After the news in the dead of night.

Started by Reasey, July 28, 2006, 08:00:26 AM

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Reasey

There he stood atop the roof of the Pretarian Tavern. The darkness enveloping his Black armour and clothing, and the coolness of the night perspiring off of the metal of the blade on his back.

Another sad day, or so Rease Hunter heard. Below his Tavern as well while he was away none the less.
The insolence of it all! In HIS town, under HIS watch, and in front of the established building of safety!
How dare they! It was enough to make his blood boil to the point of evaporating. His teeth clench tightly and grind smoothly together as his face pinches in anger, his arms crossed as he recalls the story that Shakka had told him when he returned from his ride.

Supposedly Damira, The Paladin Queen of the Empire had quite her post and alliegence within the so called Kingdom on account of losing her knightly abilities. And to make matters worse, possibly even joined to this so called "Dark" side.

The first account of the story is true, he knows. He remembers the days soon after the battle of Trinsic when she returned to the smokey interior of the Pretarian while he was on duty. There she sat in her stool across from him and sobbed out her story to him and of her fears and angers. Himself, being the subtle master of word and comfort that he is, stood by and merely nodded to himself and chose words of duty over words of comfort.

''Prolly je' an offday, ye know lass?" he had told her that day. And she entrusted him with the secret  and would have revealed more untill Shakka and Ortanius had came in for their afternoon special of white lightning and roasted pig and before he knew it, Damira was gone before he could take her to more private rooms for discussion further.

But if the second part of this story is true, then damn her now! Had she no sense the Gods gave a goose? Or did that gene from Kalmir simply not pass on from his seed to her? Was she not taught as a warrior that even should the loss of limb occure, that the fight was still on? Was she weaker than his expectations of how the Paladin Queen should be? How low can one really fall from grace.

Now the weight of this war weighs heavily upon his shoulders as his mood darkens to the color of the sky. Is he to carry on this mummers farce of a battle without the other Architecht of battle? His only true liason to the Empire and the only one who might possibly rally to the cause of MarketVale? What of the soldiers of the Empire, what are their expectations of him now?

Bah! Damn all this thinking to the Abyss. Perhaps he'll take up Kevesta on that old offer of some dinner and a discussion that he had given. After all, he runs a Market Town, and Markets do well with more customers at hand, and this really isn't his war to begin with.

So now he stands upon the flattened section of his roof, and just watches towards the rest of his town before, staring off towards the horizon of world, and loses himself in thought despite the smattering of the rain coming forth.

If only.....
Don't worry I'll put something here.

Reasey

....if only wasn't enough for him. He could stand in this mist of lazy rain and dream of his own fantasies and thoughts all of his own. However, what was needed was action.

So with that, he stood and looked towards the ground itself for a few moment. Perhaps Thinking, plotting his next move. He raised his hand forward in front of him, uttered a few words that were mingled words of power and prayer and jumped off headfirst, the ground swiftly rising to meet him in a kiss of soil and concrete....

...however it did not happen that way, as before he plummeted past the third floor windows he quickly snapped his finger and teleported instantly to the ground below in front of his yard.

Dusting himself off from the rain and debris of the roof above, he looks around in the darkness up and down the road they had nicknamed "Main Street". Origional, he thought, but it served well as a marker for the homes within. However, he had better things on his mind. Darker things, angrier things he must do. So he stoods for a few moments, can calls forth the Automaton Ki-Rin that Azreella was so kind to make for him, and quickly moves to hop upon the mechanical being.

However, as he sits upon his smooth porceline saddle, he gives one last look around the darkened roads, one last look to see if anyone is about....
Don't worry I'll put something here.

Reasey

(lol, thought someone might wanna get involved with that last post, since we're not gonna be playin for a weekend  ;D)

...when he see's that no one else is about, he takes the reighs of the automoton and rides swiftly over towards Tawny Kindrells house, clomping soundly down along the cobbled roads that he paid for, pulling up into her yard to shout and harken for her

"Oy! Lass! ye awake in there?!"
Don't worry I'll put something here.

Shakka

Shakka stood in the shadows, silently watching the dark figure standing on the roof of the tavern.  As she watched, thoughts slipped into her head.

