Chapter 1 - A Light in the Void --A long time ago-- “Dalatrix, we don’t even know what the ritual will do!” a weathered draconic soldier called out across the small conference room. “The Worm refuses to speak on it and our two best arcanists came away with completely different results on it. One says it will make the blessed completely invulnerable and the other claims it would grant strength great enough to hurl that damnable hive all the way to Charisse’s city. It can’t do both!” Remaining calm within the heated meeting of the Skyrender war council, Dalatrix nodded quietly as her allies continued to relate the grim state of affairs that faced them. Before she could give a response to quiet their worries, a thundering sound erupted from outside the small keep, loud enough to make her ears ring and heavy enough to shake the ground. Smiling a bit as she calmly got to her feet, Dalatrix held a softly growing crystal sphere aloft as she spoke to the desperate dragons arrayed before her. “My friends and blood sisters...we are out of time. We cannot know if Akuma has truly fallen, but we cannot allow the ritual to fall into the hands of our enemies. I do not trust the Worm any more than you...but I would rather give it to her than to let Charisse and her new Teremir allies touch it.” As she continued to speak, the walls of the heavy stone keep continued to shudder as one great impact after another battered against them, now punctuated by the screams of the defenders in the outermost posts. Starting to slowly walk toward the hallway that connected to the stairs leading to the surface, Dalatrix continued, “I will not throw away my clan like our former sisters. If it means I will die, crushed under the boot of our enemies like the noble Bloodhorn...then it means only that our enemies fought like dragons.” Dalatrix paused before softly smiling, adding with a powerful shout “But we are not fallen yet! The ritual completes today. If we cannot hold the keep, we will hold the stairs; if not the stairs, the hallway; if not the hallway then the ritual room. I will promise you all that even should the strength of each of us fail...our clan will survive. Even if it be a hundred years from now, those of us that still stand after today will see our clan restored...and our cold vengeance upon the countless tiny insects that had the misplaced arrogance to call true dragons their enemy!” A mighty growling cheer erupted from within the room as the dragons within charged to meet their fate. As Dalatrix moved to join them, she placed the small orb on the table next to several others with a wistful sigh. Then thundering into the hallway without another moment of hesitation, Dalatrix and her group of the remaining twenty dragons of the Skyrender clan met the first of the nearly ten thousand soldiers of the Lords’ assault force. --------------------------------------- --Small roadside building within the vast desert-- Parisa, the fairy in charge of what was part of the slapdash operation to return parcel delivery to the war-ravaged desert, flitted to and fro above the desk that bore her name as she looked down to her newest employee. “You’re Narayani, right? This report says you’re...some kind of Siren?” Gritting her teeth and biting back on what she really wanted to say, Narayani took a deep breath before answering, “With all due respect, I’m one of the authorities on every raga used across the desert and elsewhere since antiquity, not to mention I’ve also composed four operas along with hundreds of other songs that are also well known across the region. So please don’t compare me to one of those screeching feather-brained creatures.” Landing on her oversized desk to scan through the parchment she’d been given, Parisa glanced up a few moments later with a confused look. “This doesn’t say anything about all that. If you’re such an amazing composer, why did you take a job here?” A slight flush coming to her smooth dark skin, Narayani replied, “Right...well, the new laws have put unrealistic expectations on mamono with more artistic trades. We’re expected to simply produce art on demand just to meet their ridiculous quotas. It’s ludicrous!” Nodding along as the attractive harpy continued to complain about the new laws, Parisa pounced on the first moment to speak again. “Oh, that does sound terrible! They didn’t take into account anything you’ve written before? And how many songs were they telling you to write to be considered officially working in that field?” Looking away as she nervously answered, Narayani sheepishly replied, “W-well...allowances have been made for anyone that has made some sort of contribution to their field within the last decade. But we were only given a year to produce something new!” Crossing her arms with a look of confusion, Parisa began moving to unleash a fistful of Socratic irony. “An entire opera in a year? You’re absolutely right...that is ridiculous!” “Y-yes well, it wasn’t that they needed to see a whole opera,” Narayani replied, sweating more than even the desert heat would normally have demanded. Her brow creasing, Parisa continued her assault, “Well even one whole song can take longer than that. Creative types just move at different paces. Even I know that!” Now aware of what her new supervisor was doing and tired of the charade, Narayani jumped to her feet with a scowl. “I haven’t written a single note in over ten years, okay!? It’s the worst case of writer’s block I’ve ever had and I couldn’t even make something up to satisfy the government requirements!” Not at all ready to let things go at that, Parisa countered in a well-acted exclamation of understanding, “Oh! Oh, so then you’re just a delivery girl like the other girls working here?” Narayani remained silent and looked to the floor where her talons had begun to scratch at the stone in embarrassment. Clearing her throat, Parisa spoke up again. “All joking aside, I’d like you to remind me of your position here.” Swallowing her shame as she locked eyes with the tiny fairy that had become her supervisor, Narayani answered in a defeated tone, “I’m a delivery girl.” “Great!” Parisa suddenly exclaimed as though having just entered the conversation. “I do apologize for calling you a siren--the paperwork just says ‘music harpy’. Sorry if that offended you. Also, don’t let the job title get you down--this is an extremely important service. Anyway...I’ve got a doozy of a job for your first delivery.” Parisa then put her entire small body into pushing a package across the desk towards the gandharva, the otherwise featureless wrapping covered in protective and sealing runes and tied with strong twine. “Well, I’m a pretty decent flier. Where am I taking this?” Narayani asked, suddenly a bit excited at the prospect of heading to another region of the desert within which she’d spent her entire life. Parisa frowned a bit. “Didn’t I say this was a doozy? Might not have translated...my ex-husband said a ‘doozy’ was some kind of fancy iron horse or something. Anyway! This actually needs to be delivered to a person and not an address.” “That shouldn’t be much harder, I guess. There’s an address for the recipient, right?” Narayani asked. Parisa tapped the package gently. “Of course! It’s a bit further than you’re probably used to--the address is in Alnor.” “Alnor!? B-but I’ve never been out of the desert!” Narayani nearly shouted, her eyes pleading for another assignment. Kicking the scroll on her desk a bit further open as she paced about on the parchment as though it were a large rug, Parisa gestured down at the rolled document beneath her feet. “Yeah, it says that right here, actually. That’s why I picked you for this job. They assigned me to this post because I always pick the right person for the right task. This is the right task for you.” “W-wait...no...I’m-” Narayani tried to protest before a clap from the much smaller fairy silenced her. Turning and gesturing to a knapsack in the corner, Parisa continued undeterred, “I’ve got to get back to work but I’ve already prepared all you should need for the trip--maps, a magic compass that always points towards Teremir, and enough coins to cover any reasonable expenses. The contractor paid a great deal upfront to make sure this gets to the right person, so don’t come back until you put this package in their hands. If you get into trouble, just write! This job shouldn’t take you more than a week with those nice wings but don’t worry if it takes longer.” Clearly not in a position to refuse her first assignment, Narayani shook her head as she moved to gingerly stow the package so she could head out. Starting slightly as she looked at the intended recipient, she asked, “Is this...is this a man’s name?” Looking at it one last time to be sure, Parisa nodded. “I believe it is. Oh, and before you ask, any...ah, tips you receive are strictly yours to keep.” Well now! Things might just be looking up for Narayani. With a smile and a wave of her wing, Narayani headed toward the door, whispering to herself, “Joseph Panna of Alnor, huh? This’ll be duck soup!” -------------------------------------- “Mira…” Miranda scolded, a practiced note of elder sisterness adding volumes to that one word. Pulling her spectacles off completely, the nearly identical girl angrily shot back. “I almost died. You almost died. We don’t owe him a damn thing!” Miranda crossed her arms and frowned. “He saved my life, Mira.” Mira didn’t budge. “He’s completely hopeless, will lay down for anything stronger than a calm breeze, and yet somehow manages to still be an arrogant ass. Oh, and not to put too fine a point on this, but you were only in danger in the first place because someone linked you to that bastard!” “No--you know quite well that he had no way of knowing he’d end up linked to Durand before making that choice, or that he’d care enough to treat our lives with the same weight as his own family!” Miranda countered with a determined certainty before adding with a coy grin, “though I suppose we’d both be family as well if you were planning to take that little game you played with him seriously…” Unable to hide the color rising to her face, as much in rage as embarrassment, Mira stamped her foot and answered, “How dare you spy on me! I was-” “Doing the exact same thing to me?” Miranda expertly countered before her sister could finish. Mira shouted back. “I can’t stand you sometimes!” “So then we’re doing this?” Miranda asked, her tone suggesting she already knew the answer. Remaining silent for several moments in the grip of a relentless anger, Mira finally placed her spectacles back across the bridge of her nose before replying, “I’ll help...but not because you’re asking.” “Oh?” the older sister asked, sudden curiosity consuming her. “Three reasons,” Mira began, adding after taking a breath, “The first is that I fully intend to force him to make good on at least one of his promises. I really don’t think I want to marry into that mess...but a daughter might not be so bad. I’m also bothered that Durand’s spellguard managed to throw me out before I could at least recover that salamander’s body...” “And the third?” Sighing heavily as a sense of true remorse fell across her demeanor, Mira answered, “It’s only a matter of time before someone tells him or he figures it out on his own...but there had to be another person in Durand’s ritual chamber.” Mira held to silence for nearly a full minute before she continued, “Losing Hekate was the most painful thing I’ve ever had to live through...but if that part of my life had somehow been completely unmade...I just...don’t think anyone deserves that.” Miranda answered with a long silence of her own before calmly saying, “If it had been anyone else making the decision, that could have been me or you. I doubt I’ll ever understand why, but that fool would have thrown himself to oblivion before either of us. There is also a lot more at play here than any of us, including Durand, can see.” Appearing to change the subject, Mira said, “Get his family to handle things in Teremir; I know what he’s going to do so I’ll try to track down some...assistance. Hopefully that’ll at least start us on the right track. I’ve got a few ideas...” With a short vocal assent, Miranda closed by saying, “I doubt I need to even say it, but be very careful with anyone you approach. It’s hard to say how many of them will hate Durand enough to work with him. I’ll also contact that unhinged succubus and watch over him until he wakes up.” “I don’t trust that demon. Someone has to have her tits in a vice to have gotten her working on Joseph’s behalf.” Mira then snorted in derision. “Oh, and watch over him? I bet. Make sure to at least replace the nutrients you suck out of him when he wakes up.” “If he wakes up,” Miranda corrected. With that, the pair of witches set about their respective tasks. ----------------------------- --A prison cell-- I’d been sitting on my ass in this cell for what felt like nearly two days without any sign that anyone even knew I was here. Without even a window to gauge the passage of time, however, I really had no idea how long I’d been out, let alone how long I’d been awake. Over the many silent hours I spent staring at unfriendly walls, imagining that I could see constellations made from the tiny holes in the stone, my mind was given far too much leave to dread what would happen when this cell was finally opened. Would I be hauled before a magistrate? Another executioner? “No,” I said aloud with a hint of derisive laughter, “The dead can’t suffer like the living. Fate definitely wants my ass alive.” Startling me from whatever it was I’d been doing--something like moping but with all the angry excitement of waiting for a police officer to walk up to my window after having pulled me over--I heard footsteps from somewhere nearby. I hadn’t even had time to concoct a plausible lie to answer the “Do you know why I pulled you over?” question. I stood and moved to the cell door, finding it inexplicably unlocked. “Don’t have to ask me twice,” I thought to myself as I quickly opened the sturdy cell door and then sneaked my way into an almost instantly confusing mess of worked stone tunnels. Quickly putting some distance between myself and the footsteps I’d heard, I stopped a moment to try to get my bearings and found it nearly impossible. Even though I passed dozens of rooms, nearly every one of them was completely empty. The halls themselves were little better with only the signs that they had recently been covered with various rugs and artwork, evidenced by the dust outlines where things had once been. Coming into one particularly dark room, not illuminated by torches or the seemingly more common clinging fungus that made the stones themselves glow, I thought I felt the sensation of moving air. With the sincere hope that moving air meant I was approaching a way out of these infuriating halls, I moved forward into the darkness with slow, cautious steps. Those steps were not cautious enough, apparently, as I lightly kicked what must have been a length of chain. Badly overcompensating with my gait when the light metallic sound reverberated in my ears like church bells in the otherwise silent room, I took a leaping step forward into the darkness and immediately cracked my shin on something wooden and started falling forward. I’d have rather bashed my face on stone than the far softer alternative I fell upon. It was definitely a bed that broke part of my fall. On its own, I wouldn’t have been concerned, but the decidedly feminine ass of which I’d just grabbed a handful and the resulting soft gasp urged me to quickly pull back to my feet. As I got back to standing, I could hear the sleeper starting to stir as though from a light nap.. Within the near blackness of the room, I then saw a pair of glowing viridescent eyes slowly open...followed by a third...and then a much larger fourth. “Oh, fuck no,” I mentally screamed as I sprinted from the room as fast as I’d ever run in my life. I was already rounding a corner at the end of the hallway outside the room before I heard the too-cheerful feminine voice call out, “Hey, come back!” Perhaps in some fevered nightmare I might have imagined the bane of every D&D party in mamono form, but I never imagined the horror I’d experience if I actually saw one. Death, disintegration, charm, sleep, flesh to stone--even a single one of those would be the end of me, and it was impossible to know how similar a mamono version of such a creature might be. I didn’t even look back as I ran. Perhaps it was divine intervention or just dumb luck that I found myself at a window to the outside only moments later as I dashed into a room that boldly presented itself as a kitchen, complete with a large cauldron hung over an open fire, shelves with a few sets of plates and silverware, and a well used preparation table with a stepping stool beside. It also had the window I’d been looking for. The blue sky beyond the smallish window would have been more than enough to have me literally throwing myself outside, but the sight of the snowy mountain as it held a massive castle with a large wall of ice on its western face, still cracked and open to the elements, I didn’t hesitate. The biting cold was immediately relentless in making a very strong case for getting my ass back inside as fast or faster than I’d just gotten outside. Aside from the cold, I probably should have been just as concerned about being almost completely unable to catch my breath as well. Just how high up this mountain was I? Adding to that the fact that my armor made me stand out like a pigeon blood ruby sitting on a bed of salt, and going outside was suddenly not feeling like the best choice to have made. Already shivering, I shook my head to throw back the doubts that had joined with my good sense as they screamed at me to climb back into the window. No...my family was in that castle and I could see the signs of a path to get me there. Sure, if that beholder or eye-demon had wanted me dead, she would have probably had plenty of opportunities, but I was well past believing that death was the worst thing that could happen to me in this world. I didn’t waste any more time as I focused my energy on moving my feet toward my goal while doing everything I could to keep myself warm in the bone chilling bite of the frigid mountain air. ------------------------------- --Some time later-- “This was such a terrible idea,” I muttered aloud, as I picked myself up from the snow after having fallen for the dozenth time and continued to push forward. It could have been minutes, hours, or days since I’d set out from that kitchen window. I couldn’t feel my fingers, my face, or my toes and it was getting harder and harder to keep moving. With the piercing light of the sun in the sky, amplified as it reflected off of the snow to leave me almost blind, I’d kept my eyes cast down upon the vague path markers on the ground beneath me. I tried to imagine the angry shout Risa would give me when I put my cold hands on the bare skin of her back, or how warm Meryl’s tail would be if I could just wrap myself up in it. I’d definitely have to warm my hands up before holding my girls, but just imagining the fragile softness of their small arms pulling in tightly against me was enough to keep my legs moving. None of my family had been in the cells that had been near mine, and that must have meant they were still held by those crystal prisons within Durand’s castle. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that, with Zee gone, there was nobody left that I could imagine had any real reason to help me. Even if someone had been willing, I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive seeing someone else die for me. It seemed far better to die, alone if needed, trying to recover my family than to get lost in the otherwise hollow lust of this world, stumbling or lost elsewhere without a single true friend or ally. It was with that forlorn thought distracting me that my head suddenly hit something hard and metallic, my feet slipping out from under me yet again as I found my forward progress halted by a massive iron gate that defied reason with its sheer size. Casting my gaze skyward, my eyes fell upon the castle that was my destination. As heartwarming as it might have been to claim that it was the love in my heart that warmed me enough to get me here, I think it was more likely the more arrogant desire to spit right into the face of death after what it continued to alternatively take or deny from me. Seeing a massive ring, hung upon the gate like a knocker, I tried to grip it with my frostbitten hands and couldn’t even move my fingers. Not deterred, I wrapped my arms through it and pulled with all the strength I could muster. “You’re wasting your time,” a vaguely familiar voice called out from beside me, drawing my gaze to the dullahan I’d beheaded the first time I’d been here. “It would take a team of ogres to pull this gate open, and you have not been invited.” Ignoring her words, I continued to struggle to move the gate. What else could I do? “Marshal Penelope. Durand gave us orders to-” another voice began from nearby before being cut off. The dullahan cut in loudly, “I’m well aware of our orders and we’ll worry about them if he gets the gate open.” She then leaned down to whisper in my ear as she continued, “But we know that isn’t going to happen is it? You know it took them three days to find my head after what you did? Even if I’ve been ordered not to kill you unless attacked, that doesn’t mean I can’t just watch you freeze to death.” There were two other voices arguing softly in the background. I looked up to see what looked like an ogre, completely covered in heavy winter attire, and another half naked mamono covered only with extremely fluffy white fur in a few places. While the ogre looked at me with something that would have had a hard time passing as anything other than blatant hatred, the other girl looked at me with a far more sympathetic eye. “Permission to speak freely, Marshal?” the fluffier woman asked as she met my gaze, clearly not at all bothered by the extreme cold. “Granted,” Penelope said as she leaned against the gate next to me with a disinterested smirk. “But you can’t have this one.” “Go back down the mountain,” she said to me, an obvious kindness in her voice. “This gate only opens with magic and we can’t open it for you. You can’t just let yourself die out here, can you?” “No, he can’t,” another voice called out from behind me. Penelope and the ogre drew their weapons, but the other girl just continued to hold my gaze to drive her statement further home. “Stop!” the ogre shouted. “State your business.” “Just picking up a lost pet,” the deep, nearly emotionless feminine voice answered, sounding a bit muffled as though coming through a scarf or concealing hood. “Let me take him and there won’t be a guild incident.” Penelope kicked some snow in disappointment. “We won’t stop you but you might want to keep these sorts of pets on a leash. They can get seriously hurt if they wander into the wrong neighbor’s yard.” My rescuer didn’t even answer that statement as she grabbed me with her very large arms and pulled me close to the warmth of the heavy coat she wore, wrapping a blanket around me. Her features were almost entirely covered by heavy clothing but I could make out a bit of blue skin before she covered my face with the blanket. I wanted to struggle, to lash out at the woman I’d see nearly kill Zee, or to tear this massive gate from the great hinges that held it, but what could I really do? No amount of impotent rage was going to grant me the strength to move either the gate or its defenders. Again, I felt the hollow pain of helplessness as it spread throughout me. As I shivered, only half from the cold, the emotionless voice of the woman carrying me back down the mountain returned some measure of hope to me. “Why would you attempt to come here alone, Joseph?” she asked. “We are worried as well.” “Worried?” I asked as I looked up toward her. “Yes,” the giant woman said simply as she began to take large, quick steps back down the mountain path. “Would you expect otherwise from family?” For just a moment, in the light of the mountain, I saw the glint of a familiar green peeking out from beneath her heavy hood. It had just been made blatantly obvious that I’d never be able to do this alone. Was this another Panna sister? Lareina had certainly shown herself to be fruitful, and she had to be concerned about the fate of her daughters, right? Maybe I did have some allies left. |
| Yeah I should probably wait until after my math test to read this so that there aren't any positive feelings left to destroy :P |
That means no confirmed body, Zee ain't dead until a corpse is produced!!! |
 |
| Well with how old Ixi already was, it comes as no surprise that there are a couple more Pannas floating around. |
MetallumOperaturOct 14, 2016 9:34 AM
| Chapter 2 - A Mountain Between Us --Before-- She had crafted her own maze of cognitive being into an exercitation of arcane instruction. Her reasons were valid, but it was simply a means to an end. Within the thoughts of the other laid her goal, a treatise unyielding and eternal. Each and every one of its thousand words was like an entire language, each in entirely foreign scripts and possessing alien and unfamiliar phonemes. Every other attempt to study the monolith had been like viewing it through frosted glass, and her purposes now demanded a much clearer understanding. Her task was to learn the entirely of the meaning carved upon that monolith. While attempting to learn this meaning, she would be assaulted with sounds and images of a life that was not her own. And behind it all, music. Hundreds--thousands of songs that would change from moment to moment for the smallest reason or no reason at all, further driving the task from the realm of possibility. The task was impossible under nearly any conceivable circumstances. But she must try. Her chances of success would have been laughable even if she had a decade of dedicated study. The greatest folly was the knowledge that understanding was no guarantee of answers, and her existence may well depend upon her success in procuring answers. Her eyes drew across the monolith as she began. She had but three days to learn what she needed. ----------------------------------- --Back in the present-- Even after I’d been carried back into the warmth of the place I’d just recently fled, I was still having some trouble seeing. My attempts to rub my eyes were stopped by the large woman carrying me when she wrapped a cloth around my head as a blindfold. In answer to the question I was about to ask, she spoke. “You may have gone a bit snowblind so leave the blindfold on for the moment. You’ve got a touch of frostbite as well, but hopefully we can avoid cutting off your hands or feet.” Despite her emotionless voice, I was convinced that she wasn’t joking. Having made the enlightened choice to hike up a freezing mountain without even an ounce of preparation on my own, I wouldn’t have even been able to curse fate if I lost my hands or feet. Or maybe now fate was giving me enough rope to hang myself. Frowning as I spoke through chattering teeth, I said, “I know it was stupid. If I’d just been a prisoner, I doubt they would have left me with my weapons in an unlocked cell. I just wasn’t thinking straight, and then when I saw that Eye Tyrant, I just-” Even as I said the word, I realized that she had to be here somewhere. My instincts asserted authority and I attempted to jump to my feet again, only to find myself completely immobilized by the large arms of my rescuer. “Eye Tyrant?” she asked, her voice not even giving any indication that she had to struggle to keep me from moving. Still fidgeting, I answered, “Yes! That thing with one giant eye and all the other little ones.” She was quiet a moment before she spoke again. “Those mamono are called gazers. Most men do find their large single eye unattractive.” “Unattractive? What are you talking about?!” I nearly shouted, growing more frustrated that she wouldn’t let me move. “Who gives a shit how many eyes a girl has?! It’s what those eyes can do that’s the problem! A cyclops helped fix our house in Alnor and she was definitely doable, if maybe a little taller than I’m used to...” How did this even turn into a discussion about attractive mamono features? Taking a slightly deeper breath and exhaling as though she might have been sighing, she said, “That cyclops was me, Joseph. Did you not see how angry I was that my own sister didn’t recognize me?” Thinking back, I’m pretty sure her tone and expression probably weren’t much different than they likely were now. I definitely remember meeting her the morning before I went to the Alnor market alone for the first time, but I didn’t get even the vaguest impression that she was actually upset. That was also definitely after Risa had regained her sanity. Had she been living surrounded by illusions her entire life? Was she the only one of the sisters that had been left completely oblivious to reality? Well at least that explained the presence of the half sigh the cyclops released when I made that comment about eyes, while entirely failing to hint at the meaning of that sigh. Trying to be delicate, I began, “So then you are...” “Kaeli Panna,” she answered simply as she slowly removed the blindfold to reveal herself as large, blue-skinned, and monocular as I expected of a cyclops. “Yuki is also here, as well as a succubus and a witch that both claim to know you personally.” My eyes hurt a bit, but it wasn’t unbearable. Looking across the hall into a massive room furnished with only a single threadbare couch, I saw a very short danuki sitting alone with a look that reeked of sadness. “Oh!” I exclaimed, suddenly more and less concerned that I was being held so close against her. The Panna family had developed quite a reputation where I was concerned, after all. When I finally got a look at them, I could see that my hands may as well have been sculpted from ice with how frozen they appeared. Once Kaeli had me submerge my hands in a deep clay trough filled with warm water, I breathed a hopeful sigh of relief when the feeling started to come back to my fingers. It didn’t mean I was safe from infection, but it was still a bit heartening. Noticing that I was now looking at her, the short danuki headed straight for me, seeming to force a smile as she said, “It’s a good thing we found you as quick as we did.” She then hesitated before adding, “and you don’t need to worry about that...terrible beast you saw before. I took care of her so you’ll never see her again.” Wow. The illusionary versions of Risa’s sisters that I’d seen before had all been pretty close to the mark except for the one of Yuki. Far from the potentially evil, bubbly ball of energy I expected, this Yuki seemed positively morose to her core. Finally setting me down on a chair as my feet were also submerged in warm water, Kaeli finally released me from her grip and sat on the floor next to me. “It’s nice to finally meet both of you,” I offered with a small nod to each of them. “Though I honestly don’t know that much about either of you. I don’t think Risa or Meryl wanted to share me...uh...you know...any more than normal.” Yuki nodded a bit and looked away as she replied, “It doesn’t seem like you’d be interested in either of us anyway. We’re just here to help get our sisters and nieces back from Miss Violaceous High-and-Mighty.” Something in Yuki’s voice was saying something else entirely but I couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly what that might have been. I tried to deflect things with some slightly flattering humor. “Pshh, more like you’d both rather not get involved with the village bicycle. You’re both