Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Imythess, the border between dreams and reality. We hope you enjoy your visit.

Imythess is a creative writing board where you narrate the story of a character in the medieval land of Imythess, on the planet Chaon. Each topic is an opportunity for your character to interact with the world and its peoples by cooperatively writing pieces of a story with other members, one post at a time. We call this role-playing, because you assume the identity of your character as if it were your own.

In order to play, you must register an account for each character you would like to write about, and begin their tale by filling out their basic profile information: Race (human, elf, demon, etc.), class (warrior, mage, etc.), physical appearance, and any other personal details you would like to describe. You are also encouraged to come up with some background history information for what your character's life has been like up to the point at which their story in Imythess begins.

There is no approval process or application required to join, so long as you follow the rules then you are free to write whatever character details you choose. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Create a character now!


If you're already a member, you can log into your account below:


Username:   Password:
Reply
Fever Heat; [P] Rinky 4... IN SPACE!
Topic Started: Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:42 pm (3,796 Views)
Rin
Member Avatar


Although Rin had visited Striberg before, it was probably her favorite city in Imythess. The buildings were made of solid stone, giving the entire metropolis a solid atmosphere, as if it was invincible. Many of the populace turned to watch them as they moved through the streets, their eyes following the mechanical cheetah with mixtures of awe and amusement. The Academy shared this sturdy appearance, taking up an entire upper-level tier on the iceberg. Towers stretched towards the sky, covered bridges leading between the different buildings. Rin self-consciously twisted one hand in her hair, glancing around nervously. The Arcane Inquisitor that had caught her sneaking through their artifact recovery chamber had wanted to cook her alive, but some quick explanations and actions from the girl had allowed her to escape the Academy unscathed.

Nkiruka led them to the administration building after a few minutes of wandering. After introducing herself to the gnoll at the front desk, they were given instructions to the laboratory where Chaitaki was. Rin was slightly surprised that it was so simple to find the woman, but perhaps it was merely their good fortune. The arcane lift was a truly amazing contraption, a metal box that hovered up a narrow shaft and allowing its passengers to exit on any level they desired. Although it seemed incredibly convenient, Rin thought that it was an unnessecary luxury. I guess the Academy is too fancy for regular staircases these days...

She listened closely as Nkiruka started to describe how dangerous Chaitaki was, committing the information to memory in case they encountered her mother on the upper level. When the lift door opened, she turned to exit... and saw Chaitaki standing in the middle of the doorway with an easy, amiable smile on her face. Rin's eyes narrowed slightly, her entire body tensing. The almost uncontrollable urge to leap out of the lift fighting swept through her mind. She unconsciously tapped into her powers to warp reality in that instant. The air in the hallway rippled, phantom outlines of weapons seemingly floating in the air above the construct. The ribbons wrapped around her forearms and shins shimmered, as if they were made out of steel.

Chaitaki's lips twitched slightly, as if she was fighting the urge to laugh. Rin glared at her for several seconds before gaining control of her emotions, suppressing the wild urge to attack her. Although she didn't doubt her ability to defeat Nkiruka's mother, it would probably be impossible to do so without huge amoutns of collateral damage. She made a slight movement with one hand, the trasnparent weapons fading out of existence. "Chai-Chai! So good to see you again! Of course we would love to accompany you!" She wrapped one arm around Nkiruka's elbow, pressing her fingers tightly against the soldier's forearm in a gesture of mixed support and restraint. "You know, we never got a chance to spar back at that 'village'. We'll have to rectify that soon." She made a gesture with her free hand, indicating that Chaitaki should lead the way down the corridor. "After you."
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


Nkiruka was calm about the whole situation. Eerily calm, like a martial trance compared to an uncontrollable rage. When Rin grabbed her arm it was obvious there weren't even any barely concealed waves of trembling running down her limbs. She had rehearsed this situation a thousand times in her head in all those nights she couldn't sleep, and somehow it had prepared her for the surprise. Like she suspected, the actual confrontation was going to go down a lot different from what the soldier anticipated, but this was to be expected. First, Rin spoke, making the wise choice of acting friendly while she issued vague threats. Chaitaki's smile lengthened behind the translucent veil. "Little Rinny, you're too confident. You wouldn't even be here if we had sparred back then," she replied with laughter in her voice. "Now, please go ahead to the Maester's room. I take it you know where it is."

She stepped aside, allowing the pair to walk in front of her while Chaitaki herself brought up the rear. It was a tense, silent walk that felt a lot longer than it actually lasted. Nkiruka spotted a door on her left labeled correctly, glanced back at her mother before opening the door and walking in. Rin followed right after her, and Chaitaki closed and locked the door behind them.

Shards of glass littered the ground, apparently from the luminescent orbs that used to hang from the ceiling but were now shattered and dim. The only light in the room was from the large window nearby. Nkiruka looked around for students but saw none, indicating the attack happened at night when only the Maester was inside in his adjoining office. They passed upturned tables spilling expensive lab equipment on the floor, bookshelves whose guts had been ripped out, like they had been searching for something. Maester Greystein was bound on the floor in the corner. His face was bashed and bloody, covered in lacerations, and Nkiruka suspected he might have fought back against the attackers. Attackers, not attacker, as when they came upon the magi bound in his own laboratory, they also arrived at a pair of people the soldier didn't recognize.

Like most Rainfall members they wore long sleeves to cover any potential grafting tattoos, but these two were definitely of Nkiruka and Chaitaki's ilk just from looking at them. The one on the left was a short, strong Chomai man with high cheekbones and an intense stare. He had the eyes of a rattlesnake: vibrant silver with clearly contrasting slitted pupils that looked young on his old body. The other was a taller woman, a little taller than the relatively short Menais, whose face was painted to have vertical black stripes down from each of her eyes as well as one down the center of her face. A pair of short, curving white horns jutted out from her forehead, calling to mind a nayati or striped buffalo, one of the strongest herd animals in the southern Istani brushlands. She looked severe and beautiful at the same time, like the urban Istani's more idealized conception of distant tribals.

Both stood up out of politeness to Chaitaki's entrance, but their hard stares went straight to Nkiruka, who continued to show no opinion on the situation. "I'm sorry you have to see this, Iruka," said the guerrilla leader as she approached from behind them, pulling up a couple seats for them. "I honestly thought you'd be more prompt so that you wouldn't have to see this man near the end of his interrogation, but I see you had to go pick up your friend before you visited us."

