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From the Pinnacle to the Pit; [Private: Iris]
Topic Started: Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:32 pm (307 Views)
Vaska
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Vaska stopped at the front door of the ruined Sykora Mansion, Iris behind her. She looked up at the looming double-doors etched with pictures of catlike demons ripping apart and devouring senka during the Great Relocation of Balefire. The servant glanced back at Iris, her unlikely new friend. Then she opened it and walked in.

The foyer was covered in portraits of Sykora family members. Portions of each painting had been scratched or burned off so that none of the portraits' eyes were showing anymore. Past that entrance room was an open area set with dark shades of grey, heavy shadows, and the smell of dust. Vaska stepped forward and lowered herself onto her knees. Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed.

Demon spirits slid from the woodwork: lines of red smoke that occasionally formed the shapes of claws or eyes or catlike ears and teeth. They swirled around Vaska. The ones that investigated Iris were less numerous and gave the visitor more breadth, out of politeness.

"I have made three attempts to capture Serah Sykora, and have nearly died as a result. None of these attempts have been successful."

A cacophony of echoing voices followed: "Failure!" "Trash!" "Do it again!" "Get out!" "Worthless!" Iris flinched at the sudden outpouring of hatred, and glanced nervously at Vaska.

The servant wore a resolute frown. She didn't have time to explain to her friend that many of these spirits, the formless ones, had been stripped of a lot of their higher personality. Their responses were purely impulsive. However, the return of the doctor proved that these Sykoras could be brought back to their former nature. "I'd like to remind you, masters, that I am your only remaining servant. The future of the Sykora family rests purely on me. If I die, you are all doomed."

The resulting cacophony of noise was less easy to discern. Vaska sighed, letting them wear themselves out.

"Any suggestions?"

A more distinctive voice spoke, after a pause: the one belonging to Ivonna Sykora, a mining consultant. "If she refuses to return, we have no choice but to take drastic measures. In my brother's room, there is a cedar chest. Open that, and you'll find a portable binding spike. Stab that into Serah, then kill her. Her soul will lock into it. Then you can fit her with a new body. She will serve her family as a golem."

Iris flinched again. "What if she runs away as a golem?"

"Unlike people, there are reliable ways to control golems. You simply have to break her spirit beyond just ripping out her soul. Though that part isn't much different from controlling a person, is it? I suppose then that turning her into a golem simply makes it easier for Vaska to transport her here."

Iris cocked her head to the side. "Okay, okay, but then she's just a ghost like the rest of you. Can't continue the family, right?"

The spirit paused. "Do you have any better ideas for capturing her alive? You are Vaska's accomplice, are you not? Why have you failed three times to obtain her, then?"

"First time she didn't feel like talking and it was very public. Second time she jumped us in a public place. Third time she had a whole gang behind her. We kinda need to get rid of her gang first, I don't think she'll talk as long as she thinks she has the upper hand?"

"Cut her ties to that gang. Systematically kill everyone she cares about. Take anything else she holds dear, such as her wealth or other personal relationships. At the height of her despair, bring her here."

"Um, yea, sure."

Vaska swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes, Master Ivonna. It will be done." She bowed and departed, the murmuring of the other demon spirits still ringing in her ears.

They left her a sizable purse of gold with which to buy anything she needed to ruin a person's life.
Edited by Vaska, Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:46 am.
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Quinn
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Iris glanced at the pile of gold. More than she'd ever seen in her life. They might have been incorporeal, but they did enjoy their coin. She glanced down a hall. "Mom left a note, that if I ever needed to get serious, I should speak to her."

Vaska piled and sorted the money with a wan face. "That sounds dangerous. Everyone knows you shouldn't play with the Shadow Plane."

Iris nodded. "I'm well aware. But she's my mom. She's...someone I should meet, at least once. I don't even know what drove her to become a Stranger."

"Just be careful. Don't take any deals lightly. I hate to say this because she's your mother, but look at everything she says like there's strings attached, like you're not being given the full story."

Iris nodded. "You should come along. I've never really dealt with anyone. Didn't even read the contract at the fighting pit."

Vaska pulled on her greatcoat and fur mantle. "Yeah. Strangers appear in crossroads and graveyards and by cairns, right? Or did she tell you to meet her in a specific location?"