attractive enough to do better than me anyway.” At that, Yuki fixed an almost angry glare on me. “Whatever.” Several moments passed in uncomfortable silence before Kaeli moved closer to sprinkle something into the water in which my hands and feet were soaking. Kaeli then asked, “Why were you so irrationally terrified of the ‘Eye Tyrant’ creature you mentioned? Is that some sort of beast from your world?” Snapping back to the moment, I looked straight into her single large eye before answering, “Yes...well, sort of. It’s a fantasy monster from a game I used to play. And before you think that’s a silly reason to be so worried, there are a lot of similarities between the creatures in that game and a great many mamono.” Continuing to speak as Yuki busied herself with a stack of scrolls nearby, Kaeli continued, “What is so terrifying about this creature?” Being instantly giddy that someone had taken an interest, however small, in my old hobby, caused me to respond with a bit more excitement than was likely warranted. “Oh man, Eye Tyrants are just about the worst thing to run into. Their big central eye cancels out magic, but it’s the other ones that are the real problem--they could wound you, cause fear, turn you to stone, put you to sleep, disintegrate nearly anything, or even just outright kill you...among other things that made them a death sentence for an unprepared party! When I saw all those eyes earlier...I was sure I was dead.” Kaeli nodded. “I see. That does sound frightening.” Suddenly interested again, Yuki stomped back over to us and pointed an accusing finger at me as she said, “A gazer isn’t anything like that! I mean, maybe one could do all those things with magic, and her ‘wicked eye’ can hypnotize and bewitch people…” she trailed off before continuing a bit more calmly, “Really, a succubus could do the same thing or worse. And I’m sure she wouldn’t have attacked you unless you provoked her.” From back out in the hallway, another voice called out in annoyance, “Christ! Enough of this bullshit.” It took me a moment to recognize the newcomer, given how drastically her attire had changed since our last meeting. Looking her up and down as I remained in my chair, I saw the succubus Phina, now dressed in the sort of attire that left no question that she was a sorceress...or at least playing the part of one. The succubus maid had certainly put some time into this outfit. Starting at her feet, thigh-high buckled boots of soft brown leather gave way to black and white striped leggings, edged with lace and held in place by a similarly lacy black garter belt that peeked out from beneath the short skirt she wore. Above her exposed midriff, a stringy white bra barely kept her breasts covered, assisted by a long black trench coat that was buttoned only across her chest, looking almost like an insurance policy against the likely failure of the bra. Crowning the almost entirely monochromatic ensemble was a beautifully elaborate wide brimmed hat with a gentle point that fell stylishly to her left, loudly defying anyone to refer to it as anything but a witch’s hat. In fact the only visible points of actual color my eyes could pick up on her were the nearly glowing reddish gold lights of her demonic eyes. Something about the succubus seemed...different than before, and there was definitely a lot more white in her otherwise black hair. She also didn’t look all that pleased to see me. Phina raised her hands toward us and a moment later I saw a bright flash where Yuki was standing. The light was bright enough to hurt my still sensitive eyes, and when the dark spots in my vision finally cleared, I saw the so called “gazer” standing where Yuki had been only moments before. Before anyone could fully register the shock of the sudden appearance, Phina quickly said, “We aren’t playing this game. Yuki’s a gazer, we’ve already wasted enough time waiting for you to wake up, and you forgot the charm, slow, and telekinesis eyes. We good?” What a difference a few seconds can make. I’m certain Phina wasn’t nearly so attractive the last time I’d seen her. Gamer girls had always made my knees weak before coming to this world, and if I hadn’t already been over max capacity on love interests, I’d have asked her out on the spot. Plus that hat...mmm. I knew I’d love seeing one of those hats on a mamono that didn’t look young enough to still be working on multiplication tables in school. Finally turning my eyes back to Yuki as she stood next to me with a look of shock, I had my first real chance to actually get a good look at her. However jarring it was to be confronted so suddenly with the mamono representation of a very real personal fear I’d had since arriving in fantasy land, I simply wasn’t seeing the horrible monster I was expecting. With a literal mane of raven hair falling across her slender, ivory-skinned form, an octet of eyestalks, and a pretty face nearly dominated by a large single eye, she was definitely the least “human” mamono I’d seen up close. Just as was to be expected, her many eyes also carried the familiar green hue I’d become so accustomed to. Despite what I thought I was supposed to be feeling at seeing her, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to call her unattractive, and certainly not with the absolutely adorable look of shock showing plainly on her face and reflected in each of her many eyes. I couldn’t hold back the smirk and associated thought that jumped immediately to mind...well, just behind the need to keep myself hunched over to hide the evidence of a few too many racy thoughts. The thought was that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder... Yuki threw a baleful look at Phina but made no other action except to look back towards me. I didn’t say anything at first, only offering a smile before finally saying with a light sigh, “You know it doesn’t matter whether I think you’re pretty or not, right?” Her look turned to one much closer to anger as she turned her back to me, conveniently leaving several of her eyes still looking at me. “You almost died out on the mountain just trying to get away, I think it’s pretty obvious how you feel.” Taking a moment to sip deeply from a hot cup of tea that Kaeli held up to my lips, I answered, “That was a misunderstanding...and before anyone can turn this into something it isn’t, it doesn’t matter for a couple reasons.” “Oh?” she asked with a dubious look toward me. I took another sip of the warm tea as it felt like I started to come back to life before speaking again. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but at least two of your sisters died shortly after getting involved with me and another three are currently trapped up in that castle. And look...I’m sure everyone has already seen that goddamn painting--yes, I’m a whore by the way--but I’m already spoken for as far as anything serious is concerned.” Her eyes actually lit up in a disturbing fashion at that as she answered in a far too cheery voice, “Oh, that’s all?” “Uh...yeah,” I offered in response. Her response was clear enough to make it obvious that the only thing she’d processed in what I’d said was that anything “serious” was off the table. This family...I swear. Phina stepped quickly forward to look into the bowl where my hands were defrosting. “Can I save us all some time? Joseph here will fuck anything; yes it applies to both of you; no we don’t have time to piss around like high school virgins about it. We have a meeting to attend with our new patron and the more time we waste, the more likely Karisa and Meryl end up dead or sold as property.” When I didn’t correct Phina right away, Kaeli and Yuki both blushed, the resulting looks they shot me likely acting as a harbinger of sexual (mis)fortune in my near future. Kaeli then spoke, her voice a bit thoughtful. “The frostbite wasn’t nearly as bad as it appeared at first. He should probably be fine once he finishes his tea.” She wasn’t kidding. I’d had frostbite before, and aside from some very minor darkening at the tips of my fingers and toes, it looked like I was fine. Phina poured a small glass of the tea for herself as she added, “Or some cold resistance is another side effect of those mushrooms.” About a half hour later with the invigorating tea finished, I was back on my feet with only some minor lingering stiffness in my fingers and toes. “We’ll be here!” Yuki said, her tone now so cheerful as to remain perpetually suspect. “Make sure you find me before setting out, Joseph,” Kaelie added as Phina led me from the room. “I have something important to give you.” -------------------- “So, why are you here?” I asked out of genuine curiosity. “And who are we going to meet?” Phina seemed to be in no mood to even speak to me, and I couldn’t divine what I’d done to piss her off. More than that, she didn’t even seem to want to look at me as we wound through increasingly massive tunnels. I had several minutes to wonder over those questions as I was silently lead through dozens of stone corridors. Even without stopping to admire them, I could see that truly masterful craftsmanship had hewn these passages into the mountain itself. After what felt like hours, exacerbated by Phina’s silence, we passed into a larger open chamber, the entrance of which was flanked by two massive statues of unrecognizable dwarves. I was then lead through a vaulted, well appointed common room of sorts and into what immediately appeared to be an opulent personal office. “Ah, there you are,” a small but raspy voice called out as I entered. “Please, have a seat,” the richly dressed elder dwarf before us plainly requested. Between us and the impressively large stone desk stood two equally magnificent chairs, also carved from the stone but thankfully dressed up with some cushioning to make things more comfortable. Just as we passed into the small room, Phina finally spoke to me for the first time since we’d started walking. “We can talk about the details later. All you need to know for now is that I’m here about an arrangement I’ve made with Yessica regarding your freedom and where we go from here,” she answered my earlier questions dismissively as though she hadn’t been silent the entire way here. As we sat ourselves in front of the large desk, Yessica offered us a businesslike smile as she leaned forward slightly and began speaking, “Your friend here is correct. I understand that you’re trying to recover several family members from the lady Durand, yes?” If she was leading with something I wanted this badly, I was sure that whatever she wanted was going to likewise be pretty big. I didn’t like heading into a negotiation with so little information about where I stood, but it wasn’t as though I really had much of a choice. I nodded and answered, “That is correct. It also doesn’t seem like it’ll be as easy as just knocking on her castle gates and asking for their return.” I paused a moment before piping up again in a small attempt to gain some traction in the discussion. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I can’t imagine why that would be of interest to you so I’m guessing there’s something you want from me, correct?” “Ah, straight to the point--I like it,” she answered without a hint of guile, that fact almost more worrying to me than if she’d gone into salesperson mode. “In case you weren’t paying attention as we lead you through the common room here, you find yourself within the main guild headquarters of South Teremir Mercantile...and, despite our past dealings, I believe we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.” I was having some very serious doubts about why I was even still involved in all this. My wife, children, sister-in-law, and...uh...official mistress were all trapped up in that castle, yes, but what exactly was I going to be able to do about it? Raise an army? Sneak into the fortress? That was also ignoring that with Yessica’s obvious wealth, she could likely purchase literal miles of cock with which to satisfy any carnal fantasy she could possibly have. On top of all that, I was also pretty well certain that more than one mamono was now probably familiar enough with my human “black magic” to accomplish all I might attempt and more. Why was she even making any sort of offer to me in the first place? As we sat at the desk, Phina now made no attempt to hide the sidewise glances she kept shooting me the entire time Yessica spoke. These weren’t the blatantly covetous glances I’d become so accustomed to or the also familiar gazes of burning hatred that were becoming nearly as common. If she was so interested in me, why didn’t she even make an attempt to speak while we were wandering our way here? What was her stake in this? “So, what do you think?” Yessica suddenly asked as she say back in her chair to await a response, making me realize that I hadn’t been listening for the last several minutes. Trying to bullshit my way clear of the blatant faux pas, I answered, “It’s definitely an interesting idea…” “He means he’ll do it,” Phina corrected. Still convinced I had a graceful way out of this...or at least a way to find out what I’d just been signed up for, I countered, “Now, hold on. I think I’m going to need a few more details. This is more than just a small undertaking,” I ventured. “True enough,” Yessica replied, adding with an inexplicable look of near admiration, “I suppose what I’ve heard about your shrewd business sense isn’t far from the mark. I don’t think I’d be able to negotiate so calmly knowing that my own family was in such grave danger.” I broke out in an instant sweat. Did I seriously miss Yessica offering a way to recover them? What the hell was I doing?! Apparently sensing my sudden distress, Phina spoke up, “If you don’t mind my saying so, how do we know you aren’t just trying to set us up? Durand is part of your guild and this could just be a way to curry favor with her. Not to mention that your guild is the reason we’re in the mess in the first place.” Yessica didn’t flinch as she calmly tendered her response, “That’s a fair question.” Then standing and starting to move about the room, Yessica gestured to the various decorations and guild markings that adorned the room. “Without knowing what to look for, you might not see the distinction, but here, within the common rooms and in the offices of every other guild officer, you’ll not see a single mark of Durand’s so called Violaceous Regard. This guild has been out of our hands for thousands of years now and we no longer feel that Durand has the best interests of the rest of the council involved in her plans.” I remained silent as I started to piece together what this dwarf was offering me. “So then it’s just business?” Phina asked. “If that’s the case, why even consider us? I’ve heard about you Teremir guild members and any single one of you should be rich enough to finance your own private army to take her down, not to even speak of what you could do if you pooled your resources.” Her posture changing as though she knew we’d ask this question at some point, Yessica turned to the pair of us and sat back in her large chair. “While guild politics can be ruthless, even bloody at times, the fact is that if a sitting guild member were to move against another guild member, even indirectly, they would forfeit their seat as well as their guild assets--which would be divided up amongst the remaining members, not to mention the loss of Teremir legal protections against retribution.” “So because I was planning to go up there anyway, you can pitch this without colluding with the ‘enemy’, eh? Fine. If I’m taking all of the risk to remove her while I’m getting my family back, I want her seat in payment,” I interjected, finally feeling up to speed enough with what this dwarf was proposing to start an actual negotiation. If she’d had a mouthful of water, Yessica’s face suggested she’d have spit it all over us in surprise at my comment. “I have heard many a bad joke, but that is-” Raising a hand, I interrupted the dwarf before she could finish. “There are really only a few possible reasons why you’d be proposing this to me. I’ll assume you’re being honest about losing your guild seat if you act against her directly, for the first reason. Or you could just be so greedy that you hoped you could get a freebie out of me because my family is in danger. You also seem to believe I have a chance at success, and what would be to stop me from finding a way to sneak in and only retrieve my family?” Supporting me like a champ, Phina added, “You were also in a pretty big hurry to have a chat with him the moment he woke up. Perhaps you expected that a guild rival would be interested in speaking to him? Or another guild maybe?” Her calm veneer cast away like dandelion seeds in a gale, Yessica frantically gestured to us to keep our voices down, “Shh! Look...you have to understand my position here. Even if you asked for many millions of gold in payment, it would be a pittance in the shadow of that seats value. Durand caused quite a stir being the first non-dwarf to hold a seat on our council, to say nothing of the likely riot that would ensue if a human male held that seat. It’s also been thousands of years since we’ve had a chance like this.” While she was definitely trying to argue against my suggestion, her face clearly read that she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea...or at least some variation on it. Yessica coughed nervously as she snuck a glance toward the door to her office before hopping up on the desk directly in front of us, close enough to whisper. “Some seats are worth more than others, and that seat is a bit too valuable to simply offer. Durand sits at the head of our council--a position many in the guild would kill for. If...an already existing guild member were to take that seat, however, there would suddenly be another open seat. It isn’t unheard of for a human to be a standard member of a guild council.” If what Meryl had said was true, any guild seat with an organization as prolific as South Teremir would still be worth more than I could ever hope to make in a lifetime. I couldn’t have cared less about the gold itself, but that sort of leverage could end up being exactly what I needed to succeed in my task. “We’d need to see this in writing--and damn your secrecy. We could probably get a similar offer out of any other council member,” Phina countered. It occurred to me at that point that I had no idea why Phina was attempting to help me in this negotiation. Medea could have demanded any number of things from her, but helping me get a seat on a Teremir guild council as a bonus while saving my family didn’t seem to be a likely requirement. I quickly chimed in, realizing that I’d been made the “good cop” here. “But since you came to me first, I’m willing to make yours the only offer we consider unless we are completely unable to come to an agreement. But just as Phina said, we’re going to need this in the form of a notarized contract, verified by a third party.” Now visibly agonizing over the decision, Yessica hesitated only a moment before pulling a sheaf of parchment from a desk drawer, signing it moments later. Sighing lightly, Yessica slid the signed parchment toward me. “I’ve already done so. This bears the marks of the Teremir council, two unaffiliated Teremir guilds, and the Alnor minister of trade, personally. I had a half-dozen variations of these made to cover the most likely demands you might make. That your first suggestion was for the most expensive possibility is a credit to your business acumen.” Whoa. Did she say the actual Alnor minster of trade and not some half assed interim minister’s second cousin on wednesday? “Yeah, yeah. Get your tongue out of his ass. So I’m guessing you can’t provide any concrete assistance in actually removing Durand from her seat?” Phina asked. Yessica smiled at that. “There is one thing. Since Durand began spending coin in the pursuit of that ritual and then outright hemorrhaging gold once she began attempting to cast it, she’s sealed her castle off to the outside completely. There are no more aerial deliveries either, so the only open roads are up the mountain to the front gate, and through the Teremir guild road that, by regulation, must remain open. I can get you a pass, but you’ll need far more than just the two of you. While it’s a far cry from the outer defenses, it would still be gated and far more heavily guarded.” “What about an approach from the outside?” I asked, pondering over how to avoid as much armed conflict as possible. Yessica sounded extremely doubtful in her response. “Even if you could get a team up the mountain with the large battering ram you’d need for the assault, you still probably wouldn’t be able to even scratch those ancient gates. Forget about the magical sealing and enhancements for a moment and consider that you’re still dealing with reinforced iron slabs that are nearly two meters thick and almost four times as tall. The surrounding mountain also may as well be solid bedrock, making sappers useless.” “Figured I’d ask, just in case,” I replied, more impressed than anything at the description of the outer gate and what were effectively natural castle curtain walls. Yessica didn’t have to even point out that even if we had a team capable of breaching those defenses, the castle defenders would have plenty of time to mobilize while we struggled in the biting cold. “The pass to get us up the inner road should be all we need. My master,” Phina began with no small amount of irritation curdling her voice, “has given me a few promising options for assistance, and Joseph here has made at least a few other allies in his blundering across the island.” “I see,” Yessica said with a nod. After a moment of silent pondering, she then added, “Well, time is a factor here as I understand it, so I imagine you’d best be on your way. Here is a pass that will allow you unrestricted access down the rest of the mountain to Teremir proper. From there you should be able to get where you need to go. Also...I know I’ve said that you’ll need to hurry, but it is far more important to make certain that you can actually succeed. This is also a hunch, but I don’t believe you’ll want to allow Durand to finish that ritual either. Just let me know when you’re ready to move and I’ll make sure I have upward passes ready.” Phina grabbed the offered parchment and showed it to me for verification before carefully placing it into a scroll case. She then began pushing me toward the door, speaking over her shoulder, “Do not worry, my master left far too specific instructions with me on which signs to look for if we’re reaching the literal deadline, so I’ll be certain to recognize if we’ll need to push up our timetable.” I was only able to give a small nod over my shoulder as I watched the elder dwarf sit back in her seat and sigh in apparent exhaustion. Remaining within caves lit by magically blazing torches as we made our way down the mountain, Phina’s exceptionally cold demeanor made it nearly impossible to appreciate the breathtaking stonework and dwarven designs that covered every wall. The work was so extensive that, rather than appearing as the brilliantly worked caves they were, these tunnels looked more to have been constructed from already worked stone. Despite not being able to see the whole city as we wound down an elevated path into the impossibly massive cave that contained the city center of Teremir, what I could see was unlike anything I’d ever laid eyes upon, on the island or elsewhere. Where Blacksky had looked like a blending of many cultures, the parts of Teremir that I could see were decidedly dwarven. Massive stone statues of ancient dwarves acted like support columns, reaching beyond the reach of my sight to hold up the stone sky above. The buildings near the start of the South Teremir Mercantile guild road sat powerfully upon the timeless stone, looking like they had grown from the very rock to become massive squarish structures. The ubiquitous carvings and stonework in this area reached a level of beautiful mastery that bordered on the religious. I couldn’t even fathom how many thousands of years just this part of the city must have taken to carve into the stone of the mountain. Shortly after passing into the outer edges of the city, Phina suddenly spied something she was looking for, stopped and turned to me with an unreadable expression. “Alright, I need a real drink and we need to talk,” she said, turning back to lead me further onward without even waiting for a response. She finally lead me into the low-ceilinged tavern and grabbed an empty seat. Phina didn’t speak again until after she’d exchanged a handful of coins for a pair of mugs with the barmaid, adding instructions to “keep them coming.” Taking a long slug from the stone cup, she grimaced a bit at the taste, still sighing in approval as she finally met my stare. “Damn, I needed that. Anyway, like I said, we really need to talk.” “Okay, hold on. What is your deal?” I began, not entirely certain what it was I really wanted to know just yet. Was I also supposed to forget that this woman was pregnant? Mamono may be quite different than humans, but I was still pretty damn sure that drinking wasn’t a good idea for an expectant mother. “My deal? I already told you most of it,” she answered with an exasperated air that began to intensify as she spoke. “I’m Medea’s apprentice. That insufferable bitch is also holding something extremely important to me for ransom. Not to mention that I’ve got a newborn baby girl I can’t even see because of you and your whole god damned family! I won’t be free of Medea’s bargain until I help you get your family safely out of Durand’s grasp. I’d do it myself but Durand only taught me three fucking spells and gave me a less than a year to perfect them. So are we clear on my deal, asshole? Or would you prefer to check the teeth on this gift horse a bit more closely?” Wow. I wasn’t sure how any of that was my fault. She didn’t need to be so mean about it… “You had your child already? Just how short are succubus pregnancies?” Even as I was asking the question, I was pretty sure that I was about to hear one of the last things I wanted to hear. “It’s a miracle the ritual backlash didn’t kill you outright. How long do you think you were out?” She asked. At that, I picked up my own drink and made an admirable attempt to down it all at once, a fiery retort from my stomach putting the brakes on that idea with fierce gusto. Wiping my mouth with the inside of my sleeve, I shook my head. “Just tell me and get it over with.” Phina was still heated as she countered, “No, before that, I want you to tell me why you didn’t instantly jump on Yessica’s first offer until she offered payment. One of the only things I can’t completely hate about you is that I thought you actually cared about your family!” “I do! I just wasn’t listening to her at first,” I quickly answered, “I couldn’t figure out why you were even here, why you were dressed like that, or where I even was. And it doesn’t matter anyway.” Looking angrily dubious, Phina sarcastically offered, “Oh, certainly not. But humor my stupidity for a moment and explain how Yessica’s offer to save your family, however self-serving, doesn’t matter.” Calmly taking another sip of the powerful alcoholic brew, I set it down before answering, “She makes me an offer or she doesn’t. We go up the guild path or we don’t. The moment I knew she wasn’t throwing me back in jail or off the mountain, whatever else she had to offer didn’t matter.” All it took was a moment to think about it before I rediscovered my purpose. It didn’t matter whether I was the right person for this job, how lacking my capabilities were, or how slim my chances of success might be. Everything that mattered right now was in that castle. I paused for another moment before looking back to Phina with the fire of my determination making me tightly clench my jaw before speaking, “My family is still safe, I know where they are, and there’s not a god damned thing on this island that’ll stop me from getting them back. I already lost Zee, and that was too much. You get me? I don’t care if I have to mortgage my own soul to get this done, but I will get them back.” Leaning back in her seat with a look of mild satisfaction at my answer, Phina nodded. “I’m not certain that Zee was the only thing you lost...but that’s a quandary for another day. I get it. So then let me also make a few things clear.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “I don’t like you, and I like my master even less, and even though I’d rather be absolutely anywhere else, holding my daughter...I won’t let you fail in this. As much as I hate it, Medea has decided that my fate depends on your success, and if that means I have to beat your ass a few times to keep you moving, I just wanted you to know that I’d consider that a bonus.” “Hey, as long as you don’t fall in love with me, we’re good. I don’t need any more wives,” I said with a half smile. She gave a truly mirthless chuckle. “Oh, you’re in no danger of that, playboy. I already got myself knocked up by a filthy whore--I’m sure as shit not going to fall in love with one.” Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I asked, “So you say Medea gave you a few suggestions? What’s the best one to go after first? It looks like we’ve got Kaeli and Yuki and either Miranda or her sister. Aside from Lareina, Selvirin, and maybe Genevieve, I’m not sure who else I know that would be insane enough to help with this. If we’ve also got to take out Durand, it’s practically a suicide mission...not that I don’t have at least some experience with those.” Phina looked about nervously for a moment, looking like she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer. “I’m pretty sure at least one of Azalea’s sisters would be willing to help if you asked nicely, not to mention that team of hers that kidnapped you, assuming we could find them. There are a few others Medea told me about as well, but I think the first one…” She paused a moment before continuing, “Well, it’ll either be the best or worst choice, depending on what she’s actually like. All I know is that she’s strong. I just don’t know about the rest.” “Strong, huh? Ogre? Hobgoblin? Salamander…?” I ventured, the last word catching in my throat as I quickly tried to cover the painful thought with yet more of the dwarven brew. Still looking nervous, Phina shook her head. “If Medea’s arrogant ramblings are to be believed--and they sadly often are--we’re after a living relic of the actual Dragon Wars. She’s also the only recipient in history of the complete version of the ritual that lead to all of your troubles with Durand in the first place.” “What does that ritual even do?” I asked, still chasing the hopeless wish that my struggles were over something truly important. Phina shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. The last time we spoke, I fell asleep while Medea was epically pontificating about her personal suggestions for assistance on this task. I think she was trying to explain how their relative power and likely locations affected her ranking system. If she explained it after that, I didn’t hear it. I seriously doubt she’d have told me anyway. The girl I picked out is the second on her ranking, but it’s the only candidate we have an exact location for.” I took a sip of my second drink, suddenly surprised at how quickly the first one had vanished. “If you don’t mind my saying so, you seem a lot more motivated about this than someone under duress should be.” “That’s all a matter of perspective,” she said with a half frown. “You don’t know what Medea is holding over me.” “So then what is she holding over you?” I plainly asked. “That’s for me to know and you to...not know. Wow, this is good stuff!” She answered, matching my frown at her attempt to change the subject. “It’s not something you can save me from, no matter how heavy you lay on that stupid white knight routine, and it’s not going to interfere. That’s all you need to know.” The finality in her voice didn’t really leave any room for debate. I also wasn’t sure how much I cared, as horrible as that thought may have been. Maybe, for now, it was better to have less to worry about anyway. “That’s your call. So then where are we heading and when can we leave?” I asked, eager to get underway. “Tomorrow. And the directions I have start at some place called the Lake of Glass in Ahmose. Shouldn’t be too hard to find, given the description, and being able to fly should make it even easier to spot,” Phina replied as she reached back to her smallish demon wings that didn’t look like they could carry something half her weight, let alone her entire body. The names of most places usually went in one ear and out the other, but something she said definitely caught my attention. “Wait...Ahmose? Is that-?” Phina nodded, “Ah, right. Yeah, the civil war in the desert is over. Lord Charisse is gone and the child pharaoh Ahmose is the new Lord. They say she took power without spilling a single drop of blood. I’m not sure of the new laws, but I don’t think they’ll be too much to worry about.” I smiled at that. Somehow I felt like that had to be good news. “Maybe Ahmose would be willing to provide some assistance. There’s also somewhere else I need to go in the desert as well,” I added with hesitation as I reached into my pouch to feel the small piece of parchment that Zee had left me. If I was going to deal with Zee’s loss, I needed to know for certain that she was truly lost. As far as I was concerned, she wasn’t dead until I saw a body. |
