might not have been placed in that dangerous position. Granted, I'm sure Cyranthir and Matthais could have battled alone, but we're a team, lest you forget it! I'm glad you got your horse, but if you bow out of another fight like you just did, I will do much more than this!" She stood, attempting to stare him down. Realizing it truly wouldn't work, she spun on her heels and looked at Cyranthir and Matthais.
"Cyranthir, you saved me, and I thank you but this evenings events have left me a little weary. I think it best that I sit down and rest a little while." She walked away from Reth, still fuming, and sat down on a hay bale hidden in the shadows. There would be no sleep for her tonight. Her nerves were on edge and she still had adrenaline pumping through her veins. Leaning her head against the wall behind her, she pulled her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her knees, like she did as a young girl. She rested her chin between her knees and waited for her party to begin decision making for the job.
Matthias looked around. "Well, now that that's over with, I say we head out to Fort Might. What do you think, Cyranthir?"
Reth was unaffected by this outburst of fury from Kyla. What she said was true, he was a coward that left. Kyla's words cut through him like a hot knife through butter and stung hard like a bad bee sting.
The words quickly wore off of him though. He had been through much more pain and heartbreak than the normal person could handle. All of it was affiliated with Tarath.
[i] Just another highlight of my pitiful life [/i]
"Well what are we going to do now"
He asked it with a soft and slow voice that most people would give sypmpathy to.
[i] Reth the mighty warrior that can slay anyone, a failure at life, you don't deserve sympathy [/i]
(OOC: the italics are reth's thoughts)
She slipped from her hay perch. Squinting her eyes, hoping for a better understanding. Her words were barely audible, but she knew they would reach his ears. "Don't you understand what you have done? You've put us all in danger. You want to just shrug it off and pretend it never happened." She almost choked on her words as a slightly injured sob tried to escape her lips. Turning away from her party, she faced the darkness of the stable and softly proclaimed, "I'm going to tend to Sica. You'll find me if you need me."
Her footsteps were light as she tried to maintain composure and proceed to Sica's stall seemingly unaffected by Reth's irresponsibility, and then lack of response. He wouldn't even argue with her, a foolish girl as Cyranthir had claimed her to be. Her mortality was evident to her everyday when reflecting upon the events of the hours before, but she'd never had accused someone like she had tonight. No one had ever left in a fight like that before. Future battles would be difficult if Reth walked out, she knew that. If he did, and turned his back on them, she would be forced to turn her magic against him and force him to feel the pain from the betrayal she felt.
Reaching Sica, she peered in and saw the mare standing in the back of her stall, sleeping.Slipping inside, she positioned herself in front of the mare. Sica's eyes opened slowly and she all but ignored Kyla's presence. Kyla curled up in the stall in front of her horse's feet. "Please don't step on me,"she whispered and Sica dropped her head and placed her nose in Kyla's hair. She would wait here until they departed.
Cyranthir watched, Cyranthir studied how both Reth and Kyla had reacted, he knew as the oldest, though in truth he was a very young elf.
"Enough!" He snapped, his eyes flared and his staff glowed he seemed to grow in stature as he glared at Reth.
"You," he pointed his staff at Reth "have upset the balance of this group," at the end of this staff a red fireball started to appear "The next time to turn your back on a fight this fireball will leave mny staff and engulf you..." he let his threat sink in before he allowed the flame to disappear. "Do i make myself clear!"
Cyranthir looked towards the stable, a glint of sorrow in his eyes,
"As much as I would like to rest my powers i think we need to get there as soon as we can." He raised his staff and uttered a few elven words, incompreheisble to all except the elves. And with that a portal appeared before them all.
"You two enter, i will go get Kyla."
Cyranthir entered the stable, he had lost his fury his anger had subsided and now he was here to collect someone.
"Kyla?" he spoke softly, his voice was pleasant and almost musical, like all of the elves but trapped within his voice was a touch of sympathy.
"We are leaving now," he turned round and looked out of the stable "Do not give in to doubt child, if you doubt and hold no trust in us, then we shall all die, for without trust we are like the shadow, we are no better than them, that is what my kin all know." Cyranthir's voice was becoming more like a dreamy voice as he spoke.
"If you wish not to travel with us i will understand, but i see power in you i have never seen in a human before, i wish to train you, but i cannot if you will not come..." he voice trailed off and seemed full of regret as he spoke the next words.
"If I am right my time is coming yougling, I cannot die without having an apprentice to pass on my knowlege and these items of power that i hold." his voice trailed off again as he exited the stable, had anyone seen his face before he left they would have seen a tear trickle down his left cheek and suddenl;y disappear.
Hiding in the stall, she could hear someone yelling at Reth. She sighed and dropped her gaze to her feet, which were barely visible in the dark. The voices silenced themselves and after a few minutes, Kyla heard the shuffle of footsteps coming in her direction. She made no move to get up.
"We are leaving now," he turned round and looked out of the stable "Do not give in to doubt child, if you doubt and hold no trust in us, then we shall all die, for without trust we are like the shadow, we are no better than them, that is what my kin all know."
Cyranthir voice was soothing, and would have put her into a dreamless sleep if she had not been listening to his words. She trusted all of them. She had no other choice. Death was not something that she looked forward to, and she was not willing to die at the hands of a bad decision made by someone else.
"If you wish not to travel with us i will understand, but i see power in you i have never seen in a human before, i wish to train you, but i cannot if you will not come..." he voice trailed off and seemed full of regret as he spoke the next words.
"If I am right my time is coming yougling, I cannot die without having an apprentice to pass on my knowlege and these items of power that i hold."
She wanted to cry. Cyranthir's words were cold in meaning and warm in intentions, and no one other than family had ever been as kind. Cyranthir turned and left her alone. Kyla stood, dusted the straw from her clothes and smiled at Sica. Leading her mare from the stable, she moved quietly and quickly. The element of surprise was a neccesity in her survival...and making her point to Reth and Cyranthir. She was still pissed at Reth, that wouldn't change. He had a lot to do to to prove that he was worthy of being in her good graces once again. Running beside her horse, Kyla yelled down the stable, hoping to catch her party's attention. She would have to thank Cyranthir at a later and more appropriate moment. She caught up to Cyranthir, and Sica snorted. She smiled impishly. "You didn't really think I'd let you leave with out me, did you?"
Reth stood outside the portal entrance with Mathias. Reth was suprised at multiple things. For one he was suprised at the hostility that his so called "Friends" responded with.
Secondly, Kyla's outburst had opened a door in Reth's mind to many emotions and memories he thought he sealed away for good. Memories of death, heartbreak, anger, vengence.
[i] You have forgotten your purpous[/i]
"Mathias, tell them that i am sorry but i must depart, there is something i must do"
Reth mounted his horse and rode off into the night. He needed to get to Fort Might on his own.
Later that night Reth found an arrow with a note embeded in a tree.
[b] Reth, im following you. And by the look on your face, you remember. Signed Tarath [/b]
Reth should have been there. He wasn't. He did exactly what she knew he would. He ran. Kyla felt helpless as the truth sank in. He left because of her outburst. [i] Damn you! [/i] She thought that maybe there had to be some sort of honor or nobility in Reth. Apparently, you could call him on a wrong decision, and he would run. Any sympathy she may have had for him was erased. She was on a new mission. The job that had sent them to cross each other's path would be the job that brought them back. Maybe Reth needed the job more than any of them did, but she doubted it. He had, after all, bought himself a horse. She felt a cold hatred brew inside at the thought of Reth. He had abandoned them, regardless of his reasons, and that was never redeemable.
A voice within her spoke, a colder side of her wanted blood, and it would not quiet itself until it said what it needed to.[i] He's a traitor! Morals, honesty, decency - Everything you possess and cherish, he despises. [/i] Pushing the thoughts from her head, she focused her attentions on the job and her travelling partners.
"He's probably headed towards Fort Might, and whatever his reasons for leaving us, he had better have a damned excuse for it when I find him. "
Reth had his horse in a steady gallop, his swords loosened in their sheaths, you couldn't ever be too sure with Tarath wandering around.
He needed to get to Fort Might fast. Reth wanted to see them one more time before he sent out on his hunt.
A hunt that would end in death for him, or Tarath.
Matthias walked through the portal. On the other side was a massive ruined fort. Broken pillars were scattered everywhere, and the main entrance to the ruins was made out of extremely old stone and covered in yellow-gray moss.
"You didn't really think I'd let you leave with out me, did you?"
"No i did not." his voice was his usual confident self and now as they stood before main entrance of the fort Cyranthir started to mutter something.
"where once was power, your end will be, in the shadows of greatness thou shall meet thy end." His voice, though he stood right next to them, appeared distant and sad, but no sooner had he finished than he looked towards the paladin.
"Perhaps we should rest here for the rest of the day and the night and recover, my power is slightly drained and I require rest."
Cyranthir didn't wait for a reply instead he turned to the open portal and spoke the word of power to close the portal
"Nerka!" as he did command so did the portal close and with it his power faded and found himself swooning for a while.
'how?' he questioned himself 'another power tried to keep it open,
"Dammit... fool." he allowed himself to sit down and from how he collpased it wass obvious that he was not moving for a while yet.
Kyla watched the portal struggling to open or close. She immediately was distracted as Cyranthir sat. Dropping Sica's reins, she crouched down to him and became eye-level with him. Her hand touched his cheek, just checking his body temperature. "Will you be alright?" Concern and fear littered her expression. Reth had left them, she didn't want to lose another member of the party. She rose, and grabbed Sica's reins leading her to a nearby tree. She tied her mare and returned to sit next to Cyranthir. She crossed her legs and let her chin rest on the palm of her hand.
Her thoughts immediately went to Reth's disappearance. "If he left us to retrieve that satchel on his own, not only is he violating our employer's instructions, but he is insulting himself. I no longer respect him, nor do I trust him. Heaven help him if he ever shows his cowardice again."
Reth stood outside of Fort Might on a hill. The hill was a sea of stone for he stood in a graveyard. Below Reth were three graves, the wind picked up slightly and knocked a few strands of Reth's hair into his face. Reth pushed them aside and looked down at the first gravestone.
[b] Johnathen P. Jaster, Loving Husband and Father. [/b]
Reth's father had been a strong man who didn't want reth to harbor vengence toward Tarath. Reth didn't for a long time, that was until he met Elizabeth. He moved to the next grave.
[b] Elizabeth J. Jaster, loving wife and mother [/b]
Reth fought back tears as he remembered his wife and all of the wonderful times they had together. Then Tarath showed himself again and brought back all of that vengence again. Reth never could look at the last grave but that was neccesary to remember completely.
[b] Randy R. Jaster, Loving son [/b]
This time Reth couldn't hold back the tears as he remembered his son. Randy was only 2 years old when Tarath took his life. Reth slowly stopped crying and leaned forward to kiss the grave of his deceased wife. He was ready for his hunt now, he turned around to mount his horse and go on his hunt. Thats when he saw him.