All of this was happening in the middle of the Academy of Magic. How had they not been caught after forcibly taking over the lab and holding it for almost a full day? Make the Maester close the lab or something? Wouldn't someone from Golemancy across the hall think something was off about all this? Nkiruka thought all this as she slowly paced around them, refusing the seat that was offered, circling them like a dog feeling out its enemies. Chaitaki, having none of that silliness, simply pulled up a chair and sat down herself, folding her legs and then her arms on her legs. The other two stood.

Finally: "So it occurs to me that you might not be the brightest of people." It was phrased like a sarcastic understatement. "You often need things explained very carefully to you."

"Everyone in your Dragonspine cave base is dead and we destroyed the anti-magic device," Nkiruka interrupted, stopping directly in front of her mother, her hands hanging down close to her weapons.

Something just barely changed about Chaitaki's carefully maintained smile: a spiderweb-crack pushing into an otherwise flawless presentation of manners. It was obvious she had been ready to go into one of her trademark speeches, until Nkiruka's trademark bluntness cut right into her plans. She inhaled long through her nose. "I don't care, Iru. You have destroyed one of countless cells. Bragging about it to me is about as useless as bragging about how many bullies you used to beat up in town." Nkiruka smiled. She knew she was getting to Chaitaki. She turned her attention to the tortured magi while Chaitaki easily recovered from the news.

"As I was saying, it often takes multiple clearly stated threats to motivate you to act. Without time for that, I'll be blunt with you: I ask you, a second time, to politely climb off Korzul's lap and make yourself disappear. Before this I was willing to tolerate your ridiculous attempts to stop me, unwilling to let my men kill you out of sheer unconditional love. But the end of this is fast approaching, I am busy and I am so, so tired of dealing with you, you subhuman filth. If you don't leave this place at my command and go far away from here, I will systematically murder every single person you have even the remotest ties to, starting with this cocky, white... shell trying to act like a human being. You can keep your godless pages, Guardian: I don't want them." Her eyes flashed something fierce at Rin before returning back to Nkiruka.

The soldier's eyebrows raised. "Heh, that's funny. You're trying to blow up Istan, right? Well, most people I know live there, so if I backed down they would just die anyway in the giant explosion you're planning on engulfing the Ivory City with." She shrugged too casually.

Chaitaki leaned back and gave a serene, all-knowing smile. "But it would be so easy to just pack up and move in with your... friend, Zakiyyah the Kestrel, the Steel Tower of Istan, right? The war hero hiding in Axerise."

It was a lot harder for Nkiruka to do what Chaitaki was doing and keep a calm face. Her hands started to twitch.

"Oh please, don't act like you hid your perverse inclinations from me. Ah, but I'm getting a little sidetracked. A woman should be content to do what she pleases in her own home, outside of public view -- nothing more to that." She gave a dissonant chuckle. "Now, do either of you have any questions before I ask you to leave this place? Keep to ones I can answer freely, please."
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


The construct’s lips pulled back as she glanced at Chaitaki, but it would be incorrect to refer to her mien as a grin. It was more like a bestial snarl, her teeth bared savagely. She did not respond to the taunt, walking down the hallway with Nkiruka. With every step Rin expected their ‘guide’ to strike, but it seemed like the older woman wasn’t planning any betrayal… yet. They were ushered into a laboratory that had clearly been sacked. The floor was scattered with shards of glass and debris from scientific equipment. Rin stepped carefully through the mess, making sure to avoid stepping on anything sharp with her bare toes.

They were not alone in the chamber. The man who worked in this laboratory was trussed up like a hog awaiting slaughter, his wrists and ankles bound and bleeding from a multitude of cuts. Rin paid far less attention to the indisposed Maester than the two figures standing over him. They had the same hardened look of the men and women from the mountain hideout, although there were aspects of their appearance that were decidedly inhuman. The man had silver eyes with vertically slits for pupils, while the woman’s face was striped and had white horns protruding from her brow. The girl’s eyes widened slightly at the sight, remembering when Nkiruka had had a similar physical characteristic of an animal… and more importantly, how she had obtained them.

These are the people she warned me to look out for… They graft animals and meld their souls. Chaitaki pulled up two chairs for her ‘guests.’ Rin took the chair, pulling it away from the woman before seating herself. Nkiruka chose to remain standing, pacing restlessly through the room. The construct’s eyes flickered away from the strangers for a moment, tracking the officer nervously. She had spent several weeks with the Istani woman and very rarely seen her this agitated. Usually, Nkiruka was completely taciturn. Chaitaki’s presence clearly had her on edge, which was understandable. Although the construct did not have parents, she imagined that she would feel just as uncomfortable if the Grimoire was sitting in the room.

She folded her hands in her lap, interlocking her fingers as Chaitaki started to speak. Most of her words seemed to be thinly-veiled threats directed towards Nkiruka. Rin watched the tribal leader as she spoke, her eyes narrowed slightly. She had only met with Chaitaki a few times while in the Dragonspine hideout, but it seemed like a completely different woman was sitting here. It was like the difference between a naked and sheathed sword; while both were dangerous, one was infinitely more deadly. She wore her weapons with the easy confidence of an incredibly skilled warrior, and Rin didn’t like the way that her expression almost never changed, always showing a razor-thin and slightly contemptuous smile. There was something wrong with how she felt as well. Rin could sense the subtle alterations and currents in the fabric of reality, and the air around Chaitaki seemed… wrong. Twisted, somehow.

When Chaitaki’s attention switched from Nkiruka to her, Rin met the woman’s glare with a bright, eerily cheerful smile. She ended the miniature speech with a blatant threat towards the soldier, but before she could respond the construct giggled, the noise completely out of place in the tense chamber. ”Your insolence is remarkable, honestly. You mortals are so… egotistical.” She kicked out both legs, stretching them out in the air and wriggling her toes. ”I might be a ‘shell,’ but you’re clearly not completely mentally stable, so I’ll forgive that transgression. You might not want anything to do with my pages, but if you’re deluded enough to think you can ‘systematically eliminate’ me… Well…”

Rin stretched her arms over her head, her knuckles cracking in a series of sharp retorts. ”I’ll let that slide as well, I suppose. My only real question is… Well, why? I understand the necessity of drastic measures….” She grinned crookedly, clearly making an allusion to Meera’s Miracle and Lugram, two towns she had completely destroyed in search of the Grimoire’s pages. ”But what do you think your self-centered crusade will accomplish?”
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


Chaitaki Menai took on the tone of a patient, eager schoolteacher. Nkiruka had been homeschooled, so that voice was very familiar to her. "Calling my efforts self-centered shows how ignorant you are of Chomai culture. I assume Iruka hasn't taught you a thing about it." She raised her arms to each side like she was indicating everyone around her. "Everyone in a Chomai band is equal, because every member must rely on everyone else in day-to-day life. Our close social ties, our reliance on each other's skills to survive in our harsh environment, is what makes us human. To be selfish is to be alone, and being alone is often deadly. I functioned -- no, I still function -- as a protector and spiritual adviser, now to all the beleaguered tribes rather than just the Choma. The term 'leader' is misleading and implies our social system is stratified, ranked. I am a servant of this 'crusade' just as much as any other honored member.