yep |
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| Couple of remarks: This guild has been out of our hands for thousands of years now and we no longer feel that Durand has the best interests of the rest of the council involved in her plans. This kinda raises the question on how old is old in the world. The dragon wars were roughly 10k years ago and whoever was present during that time and is still alive is considered a relic. But at the same time this dwarf kinda suggests that she is thousands of years old as well... Or is she here referring to just Dwarves as a race rather than her and her fellow guild members with the "out of our hands" remark?From the description I get the impression that Teremir is relatively homogeneously populated with Dwarves. I would like to point out that simply speaking there are probably not enough Dwarves on the island to populate both most of Teremir as well as them living in other parts of the island in significant numbers. Even if Dwarves are one of the most common species of MGs, they probably won't make up more than 2% of the total population (which would be ~200k Dwarves, and frankly 2% is already stretching it...), due to there being over 200 and counting MG races. Finally it's not quite clear as to why there has to be such a complicated plan. To me it seems there is enough ground to report Durand for multiple accounts of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment with the Teremir authorities. Seeing how eager the other guild members are to get rid of Durand I figure they be more than willing to help if they can do so on a legal basis. Or is Teremir just as much a lawless Wild West as Kaori, where they don't give a shit is some poor sob gets kidnapped and frozen into an crystal? |
MetallumOperaturNov 1, 2016 4:27 PM
MetallumOperatur said: Couple of remarks: This guild has been out of our hands for thousands of years now and we no longer feel that Durand has the best interests of the rest of the council involved in her plans. This kinda raises the question on how old is old in the world. The dragon wars were roughly 10k years ago and whoever was present during that time and is still alive is considered a relic. But at the same time this dwarf kinda suggests that she is thousands of years old as well... Or is she here referring to just Dwarves as a race rather than her and her fellow guild members with the "out of our hands" remark?From the description I get the impression that Teremir is relatively homogeneously populated with Dwarves. I would like to point out that simply speaking there are probably not enough Dwarves on the island to populate both most of Teremir as well as them living in other parts of the island in significant numbers. Even if Dwarves are one of the most common species of MGs, they probably won't make up more than 2% of the total population (which would be ~200k Dwarves, and frankly 2% is already stretching it...), due to there being over 200 and counting MG races. Finally it's not quite clear as to why there has to be such a complicated plan. To me it seems there is enough ground to report Durand for multiple accounts of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment with the Teremir authorities. Seeing how eager the other guild members are to get rid of Durand I figure they be more than willing to help if they can do so on a legal basis. Or is Teremir just as much a lawless Wild West as Kaori, where they don't give a shit is some poor sob gets kidnapped and frozen into an crystal? I'm making a few assumptions just based on the old lore that Teremir was the "dwarven city", without trying to set anything down in stone on how it actually operates. There are a few things that almost have to be assumed, however: -I imagine at one time, the city may have all been dwarves. The ruling council has been referred to as the "dwarven council" in a few places in various stories. Whether that means its completely run by dwarves or if the name of the council is just a longstanding traditional name with the council itself now having other species. It's definitely something worthy of potential discussion. -Slavery has to be legal in some form or another. It's outlawed almost everywhere else and it's hard to justify the Kaori slavers even existing without somewhere aside from Kaori to offload their wares (or purchase replacements) -If slavery is legal, it suggests a more morally grey landscape in general. As far as my assumptions (in what I intend to write), I'm assuming that there are several large guilds that possess a lot of power by virtue of being ridiculously rich. I'm really only going to go into detail on one (maybe 2). I'm also assuming that while these guilds are still beholden to the laws of the city, their own grounds are almost sovereign territories (not quite that extreme). Just like if I try to walk into the server room at Amazon.com, I'm going to be savagely beaten or at least escorted from the premises--possibly also arrested and/or prosecuted. In this case, because the people currently being held went there willingly and were imprisoned in crystal by someone else entirely (Mira or **redacted** ), AND the people so imprisoned are in suspended animation and thus unable to request that they be released, Durand and her guild, by extension, haven't broken any laws yet. I might be able to make a case against Durand for attempted murder/unmaking, just like I could cover my head in peanut butter and tin foil (in the real world) and tell the FBI that Bill Gates raped my cousin's horse--whether he actually did or not, it'll likely be a lot harder to get the authorities moving against such a prolific member of society without some more proof. Yessica was definitely talking about the guild being out of dwarven hands as a species, rather than hers (or her family's) personally. This just suggests that, at least within South Teremir Mercantile, being a dwarf is still somewhat important. Whether this is an antiquated mindset or the standard is up for discussion. |
emeraldtryst said: -I imagine at one time, the city may have all been dwarves. The ruling council has been referred to as the "dwarven council" in a few places in various stories. Whether that means its completely run by dwarves or if the name of the council is just a longstanding traditional name with the council itself now having other species. It's definitely something worthy of potential discussion. -Slavery has to be legal in some form or another. It's outlawed almost everywhere else and it's hard to justify the Kaori slavers even existing without somewhere aside from Kaori to offload their wares (or purchase replacements) -If slavery is legal, it suggests a more morally grey landscape in general. - If roughly 2/3 of all the dwarves live in Teremir they would probably make up around 50% of the population of the city assuming Dwarves are very common as well as Teremir having around 150-200k residents. - I disagree with your second point. So far all we've only seen slaves being used in Kaori. It could very well be that those slaves just come from Kaori itself (probably the entire population of Smert is rotting away somewhere in a mine right now) as well as illegal trade with all other regions. There is no need for Teremir to be a slaver state as well. - When I asked a long time ago about it I was told that the island was supposed to be much more peaceful and friendly than earth. Now with 3 recent civil wars, 3 rather villainous lords (of which 2 have been replaced in said civil wars), I'm not too fond of adding more "morally grey areas" on the island. I rather see that morally grey area being brought back to just Kaori. - It makes no sense for the other regions to despise Kaori for their slavery, yet not giving a hoot about the slavers in Teremir. So if Teremir were a slaver state it would make sense for them to simply boycott trade with Teremir, something that would hurt Teremir much harder than whatever they could stand to gain from openly trading slaves with Kaori. You got a point on it not being that easy to just report Durand and have her arrested, though. |
| Chapter 3 - Working as Intended “Draw your weapons,” Kaeli demanded of me nearly the moment we’d walked back through the winding passages that lead back to our nearly barren quarters. With her as unreadable as ever, I couldn’t tell if she was issuing a challenge, a threat, or a kindly request. She also wasn’t handing me a piece of parchment and a quill, possibly for the best given how terrible my artist talents were. Hoping it wasn’t either of the first two, I drew Tizona and Colada, leaving them pointed at the ground. “Did you just want to see them?” I asked hopefully. Taking a step forward to observe the paired swords with her large single eye, she allowed a nearly imperceptible nod before remarking, “Truly masterful work, both of them. How well can you wield them?” As she waited for my answer, Kaeli began turning a large warhammer over in her hands. It felt like any answer I had for her question was going to be the wrong answer. “I’m reasonably skilled, I suppose. Why do you ask?” I offered. “Attack me. Do not hold back or I will hurt you,” she stated without any hesitation as she started to move toward me menacingly. Angling my weapons back up toward her as a reflex, I began stepping back with a quick look over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t about to trip over anything, only then remembering that the room was almost completely empty. She had to be testing me, but her reasons, much like her facial expressions, were inscrutable. When my protests fell on deaf ears, I resigned myself to the reality of the combat I’d just been forced into. Kaeli was among the largest mamono I’d ever seen, and was certainly the largest I’d been tasked with personally engaging. As I moved around her with light steps, I could definitely pick up that she was a great deal slower than I was, or was at least pretending to be. Phina looked to have already vanished along with any assistance she might have provided and Kaeli probably wasn’t going to just let me run, even if I had somehow been able to navigate the maze of caverns. With that thought in mind, I resigned myself to the situation and made a quick advance. My opening feint was quick enough that it went almost entirely unnoticed as I came in and followed with a low thrust, my weight poised over my leading leg in preparation for a diving roll if she brought that hammer down toward me. I gritted my teeth as my blade scraped across her shin, the contact solid enough to worry that I’d hurt her. Her hammer did then begin its descent, albeit even slower than I was expecting. Already low enough to spring forward, I could have risked a stronger thrust toward her body with my off hand while diving past her, but I instead rolled across my shoulders to my right, taking me well clear of her and her large swing. Coming back up to my feet, I was surprised by a sudden quick advance from the cyclops, her large form suddenly barreling toward me far faster than she had lead me to believe was possible. That, at least, I was expecting. What I wasn’t expecting was her to blatantly expose her unarmored chest as she held her hammer high above her head. Unless that hammer was made of balsa wood, I’d be able to land a potentially deadly strike on her midsection with little more than a sidewise leap and a few steps forward. What was I supposed to do? Even if I hadn’t been fighting my sister in law, I wouldn’t want to cause that sort of injury in what was probably supposed to be some sort of exhibition match. Would she really bring that hammer down on me if I didn’t get clear of her attack? Kaeli’s expression offered nothing, and her quickened breathing was the only indication she even knew she was in a fight. I still had no idea what I was expected to do so I went with what I wanted to do, dashing past Kaeli with two quick steps and drawing a slash across her exposed arm as I turned to face her again. “That’s enough,” Kaeli suddenly remarked from across the room as the version I’d been fighting vanished. As I looked over to her, I saw Phina and Yuki sitting with her at a plain stone table, the latter rubbing one of her eyes as the trio of them regarded me. “Give me those weapons, Joseph,” Kaeli suddenly demanded as she stood and began walking toward me. I backed up a step, now not certain what to do. I’d clearly just been fighting an illusion, but to what end? Had she just decided that I wouldn’t be any use here? “Why?” I asked forcefully, planting my feet. If she was about to tell me that trying to rescue my family was too dangerous for me or anything like that, I wasn’t about to back down. Trying to assault the front gate of an impregnable castle alone should have been more than enough evidence of that. Looking as though she had just realized what I might have been thinking, Kaeli stopped well away from me and crossed her arms. She took a short breath before saying, “Because those weapons...are not right for you.” I knew that was bullshit. Zee gave these swords to me as a gift, and as far as I could tell, they’d been crafted specifically for my hand. Frowning at Kaeli, I took a step back and countered, “No, Zee had these made for me. I’m not just going to give them up and let someone else take responsibility for my own family!” Cutting the tension quite expertly, Yuki hopped up between us with a smile, her many eyes regarding both of us as she said, “She wasn’t going to keep them, silly!” Looking a bit confused, Kaeli nodded as she added, “Right, I just wanted to get a good look at how the grips sit on your hands and how the metal has been stressed so that I can give you proper replacements.” I called back in shock, ”I’m not giving up these weapons!” Shaking her head, Kaeli answered, “You will, because you already know what I’m about to tell you.” Pausing only a beat, she calmly added, “It just isn’t in you to hurt others.” The hateful truth of that statement made me want to scream. How much use could I be in the task of rescuing my family if I couldn’t even truly fight the enemies that would be waiting for me? Why couldn’t I just harden my heart enough to become the killer I probably needed to be? It wasn’t like my enemies were going to spare me to save my bleeding heart. However potentially deadly my attacks might have been when that orc Hildegard was choking the life from me, they’d been executed with as much thought and grace as if they’d been the flailing arms of a drowning man. Before I could sink any further into the despair of reality, Kaeli spoke again. “I told you that I am going to return them to you, didn’t I? Kenzie, a friend from Alnor helped me come up with a way to entirely re-alloy that steel with something better. You won’t have the same problem wielding them once I’ve enchanted them.” As her words finally penetrated my skull, I sheathed the weapons Zee had given me and stepped toward her. I wiped a bit of moisture from the corners of my eyes and resolutely asked, “If you can enchant them to silence my heart...at least until this is over…” At that, I thought I caught just the barest hint of a smile tug at the corner of Kaeli’s lip as she answered, “No. Even if I could, it would be a waste to let you turn into someone else. I have a far better plan for these.” Kaeli silently took Tizona and Colada from me and looked them over closely, her eye narrowing in concentration for several moments. With a satisfied nod, she carefully slid them back into their scabbards and said, “I’ll have them ready by tomorrow morning. Make certain that you...get plenty of rest this evening.” I was out of sorts from the rollercoaster of emotions I’d just been thrown on and the small amount of alcohol still in my system definitely wasn’t helping. Under normal circumstances, I’d have certainly caught the meaning of the look Kaeli gave me before she moved off to points unknown. As it stood, however, I only nodded and looked around dumbly before Yuki strolled up from behind me and took gentle hold of my hand. “You okay?” she asked with a small smile, her face still showing signs of worry that I might scream and run from her again. “I think so,” I answered softly, quickly adding, “but really not in the mood for a tumble just at the moment, in case that’s why you’re being friendly.” Yuki gave me a mock frown and cheerfully replied, “Oh, not at all, Joseph! There will be plenty of time for those sorts of things later. I was just going to show you to your room so you’d know where it is.” I let her comment slide, my mind far too occupied with more depressingly grave and serious thoughts. Still coming down from the exertion of the mock battle, I nodded and let the short gazer lead me through a series of tunnels. This time I made sure to start trying to memorize the path we had taken. Having seen the South Teremir common rooms earlier, the sheer emptiness of these tunnels now seemed completely out of place. I had a few guesses as to why this area was so empty and could only hope that the real reason wouldn’t be problematic in the future and involve all of my worldly possessions having already been sold. As we walked, Yuki made a point to show me how to get to the kitchen (and her room...just in case, she said) as well as the path leading toward the South Teremir Mercantile guild commons. I wouldn’t be able to do it in the dark, but I now at least had a sense of the directions I’d be going. Twice more waving off Yuki’s offer of additional company, I finally slumped down onto an uncomfortable bed in what was to be my new room. No matter how hard I tried to get my tempestuous thoughts under control, a large part of me was already wondering if I should have just let myself get lost, however briefly, in the throes of sexual passion with Yuki. I sighed and shook my head, knowing that once those few torrid moments passed, I’d have been left with only my thoughts again, then with the added weight of having slept with yet another member of the Panna family. My damn bedpost already had so many notches at this point, it probably looked like a team of beavers and termites had been double teaming it. Even knowing that I’d recently been unconscious again for God only knows how long, I gave up on trying to figure anything out and tried to get some sleep. Blessed slumber came surprisingly easy. I certainly wasn’t going to complain. --------------------------- Without windows, I could only hope that I’d awakened in the neighborhood of morning as I stumbled toward the kitchen to track down some food. Phina was already seated around the simple stone table, eating what looked like oatmeal. She slid a bowl toward me gestured to a large pot on the nearby stove before I could even ask about it and I joined her in silence a few moments later as I began to choke down the bland mush. Just as when we’d been sitting in Yessica’s office, Phina kept throwing looks in my direction any time she thought I wasn’t looking. I could only assume she wasn’t quite sure what to make of me. I seemed to have that effect on most mamono I’d met. Phina was almost definitely from Earth, however, so I really had no idea what else she was looking for when she looked at me. I figured I’d worry about it if I ever had cause to. Shortly after finishing my tasteless breakfast and reliving the pleasant memories of Risa it brought with it, I heard a strange ringing sound and felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end for several moments. “Looks like she’s done,” Phina offered, her voice now making it clear that she also wasn’t much of a morning person. I stood and moved toward the room in which I’d had the mock battle, still not at all sure what to expect from what Kaeli was about to give me. Phina reluctantly followed, staying a few steps behind me. We entered the room just about the same time as Kaeli. The large cyclops looked exhausted as she stood holding my weapons. Still sheathed, I couldn’t make out anything different about the weapons themselves, but the scabbards had been completely replaced. Not hesitating, Kaelie unceremoniously dumped the pair of intricate, runed scabbards into my arms and then watched as I impatiently strapped them to my belt. “Now, Joseph,” Kaeli began, “treat them just like any other weapon. No weapon on the island will suit you better than these. Just make certain that you return them to their sheaths when you aren’t using them. It’s important.” As my hand fell upon the larger of the two weapons, I felt an electric thrum roll across my entire body. The weapon seemed alive, pulsing with a magical heartbeat and a well of power that was so far beyond anything I’d ever personally touched that my hopeful excitement quickly started to shift towards trepidation. “I wouldn’t draw them here,” Kaeli quickly cautioned. “They are more than simple blades and the enchantment is not one that would normally be used for a weapon. You will see. Trust me.” There was a supreme moment of tension that seemed to originate from Tizona that didn’t fully dissipate when I removed my hand from it. Whispers seemed to linger in the air, carrying the same sorts of promises I’d have found in the hungering eyes of a demon. I felt almost paralyzed as those whispers grew more and more insistent, finally overtaking my vision in a waking daydream. The visions I saw couldn’t possibly have been more erotically charged if they’d been manufactured by a succubus. Those dreams drew me in and surrounded me, becoming my entire reality. I lost count of how many dozens or hundreds of times I was treated to the satisfying gasps of one lovely partner after another as I left them supremely satisfied and begging for more as I gladly spilled more and more of my essence within them. When I finally started awake on my back, it was to a smiling Yuki astride me, her devious grin from before now one of glowing satisfaction. I had ended up back in my room and only Yuki seemed to be with me. I could still feel the tingling numbness across my entire body from the most recent orgasmic release that had been forced upon me. Maybe I should have been angry at what had probably just happened, but I felt something entirely different. More than confusion, anger, or sadness, I felt a familiar warmth that touched more than the surface of my skin. Whatever her ridiculous mamono rationale, Yuki never looked like she had any intention of stopping me from trying to get back the rest of my family. It was as twisted as anything I could imagine, had it been happening on Earth, but in her many eyes I could see that she actually cared about me. With a cheerful sigh of resignation at seeing me snap back to full awareness, Yuki moved to pull herself off of me. “Guess the fun’s over.” I’m not sure what it was, but in that moment I felt so completely and utterly alone that I thought my heart would break. Wrapping my arms around Yuki’s small form, avoiding her tentacle-like eye stalks as best as I could, I pulled her close and buried my face in her shoulder. “Please don’t go.” I couldn’t say if something in Yuki’s embrace was just comforting or familiar, but I didn’t want to feel even more alone in that moment if she left. There was also something else I wanted to ask her, and it was probably horrible of me to even consider the question. One of her many eyes shifted around to look at me in apologetic confusion as she almost squeaked from the force of my embrace. “Are you upset? We didn’t think-” I shook my head and said in a defeated tone, “No, it isn’t that. I just realized that if you’re skilled with illusions, you could...” Even as I trailed off, I knew she understood what I was asking. Yuki had already demonstrated that talent for illusions I’d seen from several of the other members of her family. Her voice somehow remaining cheerful as she appeared to read my mind, Yuki offered, “Did you want to see them? I can’t do my nieces since I never got to meet them.” She then sat up a bit and gave me a slight frown. “I don’t know how someone as sensitive as you hasn’t lost all of his marbles.” As several of her eyes began to glow, I saw Yuki’s form change to match Meryl’s as a phantom Risa materialized beside me. Risa’s scent was wrong and Meryl’s tail wasn’t soft enough...but just letting my eyes drink in the sight of them was enough to remind me of just one small piece of what I was fighting for. Even if it was a lie, it was the most pleasant one I could have imagined in that moment. Smiling and closing my eyes, I gratefully said, “Thank you, Yuki.” After squeezing Yuki like a greatly oversized stuffed animal, I finally moved her off of me and got to my feet. Whatever had happened was already done and would have probably happened with my conscious approval eventually, anyway. I would have preferred to have actually remembered what had transpired, but the last few moments were at least enough to drag me out of my doldrums. I had shit to do and plenty of it if I was going to be leaving today. I certainly hadn’t packed anything yet, and now I wasn’t even dressed. Since it appeared that I’d ended up in my room, my first task was to follow the trail of clothing back to the central chamber in which this had all started. When I got there, I had a sudden urge to cover myself when I saw Phina walk into the room with a large satchel. “Joy of joys, you’re finally awake,” she remarked with acid in her voice as she tried and failed to keep her eyes fully diverted. “Get your ass dressed. Let’s go.” Knowing that she was pretending not to look at me, I decided to take a bit of extra time dressing myself. “We can both be assholes,” I thought to myself with a smirk. She sure acted like she hated me, but had I had Phina taken a free ride while I was lost to the visions Tizona forced upon me? Wondering if Phina had taken advantage of me also made me wonder how in the world a weapon that knocked me unconscious for enemies to have their way with me could possibly be any better than what I had been using before. Thankfully, I didn’t need to wonder over the missing piece of that puzzle as Kaeli entered with a small bag that she handed to me. “It’s just some hard rations and extra water,” Kaeli said, her expression still unreadable, but definitely softer than before. I accepted the small leather bag after finally getting myself dressed. As I was about to reattach my weapons to my belt, I paused and turned to Kaeli. “Okay...it isn’t that I’m not grateful that you made these for me but...how exactly are are they supposed to even help? If I thought I could fuck my way through this, I’d have already thrown myself naked at the castle gate.” “Ah,” she answered, stifling a tiny grin that tried to sneak its way onto her face. “Yuki was annoying me so I left one of the runes incomplete to shut her up. I already fixed it while you were in that trance. I borrowed the energy from you since I was quite exhausted after working all night.” Kaeli then crossed her arms and continued, “Now that they should be enchanted properly, all you need to know is that these weapons strike and consume the spirit instead of the body. You can’t possibly hurt someone with either of them.” “So...what? I just smack an enemy around with these and it’ll drain their energy? And then...they pass out?” I asked, absolutely certain I was missing something. “There is more, but that’s close enough,” Kaeli answered unhelpfully. “You’ll also feel the effects to some degree, but you’ll get better at using them the more you practice.” “Are we done now?” Phina suddenly asked with a biting tone as she tossed me a light grey cloak. “We should have set out hours ago.” “There were a few other things,” Kaeli said. “Tell us when we get back,” Phina said as she pushed me from the room. Leading me to door that opened onto a small balcony, she then gestured down the mountain. “Since we’re so far behind and the longer we stay here the more likely you are to fall cock-first into one of your sisters again, I’m going to try flying us down the mountain.” “Whoa!” I exclaimed as I pushed back against her urging. “There’s no way you can carry us both!” “You’ve been carried off by a succubus before, haven’t you?” Phina asked as she rolled her eyes. That was a good question. Maybe? I know Genevieve caught me when I tried to jump out of a window but I wouldn’t consider that anything like being carried off. That whole episode was still a little fuzzy in my head. Without waiting for my answer, Phina grabbed me under the arms and leapt off into the air with me. I expected my next moment of awareness would be full of my bones breaking. With a grunt of obvious exertion, she somehow kept us aloft, adding as we moved out into the open sky, “It’s...mostly downhill so we should be fine.” As badly as I wanted to squirm my way free, I was now high enough that I was worried I wouldn’t survive the fall. That meant I’d be keeping my arms down while the ride was in motion. I had to assume that fate would, like always, be far too cruel to just let me die, however hilarious it might have been to the rest of the world to know that I’d been killed just to shave a few days and potential acts of coitus off of our journey. ---------------------------- I would have been out more than just a fistful of gold if I’d taken the bet on whether Phina would be able to carry the pair of us through the air. And possibly dead. Somehow she managed it. Magic was the obvious answer, but that just left me feeling like we were going to plummet to our deaths at any moment as the mountains beneath us gave way to wooded highlands and finally the endless desert. Despite the many questions I wanted to ask, I kept the vast majority of them to myself, trying to avoid distracting the pilot. Phina, thankfully, seemed only slightly better with heights and started bringing us down toward the ground as soon as we’d cleared the mountains. Even if she’d been able to continue carrying us, Phina looked to be desperately in need of a rest. I wasn’t about to complain, especially given how my last trip through the desert had gone. The thought was more than a little