Difference between revisions of "DKDragons/SessionFifteen"

Revision as of 08:06, 5 April 2010

18:34 [ST] A day passes, and another.

18:35 [ST] The explosion in the harbor seems to have destroyed all the Eristrufa there; if more remained further out, they retreated back into the sea, leaving the harbor open and providing egress from the city.

18:36 [ST] Fishing boats head back into the harbor, dropping nets to trawl, but the explosion and the lingering taint of the Eristrufa's touch have damaged the local area, and the fish are less plentiful than one might expect. Agents of the Hunt remain onshore to buy them, spending jade liberally, turning paupers into rich men.

18:39 [ST] There are those who try to escape from the city, as well. Before the smoke has cleared, a pair of ships full of Citizens has departed, and within hours several more leave, packed to the brim. One is full of slaves who won it in bloody battle, one crewed by merchants who stow Citizens and slaves elbow to elbow if they pay the price, and the last by a prominent Citizen who entices slaves aboard with renewed contracts of service.

18:39 [ST] Derilects float out in the bay, filled with the gory remains of their crews, torn apart by the eristrufa. The most desperate swim for these, and some even make it.

18:40 [ST] The Hunt does what it can to contain the hemhorraging, but flight is rapid and unstoppable - soon most of the servicable ships are gone, aside from those designated for fishing.

18:41 [ST] In the city, Keshin painstakingly examines the walls, not trusting his subordinates to check them with his skill. With lives on the line, it seems best to make certain.

18:41 [ST] He finds the two leading walls of the pentagonal city in relatively good shape. There's the occasional flaw in the stone, but they're several feet thick and over 200 feet high. Unfortunately, unlike the massive tower of the Shatterspear itself, they're only Second Age constructions.

18:43 [ST] The walls nearer the harbor have fallen into disrepair in several spots, and the Southeastern portion of the city, Tumbletown, is largely built from scavenged pieces of the collapsed walls there. Fortunately, the screening cliffs help prevent any approach, but the city cannot defend itself well from the sea.

18:43 [ST] Kalan finds himself dealing with a squire that's mostly useless for the task and talks back far more than he - she? It? should, considering. Zip does not reappear.

18:44 [ST] Talek hears nothing from Mnemon. Absolutely nothing, and somehow, the silence is more ominous than her voiced wrath.

18:46 [ST] The Dragonbloods are gathered in the courtyard of the Shatterspear, watching the gathered new recruits stabbing with improvised spear and shield. Their footwork is dire, their strikes unsteady. But this is their first day...

18:47 [ST] The Ghanites have constructed a massive lean-to against one of the courtyard walls, and most of them are there, watching blankly and unreadably.

18:47 [ST] Tansy flexes her new hands, half invisible under the warstrider. Only her legs sticking out indicate she's there. Silken Whisper and several others are nearby, conferring.

18:48 [Kalan] Kalan has amused himself drilling the armed slaves between half-hearted drunken banter sessions with the urchin. It had critized his odor recently, and now Kalan watches with idle sadism as the creature struggles with the others to follow the motions of the drill.

18:50 [ST] Jorj is, as is common these days, nowhere in evidence. Off with one of his masked women, perhaps.

18:50 [Kalan] "Halt!" he barks. "Keep your hands closer together on the haft- you're losing flexibility-"

18:51 [Kalan] As the recruits struggle to follow his directive, he glances at Keshin. "How many Citizens did we lose this morning?"

18:52 [Keshin] Keshin watches the drill while he can, but mostly has to leave it to his 'subordinate.' There are too many things demanding his attention, none of which he is fully equipped to deal with. The bleed of people from the harbor is a blessing in many ways. The supplies that they manage to smuggle out with them would never have been found if they had not been able to leave, and the ones who fled would have been useless mouths feeding on the city's rationing. He would have had to make a hard decision about letting them starve, which could only have helped the abyssal's objectives.

18:56 [ST] The Urchin grumbles, staggering under the weight of its shield, and drops the spear right on a nearby slave's foot. As the slave shouts angrily, the urchin steps back defensively, and-

18:56 [ST] The bell on the walls begins to toll. Someone approaches on the road.

18:57 [Kalan] "Vash," Kalan says, jerking his head. His minion takes over smoothly as Kalan runs to the walls.

19:00 [ST] A roostertail of dust rises from the dry road - the Swift Rider is approaching, its only passenger bent low over the handlebars, dark hair disheveled and streaming out behind. Mara. She's going top speed, way too fast to stop in time, and as those on the walltop watch, the Rider begins to wobble back and forth as she struggles for control.

19:01 [Keshin] Keshin dashes up the stairs almost too late, just in time to see. .

19:03 [Kalan] Kalan watches impassively.

19:07 [ST] The Swift Rider strikes a woven basket lying in the road, dropped there during the evacuations, splintering it. The shards fly up into Mara's face, blinding her; she wrenches the Swift Rider to one side in compensation, her feet falling from the stirrups.

19:07 [ST] There is a loud �crack� as she strikes the ground, pinned beneath the artifact, and then another, and then another, as rider and vehicle tumble sideways, rolling again and again.

19:08 [ST] At last, Mara flies away from the Swift Rider, striking the wall with a violent crash. The artifact skids in the other direction, still moving, its rear end scribing a circle in the earth as it goes round and round in place.

19:09 [Kalan] "Open the gates," Kalan shouts. He grabs a staring soldier's shoulder. "Bring Talek!"

19:09 [Kalan] He runs to her side.

19:10 [ST] Mara stares up at the sky in a broken heap, her head canted sharply to one side. Every limb seems to be broken, but her chest is still rising and falling - for now.

19:11 [Keshin] Keshin runs down as well, but moves to control the Rider first. It was out of control, and just luck had kept it from damaging the gates or walls.

19:12 [Talek] Talek looks up as he hears a tremendous crash "Dragons, what have they done now?"

19:12 [Talek] A fine silk tapestry in his borrowed room comes loose. Tansy looks around vaguelly

19:13 [Kalan] "Mara," Kalan says as he kneels next to her, his voice emptied of all emotion. "You're hurt."

19:14 [ST] Mara blinks. Even that movement seems to pain her. "Perceptive... as... always... husband."

19:16 [Keshin] He manages to dodge past it in its eccentric circling, and grab at the controls. As soon as it is shut off safely, he joins Kalan next to Mara. "What happened?" If she was to die soon, they needed to know.

19:17 [Kalan] He reaches out to touch her, and then seems to reconsider. There was no part of her that did not look...shattered. His hand drops back to his side. "Did Avaku escape?"

19:18 [ST] Mara coughs loudly, a rattling, choking sound, and then moans from the convulsion. Blood wells up around her eyes, joining the trickles from her ears, nose, and mouth. A fractured skull.

19:19 [ST] "Went to... Higara... for supplies. Still plenty there, we loaded them all up. We were just starting back when... the army came. Too many for us to fight, but with the Yeddim we couldn't get away. Couldn't get away anyway... Avaku stayed... to lead them. Told me to bring word back here... tell you...

19:19 [ST] "They're coming."

19:21 [Keshin] "Damn. So you are all thats left of them? You know the rest are dead?"

19:21 [ST] "Don't know... I came as fast... as I could. But... there were so many... they couldn't have stood... against them."

19:22 [Kalan] "The fool," Kalan says bleakly. Avaku died uselessly with his soldiers, when they could use him on the walls. He watches helplessly as Mara chokes, blood spilling out the corner of her mouth. "�Talek!�" he roars without turning his head.

19:23 [Talek] "No need to shout"

19:23 [ST] Mara's fingers claw the earth. She looks up at Kalan, and even in this state her eyes gleam with sudden menace.

19:23 [Talek] Talek strolls up, carrying what appears to be a bag full of ferns, or possibly octopi.

19:23 [ST] "We found something... in the town.... a body... flayed... dead..."

19:23 [ST] "Dark armor... white hair... a daiklave... your... little friend... I think."

19:24 [ST] "Been there a long time. Rotting in some cellar." She coughs.

19:26 [Talek] Talek kneels down and starts to work. He yanks on the fern (vine?), and pulls out a few feet of it, wrapping it around Mara's arm.

19:26 [Kalan] Kalan looks away from the hatred in her. "Is that so," he says, neither grief nor pain inflecting his voice. "Matara will be relieved."

19:26 [Talek] "Get her armor off, gently."

19:27 [Talek] "I take it you remember how to do that?" Talek smirks

19:27 [ST] "...not you... though... husband... you will be... ahh... ah-huhhhhyyyckk kkkkkkk" She gags on her own blood, choking, thrashing.