"To put my goals as simply as possible, I want peace. The Choma tribe never lifted a finger against the sultanate when they came in and claimed the Arash'kana for themselves. We did nothing to deserve our own cultural destruction. I was thirteen when they set aside the first Chomai reservations."
She lost her grin. Her jaw was set very tensely; she looked like an unhinged Nkiruka. "You cannot even begin to imagine the suffering I saw under their reign. A genocide would have been more kind." She placed extra emphasis on the second sentence, looking straight into Rin. "Civil disobedience does nothing. We have to speak in the language of violence in order for them to understand. We intend to take back our land and, after all these years, finally start restoring the livelihood we lost. I'm merely performing my role as protector for our sake."

Nkiruka looked to Rin as well. "I've done everything in my power to give the Choma refugees reparations. It's part of the reason why I joined the army in the first place. The only way we can actually, realistically change anything is by working with the sultanate, not blowing it up."

Chaitaki scoffed. "Do you seriously think a Chomai has use for money? We'd never even heard of the concept when we were first displaced! You can shower us in all the gold in the world and it will never make up for what we lost."

The Istani officer sighed. It was no use. "I've got a question," she remarked after a short pause. "Why haven't you aged at all since I last saw you? Aren't you in your sixties now? That gnoll receptionist mistook you for my sister."

"Why haven't you aged at all since I last spoke to you, back when you were fourteen years old?" Chaitaki laughed. "What a silly question."

Nkiruka looked away. The possibilities were uncomfortable.

"Now, I ask that you two leave."

The air was very still in the seconds between the request and the response. Nkiruka ripped out her weapons and cleaved Chaitaki's chair in half.

Somehow, the insurgent leader managed to get out of the chair before sharing its fate. She was behind Nkiruka now, both weapons out. The officer spun around just enough to barely deflect a blinding fast stab from the flyssa. The five knives lining Chaitaki's belt burst from their sheathes of their own accord and started to spin, the movement filling the air with the sound of humming. All five shot for Rin, aiming to cut apart her face and legs.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


The construct tilted her head to one side as Chaitaki spoke, listening to the woman with a cheery smile and bright, open expression. The tribal leader took on an almost patronizing tone as she launched into another speech, provided clumsy justifications for all of the death and terror she had sowed over the past couple of years. When genocide was mentioned in an accusatory tone, the construct’s mien flickered for a moment, a quick burst of emotions that were quickly hidden underneath another blank smile. Nkiruka chimed in eventually, revealing that the main reason she had enlisted in the Army of Istan was to help reimburse her people for all of the pain and suffering they had endured, but Chaitaki’s rebuttal was instantaneous and left no room for arguments.

”Peace, huh? Such a lofty goal for someone who is basically a serial killer...” Rin’s eyes flickered between Chaitaki and her minions in the instant before combat broke out. Nkiruka drew her weapons in a blur of speed, but Chaitaki was even faster, avoiding the soldier’s first devastating strike and engaging her daughter. Knives shot out of the sheathes along the tribal leader’s belt, starting to spin rapidly as they started to fly towards the construct. She chuckled and kicked the floor with both feet, sending her chair sliding backwards across the floor on its back two legs. The first spinning blades sliced through empty air, but they quickly adjusted.

Rin leaned back so that the chair tipped towards the floor, her feet lashing up towards the nearest two daggers. Before the blades could chop off her feet, the ribbons on her legs shimmered and re-formed into steel boots and graves, encasing her legs from the knee down in armor. The heels of her feet struck the spinning weapons, sending them ricocheting away and giving her and a few instants to prepare for the three remaining blades. She pressed both hands to the floor, launching herself in a backwards handspring as the ribbons on her arms transformed as well. The air around Rin was wavering like she stood in the middle of a mirage, and in the next moment she held a blade in either hand. One was a jade katana with a pommel carved in the shape of a snarling monster; the other was a silver longsword whose edge flickered with blue light.

The girl spun and leapt, the blades weaving a net of defense around her slender figure. The buzzing daggers darted towards her time after time, but they were rarely met with flesh. Instead she would angle her limbs so that they caught her armor or lash out with one of her swords and momentarily send it careening away. One of the daggers managed to slip past her defense, zipping past her shoulder and leaving a bloody line across her skin. Another managed to change the angle of its attack at the last moment, carving a wound across her thigh just above the greaves.

Rin focused most of her attention on defending herself from the spinning knives, but she still managed to try and keep Chaitaki’s subordinates from helping their leader. Whenever she had the opportunity, she would swing Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi towards the two, sending a whip-thin and razor sharp tendril of air streaming towards them. She would have tried to attack Chaitaki as well, but it was impossible to get a bead on the woman as she fought with Nkiruka. Rin started to moved towards the other Chomai as she fought against the flying daggers, grinning wildly.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


"Kill the Maester!" Chaitaki roared. Nkiruka recovered from a powerful blocked kick and clambered for the bound and tortured man. She didn't make it in time. The rattlesnake-Chomai cleanly slit his throat with a fang-shaped blade and let his body hit the floor. The Istani officer found herself trapped in a narrow path between Chaitaki Menai and two witch-warriors, all three of which wanted her dead before Rin. The ikal-nayati Chomai stomped the ground, snorted and threw her head. Steel plates lined the tops of her gauntlets. Nkiruka caught a glimpse of the rattlesnake Chomai weaving a spell in his free hand, his lips moving in the pattern of an incantation, before the other two witch-warriors converged on her at the same time.

The nayati-Chomai plowed forward. Her body shattered tables, chairs, lab equipment, anything it touched on the way, which made it hard for Nkiruka to see Chaitaki bearing down on her from behind. She felt blades biting down the side of her back before she fell into a combat roll that let her narrowly avoid the charge. Nkiruka uncurled into a crouch, slid two fingers around the hilt of her sword to point at the rattlesnake-Chomai. A wall of flames exploded from his hand, billowing towards her. This made Chaitaki back off; the insurgent leader returned her attention to Rin, shouting a harsh word in some ancient language. The floor beneath the construct began to waver and twist, turning it to the consistency of mud, while waves of force pulsed through it and could make it hard for the girl to maintain her footing.