bittersweet as I realized I’d have gladly volunteered to be dragged across the sands by the neck again if it meant Zee was the one dragging me. The greatest drawback of having taking the aerial route to the desert was that we hadn’t come down anywhere near a road, and after several hours walking south, we still hadn’t seen anything resembling one, let alone any other meaningful landmarks. We did spot a boulder that looked large enough to grant us some shade and took that opportunity to seek shelter from the sun. As we passed around it toward the shaded side, we nearly ran headlong into a pair of humanoid figures that looked to have had the same idea as us. They, however, looked to be far more accustomed to this blistering inferno and were cloaked from head to toe in light colored robes. Seeing us, the pair of them jumped back and looked torn on whether to run or reach for weapons. “Whoa, peace,” I quickly said as Phina threw herself into the shade as though she had no stake whatsoever in the outcome of this encounter. “We’re just looking for some shade.” What was revealed to be a pair of men looked at each other and then back to us. One of the two began backing away as the other spoke, “Then you have it, we’ll be off. We aren’t looking for trouble.” Seeing fear in the man’s eyes, I looked down at myself and realized that my being armed and armored probably wasn’t very reassuring to a pair of potentially unarmed travelers. Not wanting to cause a stir, I nearly stayed silent as I watched the pair of them back up, suddenly remembering that we were supposed to be looking for something. “Oh! Could either of you direct us to the Lake of Glass?” I may as well have pulled my face off and screamed bloody murder with how afraid the first man was at even hearing my question. “South across the river...three or four days at least,” he offered curtly before turning and jogging to catch up with his companion as the pair of them made their way toward the eastern horizon at a pace just barely shy of an outright sprint. “Cripes! You’d think you asked them to sell their children into slavery,” Phina spat once we were alone. “Doesn’t the name ‘Lake of Glass’ worry you even a little? Like...how you might make one of those?” I asked as I settled next to her in the shade of the large rock. Phina shook her head. “What, you think mamono have learned to split atoms? Yeah--not happening. It’s probably some natural phenomenon or something else entirely.” Seeing that the sun was now mercifully reaching the end of its daily journey, I chewed on the piece of jerky that was about to pass for dinner. “Well at least we know the river is south of us. You sure we should even be travelling during the day? It’d be a lot easier on us to move at night.” Wiping her mouth after taking a large gulp of water, Phina sighed. “You’re probably right, but if we’re going to be looking for something, we’ll have much better luck with the sun up. I’m also a lot more tired than I thought I’d be carrying us down here.” I nodded and moved a bit to watch the blazing sunset paint the desert sky in cooling bronze as the night quietly fell. Not about to let myself freeze, I pulled in a bit closer to Phina and drew my knees up close to my chest to hold back the coming chill. Phina grumbled something about my scent and made some barely formed vague threats about what would happen if I touched her while she was asleep before she quickly passed out. I guess even a gliding flight down from the mountains was more than she could handle. At least she had definitely saved us a lot of time. It wasn’t long before I followed Phina to dreamland, realizing that the feeling of a warm body next to me was too comforting to resist, however angrily taciturn my new snuggle buddy might have been. -------------------------------- It had been two days into the desert and our supplies were already getting dangerously low. The one upshot was that I now had a very intimate understanding of just how heavy water was, especially once I’d been left with so little to carry. Far from the concerns that I’d be forced to defend myself with my untested weapons, we hadn’t seen a single soul since meeting that pair of men. At least if we’d been jumped by bandits, I wouldn’t have started to worry that Phina and I had been whisked to an entirely different planet populated with little more than heat, sand, and the angry exhaustion born from their mating. Even though we each had a light traveling cloak to keep the sun at bay, it couldn’t cover me completely and I was already starting to blister from serious sunburn in several places. It might have been a bit more tolerable if those same cloaks hadn’t been so bad at keeping away the nightly chill. Phina may also have been the worst traveling companion I could imagine. Attempts to make conversation were met with silence, one word answers, or angry dismissiveness. Even sharing some of my remaining water when she ran out had earned little more than a grudging “thank you.” And that was when she wasn’t soaring in the air looking searching for something we didn’t even have a reference for beyond a name and a very general location. If that was how she was going to be, maybe it wasn’t even worth having her along with me. She’d already said that this was just about the only lead we had on solid potential assistance. Why would I even need her after this little trip? There were other people I could convince to help me. As I angrily contemplated those very thoughts, Phina quietly alighted on the ground next to me and spoke. “There’s different terrain up ahead. Looks like it might be the river. We should just make it by sundown.” “Finally,” I said with a sigh. “Next time we should try to stick to roads or something. If we hadn’t hit the river today, we’d have been completely out of water for tomorrow.” “Fine, it was a terrible idea to fly us down the mountain,” Phina suddenly said acerbically, adding, “That’s what you’ve been waiting to say, right?” I’d sure as hell been thinking it. If she wanted to piss all over decorum, I was game to join her. I didn’t even turn toward her as I said, “At least when Meryl was being a bitch, it made me smile a bit on the inside.” “I’m sure you’ll probably need me to draw you a map to direct you to this realization, but I’m not Meryl. She’s a piece of furniture right now,” Phina answered. Grumbling under my breath, I leered back, “Well let me know when you finish that map and I’ll let you trade it for some water.” “Filthy whore,” she growled. “Is that from your to-do list or your Christmas list?” I shot back as I pulled my last water skin out and greedily downed the rest of the contents, a great deal of liquid spilling across my face and onto the ground, wasted. “At least I’m not thirsty.” I was sure she’d try to hit me after that but she just seethed in a silent hatred that was most certainly mutual. I normally wouldn’t have been so difficult. Maybe it was just the heat, the lack of sleep, or the fact that she was an insufferable bitch. When we reached the river just before sundown as she predicted, I breathed a sigh of relief that my spiteful attempt to piss her off hadn’t also inadvertently damned us to death by dehydration. Looking even more tantalizing than the water was a large copse of palm trees with a bed of wild grasses growing beneath them. After filling our water skins, the pair of us had the same idea and wordlessly laid down upon the bed of green. It wasn’t exactly comfortable and there were now various insects also flitting about, but it was a damn sight better than huddling together against a rock. I was out within minutes, eminently sagely deciding to forgo any sort of watch. With the mood I was in, I just hoped they went for Phina first and that her screams would wake me up quickly enough to get away from any potential attacker. --------------------- The mood between Phina and I hadn’t improved in the least as we finally stopped to rest on the fourth day. If the ridiculously vague directions we’d gotten were anywhere close to correct, we should have been relatively close to the so called Lake of Glass. Before I even had to work up the courage to ask, Phina said, “Wait here, I’m going to fly around and see if I can see it from the sky. The place we’re looking for is supposed to be within a day of the Lake of Glass, but I have no idea what I’m even looking for.” Finding nothing, we walked in the blistering heat for the rest of the day, seeing little beyond varying quantities of sand and the always exciting boulder to break up the monotony. After reaching at least hour eight in our fruitless search, Phina left me near a large enough rock to use as a landmark and said she was going higher to try to get a better look again. Covering myself as best I could, I wondered over the possibility of magic being able to cure melanoma. With skin as fair as mine, I’d often joked that I could burn in the shade, and the open desert was a far cry from that. I began humming in an absent-minded attempt to take my mind off of the intolerable heat. “Oh dear. Are you lost?” an unfamiliar voice asked several minutes later from above and behind me. Jumping up in shock, I turned to see an exceptionally well endowed harpy with golden wings as she hovered in the air above me. She was carrying a messenger bag bearing a symbol I didn’t recognize. Something about that symbol still looked familiar and made me think that maybe this was some sort of mail harpy. “Don’t stop your song on my account! I love music and I’ve definitely never heard that song,” she said with a bright smile, clearly interested in more than what I was humming. She certainly seemed polite enough, though the exhaustion of the day was making me hate her just the tiniest bit for appearing to be completely unbothered by the heat. “I’m too self conscious to sing with someone watching,” I began, quickly adding, “and I’ll be moving on as soon as my companion finds the ruins we’re looking for near the Lake of Glass.” “Oh! That’s west of here but you don’t want to go there!” she suddenly exclaimed, flying a bit closer to me as she did so. “That place is extremely dangerous.” As she spoke, I started to pick up an aroma that I couldn’t place. It was as sweetly sensual as anything that had ever tickled my nostrils. I was reasonably certain that this harpy was the source, smiling as she did when she saw me take a second whiff to confirm its presence. Glad that my cloak was concealing my body’s reaction to the amazing scent, I smiled back evenly, “I appreciate the warning, but we’re not actually headed there. It’s just that the directions we have use that place as a reference.” With my poor ability to maintain small talk about to rear its ugly head, I quickly added, “And why are you so far out here in the drifting sands?” Her smile quickly faded as she continued to beat her wings to hover in midair. “I have to deliver a package to Alnor,” she said with distaste, her smile returning as she added, “You know...you look like you could use something to take your mind off the heat and I don’t see your companion around anyway. What would you say to taking a quick break, hmm?” There was that familiar look. It was more than obvious what she was suggesting, but I really wasn’t relishing the thought of baking more fully under the sun to make it with some harpy I didn’t know...regardless of how good she smelled. I probably could have been convinced to spend the night with her given how much warmer she’d likely have been than Phina. I put my hands up and tried to remain civil. “I really shouldn’t, and my companion really should be back any-” “Hold on, that reminds me,” the harpy suddenly demanded as I held my breath waiting for the response I expected. “Take off your gloves and let me see the back of your hand.” She wasn’t delivering it as a threat, but there was enough force in her voice that I didn’t want to risk upsetting her. More than a little confused as I pulled off my gloves, I was even more shocked to see an unfamiliar symbol of what looked like a full moon on the back of my left hand. I assumed that was what the harpy was looking for and I quickly presented it to her. “Nooo,” the winged woman loudly cried. “You’re not even from here?” That didn’t clear up what the mysterious symbol meant but the look on the harpy’s face seemed to suggest that it meant she wasn’t going to try to force me to take that break with her. Thankfully I didn’t have to stumble around in the dark wondering over the strange mark for long as Phina finally reappeared. “Uh, I think I found where we’re going. Is your...friend coming with us?” Phina asked with a note of sarcasm. “No,” the harpy sniffled. “I...need to be moving on anyway.” As the golden-winged woman propelled herself back up into the sky, angrily mumbling about “stupid” laws, she left a large quantity of that heavenly scent behind. “Mmm,” both I and Phina remarked as we picked up the scent at the same time. “Anyway!” Phina exclaimed, cutting off any thoughts I might have constructed, “Let’s move. I found what we’re looking for just over that hill. And yeah...I think we should avoid that Lake of Glass...even from the sky, something seemed off about it.” “Whatever gets us out of this stupid sun faster,” I said. ---------------------------- It was evident that we’d found something. As the sand gave way to a broken and warped stone floor of sorts, we decided this had to be the place. We didn’t really have anything to give credence to that supposition beyond the endless nothing in every other direction. “I was expecting a castle or at least ruins or something. I don’t see anything here at all,” I lamented as I took a large drink of water, wiping the sweat from my eyes to look at the only slightly less nothing beneath our feet. Almost throwing herself onto her ass, the exhausted Phina quenched her own thirst as she tried to hide her face beneath the wide brim of her witchy hat. “I got us here...you start looking while I catch my breath. I just really hope this isn’t a dead end.” Not pleased to be moving around in the heat but still taking a sort of comfort in the memories it brought to the surface, I began trying to trace around the edges of where the stone began. After only a few minutes, I could tell that this mass of stone covered a very large area. I was also pretty sure it was the heat messing with me, but the stone actually felt cool to the touch. It wasn’t until I began trying to trace around the edges of it that I found that the stone around the outside seemed different from the stone towards the center of what we’d uncovered. While the stone near the middle was very warped, almost like it had been poured into place, around the edges it looked more like quarried blocks of stone. As I came around one edge of the area, I found about a dozen round holes, arranged in a line, that looked to be capped or filled with metal. “What the?” I wondered aloud as I tried to figure out what I was seeing. Looking closer didn’t provide any insight even after several minutes of scratching at and around the strange stones and stranger circular metal spots. “Find anything?” Phina asked, looking a bit more rested as she walked over. “Some weird metal circles in this area but they don’t seem to move and I’m not seeing much of anything else.” I offered with a sigh as I stepped back to fan myself with the edge of my cloak. Her look turning to one of doubt, Phina leaned down to look. “Let me see.” As I watched her fumble around with the stone, much as I had, I looked around. The only landmark I could see was a short rocky hill and the only other thing of note was the unrelenting sting from blowing sand--not something at all unique to this one location in the wide desert. “The stuff around the edges looks like it was actually quarried...or at least had some more defined edges.” I mentioned the other thing of note that I’d discovered as I had a sudden thought. “You don’t think this is some sort of stone lid for something do you? Maybe it’s all warped near the middle because whatever is trapped down there melted it?” “Oh, shit!” Phina suddenly shouted, adding to my chagrin, “You’re wrong but I think you’ve got the right idea. As soon as you mentioned melting, I figured out what these metal things probably are and why this is so damn big.” Hmm...I wasn’t far from the realization myself as Phina mentioned it. Phina seemed very excited to explain her idea. “This was from the War of the Ancients, right? If I imagine it as a castle or keep, then I’d bet those metal things are the last remains of an old portcullis or something that melted--right along with the rest of the stone--when this place was assaulted!” “That’s great and all, not to mention probably correct, but then does that mean what we’re looking for is long gone?” I asked, coming to a likely answer before I’d even finished asking the question. “Also...doesn’t this stone feel sort of cool to the touch?” “Cool?” she asked as she placed a hand on it. “I was just sitting on it and I didn’t even notice. This stone has a pretty dark color so it probably would have cooked my ass if something wasn’t keeping it cold.” “Are we looking for some kind of ice spirit or something that was trapped here?” I asked. “Maybe...but there has to be more here than this. The thing is too damn big to have been constructed quickly. Well...at least it would take a lot of magic to handle something of this size. I don’t know what sort of spells they might have been using back in ancient times but it still seems like a waste.” Phina played with her tail as she paced and mumbled to herself. Almost running into the succubus as I started pondering possibilities myself, we both came to a decision at about the same time. “I agree...we could be wrong, but I say you don’t build a keep this large out in the middle of nowhere. I’m guessing there’s either some sort of magical node thingie here or a water spring,” I suggested as I headed toward the center of the area. “Node thingie?” Phina asked with amusement. “I think I’d sense something like that. There’s definitely something magic going on but it’s so faint I can’t pinpoint it.” Entirely by accident, I found the answer to our dilemma. As I was trying to get a feel for the scope of the stone-floored area, I tripped over something hard and metallic and only barely managed to avoid breaking my nose in the tumble forward. “Phina, I think I found something!” I shouted over as I moved to look at what I’d discovered. I was actually more disheartened when I saw what had caused me to trip. Looking like a melted metal ring attached to similarly melted stone, it looked like I had found the entrance to a lower level. Whatever great heat had washed over this place had warped the door to the sub level beyond any point where it would move normally. “Damn it,” Phina growled as she began looking around. “We’re going to have to break through this somehow.” “We don’t even have any idea how thick it is though. I mean...maybe the heat made the stone more brittle…?” I wondered back. “I’m not exactly a geologist.” “Let’s see if we can get a big piece of stone or rock over here to break through this...unless you’ve got a better idea,” she offered, looking like she truly wished I’d come up with something. “Mark this on our map then come back with a team carrying picks and hammers?” I ventured, seeing my words obviously fall on deaf ears. Four hours, a dozen bruised fingers and toes between us, and a nearly endless string of profanity later, the sun finally fell below the horizon. “We haven’t even made a dent. This is bullshit!” I spat as I fell back onto my ass, breathing heavily from the exertion. “Wish that bitch had told me we’d need to dig through solid rock,” Phina answered. “Let’s keep going...unless you want to try to head toward some civilization to look for tools.” Of course now she suggests heading back... I shook my head. “It’s going to be getting cold soon. Let’s take a break and then go at it again. I really want to sleep with a roof over my head tonight, even if it’s in an ancient ruin full of bodies.” After a short break to catch our breaths, we moved over to opposite ends of the large rock we’d been using to try to break our way into the basement. Straining as my sore muscles worked to lift the piece of stone, I stepped back to get a better grip and my foot punched through into empty space as I began to fall backwards, right along with the broken pieces of what used to be a floor, into the blackness below. I can’t remember if I screamed, but I definitely cursed loudly. |
emeraldtrystNov 8, 2016 10:06 PM
| I must question how much water Kaeli assumed was needed to trek the desert if you ran out so fast, that or you two simply were guzzling it. Also I am really liking Yuki. |
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| Chapter 4 - Frozen Sunset It was a miracle that I wasn’t crushed by any of the falling stone as the floor beneath me gave way. Perhaps as fortunately, I also landed on a pile of somewhat softer rubble, coming away with only a few new bruises added to my ever growing collection. I was still dazed when Phina pulled me to my feet amidst the choking dust in what we could tell was definitely more room than cave. “You okay?” she asked, seeming only marginally interested in the answer as she began to look around. “Wait here, I’ve got a few torches in my bag.” Shaking off my disorientation, I took a step forward and found that I’d landed in wet sand that surrounded a small pool of water with the remains of an almost completely disintegrated well around it. I subjected a scooped handful of liquid to a smell test before tentatively taking a tiny taste with the tip of my tongue. Not convulsing in agony and tasting nothing more than slightly silty water, I breathed a sigh of relief and began working to clear the area to allow us to actually get usable water from this old well. “Found water,” I said. Phina lit a torch, the fading beam of light from the dying sunlight above now drowned out in the brightly crackling fire. “Good. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m going to explore a little further in.” “Don’t go too far, this place could be full of traps,” I offered as I managed to dig out enough of the area around the spring to allow for a puddle to form. It wasn’t going to be pure-filtered by reverse osmosis, but it was certainly better than dying of thirst under the desiccating desert sun or hiking back to the river again. “Yeah, I’ll shout if we need to avoid a giant boulder,” she called out as she walked down the nearby hallway. Once I was satisfied that I’d filled our water skins with the cleanest water I could manage, I moved to follow Phina, physically running into her only seconds after turning the corner. “What the-? What’s wrong?” I asked nervously as Phina seemed determined to back over me. “I saw something move...and not a little something,” she answered back in a shaky whisper. “I think it was saying to ‘get out’.” Knowing full well that the line between bravery and stupidity was completely different where mamono were concerned, I stepped around Phina and grabbed the torch. “Well, we are here to find someone. Maybe it’s her? Just stay back a bit...if it’s a mamono, I can probably keep her distracted with my sublime flesh falchion, right?” I finished with a gesture toward my crotch. “Worthless walloon, more like. Sure, that’s great reasoning--and what if she latches on and decides to not let go forever?” Phina asked with a look bordering on disgust. “Then you go first! I was trying to be nice!” I whispered back as loudly as I could. In answer, Phina looked away and gently nudged me toward the other end of the tunnel. Rather than press the issue any further, I began moving forward. The atmosphere down here was oppressive, though not from the heat or stagnant air. The air was actually quite cold, bordering on uncomfortable. It felt instead like there was a conscious presence all around us, like the feeling of someone literally breathing down our necks. Advancing past several collapsed hallways, we made a final turn to see a slight glow ahead of us at the end of an unbroken corridor. Also ahead of us was drastically colder air that seemed to be originating from that same unnatural illumination. I didn’t see anything moving, or even any place where something could have been hiding except perhaps in the room ahead or beneath the copious piles of rubble strewn across the entire area. “That’s either who we’re looking for or…” I began before trailing off. “Well, let’s just hope that’s her,” I quickly added. As we approached our destination, the hall became more and more cluttered with random debris. At one point, as the pair of us were forced to climb over the rubble that had been piled up, we finally realized that it wasn’t just rocks and broken stone, but countless bones and ancient weapons that clogged the hallway. I counted at least a few dozen skulls displaying varying degrees of inhumanity before I gave up the grim inventory. Whatever happened down here had ended a lot of lives. The sudden realization made me lose my balance and tumble forward toward the strange light, losing the torch completely as I hit the ground. Looking up from the hard stone floor, now able to see only by the light of what now appeared to be a large crystal ahead of me, I saw a lone skeleton, still standing upright, as it guarded the entrance to the room in which there was a very large crystal, not unlike the ones I had seen used to imprison Meryl and Risa. From the long tail and wing bones of the upright skeleton, along with my own personal experience having seen similar bones in motion, the skeleton standing before me was definitely a dragon. That thought came with a sudden turning in the pit of my stomach. “Phina...this isn’t who we were supposed to find, is it?” I asked as I rose to my feet. “I’m not sensing any necromantic energy...wait,” Phina said as she moved closer. “These bones are held together by frost. Shit, I thought it was just a fantasy trope but...this woman died on her feet, guarding this crystal it looks like. She’s also holding some sort of small glass orb.” Phina looked lost in thought for a moment before she continued, “Medea lectured on and on about this damn crystal. I don’t know if she invented it or just thought it was the best thing ever when she learned about it, but I think...I think the person we want is inside the crystal.” “Are you sure it isn’t just magic ice? I think I can even see the cold rolling off of it.” “No, this is definitely what we’re here for. Give me a minute,” Phina said as she pulled a pile of scrolls from her bag and began making notes. “There are two enchantments at work here. There’s the sealing crystal and...something else. I think I can figure it out…” Phina continued to talk to herself as she puzzled through the complex runic structure of the crystal before us. “Got it!” She suddenly exclaimed, making a mark in the air that caused a spectral projection to manifest. In the air before our eyes, we saw the slow construction of a complex enchantment rune. Once the design completed, it started over, running in a magical holographic loop with no other obvious purpose. “I’ve never seen a rune like that,” I offered, likely unhelpfully. “It’s some kind of fortifying rune...or maybe some kind of permanence? I didn’t get around to learning more than just very basics of rune structure, but the weird thing is that the enchantment isn’t on the crystal itself. It’s been projected onto whoever is inside just...going through this pattern since it was laid down,” Phina said in a deeply puzzled tone. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant but the longer I stared at that rune, the more it felt like it was...whispering to me. It felt like, if I could just focus hard enough to hear it, I’d be able to learn its name. “This rune must be-” I began, reaching out in my mind for the only name that it could possibly have. Phina nearly shouted as she interrupted me. “Exactly! This rune, or some part of it, must have been generated by that ritual Durand has been after! If someone really is in here, this little light show has been playing out in their vision...or dreams or...whatever people see when they’re in one of these crystals. And since there is still some demonic energy in this chamber, it should definitely have taken hold upon her by now.” That wasn’t at all what I was thinking before Phina interrupted me. Something about seeing the rune made me want to imagine that there was a name for it. And wasn’t that close to ten millennia ago? “What does that mean?” I asked, a bit worried for the sanity of whoever was locked within, having had to potentially watch the same animated gif on repeat for ten thousand years. “I hope it means that she’ll be unstoppable with whatever power that ritual granted her. Also that she’ll be our friend and teach me that rune!” Phina joked with a small laugh, frowning when I didn’t share in her mirth. “Hey, complex runes are hard to learn! Anyway, I’m going to break this crystal stasis prison--be ready to...uh...you know.” “What, you want me to strip naked? Maybe we try talking first and see where that takes us, okay?” Expecting some sort of complex ritual, Phina looked to me with a self confident smile and remarked. “Just so you know, I may only have learned three spells, but I’m pretty damn good at them. Here’s the first one!” I suddenly felt a sensation similar to the one I’d felt in Durand’s ritual room as it seemed reality itself was being drawn to a singular point. Unlike that devastating magical backlash, this ended quickly and with much less pain. For the span of a heartbeat, while the titanic pull of magic drew into that small central point, I felt my heart skip a beat at the vague notion that I’d forgotten something important. Just as quickly as the thought manifested, however, it was gone. Phina’s entire form was bathed in white as she appeared to shout a word, the sound itself becoming magic as it left her lips. And then, spare moments after she’d begun, the crystal shattered. In the moment before the room went completely black again, I saw the definite form of a woman from within the crystal falling to her knees on the floor. “Oh shit, I forgot about the torch,” Phina cursed as she fumbled to get the fire going in the now utter blackness. As the spark finally caught and the fire danced back to life, I found myself centimeters from being nose to nose with the not at all disoriented gaze of the woman we’d just freed. Her skin was the pale of snow reflecting moonlight, contrasting with silver scales where the human-seeming flesh stopped causing her entire body to appear luminous in the flickering firelight. Her membranous finned ears moved slightly as they reacted to the slightest sounds and a pair of large horns sat triumphantly atop her head of long flowing icy blue hair. Behind her swung a long, powerful tail beneath a pair of wings that were folded tightly behind her. She took a breath, her exhalation reminding me of a late spring cold snap as the icy breath tickled my short facial hair. The chill wasn’t enough to stop me from being drawn deeply into the vaguely almond shaped spectacle of her slit reptilian eyes. Her powerful gaze was delivered by an amber-ringed dark red of the outer iris, erupting into a fiery sea of carnelian as one drew closer to the center. And there, tied around the pupil like a lasso, was a thin but utterly unmistakable ring of sparkling emerald. This was a dragon, and the fierceness in her stare was making damn sure I knew it. “Hey,” I said simply, surprised that I was able to keep my voice from cracking as I made at least a passing attempt to give her a charming smile.. Before she could answer, an impossibly loud voice, seemingly amplified by magic, called out to us, sounding like it was coming from outside. “This is the Ahmose Historical Preservation League! This and all ruins within proximity of the Lake of Glass are the sole property of Lord Ahmose! Leave anything you may have touched and come out now!” the voice boldly declared. “Shit!” Phina called out, from behind some nearby rubble behind which she’d concealed herself. “We can’t exactly leave her. What are we-?” Looking back I saw that the glassy orb that the upright skeleton had been holding appeared to have vanished. There was really only one place it could have gone but I certainly didn’t have the time to bitch at Phina about why she’d taken it. I probably would have looted it myself if I’d thought of it more quickly. I shook my head and went to reach for my weapon. There was no way I’d let them take this girl if there was any chance she’d be an ally. That she was a person and not a thing probably rated on my list of reasons, but I wasn’t going to be getting past my selfish need for allies until things started going right. Before my hand could actually touch my blade, the dragon girl stood up and began striding toward the voice. Holy shit. She was a huge bitch. Only slightly shorter than Kaeli, this dragon girl compensated with far greater muscle tone and definition that damn near bordered on masculine. Despite myself, I couldn’t help but notice her rather unimpressive breasts offset by the pleasing swell of her wide hips and large, beautifully firm posterior. There was no doubt that she was still an attractive female. More than anything else though, watching her simply walk was enough to easily drag my jaw toward the core of the planet. Each and every movement of her body, however natural it may have been for her to make, looked as though it had been the model for what could only be poorly recreated in humans and other beings. Her entire form flowed like water even while looking to have been perfectly carved from flawless ivory. If I blinked, her form remained burned into my eyelids until they opened again. Was this perfection all a result of that ritual? I was so mesmerized by the dragon girl’s movements that I only had the presence of mind to remember where I was when she leapt up to the sands above with a single beat of her large scaly wings. “Come on,” I said to Phina, moving back toward our point of ingress into this broken castle with a single look back to the frozen draconic skeleton. Phina was kind enough to help me back up to the surface where I caught the tail end of a one sided conversation. “...is punishable by removal of Ahket status, exile, or death in serious cases. If you’ll just accompany us back to Umbra, we can get this matter straightened out.” Taking a look around, I saw the two men we’d encountered before as well as six mamono. They were armed but didn’t look to be hardened soldiers. The apparent leader of them, a goblin wearing a hilariously inspired Hollywood archaeologist costume, complete with a familiar fedora, was doing the speaking. Behind her looked to be the muscle of their group. With a stone-scaled worm-like body that was truly massive, ending in a maw of jagged teeth, this looked to be one of the only true “monsters” I’d seen here. I would have been (more) terrified if I hadn’t seen the inside of the great beast’s maw. With its sapient, prehensile, woman-shaped tongue, this great worm thankfully revealed its mamono nature. That didn’t guarantee survival, but it felt like it at least made it more likely. As Phina and I arrived back on the surface, the man we’d encountered earlier spoke up. “Those are the two we encountered. I don’t know who this other one is.” If the dragon girl was listening, she didn’t seem interested in the least as her eyes seemed to look all around, finally settling upon the dying light on the horizon. “Look, we’re actually sort of in a hurry,” I said. “I’m actually sort of a personal friend of Ahmose and-” “That is Lord Ahmose!” the goblin called out angrily. “I don’t care how...attractive or...huh…” Her voice trailed off a bit as her eyes seemed to focus on me in an entirely different way. When they did, all I could do was sigh, realizing that I’d probably never escape the fallout from the “goblin incident” with Sunslayer and her friends. Shaking her head as though I’d been trying to enchant her with a sleep spell, the goblin continued, “Now we definitely have to take you all in. Anyone that would make such a claim about the Lord is potentially dangerous. We don’t want any trouble so let’s move.” Well, that’s that. Even if I could handle six normal opponents, there was no way I’d be able to deal with that massive sandworm. Meeting with Ahmose would probably clear up any misunderstandings anyway, and if she truly was a Lord now, perhaps she’d be able to provide some assistance for my quest. “Whoa! Where are you going?” the goblin suddenly demanded, drawing my eyes to the dragon girl as she bodily picked me up and began to walk in another direction entirely. “You can’t be addressing me” the dragon called back over her shoulder with a note of absolute certainty. “Wasting words on lesser beings is so tiring, but I understand the chain of command. Tell your ‘lord’ that the Bloodhorn dragon slayer and I will be withdrawing to the rear camp to join the rest of the Skyrender.” The goblin stood stunned with a look of astonishment for several seconds before she snapped back into the moment. “If you don’t come with us, we will-!” Then waving the goblin off as though shooing a fly, the dragon set me back on my feet and nudged my back twice, the second time much harder than the first. The look in her eyes was one of unwavering insistence as I began to walk in the direction she’d pushed me. The dragon turned and made a wing assisted leap to land directly in front of the goblin. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke down, literally and figuratively, to the goblin, “Have you ever heard of the dragon game ‘use the commander as a weapon to beat her soldiers to death’? I hold the clan record with eleven soldiers before my weapon fell apart. Whenever you’re ready to start, just say the word.” Had she really just said that? This group didn’t even look like they were thinking about getting violent and a few moments with Ahmose would easily clear up any confusion regarding our presence. The goblin looked mortified, her mouth opening in shock. If this group ran back to Ahmose and told her that we’d threatened their lives, we might lose her as a potential ally entirely. With Phina looking ready to hide herself under the sand the moment a fight broke out, it was quickly made clear that I was going to have to do something. “Dragon!” I called out. “These people aren’t your enemies. Just come with us and we’ll get this all sorted out.” The dragon girl didn’t take her eyes off the goblin as she answered, “If they were enemies they would already be dead. Do what you wish. I am going to rejoin the Flight. Lord Akuma’s forces will have been sorely pressed without my presence.” I had serious doubts that this was going to go well, but it was probably better to tear the bandage off quickly. Keeping my voice as powerfully confident as I could, I replied, “You’ve been sealed in that crystal for thousands of years! Akuma has been gone for so long that history has nearly forgotten her existence. Your war is long over, dragon.” That certainly got the dragon’s attention. She turned toward me with a look of almost amused anger that couldn’t have been more chilling if I’d jumped through the ice of a frozen river while the group surrounding us began to back away slowly. The dragon took several stalking steps toward me. “I thought it was a dragon slayer speaking, but all I see is a traitor trying to keep me from the fight.” She then added after a moment of reflection, “Ah. This succubus has stolen your heart. I will free you from her grasp.” Phina suddenly took several steps back in fearful shock. “He’s telling the truth! Wormtongue locked you in that crystal to protect you in exchange for the ritual to keep it out of Durand’s hands. That lich betrayed your clan. I wouldn’t even touch this filthy-!” I stepped to interpose myself between Phina and the dragon as I spoke up, my voice now more forceful in my declaration, “No mamono owns me. The lich that sold out your clan has my family and we released you to seek your help in assaulting her castle. Whether you want to help or not is up to you, but-” “Protect me?!” the dragon roared back, the air around us turning noticeably colder as she did so. “I am the Great and Mighty Ila, Winglord of the Skyrender Dragonflight, Chosen Champion and Blessed of Lord Akuma! The entire island is in more danger from my clan than we are from anything on it!” True or not, this was quickly about to get out of hand. “Maybe you’re right, but you can clearly see that your clan isn’t here. They either had to flee or…” I hesitated before adding the more likely reality, “...or they died to defend you. I’m sure you saw that there were a lot of dragon bones below.” Ila snarled as she took to the air, hovering above us as she called down imperiously, “Save your pitiful lies for your bat-winged slut. I will turn the tide of the war myself if I must.” She then cast a reproachful look at me and spat, “I pity the Bloodhorn that ever let herself fall to you.” I shouted back, even in my anger failing to come anywhere near her volume, “It was Antarylixi of the Bloodhorn clan! Call me a liar, a coward, or whatever you want, but dragon or no, I won’t stand here and listen to you run at the mouth about things you could never hope to understand!” I gestured to the horizon and continued my tirade, “So go! Try to find this clan no one remembers. When you fail, find us in Umbra within the week for answers or fuck off to wherever.” She’d already begun flying to the north before I’d finished, but her anger at my words was palpable enough that I fully expected her to wing over in the air and dive for me with a mind for murder. Even with her gone, the tension of the moment hadn’t really lessened. Whoever this Historical Preservation League was, they certainly weren’t expecting or prepared to handle an angry dragon when they came after us. I might have tried to escape in the confusion, especially since I was pretty sure Phina had actually stolen something from those ruins. Fuck it. “Dragons. Am I right?” I offered in an attempt to pull the teeth off the recent panic. “So...you said something about taking us to Umbra?” Finding her voice again, the goblin commander of the bunch swallowed hard and nodded. “R-right.” She then looked to a harpy that I hadn’t even noticed behind me and nervously added, “Go ahead of us and report this to...I don’t even know...The Wrath? I don’t know who else would know how to deal with a dragon that delusional.” The harpy took to the skies with only a nod, vanishing into the growing dusk. Turning back to me, the goblin couldn’t hide a look of relief as she weakly commanded, “We’ll camp here for the night. It shouldn’t take us more than a few days to reach Umbra.” A million thoughts tussled with each other within my head to be spoken first. The winner of that internal struggle came out as a disappointed sigh. I didn’t want to lose Ila as a potential ally, but until she could at least accept reality, she was less than useless. Maybe I could have been a bit more delicate in how I’d thrown her beliefs into a furnace. I’d just have to find a way to make it up to her the next time I saw her. That meant we’d be spending at least a week in “Umbra”. Based on the name, I could only hope it wasn’t a prison. |
| So does this count as a dragon coming back to life or is she counted among the limited number of dragons alive on the island? |
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| This would be closer to coming back to life. Don't know that we've done a dragon census on the island though, aside from just saying that they're rare. Also don't know that it should be a problem unless people start going crazy with them =) |
| Two chapters this time. Man that Ghandharva is going to feel screwed once she finds out that it was you she had to deliver the package to. Ah well at least she got some exercise :-D Also those enchantments, I'm kinda disappointed your main MG companion ain't a Lamia type ;-) emeraldtryst said: This would be closer to coming back to life. Don't know that we've done a dragon census on the island though, aside from just saying that they're rare. Also don't know that it should be a problem unless people start going crazy with them =) Clarus_Nox said: So does this count as a dragon coming back to life or is she counted among the limited number of dragons alive on the island? Perhaps it is time we do a census. I would say that the rarest species are: <250 individuals - Angel, Baphomet, Basilisk, Chimaera, Cursed Sword, Dark Angel, Demon, Dragon, Dragon Zombie, Echidna, Gazer, Hobgoblin, Ice Queen, Liliraune, Living Armor, Manticore, Medusa, Otohime, Phantom, Queen Slime, Ryu, Sandworm, Shoggoth, Titania, Wight, Wurm <50 individuals - Alice, Apophis, Automaton, Dhampir, Jabberwock, Living Doll, Pharaoh |
MetallumOperaturNov 24, 2016 2:41 PM
| Chapter 5 - Umbra --Elsewhere-- It wasn’t until her wings carried her aloft into the silent evening that Ila noticed that something was already wrong. The distant claps of the unnatural thunder she had heard for the last many months of the war had stopped completely. It made more sense to believe that Queen Leyla had been killed by Ila’s kin. Ila would not consider that the tiny man and the succubus had spoken true. She disregarded her mother’s explicit orders to stay far away from the place, and flew toward the fortress of her enemies. Ila expected to see an ordered front, or a disordered one, or a mountain of corpses or...something. What she saw was the Lake of Glass, the unnatural place reflecting the starlight back up at her like a mirror. The impregnable fortress that had stopped Lord Akuma’s invincible dragon legions when nothing else could...had been reduced to a desolate crater. Ila may not have been a wise woman, but her heart fell at the sight. As much as she hated her enemies, she respected strength. Queen Leylagül’s forces had fought like true dragons using their metal thunder. What could possibly defeat an enemy that had thrown back her otherwise unstoppable kin? The man couldn’t have been right, could he? If she had been sealed by treachery, her clan would have released her once the fighting was done. She even believed that, in the unlikely event that they had been victorious, her enemies would have broken the prison, if only to see her executed. Letting loose an enraged scream, Ila turned east and flew toward the first fallback location. Then the second, third, and fourth. Standing at the base of the great mountains, in the place her clan was to regroup in case of a strategic withdrawal or, however impossible, a rout, she found only ancient trees and silence. Stalking quietly through the unfamiliar forest that shouldn’t have been there with a growing sense of confusion, Ila made her way up and along the mountains for hours to a place only she and her mother knew. She finally alighted on a rocky ledge before a rock face almost imperceptibly scored with long faded claw marks and pressed in three specific places with her claws. There was a distant sound of something falling before a seam split the rock and a door swung inward. What had once been a mountain of gold, jewel, and priceless artifacts within the cave had dwindled to almost nothing by the time the ritual had finally begun. Now within the cave should have been the meager stack of gold coins that remained of her once vast treasure horde and also, she hoped, some sign or message from her mother. Ila steeled herself for what she might find within and stepped into the darkness, finding only a blanket of dust sitting thick upon a tiny handful of dragon-marked gold coins and a growing need to make someone pay for the reality she was now being forced to accept. -------------------------------- The massive city of Umbra was not how I might have pictured it based on the name. It was, however, a city teeming with activity. Laborers, merchants, and folk of every variety moved everywhere I looked. All along the main thoroughfare lay a great bazaar where merchants called to passerby, looking to trade. Smaller and less organized than the Alnor market, I was no less impressed by the sight, especially given how much more open the area was. I also saw few, if any, brothels. That made me wonder over more than a few things. I did, however, see at least a half dozen very public displays of...affection. None of the couplings I witnessed appeared to be between married couples, however. It didn’t look like outright sexual assault, but the looks on the faces of the men involved were closer to duress than affection. Perhaps the city whores only worked on the streets here? Looking back to the city itself, I saw that many of the buildings looked very old, built from massive blocks of solid stone, while newer less sturdy construction seemed to have been thrown up, on, and around the ancient foundation. And while a great many construction projects seemed geared toward this newer style of building, just as many looked to be dedicated to repairing and restoring the old. It was also impossible to miss that Umbra, however massive, had once been home to a great many more people. Dozens or hundreds of buildings we passed within the city walls looked abandoned or destroyed. Now seeming interested in being a tour guide, the goblin began, “The civil war hit us pretty hard, but since Ahmose became the Lord, the city at least has been recovering quickly. The laws take some getting used to, but that mark on your hand means you don’t have to worry about it unless you stay in the region for longer than three months.” Curious, I asked, “Why three months? What happens after that?” She scratched her head nervously before answering, “Well you either get a job quickly, or the Akhet will keep you busy repopulating the land.” “Akhet?” She nodded, “They’d be the true citizens of the region. They can legally claim any Hemu--those are the non-citizens--pretty much whenever they want. It’s a little easier to earn Akhet status now than it was before, but...well, you can look into it if you plan to stay here.” She then added as an afterthought, “Assuming the Lord doesn’t decide to punish you as a threat to the realm.” The laws already sounded...odd. I’d have to make it point to read up on them or to be gone before hitting that three month mark. Phina and I were lead into the largest building in the city, the massive ziggurat seeming almost like a miniature city on its own as it opened back up to the sky. Further in, I saw a small throne sitting within a grand open pavilion. My money was on that being where the Lord sat. Thankfully lead back in out of the oppressive sun and into a large office, the goblin turned to us. “Wait here. I’m going to go get...uh...someone.” “You’ve been really quiet,” I said to Phina as soon as we were alone. That she wasn’t talking was hardly new, but since using her magic to release Ila from that crystal, she’d been almost completely silent. Beyond that, she’d gone from stealing glances at me to an outright refusal to even look in my general direction. It seemed I wasn’t going to get an answer just yet as I heard approaching footsteps along with a familiar voice, angry, seeming to berate the goblin that had brought us here. “...Cannot entertain every wild-eyed lunatic that claims they know-” the succubus Genevieve stopped abruptly as she turned the corner to see us as she continued in a frustrating tone, “-And of course it’s you. Both of you. Lovely.” I smiled and gave an exaggerated bow. “You did say that I should come visit when I didn’t need to ask you for something.” Genevieve scowled at me and gestured to Phina. “That is true, Joseph. She, however, was here recently to earnestly beg me to-” she cut herself off with a deep breath to calm herself after seeing Phina’s apparent look of horror. “It is of no consequence. This aligns with the Lord’s interests.” “Uh...” I droned, feeling like I’d missed at least one important conversation. Phina remained silent and Genevieve just shook her head, gesturing for us to sit. “Phina can tell you if it pleases her. And while I truly wish I could simply dismiss you to attend to the many duties for which I am responsible, Lord Ahmose has been hoping you would visit and would like to speak with you once the sun has set. Remain here and I will have food and drink brought for you while you wait.” “Thank you,” I offered with a smile. “And definitely some salve for that terrible sunburn, Joseph. You really must take better care of yourself,” Genevieve added with an exasperated smile before leaving the room. In short order we were treated to a generous helping of wine and some sort of meat and vegetables that tasted to have been heavily seasoned with saffron. It wasn’t Risa’s home cooking, but at least it wasn’t that damnable oatmeal. “So uh...does it please you?” I asked Phina while I rubbed the sweet smelling salve over my sunburned skin. I was hoping she might spill at least a few beans. She sighed heavily as if to preface her answer. Then again. After her third sigh, she finally answered, “You’re going to find out eventually. I’m using you.” “This is news?” “I mean your connections,” she corrected. “It’s not as if I could bring my daughter with me on this insane mission and I didn’t trust anyone else to care for her until we finish this...or likely die in the process.” “Cripes, you sound like me,” I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. I could definitely relate. “At least you know she’s safe, right?” That actually got a small smile from her. “There are so many ways you could have fucked up that moment. Thank you for saying the one thing that I can take as a comfort.” Phina then set her eyes upon me, finally ready to have an actual conversation. “I came here then laid your name down hard and managed to convince Genevieve to work something out for me.” Was that supposed to even have a chance at upsetting me? “Well good. It’s great that someone knowing my name actually lead to something beneficial for once. But let’s make a pact to not die on that mountain.” I’d been hoping for a smile but I just got a somber shake of her head as she replied, “You really have no idea what we’re up against. I mean...neither do I, really. What I do know is that whatever you saw last time was basically the bottom of South Teremir’s third string roster. Even without outside help, which Durand could easily afford…” she let the thought die before quickly finishing, “It just doesn’t look good.” Cutting through the tension, Genevieve’s voice gently called out, “Now, now. Don’t say something so gloomy. You don’t want to fail before you even begin, and it’s not as if our dear Joseph here hasn’t survived throwing himself at the impossible before. Durand needs to be taken care of by someone’s hand. Why not yours?” Before either of us could answer, I found myself on a knee with my eyes fixed upon the floor. Ahmose. ---------------------------- -Elsewhere- The dragon slayer and the demon slut looked to be Ila’s most likely chance to get some answers on what had transpired and the fate of her clan. If even part of what she had just been told was correct, coupled with the fact that she’d remained trapped within that crystal for so long...it just painted a rather bleak picture for her. It was with these thoughts turning over and over in her head that she made her way back toward the desert, making herself oblivious to how different even the landscape seemed from what she remembered. She wasn’t actually snapped out of her reverie until she felt the heavy press of a large arm on her shoulder. The voice attached to the arm drew her back into the moment. “You keep ignoring me and we’re tearing those pretty wings off.” Apparently she hadn’t been listening for a while. Looking at the slightly shorter ogre that stood before her, Ila disinterestedly asked, “What is it, chattel? I am not interested in having my wings cleaned right now.” “You hearing this? Mer, use it,” the ogre growled. Still not sure what could have possessed the greenskin before her to even speak to someone of her station, Ila was taken by surprise when a shiny silver choker was snapped onto her neck by someone behind her. “Oh, there are more of you,” Ila remarked as she saw at least a dozen mamono surrounding her. The ogre wore a wicked grin when she spoke again. “That’s mighty observant, majesty. And that pretty little necklace will make sure you stay just like that until you lead us back to your treasure pile.” “Ah,” Ila remarked in response, looking as though she had just figured out what was happening. “You must have heard that, along with my incomparable strength and surpassing humility, I, The Great and Mighty Ila, Winglord of the Skyrender Dragonflight, Chosen Champion and Blessed of Lord Akuma, have always been known for my boundless generosity. Very well. In exchange for this reasonably fashionable trinket, I shall allow you all to live despite having spoken to me out of turn. You may all go now.” With that, Ila began walking again, not noticing or caring that the vagrants that had very nearly soured her mood with their appearance were all drawing weapons. Ila had heard of this affliction before. The lesser beings, she knew, were easily frightened when in the presence of draconic nobility. She’d even heard tales of her cousins being unintentionally attacked by such creatures, gripped as they were by the very presence of a true dragon. With the dreadful looks the lesser mamono were now wearing, Ila sighed. She had somewhere important to be and she’d have to put them all down. As much as she wanted to spare the beasts such a fate, there were limits to even Ila’s vast benevolence. ---------------------------------------- “Rise, please. Both of you,” the childlike Lord Ahmose said with little motions of her hands to drive the point home more adorably. I couldn’t say that I felt a greater power from Ahmose than I had the first time I’d met her, but this time she seemed calmer or more self assured. And I didn’t exactly have a frame of reference on how powerful she’d truly been in the first place. “It’s good to see you again,” I offered with a smile. “So you’ve become a Lord?” Ahmose gave me a tiny smile. “I am no more or less than I was when we first met, Joseph. If I seem to glow brighter, it is only because there are now many more people that lend me their light.” Well, she certainly seemed too nice to be a ruler. “You worry for me?” Ahmose asked, picking that up from my expression. “That is kind of you, Joseph. I know that some of my new laws have upset many. But it is hard to see the pain of your neighbor when your own family suffers. I can only hope that the faster recovery is worth that temporary suffering.” Feeling embarrassed and more than a little out of my depth, I replied simply, “I see.” “Let us sit,” Ahmose said. “My Wrath has already told you I wished to speak with you about two things. But first, you have a request for me?” I’d have checked to make sure my current task wasn’t spelled out on a sign that had been stapled to my chest if this had been the first time someone had been able to see right through me. “I am looking for assistance recovering my family from Durand. I feel guilty even asking, but is there anything you can do to help?” I asked plainly. “Hmm,” she answered, looking a bit confused. “I do not think that is the right request, Joseph.” “It isn’t?” “No, it is not.” “Uh...which request is the right request?” I asked, confused. She tapped her chin with her index finger. “Perhaps I can help. There are two things I wanted to talk to you about. Maybe you’ll have the right request ready once we are finished with those.” “Okay,” I offered with a nod. Why was she being so confusing? Ahmose gave me a cryptic smile before continuing. “Good. The first thing that I wanted to mention was that this world would be a better one if Durand were no longer in it.” “Right,” I mumbled. “Blacksky. Why didn’t you just ask me to kill her? I mean...even knowing she’s the entire reason my life here has been so difficult, I don’t really want to hurt anyone. But if I had to make an exception...” Now she actually looked a bit agitated, sighing a bit before carefully answering, “When we first met, my powers were vastly weakened. With them stronger now than they have ever been, if I were to ask you to do something, you would do it. I do not want to force you to do anything, Joseph.” “You mean like some sort of mind control?” “Not the mind, but the soul,” she corrected. Yikes. It was probably a damn good thing that I’d started off on the right foot with Ahmose or this could have been a nightmare. “Okay so you’re making a request without making a request. Got it.” Then I scratched my head a moment and added, “But you’re both more capable than I am. Is there some reason you can’t get to her?” Ahmose nodded. “There are two things that complicate this. The first is that she dwells within Teremir. By ancient pact, Teremir is neutral and we Lords and our servants cannot act within their borders.” Okay, that made sense. Though she still really seemed to be taking the long way around on this. But that at least explained why she said I wasn’t making the right request. Was there something else she could help me with? The word flew from my lips before I was even aware I was saying it. “Zee.” “You mean Azalea of the former Ashtail Legion?” “She gave me instructions to some...place. It’s a riddle though and I don’t even know where to begin. Can you help me?” “I believe that is the correct request, Joseph.” She then nodded to Genevieve and the succubus handed me a piece of parchment. Ahmose then said, “Charisse kept few records and burned or destroyed most of the ones she did have. That piece of parchment contains an invitation and directions to the Midnight Market, here in Umbra. Someone there is waiting for you. She can set you on the path toward an answer.” “So you can’t just...magic up a scrying pool or something to at least tell me if she’s alive, at least?” I asked, likely sounding more desperate than hopeful. Ahmose shook her head. “My power is great, but some things are beyond even a Lord. If she were dead, I could not say.” Great. That meant dealing with this riddle and lots of potential death traps. That, however, I was still hopeful about. “Thank you,” I said, meaning the words as much as I ever had. Ahmose only made a small nod and then made a gesture with her hand to direct my vision to a picture that had been hung above the entryway. I’d been facing the other direction and hadn’t even noticed it until now. Seeing that picture made me groan. “Are you going to ask me for a signed copy of that damn painting too?” “No, Joseph.” I’d never really sat down and taken a good look at the picture. I mean...I’d lived it. Though seeing it now, it was as though something about the picture seemed off. I stood and walked closer, drawn by a feeling I couldn’t explain. “Wait...this isn’t...this can’t be the painting,” I stammered. Genevieve pushed herself against my back, close enough to whisper into my ear. “Ah, but that’s exactly where you signed it when you brought this to me, no?” It definitely was where I signed it and it definitely was my signature. This wasn’t possible though. It had to be some sort of elaborate forgery. But then why was this even being shown to me? “What are your daughters names, Joseph?” Ahmose asked, distracting me momentarily from the very wrong painting before me. I guess hadn’t really spoken to her beyond the one time we’d met in Blacksky when we released her from the city. It seemed an odd question at the moment, to say the least. “Aurielle and Arianwyn,” I offered, quickly adding, “Oh, and I’d count my adopted daughter Lorelei too.” “I see.” Ahmose wasn’t adding anything. I was starting to feel sick. Something was very very wrong. Genevieve began whispering in my ear again. “Lord Ahmose is not a voyeur. I, however, most certainly am, and what I love the most about this picture is that the artist captured not only the fiery unbridled lust of the act, but the look of adoration and love on all three of your faces. That look? It can’t be faked.” If that were true, then how in the blazing fuck did the painting show me, Risa...and the violet-eyed bane of my entire existence, Durand? |