19:28 [Talek] Talek grabs a wooden tube out of his bag and shoves it into her lungs

19:28 [Talek] Blood spurts out momentarily, but then there's a gurgling sound as air moves into her lungs

19:29 [Kalan] Kalan's fingers work clumsily at the straps. He flinches as she thrashes, whitening a little in spite of himself. "Not me," he agrees quietly. What woman would touch him now? "Aran will marry Keshin," he tells his wife.

19:30 [Kalan] He had once nurtured malicious hope of using the news and celebratory dissipation to woo her into a better humor with him.

19:30 [ST] The pipe makes a keen whistling sound. From the way her eyes are rolling, it's uncertain whether Mara actually understood this or not.

19:30 [Keshin] Keshin pauses, he had forgotten that in everything else he would worry about. "Only with her approval, I said."

19:31 [Talek] Talek cuts off the rest of her bloodsoaked clothes, pulling away a piece of intestine in the process

19:31 [Talek] He dumps the fern/octopus/vine into her chest. It slithers out, wrapping itself around her body

19:32 [Kalan] Kalan shoots him a sudden wolfish look. "I hope you won't use her improvidential death to attempt to wriggle out," he says, even as his fingers grow wet with his wife's blood.

19:32 [Talek] "Get away!" Talek shouts, quickly bending her limbs back into the proper position.

19:32 [Kalan] He presses futilely at the awound, until Talek shouts at him and he jerks away.

19:34 [Talek] He sweats, and pushes essence into his limbs to accelerate, rushing to push her body back together. He stands up, leans down, fiddles a bit, and then, there's a happy noise as the demonfern hardens itself into a full body cast

19:35 [Keshin] Keshin backs away, leaving the healer to his work. "You know I am better than that."

19:35 [Talek] The veins of the ferns are laced through with reds, browns, and yellow as they route blood, refuse, and bile around ruined pieces of circular system.

19:35 [Talek] One of the veins pumps up and down quickly, compensating for her blasted lungs.

19:36 [Talek] Talek pants and leans back. "There. She should live, but I doubt she will do much good for a few days. "

19:36 [ST] Mara lies silently, unconscious, but breathing

19:40 [Kalan] Kalan stares at her silently for a long time before something brings him back. "Corim. Tia. Bring her inside the Manse. Detail someone to see to her needs."

19:40 [Kalan] He stands. "I..I will bring the news to Matara."

19:42 [Kalan] He moves stiffly, awkwardly, following his wife's broken body.

19:42 [ST] The two soldiers nod, picking up the Dragonblood between them like a delicate sculpture and bearing her within the gates. Atop, dozens of curious faces continue to stare down.

19:43 [Kalan] Kalan schools his face into something stern and unapproachable. "Return to your posts!" he roars. It wasn't good for the mortals to realize Dragonblooded could be killed; much less doing something as foolishly simple as carrying a message.

19:46 [Talek] Talek picks up his bag, now empty, and strolls back into the city

19:47 [Kalan] He glares at them until they reluctantly return to business, and then leaves in search of Matara.

19:48 [Keshin] Keshin is the last through the gates, pushin along the idling Swift Rider.

19:54 [ST] Matara is with the others in the practice yard, shouting them back to their task as they ogle the wounded Mara. She tries not to let her dismay show, but she is not particularly good at faking ferocity.

19:58 [Kalan] Kalan needn't fake anything, and when he growls a few intrusive questions duties take them, minions blanch and scurry.

19:59 [Kalan] "Matara, a word," Kalan says bleakly. He is strangely pale under his healing burns.

19:59 [ST] "You can talk to me here," she snaps. "I've had enough of your words."

20:00 [Keshin] Keshin hands the artifact over to Tansy, leaving any necessary maintenance to her. He hoped that Mara's crash had left it in repairable condition.

20:01 [Kalan] "This is better news given in private," he insists.

20:03 [ST] "I've heard too much of that from you," She says tightly. Her eyes try not to follow Mara's body. "Just say it. If they've returned, I've got things to do."

20:06 [Kalan] He steps closer to her so his words would not travel further, smiling sourly at her instinctive jerk back. "Avaku is dead. The army is coming," he tells her. Her cousin had displayed some tenderness for her in the past; he watches her face, and wonders if the opposite was true.

20:07 [Kalan] He is torn between bitterness and amusement at her concern for Mara.

20:19 [ST] Matara's eye twitches. Her mouth tries to pull down, and she takes a shuddering breath. Avaku had been kind to her. He had been the only one, besides her "brother" Mataru, and Mataru's goals were as transparent as they were repulsive. "Then it's done. There's nothing for me now."

20:20 [Kalan] Kalan's voice softens in spite of himself. "Mara told me they found the Maiden rotting in a cellar."

20:26 [ST] Her gaze focuses on the ground. The word from her mouth is hard and brittle, like ice.

20:26 [ST] "Good."

20:30 [Kalan] Kalan raises a hand to her face, though he does not- quite- touch her. The hand shakes, despite his best efforts. His voice is colder than he intends it to be. "I...don't want to be alone right now."

20:32 [ST] She smiles, an ugly thing. Perhaps she has learned something from him, after all. "That's unfortunate. I thought you'd be used to it, by now. Traitor."

20:33 [ST] She turns without another word, walking past the rank of troops at ease. Her shout for them to get back to work sounds more genuine, this time.

20:34 [Kalan] Kalan laughs softly to himself, but the laugh dies and his eyes turn savage. He clenches a fist, and returns to work.

20:37 [Talek] Talek chews on some opium leaf as Old Mithri directs an apprentice

20:37 [Talek] Old Mithri is the oldestand wisest thaumaturge in the city, he directs the slave boy with a kind voice

20:38 [Talek] "What are all those extra squiggles?" Talek asks.

20:39 [Talek] Mithri looks shocked. "Prince, those are protective runes, to keep the demon from infecting your soul wi-"

20:39 [Talek] "pish posh, Dragon Blooded don't need those."

20:40 [Talek] "Alright now, that's good enough."

20:40 [Talek] "Start singing."

20:41 [Talek] The old man grudgingly stands up and starts chanting the spell, with Talek correcting him, much to Mithri's annoyance

20:41 [Talek] This goes on for some time. Finally, Talek says softly, "Okay," and steps into the circle. He pushes his hand down on the rune in the center of the circle. The runes light up with green, a fresh breeze blows Talek's hair back

20:42 [Talek] Vines crawl up from the runes and reach for Talek. Talek floats up, laughing and brushing a leaf out of his hair.

20:44 [Talek] The color of the energy darkens slowly as a sunset, from green to a hideous rust, and there's the sound of tremendous metal plates clanging againist each other, cymbols banging out some hideous tune

20:44 [Talek] Someone screams, a man sobs, a cat howls, and finally, a blood ape emerges from the light.

20:45 [Talek] From his floating posture and maze of vines, Talek says: "Obey"

20:46 [ST] The Blood Ape growls low in the back of its throat, shifting forward slightly, splaying hands with hideously black claws against the floor.

20:46 [ST] The slave child recoils, screaming, as the creature exhales, its breath like a slaughterhouse.

20:46 [ST] �"Obey."� it repeats, dully

20:46 [Talek] Mithri shakes his head, and intones something about hubris to his slave. No one is listening

20:47 [Kalan] "I might have known I'd find you doing something revolting," Kalan says coldly from the doorway.

20:48 [ST] The Blood Ape tenses, muscles rippling under its hide. It turns to the newcomer, eager to spring, to rend.

20:48 [Kalan] Matara's recent public rejection had done nothing to improve his disposition. He sneers at the blood ape.

20:49 [Kalan] Zip, Matara, Mara....even the Maiden. The Cynis was not the only one with nothing left.

20:49 [Talek] "Follow me, and protect me from any who harm me." Talek finishes

20:49 [Talek] He looks over at Kalan from his vines. "yes?"

20:51 [ST] The creature nods, cowtowing. It would look ridiculous if not for the vile slaver dripping from its jaws to foam on the floor.

20:52 [Kalan] "We need more elementals. A storm at least, to fill the lightning boxes. Fire elementals to burn the grasslands and harry the approaching army. Have you set the Terraserpent undermining the approaches?"

20:52 [Talek] "Of course."

20:53 [Talek] "I can summon perhaps one or two elementals today."

20:53 [Talek] "And perhaps three tommorow."

20:54 [Talek] "It is not easy to force an elemental to bow to your will"

20:54 [Talek] "If you wish an army, perhaps you should petition heaven."

20:55 [Talek] "I could send a messenger. Of course, we have no Priests."