"I've got a crossroad in mind. A quiet one." Iris nodded. "Good thing we just got up, it is a bit of a hike." Iris led the Vaska out of the city, then into the darkness outside. It became colder as they left the heat given off by the city. The woods had strange eyes. Specters flickered between distant gaps in the brush. Some distance out, they came to where the now disused trade road with the Dwarven Cities lay. An old, ruined tower sat, straddling a brook. The sign pointed towards a ranch in the other direct. "I passed through here on my way to Balefire. Nobody will be around." Iris closed her eyes and reached out for the normally empty presence of the Ethereal. A quick pull at her mind.

A woman stepped out from within the fort, garbed in an expensive gold and black dress. She toyed with her knotted hair. Her eyeless sockets fell on Vaska first, then on Iris. "You are here to make a deal with the Ethereal? You haven't spoken a word of it. Get on with it, supplicant." Iris approached the stranger. They had similar facial structures, the same full lips and nearly the same height.

"Mom." The Stranger shook her head.

"I am no one's mother. Such an absurdity. Are you going to speak substantially or are you as vacant-minded as you look." Iris blushed and looked aside. Her anger built.

"You are my mom. You dropped me off in a tattered dress at a Dwarven orphanage. You didn't have eyes then, either. You couldn't even give your name." Iris pulled a locket from her suit and presented the contents - a tiny piece of folded paper - to the Stranger. The Stranger opened it and read through. She glanced up at Iris.

"The Ethereal and I remember this deal." The Stranger put her hands on Iris's shoulders.

Vaska stepped in, reaching out like a reflex. "Hey! What deal? You can't just go and seal a deal without all parties understanding the terms. And at least have the class to treat your own daughter with respect. Or are you just some eyeless hag?"

The Stranger froze, then looked to Vaska as though she had been caught raiding the cookie jar. "No, no, you are correct. The deal is as such. I, Lily Zajac, pledge to the Ethereal my eyes and my memory in return for the life of my daughter, Iris Zajac. Her father's side is to be sealed. When she desires it, she is also to be granted her due as a Knight of the Zajac household, her armor, and the powers of her blood." Lily Zajac's face became strange. "It was my deal. I remember quite a lot now." Iris embraced her mother for a moment.

"Who was my dad?"

"I can't remember his face. Or his name. I can't even remember where I used to live..." Lily whispered.

Vaska stared, wide-eyed. "Her life...?" It didn't sound like a legitimate question. More like she was processing everything that was being said.

Lily nodded. "I gave birth to her in the woods. Everything was covered in blood. Ice. Snow. Miserable wind." Iris clutched her closer. Lily's hand settled into her daughter's hand, cautiously, nervously, as though she was afraid her touch was death. "I...ask that you speak to me again. Perhaps after you are done with...whatever it is you need the armor for. I may not remember you. But anything you say will go to the Ethereal, which is as close as I have to a memory."

Iris released her mother. "I will. I promise." Tears streamed down her face and froze on her chin. "I'm going to find dad, and the other Zajacs an-" The stranger silenced her with a single finger to her mouth.

"Live for yourself. I didn't save you to get trapped in my past." The Stranger stepped away from them. There was a small, slight grin on her face. "I look forward to you returning." The Stranger disappeared. Cold blue winds took hold of Iris, then absolute darkness. Her skin bristled. A moment of tightness, then freedom. A lone clank. She pushed the visor of the helm up. She glanced at the armor. It was black, shiny, as though it had just come from a year's long session of polish. There were decorations, but they were matte black, an intricate void on the pauldrons and edges of the plates. A long piece of cloth billowed in the wind from around her neck. Iris grabbed it and drew it closer. The sabretooth insignia she made for herself was proudly emblazoned on the end of the bright blue scarf.
Edited by Quinn, Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:42 am.
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Vaska
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"Iris, I-- I don't know what to say." Vaska felt small. Like she shouldn't have been there to witness such an important moment. "God, I feel bad now for dragging your personal life into this. You're a knight? A Zajac, no less?"

"Um, if what a Stranger says is correct, yes?" Iris replied. She struggled to wipe off tears inside of her helmet.

Closing the distance between them, Vaska set what she hoped was a reassuring hand on Iris' black-plated shoulder. She tilted her back and head so that she was looking more directly at Iris' eyes, smiling faintly. "I wouldn't blame you at all if you'd rather go find out some things about yourself. I can finish my own business. You've done plenty to help me."