Rease had been moody lately, but tonight when she left him his face was downright stormy.  Best to leave him to his thoughts.  Just what were his thoughts?  She’d wanted to push herself away from all this for awhile now, but she’d never seen him react this way before.  Now she worried a little…..just the slightest.  His good sense was leaving him and she knew it.  Just how much did he care for this damn town and these damn people anyway?  Her comfort and good times were in jeopardy, that’s what is at stake for her!  She had fought too long and too hard to get what she has.  Or was it more than that?  Gah!  Stop thinking so much, Shakka!  Standing around in the darkness deep in thought gets your throat slit! 

Her eyes remained fixed on Rease, but her ears were tuned to everything around her.  The rain had stopped but droplets still spattered here and there on the leaves of trees.  She heard a few pine cones hit the ground behind her.  The figure on the rooftop moved forward over the edge……then disappeared.  For an instant she thought he really did himself in.  Then just as quickly that thought was replaced by another…..”Yeah, like hell”.  Rease was always so fond of his little tricks.  Shakka moved silently and quickly from the nice little shadowy spot.  Moments later she was at the edge of the tavern.  She could hear his movements……..climbing upon that ridiculous hopping Kirin, no doubt.  She peered around the corner.  His back was to her, but she saw his head move….as if scanning the road.  Then…..off he went, bouncing up and down towards Tawny’s lovely home.  Shakka looked about quickly, then silently followed in his tracks……

treyline

Tawny looked around at her newly built home. A small smile crept to her lips as she felt the new sense of belonging. Stepping outside into her yard, she looked around at the newly remodeled town and her new family. Stroem had been so kind to her in her first days as was everyone. She missed his wit.
     It had been a very long time since she had felt happiness in her heart after the death of her real family, including her husband and son. They had long been fighting for what was right only to have succumbed to trickery whilst she was away in her quest for virtue. She had received a message to come quickly to her father's house from an unknown source only to find all of them, slain. The note was her only clue as to what had happened. She had spent many years trying to hunt down the evil that haunted her dreams. Wearied and tired she came across a Stroem. He had invited her to become a part of something she was not sure she was willing to partake. After she had met everyone though, how could she not join them in there quest for what is right and wrong.
     "Perhaps something is guiding me here to who or what was behind her family's death", she thought to herself.
     Azreella, her sister who had agreed to come with her, was becoming more adjusted than she. Listening to her sing in the quiet house brought a feeling of home. She was the more social one. She had become quite good friends with everyone in town and was constantly rambling on and on about all the local gossip. One person in particular was very intriguing to Tawny. The local tavern keeper Rease.
     She had first met him when she became a member of the MarketVale Town. His flashing eyes and humor made her laugh like no other. He was quick with a sword and thought in battle as well. She liked this very much. She also found that she was looking forward to seeing him, more than she cared for.
     "What are these feelings I have?", she scoffs at herself. She dismisses this quickly and looks around the town again and takes in a deep breath smelling the fragrant grapes that have been flourishing. Dusk was quickly settling and she turned sharply to the sound of oncoming hoof beats.
     She smiles deeply as she heard Rease's deep voice call out in the lingering light, "Lass are ye awake?"
     "Aye, that I am", she says as she wanders over to him as he dismounts. Trouble flashed over her face in a frown as she sees he is not all smiles when he approaches.
     "Rease, what troubles have ye on this eve?", she asked of him. As he dismounted, she was well aware of the dark flash in his eye and knew all would not be well on this late night social call. However, she could not help from noticing how dashing he was or could not stop her blood from pounding when he was near........

Reasey

"....." He stands there in the darkness that appear to envelop him, what with him wearing all black upon his person save for the pure white blade strapped to his back that runs parallel with him, tip to the ground. Moister and perspiration run down off of the Kasa upon his head to drip upon the smooth ground of the yard below. His mood and facial features, however, are not in his usual merriment and mirth that becomes him when in company of friends and Tavern patrons.