"If you came back here, then i know you remember" Tarath spoke in his ice cold voice.
"Tarath, you stole everything away from me, now i shall take your life"
Reth drew his Katana from its sheath and pointed it at Tarath. Tarath reached into his pouch and pulled out a gold coin, one that Reth knew very well. It was Reth's father's most prized possesion, a symbol of his everlasting honor. Now it was merely a symbol of death and anger.
Tarath flipped the coin into the air, it landed on the ground.
[i] Heads [/i]
"Today is the day Reth" Tarath said as he drew a Katana smilar to Reth's, then lunged forward and attacked.
Magic spun anround in cyranthir's head, he knew only one reason why it would, Asuryan was giving him a message. the message was confusing to the archmage but once Kyla spoke to him it made sense.
"If he left us to retrieve that satchel on his own, not only is he violating our employer's instructions, but he is insulting himself. I no longer respect him, nor do I trust him. Heaven help him if he ever shows his cowardice again."
he turned to her, the strain of his weakness ruined his regal and fair face, had it not been so, he may have been considred handsome but instead the strain made him appear a fair but gaunt elf.
"He left to save us..." he someone managed to work up the energy to pull himself up, "Ironic how I will go save him," a bitter laugh emerged from his throat "Will you come, you will learn something i promise." he drew out from under his cloak a potion and drank it, within seconds his frail appearance disappeared and suddenly he looked as elegant and as proud as any elven warrior.
"I can use no magic now, if you come you will be our only magic defence." cyranthir then turned to mattias.
"Are you coming to?" he managed to walk, though his potion had worked wonders, he had almost drained himself closing that portal but for now he had his own things to do, his sword would have to be enough.
Bu8t as he headed to the hill a thought came into his head, why was that portal problem there, who would do that, who would prevent him from closing a portal or could it possibly be what tried, but for now he pushed it out of his mind, or tried to, but in the background of his thoughts there was a nagging telling him to drink the potion that would make him weak in strength but powerful in magic.
Sweat drenched the top of Reth's head and he didn't ever have a chance to wipe it from his eyes. Tarath struck fast and quick at numerous places and Reth never had a chance to attack. A high strike, a low strik, 3 jabs, a finisher, all of Tarath's strike were fluid, but so were Reth's parries.
The two combatants jumped away from each other, giving Reth a chance to wipe the sweat from his brow. Tarath was barely breathing and stuck his sword in the ground and leaned on it.
"You still got it Reth, im suprised"
Reth leaped forward and came down with a powerful verticle strike. Tarath feinted the strike and cut a thin line on Reth's right fore-arm.
Reth cried out in pain and swung his sword at Tarath. Tarath leaped back and let Reth get up.
"You can't beat me Reth, just accept it. Even if you best me in sword combat, i have a secret weapon"
Tarath raised his right hand and a small ball of light appeared there. Tarath was not only a highly revered swordsman but also a minor magician. Reth stepped up and forward ignoring the pain in himself and slowly crept forward.
Cyranthir moved with the graceful subtlety of a High Elf as he watched the combat, drawing his sword he came up behind Reth's assailant and just as he produced a fireball cyranthir moved with speed and stealth and held his sword just enderneath his right shoulderblade.
"I wouldn't do that if i were you!" His voice was as cold as steel as he held the man at sword point and suddenly the fireball disappeared as Cyranthir store at it, though he could cast no spells he could still banish them.
"So Reth," Cyranthir's voice still had not changed "This a friend of yours..." before he could finish the sentence he heard an all to familiar roar, it was the roar of a wyvern, as he store into the distance he saw it take flight from the near by forest.
Cyranthir stood there, he had to make a descision and hoping against hope that the other two had follwoed him he kept his blade where it was and never lowered it, never readied himself for this new threat, he was here to save Reth and suddenly it seemed he had to do two things at once.
Matthias had followed Cyranthir, and when he saw the fighting, he drew his sword. Quickly assessing the situation, he charged the man that Reth was dueling. "I see you have spilled innocent blood. Die, evildoer!" He raised his sword, which began to glow with holy power, and brought it down, severely wounding Tarath.
Kyla Knew Cyranthir and Matthais were doing the right thing. She wanted to kill Reth herself and wasn't about to let the men have all the fun. Cyranthir's new 'appearance" was shocking. And now she was the only magic user. [i] This is bad.[/i] Cyranthir and Matthais made their move on Tarath, leaving her as the back up, at least until she heard it. The roar made her hair stand on end. A chill like she'd never known coasted through her body as she saw it - the wyvern. She'd only heard of them, and never confronted one before. She saw it fly out from the trees, and she shivered.
She closed her eyes and envisioned it. Her hands cupped in front of her, each holding a white ball of power in her palms. Opening her eyes, she stared at the power balls glowing in her hands. A devious grin crept across her face, and she waited for the wyvern to land.
Wyvern means lesser dragon, there is nothing lesser, except its stature, in fact wyverns are considered nastier than dragons, in fact mages have a sincere problem with them, for only elven, dragon and necromantic spells are efective against them.
Cyranthir stood, Mattias had swung his blow and suddenly Cyranthir was free to help Kyla, he would teach her... or a thought came into his head, he would break her power.
"Kyla!" Cyranthir shouted. "Close your eyes and picture a phoenix, picture it fighting the wyvern and picture it bursting into flames, engulfing the wyvern, its our only hope!"Cyranthir looked the fort, then to Reth and then to where the would be assasin should of been, he had gone... for now.
"You two run into the fort, me and Kyla will either slow this thing down, kill it..... or die trying, just get into that fort." Cyranthir raised his sword to the sky and from nowhere a bolt of lightning hit it and its runes began to glow a strange colour.
"Come on Kyla, you can do it!" His voice was proud and he was obviously a different person when under the affects of the potion, he no longer sounded bitter or remorseful, in fact he sounded proud and powerful, but inside a great shadow was over him, his potion would run out soon, he would become weak again and frail and even worse than he had been when he started.
((oh yeah if she does do this it will leave her feeling drained, it will kill the wyvern... eventually, but she will be drained because she's never cast a spell of this magnitude before, it is on a different power level to anything humans can do, exceept her obviously))
[Edited by Mablung_Surion on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:48 AM]
(OOC: Is fort Might like a deserted fort that is falling apart? Or is it like a bustling center of activity?)
Reth looked at his past companions that had come to his aid. He was at mixed emotions here, part of him was grateful, the other part wanted to kill Tarath himself.
[i] There is no time for thanks now, just kill Tarath and then it will be good [/i]
Reth turned back around and Tarath was no where to be seen. Then he stared in awe at the Wyrm that was comming toward them.
"You two run into the fort, me and Kyla will either slow this thing down, kill it..... or die trying, just get into that fort."
Reth nodded and ran into the fort. Just as he turned a corner and sword appeared in front of his face and hit the wall. Reth ducked below the strike and jumped back a little.
Reth turned the corner and saw Tarath again, only his wound was not as large as it was before.
[i] Seems like I caught him in his healing [/i]
Reth jumped forward with a powerful verticle strike that was parried but Tarath lost some ground.
Kyla's concentration was broken at the sound of Cyranthir's voice.
"Kyla!" Cyranthir shouted. "Close your eyes and picture a phoenix, picture it fighting the wyvern and picture it bursting into flames, engulfing the wyvern, its our only hope!"
Her power balls disappeared as she dropped her hands to her side. Cyranthir was asking a lot of her, but she felt she had no choice. [i] Do or die, [/i] she thought and closed her eyes. The world seemed to rush around her as the wyvern sped closer. Her mind screamed with a hatred that she'd never known. She'd never felt an anger like this and it terrified her. Kyla focused her energy and envisioned what Cyranthir had asked her. Then she saw it, her mind's eye clearer than her normal vision. The phoenix swept down, and flew directly at the wyvern, angry and hateful. Her body grew hot as if she were the one on fire. She saw the wyvern perish in flames and heard its dying screams. And then finally saw the wyvern's charred body laying before Cyranthir. An unholy shriek that could chill a man's blood resounded from behind her, and she was shaken from her concentration. She felt light and dizzy. Unable to maintain her balance, she opened her eyes just enough to see the sky and the tree tops that provided shade to Fort Might. Feeling as though she were floating, she drifted away to the dark and easy comfort of sleep.
[Edited by Deliria on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 3:45 PM]
Cyranthir ran towards the fallen Kyla and picked her up, the effects of his porion were going fast but now all he cared about was her safety and the contiunation of this quest. Cyranthir looked into the sleeping face of Kyla and whispered to her.
"I am sorry i pushed you so hard child..." He ran towards the fort carrying her and only once he had arrived in the ruins of the fort did he put her down and look over her.
Cyranthi fished out a phial full of a sky blue coloured liquid.
"What valor gave to me, may this give to you." he spoke sweetly, but his fearures had become drawn and frail again, the effects of his Charoi potion had ran out, no longer strong, instead frail and weak, but at least now his magic was back.
'Brother... Anerarion, if you can here me you lazy good for nothing ..... get up off your lady choice of the day's ... you know what i would say next and get to fort might, it would appear my magics alone will not be enough' He looked down at Kyla and then around, neither Reth or Mattias had arrived yet, they were very much alone one weak and one asleep and as if to makie maters worse he could hear the brutish chat of Orcs.
"Dat's one o' dem pointy ears."
"No pointy ear's round ere."
"I's saw one, carring an uman." The voices were getting loser, and thus with a great strain Cyranthir stood up and faced the oncoming orcs, his powers all but spent and hismagic embued strength all but gone, Cyranthir hope for a miracle, he was hoping that Reth or Mattias would appear, otherwise the only spells at his diposable were the ones that controlled rock and wood.
(OOC: Yay! A chance to redeem myself ;))
Reth backed the wounded Tarath against a wall, keeping up his furious assault. One cut managed to clip the wrist of Tarath right on the nerve. Tarath cried out in pain and dropped his sword. Reth placed the tip of his sword on Tarath's neck and pressed him against the wall.
"Finally Tarath, the moment we have been waiting for" As Reth prepared the killing blow he felt himself fly back as Tarath shot him in the chest with a powerball.
"You got lucky this time Reth, but not next time" he said spitefully. Tarath reached into his pouch and withdrew a ball and threw it on the ground. A great smoke came up and engulfed him. When the smoke cleared, he was gone. Reth cursed and put his sword away and headed back to the others.
Reth saw the Orcs approaching his two powerless companions. Acting on instinct he drew his bow along with an arrow. He knocked it quickly and fired a powerful shot into the first orc's head. Orc's were not the most intelligent of creatures and, seeing that their friend was dead, charged at Reth.