The flames hit Nkiruka's fingers first. She focused her entire will into that fire. Her eyes closed. She let the heat and smoke wash over her, while picturing her own body covered in a shell: imagining her determination manifested into a protective shield. The bulk of the spell pounded into her body with force but didn't burn her, merely scorching everything around her. The Istani officer burst from the cloud and pounced on Chaitaki, interrupting the spell she was casting. They exchanged a whirlwind of blows in the instant before the nayati-Chomai grabbed Nkiruka by the neck, whipped her off Chaitaki and hurled her across the room. Chaitaki effortlessly twisted to her feet and pointed at Rin, and the female witch-warrior charged at her.

"Where'd you learn that trick?" Chaitaki yelled, whirling her blades back into position using the trademark movements of mandak. The insurgent leader made every flourish look effortless, as if she put no attention or power into each strike when that wasn't even remotely the case. Nkiruka struck a window, her back impacting first and then her head, sending cracks rippling through the glass; she slid down and slumped to the floor. Black crept into the corners of her vision. Shards of glass from the floor were embedded in her knees and elbows. Black blood trickled through the cuts in her uniform. She grinned as she got to her feet, taking another blast of fire in the face like it was nothing. Her left arm was twitching uncontrollably from a magicked nerve strike Chaitaki hit her with in their last tousle.

The nayati-Chomai impacted whatever was in her way, stopping only if she hit Rin or the back wall -- most likely the latter. She grabbed and ripped apart anything separating them. The ground flattened under her every footstep while it wavered everywhere else on this side of the laboratory. The witch-warrior huffed air and aggressively slammed her fists together, her stoic facial expression contrasting her otherwise bloodthirsty body language. She took razor-sharp blasts of wind head-on, seeming to ignore the deep gashes covering her face and chest. If she got close enough, she would outright grab for Rin's katana, using brute strength to try to force the weapon away while aiming a powerful uppercut toward the girl's stomach.

The air wavered unnaturally around Chaitaki's sickle. It was useless to keep an eye on it. For some reason, that sickle just made anyone who fought against it confused. When it moved, it was hard to tell how big the weapon was, or its angle of attack, or even what shape it was exactly. And already, just in these opening seconds, Nkiruka was losing. They were losing. They weren't dead yet, though. The Istani officer straightened to her full height as Chaitaki prowled up to her. Nkiruka's eyes dilated completely as her mind settled into a trance, her face completely blank. "Munashe Folami," she answered the earlier question in a monotone. She readied her weapons. "You forgot to search her house for hidden Chomai artifacts. Scrolls, records. You plan murders well, but not the aftermath."

Chaitaki scowled and continued pressing the offensive. Nkiruka spotted the rattlesnake-Chomai also moving in for another dirty trick, but even that split second of observation cost her a hit to the stomach and a gash across her left eyebrow.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


Rin was managing to hold her own against the buzzing, spinning daggers until the floor itself betrayed her. She was twirling backwards to avoid one of the incoming missiles when her foot sunk into the floor. The construct stared at the ground in shock. What? This is a wooden floor... The thought was interrupted when the rotating dagger struck her in the shoulder, tearing through her skin. Rin grunted and used the katana to knock it away before it could do more damage, ripping her foot out of the thick, mud-like floor. It started to ripple and shake underneath her, making it even more difficult to keep her balance. The girl looked up to see Chaitaki was watching her with a thin smile, chanting in a language she didn't recognize. Freaking witches...

She took several more cuts from the flying blades as she attempted to keep her footing, defend herself, and focus on Chaitaki at the same time. The Grimoire had given her the ability to cancel the disturbances that magic caused in reality, but it required concentration and time, the two commodoties she was completely lacking at the moment. Thankfully, Nkiruka noticed her plight and pounced on her mother, distracting the Chomai and cancelling the spell. In a flurry of blows Rin deflected all five of the blades, sending them flying in every direction and giving her a few seconds to breathe. Blood streamed down her arms and legs from a multitude of lacerations, although none of them were deep enough to impede her combat ability.

By the time the nayati-Chomai charged her the spell had been re-activated, making it difficult for Rin to stay on her feet, much less defend herself against the charging woman. Every tendril of air she sent shooting towards the horned woman connected, but she barely seemed aware of the cuts and gashes she was accumulating. Before she could activate Lan de Yue Jia's enchantment to trap the woman in a cage of starlight, the flying knives re-entered the fray, forcing her to use both blades to keep from getting torn to pieces. Rin just barely managed to spin out of the way of her charge, but when she brought the katana around in attempt to slice through the woman's jugular she caught the blade.

Rin didn't even have the time to curse before a fist slammed into her gut with all the force of an avalanche. She felt rips snap from the blow, losing her grip on Kusunagi-no-Tsurugi as she was thrown across the room. Rin's skull struck the wall hard enough that she saw double, the edges of her vision going black. The horned woman snorted and started to charge forward again, clearly planning on squashing the girl before she could recover, but Rin didn't give her the chance.

The construct's eyes dilated, her pupils expanding as she forced herself to ignore her injuries and enter a martial trance. She crouched, legs seemingly doubling in width as muscles bulged underneath the skin. She shot across the room in a blur of speed, stabbing the silver longsword at the nayati-Chomai's stomach as she barreled past. She barely touched the floor, not giving the ground enough time to foul up her footwork.

Regardless of the success of the attack, she released the blade even as the air around her other hand was wavering. A massive sword formed in her grip, its blade over six feet long and etched with crude, angular runes. She descended on Chaitaki like a vengeful spirit, the huge blade flashing through a series of attacks that seemed impossibly fast given its length and weight. She suddenly stopped her assault, slamming the tip of the sword into the wooden floor, grabbing Nkiruka's arm roughly, and launching herself backwards... straight through the window.

Already weakened by the officer's earlier impact, the glass exploded outwards in a spray of razor-sharp shards. Rin barely seemed to notice as slivers of glass dug into her back in a dozen places. Her dilated eyes were still locked on Chaitaki, her lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal teeth red with blood. "World of men, crumble and break, for Surtr's footsteps make the very earth quake!" The runes on Laevateinn began to glow as she spat out the words. Rin felt the flash of heat as the sword seemed to explode, fire erupting from nowhere and consuming the room in a blazing inferno.

The force of the explosion caught the plummeting berserkers, sending Rin and Nkiruka hurtling backwards through the air in a confusing tangle of limbs. The girl tightened her grip on her friend's arm, clamping down so tightly it was probably painful but refusing to let go. She wrenched her attention away from the hole in the wall that was belching gouts of flame, looking down at the rapidly-approaching ground. Greystein's laboratories had been on the third floor, which meant it was just high enough off the ground that a fall would pulverize bones. Rin had a small vial in her satchel with a potion that would allow her to levitate, but there was no time.