Iris seized Vaska and tightly hugged her. "Not much to tell her about right now, let's go get Serah Sykora. I'm not going to ditch you - besides, I'm itching for a scrap."

Vaska's smile widened. "That's Iris for you. Well, I'm not complaining either. Fullplate will be a serious help when we take on these Silverbears."



That tearful family reunion was certainly the highlight of what turned out to be a series of errands. Vaska needed to purchase some brass knuckles, and she was very picky. She also picked up some supplies like healing salve and some blood jugs from the peddler on the corner of Twelfth and Bane. They also visited, of all places, the tailor. Vaska was tight-lipped about the purpose behind the last part as she purchased various needles and thread, but carried herself with the certainty of a warrior gearing up for battle.

"Here's my plan: divide and conquer. We'll slip into Slazno more quietly this time. I'll be undercover, and you'll be in your armor, so we won't be recognized. Then we begin the killing. One-by-one, we isolate individual Silverbears, even if it means breaking into their houses and killing them while they sleep." Vaska lifted up a combat knife: one of the acquisitions of today's errands. A dusting of opaque grey paint kept the metal from being reflective. She wasn't normally a knife sort of lady, but slitting throats would prove much better for this task than smothering or neck-snapping. The latter was harder to pull off than the adventure novels made it seem, especially against nonhumans.

"I need you to protect me. I don't have any armor, and I'll be focusing on the logistics of monitoring each gang member, so your job will be important even though it's simple. What do you think?"
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Iris
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"Keep an eye out for sheriffs. This will not be a quiet night." But it had been a while. The world frayed at the edge of Iris's perception. Dark images in shadows. Ice and snow. Towering mountains without explanation. A world with and without light called her closer. Her blood sang as she walked down the streets in anticipation. A sheriff and golem eyed her as she passed with Vaska. "Ah. Hah." Giggles emanated from the helmet. "I'm ready." Slazno district slumped into the muck before them.

"Let's find a tavern or gambling den. Should be a good place to find Silverbears relaxing. I suspect you wouldn't appreciate checking a brothel for the same."

"I thought you said one at a time, but it makes no difference to me." Iris tapped her armor with one of her strange axes. She chuckled again. "It'll get my blood going, that's for sure."

"Oh, I didn't mean that we'd start a fight there. We follow them home, or trick one of them into going off alone." Vaska gave Iris a measured stare under her storm hat. Rather than her usual getup, or perhaps over it, she wore a longcoat with fur on the collar. "You look a bit antsy, though. You sure you can be patient?"

"Patient. Yeah. But soon." Iris replied. She slapped her visor down. Stars glistened around the world she saw through the eyeslits. "Soon. Meeting with Lily brought the Ethereal close quickly. Feels like I've been two weeks without a fight."

"I'll make it soon. I promise. Don't let the Ethereal swallow you up." Vaska rubbed Iris' plated back, smiling sadly.

They made quite the pair, walking into an old half-sunken house whose top floor had been refitted into a gambling den. Iris looked like the bodyguard for Vaska, some swamp-roamer from the inner counties.

At this hour, the building was packed and it was hard to get a seat. Brass instruments blared from one crowded corner. "This is a powder keg waiting to blow."

Cards slapped back and forth. Iris watched, and for a brief moment wanted to join in, but she reminded herself of where she was. A true Balefiran gambler played with one eye to the Ethereal, bartering for a bit of luck. Small deals with plenty of time between uses. Outsiders lost terribly. A golden-haired woman with one eye had quietly amassed a pile of coppers and silvers at one of the larger tables. She was ringed by cold, blue flame. "This is not a good place for a fight, I agree. The golden haired woman is an Agent." The local Silverbears were idling around the gambling tables as a few of their number played cards as though their lives depended on it.

Vaska was content to sit at the dingy half-bar near the back, drinking a pint of beer. The singing, shouting, and arguing were entertainment on their own. Turned out that there was a reason they came so late into peak hours. Two of the Silverbears, smashed out of their minds, stumbled out with that distinctive inability to keep their hands off of each other. The vampire quirked an eyebrow. After a few seconds, she stood up and began to tail them.

Iris followed, but held herself to the shadows as she did. She felt herself fade. This was something she was Not to Do at the orphanage, but here, in Balefire, she figured it wasn't at all dangerous. A roar rose from the tavern, a howl of swears.