Reth easily killed them, their attacks were uncoordinated and pure strength. Reth simply danced around them and slashed them from behind. When they were all dead he sheathed his sword and walked over to his companions.
"Are you two alright?"
Reth threw the bow on the ground
"Yes we are fine thank you..." Cyranthir's voice though tiured was definately bitter "Next time try to make sure that i know your around, i wouldn't of had to stand up had i known." Though each word was such as venemous as the one before Cyranthir was thankful that is theory was right, though no emotion showed on his face a slight nod of the head that only Reth would of seen acknowldged his help.
"Now all we have to do is wait for this paladin... where is he?" although it was a question, it was a fed up question, only once had that paladin made himself useful and now that three of them were in the Fort and the paladin absent from the group he now wished more than ever his brother was here.
Cyranthir knelt beside Kyla, the potion was working, but slowly, he looked from side to side.
"We will rest here for now Reth unless you think you can look after me and Kyla, we can go no further." Cyranthir looked furious, not at Reth, he looked furious at the lack of a member of the party. he then muttered something to himself.
"He better turn up soon, otherwise there will be hell to pay!"
"Yes we are fine thank you..." Cyranthir's voice though tiured was definately bitter "Next time try to make sure that i know your around, i wouldn't of had to stand up had i known."
Reth laughed slightly, the statement was a sarcastic one that deserved a laugh. Then Reth saw the nod on his face and nodded back.
"Now all we have to do is wait for this paladin... where is he?"
"I don't know, last time I saw him he was with me, then i think he just fell behind"
"We will rest here for now Reth unless you think you can look after me and Kyla, we can go no further."
Reth nodded in acknowledgement and walked over to a nearby rock. Sitting down he viewed the landscape of trees and hills, looking for anything suspisious.
Matthias ran up to them. "Sorry, I thought I heard something back there, and I was investigating. I had no idea you were fighting orcs." Suddenly, it started raining heavily, and the sound of thunder could be heard nearby. "We'd better get inside Fort Might." He walked over towards the fort, assuming everyone else was following him.
(OOC: Is fort Might like a deserted fort that is falling apart? Or is it like a bustling center of activity?)
(OOC: Fort Might used to be an outpost for an enemy army, but it was eventually converted into a place to guard several artifacts, including the one we are looking for. The fort is now guarded by the skeletons of the soldiers who used to inhabit it.)
A muffled giggle came from beneath the bedclothes.
Standing at the foot of the bed and smiling rakishly Anearion was just about to go in search of its source when, clarion clear, he heard Cyranthir's voice in his head.
'Brother... Anerarion, if you can here me you lazy good for nothing ..... get up off your lady choice of the day's ... you know what i would say next and get to fort might, it would appear my magics alone will not be enough'
[i]How is it, that with almost canny prescience, you interrupt my wenching, brother?[/i]
Grimacing with regret he yet moved to retrieve his clothes from the various places they had been tossed in the room.
There was a rustling from the bed and a tossled head emerged, warm russet hair framing a pretty oval face, cheeks flushed.
"Anearion? Don't tell me you turn from the hunt..." a frown forming upon pink lips as she noticed what he was doing.
Lacing his breeches he moved toward the bed, his skin tawny in the in the light, a contrite look on his face.
"Duty calls, my dove. Filial bonds".
Leaning down he placed feather kisses across her cheek and down her neck.
"Tiresome though they be, who am I-" his lips moved back up toward her ear, each word punctuated with a touch, "-to deny nature's obligations?"
Standing, he threw on his shirt quickly, pushing the dark hair from his eyes before he drew on a jerkin over it. As he moved to collect his gear the girl rose from the bed, gathering his effects desolately.
"Will I see you again?" her hand rose, touching the pointed tips of his ears gently where they peeked through his hair.
"Who can say, kitten? Who knows what dread things awake. But trust that, if it is within my power-" pausing, he took her face in both his slender hands, looking her deeply in the eyes, "- I will try to return."
With a final kiss he left, fastening the jerkin as he made his way to the stables.
In one of the stalls a roan mare regarded him impassively, a large raven perched upon her back, plucking gently at her mane.
At Anearion's entrance the bird flew to the rafters silently, and began to preen.
"Don't get too comfortable, Gaoth. Cyranthir calls."
The ride had been uneventful, the distance to Fort Might short.
Guiding the mare to the top of the hill, where the building perched low and squat, he passed the signs of battle, kicking the mare to a canter as he saw a small group of figures near the fort's entrance.
He had spied his brother's frail form but approached with caution, slowing his mount to a walk and keeping his arms visible and away from his weapons.
Cyranthir stood with a group of three: two males, one of them classically armoured and arrayed- and bearing the blood of a Celestial unless he was mistaken- the other dressed more conventionally but unmistakably a warrior, and a diminutive fair-haired female who lay prone on the ground, his twin kneeling beside her.
"Brother, well met- you look terrible".
"Brother, well met- you look terrible".
Cyranthir gave a half smile of affection towards his brother, but then that bitter glow came to his eyes.
"I might of known you would appear after the fighting, what good are you if not to fight." His venemous tongue working overtime he looked down at the girl and then into the building itself and then back at the girl.
"For Asuryan's sake girl, wake up!" His annoyance and fear showed only to his brother, for he alone knew that Cyranthir would never shout at a girl like that.
Cyranthir eventually stood up and looked at Mattias, the rain didn't seem to hit Cyranthir, it seemed to bend away as for an invisible wall was between him and tyhe outside world.
"Mattias, how do you propose we move the girl?" Cyranthir's voice was full of spite, not aimed at Mattias but himself, he had led her to be like this, him and his stupid experiment, his experiment that might well of cost her, her life, yet had saved them all, the conflict within him would no doubt convey to his brother as both knew each others feelings as it was with all twins in his family.
"I'd say we should just carry her as carefully as possible, then rest just inside Fort Might until she wakes up. This thunderstorm is getting worse." Matthias looked up at the sky. A loud crack of thunder could be heard from less than a mile away.
"For Asuryan's sake girl, wake up!"
She had a pounding headache. Any form of light hurts her eyes, and she almost didn't want to rise from the depths of sleep, but she could hear the urgency in Cyranthir's voice, and she slowly began to awaken. Eyes drooped, a lazy smile crept across her face as she realized she was ok, even if her head throbbed. Her eyes were still sensitive from the sleep, and she groaned as she realized it wasn't just her head that was hurting.
"Cyranthir, where's the wyvern?" she mumbled, her voice thick and dreamy. As the seconds passed, she returned to her fully awake state and stared at Cyranthir, and then Matthais. She smiled at both of them and leaned towards Cyranthir, and reached out to hug him, but fell short, and slumped against him. "Who's that?" she wondered as she stared at the new member in the group. Her curiousity and even-temper changed immediately when she felt the presnce of the fourth male. Reth was back, and as her gaze fell on him, she grabbed a rock and chucked it towards him. She nearly hit his head, but her aim missed by 2 inches. "I should kill you, Reth." she growled, her facial expressions saying more than words ever could. "But at least you came back."
Cyranthir caught Kyla as she fell into him and he softly muttered audible only to her ears.
"You did well child." he then acknowledged her question.
"This, sorry excuse for an elf, that is never around when he is needed most is my brother Anearion." The bitterness in his voice was just as usual as if he had been talking to any of them, well except Kyla, his voice now was always soft when speaking to her or about her.
"but we will do proper introdutions once we get inside, seen as you all appear to be getting wet." It was then that it became very apparant that Cyranthir was still bone dry, except for where he had caught Kyla.
Thus it was that Cyranthir led them into the Fort, but all the while there was a voice in his head, he knew that it was just nonsense and that one of the dark gods was trying to put him off, but it was a voice that was mysterious and sounded almost like a warning.
[i] you will die here, Cyranthir, you will fail and with it, the end of your race shall come[i]
"but we will do proper introdutions once we get inside, seen as you all appear to be getting wet."
"Im all for that" Reth was drenched head to toe and he was getting tired of it. Reth sprinted into the crumbly fort. Past fallen pillars, buildings, and dead skeletons on the ground. The fort was an eerie place, littered with the tell-tale signs of past civilization.
Reth shuddered as he stepped out of the rain and into the shelter of a tent. Reth shook himself so the excess water came off of him. There was a large building not far up ahead, obviously the building they were going too. Reth started making his way out of the shelter of the tent and up the stairs toward the building.
Knowing her mare would be fine to stand where she was tied, Kyla followed Cyranthir farther into the fort, their only sanctuary from the increasingly aggressive storm. Her hair was plastered to her head, slick with water and bit of grass still clinging from the ground she'd been laying on. Mud was plastered to her boots and splattered itself in various places all over her clothing where her body had made contact with the Earth. Feeling dirty and disgusted with herself, she tried to brush the dirt from her clothes and picked the grass from her hair. Her attempt was futile and she gave up almost immediately. "My spare clothing is with my horse, Cyranthir. I can't leave Sica out there in this storm."
Having endured Cyranthir's biting words with a half smile Anearion removed the light tack that dressed his mare, lay a gentle palm on her nose, and murmured quiet words to her. After a moment the mare tossed her head and turned, setting off back down the hill at a gentle canter, unerringly seeking shelter that no doubt would prove superior to that offered by the old fort.
Moving to follow his brother's companions further into the fort the elf stowed the tack under an overhand in a dry corner, before jogging to catch up, coming in at the end of a conversation between his twin and the young female.
"My spare clothing is with my horse, Cyranthir. I can't leave Sica out there in this storm."
"Lady, if I may- horses oft have more sense than we, Cam has already gone to find shelter. She is canny and experienced, with great knowledge of this land- if you send your Sica to her she will keep her safe, probably moreso than here, when even we know not what dangers we face. If we have need of them they will return"
Anearion's words did not fall on deaf ears, she'd heard them, but still feared that her mare would be in danger, or perhaps stolen. She abolished the thought of horse thieves almost immediately,as Sica was a work horse, and the more elegant equines were the first stolen because of speed, not the durability that Sica had been blessed with. She smiled warmly at Anearion, and acknowledged his horse sense with a nod that she agreed. "You're right. I'm sure she will be fine. I just feel terrible leaving her alone like this."
The events that had previously taken their toll on Kyla, and she was still feeling weak. The only rest she'd received since their assignment had been when she'd become weak from the immense amount of magic Cyranthir had commanded her to use. She was about to mention her exhaustion to the others when she noticed that Reth had begun to leave the temporary hiding place. Summoning the strength she couldn't afford to waste, she caught up with Reth, and placed a tired hand on his elbow, applying slight pressure to entice him to face her. "I know I was angry before, but if you have any mercy in your heart at all, please let me rest for few moments." Turning back, hoping Reth would agree to her plea, she made her way to Cyranthir and Anearion. She found it funny that the two men were related, but had very few similarities. Truthfully, she couldn't tell if Anearion cared for her or not, but she'd developed a fondness for Cyranthir and had seen the change in his temperment when he'd had to deal with her. Her shoulders slumped and she sat down. The only thing she'd wished for was sleep. She knew Cyranthir was weak as well and it wouldn't hurt to rest her eyelids for a little while. Soon she could feel sleep beckoning, but fought it in case there was a need to move onward. She would let the group decide whether to continue moving on or not.