20:57 [Kalan] Kalan remembers coaxing Zip to a hundred tasks.. He frowns at Talek. "Petition the god of Kushan then; the dead march, it can damn well help out. No doubt there are a hundred heretical priests clogging up the alleys with their priests." He waves the matter away. "There is another matter. I wish you to carve a tunnel through the cliffs. Leave it sealed at the far end to disguise it."

20:59 [Talek] "Very well, I shall seek out the god of Kushan."

20:59 [Talek] "I think I will leave the Priests behind, though. I'm not sure they'd have the desired effect."

20:59 [Talek] "A tunnel? From where to where?"

21:00 [Talek] "I have already set the Terraserpent to its task, I don't know if I can bind another on short notice.

21:01 [Kalan] Kalan shrugs indifferently. "From the wall to the end of the canyon. Depending on the disposition of their forces, it might be helpful to lead a force of Defenders to their rear, where they will not expect us. At the very least, we can raid their supplies in the event of a siege."

21:01 [Talek] "The cliffs are solid stone." Talek muses. "The Kri will be the best to aid you."

21:02 [Talek] "He is not bound to me, but serves at his own volition."

21:02 [Talek] "I believe you can find him at the Screamhouse."

21:03 [Kalan] "Very well," Kalan says unwillingly. He wondered if he had better kill the Kri once he had gotten use from it; earth elementals or not, they were not famed for their loyalty.

21:04 [Kalan] "I leave you to your..." his face twists in an ugly look "...sorcerous exercises."

21:35 [ST] Kalan finds the Screamhouse - externally, at least - much as he left it last, although no guards patrol atop the walls and the iron gates at the entrance have been torn asunder. They lie a short distance beyond in the empty courtyard. The squat, dark building sits still and menacing in the afternoon light, but the voices rising from within sound as sweet as ever.

21:36 [Kalan] "You don't have to come if you don't want to," Kalan says, taking uncharacteristic pity on his squire. The small thin creature was pale, or at least it seemed so under the grime.

21:38 [ST] "ain't afraid of this place," the urchin says defiantly, though it does not look up. "Went... in it every day... didn't I?"

21:40 [Kalan] "That's the spirit," Kalan says, ruffling the creature's head before his better sense catches up with him, and he removes his hand distastefully. He rubs his hand on his trousers openly, leaving, he imagines, a trail of grease and dirt behind.

21:41 [Kalan] "Kri!" he calls, walking through the door. "I have a bargain to propose!"

21:41 [ST] "...stop touchin' my hair," the thing grumbles, following after.

21:42 [ST] The Kri is nowhere to be seen, but a harried-looking young man - with all fingers intact, for a wonder- comes rushing up out of the gatehouse Leos once occupied.

21:42 [Kalan] "I'll not do so a second time, you can be sure," Kalan mutters back as the mortal comes to intercept them.

21:42 [ST] "Oh, er... it's you... Prince of Earth!" He wrings his hands. "You wish to see the Honored Broken Granite?"

21:42 [Kalan] "Broken Granite?" It had a name? "Naturally."

21:45 [ST] The young man leads the way busily, rubbing at his eyes. "He's not going to be happy," he announces, "But I suppose I can't tell you no. He should still be in the concert hall, he never leaves, now."

21:47 [ST] As the trio head down the hall, the music stutters for a moment before resuming. A little way farther down, a rank of tired looking men and women squeeze by, their shift ended even as the next begins.

21:47 [ST] "Doesn't look much different to me," grumbles the Urchin.

21:48 [Kalan] Kalan grimaces, wondering whose idea it had been to give the elemental mortals. Talek's, no doubt. He had no sense of propriety at all. He ignores the urchin's impudent comment, privately agreeing.

21:48 [ST] At last, they emerge at the top of an elegant auditorium resembling the hellish chamber where Igrash and the Shadowland-Creating Engine rested in Ghan. But here there are only row after row of singing slaves, and the majestic form of Broken Granite reclining onstage. A young woman sits near him, leading the singing, her face pained. Leos's daughter.

21:49 [Kalan] "Kri," Kalan greets him, striding closer.

21:51 [Kalan] His brow wrinkles with distaste at the display. "I have need of you."

21:52 [ST] The animal rumbles, and the singing dies away by fits and starts, the song collapsing into ugly dischord. Leos's daughter is the last to stop. "Dragon. My name is Broken Granite, as you well know. I hope you have interrupted my proceedings for an important reason."

21:54 [Kalan] "I told you so, haven't I? The siege of Kushan nears, and there are things I need accomplished. I am prepared to offer generous terms."

21:57 [ST] "I believe you, this time," the Kri says amiably, reaching over to nuzzle the hair of the young woman near him. "Your companion rewarded me well for my aid in this place. The other Kri burn with jealousy as I grow fat, strong. I sense it."

22:00 [Kalan] "No doubt," says Kalan with arctic dryness. "Do you know what a lightning box is?"

22:09 [ST] "A... lightning box..." The Kri rumbles. "I do not. I am an elemental of Earth, the most noble of elements. The most stable, unchanging..."

22:11 [Kalan] "Naturally," says the Fire Aspect cuttingly, eyeing the creature grown fat from its stolen prayers. "It is a storage box of essence, recharged by the storming skies. It holds great power. It is undying. I offer it to you at the conclusion of the siege, in exchange for obedience during."

22:14 [ST] "Why should I accept such an offer... my destruction... when such rich treasures already serve me here?" The Kri rumbles pleasantly as a trio of young men stroke its mane. They tremble, as does the quietly weeping woman at its side.

22:16 [Kalan] "Should we lose, these mortals will die in any case. Should we win, a new Wyld Hunt will come with Immaculate monks. You can anticipate less ...flexibility from them."

22:17 [Kalan] Kalan smiles, razor-thin. "I suppose you could simply leave," he grants, knowing the kri had grown far too accustomed to a steady diet of essence to contemplate any such thing.

22:29 [ST] "Your points are... valid," the creature grumbles. "Much as I hate to admit it... I would dislike my pets coming to any harm. Their prayers must not cease."

22:32 [Kalan] "That is the final condition. You must give them up; the lightning box will sustain you. It is mobile and immortal, and most importantly," he smiles crookedly, "it is not a violation of the Immaculate Order."

22:33 [ST] "I see no Order here, Dragon... only a promise, made by one of your number. A pact. I shall help you. I shall have the box. I shall keep them."

22:39 [Kalan] "The monks will return. They will kill you for this, whatever deal you made with Talek." He glares at the creature, and then tries another tact. "I am no sorcerer, but I know something of the kri." He had asked Clever Tansy before he left. "You labor often in service of others. As these are labor in your service. Accept my offer, Broken Granite, and you will be unbound; have you the compassion to allow the same?"

22:41 [Kalan] His voice hardens. "Consider it a choice...between wisdom and greed."

22:45 [ST] "Very well," the Kri concedes. "I would tire of these soon enough... and crunch the essence from their bones... I have not the patience." The slaves look absolutely horrified at this pronouncement. "Very well. See you keep your bargain, Dragon. And I will remain here until the battle ends, yes?"

22:46 [Kalan] "When you are not busy with the stoneworks I have need of," Kalan agrees.

22:47 [Kalan] "See that they survive; you may crunch as you like on the zombies that will come swarming over the walls."

22:57 [ST] Broken Granite lowers his head to the stage, closing his eyes as if preparing to nap. The Kri never sleep. There are too few hours to waste them so.

22:57 [ST] "I am ready for more singing," it announces. "Send a servant when you have work for me."

23:00 [Kalan] "I have work for you now," he says, and describes the tunnel he envisions.

23:11 [Kalan] Kalan lingers outside the door of his wife's sick room before he musters the nerve to enter. The servants told him she had been lapsing in and out of consciousness ; her room is dim, the curtains drawn. A branch of candles are next to the bed. They sputter higher as Kalan enters .

23:12 [Kalan] He grins to see her stiff and unmoving on the bed. "Poor Mara," he muses outloud as he sits himself in the chair at her side. "So broken."

23:13 [ST] "...so... charming," she gasps, her eyes opening for a moment. "...here to... kill... me?"

23:15 [Kalan] He brushes a clump of hair from her face, stroking her head. "Would I do that, wife?" he asks, an edge of the old anger and bitterness underneath his hard smile. "After all, what can you to do harm me? �Helpless� as you are."

23:15 [ST] "Coward... damned... coward."

23:17 [Kalan] He laughs. "I've arranged for Keshin to marry Aran," he tells. "He requires your consent."

23:17 [Kalan] Kalan sounds bemused.