Without even being fully aware of what she was doing, the construct reached out into the fabric of reality, sinking in her hands and feet and gripping tightly. She could feel the material of existence ripping as she gripped it, the steel gauntlets shuddering and starting to smoke as gravity dragged them downwards. They were only a dozen feet above the ground before she managed to bring them to a halt, panting and her face wan and waxy. She slowly lowered them to the street below, her grip on Nkiruka loosening before she collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood and wrapping both arms around her broken rib cage. Her back was peppered with shards of glass that were smeared with blood. Greystein's laboratory had been reduced to a gaping hole in the wall, belching smoke and flames, but Rin was barely aware of anything besides the huge amounts of pain she was in.

OOC
 
Er... Rin activated Reckless Abandon, Martial Trance, and Takedown all in a short period of time. Just so you know.
Edited by Rin, Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:42 pm.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


A normal human would be slowed down significantly after taking a sword clean through the gut, but the nayati-Chomai only snorted and growled, healthy except for the mouthfuls of blood she was belching. Striped buffalo were notoriously hard to kill, and the grafter of one was no exception. Meanwhile, the rattlesnake-Chomai finished imbuing his fang-shaped knife with magical power that made a colorless mist rise from the blade. He slunk toward Nkiruka with predatory intent, and she couldn't do anything about it. Chaitaki had stuck her in the lung with her sickle -- thank her luck that it wasn't the flyssa that did it instead -- before Rin came barreling in to engage her properly. Laevateinn became a horror at such speed, and Nkiruka ducked and clambered out of the way of the massive blade wielded by her friend only to come face-to-face with the rattlesnake Chomai.

He launched at her with a series of twitching strikes -- one slice there, one stab there, all in extremely fast bursts like a strike from his namesake graft. Now Nkiruka knew why he persisted in hitting her with fire; she was too slow now. Her muscles felt stiff, like a morning before exercises, so her body couldn't catch up with her reflexes. It became a desperate bid to dodge the man's killshots, but she wasn't able to completely avoid them. Nkiruka grimaced, now aware of what that magic on his blade was. Acid. Chemical burns ate at the edges of her flesh. Her nerves lit on fire. Then the other injuries hit her. She couldn't breathe. Gashes covered her body and glass was under her skin. The officer was certain a few of her ribs were cracked, left arm shuddering and right wrist sprained from Chaitaki's devastating mandak strikes. This was one of those situations where she really felt like she was dying.

Then she was falling. For a moment the pain was so great, everything happened so quickly that Nkiruka felt somehow outside of herself, like she was some sort of apparition looking into the hole that led into the late Greystein's laboratory. Rin's voice was a muffled echo, for some reason. After the explosion, Nkiruka blacked out.

The Istani officer gasped awake the instant they touched the ground, coughing violently but then shouting in pain, barely realizing she had lost consciousness for just a few seconds. They were both on the ground, defeated by pain. Liquid fire pumped through Nkiruka's veins. Blood gushing down the cut above her eyebrow blinded her in one eye. The spasms in her arm were subsiding, but that did nothing to help her when she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Breathing was what she focused on first; pain could be compartmentalized, sort of. One breath in. One breath out. Nkiruka choked on blood and rolled onto her side, gripping the cool grass as she coughed wet globs. When her airways were clear enough she grit her black-stained teeth into a scowl and tried to push herself up.

"I'll kill her," Nkiruka mumbled, strings of blood dribbling from her mouth.

Horns blared around the building. Someone must have heard the commotion and sent some guards into Greystein's lab. They'd surely find a way to escape. Chaitaki and the nayati-Choma were injured, too. That was more progress than she'd ever made before. Usually they would just run away.

They must have been suffering down there for a good ten minutes before a healer broke through the line of Striberg guardsmen blocking them from curious students. It was a Mystic Researcher from the school of healing, a black-haired Kellenite girl. Nkiruka was shouting incoherently and trying to get up, berserk but incapable of doing anything, spasms of pain rocketing through her whole tensed body. The girl said something about poison but her mind was flicking through thoughts too quickly -- or too slowly? -- to catch it.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


Their escape from the destruction of the laboratory did not go unnoticed. A crowd of students and citizens quickly gathered around the downed women. When the city guard arrived, they set up a perimeter to keep the passerbys at bay, but none of them made any move to help the soldier or the construct. It wasn't until a young healer forced her way through the crowd that anyone attempted to assist them with their injuries. The rest of the watchers were whispering furtively, rumors spreading like wildfire about the destruction of Greystein's office and how these two women had been flung out of the explosion.

Rin felt like her torso had been completely shattered. The single punch from the nayati-Chomai had snapped at least four ribs, making every movement a struggle. From how difficult it was to draw in air, she suspected that one of the bones had also pierced one of her lungs. Bloody gashes covered her arms and legs, with red splotches blossoming on her dress and dribbling down her limbs. The construct focused all of her determination and energy on the internal injuries first, making sure that she would survive long enough to receive medical treatment. She was actually forced to grip one of the broken ribs and pull it out of her lung before she could start to repair the damaged tissue. However, when the healer moved towards her she shook her head, mutely nodding towards Nkiruka to indicate that the older woman should be ministered to first.

However, that was no easy task. The Istani officer was writhing and thrashing, her eyes still dilated and wild. It took six of the Striberg guardsmen to hold her down so that the healer could finally start working. Rin watched the process out of the corner of her eye, but could offer no assistance herself. The healer worked on the worst of the soldier's injuries before starting to draw the poison out of the woman's veins. It did not look like a pleasant process. Another medical mage joined her companion, this time an older woman with the look of a Striberg native. She crouched over Rin, clucking her tongue as she took in the girl's damaged state. Her hands began to glow. "You're not going to want to be awake for this..."

"No-" The protest was cut off when the healer tapped the construct on the forehead. Her eyes closed instantly, her head dropping to the ground as she faded into unconsciousness.



The room that Rin woke up in had been painted in soothing pastels, looking more like a nursery than a medical room. She tried to sit up and almost instantly regretted the decision when pain flared across her torso. She glanced down and saw that her body was wrapped in linen bandages from her armpits to her waist, the fabric holding down a thick poultice of herbs and salves. She winced as she peeled up the edge of the concoction and saw the mottled bruise spread across her stomach and chest. Thankfully, they hadn't tried to remove the silver ribbons from her arms or torso, simply placing the bandages over them. Rin carefully swung her legs off of the small cot so that she could sit up.