Cyranthir noticed the weakness of Kyla he laso noticed that she was very dirty and a state.
'she still looks pretty though'
Cyranthir shook that thought out of his head and glared at Anearion just in case he had been probing his thoughts.
"perhaps," he started, but then realised it would be better to get moving as soon as possible "Kyla, I have enough power to heal you, I will see to that, from there Anearion will keep an eye on me, as he always has." his voice was monotone, no emotion showed and suddenly his hands raised and he spke a few words.
"Sorthai, Eledhwen mellon." as he said the last word he realised he had let his mind wonder again, mellon meant friend.
'stop crying about it, elf, we know you want more than to be friends, but we will kill her before that'
Cyranthir stood back, he had never heard that voice before and his face became as pale as a white sheet and suddenly anger flared up in him and he shouted as if his lungs would burst.
"You lay one hand on her i swear to Asuryan I will destroy you!" Cyranthir looked around as he realised he had shouted, he bowed made an apology and left the tent, he hoped Kyla would follow, he hoped Anearion would follow, in truth he wanted someone to follow, even the arrogant paladin would do.
He stood there, the rain instantly soaking him to the skin now that his magic had been drained to next to nothing and in the back of his head he heard it laughing at him.
'this will be interesting, we've never had to deal with an elf denying his feelings'
the anger swelled inside him and he forced a bond with his magics and despite how little power he had left he forced a tower to collapse, his anger was not relieved and he just felt weak, he collpased to his knees and if anyone had been behind him, they would of heard a quiet sobbing.
[Edited by Mablung_Surion on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:36 AM]
[Edited by Mablung_Surion on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:38 AM]
[Edited by Mablung_Surion on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:39 AM]
Silently Anearion watched is brother, worry in is eyes.
A small frown of concerned disapproval creased his brow as Cyranthir healed the girl: he was too weak already, why would he not let one of the others aid her? Surely someone carried a potion- he himself had some meagre skill with healing, and it might have been enough to keep them all moving.
It was so like his twin, stubbornly ignoring his own welfare.
After shouting he had rushed out of the shelter and into the downpour, and Anearion moved quickly to follow him. A great outpouring of power was felt from the mage, a loud cracking followed by a rumble sounding off to the side at the fall of a tower, and then he fell to his knees.
Anearion rushed to him, drawing his sword as he ran, and going to one knee beside his brother, eyes peering into the storm for a sign of what had caused this reaction.
"I have healing herbs, if they would help you, brother. What is happening?"
[OOC: sorry it's short- don't know what's going on and even if we're supposed to have heard that voice.]
"Sorthai, Eledhwen mellon."
She felt it. Her strngth came back, and her placid attitude was almost immediately replaced with a vigor that she barely recognised, but she loved it. She wanted to thank Cyranthir for his kindness, but he looked as though he were battling something much worse in his head. As she took a step forward to thank him for his sacrifice of strength, she noticed him pale as he screamed a threat to no one at all.
Watching him and Anearion leave the tent, she whirled around to inspect Reth and Mattais. Neither seemed threatening to her, and she felt lost and confused. She burst from the tent and the pouring rain hit her face, stinging and making her wince in pain. Adrenaline and her own nervousness about her situation, forced Kyla's nerves to consume her, and she scared herself as she heard the tower fall. She wasn't paying attention and she nearly fell over Anearion. She counteracted her loss of balance, and stumbled her way around him, crouching in front of Cyranthir. Glancing at Anearion, it was the first time she had noticed his features, and he was undoubtedly handsome. She forced a confused smile at him, not knowing how to help Cyranthir, or even if there was anything she could do at all. She was utterly speechless, unsure of what to say or do, for fear of a negative reaction from the emotionally distressed elf. Kyla did the only thing she felt she could do. She glanced at Anearion and gave Cyranthir a small kiss on the top of his head. Her mother had done that to her when she was upset, and she didn't understand what was wrong, but she hoped that it would help him somehow. She sat back and stared at him, her eyes pleading that something would help him.
((anearion and cyranthir have a bond like identical twins except stronger, at times one can read the others thoughts))
Cyranthir noted the kiss on the forehead, he was thankful for it, but he could not get that laughinf out of his head, what would do this to him. He looked up, the tears clinging to his strained face and he looked deep into Kyla's eyes.
'you like her don't you!'
the voice snapped, Cyranthir grew pale and he almost seemed to beg to the world at large.
"Please don't i will do anything." His voice was cold and for the first time in his life it was scared, he was powerless to stop this, with no magic left in him and no physical strength he could barely keep himself up let alone battle asuryan knew what.
'the object you will be searching for, you will give it to us, when you have the item we will tell you where... if you fail she will die!"
Cyranthir looked into Kyla's eyes again, she seemed lost and innocent, he had somehow got her involved, but he knew deep down that he would not tolerate this, soon, when his power was back, he would make them wish they had never heard of either himself or Kyla.
"I shall do as you say." It must of seemed weird to both Kyla and his brother, to see him talk to himself, but now he looked at his brother.
"I shall need a superior mana potion if you have one oh brother of mine." He looked at Kyla, he wanted to say something spiteful to push her away, instead he just looked at her and spoke softly.
"If you ask it of me, I shall tell you what is wrong."
"Brother, we will move shortly into the fort proper, we are searching for an item, an item of power."
Matthias walked over to Cyranthir. "Excuse me, but you look injured, and I believe I can help." He held up his hands, which glowed with holy power, and laid them on Cyranthir's shoulders. Healing energy flowed through the elf, and he could feel the pain begin to go away.
"Please, tell me what's wrong. Perhaps I can help." She backed away from Cyranthir enough so Matthais could heal him. She was not going to stand in the way of anyone who had the potential to save Cyranthir. She felt helpless and pathetic, knowing there was essentially nothing she could do. She just stayed there, studying Cyranthir and his brother. Anearion's features were more pronounced, and a lot more striking than his brother's were, and the rain only accentuated them. A chill crept up her spine and she wasn't sure if it was the uneasy feelings she had because of Cyranthir's actions, or the rain, but she knew she'd be better off if the kept moving. She rose to her feet and extended her hand to Cyranthir. "We'd better get you moving. NO need for you to be upset and ill at the same time."
((anearion and cyranthir have a bond like identical twins except stronger, at times one can read the others thoughts))
Yes, but...? The voice is in Cyranthir's head and Anearion can therefore hear it? I'm not sure what specific thing you're referring to]
She rose to her feet and extended her hand to Cyranthir. "We'd better get you moving. NO need for you to be upset and ill at the same time."
"I agree. Sitting in the rain will do little to help you recover your strength, although this might- in a way your paladin friend cannot" nodding a thanks to Matthias and smiling knowingly he removed a small vial from a small pouch on his belt.
"Mana potion, as ordered. Always prepared, that's me".
The smile hid the worry he felt, at least from these new associates of his twin. Cyranthir's behaviour seemed odd, erratic, sufficiently so to concern the ranger.
Standing, he ran a hand through his wet hair to push it back from his face, and scanned the area immediately around them with eyes dark from the storm.
"It has been my experience that 'Items of Power' don't often tend to be [i]unguarded[/i] Items of Power, so I suggest we get inside, find some securable shelter where those who need it-" he glanced meaningfully at Cyranthir, his tone almost scolding, "-can rest long enough to recover before searching for this item.
"It will do us no good to encounter enemies while exhausted".
Reth was leaning against a wall of a fallen building, the rain comming down on him. Reth really didn't mind the rain any more since it would be impossible to get dry afterwards.
His other party members were sitting in the rain having conversation and healing. Reth stood, eyes intent on the building. It seemed to have an aura that drawed him towards it. It [i]Wanted[/i] Reth to enter alone.
But Reth knew better than anyone that to enter an old building like that alone was suicidal.
Reth was also confused about Tarath. Tarath wasn't the kind of guy that took defeat easily. Reth knew that he would be back soon, but would be more stealthy than last time.
[i] Maybe this whole job is a trap to kill us?[/i]
It was a possibility, but highly unlikely, but a possibility. Reth waited patiently for his companions to come with him into the building.
(OOC: Alright seriously, can we please get into the building? You have spent more than needed time sitting down going "Oh no let me heal you" "oh no i insist, I shall for all of you".)
She left them stand in the rain and shuffled up to Reth. A deep sigh escaped her lips, and she rested her head on the wall that Reth leaned on, and watched the others stand and prepare to enter. "Look, Reth, I'm sorry for before...," she started and then cut her words off. She had nothing to say. She pushed her soaked hair off her face and wrung the water from it, though it didn't help. She fished around in her small leather pouch and rummaged through the coins until she found a piece of leather to tie her hair back. It felt good to get her heavy hair away from her neck. Feeling more comfortable, she aimlessly kicked a stone at her feet and watched the others approach.
(OOC: Don't get cranky Wedgie...you were the one who went scurrying off on some wild subplot, not us. You can just keep your panties on and be patient!)
(OOC: Im sorry, yesterday i was pissed off about a bunch of RL shit. So sorry if you were offended)
"Look, Reth, I'm sorry for before...,"
"Look, its ok, you helped me and for that i thank you."
Reth shuffled his feet, looking back at the building. He used the falling rain to slick back his hair.
"That was pretty amazing, that thing you did to the wyvern"
((ooc: no he can't hear the voice, but when it speaks, he can sense a coldness and shadow envelope Cyranthir's mind))
Cyranthir pulled himself up, though the healing and the potion had worked, it was that voice, it still had him and he was not yet ready to challenege what he thought was a god.
"Kyla I...." Cyranthir started but then looked at the others, there was no need for more to know, Anearion would know he had feelings for her, he couldn't hide that from him, damn it all.
"We will speak when we next rest."
He leant heavily on his staff luckily for him he did not wear armour, otherwise he may not be stood up, even the light armour that his kin made would of dragged him down.
hearnig Reth talk to Kyla, his eyes flared for a second, but it was not him that did it, he felt that shadow come over him, the second time his eyes flared was him it was his anger at being controlled, but this time there was no laughing, instead the voices seeemed worried, were they really no match for him at full strength.
Cyranthir walked up to the nearest door that he had not destroyed in his anger, it was a building and if his history lore served him it was the armoury. He banged his staff heavily on the door. And with it the door opened and thus did their adventure into the Fort truly begin.
"Shall we begin then." Cyranthir heavil leaning on his staff entered first and lightly tapped his staff on the floor to produce a light in the dark dank armoury.
"Be careful, there are more fouler things than orcs in the dark places of the world."