23:18 [ST] "...your idea... of a joke?"

23:21 [Kalan] "I blackmailed him in return for giving him command of the Hunt. The Outcast let some things slip in public, damn her. I've denied everything, naturally. But suspicions were raised."

23:21 [Kalan] He continues stroking her hair absently.

23:24 [ST] "Stop... touching... me...." Her fingers twitch. "Could... do ... worse. He's a good man. He'll be a... decent husband. Better than she should expect... thanks to you."

23:26 [Kalan] Kalan smiles at her queerly. His hand on her head stills, but he does not remove it. "I've come to tell you...should we win the battle...I have no intention of being taken back to the Realm to be executed."

23:27 [ST] "Doesn't... surprise me." She licks her parched lips. "Aran... can hunt you, some day. Maybe if she kills you, our family..."

23:28 [Kalan] He laughs softly. "I have no intention of letting her kill me," he assures his wife. He puts a glass of water to her lips so she can drink. He hesitates. "If I ...arrange matters...would you come with me?"

23:29 [Kalan] "No one need ever know you did not die."

23:30 [Kalan] His voice is low, soothing. "Aran is an officer now, with a good marriage, whatever I have done; she is provided for."

23:32 [ST] She stops breathing for a moment in astonishment. "I... why... would you ask me this... another joke? Thought you had... a Cynis... for your entertainment. And you know... I have no interest."

23:34 [Kalan] "I know well," he says with an edge. "As for the Cynis, that is ended. I broke her heart most cruelly." He smiles, so she would think he didn't care. "But your are my wife. My �partner�," only Kalan could make that word sound so ugly. "So I thought I would ask."

23:35 [ST] "It is... the kindest thing... you could do. Let the girl out... of your shadow. I will not go with you, Kalan. I would know my shame... that is enough."

23:37 [Kalan] The candleflame flickers madly, burning higher. The air around them heats up. "I could kill you," Kalan says cooly. "Like you thought I would when I entered the room. I could smother you with a pillow. They would suspect, but they would not act; not until it is too late."

23:38 [Kalan] He barks out a laugh. "They need me too much."

23:38 [ST] She does not sound afraid, merely tired. "Then do it, Kalan. You have not seen the army that approaches us. We will all die... soon enough. Loathe as I am to... admit it, your hand will be gentler than theirs."

23:40 [Kalan] He eyes her, his eyes reflecting the mad dancing flame. He leans forward to kiss her gently on the cheek. "No, wife. I will not."

23:41 [Kalan] He stands from the chair. "I have no intention of conceding defeat," he tells her coldly. "I will win. I will live, and you will bear the �shame� of my actions upon our family for many years tocome."

23:52 [ST] "...as... you... should." She manages, falling back into unconsciousness.

23:53 [Kalan] He turns his head as a loud crashing noise rocks the hallway. "The hells...?" he snarls, and runs out the door.

20:34 [Keshin] Keshin gets back to work as well, rueful that he had stayed to watch that spectacle. But it hadn't taken much time, and made the day brighter.

20:35 [ST] Keshin feels a light tap on his shoulder as he works away.

20:36 [Keshin] He looks up, supressing a sigh. Maybe he should pick himself out an assistant like Kalan always had running at his heels. It was a natural thing, to use mortals like that, but he always resisted.

20:38 [ST] Leen stands there, head cocked inquisitively. The Ghanite looks slightly fatter since the return from the doomed city, but the end of bitter starvation tends to do such a thing, and she is still as fit and lean as her rather unfortunate name suggests. The blond hair that falls to her shoulders looks cleaner, and her mask gleams.

20:39 [ST] "There is an issue," she says. "They inform me that you now command here. I am indifferent to this. But it would seem you are the one to contact."

20:39 [Keshin] "Yes. If its important. What is it?"

20:40 [ST] "The... Dragon..." she says the word as if it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth; she is still learning to trust. "V'Neef Jorj. You may remember that he lived among us."

20:41 [Keshin] He hoped it was something he could actually do some good about. Anything to take him away from this, charting their food supply against the possible duration of a siege. He had to recalculate everything now that the field cullers were most likely dead.

20:43 [Keshin] He nods. "Yes, I remember him. What is he doing?" He had the reputation of a scamp. Come to think of it, he was another body to put to work. He should have thought of that earlier, but hadn't run into the man.

20:43 [ST] "He took a liking to several of our women. I do not find him arousing. His naked face I find revolting. Yours also displeases me. I do not blame you, however. Sela, one of the women, is ver fond of him, and went often to his chambers. We have not seen Jorj for many days, nor Sela for two. I find this troubling."

20:49 [Keshin] He scowls. "I see your meaning. Two days is as long as any reasonable man could wish to spend in bed with any woman." Sela wasn't important, but a missing Dragonblood was not to be ignored. At best, it would be good to prod him into helping. "Have you seen him since Peleps Deled was killed?"

20:49 [ST] She shakes her head. "I have not seen him since our return here. I have not seen Sela for several days. This absence is unlike her. I am unnerved."

20:53 [Keshin] He stands, glad to have something more pleasant to do. "I will look into it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." He hesitates. "Your people are used to living in the fringes of a city? We need to scrounge all the food we can. Can you help with that?" He had been idly writing up a model for rat breeding, but someone would need to trap an initial group, and it would end up inneficient besides.

20:55 [ST] "We can try. The Kushanians look upon us as less than vermin. They will not cooperate. We will have to take by force." She places a hand to the hilt of her dagger, cocking her hip. It might be an attractive gesture on a woman with a face. "This would not displease me. I would enjoy it greatly."

20:57 [Keshin] He shakes his head. There was enough resentment as it was. "Surely you couldn't do that in Ghan. But you must know how to get by on alternative food sources, or by guile. I certainly authorize you to steal from those hoarding food from us. Or to find them and bring it to our attention, so others can go get it."

21:01 [ST] "Very well, Dragon Keshin," she nods. "I do not think it will matter, much. The old men see beyond their own eyes. The old women weep. The signs are in the sky. It is the time of the Shattering, the end of our people. We sense this. But we live still... for a little while. And we will aid you, who saved our scattered fragments, as best we can. This we do dutifully."

21:05 [Keshin] "Good. And I shall see to this. May we both find success." He found the Ghanites refreshing, although their abrupt honesty made him feel somewhat guilty. He locks away his papers before leaving the office, more to stop assistants from seeing them than any worry of spies. He doubted he could stop anyone so determined.

21:13 [ST] She withdraws without a further word.

21:18 [Keshin] Keshin walks through the structure until he can find a servant to tell him where Jorj had been roomed. The obvious first.

21:20 [ST] Jorj's chambers are easy to find, near the upper reaches of the shattered tower, some of the largest apartments beside the commander's. Jorj came here early and chose the choicest rooms for himself.

21:20 [ST] The door stands closed and unguarded, down an isolated hall of the Manse.

21:21 [Keshin] Keshin strides to them and knocks loudly.

21:21 [ST] No response.

21:22 [Keshin] Unsuprised he tries the handle, while yelling through. "Get respectable if you are in there." It might still be just him and the girl.

21:24 [ST] There is still no answer, but Keshin hears a rustling from within. The room seems to be occupied.

21:29 [Keshin] He hesitates, giving them time incase they needed it. But probing with his other senses as well, putting a hand on he wall, and using a trickle of essence to help him sense what was going on on the other side as well.

21:40 [Keshin] Wrinkling his nose against the stench, he pauses at the handle of the door. That was certainly not normal. Well, he could stand to look the fool. He draws his daiklave, and spends some more essence connecting his body and mind to the sturdynes of the tower, before barging into the room, forcing the door.

21:43 [ST] The door, a second age mockup painted to resemble the more delicate First Age work, splinters so violently that it is torn from the hinges, flying across the room to crash against the opposite wall.

21:44 [ST] The smell hits Keshin full force as he enters, and he realizes it is coming from the naked corpse of a woman, sprawled face down in a pool of her own blood. Around her the antechamber is in disarray, elegant furniture splintered and torn, a hookah shattered to fragments in one corner. A door on each end of the room leads to a small study and the apartment's bedroom, respectively.

21:53 [Keshin] Hearing movement in the bedroom, Keshin quickly creeps back to glance at the study, making sure nothing would be behind him. Then he moves across the room, avoiding the mess in the center of it, not wanting to disturb the scene.

21:54 [ST] Nothing moves in the study; books lie scattered across a broken desk. Some great violence happened here.