Nkiruka had been placed on another cot in the same room and still appeared to be asleep. She was swathed in bandages as well, the white fabric stained with her unusual black blood. The construct considered trying to wake up the officer, but decided that would be unwise given her condition and injuries. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, thanks to the meddling healer. When Nkiruka did finally open her eyes, Rin cocked her head to one side and crookedly smiled at her friend. "No worries, you're still my favorite Menai."
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


Nkiruka's fingers curled into fists as she stirred. Her eyes blinked open a couple seconds later, drifting over to Rin when the girl said something. The officer responded to the comment with a wolfish grin. Her fists clenched harder as small tearing, popping and cracking sounds rippled through her broken body. Nkiruka shuddered, lips still pulled back, and waited until the process was done before looking back over at her ally. "Look alive. The cavalry's coming as soon as they find out we're awake." In a fit of unusual liveliness she ripped off her sheets and spun her legs around so she was sitting on the side of her bed. She was unraveling bandages from her bare torso when the door to their hospital room burst open.

A powerful woman stepped in. The Brigadier General Nadiyah 'ela Korzul was tall, imposing, middle-aged; her skin was dark and tough from the sun. A deep, old scar warped part of her face, dividing it in half and giving her a seemingly permanent scowl. Everything about her was painstakingly well-kept, from her black and red hat to her gloves to the trousers tucked into the tops of her jackboots. A full cape embroidered with gold borders trailed behind her, adding to the sheer force of personality she projected at all times. Nadiyah was trailed by a man who appeared to be Striberg's Istani ambassador and some nameless colonel. Nkiruka's smile bordered on laughter at the fancy display, even though she wasn't even looking in their direction.

Korzul took a deep, sharp breath and folded her arms behind her back, cocking her chin up and looking down on the two of them like an exasperated mother. However, it was Nkiruka who spoke first. "You know, she was probably already miles away from here by the time you managed to set up a portal."

"I know that," the Brigadier General snapped. Her black eyes briefly flicked to Rin and she touched the brim of her hat. "Good afternoon, va-Dromigg. You haven't squandered the life our pardon allowed you, I assume." Her voice carried a small Istani accent. Nkiruka dropped her bloodstained bandages on the bed next to her and ran her hand over the ugly brown and yellow bruises covering her bare torso, listening to Nadiyah continue. "What I would like to know is how the hell my best member of this project -- accompanied by a powerful killer, no less -- got her ass so thoroughly thrashed by a single woman. Not only that, but in the process you also failed to save Maester Greystein, caused thousands of crowns in damage to the Academy of Magic, and gave Striberg's council the diplomatic equivalent of a heart attack. While I don't care about those last two things, they do draw unwanted attention to the project that I'd rather like to avoid." As if on cue, the ambassador sidled up to Nkiruka and handed her a small stack of paperwork before ducking out.

Nkiruka stood up and grabbed her trousers folded neatly on the nightstand. Korzul politely looked away, since only the officer's essentials were covered by bandages and undergarments. The officer stepped into one leg at a time. "Well, I guess Chaitaki really wanted the Maester dead, since she brought two other witch-warriors with her. When we came in, it looked like they'd been torturing him."

This new information gave Nadiyah some pause; she gently touched her chin with a gloved hand. "Fine. I'll look into the research he was doing." She tossed a furtive glance at the door. "You can rip up that paperwork for all I care. I don't want you wasting time cleaning up Chaitaki's mess."

"By the way, have you convinced Colonel Korzul to go into hiding yet?"

Nadiyah snorted. "My little sister thinks it unpatriotic to hide. It can't be helped. I try not to worry; that girl is naturally twitchy enough that she'd shoot at a flake of dust if it caught her by enough surprise." Nkiruka chuckled at this even though it wasn't funny. "Va-Dromigg, I think this goes without saying, but I'd like to request that you continue working with Captain Menai. I know what you two are capable of as a team. But, I also know what little opinion you have of the sultanate... For this reason I would be willing to compensate you greatly for your efforts. This project is somewhat under the table, but I am the head of a house of merchant-lords and have many resources at my disposal."
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


Thankfully, Nkiruka didn't take long to recuperate. When she did wake back up, she met Rin's jest with a wide smile and a warning that they would soon have company. The construct perked up, looking at the door with interest. She recognized the woman who barged in from Demir's coup; her scar was quite memorable, after all. This woman had fought with her and Nkiruka in the Fountains District, helping them destroy the corrupt officer's alchemical soldiers and reclaim the estates belonging to the city's nobility. The regalia hanging from the woman's uniform identified her as a Brigadier General, which brought back a rush of bad memories about her experiences with the Army of Istan and the desert metropolis they operated out of.

She started to undo her own bandages as the two soldiers conversed, seemingly unconcerned with protecting her modesty. Silver ribbons were wrapped around her breasts and waist, serving the same purpose as underclothes. Korzul chose that moment to greet the girl, who responded with a smile and a cheery wave. "Hello there! Feel free to call me Rin!" She reached for her sundress, but frowned when she realized that the garment was so torn and bloody that it was useless. Rin quickly rifled through her satchel, but had nothing else to wear. With a sigh she closed her eyes, mentally reaching out and manipulating reality. The Grimoire had always kept her from messing with the substance of existence too often, but now that they were estranged the tome could no longer suppress her abilities.

When she opened her eyes she was wearing a simple cotton sundress with thin straps looped over her shoulders. The construct smiled and returned her full attention to the conversation in the room. When the Brigadier General eventually turned and spoke to her again, Rin pursed her lips. What the woman said was true. Soldiers from the Army of Istan had ambushed and captured her in the desert and attempted to execute her. The fact that they had been corrupt members of the military did not exactly bolster her confidence in the organization. "I don't require a monetary reward. I am helping out Nkiruka because she is my friend, and I am hunting Chai-Chai because she lied to me." Despite the simple, almost naive explanation she provided, the construct's voice rang with steely determination.

"However..." Rin's smile was slightly bashful as she raised one hand, twirling a finger in her blonde hair. "I recently found out a lot of the citizens from Meera's Miracle have been displaced into a nearby village. They lost... pretty much everything. They live in squalor." The girl had visited the slums herself, while heavily disguised. With most of their possessions and wealth lost when their original village had been reclaimed by the desert, they were forced to scratch out a living. "If you could somehow allocate funds to help them become less impoverished, I would appreciate it. I doubt they would accept it if I attempted to make amends personally." Hundreds of innocents had died of dehydration when she destroyed the life-giving oasis in Meera's Miracle.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


The Brigadier General nodded. "That can be arranged." Nkiruka finished looping her buckle onto her trousers and fastening it, then grabbed a clean if overly-large shirt folded in one of the dresser shelves on her nightstand and slipped it on.