Matthias followed Cyranthir into the fort. "Hold up. Something seems... wrong... about this place." After shaking the feeling, he seemed to pause for a minute as he heard what sounded like footsteps. Soon, several skeletons could be seen around the corner. "Undead!" Matthias cried as they charged at the party.
Reth was startled by the sudden appearance of undead skeletons. He acted quickly and drew his Katana. 2 Skeletons charged at Reth with large Scimitars raised. They both struck in the same place so Reth parried with one strike.
Reth spun around and cut one across the back. It lurched forward but quickly recovered and came at Reth.
After a short duel Reth cut off both of their heads. Yet they kept on fighting!
"How do you kill these monsters?!"
Cyranthir's eyes blazed with fury as the skeletons arrpocahed him and the group.
"I will not be stopped by minions!" He yelled as he aimed his staff at a small group of them, as he pointed it all them were sent flying into a wall, smashing the bones entirely.
Cyranthir looked to reth who had shouted, and as he looked at both skeletons they burst into the flames, as he did this though he hurd a sickening noise, as he turned back to his orginal view he saw that the bones were no longer smashed and were in fact building themselves back up.
"In the name of Asuryan!" He exclaimed as he quickly thought through all the spells in his knowledge and the pell he knew he looked at the skeletons and started to mutter, the words of power for ultima, the most ultimate magic but something that no elf had ever been allowed to do, something that surely his brother would never allow him to do
She stared in horror as the skeletons rushed towards them. Cyranthir broke the fragile bodies to bits against then wall, and she watched them rebuild themselves. These were the type of villians that her father had never told her truly existed, her family believed they had been simply fairy tales used to scare young ones. [i] I knew they were real![/i]
Cyranthir muttered incoherently and she watched as the bones began to reconstruct. She fired a few power balls at them, knowing it would basically do no good, but would at least keep the bones from rising again. " Reth, whatever you do, don't let them get up!" she screamed.
Matthias held up his hands as the skeletons charged at them, attempting to turn them with holy power. "Why... isn't... it... [b]working?[/b]" he said, straining to keep them back. Realizing that it was hopeless, he drew his sword and hacked one to pieces. He watched in horror as it reassembled itself and got back up unscathed.
(OOC: Just so you know, I never meant for them to be this tough. I was just trying to show that there were undead guarding the fort.)
Kyla's eyes lit up as she had a brilliant idea. Magic wouldn't destroy them, and neither would brute strength. She noticed that every time they had broken to pieces, the skull never detached from the back bone. "Decapitate them!" she whispered. She knocked one that had crept its way towards her back with a power ball and she dashed forward and turned the head, breaking the neck, and removing the skull. The skeleton's body fell limp and stopped moving. She looked up, thrilled that her purely insane idea had actually worked. A grin captured her face and she nearly lost her bearing with her excited giggling. "Off with their heads!" she yelled.
Matthias noticed how one of the skeletons had stopped moving after Kyla removed the head. Turning to the skeleton he was currently engaging, he drove his sword through the neck, breaking the skull off. It fell into pieces, clattering as it hit the ground. "Kyla, you're a genius!" he yelled. He then proceeded to decapitate several more skeletons.
Anearion's lips had tightened at the sight of the undead, their existence abhorrent to him.
In lieu of his sword he had unclipped a small mace from his belt and darted forward slashing quickly at one while remaining within range of his brother.
In disgust he watched as several of the fragmented skeletons drew themselves back together, a low whistle of annoyance escaping through his clenched teeth.
Trying to recall all he knew of undead, typical or otherwise, he was distracted by a sudden surge of strength in Cyranthir's thoughts. Wheeling he turned to him, eyes bright with anger, and placing a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Hold brother", his voice was low and tight, disapproval clearly evident in his face.
"Our straights are not yet so dire that you must contemplate the forbidden".
[i]What has happened that you would turn so quickly to such awful extremes?[/i]
"Let us exhaust less [i]drastic[/i] means before you set down that darkest path".
Turning back to face the exchange he savagely smashed the nearest undead to pieces, kicking several of the bones far across the way in frustration and the hopes of gaining a little time.
Kyla exclaimed suddenly, glee in her voice, and he looked to see the creature she had decapitated remain so.
"So your latest love isn't just a pretty face, then". The comment had been low enough that none of the others would have heard, and accompanied by a wink, but laced with a meaningful undercurrent of admonishment.
That his twin would even think of casting such magic when they had not yet tried all unsettled him, but he tried to smother the thought as he engaged with two of the remaining skeletons, dancing back from the stiff attack of one before sliding forward quickly, taking its head from its sharp shoulders with a swift swing of his mace to the base of its skull. Not giving the other a chance to reposition itself he barreled to the side, driving into it with his shoulder to unbalance it, knocking a grasping hand away before landing the mace with a satisfying crunch to the top of the skull, before a second sideways blow swept it from the crushed vertebrae.
Reth heard Kyla shout, the heads never did reatach themselves. He stepped forward to another one that was standing there. He cut off it's head in a briliant swing. Sure enough, the head didn't attach itself again, basically it was dead.
[i] Brilliant![/i]
Reth looked around the room to find his next opponent. There were three other skeletons with light armor and basic broadswords. Reth casually steped forward and launched an flurry of sword swings. Reth parried two with one parry and slammed the swords into a wall, sending a shower of sparks on them.
Reth then put his foot up and kicked on of them down, the force of his kick combined with the frailness of bones destroyed the skeleton. However, this prompted him to begin rebuilding himself.
Reth moved quickly and cut the hand off of the other skeleton, the sword dropped to the floor. Reth spun gracefully around until the third was disarmed. Continueing his spin, Reth stopped his spin so he was facing the opposite direction and then let his sword arm continue.
There was a sickening sound that occured as Reth's blade slid through all of the skeletons heads. Reth surveyed the room, there didn't seem to be any more.
"Is that all of them?"
Still giddy from her recent luck, she smiled wider than she had before, strutting proudly. "That was brilliant!" she screeched, barely able to contain herself. She glanced around the room, and seeing none, continued her celebration. She was so thrilled, she danced around each member of her party, proceeding to hug every one of them. "I slaughtered the undead!" she exclaimed, still feeling undefeated. Her victory with the skeletons was more exciting than the wyvern. It made her believe she could do just about anything.
She readjusted her hair, tying it back to keep it off the back of her neck and away from her face. She dusted the fresh dirt from her clothes, only smearing it worse across her clothes. It dawned on her that she must have looked ridiculous dancing around like a princess, when she was dirty and haggard. Blushing a little, her senses came back and she looked at Anearion. He had only just met her, and so far, he'd seen her at two of her weakest points- when she'd been unconscious, and when she had her private victory celebration. Dropping her gaze to her muddy boots, she whispered, "I'm ready to move on.'
Cyranthir leant on his staff and watched as Kyla blushed at Anearion, what he had almost done, if they ever learnt, even Anearion did not know why that spell was forbidden, balefire they had once called it, once a long time ago.
Cyranthir looked more strained than usual but he forced a smile, though bitter and slightly twisted.
"Shall we continue." He was blunt and to the point, but just as he started to wlak forward, he spoke again like a teacher.
"Kyla, come here, it is time a taught you the magics i promised i would," His mout twitched as he suddenly had a thought, an ancient piece of lore, something that resided in the depth of Fort Might.
"Brother if i say Von Carstein, does it mean anything to you, in fact does it mean anything to any of you?"
He moved on, not wating for an answer or for Kyla to come to him
Eventually, the party had reached the bottom of the fort. The wall at the end of the passageway looked at least two hundred years older than the rest of the fort, and had a small square indentation the exact size and shape of the stone the old man had given the party.
"Hmmm... this looks like the spot." said Matthias. He pulled out the stone with the symbol of a ten pointed star inside a circle and pressed it into the hole in the wall. The sound of stone grinding on stone appeared, and the wall began to move, revealing a secret passageway. Inside were enormous piles of gold coins, along with weapons and armor of the finest craftsmanship. Some of the items seemed to have no usefulness to an adventurer at the first glance, such as jewelry, clothing, and other miscellaneous items, but radiated strong magic that could be felt by those nearby. The entire chamber was filled with this magic energy, which was somewhat disorienting at first.
Atfer coming to his senses, Matthias said, "So this is what he meant when he said 'you can keep anything else you find in the vaults'. Well, we'd better get moving."
"Kyla, come here, it is time a taught you the magics i promised i would," His mout twitched as he suddenly had a thought, an ancient piece of lore, something that resided in the depth of Fort Might.
"Brother if i say Von Carstein, does it mean anything to you, in fact does it mean anything to any of you?"
He moved on, not wating for an answer or for Kyla to come to him
She shook her head. Her family had kept her from learning lore and hearing fairy tales. They believed it created dreams and imaginations that could distract one from a purpose in life. Despite their best efforts, Kyla was constantly distracted. She continued to stare at Cyranthir, until she heard a grating sound coming from behind him. She looked past him, and saw Matthais standing in a doorway that slowly opened.
Her eys grew huge as she saw the glitter and fortune that lay in the room. She envied the people that wore the armour and fine clothing and wished that she could own it herself.
Atfer coming to his senses, Matthias said, "So this is what he meant when he said 'you can keep anything else you find in the vaults'. Well, we'd better get moving."
She looked at the others, and was about to step forward to explore the riches, when she felt the magic energy surging from the room, and it rattled her. She didn't feel comfortable walking into a magical trap, and she looked to Cyranthir to watch his reaction, suddenly ashamed of how greedy her thoughts had been. She walked up behind Matthais and waited for him to move forward. "After you."
The whole party stood there transfixed. The site beyond comprehension of a simple mind at first glance.
"After you."
"Dont mind if I do" Reth said as he walked forward. The simple piles of gold and jems didn't interest Reth as much as the armor and weaponry. Reth walked up to a suit of armor that was holding a two-handed sword straight down.
After much struggle to free the blade from the armor's grasp, Reth unsheathed it and looked at a magnificent blade. The hilt was encrusted with gold, jems, and other priceless artifacts. The pommel was home to a very large ruby that seemed to glow.
However, there are two types of swords, for show and for war. Most swords that looked like this were usually a ceremonial sword that couldn't and shouldn't see combat. Reth held the sword upward and swung it through the air. The sword felt weightless in his hands, amazing!
Reth picked up a diamond off the floor and ran it along the edge of the blade. The Blade didn't dull at all! It was a wonderfully crafted sword. Unfortunatly two-handed swords were not Reth's style. Reth tossed the sword on the ground.
There was a loud Clang. Reth looked around "Sorry"
Reth looked around the room slowly looking for something that was better appealing. Then he saw it, hanging on the wall. There was two sheaths, one big and one small, and jutting out of them were the unmistakable hilt of a Katana and Wakazashi. Reth walked over to it and took it off of its hook on the wall.