21:57 [Keshin] The other had surely heard him, and probably knew he was standing outside the bedroom door. He pauses, hopefully long enough to make the intruder nervous, or cause him to question his intentions, and then bursts into that room as well, running straight to the far wall, before turning to get his back to that. He would probably be waiting in one of the near corners, so hesitating just inside the room would be foolish.

21:57 [ST] The bedroom is even more destroyed. The bed is broken down the middle, a sagging heap of torn mattress and feathers, shot through with splintered timber. Bureaus are smashed, and artifacts, including Jorj's daiklave, lie on the floor in a heap.

21:58 [ST] The closet door hangs askew, and the thick drapes have been torn from the wall opposite the bed. Sunlight streams in, harsh counterpoint to the ghoulish scene before Keshin.

21:58 [ST] Then, as he watches, the air before him begins to crackle, to coalesce and shift. A cloud forms there, a nestled tangle of whirling insectile limbs taking form. A demon.

22:00 [ST] There seem to be dozens of limbs, hundreds, many ending in hardened claws that resemble martial weapons; Keshin spots a straight sword, a mace, a serrated axe.

22:05 [Keshin] Keshin relaxes into his fighting stance. This was a more direct issue. Still it had apparently killed Jorj, so it was not to be underestimated. He calculated his chances at the door, or his ability to make it climbing down the tower from the window, while waiting for it to make a move.

22:12 [ST] The Tomescu hesitates for but a moment, its limbs sliding over each other in complex configurations like a child's puzzlebox. Then, it glides forward over the shattered bedding, its thrasing limbs kicking up a frenzy of feathers as it bears down on the Dragonblood. From the nest of tangled limbs jabs a single straight leg tipped in a spade-shaped spike; a spear.

22:16 [ST] Fortunately, the attack only punctures the outer layer of the Dragonblood's hip armor, stopped short at the second layer of tightly-woven jade links.

22:18 [Keshin] Keshin takes the blow, counterattacking at the demon extends itself in the blow, striking down into the limb it had thrust forward. With it knocked off balance he circles left, trying to gain a better angle to the door while slashing it the thing's legs to keep it so.

22:21 [ST] Keshin's strikes fall furiously upon the creature, and for a moment, it gives ground. He notices as he attacks, however, that the creature's many, many limbs always move to intercept the blow. A trio of legs with back-curving claws like hook swords emerge from the mass, attempting to ensnare the strikes.

22:23 [ST] But the last shears off the claw that snags it completely and cuts deeply into the central mass, sending a spray of dark blood splattering across the walls as the creature flails its limbs

22:26 [ST] Keshin feels the air grow heavy, infused with essence. He hears chanting, seeming to fill the air around him, coming from everywhere at once.

22:29 [Keshin] Damn, a second foe, unless the Tomescu was doing it somehow? That certainly didn't fit with what he knew of it, but that wasn't much. Either way, he had to finish it fast. Giving up his slow circle to the door, he pushes forward, wading behind blow after blow, trying to end that battle immediately.

22:32 [ST] The creature's tangled limbs flicker up to intercept the strikes, although many are crippled, spraying blood

22:34 [ST] But Keshin's blows are knocked aside, one by one, creature trilling in some strange kind of triumph.

22:35 [ST] The door of the closet flies off its hinges and the thing emerges, moaning low in its throat.

22:37 [ST] Pale, haggard, clad in the tattered remains of Jorj's robes, the skeletal creature's eyes blaze. It raises its left hand - the hand that Legion nibbled away - and from the gushing stumps emerge a trio of clutching, ghostly fingers. Waves of flame, red, but also a strange, molten gray, surround the creature as it advances. When it screams, it is with Jorj's voice

22:37 [ST] "Burnnn...."

22:41 [ST] Keshin feels something strange happen within his body. His bones, reinforced by the essence of earth, suddenly begin to shift, to change. The enchantment he has placed on them is joined by another... he feels the marrow shifting, transforming, becoming boiling, molten metal. The agony is unbelievable

22:47 [ST] The tomescu retreats slightly, essence crackling as it reorients and strengthens itself.

22:52 [Keshin] Keshin lunges after it, more clumsy now with pain. The best way was still to kill the Tomescu first. It was well hurt, and would hopefully go down under a few brutal blows. He would have to gather himself more before engaging whatever had happened to Jorj.

22:54 [ST] The Tomescu skitters back, once more trying to defend itself against the onslaught.

22:56 [ST] It batters the strikes aside with inhuman grace, and as Keshin remains overextended from his attack, Jorj gives a howl of triumph. He leaps forward, lashing out with his twisted, spectral claw, saliva flying from his mouth like a rabid animal

22:59 [Keshin] Overextended already, he lets himself falling forward, rolling as he hits the ground with his daiklave over his shoulder to intercept the blow. He comes to his feet around the Tomescu somewhat, trying to use one foe to screen the other.

23:03 [ST] As Keshin blocks Jorj's attack, the Tomescu slips in to attack, its limbs clattering loudly against the floor.

23:04 [ST] The curved claws, so bizarrely like a slashing sword, glance harmlessly off the Dragonblood's armor.

23:15 [Keshin] The distance gives him a moment to gather himself. The Tomescu had been unable to penetrate his armor thus far, so Jorj was clearly the bigger threat. He rushes past the demon again, reversing his previous course, engaging the corpse with a series of swift blows, trying to disrupt its defenses.

23:18 [ST] As Keshin's relentless attack falls upon him, Jorj bursts into flickering flame, jerking back and forth like the corpse he resembles.

23:23 [ST] But he's not fast enough; Keshin's weapon slices across the back of his spectral hand, sending luminous blood spraying across the room. Jorj howls in wordless fury, and the Tomescu descends upon Keshin's back, massive limbs ending in curved claws like oversized axes crashing into his armor.

23:27 [ST] One slips in low under the main back plate of Keshin's armor, biting through stone-hard skin and deeply into his spine

23:36 [Keshin] This was far out of hand. Either one he thought he could have dealt with, but the combination was killing him. Whichever he attacked defended itself with all of its attention while the other attacked him from a blindspot. He had to get out of the trap. He fiented with a backhand at the body of Jorj, pushing it to its right, then swung the weapon around into a brutal overhand blow at the floor, aiming for the edge between two stone blocks.

23:37 [Keshin] Essence courses through him, as he exerts his will on the stone as well as his might, transferring most of the stones mass to the daiklave, powering through the floor.

23:42 [ST] As Keshin wedges his weapon in between the blocks, the floor gives a tremendous groan. The Daiklave hilt burns his exposed palms with the friction, and the magical material actually groans for a moment, as if it will snap... but then the mortar between the blocks gives out with a roar, the floor collapsing beneath Keshin and taking him with it. As the massive block of stone crashes into Striking Spark's room, the godblood's eyes fly open in astonishment. A second later, an armored Keshin smashes into her writing table, sending ink and paper flying across the room as all four of the table's legs snap at once.

23:46 [ST] From above, there is the crash of glass shattering. A few legs poke around the edge of the hole, probing curiously. The Tomescu.

23:46 [ST] "What the �FUCK?�"

23:46 [ST] Striking Sparks has never been known for her eloquence.

23:48 [Keshin] "Run!" Keshin follows his own advice, darting for her door.

23:49 [ST] As she does so, she palms something from her belt and hurls it after her: a firedust grenade.

23:50 [ST] The room explodes into flame as the two leap out into the hallway.

23:51 [Keshin] He grabs her arm, pulling her towards the stairs. "Sorry about this. You didn't notice a smell from the floor above you?"

23:52 [ST] "There's six feet of sealed stone between them!" She snaps defensively, following his lead. "Well, there �was.�"

23:55 [Kalan] They nearly run into Kalan. He is red-faced and annoyed. "....what in Malfeas is going on?" he demands, direlance already dripping fire. He holds it awkwardly; the hallway was really to small for it.

23:57 [Keshin] He smiles around the blood. "Talek's friend, Jorj. I went to his room, as he had been missing. There was a Tomescu in there, as well as Jorj, less dead than he should be."

00:00 [Kalan] Kalan glares down the hallway. "Very well. If we must lose one of our sorcerers to betrayal, I am pleased for the opportunity to kill him myself."

00:00 [Keshin] With backup there, he turns to make it a fight again. But with the adrenaline leaving his system, his legs give way, as the pain in his back finally registers. As his ass hits the floor, he feels the cut in his spine grind against itself.

00:01 [Kalan] Kalan catches him automatically by the arm. "Better not," he says cooly. "Find Talek. If I fall, he may be the only one with a chance against the demon."

00:04 [Kalan] Heat flashes through him as his charms activate. "Sparks. Stay with him."