| LoL, that dragon was walking back to the desert? No wonder she gets mugged. Curious as to what the choker is going to do. I've got a couple guesses though. |
emeraldtryst said: the painting show me, Risa...and the violet-eyed bane of my entire existence, Durand? ...what? |
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| Chapter 6 - Sand If it had just been Genevieve, I might have believed I was just being fucked with. But even with how little I truly knew about Ahmose, the look on her face told me that this was definitely no joke. Rather than concentrate on how the fuck she’d ended up in that picture, I found myself looking at everything I’d been through with a more skeptical eye. I wasn’t liking the answers I was finding and, even worse, the answers I wasn’t. Genevieve was the first to break the silence. “So I take it this comes as somewhat of a shock? You certainly wouldn’t have copulated with Durand, correct?” “No!” I shouted in defiance, more softly correcting, “Well...I mean not in Alnor! I was tied up in her dungeon and...there were a lot of things…” Barely covering her anger with something entirely different Genevieve spoke up again. “This sounds like something I’d truly love to hear when my Lord is not present, Joseph.” Ahmose raised a hand, cutting us both off before anything else could be said. “I only wanted you to see this and consider for a moment what it might mean, Joseph.” What it meant? That Durand had been with me since moments after I arrived in this world? That, beyond simple betrayal, I had been happily lead as a lamb to a slaughter? That…wait. No...that wasn’t possible. There had to be some other- “Joseph. That is all the time I have,” Ahmose suddenly said, cutting off my train of thought so expertly that I was having a hard time even getting myself back to what I’d just been thinking about. Ahmose then walked up to me and placed her tiny hands on my face, her stare stripping me to my soul as she spoke again. “Now, you must live. Consider those doubts once you have taken back your family, Joseph.” I nodded. No part of me could conceive of any other response. Releasing my face, Ahmose’s smile returned and I felt the stress leave the room entirely. “You and your friend Phina have already much for me and the people of these lands, so if you ever choose to live here, it will ever be as one of the Akhet.” “Is it difficult to earn that status otherwise?” I asked, as I looked at the mark resembling a harvest moon that drew into focus on the back of my hand. Ahmose offered an enigmatic smile to my question. “For one as dedicated to procreation as you, Joseph? Not at all. In a decade or two, once the population of the land has recovered, the laws will also not need be as strict. But we have taken as much time as we are able.” Genevieve quickly ushered the pair of us out the door without another word where a jackal-eared woman took over and silently lead us back to the street. “Well that was...interesting,” I remarked to Phina. “So what did you do for Ahmose?” “I don’t want to talk about it,” she shot back, pulling the parchment from my hands. “The Midnight Market, was it? Let’s go.” Phina was making it hard to want to do anything other than throw sand in her face. Running over my own thought processes, it seemed like I’d lately been doing a lot of thinking about how Phina was being more of a bitch than normal. I’d been right in every instance, yes, but at this rate it would be a matter of days, at best, before we’d literally be trying to kill each other. “Fine, I get it,” I remarked all too sagely. “Knowing that you’ve been here in the desert explains a few things at least.” “Oh?” she called back disinterestedly as we wound through buildings and eventually down a long set of ancient stone stairs into the much darker underground. I smirked as I replied, “It certainly explains how you got all the sand in your va-” Maybe it was my comment or maybe it was the smarmy grin I was wearing when she spun on me, but Phina didn’t even hesitate as she growled and threw a vicious straight punch directly to my groin. Even with the protection of my armor, the pain had me on the ground a moment later as I struggled to breathe. “Oh you poor dear,” she said as she leered down at me. “Talking like that...I was sure you liked it rough.” I had no words. Actually, I had an entire dictionary of words and no ability to speak any of them. As I struggled to pull myself out of the fetal position, I saw Phina slump to the ground next to me in a groaning heap only moments later. The look of surprise on her face said plainly enough that she’d been attacked. I was not quite ready to let her die just yet. Soldiering through the blinding pain as best I could, I immediately reached for my primary weapon when a gentle hand caught my wrist, the hand showing pale skin between deep scars. “You are safe, father,” I heard a familiar voice remark. “But I am quite sad to say that you deserved that.” Looking as aware as she had when I’d seen her in Kaori, Lorelei smiled down at me through a shimmering curtain of her beautiful silvery hair. “Uuuuuh,” I groaned, still overcome by a pain that rolled over me in nonstop waves. “When did you start learning to speak zombie, father?” she asked, adding with a slight blush, “Though perhaps you should...practice a bit more before attempting to use it in conversation.” ---------------------------------- --Elsewhere-- Mira had already been turned down by more than a dozen mercenary companies as she tried to gather assistance for that man’s foolish endeavor. The search had not been going well. With a deep sigh, Mira tried to remain at least a little hopeful about the venture despite knowing firsthand that Durand’s magic corps and elite fighters could well hold back an assault from an entire legion for months or years if pressed. Even with a way around the impregnable gates, it was going to take a lot more muscle, either in quantity or quality, to turn this whole thing into something less bleak than an outright suicide mission. Mira would argue later that she was only helping Joseph in the first place to repay the debt to him. The truth that she wouldn’t dare admit was that she simply wanted the man to be hers. How was he still standing? How was he still moving forward? How was he even still alive? She didn’t have answers to any of those questions or to the fact that he could still somehow find it in himself to smile at anything beyond a quick and merciful death. So Mira decided that she would do this for him. She would do whatever she could to gather whoever and whatever she could to enable him to take this risk. Mira believed that he was simply putting up a facade--and why not?--that impossible attitude had already drawn so many others to love and follow him. She was sure that when the time finally came to to make their assault upon Durand, the man would buckle. He had to...because if he didn’t--if a man that once tried to take his own life to escape his pain had more determination to live than anyone had any right to--she wouldn’t be able to force herself to walk away, certainly not without forcing him to make good on one or both of his promises during their little game. And that was what had brought Mira to this stronghold along the Ahmose/Amarante border to meet with these mercenaries. Shel’s Reavers were the largest remaining mercenary company anywhere west of the great mountains that had even given her an answer to the dozens of requests she’d sent to every mercenary company she could find. There had been a lot of rumors about the Reavers’ questionable recruiting practices and illegal activities since the end of the war, but the best (or worst) mercenary companies in Kaori had already been paid to fight against her or to stay out of it. She hoped her sister was doing better trying to track down powerful individuals and freelancers, because Mira was simply running out of options on her end. “Let me get this straight,” the particularly cantankerous skeleton leader of the Reavers argued, “You want us to take on South Teremir Mercantile directly in their main base of operations? To go after this Durand?” “You’ll be very well paid. I can guarantee that,” Mira quietly countered. The skeleton waved to several mamono that stood behind her as they circled around the witch. “That sounds like a great offer, but you’re a bit late. We’ve already been paid. Coin upfront, actually. So unless you’ve got something to match South Teremir’s offer, we’ve already got our orders.” She already knew that this was going to be a possibility once she’d heard that Durand’s retainers had been throwing around gold and favors to damn near every sellsword on the island. She’d just been hoping that it hadn’t happened so soon. Already exhausted from the last several days of travel, Mira knew she wasn’t going to be able to put up much of a fight. She’d been in worse situations, just not much worse. Mira threw her arm across her eyes to shield them and released a blinding magical flash, bolting for the door a moment later. She only got two steps, however, before a large minotaur hand had her by the throat, slamming her to the stone floor. “So, little witch,” the skeleton said as she leered down. “I’ll let you send out one letter. We looked into this human you’re working with and we’re interested to see if he can beat South Teremir’s offer. If he can bring that, with an extra fee for our inconvenience and his gender, we’ll let you go and come kill this Durand with you. If he isn’t here in a week, we’ll just have to see if we can carve any information out of you worth selling, so I’d make that letter good.” It wasn’t until Mira fervently nodded that the hand left her throat and she was able to breathe again. And as the parchment and quill were forced into her hands, she started to wish they’d just killed her. A rescue, assuming Joseph could even mount or finance one, would stretch their resources even further beyond their already threadbare state. The alternative--giving in to their demands--was absolutely out of the question. If they truly were willing to turn for a larger pile of gold, there was no possibility that these mercenaries could ever be trusted. “Damn him!” Mira silently cursed, her thoughts wrapped in more confusing emotions. She couldn’t stand the thought that he wouldn’t come to get her if she asked. What was far more terrifying, however, was the thought that he would. Mira forced herself to forget what it was she wanted. She owed him her life, so she wrote the only thing that would make them even, ignoring how painful it was to actually put the words down. I’m sorry, Joseph. Forget about our game. Goodbye, Mira Ripping the parchment from Mira’s hands as she finished, the skeleton smiled with her broken half face. “Oh this won’t do at all. If he’s as sweet on you as you are on him, he’ll have to come. I think we’ll just need to give him some extra motivation, yeah?” Mira swallowed hard and steeled herself, even as the skeleton drew a large knife and began horrifyingly moving it toward her left eye. -------------------------------- Once I could once again breathe and acknowledge sensations in my universe beyond pain, I allowed Lorelei to help me to my feet. “Maybe I did deserve that, but you haven’t had to travel with her,” I pleaded in defense of my incendiary statement from moments before. “I do not like her in the slightest, father,” Lorelei said as she kept her eyes trained on the succubus, looking as though she was trying to decide what to do with her. “Azalea and I caught her peeking into Karisa’s kitchen window before you began your attempt to intentionally fail investing in the market correctly.” “Well don’t hurt her, please. You know...any more than you already have, I guess.” I said quickly, still not quite to the level of wanting Phina dead. Lorelei offered a demure smile. “I have not harmed her, only drew some of her energy from her. In all truest sincerity, I took very little. If she has been disagreeable, it is likely due to being completely deprived and empty of demonic energy in any meaningful concentration. You have been with her for far more than a single day, so I assumed you would have long since consummated your partnership.” Wow. Did Lorelei know that words could hurt too? It felt like she was going for the jugular, however potentially unintentionally. I frowned, looking hurt by her statement. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you, daughter, but she wasn’t about to lay with another ‘filthy whore’, as she put it.” Lorelei gave me a distressed look before pulling me into a hug. “Oh father, you are most certainly not filthy.” Despite the fact that she’d just called me a whore, however un-filthy, the genuine concern in her voice made it impossible to be truly mad at her. “It’s fine,” I finally said, gently tapping out of the affectionate hug. “But despite what you might think, I’m not going to just dive on any woman that shakes her ass or tail in my direction.” As I said those words, a few things clicked and I had a sudden terrifying realization. Leaning down to get a closer look at Phina, I mumbled mostly to myself, “It couldn’t be...no. I mean...that was a dream, wasn’t it?” “You seem distressed. Is something the matter?” Lorelei asked, her brow furrowing as she looked down at me. Phina took that opportunity to slowly open her eyes and scowl, first at me and then at Lorelei. I needed the next couple moments to transpire without anger so I took a very soft tone as I asked Phina, “Why haven’t you gone to see your daughter? She’s here in the city, right?” She rubbed her eyes, now looking positively exhausted, as she answered, “Because I didn’t want you to see her. If you saw her or saw me with her...you’d tell me to stay here. You’d just start wondering more and more about what horrible thing Medea is holding over me. Then you’d start trying to get me to tell you so you could ‘help’ me with it.” Lorelei maintained her worried look as she pulled Phina up, offering her shoulder to help keep the succubus on her feet. “As her mother, Miss Phina...do you not think it more concerning to imagine her coming of age and stumbling upon him on the road as so many countless others have?” Phina threw a look of absolute horror at Lorelei in answer to her question. With all the homework Phina had done figuring out who I was, that outcome didn’t sound entirely impossible. What was worrying me now, however, was that seeing Phina face down for that moment made me consider that I’d never seen another succubus with hair like Phina’s outside of a dream I only half-remembered. “Phina,” I began simply, taking a deep breath before I continued. “You never touched me while I was asleep in Teremir or after I was...uh...overcome by the reforged Tizona, right?” “No, neither of those times,” she answered. “What do you mean, ‘those times’?” Why was I even asking the fucking question when I already knew the answer? I started pacing before she could even say anything as I quickly added, “You said her father was a filthy, destitute whore, right?” She knew I was avoiding the question I wanted to ask. Thankfully, she decided to bail me out of that instance of anxiety when she said, “Oh, you think because you had that dream about me that you might be the father?” Phina must have heard me mention that dream just a few moments ago. Otherwise, that would mean- She continued, answering her own question, “Because I figured you’d have had a lot more than just the one ‘dream’. The alchemist that sold me that incense was a lot better than she let on.” What possible reason could she have had for-? “And before you ask,” Phina continued, “I needed the energy to continue my accelerated training. Happy?” Destitute. That was the only word keeping me from screaming. Phina knew that I wasn’t broke. Well, technically Meryl had ownership of all my previous holdings, and she was sealed in a crystal in Durand’s castle. Phina couldn’t have known all that, though. While I quickly tried to mentally uncrack this egg, Phina continued, “Living in that nice house, I assumed you were doing okay. It wasn’t until right about the time I was humiliating myself giving you that sponge bath that you mentioned you’d somehow lost a hundred million gold. Look, do you want to keep dancing around this? Maybe pretend this is another dream? It’s done, and the moment I saw her face, I knew I wouldn’t apologize to you for it either. I just didn’t want you to have another distraction, or for her to see you and somehow recognize or remember you enough to cry later for two dead parents instead of just me.” “This, right here?” I growled. “This is the fucking dream. Forget that you raped me in my sleep for...I don’t even care for how long. You’re telling me I--no--that we have a fucking daughter and I don’t even know her name! If you want to hate me for something I didn’t even consciously do, fine. Keep hating me like you have up until now, but this-” Phina angrily cut in, “I don’t hate you!” She paused for a moment before adding, “But I absolutely hate you...and that’s the problem.” There was another long pause before Phina shook her head and said, “Her name is Circe.” Realizing that a small crowd had gathered in the shadows of nearby alleyways to watch our real life mamono soap opera unfold in glorious high definition, Lorelei politely cut us both off. “It certainly seems that you two will have a great deal to discuss over dinner, as well as the assistance I can provide regarding the Ashtail Legion that I was certain you would be seeking. For now, welcome to the Midnight Market, the darkest part of Lord Ahmose’s shadow.” ------------------- “Why did you not tell him the truth?” Genevieve asked of her Lord. Ahmose sighed. “What is true to you and I is not true to the rest of the world.” “But it’s still better for him to know!” “Have you ever wondered why we forget our dreams?” Ahmose asked, pausing a moment before answering her own question, “I believe it is because they are too beautiful for our cynical waking minds to accept.” “You think he would just forget again,” Genevieve stated plainly. Ahmose shook her head. “I do not know, but that painting is frightening enough. It would be worse for him to remember the time they spent together, only to then find her face painted over the happiness they shared. If only I had kept her bound to my sorrow…” Genevieve waved her hands dismissively. “She had already been bound to another, my lady. It was my task to kill Durand. I wanted her to ask me to do it but somehow I knew she wouldn’t. This is my fault.” The pair then sat in silence until the moon was high in the sky. “Every single day I find something my powers as Lord can do nothing to fix,” Ahmose quietly remarked. “But the gift of her memory, of my friend, my Sorrow, is treasure enough for now.” “My Lord,” Genevieve said with a bow as she left Ahmose to her nightly reflection. There were many warm feelings bound up within the ancient succubus as she was taunted by the memories of a person that only the other Lords and their closest servants could possibly remember. Among those many thoughts was not a single breath of forgiveness for Durand’s existence. Death was far better than that lich deserved, and after seeing the interesting weapons Joseph had been carrying, Genevieve worried that Durand would escape even that. The only hope that remained was for something that was, as far as anyone knew, completely impossible. She wanted her friend back. ---------------------------------- -Elsewhere- “Who was that witch?” “Dunno.” “She wasn’t one of Shel’s Reavers. If she hasn’t come out by now, she’s probably dead.” “Or captured.” “Mercenaries don’t take prisoners unless they’re ordered to.” “You did.” “He’s different!” “And that’s why we aren’t allowed to touch him. We understand.” “So what are we doing?” “There must be a hundred in there. We’re beyond outmatched.” “We should just leave.” “But we could--wait. Who are those two heading toward the gate?” “That dragon is bigger than Shaila was.” “We’ve fought dragons before.” “Always goes the same way.” “She isn’t dressed like anyone in Shel’s Reavers so maybe that other one recruited her?” “Those scales of hers are really pretty.” “It doesn’t look like they’re going in. Is she just going to leave her there? She’ll probably-” The rapid fire conversation was interrupted when the large silver-scaled dragons booming voice demanded, “I am the Great and Mighty Ila, Winglord of the Skyrender Dragonflight, Chosen Champion and Blessed of Lord Akuma and I demand to speak to the dragon in charge! This remainder of your chattel was honorable enough to lead me here to seek reparations from you for attempting to strike me...as well as directions to the city of Umbra--which, make no mistake, I could very easily find but feel obligated to make certain you can accurately explain where it is.” “Uh…” “You sure that isn’t Dahlia?” “Dahlia isn’t that big, or silver. Pretty close on the arrogance though.” “Then…” “We can’t leave that man alone for too long or we won’t be able to get him back to Sara to help the captain.” “If she isn’t already dead.” “Helping that dragon helps us. We were trying to kill the Reavers, remember?” “I’m feeling rusty, though.” “It’s been four hours since your last fight.” “Exactly. Rusty.” “Quit talking to yourself and move.” “You quit talking to yourself.” Shaking the head on her shoulders, the chimaera hopped over the rock behind which she’d been hiding alone and quickly made her way toward the barred gate of the mercenary complex and the impossibly dense dragon that stood before it. |
| Lorelei can speak again? Seems someone's been eating well. Also care to refresh my mind on the game Mira and the MC have going on? |
MetallumOperatur said: Lorelei can speak again? Seems someone's been eating well. Also care to refresh my mind on the game Mira and the MC have going on? Lorelei's recovery was one of the reasons I had to allow more time to pass--the MC was out a while. Probably going to leave it vague just to facilitate other things (and potential crossover) but in my mind it was comparable to that initial recovery from the Selvirin attack in story 1. Right after the MC got turned back into a guy, she played that little game with him. He had to guess what she was going to do to him, saying that if he was right, that was all she'd do. She also made vague threats about what she'd do if his guess truly displeased her. Trying to take the wind out of her sails, he first said "Marry me" and then followed it up with "Have you bear my child". While it did throw her a bit off balance, she's suggested a few times since then that she plans to get the MC to make good on that. Their "game". |
emeraldtryst said: MetallumOperatur said: Lorelei can speak again? Seems someone's been eating well. Also care to refresh my mind on the game Mira and the MC have going on? Lorelei's recovery was one of the reasons I had to allow more time to pass--the MC was out a while. Probably going to leave it vague just to facilitate other things (and potential crossover) but in my mind it was comparable to that initial recovery from the Selvirin attack in story 1. Right after the MC got turned back into a guy, she played that little game with him. He had to guess what she was going to do to him, saying that if he was right, that was all she'd do. She also made vague threats about what she'd do if his guess truly displeased her. Trying to take the wind out of her sails, he first said "Marry me" and then followed it up with "Have you bear my child". While it did throw her a bit off balance, she's suggested a few times since then that she plans to get the MC to make good on that. Their "game". So basically all she wants is the good old classic husband and a couple kiddos combo :-D Now that I think about it, though, what should we call her state of mind. She's the would be rapist that then develops affectionate feelings for her victim and now goes through fire for him... Is that perhaps reverse Stockholm Syndrome? |
MetallumOperaturDec 29, 2016 2:57 PM
| Ooo a Chimera |
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| Chapter 7 - A Fluid Reconciliation I can’t remember in the slightest what Lorelei offered for dinner. Phina’s admission also hadn’t made her any less silent, or her glaring any less hateful. Things were only going to get worse if we continued like this and, despite how she thought it might affect me, knowing that the stakes had been raised even further was just getting me more motivated in my determination to make sure we succeeded. Realizing that, with my hunger now sated, I had been staring at an empty plate for several minutes, I finally spoke up, “Phina...you don’t have to come with me.” Phina slammed her fork down on the table and scowled at me through the candlelight. “Right. Here we go. This is why I didn’t want you to know.” “I’m not going to stop you or ask you to stay. I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to stick with me. I’ll even tell Wormtongue I forced you to leave,” I offered. “No. You’re just trying to absolve yourself of any responsibility for when things go wrong.” She sighed and added, “Look, I’m too exhausted to even talk about this right now. I’m not leaving your side until we’re done with this.” Lorelei politely stayed quiet while still looking ready to jump in if things didn’t stay civil. I placed my elbows on the table and folded my fingers together, resting my chin on my hands. “Fine. You said you’re with me on this, so I won’t bring it up again. I’m not going to ask about your reasons either. But look--and I don’t know how to say this without sounding...wrong--but if you were okay taking my energy while I was unconscious before, why haven’t you even asked me about getting more? Wouldn’t you be worthless right now if we ran into a conflict?” There was an exasperated acceptance in her voice even as she shook her head. “Let me just--look, I’ve just never been all that attracted to men. Yes, the energy I needed to continue training to be a sorceress killed any illusions I had about obtaining that energy, and even without you being actively involved, I found myself starting to get attached. I hoped you’d hate me after finding out about my daughter.” “Hate you? Huh?” With a sigh, I leaned forward to level my best look of sincerity at Phina and said, “It pissed me off that you weren’t even going to tell me, sure, but it would take a lot more than that to make me hate you...and really just made me a lot more worried about how grim you think our chances really are. But forget all that. If we’re in this together then it would be stupid to be stingy with the one resource we both know I have far too much of in the first place.” That made sense, right? I just told her that she should eat when she could. Absolutely nothing was odd about that statement. What was actually wrong with that statement was that my mind was somehow convincing me that the words I was speaking were anywhere close to rational. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted her to feed on me. My body might not have been showing it, but if she’d given me so much as a wink, a “come hither” glance, or a particularly suggestive cough, I’d have thrown myself across the room at her. I suppose what she did instead would have to suffice. “Hmm. Fine,” she said simply before disappearing under the table, only to reappear with her head in my lap, her hands quickly pulling my breeches down. “Ah,” Lorelei began with a calm smile, “I should take care of these dishes.” Phina’s mouth fell upon me with a ferocity that suggested she’d have been more than happy to consume my entire body. A drowning man sucking down his final breath of air would have seemed a lesson in proper table etiquette when set alongside this. I should have just closed my eyes and let this be an act of necessity, perhaps imagining any one of my current romantic interests hiding beneath that large fancy hat. In what hindsight would certainly show to be a mistake, however, I pulled that hat from Phina’s head and tossed it across the small room. Removing her hat got her attention and her now glowing red eyes shot up to meet mine. Despite her yearning moan, I could clearly see tears in her eyes. Whether those tears were from joy, shame, sadness, or just the act of forcing her throat to accept a foreign invader, I found myself unable to look away. I was the first to blink as I was finally overcome, my eyes staying closed as I found Phina’s horns and gripped them, desperate to keep her from pulling away. In response she simply took a deep breath and then fell upon me, her arms wrapping around my lower back as she sucked me dry, not moving until she’d gotten every single agonizingly wonderful drop. As I was coming to my senses, I heard Phina nearly squeal with delight. Wiping her face with her sleeve, the expression that she now wore was one of utter contentment. “God, how can something that tastes so bad make me feel so good?! Forget whatever I said about not standing a chance against Durand’s forces. If you can keep me full of your...uh...energy, we’ll put that bitch in her place!” Sitting there speechless with my mouth still hanging open, I could only manage a nod. Far too much of me hoped that it was an eager nod. The exhaustion that before would have demanded that I lie down for a nap passed after a few moments, and with it nearly all of the anger that had been building toward Phina over the last several days. “Are you decent, father?” I heard Lorelei call from the next room as Phina fluttered her way down a set of stairs nearby. Quickly getting my pants back into place, I answered back, “You can come back in.” Gliding back into the room, Lorelei sent a slight frown in my direction as she scolded, “I asked if you were decent. You’ll have to forgive me my wariness of your ever growing appetite.” I looked around in confusion. “Seriously. Did I do something to upset you?” Lorelei’s frown actually deepened before being politely hidden away. “I know that it was unintentional, and that when the way presents itself, you will not hesitate to take proper responsibility towards the correct resolution.” “I...really don’t know what you’re saying, Lorelei. I’m sorry if I-” I began. Crossing her arms, Lorelei took on a look that bordered on anger. “Do not offer a worthless apology, father. It is quite rude. You are not the cause, but you otherwise have no idea what has upset me.” That much was true. I wonder when I’d been conditioned to just take the blame even when I had no idea for what I was actually assuming guilt. I took a deep breath to clear my head and calmly asked, “Okay. What has upset you?” Trying to keep her expression stern, she answered back, “Most of all, I am upset that you came to drag me back from that hellish pit in Kaori for no reason.” Didn’t that mean she actually was upset with me? On instinct, I shot back, “I had a very good reason, Lorelei. You should know by now that I was determined to come get you because I...because...just wait a second. No, I was definitely…” Why the fuck had I gone to rescue her? I ripped through every single memory from this world and beyond and I couldn’t even figure out how I’d learned where she even was to begin with. As I began to frantically sift through my memories, desperate to find the missing piece that I knew had to be there, I started getting frantic. Every single thread of remembrance, even followed back as carefully as possible, ran into some unexplainable frayed snag or entirely broken continuity. With each passing second, I grew more furiously desperate to find the piece I knew I was now fully aware that I was missing. Where did I learn necromancy? Risa wouldn’t have just abandoned me for months while she went off in search of that powdered unicorn horn...and even if she had, how did I survive without food or water while she was gone? How did Zee just happen to stumble onto us down in the Prosperity mine? How did Meryl even end up in Durand’s castle? How the fuck did we even release Ahmose? That last thought set my mind to screaming with a rage I’d never experienced, my eyes running to every corner of the room searching for something they wouldn’t find. My memory simply didn’t work like this. With Miranda’s spell, I ended up in a confused agony whenever I came too close to a sealed memory. In this case there was something that just wasn’t there. The fact that we were even sitting in the same room together was completely impossible...unless I considered the painting again. I’d never have been able to explain it to someone else, but having that sort of disruption in my memory was physically painful to me. And I did what most damaged people did when they couldn’t quite wrap their minds around some sort of trauma. I found something to fill it. Durand. She was the easiest thing to fit into all those excruciating blank spots. In the scant handful of seconds it had taken me to run through that entire thought process, I hadn’t noticed that Lorelei had moved to gently set her hands on my shoulders. Lorelei spoke softly into my ear, “I do not know what you might be thinking father, but I can promise you that it is almost certainly wrong.” “We will find the answer. Somehow we will find what was lost,” she added before gently setting her head on my shoulder. “And if you worry, as I do, that the answer does not exist, then we must find a way to create or recreate that answer, father.” I nodded as Lorelei’s fingers began moving in a vaguely sensual way across my neck and shoulders, drawing my anger and tension away just as surely as my wakefulness. Before I nodded off into peaceful slumber, I heard her say, “Now sleep. Tomorrow we can start preparing. Once everything is in place, we will set out for the home of the last Ashtails.” --------------------------------------------- --Elsewhere-- Shel was angry. She didn’t often have good reason to cut up one of the “pretty” mamono like this witch. She didn’t really want or need a reason to do something she enjoyed so much, but she was actually upset that this witch assumed that someone other than Shel’s skeletal self was in charge of this mercenary company. And yet now her soldiers were afraid of some blithering idiot screaming at the front gate. Twice Shel had decided to be generous enough to send someone to threaten off whoever had stumbled upon their fortress, and twice she’d heard the whispers of her subordinates as they argued over who would tell her that their uninvited guest wouldn’t leave. Was it too much for a girl to ask to simply be given a little free time to carve an eyeball or two out of a pitifully screaming prisoner? “Commander,” one of the girls finally said quietly just as the witch had really started to try to squirm away from the point of Shel’s dagger. “I thought I told you to get rid of her!” Shel angrily hissed back. “It’s a dragon, commander. A strong one.” “I know I pay you all enough to know how to handle these things without bothering me for every single detail. Have one of the sneaky or magical ones throw a collar on her and kill her. Go. Now,” Shel said with finality. As she turned back to still unfortunately un-bleeding witch, Shel noticed that her subordinate had yet to leave the room. “Did you forget how to follow orders, reaver?” “No, commander. It’s just that she was already wearing a collar when she got here and-” Shel turned and angry spat. “Fine, send the first and second squad! For the love of Charisse’s festering fuck hole!” Now nervously sweating, the reaver answered back. “The...uh...first squad is gone. After the first three of our girls were...dispatched, the rest fled into the desert. I couldn’t find the sergeant of the second squad. A few of the girls claim to have seen her taking her squad out the rear gate for...practice maneuvers.” “This is what I get for conscripting caravan guards and Charisse ex-military trash,” Shel mumbled aloud. “Fine. Since you have to make this difficult, just get everyone. I’ll lead them personally.” Only a handful of minutes later, nearly an entire cohort had mustered in the massive indoor courtyard of the ancient fortress, all armed and ready for battle. The fortress had been the reason Shel’s Reavers had survived the civil war nearly unscathed, having held off a 7 month siege against usurper forces. During that entire time the great reinforced iron outer gates of the fortress had been breached only once. It was with the previously heartening thought that no single mamono would be able to break down the great gate that Shel’s Reavers turned to face the thunderous crash from the direction of the gate. Many of those closest to the gate screamed in pain as jagged pieces of shattered iron cut into exposed skin like buckshot, the metal now also so cold that a chill mist rose into the air over the scattered shrapnel. Reeling in shocked disbelief, the mass of mamono looked up to see a very large pair of mamono standing where the mighty gate had been only moments before. Shel was not afraid, but as larger and larger handfuls of her supposed allies began creeping away, outside of her notice, she certainly should have been. ---------------------------------- --Moments Before-- “You know they’re just going to try to kill you, right?” Keres asked the mysterious dragon. Jumping in surprise as she turned to regard the chimaera, Ila loudly remarked, “By my breath! I didn’t expect to find a bloodforged warborn in charge of this rabble!” Keres shot the dragon a quizzical look “Warborn?” “We are rather mighty.” “I think it sounds a bit like an insult.” “Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Shaking her head a bit, Keres looked back to Ila and replied, “We are not in charge of these mercenaries. We’ve actually been planning to wipe them out.” Ila regarded the chimaera far differently than she had the other mamono she’d recently encountered, seeing at least some measure of dragon in the sorcerous beast. “Hmm. Have you not tried simply breaking down the gate, walking inside, and beating them all to death? Are they commanded by a more powerful dragon?” Keres’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Oh, we think we’re going to like you!” “There might actually be a few of our allies in there.” “There is no dragon within that we know of.” “Their leader, Shel, is a very skilled undead warrior.” “Allies among the lesser mamono? How scandalous! Have the times truly changed so much?” Looking as though shaking off a chill, Ila then added, “Though even I will admit that undead can be trouble.” Ila was thoughtful a moment before she spoke again with a slight smile, “To be truly honest, I have no real business with these so called mercenaries. There is someone I must meet in Umbra. If you would be willing to accompany me to the city, I’m certain we could make short work of this ‘fortress’.” Returning Ila’s smile, Keres answered, “We would be delighted to.” “We’d have to pick up someone first.” “The poor flower would wilt without someone to care for him.” “We don’t have a way past the gate, though. We didn’t think you’d attack so quickly and there’s no way they’re opening it again.” “The gate?” Ila asked before perking up in seeming understanding. “Ah, your dragon soul must be of flames. I will open the gate.” Assuming that she could convince the dragon to come with her to regroup and attack another day, perhaps under the cover of darkness, Keres balked at the suggestion that the dragon was planning to attack this instant. There were at least a hundred soldiers inside the fortress and almost no chance that the two of them, even working together, had any chance of overcoming the defenders. Her calculated hesitation, however, turned to a predatory bloodlust as her leonine personality firmly asserted itself, drawing a wide smile from the chimaera. “Oh, this day just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait!” “Wait. I need something extremely important first,” Ila said suddenly. “Do you have a large, sturdy sack?” “Uh...yeah,” Keres said as she emptied some unneeded spare rations onto the ground and handed her bag to Ila. “Why is the sack important?” Her smile growing ever wider, Ila began walking toward the gate. “If the commander is an undead, I’m betting I’ll finally beat my old record. Oh, this is such a great game. I’ll show you!” Laying her heavy claw upon the thick metal gate, Ila drew in a great breath and held it within her powerful lungs a moment before unleashing a blast of ice that continued until long after the air surrounding them had taken on a deathly arctic chill. Ila then looked at the large metal gate and gave a satisfied nod. Then with a deliberate slowness, Ila drew her large claw back and grunted with exertion as she stepped forward and slammed her clenched fist against the metal, shattering the gate into countless shards. Keres blinked twice. The dragon may have been a few pies short of a pixie party, but even if she died now, without the gate, Keres could assault this place with guerilla tactics until every last one of Shel’s Reavers was dead. Licking her talons as she saw nearly triple the hundred soldiers she originally estimated, however, Keres stepped up next to Ila and shook with an excitement she hadn’t felt since...well...since right before she’d betrayed her former captain, Azalea. -------------------------------------- --Elsewhere-- “You could well have a letter from Lord Ahmose herself and it would not change our situation, dear. I am ever so willing to be flexible, but you are in Amarante and I’ll be forced to call the constable if you try to leave without paying your tab,” the otherwise exceptionally polite bicorn said, putting her hoof down hard on the wooden floor to emphasize her point. “But I don’t have any gold! The fairy that sent me on this job said that I should write if I needed anything, but how was I supposed to know that a message could take weeks to get to her unless I spend more gold I don’t have to send it?!” Narayani nearly shrieked in frustration. “Look, I truly have no desire to upset you, but please try to understand my position. If it was just the food and room, I would be more than happy to let this all go on your promise of eventual repayment,” Belle began with a sigh, having gone over this nearly a half-dozen times already. “But then you callously destroyed my favorite painting. The replacement cost isn’t substantial but it was a gift from a very dear friend.” “Because that’s the man I was looking for! I already passed him in the desert. I’d be done with this job and home now if he’d introduced himself properly!” Narayani complained, adding in a pleading voice, “Please, if I hurry he may still be near where I last saw him. It’s only been a few days.” “Oh, you’ve met Joseph?” Belle suddenly asked with a smile. Hoping this might be a chance out of her current predicament, Narayani nodded vigorously. “I did! Just a few days ago in the desert east of Umbra.” Belle sighed with something like longing. “Ah, it truly is a small world, is it not?” “It really is,” Narayani agreed. Returning to the conversation with a more serious look, Belle looked back to the gandharva and stated, “If you are indeed delivering a package for a dear friend of mine, I suppose I will be a bit more generous.” “Truly?!” Narayani exclaimed. “Indeed!” Belle replied with a smile. “If you put in honest work for me for two weeks, I’ll say that you’ll have worked off enough to leave the rest to credit.” “T-two weeks?! He’ll be long gone or dead by then!” “That is as far as my generosity can stretch. In that time I will also make certain that you have food and a bed until you leave. I’ll also give you the time after sundown each day to yourself. You can use that time to rest, socialize with the kind townsfolk, or do whatever else you wish until dawn. Are those terms acceptable?” Belle finished her offer and extended a hand. “I really don’t have a choice, do I?” Narayani replied as she extended her clawed wingtip. Gently shaking Narayani’s wing, Belle answered, “No, my dear. You really don’t. But since you’ve agreed, you can have the rest of today to yourself. Just be here ready to work at dawn tomorrow. If you prove yourself a reliable worker for a few days, I might also be interested to see you ravage my husband. You smell...truly wonderful.” As Belle finished the conversation with a friendly nod, a small group of mamono appeared to be moving tables around across the room. Narayani was still recovering from the shock of Belle’s final words and was about to simply ignore the group until she saw that they appeared to be musicians and, far more interesting to her, carrying at least one completely unfamiliar instrument. Her previous anger nearly forgotten, Narayani approached the group and spoke up. “Excuse me, are you playing a concert here?” Hopping up on a nearby table, a large fairy-like girl giggled at her question. “Concert? It’s nothing that grand! We’re just playing for fun and maybe some tips. Belle agreed to let us set up here while we’re passing through. We’re actually working our way to Kioko for a festival coming up. Why? I see you’ve got that lutey looking thing with you. You want to play with us?” Now slightly embarrassed, Narayani blushed as she answered, “I’m not from around here so I doubt I know any of your songs, but I’d love to hear you play. I’ve also never seen an instrument like that,” she said, indicating an odd-shaped stringed instrument. “Oh, this is a hammered dulcimer. I think it sounds really neat! How about this...I’ll play you a song and then you play me a song, deal?” the oversized fairy offered with a smile. As Narayani listen in utterly rapt fascination to the foreign music, she felt her heart stir, her skin prickle, and her breath catch in her throat. It had been years--decades since she’d felt this way from hearing music. She couldn’t understand it. The unique instrument had a pleasing sound but there was nothing overly complex about the song. It was just notes strung together in sequences Narayani had somehow never considered. Is this what music outside the desert was like? As the song finished, the fairy looked up and jumped in shock. “Oh, I didn’t think it was that bad! Or...good?” she added with a tiny smile. Narayani realized that the experience had left tears streaming down her cheeks. “It was good, I think,” she managed to choke out with a wavering smile as she tried to get herself under control. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to!” the fairy offered. The statement finally bringing some composure back to Narayani, the gandharva shook her head. “No, I think I want to play. I...guess I just hope you like it.” Narayani pulled the sitar from where it had been hanging on her back and regarded the instrument that had been a gift from her teacher when she had first learned to play. It had remained at the core of her musical composition even as she learned nearly a dozen other instruments. Even with as much as she loved the instrument, she realized that it had been nearly ten years since she had even touched the strings for anything more than maintenance. She took the extra time to make certain it was still tuned correctly as she finished drying the remains of her emotional outburst. Then, with nothing more than a deep breath and a hint of trepidation, Narayani played. “Whoa!” the leanan sidhe exclaimed in genuine excitement. “That was amazing! I’ve never even heard a song like that. Where did you learn that?” Narayani blushed a bit at the compliment. “I wrote it...but that was nearly twenty years ago. I haven’t come up with anything new in over a decade.” As Narayani was about to let herself get upset again, Belle walked over and placed a coin on the table. “See, already getting tips!” the fairy said with a smile. “And if you’re free tonight, you should definitely play with us.” “Teach me the tuning and chord progression you’re using and I’m in,” Narayani offered with a grin. Belle smiled as the guests for the evening began to arrive. As bad as she’d felt about forcing the gandharva to stay until her debt was paid, the look of happiness on Narayani’s face as she learned new music dispelled those worries. The Honeybee Inn was situated right along one of the main routes to Kioko’s realm, and with the upcoming festival drawing more than a few musicians, there would likely be any number of different musical styles on display in Belle’s small inn over the next two weeks. Narayani quite obviously loved music. Rather than cleaning or trying to work the bar during the busy evenings, Belle knew exactly what she’d have Narayani doing to repay her debt. Well, that and playing music, she mused to herself with a grin as she imagined the look of distress her beloved husband would likely have on his face as an unfamiliar harpy dragged him screaming into the depths of glorious depravity. ----------------------------------- Over the next two days while Lorelei, Phina, and I prepared to set out, I ate and slept better than I had in recent memory. After continually supplementing her diet with a healthy dose of me, I have no doubt that Phina agreed. I knew exactly what would happen when I made the suggestion, but I don’t know if I had fully considered just how wide it would throw the floodgates open on Phina’s hunger. With how pleasant she’d become, however, I wasn’t about to complain. Phina’s actions would occasionally earn a mild scowl from Lorelei when they interrupted breakfast, cleaning, dinner, sleeping, or literally any moment she wasn’t doing something else more pressing...but there weren’t any other problems. Well. That wasn’t entirely true. Without any sort of warning, Lorelei had taken to giving me a nightly massage. After the first night of relaxing bliss, I knew that she was touching me far deeper than her fingers could go unless she’d ripped off my skin. It wasn’t that the feeling wasn’t pleasant. It was that by the third night it was becoming far too pleasant to be considered a “family” activity. Her touch made it feel like my energy was slowly being pulled from my toes to my shoulders, setting off every nerve along the way. I’d never experienced tantric massage, but from what I’d heard, Lorelei’s technique made that entire concept sound amateur. On the last evening before setting out, I decided that I’d definitely have to sit her down and have a very serious conversation about familial boundaries. Just...after she hit...that one spot near my neck. Ah...right there. I could only sigh in relaxed contentment. I’d definitely get around to that conversation. Eventually. ---------------------------- I’d written off the possibility of the dragon Ila showing up at the gate, even after we ended up wasting an entire extra day waiting for her. Imagine my surprise when I saw her sauntering up to me wearing a blackened war paint of dried blood, dark bruises, and countless scabs from superficial cuts. That was enough for a small gasp of surprise, but she also had two other individuals with her that I could see. One of her entourage was a short, spindly man, looking like he had missed more than a few meals in the last few weeks or months. It looked like the last thing he wanted to be was walking through the desert, or in the desert, or walking at all in the first place. I was far more interested in the large mishmash of mamono beside her that looked to have been slapped together from spare parts. I might have assumed that was the case if I hadn’t seen that her tail looked to be an actual snake. Taken together with the rest of her features, my inner dungeon master classified her as the mamono variant of a chimaera. Where in the hell did she pick up these two...and why? Striding up to me with a large sack that she slammed into the ground every dozen steps or so, Ila looked down at me and spoke, “It seems you weren’t lying about a few things, so I have decided to follow you to determine the truth of the rest. I must drop something off within the city, so you will wait here.” If she hadn’t been a head and a half taller than me, I might have done more than angrily bite my lip and answer back, “Oh, is that what I’m going to do?” Not even looking down at me as she passed, she replied, “It is, but it is wise of you to clarify. Acquaint yourself with my new ally, Keres, and her charge if you’d like.” Ila then violently swung the large sack at the ground before heading toward one of the guards at the gate. This time, when the sack hit the ground, I was certain I heard a pained moan from within it, the sound making me wince. I didn’t even have a chance to question the arrogant dragon before she was out of earshot. Turning back around to the assumed pair of unfamiliar individuals, I unexpectedly saw Mira step out from behind the chimaera. Seeing her, I was a bit disturbed that I wasn’t certain if I should feel relief or dread. “So you just happened to meet them out in the desert?” I asked. Mira shook her head and I was made aware of how ragged the witch truly was. Her shoulders sagged under the weight of her exhaustion and she had at least as many wounds on her as the two larger mamono, some of them looking far more worrisome. Before she could answer, I corrected my tone and said, “Are you okay?” “I will be,” she answered simply and then added with a pointed look at me, “Those two saved me. I should have died. If they hadn’t shown up when they did, it might have ended up even worse than me dying.” “Thank you,” I mechanically offered to Keres, almost immediately understanding why Mira made her point in such a way. “I’ll thank Ila whenever she gets back.” Mira offered a weak smile and said, “She isn’t going to be easy to deal with, I know. But I’ve never seen a warrior like her.” Keres took that opportunity to sit on the ground, gesturing over her shoulder. “The witch isn’t kidding. We’d been scouting that place for weeks trying to find a way to bring them down and she just kicked in the door and went to work. We helped a little, but not long after what she did to their leader...and with their leader, the ones that didn’t surrender fled as fast as they were able.” I tried and likely failed to hide a scowl even hearing Keres speak. There was no chance that this was just another chimaera that coincidentally had the same name as the one that betrayed Zee and her Ashtail Legion sisters. “So are you two staying here in Umbra?” I asked. “They’re coming with you,” Mira answered. Picking at some blood spots on her boots, Keres added without looking in my direction, “We know you don’t like us.” “Unfortunate.” “We could have been wonderful friends.” “Among many other things.” My hands inched toward my weapons. “I know Lorelei would back me up. Give me one reason I shouldn’t be trying to kill this traitorous stain of a woman.” “It is a bit presumptuous of you to assume such a thing, father,” Lorelei said, perhaps before noticing my expression. “But, however unfortunate, I must agree if that is to be the way of it.” “We can give you more than one reason.” “We know you aren’t a killer.” “Dahlia made the same bargain with the same person.” “We were also betrayed. It should have been Shel’s Reavers and other usurper allies there...not the Legion.” “Joseph may not be a killer, but if his cause is important enough I can assure that I most certainly will be,” Lorelei answered with a menacing step forward. Mira sighed. “Give him the real reasons.” Her eyes focusing in on me, Keres seemed to lose her rambling personality and assume one that was far more determined and forceful. “There are three real reasons,” she began. “The first is that I know you’re going after the remnants of the Legion and I need to give Sara back her husband, as untarnished by anyone but her as he was the day I took him. The second is that I intend to face the judgment of the Legion for my betrayal.” Seeing her hesitate, I urged, “And the third?” “The third is that, despite whatever else I did, giving Azalea that alchemical concoction was the right choice.” “Oh really?” I asked, my voice seething venom. “How is that?” “Because since I saw her drink it, I know she can’t possibly be dead.” Of course there had to be a catch. Mira added with an exhausted wave of her hand, “But the thing that’s been keeping her alive is basically poison and will definitely kill her if she isn’t treated soon. The unicorn Sara is skilled enough, but there was no way for her to gather enough demonic energy to do it without her husband.” Keres then said, “Mira here says the undead here managed to track down where the remaining Ashtails are hiding out. All I can do is hope that Sara and Azalea are there. I had no reason to believe that Keres was being honest, but then why in the world would she have followed someone like Ila, especially after she heard from Mira about how much I likely hated her? I might not forgive Keres, regardless of her motives, but I had a bit more to consider. Foremost among the things I couldn’t help but consider was that Zee was almost certainly still alive. However dire the situation, dying was a fantastic upgrade from dead. Not even Ila’s return or the new wrinkle in my current plans could hold back the soaring flight my heart took at considering that thought. “I thought you were in a hurry. Let’s move!” Ila irritatingly said, the contents of her sack seeming to have been replaced with no small amount of gold. I would have asked her where she’d gotten it if I wasn’t half convinced that knowing might make me an accomplice. We had more important things to worry about and a new reason to move quickly. |
| I like the hammered dulcimer, Ila being an ice dragon is neat and are you going to end up doing your adopted daughter? |
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Many of those closest to the gate screamed in pain as jagged pieces of shattered iron cut into exposed skin like buckshot, the metal now also so cold that a chill mist rose into the air over the scattered shrapnel. Since this has been told from the perspective of Shel, it's reasonable to assume she doesn't know what buckshot it. That whole scene did make me wonder though, why did they put so much faith in the iron gate and the fortress? In your Haktiva write up we saw a Wurm smash through a castle wall as if it was made of paper, and a moment later that Dullahan General told their prisoners that they could have chosen to send in the stronger Mamono to delete the Haktiva town from existence in mere seconds. So wouldn't these mercs know better than to rely on such "defenses"? Finally, I can only imagine not killing Keres will bring more trouble down the line. |
MetallumOperatur said: Many of those closest to the gate screamed in pain as jagged pieces of shattered iron cut into exposed skin like buckshot, the metal now also so cold that a chill mist rose into the air over the scattered shrapnel. Since this has been told from the perspective of Shel, it's reasonable to assume she doesn't know what buckshot it. That whole scene did make me wonder though, why did they put so much faith in the iron gate and the fortress? In your Haktiva write up we saw a Wurm smash through a castle wall as if it was made of paper, and a moment later that Dullahan General told their prisoners that they could have chosen to send in the stronger Mamono to delete the Haktiva town from existence in mere seconds. So wouldn't these mercs know better than to rely on such "defenses"? Finally, I can only imagine not killing Keres will bring more trouble down the line. Couple things to mention here. I was a bit tired when editing, but the perspective should been that of the temporary narrator at that point, though just having it called out gave me cooler ideas. Hindsight =p As far as the gate, the mercenaries/bandits had some other defenses and thought they were only dealing with one mamono. Factoring in to that is the collar she is wearing. It isn't stated exactly what it does, but the extra confidence of the bad guys suggests a few possibilities. I also figure that betting on a frosty mamono having shown up during the war is unlikely. There were still some poor decisions made. For Keres...well, we will have to see. =) |