No... they seem angry, dark... (evil?). A inclination to his true nature or to a man before? However it does not matter as he looks down upon Tawny Kindrell ((OOC: or up if she's taller than 5'7''  :P )) and brings a gloved finger up to his lips to indicate quietness. His foot thrusting out behind him as his hand reaches to the handle of his sword on his right shoulder. His own pointed ears pricking up and attuned.

A sound! Is he being followed? Who could be following him on this dark night when most people should be asleep? Enemy or friend, he could not tell. For all he knows, it could be Atheryn, Ortanius, or Shakka walking home. However...what if its the Cult, or spies? He couldn't risk it.

However, he slowly lowers his body to stand back up firmly "Thought I 'eard a noise lass..." and with that he looks back to her with his angry eyes, though a wave of anxiety washes over him as well, whether or not it could be painted upon his features, he does not know. "Since yer the closes' 'ome, I thought I'd come 'ere, I nee' te speak wi' ye. Nay doubt ye 'eard o' the events earlier?"
Don't worry I'll put something here.

treyline

#6
Tawny watches as he put his finger to his lips to silence her. Hairs raised at attention as some rustle beyond the yard caught his attention. Tawny tiptoed closer to the edge of the house from whence he and the noise came with naught a soul in sight. Rease stood back up and asked her if she had heard of the events earlier. Walking back towards him she shook her head.

"Nay", she replied. "However, I do see that ye be very creased with something that tis on yer mind."

   Tawny motioned for him to come in and sit with her a spell and tell her of everything that had happened. Her brows forrowed even more as the events he tole struck some chord in her that pulled from way down deep. Tawny could no longer sit still and began to pace. Fidgeting with the top of the dagger stashed into her belt, she turned to him and asked what all this meant?

   Everything Tawny had been feeling for the last three years came flooding back and she realized why the blood drummed in her ears while he twas around. He had reminded her of her late husband. The fierceness in his eyes and the way he held a sword made her miss her love. All at once, her true warrior instinct took over. Her lips snarled over her teeth as she made a growling sound. Lights flashed from her eyes as they darted to Rease and back around the house looking as though something would jump out at any second.

"We must do something, this evil must stop once and for all. We can not leave her to that fate. Even if we have to ..." all of a sudden Tawny whirled at a noise coming from out the window.

"Did ye hear that?" she asked.

Shakka

Shakka carefully made her way alongside the path beside Tawny’s home.   But it seemed her worst fears were being laid to rest for now as she realized Rease was just paying a visit to MarketVale Militia’s second in command.  Of course he was, after the day’s events!  How silly of her to think darker tasks were at hand.  Yet, she still could not totally shake that sinking feeling.

Time now to reveal herself and stop slinking around like a snake.  Also time to put away those conflicting feelings of hers and step forward for the sake of her dear friend.  Her soul mate of sorts?  Yes she knew it to be true, though not in a romantic sense.  They fought side by side like no other…..in tandem, practically reading each other’s minds. She thought of the tales they’ve shared with each other and no one else.  She came to the realization of what she has been and will be fighting for.  Herself of course, but even more so for her Friend and she had grown quite fond of the woman whose home she was approaching.  It was time to get things out before it was too late.

Shakka stepped onto the cobblestone path and relaxed into a brisk walk, making her way around the hedge and up to Tawny’s front steps….


Miri

(note: I only use 1st person writing in the case of Varani... any other char is strictly 3rd person... so, this is a Varani post ;))

I had slipped from shadow to shadow in my efforts to exercise skills that had once been second nature to me.  My prey, of sorts, had been the Lady Shakka.  I had heard tell that in these lands her kind were the most likely to pick up on unknown watchers or intruders and I knew that I had to push myself for time was running in short supply.

She had not noticed my silent stalking, which was all to the good.

Upon my own world only the Shadow Daemons could see or sense another using the skill which I employed this night.  I had not known if the same was true in this place, on this planet, but I now had reason to believe that my primary advantage was still in play.

I watched in speculative silence as Shakka dropped her stealthy ways and strode forward confidently.  Needless to say, my past as a spy had engendered a deep curiosity in me, a wish to discover all that I could about any given person or happenstance.  Now, with my oath given and my mind made up, I needed to know all that I could.

More important than that, I needed to find someone to pay me.