"Patience," Vaska whispered, her voice barely louder than a breath.

Bingo. The pair made it through the mucky streets to a small house, where they stumbled inside. Vaska glanced around the perimeter, slipped her hands into her coat pockets, and then grinned. "It's time. I'll watch for danger."

Iris approached the closed door and tried the latch. Even drunks, as it turned out, could manage that simple bit of security. She placed a boot against the door to measure the distance and quickly took up a stance, axes in hand. She kicked. The door buckled in as old, rotten wooden walls collapsed leaving the whole body of the hinge stuck to the door. There was a moment of shouting from above as Iris strode in. Blood splattered across one of the windows. Drunken screams echoed out. Then, more blood coated the window. A lone drunkard exited the building on the bottom level but was suddenly grabbed and then pulled back within. A short scream. Iris walked out, blood dripping from her armor. "This blood isn't going to leave room for questions. I think I'm going to risk the rooftops to avoid being seen."

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Vaska
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Vaska stepped over the bodies, careful not to make bloody footprints through the ramshackle home. She flipped through the bundle of messages in her hand. Midway through the stack, her lips curled up. Before Iris took to the rooftops, Vaska handed her a scrap of paper. An address was written there. Another Silverbear home.

"With any luck we'll catch a few on the streets in small groups. Be careful on those rooftops, though. They look pretty rotten."

Iris waved her ax. "It'll have to do. I don't think anyone would buy that I fell into a pit of strawberries."

"I might as well follow, then."



If the Sykoras asked her to kill everyone in the world, Vaska would damn well try. The grisly job they were carrying out was time-consuming and exhausting, requiring a mixture of bursting athleticism and risky climbing. They hit two more houses -- one normal dwelling and what appeared to be some kind of Silverbear safehouse or meeting area. Vaska took a nasty gash in the arm during that second fight, but she managed to bandage it up well enough after they got away.

No sign of Serah. They probably hadn't found the gang's real pit of vipers yet. Vaska was at least hoping she had killed at least one of Serah's new friends. Hopefully even someone closer than that, like a mentor or lover. Hard to tell.

Once the heat on the streets got too bad, Iris and Vaska slipped out of Slazno and camped at the former's apartment to rest. The next night they continued, although tracking and maneuvering became much less successful. They only managed to hit another house of Silverbears before being forced to retreat from the neighborhood.

On the third night, they spotted Silverbears going in and out of a huge gutted church. Since both of them were wounded, they pulled back to their base to reassess.

"They're on high alert," Vaska said, staring at the fireplace. "They know someone's been going after them. Might not even let us get close before they tear us a new asshole. Any ideas?"
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Leyanni[Adm]
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Iris watched the building, only partially concealing herself. Her armor was clean, crisp, and only a little dented. She looked to Vaska. "We'll be more daring than them. We'll burn it. Challenge them in a contest of bravery. The Sykora can't escape from me if she runs into the streets."

"Alright." The servant took a deep breath. "Let's do this. It'll finally be over, and then we can rest."

"So, uh, you have anything to burn it with?" Iris demonstrated her empty hands.

Vaska stifled a laugh. "Would've been a pretty unfortunate speech of yours if I hadn't." She reached into her satchel and withdrew a couple bottles filled with oil and stuffed with cloth. The vampire handed one to Iris while she pulled out a book of matches. "Ready?"

"Just don't get shot." Iris pulled out her shield and pointed to the figure watching in the belltower high above. "Go." She burst into a sprint, covering ground at a tremendous pace. She raised her shield and caught the first of several arrows that came careening from the building. They glanced off harmlessly until a glowing blue arrow hammered down from the sky. Her shield burst into blue flame. She tossed it aside, sending it skidding across the muck. She drew out her other ax as one of the defenders shouted a warning. He began to shift. Iris crashed into him and carried him through the doorway into a broken, old wall. It shattered. Wood glanced off her armor as she crashed into the main hall of the cathedral. The werewolf slammed into a pew. He stumbled with a hundred splinters stuck into him. The ax fell onto his skull. Iris jumped forward and rolled as a massive something crashed through the wall beside her. She smiled. Wide. A nearly ten foot tall armored figure rose from the darkness from a half-stoop. Brown fur stuck out from between the plate.
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