00:05 [ST] She nods shortly, giving the fallen Dragonblood a perhaps overly-familiar pat on the shoulder. "Gotcha."

00:06 [Kalan] Kalan gives her a thoughtful look. He would take steps to ensure Sparks would not join Keshin's permanent retinue.

00:06 [Kalan] He knew how poisonous that could be.

00:06 [Kalan] He follows the blood trail back to the demon.

00:08 [Kalan] But he looks first for the sorcerer.

00:08 [ST] The tomescu darts out from a side passage, screaming, whipping a massive sledge-shaped limb at Kalan's head as it comes. Its surface is pitted and charred, and darker smoke than the vapor that surrounds it rises from its crisped form, courtesy of Sparks's grenade.

00:10 [Kalan] Kalan responds automatically, raising his direlance to catch the limb and pin it against the wall. He grunts, ducking under a sword-slice that whirls through the smoke at the same time.

00:12 [Kalan] The distraction allows the tomescu to smash free of the direlance and toss him against the wall.

00:12 [ST] The massive limb follows after, slamming with sledgehammer force into Kalan's belly.

00:13 [Kalan] "Damn it..." Kalan snarls, wiping blood from his chin. His whole body felt bruised, and his bones shook from the force of the demon's blow. He glares into the darkness, hunting for the sorcerer.

00:14 [Kalan] But he can see nothing past the demon. Fire wraps loosely around his direlance, heating up as it swirl, until the Tongue of Flame is a whitehot cone of fire.

00:14 [ST] Jorj is nowhere to be seen, at least not in the entry room. The Tomescu darts and whickers back and forth, blocking sight and vision to elsewhere.

00:16 [Kalan] "I've needed something to kill," Kalan grates, and two images of him flicker into burning parallel next to him. Fire dances up their forms in the way of elementals, and together they roar, slamming their direlances simultaneously into the tomescu's cloud of limbs.

00:20 [ST] The Tomescu swiftly, instinctively parries the blows, becoming a tangled blur of crackling energy and thrashing green limbs. Hooking one curved claw around a stone column, it whips itself around in a lasso-like motion, launching itself at Kalan. A pair of limbs with heavy axe-edges crash down, one on either side of the Dragon-blood's head.

00:22 [Kalan] Kalan drops down ward among a flash of fire, his direlance shooting upward in automatic rebuttal.

00:25 [Kalan] He pins it against the ceiling like a butterfly trapped on a pin. Its limbs whirl about in confusion, reaching futilely; it does not yet understand its demise . Kalan grins in satisfaction as gooey bits of ectoplasm drip down the haft of the lance, onto his face.

00:27 [Kalan] He yanks his direlance out, and the serrated edge of the spearhead rips out what passes for its internal organs.

00:27 [Kalan] A spray of mist washes against Kalan's face as weapons drop all around him, clanging against the floor.

00:27 [Kalan] "Jorj!" he roars, turning. "Your demon's dead. Face me, traitor!"

00:28 [ST] No response. A wind blows through the apartments from the shattered window.

00:28 [ST] Kalan and the corpse look to be alone.

00:28 [Kalan] "Damn it all...."

00:31 [ST] Kalan hears the shifting of bare feet on stone. Behind him, the woman's corpse rises, swaying. The turtle mask hangs askew, half shattered. Her lower jaw is gone, and a strange tendril of spectral energy like a serpent extends down from the hole where it should be, writhing.

00:32 [Kalan] Kalan does waste any time; he runs forward and thrusts his spear straight through her heart.

00:33 [ST] The creature sways for a moment, the obscene tongue probing at Kalan's face for a moment before dissolving into mist. The body, a mere corpse now, slumps backward, sliding off the spear.

00:34 [Kalan] Kalan walks to the open window and peers out.

00:34 [ST] From this vantage point, it should be easy to see Jorj if he had begun to flee into the city, but Kalan doesn't spot anything.

00:35 [Kalan] "Zip, we need to - " Kalan begins automatically, and stops, biting his tongue.

00:36 [Kalan] "SQUIRE!" Kalan shouts, summoning his newest lackey.

00:37 [Kalan] Mara was helpless. He would start his search there, make sure the sorcerer hadn't made it past him...

00:38 [ST] It's a long time before the Urchin can marshall the strength to march up to the room. A disheveled head pokes around the door frame.

00:38 [ST] "...smells bad."

00:40 [Kalan] "There's a corpse," Kalan tell it. "Rouse the guards. Jorj has ...become an enemy. Undead, I suspect; they need to search every inch of this place and the surroundings."

00:41 [Kalan] "Tell them not to try to fight it. Find it and run."

00:42 [Kalan] He begins his hunt, eyes gleaming and lance aflame.

00:43 [ST] "uh-ah. uh... o..,.kay" the Urchin scurries off, eyes alight with mad excitement.

00:47 [ST] The Shatterspear buzzes with activity, but inside of a few minutes, the report is back. Jorj is nowhere to be found. It is not the Urchin that delivers it, but Leen, rubbing the back of her neck almost sheepishly.

00:47 [ST] "I told Ledaal Keshin about the strange behavior. I am shocked by what you have reported."

00:48 [Kalan] "Ask Keshin about it; I heard only the bare bones." He hisses through his teeth. "Are there any others who were wounded by Legion?"

00:50 [ST] "No. Its touch was death to any mortals... a fortunate thing, I sense now." She nods shortly. "He lost his hand attempting to save Sela, only to slay her later. I thought him different. A fool, yet one who would risk himself for us. I admired this."

00:52 [Kalan] Kalan shrugs. He had never been one for such chivalry. "Now he has become a monster. Unlucky, I suppose."

00:53 [ST] "Sela had whispered to me that Jorj spoke of burning from the inside... burning with the cold. I should have told Ledaal Keshin this. I had sworn myself to secrecy." She shakes her masked head. "I was mistaken."

00:54 [Kalan] Kalan's eyes narrow. "Indeed. Perhaps we could have prevented this...had we known." It was malicious jibe, but weak; she already blamed herself. "Do you know other such secrets?"

00:56 [ST] "None that you need know. Which of the Ghanites prefers naked-faced men, who the omens say will die next, who among us can no longer bear children. Nothing you need concern yourself with. I report this with full honesty."

00:59 [Kalan] "Very well. Spread the word; such things cannot be concealed. You know the consequences." He pauses. "And double the guard on Mara's room."

01:01 [ST] Leen nods. "I will do this."

01:05 [Kalan] Kalan walks away, thinking of quagmire mines.

21:05 [Talek] "Thank you" Talek bows with a smile

21:11 [Talek] Talek drops his vines. "I'm going to go talk to your goddess. I'll let you kids clean up."

21:13 [ST] Mithri backs uneasily into the corner, regarding the Blood Ape. The stench of the creature is incredible.

21:15 [Talek] "Come, um......what'syour name, anyway?"

21:15 [Talek] "Mr. Blood Ape?"

21:16 [ST] It growls something unpronouncable by the human tongue.

21:22 [Talek] "I guess we'll call you Ragara."

21:22 [Talek] "alright, come along now Ragara."

21:22 [Talek] "Dematerialize, if you would."

21:24 [ST] The journey through the streets to Tumbletown is fairly uneventful; the crowd cannot see the loping blood ape, but seem to sense something of its stench and its hidden violence, giving Talek a wide berth. He makes his way through the affluent streets of the city until he reaches a large, empty, lot which several blankets and a bazaar has been set up. Beyond, Tumbletown begins, a sprawling confusion of winding streets and tiny makeshift buildings of stone and wood.

21:25 [ST] Talek makes his way throughout the district, winding as word told him to its center.

21:26 [ST] A tall, smooth tower, made of imperishable stone unlike anything in the district around it, rises up before Talek. It appears seamless, with no way in or out.

21:26 [ST] Incense burns on an altar set before it.

21:27 [Talek] Talek bows down to pray. "Oh, Great....uh, Great Goddess, this humble supplicant comes before you, asking for your aid in an hour of great need."

21:27 [Talek] "Oh Great Goddess, please, uh......let me into your tower."

21:27 [Talek] Talek looks around. Anyone loitering aruond?

21:28 [ST] No, the area around the tower seems completely clear, which can't be said about any other place in Tumbletown. It's as if people avoid it deliberately.

21:29 [ST] In response to his query, Talek hears only a faint sob, as if drifting up from a very deep well.

21:29 [Talek] "Um?"

21:30 [Talek] Talek looks around, and tries to extend his senses pastthe stench of blood ape

21:33 [ST] The tower really does seem to be featureless and seamless. But as Talek mentally probes at it, the sob seems to solidify slightly, becoming words blown on the wind.