The Belt that held them was simple leather. The hilts were matching red cloth with gold at the top. Reth took off his belt holding his own swords and placed it on the ground. He replaced it with the new belt. It fit perfectly and Reth instantly loved it. He drew the two blades and looked at them. The hilts were the same as the sheath's, red cloth with gold. The hand guard was made of a hard metal that would not be scratched by the diamond, it was the same with the blades themselves. The blades seemed to have an ancient text inscribed on them, it was nothing like Reth had ever seen. When swung through the air, the blades also seemed weightless. Reth slid them back in his sheaths and put his old swords back where he found the new ones.
Looking around the room, he held up the swords and said to everyone "These are mine." He then went off looking for more appealing things.
Cyranthir stood, he looked at the room, he raised his head and glided forward his face expresionless, but once he got to the door way he stopped suddenly.
"Now i see why he sent us." Cyranthir mumbled to himself, he then turned to Kyla
"Your studies will have to wait for now, do not be afraid of what i am about to do." Cyranthir appeared only to blink, but For both himself and Kyla both would note what he was doing, he was blocking both of their gifts of magic.
"I am sorry i do this, but if either of us enter there being able to use magic....." He stopped, a crack of fear had entered his voice, not enoigh for someone not intetly listening to hear, but Anearion may well of done and if Kyla was paying attention she too would of heard. He did not speak more of it, if they entered and could cast magic, they would be corrupted. The room was bursting with pure magic, something even Cyranthir could not channel for long.
Even once he could not channel magic he still refused enter.
"You may all enter, but i will wait here." Cyranthir had to think could he truly trust Kyla, he hoped so, the plan to save her required him to.
"So you have revealed your plan Von Carstein." he mumbled to himself, barely audible.
"What is this item of power, that the girl would be threatened....." he realised that he was mumbling and stopped, so much had happened, he was so unsure of himself, he had not been unsure of himself since he had been an archmage, what had made this happen hel looked at Kyla
'You grew soft.' he thought to himself.
"You may all enter, but i will wait here."
"Very well." said Matthias. He walked down the chamber when something caught his eye. It was a longsword, hanging on the wall. He walked over, picked it up, and drew it. Closer inspection revealed that it was made of a shiny gray metal with golden trim, rubies on the hilt, and a dragon motif. [i]That looks like cold iron...[/i] thought Matthias. He could feel it radiating strong Holy magic. [i]Could it be?[/i] After examining it for a minute, he sheathed it and strapped it around his waist, replacing his old sword. He hurried to rejoin the others.
"Well, if I remember correctly, the man said that the pouch would have the star symbol on it." Then, the party(except Cyranthir) stumbled across a small wooden table, highly unusual in a place like this, as it was the only non-valuable object in the entire chamber. On it was a small leather pouch with the symbol of the ten pointed star inside a circle, just as the old man had described it. Matthias picked it up and examined it. "It's a deck of cards. I don't get it." The pouch was emanating extremely strong magic from within, perhaps stronger than anything else in the room. If only they knew what it did...
Matthias pushed the thought from his mind. He knew it was dangerous to screw with artifacts like that, especially the inconspicuous ones. "Well, we found what we were looking for, so I say we get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this place."
Cyranthir waited patiently, after deciding not to enter the room himself he had destroyed the block between him and his gift of magic. He was in a train of thought, it was so unusual for him to be so unsure, on one hand he could guess who the mysterious man was and he didn't want him to have the item of power, but nor would he give in to threats.
'You may not have a choice.' A voice inside his head spoke, it had seemed that once his power had come back, the other voices has ran off, perhaps they truly did fear him. Or then again perhaps they were giving him room. He leant on his staff and closed his eyes, picturing the fort, his eyes suddenly snapped back open he turned towards the entrance, they had to leave as soon as possible.
"You said it," He told himself "You warned them of fouler things." He readied staff and sword and waited the group, they would have to leave as quick as they could.
She was transfixed. That puny looking deck of cards was what they were searching for. The idea, not to mention, the item seemed ridiculous. She glanced around the room, staring at various shinig objects that caught her eye. She looked back towards the doorway. Cyranthir had cut off her magic, and he was talking to himself again. He meant well, but she questioned his sanity. She strolled behind everyone else, in awe of the luxury that could be hers for the taking and she spotted it. It was practically unnoticeable in amongst the glimmering gold, but she picked it up. It was a small ring, probably the only silver piece in the entire room, and she placed it on her ring finger. Admiring its brilliance, she stared at the black stone in the center, surrounded by garnets and diamonds. It truly took her breath away. Though she had an uneasy feeling about removing anything from the room, she felt she couldn't pass it up. Everyone else had removed an article and replaced it with their own and less spectacular items. She held her hand out in front of her, and walked from the room. She nearly ran into Cyranthir, who was acting as if there was something lurking dangerously around them.
"Do you think it's ok to keep it?" she asked, nearly pleading that he say yes. Kyla knew he would be wiser than she about whether the ring was safe to keep. She wanted it, and pretty riches were nothing she could afford, much less feel worthy to wear, but maybe if this ring had some sort of useful significance, she could entice Cyranthir into saying it was safe. Her powers came back to her once she approached Cyranthir, and she immediatley felt more at ease. At least she wouldn't be entirely defenseless should something happened.
Matthias walked up to Cyranthir. "Well, we found it." He held out the pouch. "It was a deck of cards. I don't know how, but this thing seems more powerful than it looks."
Cyranthir looked at both Marrhias and Kyla, he appeared serene and calm, yet in his eyes was a glint of something, a glint of unease.
"I know both these items...." He looked down another corridor, just by looking at it he could feel the shadow that was coming closer.
"But I suggest we leave now and i explain all later," for a split second he hesitated, pointed his staff at the corridor and made a wall of fire in front of the corridor.
"That won't hold whatever it is i sense, now let us get out of here!" Without waiting for anyone he sheathed his sword and quickly glided out of the room, not as though he feared what was coming but as though he had chosen to leave at this time.
For a while he thought as he glided out of the room, in terms of elven magic, males could not teach females, yet he had done that already in a way, perhaps he would merely have to describe what to do in ordr for her to use elven magic. Shaking that thought out of his head he tried to remember something about rings of power.
Anearion prowled the room restlessly, eyes alighting with interest on several objects; but he had seen enough of magic in his time, and what happened to those ignorant of its ways, to resist picking any item up.
Besides, he was accustomed to his gear, familiar with its feel: it was more than sufficient to fulfill its varied purpose, and he disliked relying on enchantment.
Strolling lazily from the room he drew nearer to where Cyranthir stood with the paladin, and his pretty young magic user. For him to take such an interest in her was indicative of great talent, enough to overcome his customary antipathy- and his dislike of the kind of amusingly giddy behaviour she had displayed earlier..
[i]But will she be consumed by his fire- or her own?[/i]
He was well acquainted with the perils of using arcane power, and not altogether approving of it.
In the interim before they departed the vault is mind wandered back to the name his brother had mentioned earlier: Von Carstein. Maddeningly vague memories stirred. He had been a human, the elf was fairly certain, a tyrant of some kind, with some connection to necromancy: beyond that, he could remember little.
[i]Does Cyranthir recognise his mark here? Is he connected to their quest somehow?[/i]
Matthias put the deck away and turned to the wall of fire Cyranthir had just made. "I think Cyranthir is right. I'm sensing extremely large concentrations of evil in there." He noticed something moving behind the flames. "We have to get out of here!" he said, grabbing Kyla's hand as he followed Cyranthir.
Matthais pulled her behind him, and her feet striking the ground hard with every step. She nearly fell on her face trying to keep up with him. She glanced behind them every so often, trying to see what it was Cyranthir had seen, but she never saw anything. Her hair coming loose from its tie covered her eyes when she looked back, and her vision was blocked. Seeing the entrance to the fort, she sped up, her feet moving much faster than she thought possible. She felt safer, more at ease now that they had the exit in eye sight.
(OOC: Sorry its so short, but I didn't know what else to write, and i have no idea what exactly we are running from.)
Cyranthir felt his wall of fire disappear and he stopped dead, he turned back the way they came and stood, a great pain in his eyes.
"Get out all of you, swords will be no use here!" He had known what was coming, he had sensed it, but now he could see it, a zombie dragon, they were as big as normal dragons yet there flesh was decayed and their very sight was enough to make even the most brave of elves think twice.
"Back spawn of Von Carstein!" once again Cyranthir summoned a wall of fire, he really had no choice in the matter, there were so few spells he could use to hurt this thing. At least the wall kept it back long enough for Cyranthir to speak.
"It looks like I won't be teaching you anything Kyla my dear.... promise me you will live a long and full life if i die here."
Once again he looked to his wall of fire and it disappeared, he pointed his staff at the dragon and sent a shockwave at it. The result was minimal and Cyranthir's shoulder's lowered. as he started to move backwards
He started to wonder to himself just how much power he could channel safely, was it enough, he knew that ultima could do it, but it was forbidden it left a choice that in all likely hood would do little other than give them a small chance of escape had they not already run.
"It looks like I won't be teaching you anything Kyla my dear.... promise me you will live a long and full life if i die here."
She jerked her arm out of Matthais' grasp. A look of terror washed over her face. She looked at the dragon, it's stench of decay permeating through the air. "I'm not leaving you here to die!" she screamed at him, not because she wanted to die herself, but in hopes that by putting her own safety at bay, he would follow them. Her stomach churned in disgust at the sight of the beast's rotting flesh. Every instinct in her body told her to run, but she couldn't. Her feet had a mind of their own, and they planted themselves in a defensive stance, about four feet beside Cyranthir. She made a silent plea that the others follow her lead and stand by Cyranthir. [i] So this is why we were sent to retrieve a deck of cards. Death by death in dragon form. No one else would be stupid enough to embark on a suicide mission like this! [/i] A smirk crossed her face as she thought about how Cyranthir believed her to be foolish. That was proving very true.
"Is there something in that deck to stop this thing!?" she screamed at Cyranthir, nearly hysterical. She knew they were not supposed to open the deck of cards, but if it meant saving their lives, she was ready to try anything.
Cyranthir's heart was moved by her mastry of her fear, but his mind raged.
"When i say run, run!" although he was angry he could bring himself to add bitterness to his words, not to her, it was more a plea than an order.
"I am going to bring the fort down on it, if i get one thing wrong it will come down on us too.... please go!" Cyranthir looked at the zombie dragon again, its hollow eyes store blankly at Cyranthir and then its head went back.
"No!" Cyranthir thrusted his staff forwards and a shield of light envelpoed him and Kyla as the poisned cloud came towards them and merely struck the shield.
"Please run Kyla... I..... if anything was to happen...... Just run Asuryan damn it, I will survive don't worry."
Cyranthir readied himself and bits of the fort started to shake as he started muttering the words of power tha were needed.