Assassin I may have been, and may be becoming once more, yet I had always held true to the ways my mentor had taught me: Never kill without pay except in self defense.

I stepped back, melted into the shadow that had been enveloping me, and searched for one that would lead into the house of the female I had not yet met.  Something told me that any conversation taking place between these three would be well worth listening to....

Reasey

He turns around in a loud snarl of the sort that is unlike the ones of MarketVale have ever heard him utter. His features twisting into a tight mockery of feralness as his hand quickly reaches to the top handle of his blade again, shouting out a command as he takes his booted heels

"Come ou' iffin ye da'....!" and it wasn't untill that moment that he stopped, recognizing instantly the ashy features of Shakka. Instantly, as if his feelings of anticipation stop to wash off of his features as he settles.

"Shakka, by the gods woman, ye scared me! Ge' yer Ashy arse in 'ere an nay be draggin anyone else in." He yells, slowly calmnig down to meet the beating of his own pounding heart. Having to calm himself. "Easy Rease..... ye nee' te calm down. Ye kenna scare em all...."

However... he cannot shake the feeling of someone else out there in the midsts of that dark night. Could it be.... NO! He would have seen, would have heard. He's not so rusty that he couldn't be mistooken and missed the approach of someone foolish enough to hide amongst the shadows.

However. He must be careful as he plays out his plan. He waits untill Shakka and Tawny are close by that he reaches into a sack upon his left hip, slowly pulling out a rolled up peice of parchment tied with a bandage at the top.

" I ain' got time te si' an Gab ladies. I came te ye Tawny te gi' ye news o' earlier an is me intention te make me plans known te bu' a few o' ye. "

He nods to each of them in turn as he hands the scroll of parchment off to Tawny. "Shakka, ye an I are te discuss thi' la'er, Tawny, I wan' ye te do everythin in thi' letter te a T. Ye go i'? I nee' yer cooperation on thi', an I nee' ye te nay discuss anythin ye read. "

And with that, he nods, quickly turning to leave as swiftly as he came. His cloak blowing behind him as he swiftly dissapears into the dark night to await whatever.... or WHOever.... might be out there, if anyone is....
Don't worry I'll put something here.

Ortanius

Sitting in my livingroom far from the town of MarketVale I thought about what I had seen and heard. Rease was different that was sure, the incidents of the past weighing heavily upon him. I needed more time, more information. Sinking back into my chair I absent mindly tended the cooking fire... It was too much for him, too much for us. I needed to know more.

Dwenai Giaton Istoz I chanted into the night's air. My eyesight vanished, and then I was soaring above the skies. Of course I wasn't actually flying, my real body was still miles away in my house, I was seeing threw the eyes of an eagle I had befriended and bade to watch Rease some days earlier.

Rease was moving now, his artificial Ki-rin moving at an unnatural speed propelled my the determination of its rider. Even with the dexterity and grace of my bird friend I was having trouble keeping up with him. But it mattered not even from up here in the skies perch I could tell where he was headed. Scanning the ground I looked for anything that could cause harm to Rease, though I knew he was more of a match for most one could never be too careful.

Then I saw it, two figures creeping threw the shadows. Even with my enhanced eyesight I couldn't tell who they were and that was the most troubling. But it was too late to find out more. The first shadow had already moved into the house. I heard the roar Rease gave and was appeased that the first shadow must have been a friend. But about this second shadow... Rease had come out of the house, I had to act.

With a thought I was back in my livingroom exhausted, but I knew what I must do. I was down to three of my mushrooms but it was no time to worry about running out of supplies. I was about to leave but then saw my Nights Kiss hanging on my wall, almost as if asking me to use it. Knowing its use I decided to bring it. Throwing my three remaining mushrooms on the floor I chanted for what seemed like hours but I knew had only been a few seconds. My gateway opened, if I was right it should open behind the second shadow. Holding my Druid Staff in one hand and the Nights Kiss in the other I stepped through the portal...

Miri

I had just found the shadow I needed, the path into the house, when something caught my attention.

Although I was a rarity amongst elves, a maiden without even the slightest spark of magery, I had lived amongst the Pixie people for over three hundred years and now the knowledge I had gleand from them stood me in good stead.