| Chapter 8 - Converging Revelations --Elsewhere-- The focus needed to continue the infusion of mana into the great ritual was far more taxing than Durand had ever imagined it could be. Even having been a magical practitioner for many millennia, she had never had anywhere near as much concentrated arcane energy pouring through her. The corpses of any inefficient emotions Durand may have once felt lay long buried, slain by her own hand. Much to her surprise and quickly growing chagrin, having a constant flow of energy from the nearly bottomless well of stored mana seemed to be coming with rare, intermittent, flashes of...something. Long certain of the true purpose of the great ritual, Durand had no worry that something was amiss in the formula. Her concern turned instead to the nature of the energy itself. While as much as possible was gathered from the slow trickle of magic from natural wellsprings, after only a hundred years of gathering energy in that way, Durand knew it would never be enough. That meant the vast majority of the gathered energy carried with it the intense emotions that would often have accompanied the moment of its release. It had amused Durand to no end to watch her long string of captives as their bodies turned hatred to fear, fear to lust, and lust eventually into endless desperate love that would last until the subject breathed his last breath. It seemed that using so much of this energy had resulted in slight, momentary impressions of that emotional love. While the impressions had increased slightly in frequency, Durand was convinced that the otherwise meaningless phenomenon would pass as the ritual approached completion and her goal was finally attained. It was meaningless. Nothing more than agnosco veteris vestigia flammæ. It was only worth noting as a curiosity or something to be viewed as humorous. Pointless hilarity, even. Her servants had thankfully kept their intrusions to a minimum, but one interruption during one of the rare swells of transfused emotion in particular had nearly broken her concentration. All Durand had heard of the short exchange was something about a youko hiding somewhere within the castle. Likely the Panna girl, Durand assumed. In her rivalry with Medea, Durand had determined that the nature of the crystal prison made escape from within utterly impossible. If the fox escaped it on her own, Durand would have to make it a point to find out how. That fact certainly didn’t make the matter pressing in the least, however, and a simple nod to her loyal Dullahan Penelope saw the reporting maid dragged from the room and very nearly killed. Durand had far more important things to which she was already attending. Why was such a thing even being mentioned to her? No matter how daft, none of the Panna family had any reason to remain within the castle, and Durand had personally told Penelope to release them into the custody of anyone that arrived at the castle and asked for their release. The only one she wanted to remain was Medea. Having long, long ago studied under the same master, Durand was certain that the completion of the ritual that they had both sought would be the ultimate victory in their less-than-friendly rivalry. Outside the now resealed central ritual chamber, Penelope spoke to the maid in a murderous tone. “That is the last time we will risk Durand’s ire. Tell the rest of the staff that if there are any other matters that require attention, you will bring them to me. I don’t know how she got out of that crystal, but unless the fox tries to go near this room or the vaults, ignore her.” Penelope couldn’t quite understand why Durand would allow their prisoners to go free after their assault on the castle. The ritual was certainly important to her master, but Penelope still needed to worry about the security of the Violaceous Regard. That and wounded pride. Penelope had no intention of deliberately disobeying Durand, but in her long years of service, she had become quite good at following her master’s instructions down to the letter rather than the spirit if the former seemed preferable. After suppressing any communication from outside the castle and the unlikely event that the man would return with anything less than a mind for war, Penelope was almost certain she’d get a chance to recover the pride lost at the hands of that damnable man. Jolting her from her thoughts of revenge was a pale claw falling heavily upon her shoulder. “What did she say?” the large woman asked of Penelope. “You don’t need to fret over it. As long as she doesn’t disrupt the ritual or try to break into the vaults, she isn’t a concern,” Penelope answered. Breathing a sigh of relief despite having no actual need to breathe, the less than living form of the dragon Antarylixi replied, “That’s great news.” Before the dragon could potentially inquire further, Penelope continued, “I have heard some reports that the man Joseph and at least a few others intend to assault this castle. At any cost, we will make certain that they are unable to even attempt to disrupt Durand’s ritual, understand?” With a frown, Ixi nevertheless answered, “Yes, Marshal. If that is what Durand desires.” “She does indeed desire to complete the ritual, and that trumps all other concerns. Carry on,” Penelope finished with a hint of a smile as the bound dragon turned and left. Penelope doubted that the man, now attempting to gather an army, would think to simply request the release of his family. With the fox now running loose and possibly aware of Durand’s orders, however, the Dullahan didn’t want to risk that possibility after all that had happened. She’d just have to make sure he never arrived back at the castle. ------------------------------------ I wasn’t having a lot of luck trying to fully digest all of the disparate pieces of information I’d been given in the last couple weeks, but there was a strange sort of balance to it all that was keeping my spirits up. However worrisome it was that I was missing large chunks of time and memories that were almost certainly important, I had also just been told that Zee was alive. I wasn’t even going to question the truth of the statement, however tempered it had been with the added information that she was dying. Keres had to be as good as her word on this at least. Otherwise...well, I didn’t want to think about the otherwise. Mira hadn’t gone with us and I wouldn’t have blamed her even if she’d originally been planning to. I gave her some coin to make sure she got some food and rest in Umbra. “Mira,” I began before releasing her hand as I passed her the coins. “You were there in the first place because of me, weren’t you?” When she didn’t answer, my first instinct was to apologize profusely. Seeing the look in her eye, defiant despite her overwhelming exhaustion, I held her hand a bit more tightly. “Thank you,” I said with as genuine a look of appreciation as I could muster. She looked a bit shocked that I didn’t say what I think we both knew I’d been about to say. But she definitely looked pleased as she gave a tip of her hat and headed toward the city. On the plus side, it seemed she was at least too tired to try to force me into making good on the results of our game. I strongly doubted she’d forgotten about it, though. We then set out quickly, finding that Lorelei’s over-preparation assured that we still had more than enough supplies to get us where she was “reasonably certain” we needed to go. In leaving it, I couldn’t say that I disliked the city of Umbra, but it was far different than what I was used to. I’m sure I’d have cause to visit again eventually. Hopefully at night. “So can I just call you Ila?” I asked of the frighteningly large dragon woman that had decided to come with me. “You may call me the Great and Mighty Ila, Winglord of the Skyrender Dragonflight, Chosen Champion and Blessed of Lord Akuma,” she answered. I should have just stayed silent, sure, but my entire life to this point had been just a series of comedic episodes showing the result of what happens when someone fails repeatedly to not do what they should. I scoffed. “Oh, you wanted to use full titles? Fine. You can call me Joseph Panna ante Marston, Ryu Ruiner, Lord of Whores Recumbent, Nodded-at-and-Scolded-and-Blessed by Amarante, Grubstaker of a Googol of Genitals, and Dragonslayer.” I might have added more but I was starting to get a bad taste in my mouth thinking back on at least a few of my past exploits. Ila didn’t even look at me. “I’m not saying any of that.” “Then we’re in agreement. You must have just fallen off the testicle truck if you think I’m going to use that whole mess of bullshit to address you,” I countered. “It’s turnip truck,” Phina corrected like a bitch. I quickly continued, “Without me you’d have been a piece of furniture until the end of time, dragon. So we can just not speak.” Phina, still a bitch, added, “Actually, I’m the one that broke the enchantment.” “Eat a dick, Phina,” I spat. “Right now? It’s a little early for lunch isn’t it?” I found that I had no appropriate response despite the nagging urge to say only, “proceed.” Luckily I was able to stifle that craving for the moment. Even though Ila still hadn’t said a single word after several hours, I wasn’t about to feel bad. “You should apologize to her,” Lorelei said in a whisper as the blistering sun was moving past its apex. “Me apologize to HER?! For what? Freeing her from an eternal prison?” I shot back, my voice barely within the bounds of a whisper. “Father,” Lorelei answered back softly. “I spent several thousand years within the bowels of the Kaori wasteland as a soulless killer. After you rescued me, everyone and everything I knew from the time before the fall of Blacksky had long passed into distant memory.” I wasn’t above being civil, but Ila certainly seemed to be doing her best to make it difficult. Lorelei continued, “Ila has been gone from this world more than thrice that long. You should endeavor to be more understanding.” She was right, obviously. I came from a country that wasn’t even two hundred fifty years old and even ignoring the industrial revolution and information age skewing things, the culture had changed so drastically in just the years that I’d been alive as to be nearly unrecognizable. Ila’s situation was on an entirely different level. With an inner sigh, I turned to Ila and said, “Just call me Joseph...or Joe, even. If you’re coming with me to bring down Durand, there’s no reason to be so formal.” Ila’s eyes moved in my direction before looking forward again. “I understand that it must be difficult for a simple human to remember an entire title. You may refer to me as simply ‘The Great and Mighty Ila’ if it suits you.” “If it suits me?! You must be-” I began. Finally turning my way and cutting me off, Ila continued, “I do not wish to start a seed feud with the Bloodhorn clan. I do not know your human customs, but a true dragon would take offense to us being any more familiar than that, Joseph.” Damn but that took the angry wind out of my sails with the quickness. Though something in her statement was confusing. “A-ah. I see,” I began as I scratched my head. “When you called me ‘dragon slayer’ I assumed you already knew that I’d killed the Bloodhorn, Ixi. Because of some necromancy she’s been a bit more active than your average corpse but-” At my words, Ila sent a look my way of...was it horror? Disgust? In any case she hesitated only another moment before taking to the air, vanishing into the deep sky within moments. I looked to the rest of my group with a look of confusion. “What did I say?” Keres was the one to answer. “How could you ever think that you were marked as a dragon slayer because you killed a dragon?” “What the-? Maybe the ‘slayer’ part of it? And she said it as she was dying,” I answered. Now frowning at me, Keres answered back, “And so...what? Every dragon, no matter how battered and broken at the moment of their death is supposed to tally the kill on the skin of their own assailant?” Thinking on it, it did seem a little strange. Ixi said that some mamono and just about any dragon would see the mark and know what it meant. That orc Hilde had visible a few nearly identical scars herself. Keres didn’t wait for me to put the rest together. “Maybe a dragon slayer was something like what you’re thinking long ago, and maybe a few mamono, if they recognize the mark at all, still think that’s what it means, but if a dragon follows the ways of the old clans, it means that you took her heart. She claimed you. If another mamono recognized the mark, they would see you as her mate and not just as a piece of her treasure and would stay away unless they wanted to challenge her directly.” How was that even possible? I was protecting Risa, sure, but I had run a kitchen knife up into Ixi’s chest just moments before she gave me that mark. She knew I wasn’t strong or brave. “Did either of you know?” I asked Phina and Lorelei. “It’s news to me,” Phina answered, refusing to make eye contact. “I did,” Lorelei said. “I assumed you already knew, father. Winning the heart of a creature as arrogant as a dragon is no mean feat. I have only been told pieces of the story from your encounter with Antarylixi, but it is not surprising to me that you were able to capture her heart by your actions. I have, after all, experienced your dashing, if blind or misguided, bravery firsthand.” Keres then added, “And now Ila probably thinks you murdered that red dragon in her sleep after she swore herself to you. A human dragon slayer that killed a dragon? Having a title for that is like having a title for any human that has successfully swallowed the sun.” I finally shouted back. “I get it, okay? Can we fucking drop it?” I didn’t think there was any way I could have possibly felt worse about the scar on my face, but this world found a way. Bravissimo. If I had another chance to talk to Ila, I’d have to make sure she knew that killing Ixi was the last thing I wanted to do. If Ila never returned, it wouldn’t matter. All I could hope for was to have the chance to actually exchange more than a handful of words with her with the vast majority of them being her title. ---------------------------------- --Elsewhere, Some Time Later-- The man had said some implausible things already, but his claiming to have killed a dragon was completely unbelievable. Ila would have sooner believed that he had lain with a Lord or one of her advisors, however ridiculous that thought already was. Ila had to know the truth of it. She could sense the echoes of truly draconic levels of power from the wight that now followed the man. And whether the man was aware of it or not, the aura coming from the wight Lorelei was one of a woman perpetually only a breath away from slaughtering anything she perceived as a threat. Such a creature must be truly frightening to the lesser mamono. Flying hard to the east, Ila headed for the old Bloodhorn citadel. She knew that if any of the Bloodhorn had survived, their old citadel would also remain. When Ila found nothing but echoes where the great keep had once stood, she tried the only other place she could imagine Bloodhorn dragons might still gather. Deep within the mountains at the northern edge of what was now fully within Kaori’s domain, there was a secret Bloodhorn hatchery. After the alliance between the clans had been cemented, Ila had spent a few weeks with the older hatchlings to scout for any that showed exceptional combat potential. It would be at least a week or two before Ila would be able to catch back up with the man, Joseph, if she found him again at all, but that mark on his face was most definitely in the Bloodhorn style. If all the clans were truly gone, it wouldn’t have been possible to learn such a thing. Pushing through years of apparent overgrowth, Ila discovered the hidden cave entrance for which she had been searching. Ila ignored the feelings of trepidation that tried to slow her steps as she made her way into the dark tunnel. The ancient reception hall within should have been filled with voices, but her sensitive ears picked up little more than her own quiet footsteps, measured breathing, and steady heartbeat. Having accepted that even this place had been deserted, Ila nearly brought down the cave ceiling in shock when she heard a voice calling to her. “Do not be afraid.” Releasing an angry puff of chilled air at the barest suggestion that she even understood the concept of fear, Ila stepped forward into the circular chamber. Upon a featureless stone seat sat a dragon woman that looked so ancient that she appeared nearly mummified. Whatever color they had been in her youth, her scales were now a lighter shade of the grey coloring the stringy hair that only barely still covered her head. The old woman seemed to regard Ila with her milky white, sightless eyes as she spoke softly, “You must have gone through many trials to find this place, to find answers...to find purpose.” Resting her powerful claws on her hips, Ila answered, “I just opened the door, old scale. But I do seek answers.” The ancient dragon woman chuckled softly, coughing as she did so. “Your voice is full of pride. I am glad to hear it. I have guided the clanless that sought me out for longer than I can remember. What answers do you seek, young one?” Ila didn’t hesitate with her question. “I do not care about clanless. Where are the rest of the true dragons? This was a Bloodhorn hatchery.” “True dragons you say?” the old said with mild amusement. “It’s been an age since I’ve spoken with a young one like you. I can teach you the true pride that we have lost, but the old clans are long dead. Which dusty library did you stumble into that told you such fanciful tales of a hatchery?” “If I sound a scholar to you, then your mind must have gone with your eyes,” Ila proclaimed before loudly adding, “I am the Great and Mighty Ila, Winglord of the Skyrender Dragonflight, Chosen Champion of-” Actually stumbling to her feet, the old dragon shouted louder than her form suggested was possible, “Be silent, whelp! I can guide you to the remaining clutches of Bloodhorn or Suneater that I know of, but the Skyrender clan is long dead. The Worm’s betrayal saw the last of them stolen from the world and sealed in an unbreakable crystal where she will remain until the end of time. Now. Who are you really?” If Ila hadn’t been taught to respect her elders, she’d had struck the old woman down where she stood. Not because of what she said, but because that meant there was no way the man had been lying about the likely destruction of her clan. Ila’s sudden sense of loss begged for a very violent outlet, and it begged loudly. Ila turned to leave. “Do not strain yourself, old scale. A man told me he killed a Bloodhorn named Antarylixi. I thought she might have come from here and wanted to find the truth.” The old woman rapped her cane against the stone floor. “I know that with each passing year, there are fewer and fewer of us, but still that man must be a liar. Antarylixi sought me out for answers long ago. She was full of strength and pride as a dragon should be. Far more than any man could handle.” “He wears unshed dragon scales as armor and he has a Bloodhorn mark upon his face. I had hoped to find the Bloodhorn clan here to avoid a possible feud, but it seems I have all the answers I will find here,” Ila said. “There can be no feud if there is no unified clan.” Barely able to remain on her feet, the older dragon then asked, “Are you truly who you claim?” “What fool would ever willingly wear the glory of another?” Ila asked as she turned to leave. “I believe that answers my question.” The old woman struggled to remain standing, her breathing ragged as she called back in barely more than a whisper, “Then...the crystal?” Halting as she turned back to the old woman, Ila answered, “Broken by Wormtongue’s succubus apprentice and the man that claimed to have killed this Antarylixi. I believe I will have this man lead me to the serpent and this...Durand. I will then tear the both of them so thoroughly from this world that scholars will fear my continuing wrath to even record their names.” As Ila continued to move toward the exit, the old dragon called out, “Wait. I have something for you.” “I have no need of trinkets.” “Shut your trap, fool girl!” the old woman scolded as she stepped forward and handed a small object to Ila. “This orb holds a memory. I swore that I would place it within your hands before I let death take me. The artifact that was once here to view that memory is naught but dust now, but I’m certain that there are others. Your mother Dalatrix should have left at least one more of them behind for you or with someone she trusted outside the clan. Ah, but I will trouble you no longer.” Ila accepted the item with a simple nod and left the cave, sealing the entrance behind her. As Ila took off like a shot toward the west and back toward the city of Umbra, the old woman sat back in her simple stone chair within the long-deserted hatchery. “The Great and Mighty Ila, still as young and strong as the day she was sealed away…? If that is true, then perhaps Wormtongue actually kept her promise,” she mumbled to herself with a smile. “Ah, but the Great and Mighty Ila already said she planned to kill Wormtongue. Oh well. It’s not as if that snake doesn’t deserve it.” The old draconic ghost cackled to herself for the first time in many thousand years as her form destabilized and then finally vanished for good. -------------------------------------------- After nearly a week of relative silence beyond meaningless small talk, I finally remarked as we stopped for the night, “I don’t think she’s coming back.” “If you wish to find her, I do not imagine it should be too difficult with her superb lack of subtlety,” Lorelei said as she put herself behind me and began to rub my shoulders, just as she had taken to doing every evening. To an outside observer, it would likely have appeared to be nothing more than a harmless massage. The reality was that the feelings wrought by those pale fingers were further from innocent than those born from Phina’s repeated and unrelenting oral assaults. Nonchalantly worming her way into my pants yet again, Phina added, “It’s probably for the best. We could definitely use her, but you’d probably end up dragging yet another person into your harem.” Not resisting Phina’s advances, I smirked. “Oh, I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that.” “Not at all,” she answered. “You aren’t even anything special. I think you just have a knack for being just alluring enough that mamono probably figure it would be too much trouble to go out and find a man they really want.” The hiss of my sharp intake of breath replaced my response. Coupled with Phina clearly being too polite to talk with her mouth full, that meant our conversation was done. As I sat, held silent by the grip of the amorous feelings that rushed over my entire body just as surely as I was held by the wight behind me and the succubus before me, I started to have my first true doubt on how emotionally detached these two women really were from what they were doing. Oh dear. Probably not for the faint of heart. Also seeming satisfied, Lorelei released me and stood with a smile. “My, what a terrible thing to do in front of your own daughter, father.” Before I could say anything in response, Lorelei gave a light laugh before moving to the edge of camp to take up the night watch. “One can only wonder if you will feel as much shame the next time, father.” “I...don’t know if I can survive the two of you at the same time again,” I said. “Neither of you are mated to this man?” Keres suddenly asked, her presence having been completely forgotten. Phina limply flailed an arm in response, saying nothing. I had to wonder if it was more rude to confirm Keres’s statement or to deny it. Having been so silent that I’d forgotten he was there completely, the other man in the group spoke up. “I never would have considered having more than one mate before, but after seeing that-” That I was a selfish man was likely never in doubt, but even I was surprised at how quickly the rage jumped to my throat as I leapt to my feet and shouted that man into submission. This man was basically the key to saving Zee, and if he couldn’t do that I had less than no use for him or his traitorous chimaera acting as a wet nurse. I interrupted his statement without even an ounce of shame. “You find another mate before your pure-hearted wife can heal Azalea and I swear to God, I will leave your fucking ass in the desert.” “He isn’t going to do that, Thomas,” Phina happily called out from the ground in a daze, making me realize that I’d never actually cared enough to get his name. “Fucking try me. This asshole has a wife waiting for him and he’s looking for a better deal after watching some impromptu amateur porn,” I angrily stated. As much as I hated to consider my next point, my stream of thought just continued as I added, “I don’t even like the bitch in the slightest, but if you also destroy the entire meaning of Keres keeping you pure all this time, I’ll throw you to a pack of fucking imps once she’s tired of you.” That earned me a look of shock from Keres before she looked away in embarrassment. Clearly backpedaling, Thomas answered, “Whoa, I didn’t mean-” “I’m sorry.” I sighed and waved him off before throwing myself back to the ground. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, but you do know that I’m going to have to go through a literal army to try and reclaim something that’s patiently waiting for you at home. You also understand that hearing that Azalea is dying was good news, right?” “I didn’t mean anything by it, really. I was just a bit uncomfortable after seeing...you know...what you three were just doing and said the first thing that came to mind,” he answered before adding with genuine concern, “You really have to go through an army to get your family back?” Now sounding like she’d overdosed on a cocktail of alcohol, MDMA, and more alcohol, Phina chirped, “Except for the one that’s been written out of reality completely! Probably not getting that one back.” I balked at the possibility my mind had been dancing around since talking to Ahmose. “Wait, what are you-” “My what a terrible dream you must be having, father,” I heard Lorelei angrily call out from behind me before a soft touch of her hand easily pushed me under into sleep. If only I could have believed that it had just been a dream. I couldn’t decide which horrible possibility was more horrific. The thought that a family member had potentially been unmade and utterly forgotten was abhorrent enough that even considering it made me physically ill. Although it may have been even more horrible to imagine that reality had seen fit to slowly work Durand into the missing spots vacated by that other, unknown entity. Even in a reality full of magic, the order of things had still seemed to fit into a logical (or at least believable) order of some kind or another. Within such a reality, it didn’t seem possible that something as inconceivable as my arch enemy being jammed sideways into my dating history was the path of least resistance. Unless, as was nearly always the case, there was something large and important that I was missing. -------------------------- When I awakened, I was almost immediately overwhelmed with feelings of sadness as I considered my last thoughts before “falling” asleep. “Ah! Good morning, father. You looked to have been having a horrible dream,” Lorelei said from beside me, her eyes held to the ground by the gravity of obvious guilt. Fuck it. It wasn’t the first sucker punch I’d had to roll with and it damn sure wouldn’t be the last. “You’re a really bad liar,” I said. “Told you,” Phina added. “Are you pleased with yourself? This is entirely your fault,” Lorelei scolded Phina. “You think I don’t know that?” Phina scowled at the wight and shot back, “Did you know that it’s also my fault it happened in the first place? Medea even told me what Durand would try to do and I wasn’t strong enough to stop her.” That’s what Phina had been trying to do in that ritual room? It wasn’t like she let herself be a passive observer, I remembered. Now Lorelei looked like she was visibly wrangling with how to feel about what Phina had just said. She wasn’t exactly experienced at dealing with emotions, and what Phina said looked to have come as more than just a slight shock. If Lorelei was so opposed to me knowing that I was missing someone important, then why did she even bring up my mission to bring her back from Kaori in the first place? Was she just worried over the possibility that Durand truly was the missing piece? I could relate to that, at least. Her expression settling back to neutral, Lorelei calmly said, “I will not blame you. Things would have transpired the same way if you had not been there.” “I think I’d rather have you angry at me,” Phina nervously replied. “As far as this matter is concerned, I do not care what you would prefer. If you truly do feel responsible and wish to atone, then help me do whatever it may take to undo this atrocity,” Lorelei said. Phina retained her grim look as she replied, “Ahmose would have offered to help if she could have. If this is beyond a Lord’s powers then there may not be anything we actually can do but...I was already planning to do everything possible to fix whatever happened.” I got to my feet, feeling less like I’d been asleep and more like I’d been under anesthesia and shook out the cobwebs while stretching. Lorelei nodded and then silence became our companion as we set out for the day. ----------------------------- “I believe this is our destination,” Lorelei said as she pointed to a well-hidden cave entrance flanked by broken stone pillars. I certainly had to give Lorelei credit. The route we had taken must have been a bit longer given how many times we changed directions, but with the stops at oases, trading outposts, and the rare small city, we still had more than enough supplies even with Keres and her ward following us. “This whole area looks completely deserted. You’re saying they’re just inside the cave?” I asked, doubtful. “As I understand it, there is more than one entrance. This is the only one I was able to locate in my research. This was owned by another group long before the Ashtails took up residence,” Lorelei said as she pulled out a sealed scroll and slid it into my bag. “What’s that?” I asked. Lorelei answered, “It is for the leader of whatever remains of the Ashtail Legion from Lord Ahmose. I do not know the exact contents but I believe she seeks their assistance in protecting her realm.” Keres hadn’t exactly been talkative over the last week, but had been almost completely silent for the last day. I was sure she’d have had something to say about the scroll. “Wait, aren’t you coming with us?” I asked. Lorelei shook her head. “This gate would not admit me. I also have very pressing and dangerous business with a pair of potential allies to the north. Do not worry, father, I will await you in Teremir. Hopefully I will have found some more answers to our current predicament by then as well.” Finally stepping inside the much cooler cave, I saw only a raised stone circle and rough hewn walls with no other obvious exits. “What the hell are we supposed to do here? I’m barely picking up any magic resonance,” Phina asked as she paced around the cave. “Sleep within the circle,” Lorelei offered. “I believe there is some sort of oneiromantic enchantment in place. If it judges you worthy, the legend states, the door will open. If it judges you unworthy, we still have more than enough supplies to make it back to the nearest outpost.” “I will keep watch until you are able to pass through the door.” Lorelei then smiled and gave me an affectionate hug. “Do be careful, father.” “Oh, you know me,” I replied jokingly. “That is why I requested that you be careful.” “Well I guess we all go to sleep here,” Thomas offered to a trio of silent nods from me, Keres, and Phina. Having just been trekking through the desert, it took a bit of time to actually wind down. Once I had finally relaxed, sleep fell upon me quickly. ---------------------- --Elsewhere-- “Damn it, Joe! Wake up or we’re going to be late for school!” It was every day with this girl! Why did she feel the need to come wake me up every day? As I made to roll back over for a few more minutes of blessed sleep, I felt the bane of my existence in a pair of hands grabbing threateningly at my very ticklish ribs. “I’m up!” I screamed as my eyes shot open. Hovering over me I saw Risa with a decidedly wicked grin on her face. “Well something is definitely up.” She paused for a moment, looking confused. “It feels like I’m supposed to smack you for having a morning erection. Is that weird?” That wasn’t weird at all. Actually, I’m pretty sure that was exactly what she was supposed to do. I wonder why she didn’t do exactly that, possibly while screaming that I was a terrible pervert. Feeling off was pretty normal for me in the morning so I didn’t pay it any mind. This was just like any other day though, so I needed to get moving soon or I’d be late to school! |
| That's right, you're late for school!! |
|
| Quite the kinky H-scene: Lorelei playing games, I liked it. |
| That's your daughter (step), I shouldn't have to remind you. Well this is interesting, its been a LONG time since I was last caught up with one of your stories... I don't know how I feel about that.. Anyways, love it so far (as per usual you beautiful bastard). Well I hate it as well, can't a guy catch a f*cking break every now and again? Interested in finding out why you are Durand gave up such an obvious beautiful relationship :3. But in all seriousness, I am really missing some foxy goodness (also miss Risa and *content deleted*), so hurry up and save them damn it. I'm doing my best to think of some constructive feedback but other than typos and simple things like that (why bother on my end?) it's a fairly consistent and well conceived story. You don't fail to deliver when it comes to suspense, drama, or humor. Your use of descriptive imagery is still superb, though I would say that you put a little less effort in the musical descriptions than I remember (its still good to hear it to confirm what you describe but it lacked your particular method of delivery). Maybe I missed something (possibly didn't read it correctly in your last story) but what REALLY became of the futa false Joe? I have been thinking this hole time that Pina is the restored body of said FF Joe but now I'm not as certain :/. That's it for now, I'll wait (less than patiently) for the next chapter :) |
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