She covered her face as the dragon's deadly breath hit the shield Cyranthir had conjured to protect them. The fort shook around them and she trembled. Tears streamed down her face as she realized Cyranthir was right. She needed to leave him behind. She moved to his side, and heard his muttering. She grabbed his hand and shoved the ring she'd found in the chamber into his palm, closing it into a tight fist. Wiping her tears, she turned away from him, and towards the monster. She hesitated for a moment, and stared at the beast's dark eyes. Looking back at Cyranthir, who was completely absorbed in his spell, she took a deep breath, and ran.
She didn't run far though. Curiousity and fear paired with adrenaline and concern forced her to stay, and she found a place to hide behind a dense patch of trees and bushes. She ducked down and found a bare spot that she could still peer through the bushes and watch.
[Edited by Deliria on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 1:35 PM]
Realizing that there was nothing he could do for Cyranthir, Matthias followed Kyla out of the fort. [i]I just wish there was something I could do...[/i]
"Is there something in that deck to stop this thing!?"
"Of course! It has to be worth a try!" He pulled out the deck and drew a card from it. On the card was a picture of a crescent moon. Suddenly, a voice boomed out from around them.
[b]"What is your wish?"[/b]
Knowing there was little time left, Matthias said, "I wish that the dragon was destroyed and Cyranthir was safe."
[b]"It is done."[/b] the voice said as it seemed to disappear.
Matthias drew his sword and waited for something to happen.
Cyranthir stood looking at the zombie dragon. There was no fear in Cyranthir's eyes, he knew that this was his time, but he would make sure that this abomination of a noble dragon would not follow the others.
Pointing hand and staff to the walls and ceiling, Cyranthir moved his hands and the walls started to move, the ceiling started to give way, and slowly but surely the entire room began to collapse on the dragon. For a while Cyranthir was able to keep it from collapsing on him too, then with sudden realisation of its impending doom it blasted another poison cloud at Cyranthir, this made him bring up a light shield again, but with that the whole room started to collapased on top of him and the dragon.
from the outside thw whole fort appeared to collapse and it looked like nothing would of survived it, for where once were towers and stone walls there was nothing, Cyranthir had brought down the whole fort on top of himself and the zombie dragon.
Cyranthir only saw blackness, he was under the rubble, yet not a stone lay on him, somehow a protective bubble had enveloped him and saved him.
"how am I still alive?" He had thought he was only speaking to himself.
"You friends wished it, if you crawl forward you wil find a gap."
Cyranthir didn't think anything of the voice, he was High Elf, they were used to hearing the words of mystical beings, what he was bothered about was crawling but, he forced himself anyway.
Cyranthir managed to pull himself out of the rubble, he was battered and bruised and dirty, not to mention exhausted. then the darkness that had been slowly seeping into him became apparant and he scanned where it came from. He opnened his hand to reveal the ring that Kyla had given him, he could not be sure, but for him it was dangerous, he would return it to her at first oppurtuity as he forced himself to move.
[Edited by Mablung_Surion on Thursday, July 5, 2007 7:16 AM]
"It worked!" said Matthias, sheathing his sword. "I can't believe I didn't recognize this thing before! It's a deck of many things, an artifact with powerful magic bound into the cards, affecting anyone who draws them. Good thing I drew that card, as opposed to something horrible."
"Yes, a good thing indeed".
Anearion scowled absently as he watched the dust-spewing rubble in dismay.
He had known there was no point in arguing with Cyranthir- and hadn't wanted to prove a distraction to him- and so had run with the rest.
Closing his eyes he tried to ignore the chaos around him, concentrating instead on his brother.
[i]He's alive... but where?[/i]
Before the rumbling had stopped he had dashed forward, sharp eyes seeing movement in the debris.
"Hold still a moment".
Quickly checking his twin over he was relieved to find no serious injuries, despite his dire appearance.
"Well... now you look even worse than before. This is the look that gets the ladies now, is it?". Grinning in relief he went to help Cyranthir slowly to his feet.
"Thank you brother," For a while it appeared that Cyranthir was changed his modd was caring and glad. "Now unhand me, i need no help to get up!" He snapped, invisible venomous words sprung out in between those words as he looked at the group.
"Someone used those cards of power, who did it!" He commanded, his voice was raw and powerful his eyes full of fury, not even his brother had seen him like this.
"There is a reason we do not use items of power!" Secretly he wanted to say there was a reason why they had been stored in Fort Might.
Suddenly his nager fell from him and he sighed as he spoke again.
"What's done is done, let us discuss what we do with these cards," For a moment a little chuckle appeared in his head, it was those voices again.
'brother.... i need those cards.' he set up the mind link between them 'if i don't give them to someone she dies.' he almost seemed to give up while mind speaking, yet on the outside he stood proud and regally, even as he was he could of challeneged any king in their court
[i]Well done little mage[/i] the voices had returned, this time Cyranthir was ready.
"Someone used those cards of power, who did it!"
"It was me." said Matthias. "I would like to point out that if I hadn't used them, you would be dead." Suddenly, he remembered something.
"Didn't you mention Von Carstein earlier? The name sounds vaguely familiar. Some sort of powerful demon, I think. What do you know of him?"
Reth stared at the deck of cards. They were all powerful and could grant anyone their wildest wishes.
[i] The power to give Tarath the slow death he deserves [/i]
But no, anything this powerful is sure to corrupt.
[i] I'd rather kill him on my own anyway [/i]
Which raises another question. Why would the man that hired them want this? Any normal man would see the piles of riches and instantly want that. A normal man would see a simple table and pouch and ignore it. If he bothered to see into the pouch and saw a deck of cards they would pass it off as nothing.
[i] The man wanted this, which means he knew what it was, which isn't good [/i]
"I don't know who Von Carstein is but I don't think we should give the cards back to the man"
"I don't know who Von Carstein is but I don't think we should give the cards back to the man"
"You're right, I don't trust him." said Matthias. "Why does he want it, anyway? A deck of many things is just as likely to harm as it is to help. You could wind up dead, or imprisoned, or worse, if you draw the wrong card. Who could possibly want it that much?"
She had watched Cyranthir's near encounter with death, and she winced at the fact he had nearly been crushed with the dragon that he had been defending them from. He stood before them, regal in his presence, but she felt as if there was unsure tension in the group, most of it radiating from Cyranthir.
"I don't know who Von Carstein is but I don't think we should give the cards back to the man"
"You're right, I don't trust him." said Matthias. "Why does he want it, anyway? A deck of many things is just as likely to harm as it is to help. You could wind up dead, or imprisoned, or worse, if you draw the wrong card. Who could possibly want it that much?"
"You fools." she uttered darkly, more of a breath then an audible comment. She lowered her head. "You don't seem to understand the severity of our situation. We were sent to our death. Someone doubted we'd make it out of the fort alive. Did you not see what just happened? And that," she gestured to the fallen fort and Cyranthir's dead dragon, "is just the beginning. It can only get worse from here."
She looked at Cyranthir, locking her gaze, and continued speaking. "You said Von Carstein is involved, so the best bet would be to dispose of those cards and quickly. That gentleman that hired us wants them, and if he wants them badly enough, there will be hell to pay if someone does not return to him. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to send word of our 'death' in Fort Might. From there, we can dispose of the cards as we see fit."
She shocked herself at the seriousness of her tone. "Cyranthir, you still have my ring, right? What will it do?"
"Cyranthir, you still have my ring, right? What will it do?"
For a moment Cyranthir felt like lieing and telling her he had lost it, but he son battled that he would not fall victim to it.
"My people call it the black ring," He let out a heavy sigh "Of all the rings made during the sundering this was the worst, it could force someone over to serve the dark One himself." he immediatly dropped it on the floor. He then turned to mattias.
"Did you think i did not realsie I would die?" Cyranthir was not mad anymore merely preoccupied Von carstein was a threat "I was giving my life so that Ky...... so that you would all live, never again use them had you drawn the wrong card......."
"You said Von Carstein is involved, so the best bet would be to dispose of those cards and quickly. That gentleman that hired us wants them, and if he wants them badly enough, there will be hell to pay if someone does not return to him. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to send word of our 'death' in Fort Might. From there, we can dispose of the cards as we see fit."
Cyranthir thought for a minute he then looked towards the Fort and for the shortest of seconds Cyranthir looked concerned until he regained his neutralness.
"I fear the man who hired us was Von Carstein, we may have no choice but to return the cards..... There is another way though, a more dangerous way." Cyranthir spoke calmly and quietly It may of been obvious to people who cared about him he was worried, but for his brother it radiated, Cyranthir for the first ever time in his life was scared.
For a moment Cyranthir felt like lieing and telling her he had lost it, but he son battled that he would not fall victim to it.
"My people call it the black ring," He let out a heavy sigh "Of all the rings made during the sundering this was the worst, it could force someone over to serve the dark One himself." he immediatly dropped it on the floor.
The ring bounced as it hit, and skimmed its way to her feet. It hit the toe of her boot, and its glittering odd beauty provoked her to pick it up. Hoping cyranthir was clearly to distracted to watch her, she stooped down and cupped the ring in her hand. She placed it in her pouch, and made a silent vow to find a use or destroy the ring later. At least in her hands, no one could use it against them.
"Did you think i did not realsie I would die?" Cyranthir was not mad anymore merely preoccupied Von carstein was a threat "I was giving my life so that Ky...... so that you would all live, never again use them had you drawn the wrong card......."
"I fear the man who hired us was Von Carstein, we may have no choice but to return the cards..... There is another way though, a more dangerous way." Cyranthir spoke calmly and quietly It may of been obvious to people who cared about him he was worried, but for his brother it radiated, Cyranthir for the first ever time in his life was scared.
Kyla heard Cyranthir almost utter her name. She also saw the concern he had for their current situation. "Cyranthir, now is not the time for one to keep secrets. Tell us everything you know, and tell us what we're up against."
For a moment Cyranthir looked at Kyla, was the ring already having an effect, afterall it was only her that could of removed it from the floor.
"I fear we may be caught up in an on going battle between the forces of Chaos and the leader of the undead." Cyranthir looked at them all.
"I cannot begin to explain to you this war," He raised his staff "instead i will show you."
[i] The Group found themselves outside the fort in all its glory, yet it was under a siege, on one side was the armies of Chaos on another side was the undead armies of Von Carstein, within the fort was the worried and grim men.
"The reason they fight is for those cards" Cyranthir spoke. As the undead army and Choas army struck it was obvious that the men would wait. Neither chaos or the undead would give a quater, necromancers summon skeltons from fallen chaos men while in turn the leaders of chaos summoned deamons.
Eventually both had fought each other to a pitiful force and the men charged out of the fort and joined the fray killing deamon and undead alike, eventually only Von Carstein was left and as the grim men surronded him he shouted.