21:33 [ST] "Why are you here? Who are you?"

21:34 [Talek] "I am Mnemnon Talek. The Blood of Dragons runs in my veins. Let me in."

21:36 [ST] The air whispers past his face. "Why have you come?"

21:46 [Talek] "Because I have been ordered to. Now let me in, dammit."

21:50 [ST] Wind whispers past Talek's ears, cold and stinging. "You are as polite as most of your kind. Nevertheless, it was promised you would come. Enter."

21:51 [ST] A seam forms on the side of the tower, expanding into an arched doorway of light.

21:51 [Talek] Talek steps in, impatient, and glad to keep his secret

21:51 [Talek] He looks around vaguelly as the bloodape follows him in

21:53 [ST] Talek stands in a garden under a sunlit sky, much earlier in the day than when he entered. The Goddess's sanctum does not in any way conform to reality. As he walks through wild grapevines and past pools that reflect dangling willows, the goddess speaks again.

21:53 [ST] "Your Malfean whelp may wait without."

21:54 [ST] There is a stiff breeze, and the Blood Ape, visible as soon as it entered the sanctum, vanishes, expelled. A clearing looms ahead.

21:56 [Talek] Talek shrugs. "I never liked him anyway."

21:56 [Talek] "So, I heard you wanted to die?"

22:02 [ST] As Talek moves forward, the wind blows stronger and takes form before him, solidifying into the shape of a woman.

22:03 [ST] She stands seven feet tall, and her skin has a golden sheen. Her eyes are the color of amnethyst, and tears course constantly down her face, bleaching twin trails on her cheeks. She is completely nude, but featureless, her body having only the slightest suggestion of feminine curves. When she speaks, her voice is a tangle of overlapping sobs.

22:03 [ST] "You are correct."

22:04 [Talek] "Real party animals, these Cynis gods," Talek mutters, vaguelly unsettled

22:04 [Talek] "Well,where is the work w e need done?"

22:06 [ST] "Below," she says, simply. A fox darts around her heels, and she pats it indulgently with a foot before it runs back into the underbrush. "I will take you there. But first... won't you speak with me? I... have been here for a long time."

22:15 [Talek] Talek bows.

22:15 [Talek] "Forgive my manners earlier."

22:16 [Talek] "Serving my Grandmother can make one a bit nervous."

22:16 [Talek] He looks around. "Cozy sanctum. How long have you been here?"

22:17 [ST] "Yes. She seems an unpleasant woman. But you are an unpleasant people." She extends a hand, and a pair of wine glasses appear between her long fingers. She raises one to each cheek, catching the tears that fall there. At Talek's question, she responds, "Long. Eternities. This was my city in the First Age... under a different name. It was a different place, then."

22:19 [Talek] "These are unpleasant times."

22:19 [Talek] He looks around. "Have you always been this city's deity? What was it earlier?"

22:22 [Talek] Talek accepts a glass of wine, sniffing it as was fashionable. He wondered what wine made of Goddess's tears was supposed to smell like.

22:24 [ST] The goddess sips at her own tears lightly, her ever-seeping eyes regarding Talek with curiosity. Her tears smell like.. ice, really. Cold, ancient, glacial.

22:25 [ST] "It was a city of learning and of care. Shi-Ma, it was called, as I am. The city of orphans. The lost of the world were brought here, of all ages. The forsaken, the forgotten, and I was their mother. When the Contagion came, I watched them sicken and die. I held them in my arms. I wept."

22:25 [ST] The tears fill her glass faster than she can drink. It overflows. "I have never stopped."

22:28 [Talek] "A city of orphans? Who built such a place?"

22:31 [ST] "The Solars... when the Usurpation came, it was left alone. None of the Golden Children were there. The Dragonblooded left it as it was, and for that I thanked them... until the Scarlet Empire came. Until they cast my shrine down, and put in place their monks. They turned my city into a place of torture and death... I heard their screams, their sorrows... and I knew that I could no longer help them. I wept."

22:32 [ST] "I have never stopped. Weeping. Hurting. I want it to end." Her voice is purest refined agony, a sorrow no mortal could imitate. "I want it to end."

22:35 [Talek] "How long have you been in here?"

22:39 [ST] "I don't know. Since they came. How long has it been? What does it matter? The little ones outside say their prayers, and I shield them when I can, but I... cannot bear to face their pain." The glass shatters as she clenches her fingers. "I want it to end."

22:40 [Talek] "Why not leave?"

22:40 [Talek] "Care for orphans elsewhere."

22:40 [Talek] "There are no shortage. "

22:42 [ST] "This is my place. This is me. I could leave, and I would still remember. I would still know... what happens here. It can only end one way... when I die. As mortals do. As even Exalted do." She almost seems to smile, and there is something eager in her voice. "Have you seen many people die? Tell me of it."

22:47 [Talek] He shrugs "It is painful for a while, and then it is over. I have seen many people die, I am a doctor. I warn you, those who try to take their own lives.....often fail."

22:47 [Talek] "It is not as easy as one imagines."

22:48 [ST] "Gods cannot take their own lives. That is what you are for... you and your friends. They have promised. They have promised I can die. I am grateful." The tears flow more liberally, somehow. Birds alight from the sky, pecking at the twin trails of moisture on her face.

22:51 [ST] "Shall I lead the way, now?"

22:51 [Talek] "They are not my friends. They are vile individuals."

22:52 [Talek] "They will not keep their word."

22:52 [Talek] "You should flee this place."

22:53 [Talek] Talek stares at the goddess intently.

22:57 [ST] "I cannot flee this place," the goddess says quietly, meeting Talek's gaze. He sees centuries of pain there. "I am this place. That is why I must die. They told me you would understand."

23:01 [Talek] Talek touches her face and draws forth a tear, and puts it in his mouth. He looks suddenly scared, and looks about to cry a bit himself. "Are you sure?"

23:12 [ST] Shi-Ma regards him silently for a long moment before nodding. "The tunnel is below. We will open the door."

23:12 [ST] "They will come, and end my suffering children, and end me as well."

23:17 [Talek] "So be it." Talek seems relieved

23:17 [Talek] "Lead on"

23:28 [ST] The Goddess nods, moving through the undergrowth. It seems to part before her.

23:28 [ST] At length, a passage appears in the ground, a narrow tunnel into darkness. She goes first, leaving a trail of tears behind her. In the darkness they shine a luminous blue.

23:29 [ST] Eventually, she comes to a halt beside a door of moonsilver, worked with a number of arcane runes, shining with the lambent energy that is the mark of sorcery.

23:29 [Talek] Talek follows quietly

23:30 [ST] "I cannot open it myself... not without the aid of someone who knows the truth of the act... the consequence to the city. This is why I could convince no other." She smiles, and the paths of her tears alter for a brief moment. "Thank you."

23:30 [Talek] Talek nods. "I understand."

23:31 [Talek] He walks up to the door and studies it.

23:31 [Talek] He runs his hands along the door. It bends softly beneath his touch, although he knows anyone coming in from the other side would find it hard

23:32 [Talek] He puts on his goggles, and examines the door more carefully

23:32 [ST] "We must open it together." She reaches a hand forward, seizing one of a pair of handles.

23:32 [Talek] "Where does the door lead?"

23:34 [ST] "A tunnel... ancient... beneath the city. It was called the Orphan's way. The little ones would come along here, safe from the rain and the weather... their paths lit by the glowpanels... all the way from distant Tarth... I believe they call it "Marukan," now."

23:44 [ST] "This is the way they will come, when they end it, they tell me."

23:45 [Talek] "Very well. You may wish to step aside for a moment, this could be messy."

23:45 [Talek] Talek takes a few steps back, and draws his bow

23:45 [ST] Shi-Ma nods, touching Talek on the shoulder once more as she goes. "Thank you," she says again, with painful earnesty.

23:48 [Talek] Talek turns, swallows hard, and fires at the goddess as she walks away.

23:50 [Talek] "I'm getting really good at shooting people in the back."

23:50 [Talek] "I should have gone to the Thousand Scales." He tries to laugh a little at his joke. It comes out high pitched and wobbily

23:50 [ST] The arrow strikes the goddess in the shoulder, piercing her from back to front. Shocked, she staggers to her knees, turning back to face Talek. Tears course down her face. As always.

23:50 [ST] �"Why?"

23:52 [Talek] "My Grandmother probably would have killed me either way, to cover it up." he says, high pitched, and rushes out a few more arrows. It wasn't really an answer.