"So, Split-Face, you have to have a reason for coming here beyond making some polite conversation with a couple mavericks," Nkiruka said as she laced her boots.

"I heard about the situation and arrived immediately. This is the first time Chaitaki's been bold enough to enter a part of the Army's portal network. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. From here, I'll aid the Striberg Guard's investigation and return to Istan City in the evening."

"You're more impulsive than you try to present yourself," the Istani officer laughed. "Or maybe just obsessed with fighting my mother." Nadiyah frowned more than usual and turned, giving the silent colonel behind her a quick gesture. He stiffly turned around and left the room.

"I'll keep you two updated on the Greystein matter. For now," she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Nkiruka, looking like she was about to leave, "I need you to head to Balefire at your earliest convenience and destroy one of Rainfall's assets. More information included there."

Nkiruka nodded and weakly waved to Korzul as she left.



"This is pretty exciting," Nkiruka admitted with a straight face as their carriage dropped them off just outside Balefire. Wispy clouds roiled in the dark sky. Ashaki the roc was only able to take them as far as Calmonah; otherwise, the trip would have been too far out of her way back to Istan. The captain wanted her men back in Istan City to await further orders; unlike her, lots of them had homes and family lives that extended trips would interrupt. Besides, a group of two was much more inconspicuous in this city than a boisterous team of eight berserkers. "I never get an excuse to go to Balefire. It's the only city where anyone can walk around with weapons, putting justice in their own hands. Every trip is different." She looked down at the opened envelope that was originally closed with the wax seal of the Urban Cohorts, the regiment that Nadiyah and Zaman belonged to.

"This guy we're supposed to kill, Sheikh Nadav, sounds like a real character. He's not Chomai, but he's a radical tribalist and a religious fanatic. No information on his exact whereabouts, though." The officer peered over to Rin under her red beret. "Just how stupid do you think it would be to try to ask around town?"
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


Rin couldn't completely hide her relieved expression when the woman said she could arrange reparations for the survivors of the slaughter. It hadn't been her intention to kill so many innocents. her escapades in Meera's Miracle had been during the first few weeks of her existence, so she had still obeyed the Grimoire's orders without question. She had later come to regret the consequences of her actions, but there was nothing she could do that would give backs the lives that were lost. "Thank you." The Brigadier General gave Nkiruka orders to go to Balefire and eliminate another cell of Chomai terrorists before departing.



The trip to the shadow-cloaked city only took a few days, although that seemed like an eternity given the enormity of their task. With little to no information, they needed to locate a group of highly skilled and secretive operatives hiding in a metropolis that was infamous for its lack of judicial enforcement and criminal organizations. "I've only visited here twice before. I killed a witch and a wyvern once." She said the statement very bluntly, as if slaying powerful magic-users and giant flying reptiles was a normal tourist activity when visiting Balefire.

The City of Lanterns was constantly swathed in darkness due to an arcane bond with the elemental plane of shadows, which meant that it always appeared to be a starless night. To help accommodate for the perpetual obscurity, every major street and most buildings were illuminated by lanterns and torches of every size and description. Civilians were relatively safe on any well-lit street, but the narrow, twisting alleyways that wormed across the city that lacked any lights whatsoever belonged to murderers and criminals, giving the entire city a bad reputation. "I actually think I have a good place to start..."

The construct led them through the outskirts of the city to one of the smallest courtyards. She threw up the hood of her cloak and gestured to Nkiruka to indicate that the soldier should hang back as she took a coin purse out of her satchel. She tied the leather pouch on her hip so that it would jangle slightly with every step. She pushed into the crowd, keeping her eyes down but her other senses alert.

Eventually a young boy bumped into her, apologizing under his breath before trying to walk away. Of course, the interaction was far less innocent than it initially appeared. The small finger-knife he held moved lightning fast, the honed edge severing the thongs that kept the coin purse attached to her dress. The movement was so smooth and well-practiced that the girl barely noticed it, but she had been waiting for this. The small pouch fell into the thief's cupped hand, but before he could make off with the loot Rin's fingers locked around his wrist. She grinned widely at the boy, blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "Hello, Orson. How's the Prince?"

The grungy youth was in the middle of proclaiming his innocence before he processed the words. He scowled and peered up into the shadows of her hood, eyes widening slightly when he saw Rin's sculpted features. "Ah, ya' gold witch, why'd ya' have t' waste my time? I got quotas t' meet!" He spoke with the heavy, rough accent of the very poor. The girl didn't immediately respond, turning and making her way back through the courtyard to where she had left Nkiruka. She hauled the young thief behind her, ignoring his grunts and moans of protest. Once they had reached the Istani woman she twisted her grip, holding the boy in front of her as she clasped her free hand on his shoulder.

"Nkiruka, I want you to meet Orson, herald of the Orphan Prince and one of the finest pickpockets in the city." The gangly boy blanched at her words, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard his identity. His face was covered with a fine coating of grime and sweat, with plain features and ragged, homespun clothes. He weakly struggled against Rin's hold, but she did not loosen her grip on his arm or shoulder. "Who, if he behaves and leads us to the Court, will be allowed to keep that pouch of coins and his health."

Orson finally broke free, brushing off his shoulder as if Rin's fingers had stained them. "Fine, fine. Standing orders are t' let ya' see 'im, why'd ya' gotta scare me half t' death? Come with me. Try not t' look so... ya' know." With that the slight youth started to walk off without looking to see if they were following.

Rin explained what was happening to Nkiruka in an undertone as they followed the pickpocket through a veritable maze of narrow alleyways. "I ran into the Prince the last time I was here. Balefire's seedy elements might seem disorganized, but most of the youths in the city actually work for him, in one way or another. He... helped me acquire a page." In truth, the Orphan Prince was kept alive by one of the Grimoire's pages. He had lost several internal organs while helping Rin, so the construct had used the power of the book to save his life. Taking back the page would kill him almost instantly. Orson ducked into a hole in the wall of a hovel that led into a small, cramped tunnel. After crawling on their hands and knees for a minute, they reached a round metal door that led down into the city's sewers.

It only took ten minutes of walking through the sewers to reach the Court, although the stench would take years to wipe from her memory. The Court was less of a clearing and more of a tent set up on a patch of dry ground in the tunnel. Children watched them with hungry, suspicious eyes. Several of the kids bore crossbows, but they lowered the weapons when they saw who had arrived. Rin smiled and waved as many of the young criminals as she recognized, calling out their names and greeting them amiably. Orson seemed embarrassed by the display and quickly ushered them into the tent, closing the tent flap behind them. The construct turned her attention to the man waiting within, her lips quirking up in a small, wicked grin. "Have I mentioned how silly it is to be a prince of orphans? Doesn't a prince's power come from his father, making it impossible for him to be an orphan?"