"Fools one day i will have those cards of power!" And with that he vanished.[/i]
The spell dissipated and they were back in modern day, Cyranthir looked at them all and yet looked at no one.
"Begun now, our adventure has." Cyranthir turned away from them all and looked over towards the ruin of the fort, he had survived the omen, now he would beat the chaos gods, or at least those that control and beat von carstein, he was on a losing side, but he would make this side make sure that the winning side paid in blood.
When the illusion Cyranthir conjured had dissapated, Kyla closed her eys and dropped her head. Her chin touched her chest, and she chewed her right pointer finger, a habit she only did when she was terrified. And she was. The predicament had gone from bad to worse. The forces of Chaos would kill to have those cards, and Von Carstein had hired them, or thus was the general conclusion. Looking back at her comrades, searching for something to envoke a glimmer of hope. She wanted to go home, but doing so would result in the death of her family. If she'd wanted to remain innocent, she should never have walked into that tavern. She couldn't change the past, but she knew she wasn't planning on dying in the near future either.
Wiping tears from her eyes, she sought the ring she'd placed in her pouch and placed it on her left ring finger.
Matthias felt a deep foreboding feeling at the exact instant that Kyla put the ring on. [i]It's probably nothing...[/i] he thought, shaking the feeling. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming towards them. "Wait... do you hear something?" As they got closer, he recognized that there were several more.
"We have to move!" whispered Matthias, "Someone's coming!"
"We have to move!" whispered Matthias, "Someone's coming!"
The foot steps increased in number and in volume as they approached where the party stood. Kyla looked around the area. If they were to retreat to their previous hiding places, they would risk being attacked from behind if they didn't escape quickly enough. They could have hidden in the rubble, but that would be an obvious place to hide. They could stand there as well, forcing themselves to confront whatever was on its way...good or evil, dead or alive.
Kyla ducked low and disappeared among the toppled fort. She peered through small gaps, waiting to catch a visual of the oncoming party. From her position, she couldn't see well and hoped that they had a similar problem. Crouching low, she ducked around the fallen walls, in and out of gaps in the cluttered mess. She'd trapped herself in a dead end. To hide well, she'd have to either go over a very large rock piece, or under a shifty looking pile. She crept under the pile, and rose an inch too soon, and the unsturdy pile collapsed behind her. She stood up startled and whirled. She didn't see her party and assumed that they had run and hidden like she should have. Hoping she hadn't been seen or heard, she kept low and tried to run for the tree line that stood a mere 50 yards away. She could hear the other party uttering curses and she prayed she was out of their visibility. Just as she reached the bushes, something latched onto her wrist and yanked her to the ground hard. Her chest and the ground connected, knocking the wind from her lungs. She kept her eyes closed, praying it wasn't an attacker, or even worse, one of her comrades.
[Edited by Deliria on Saturday, July 14, 2007 7:34 AM]
((tell me if you want me to change this))
Cyranthir pulled Kyla down and then placed a hand over her mouth and put a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet as he removed his hand. The other group of people had been drawn to her knocking the part of the fort down.
For a while Cyranthir wished it was his brother he had saved, they had a form of hand communication especially for this, instead he would have to whisper.
"Sorry for that, follow me, we must find the others." Cryanthir, in a crouched position stealthily walked away from the bushes towards the trees.
In these woods Cyranthir could feel the magic seeping from the trees, it would be dangerous to use magic here just in case these trees had forgotten what elves were as had most things on this continent, even the arsai, who were elves, had forgotten what made them an elf.
(( No its fine, actually I was kind of hoping that's what would happen!))
Her chest hurt and she rubbed her sternum, trying to ease the dull ache that occured every time she drew a breath in. She staiyed close to Cyranthir as the edged nearer to the tree line, and she glanced back at the group who had assembled around her toppled rubble pile. She could not make out who or what they were, but she was thankful that she didn't have to find out by meeting them face to face.
The trees seemed dark, but not in a foreboding manner. Streaks of sunlight illuminated the leaves in different shades of green, and occasionally peaked through to form a spot light on the earth they walked on. Kyla felt as if they were afraid much like she was. She soon felt ridiculous thinking trees could be fearful, but then again, she'd just been attacked by a zombie dragon and Cyranthir had toppled an entire fort without hurting himself. She found it ironic how he had kept her out of potentially dangerous situations, and how she'd kept placing herself back into them. It truly wasn't her fault, she was just unsure of her abilities. She untied and retied her hair and stode in silence behind Cyranthir, glancing around for the others, but saw no sign of movements. Just then, a thought occured to her.
"You don't think they'd still be back there, do you?"
"You don't think they'd still be back there, do you?"
"I do not know my de..... err... Kyla." Cyranthir tried to find his brother, he must of been locking his presence from him for nothing came to him. He could not sense Reth or Mattias either, they were very much on their own without the cards.
"We must be patient," he entered a little clearing within the forest "This will do nicely," He turned to her and grabbed her hands "In order to use elven magic you must be able to learn how to grab that source of magic." His voice was not hurried but full of importance.
"To do that you must picture a flame and push all your doubt, worry and emotion into that flame producing a void of emotion, once that happens you should find a new source of magic will come to you please try for me now." Cyranthir watched Kyla, for the first ever time he let his true emotion for her show in his eyes just for the quickest of seconds until he realsied what he had done and he returned to the stone faced and emotionless wizard that she was used to.
"We know you're there! Come out, and we might spare you..." yelled the one in the front of the group. He was wearing jet black plate armor, with a massive spiked hammer strapped to his back. His minions were wearing equally black armor, wielding various weapons. "No? Alright, men, search the area!" The soldiers drew their weapons and scattered about, searching for anything alive.
[i]I have to do something...[/i] thought Matthias. He had been separated from the rest of the group when they had hidden themselves. [i]If I can't defeat them, I can at least help the others get away.[/i] Drawing his sword, he strode out into the open to face the leader.
"Ah, another would-be defender of Good. Excellent. I was worried that I wouldn't get to kill anything today. I have to appease the Gods of Chaos, you know." said the leader. He drew his sword and charged Matthias, screaming, "For Chaos!"
Matthias stood his ground and slashed at him when he got within melee range. The sword cut deeply into the flesh of this evildoer, and he recoiled in pain, hissing. Matthias used the opportunity to let off a flurry of strikes, slashing and cutting.
"Screw this!" yelled the leader. "Everyone... GET HIM!!!"
To do that you must picture a flame and push all your doubt, worry and emotion into that flame producing a void of emotion, once that happens you should find a new source of magic will come to you please try for me now."
Her eyes were closed tightly, and she saw not a flame, but a bonfire that's own heat engulfed her. She felt sucked into the fire itself even though she knew it had only been in her mind. She threw everything she had into focusing and did not notice the change of emotion in Cyranthir's face. She felt his hands on hers, his suddenly feeling scalding to her touch, and she winced slightly at the heat.
"Screw this!" yelled the leader. "Everyone... GET HIM!!!"
Her concentration was shattered and she whirled in the direction of the voice. Through a small part in the trees, she could see movement and took off running in its direction. She crashed through bushes, leapt over fallen trees, and scattered the sticks and leaves that lay dead on the ground. Branches tore at her skin and clothing, one of them snagging her face. She felt a warm wetness creep from her forehead across her right eye, and down her cheek. Still running, she lifted her hand to her marked face and swiped at the blood that dripped down. She crashed into the clearing just in time to Matthais posed for an attack, and the others, weilding swords in his direction as they prepared to tear forward. She skidded to a halt when she realized she had thrown herself precisely into the crossfire of the small battle, but the unfortunate surprise seemed to catch everyone off guard. Matthais looked unphased, but it was her belief he'd since grown immune to her spontaniety. The battle seemed to take a brief pause because of her presence, and she smirked sarcastically.
"Don't stop because there's a lady present," she panted, and fired off a few powerballs that struck the leader.
Cyranthir cursed the fact that he concentration had been shattered, but hearing the voice too he walked confidently after Kyla and appeared looking at the men of chaos.
"Get the elf!" One shouted, three men appraoched him, and fury burned within his eyes.
"You'll regret approaching me!" Cyranthir snarled at them, suddenly casting the spell that he had used on Kyla and also making his sowrd flame with the fire of the valor.
One of the chaos men threw a spear at him while he was casting his firesword spell, cyranthir was unable to dodge or block the oncoming spear and for a the briefest of seconds Cyranthir knew fear, what if this weapon was actually magically, for it appeared to pierce his flesh, then Cyranthir said one word and the spear flickered with a blinding light as the spears magical properties were taken from it and with that the spear went straight through him.
Seeing this one of the chaos mem hesitated, long enough for Cyranthir to jump into a somersault land behind the chaos man and plunge his sword through the worshipper of chaos.
"Who else will test the fury of the elves!" Cyranthir declared.
She was at a disadvantage. The right side of her face ached, and hair clung to the know clotting blood. Occassionally, some of it dripped into her eyes, causing her to be blinded for a moment or two. She flinched at the slight pain she felt, and kept fighting. Despite the circumstances, she was glad when she'd seen Matthais was clearly unharmed. It left her hoping the others were alright as well.
She could hear Cyranthir shouting, and though it wasn't for help, she turned to see his progress. He seemed fine, and Matthais was holding his ground. The second she turned her attention back to the leader, she'd realized he was no longer in front of her. Then she felt something collide with her right side, knocking her to the ground. Her arms were pinned to the small of her back and forced there.
"DAMN YOU!" she snarled as she was yanked up by her hair and her arms. She struggled, but it did nothing to better her situation. Her attacker pressed the tip of a small dagger to the side of her throat and she swallowed, more angry then scared of him. She could see it was the leader who had broad-sided her and now held her captive. She held still as the dagger's tip dug a little deeper into her skin. She wasn't strong enough to break free from his grasp, physically or magically. "Hand over the cards, lass, and it won't be nearly as painful as you think," he hissed, his lips grazing her ear lobe and nibbling on her neck.
Kyla's skin crawled with disgust. "I'd rather die."
The chaos men started to edge back from Cyranthir, the fact that they couldn't hurt him and that he appeared unstoppable but above all was the bloodthirsty look in his eyes as he eyed them all.
it was when another came at him and he quickly dodged it, slashing against the man that he saw the leader holding Kyla at a knife edge.
"You will let her go now!" His eyes filled with an eletric power his voice was deep powerful and to a normal human it may well have caused fear. One chaos man saw his lapsed in concentration as an oppurtunity, he ran at Cyranthir who merely raised his hand and the man was engulfed in fire.
Cyranthir's mind was racing, how could he save her, it would do no good to cast that same spell on her twice it was a gamble casting it the first time, instead he looked to Kyla. He knew that giving the leader the cards would do no good but hi staff was pointed straight at the leader yet he knew any magic would hit Kyla too, what he hoped though was that his brother or reth might find them and even the odds.
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