I sensed the gateway opening behind me, the power used for such a thing causing the small hairs on the back of my neck raise and my skin to tingle.  Someone, it seemed, had seen me even through the protective barriers of my daemonic gift.

Silently, I stepped away and around, waiting in stillness for the mage to come through.

There! Now!

He stood in the darkness, his white hair revealing him as another one like Shakka.

With the swift grace I had learned through my long millennia as an assassin, I pulled my twin blades from their sheathes, stepped behind the newcomer and had one of my daggers to his throat before he could blink.

'I know not who you are,' I whispered into his pointed ear.  'And I care little.  Do not seek to stop me, for I have much work to do.'

With that, I resheathed my daggers, stepped back into the shadows once more and allowed them to transport me to the other side of the house.

If I was to fulfil my oath to my goddess then I needed to learn more.  Asking, however, was not an option.

Ortanius

"Mmm a shadow user... It has been many years since I had seen one besides myself" I thought as she walked away, she had made a mistake though. She had touched my skin with her blade and that was all I needed to protect myself from her. The next time she used her blade against me or someone I called friend a tiny spore that had fallen upon her blade would summon hundreds of roots to grasp her indefinately.

But would it work? I would have to hope so, she was fast I had to give her that... Should I go after her? No... I must get to Rease, he was the troubled one.

And to Rease I headed shrouded in the shadows...


treyline

Tawny whirled at the noise and crouched a bit just as Rease bounded forward stealthly. Just then, Shakka strode in and all shoulders relaxed a bit. Rease scolded her a and said that he had not time to explain and handed Tawny a rolled up piece of parchment before he strode out into the night, his cloak billowing behind him.

She looked down at the parchment. She was not sure wether to open it now or not and noticed a small tremble in her fingers at what she might discover. After hearing the news of Damira and the way Rease had seemed to change, she was not sure she wanted to read the words she was sure not good news.

Looking over at Shakka, she made a half hearted smile and said, "Welcome my friend, I am happy to see ye yet, seems we have trouble underfoot."

Tawny slid the bindings off the parchment and motioned for Shakka to come upstairs. "I am not sure what tis says, iffin ye don't mind let me take a gander at what tis says seeming it is of the upmost importance."

Looking towards the window, Tawny thought she heard the scuffing of somthing, sniffing the air a bit her feline ways caught the air of something amiss. Walking a bit closer and not hearing anything more, she dismissed it as her own paranoia setting in and chuckled a bit. She looked over at her friend and said, "Come, we must make drink to settle me nerves, all this talk has me skin in an uproar."

Once drink and plesantries had calmed her a bit, Tawny opened the parchment and the scowl on her brow deepened. "Bah!" she exclaimed and threw the parchment on the counter taking a deep gulp of her ale.

"What tis it Tawny?" Shakka asked.

"Nay, I can not tell ye just yet, tis for Rease to say, but, Bah! *growls lowly* tis not tidings of great joy..."

Tawny grabbed the parchment, walked over to the chest beside the fireplace and threw it in.

Turning back to her friend Tawny was shaking her head when she realized deep in thought she had forgotten for a moment that someone else was here as well.

Tawny asked, "I am sorry my friend, in all the comotion, I did not ask if ye had something on yer mind this late eve or did ye come by for a friendly chat?" It was sinking in that Shakka was very quiet in the time since she had shown and this worried Tawny....

Shakka

Shakka glanced over at the window then back to Tawny.  "A friendly chat woulda been preferred, but again I ask.....what's in the parchment, are my eyes meant to see it?" said Shakka. She could feel her anger coming on and her cheeks flushing. Tawny looked uneasy and Shakka worried she might have to pry it out of her friend!  Shakka paused.....that hiss of adrenaline spiking again.

"This'll have to wait for the moment" said Shakka as she brushed past Tawny.  She stopped and turned to look at her friend and her eyes softened a bit.  "Tawny, please find a better hidin' place for that?" she said.  "I feel Rease is not alone out there, I know yer feelin' it too so let's go take care of business".  And with that, Shakka headed downstairs.