The man laughed softly at the greeting, his dark eyes shining with mirth. It would be almost impossible to describe his features given how nondescript they were. He was in his early twenties and had a wide mouth, flat nose, and small eyes. His skin was a slightly tanned color that could belong to a resident of any city of Imythess, while his hair was dark and cut short. His clothes were much finer than the rags of the children outside the tent, a well-made tunic and pair of pants that wouldn't look out of place on any middle-class citizen. The only concessions to wealth were a silver ring on his right hand and a slender ornamental dagger strapped to one hip. He stood up from a thick wooden chair that looked like it had seen better days. "Rinrae! It's good to see you again. My Court is always open to you, and your friends..." He looked at Nkiruka pointedly, clearly waiting for an introduction.

The construct turned to her companion. "Nkiruka, may I introduce the Orphan Prince, scion of the sewers and lord of the lost. If anything happens in Balefire, he knows about it." She turned to the Prince, bowing slightly. "Prince, may I introduce Nkiruka Menai, Sergeant Major in the Army of Istan and one of my closest friends in the world." With that done she skipped over to the man, clasping his hand tightly and smiling warmly in his direction. "Can you help us?"

"Of course. Ask, and if it is within my power, I will assist. I owe you my life."

OOC
 
Feel free to control this NPC and his army of child-thieves. =D
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Nkiruka
Member Avatar


Nkiruka, unsure of how to properly address this paradoxical royalty, settled for a rushed Istani bow with one arm held over her chest. "Captain Menai, actually. Rin's actions owe a lot to that promotion." She straightened, looking the Orphan Prince in the eye. "I understand you have the greatest information network in Balefire. I'm looking for one Sheikh Nadav among whatever community of Istani refugees this city has."

The Orphan Prince propped his elbow on the arm of his 'throne,' holding his chin for a moment. "I can't say I know of a man with that name. Can you provide any more information than that?"

"He may go by a different name, then, but he'd definitely stick out. He's a tribalist, and a religious fanatic. He probably has a lot of followers that could either be laying low or causing some trouble around town, trying to install a government or what have you." It was a vague description, so Nkiruka tried her best to narrow it down a little. "He's an anti-mage, the type that releases a null field around him. Your network might have noticed mages avoiding him, or feeling sick in his presence."

Something changed in the Orphan Prince's eyes. "We do have a troublesome anti-mage. Sircas. He and his men live in the undercity, the network of tunnels snaking below the main level, and they're almost impossible to find. Members come up every so often to get supplies before disappearing into the darkness again."

Nkiruka cocked her head. "You mentioned he was troublesome? That doesn't sound like it."

"He teaches anti-magic abilities to those not born with an affinity. They're all slippery and paranoid. A few of our number have been caught and... taken down there." The Orphan Prince set his mouth in a tight line, perhaps not wanting to say members of his child-army were killed. "If you go looking for them, be careful. They rule the shadows of the undercity along with other monsters."
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
Rin
Member Avatar


The construct's grin slowly turned into a scowl as the Orphan Prince described the foe they were facing. He sounded like more of a nuisance than a prominent threat, but if this man was working with Chaitaki then they had no choice but to eliminate him. The fact that he was skilled enough to catch and detain several of the children in the information network was worrisome as well. Rin knew from firsthand experience how careful and skilled most of the Prince's agents were; it was necessary to be that talented in order to survive in Balefire. "Do you know where they're hiding, or should we make inquiries elsewhere?"

The Prince shook his head with a frustrated mien. "Anyone that gets sent into their tunnels disappears. I've instructed all my subjects to avoid their territory in the hopes of keeping them safe. I have my guesses, but..." He stood up and moved over to the back of the tent, kneeling down lifting up the bottom of the fabric. One of the bricks in the wall behind him had been removed and was crammed full of rolls of paper. He pulled out a large scroll, smoothing it out on the ground and beckoning them forward. It was a detailed map of Balefire's upper streets, but the sewers and other tunnels had been penciled in and labeled by a variety of different hands.

"The eastern part of the city borders on the Gloomwood, and its slowly losing the battle with the vegetation. The city walls crumbled centuries ago, and the mushrooms and umbra have been encroaching in that district ever since. Most people have moved out, but several buildings are still intact." The Prince outlined the section of the city he meant with a finger. "I suspect that their main headquarters is in this area. They would be able to operate with few witnesses, and disappearances have always been common in that neighborhood." He looked up at Rin, a ghost of a smile flickering across his forgettable features. "I would start there. And if you find my children..."

"I'll bring them home, no worries." Rin glanced at Nkiruka to see if the officer had any more questions before standing up, brushing dirt and grime off of her knees. "I'll take Orson, if you don't mind. I paid him enough gold to cover his quote for half a year."

The prince chuckled at that, rolling the map back up and returning it to its hiding spot. "Heralds in my Court do not have to fulfill a quota anymore. I fear you've been played for a fool."

"Well, then I demand his assistance." Without another word to her friend Rin left the tent, her hand lashing out as she passed the youth and pinching his earlobe. "You're going to help me find some very nasty people, Orson, and in return I'll ignore your lies." She hauled the child off into the sewer, ignoring his squeals of protest.



The Prince hadn't been exaggerating when he said the eastern portions of the city were falling into ruin. Stunted black trees had pushed up from underneath the cobbles, making the streets difficult to navigate. The caps of massive, mushroom-like plants loomed overhead, their stalks easily ten feet in diameter. Some of the buildings had managed to hold up against the invading flora, but most of the structures had holes in the walls or roof where the plants had taken root. Rin eyed the streets, her lips pursed. "This district is way too large to search by ourselves. How do we get into the tunnels from here?"

"Hell if I know." Orson was obviously nervous. he had unsheathed a pair of long, slender knives from underneath his rags, the edges of the blades honed to razor-sharpness. He held them with an ease and confidence that was slightly worrisome given his young age. "The Prince has kept us out of this area fer months now. Too dangerous."

The construct sighed and looked at Nkiruka. "If you were a terrorist affiliated with the person most-wanted by the Army of Istan, how could I smoke you out? Should I wander the streets, making inflammatory remarks about the Chomai?" She smiled slightly to take the frustrated edge off of the words.
Offline Profile Quote To Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Dragonspine Mountains · Next Topic »
Reply

Top RP SitesVote for Imythess at Top Site List Planet
Top Site Lists
Misty Woods created by Helena & Cory of ZNR