23:54 [ST] She stands, taking a few steps forward. The arrows pierce her again and again. She's not trying to evade them. She weeps, and her voice is a thousand sobs. "Not you too. Please let them kill me. Please. Please. I thought you were different. PleeeeeeeaaaasEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEE" Her wailing is like nothing Talek has heard before.

23:54 [Talek] Talek just fires and fires, sobbing as he staggers againist the door

23:55 [Talek] He goes until he's out of ammo, then he slumps down

23:56 [ST] It seems forever before he feels Shi-Ma's cool, imploring touch. The Goddess is crawling, pincushioned by dozens of arrows, a streamlet of her tears trailing out behind her.

23:57 [ST] "Please..." she moans. Here, she still has power. She could crush him. She could pop his head off, dig out his eyes. But if she did, who would open the door? "Why won't you open the door? You promised. Please."

23:58 [Talek] Talek puts his hand on her head, looking absurdly for some sort of comfort

23:58 [Talek] "I....."

23:59 [Talek] "They wouldn't really kill you."

23:59 [Talek] "They'd just hurt you."

23:59 [Talek] "More than me."

23:59 [Talek] "And make you rule whatever remains of your city."

23:59 [ST] "Then who will?" She wails, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. "�Who will?�"

00:03 [Talek] "We'll defeat the army"

00:03 [Talek] "We'll rebuild the city."

00:03 [Talek] "The Solars who built it, call them back."

00:04 [Talek] "Call them now, for that matter."

00:04 [ST] "I don't want this city any more..." she says, shaking her head. "And they are dead, as I only wish that I could be. Please... why won't you do as you promised? Why won't you help me, now that you've seen? Do you care so little?"

00:04 [Talek] "Or give me some piece of their ancient names, and I will summon them in your name."

00:04 [Talek] "They are returned."

00:05 [Talek] "The fucking Anathema are returned" he laughs.

00:05 [Talek] "A call to action for all Dragon Blooded to join the hunt and fight the Anathema!"

00:06 [ST] His reaction seems to startle the goddess... she draws back, looking down at him. Her tears fall upon his face. "Are you troubled?" she asks. "Is that why you are here?"

00:06 [Talek] "A mission for all and many!" the recruiter who had come to the Heptagram had gotten only the most token politness as a response, but they always tried

00:06 [Talek] He looks at her, oddly

00:06 [Talek] "I....I betrayed my Grandmother"

00:07 [ST] "And? You are afraid you have hurt her feelings?"

00:07 [Talek] "She wanted to destroy the city, but I can't. I can't kill all those people."

00:07 [Talek] "She'll kill me, or worse."

00:08 [Talek] "I can't even get help. I can't spill the secret, or this will kill me" he unlashes his armor and holds up his thin, cursed manacle.

ST's Note: I wish I still had the log where this is established. When Talek sent Mnemon the book, she sent him a "gift" in response, which bound him and forced him to keep the secret. Mnemon's plot will of course be revealed soon. She also, incidentally, killed the Slug.

00:09 [ST] A trio of arrows snap as Shi-Ma moves her other arm, patting Talek's shoulder lightly.

00:09 [ST] "And you are frightened..."

00:09 [Talek] "I have no family anymore. I will stay to defend Shi-Ma, and then I will flee into the Wyld."

00:10 [Talek] "Or Kushan, or whatever they call it now."

00:11 [Talek] "If you want to die, come with me, and find some Lunar Prince of Beasts to slay you. Or call forth the Sun-Damned by their ancient names, and let them do it. I do not have the strength, and these Abyssals are too cruel."

00:11 [ST] She shakes her head. "No... I cannot. Their pain would follow me. I would know. I will never escape it."

00:12 [Talek] "Or stay. My brothers are as damned as I am, our rule is FUCKED - DO YOU HEAR ME WORLD, FUCKED - Dragons know who will be running this place ina year."

00:13 [ST] "I am sorry that you are frightened." The goddess says simply.

00:14 [ST] "Would you like me to make it better?"

00:14 [Talek] "Well, uh, thanks."

00:14 [Talek] "Um, sure?" Talek says, a little scared.

00:15 [ST] The goddess reaches down, taking Talek in her arms, lifting him. Suddenly, the Dragonblood finds himself shifted smoothly in her grasp, facing up into her weeping face.

00:15 [ST] She rocks him back and forth slowly, singing a lullaby in some forgotten language.

00:16 [ST] As she does so, the feathered fletching of his arrows brush against his face.

00:20 [Talek] Talek is even more scared, but tries to restrain it. It seems to make the Goddess feel better

00:22 [ST] It seems to go on for a very, very long time before the goddess leans down, placing a kiss on Talek's forehead that burns like ice. His clothes are sodden with her tears.

00:22 [ST] "There," the goddess says indulgently. "All better."

00:22 [ST] She does, indeed, seem comforted somehow.

00:28 [Talek] As she works, Talek sends a little natural essence into her, and some of his arrows fall out

00:28 [Talek] She doesn't seem to notice much.

00:32 [ST] "So you still refuse to help me?" The Goddess weeps. Still.

00:32 [Talek] "You have to understand, they won't kill you."

00:32 [Talek] "You can't trust them."

00:32 [ST] "And I should trust you? Why?"

00:34 [Talek] "I wouldn't trust me. I'm not sure I can find someone to kill you. But I'll try."

00:34 [Talek] "Listen, who built this city? Who was his spouse?"

00:35 [ST] "Oh... you will?" She strokes his cheek. "That is kind of you. I... thank you."

00:35 [Talek] "I promise." He holds her hands in his, and feels somewhat dizzy

00:36 [Talek] This plan was so insane

00:37 [ST] "The... great Solar Larquen Quen. His wife... was a Lunar... Phoebe, the Walker between the Snowflakes. So they say."

00:38 [Talek] "Larquen Quen, Phoebe of the Snowflakes.......ok."

00:39 [ST] "The Walker Between the Snowflakes," she corrects gently, like the first tutor Talek had had, before he got older and they started beating him. She squeezes his hands lightly.

00:40 [Talek] "The Walker Between the Snowflakes. Ok. Maybe she's still alive?"

00:40 [ST] "I do not know."

00:43 [ST] At that moment, the brooch on Talek's robe flares to life.

00:44 [ST] A message.

00:44 [Talek] Talek stands up. "This could be bad."

00:44 [Talek] "Yes Grandmother" he winces

00:45 [ST] "Talek... my dear... Talek..." Mnemon says softly. Miles and miles away, she lies in a dark room, nude, her limbs outstretched to form the points of a bloody summoning circle. "Can you speak... to your dear grandmother?"

00:46 [Talek] "Yes?"

00:48 [ST] "Why did you let them kill my demons, Talek? You knew what they were planning, yet you did nothing. Nothing."

00:49 [Talek] "I expected them to blow themselves up on that one, actually."

00:50 [ST] There is a moment of deadly, poisonous silence.

00:50 [ST] "...do I frighten you?" Mnemon purrs. "Do you consider me a vindictive woman, Talek?"

00:52 [Talek] "Why yes Grandma, I'd say you're damned vindictive"

00:52 [Talek] Talek can't believe what he just said

00:53 [ST] Mnemon chuckles.

00:53 [ST] "I'm going to cut off your hand."

00:54 [Talek] "Dreadful!" Talek giggles

00:54 [ST] "At a minimum, I think that is generous, considering the inconvenience... the way the loss of the demons, the severing of the arcane link, struck me... in public. A sign of weakness. The Realm is speaking of it. It cannot be undone. For this, I shall take your hand, but it may be that you can still-" At his burst of laughter, she falls silent.

00:54 [ST] "Do you mock me... boy?"

00:58 [Talek] "The whole Realm knew the demons were yours?"

00:59 [ST] "I was giving a speech at the moment they were destroyed. I collapsed for but a moment... but they whisper now... thanks to you, Talek. To you."

00:59 [ST] "Is the hand enough, or do you wish to lose more? Have you done what I've asked of you? Have you opened the door?"

00:59 [Talek] "You're welcome" Talek giggles

00:59 [ST] Shi-Ma raises an eyebrow.

01:00 [Talek] "Sorry Grandma, I'm a bit high just at present" he shrugs to Shi-Ma

01:00 [Talek] He shakes his head no at Shi-Ma

01:00 [ST] "Talek... perhaps you do not recognize the gravity of your words. Perhaps you believe your usefulness will protect you. Only so far, child. Only... so far." Mnemon's voice quivers strangely. The blood sigils beneath her begin to glow.

01:02 [Talek] "Summoning more Demons?"

01:03 [ST] "It need not concern you. Shall I take your eyes as well?"

01:03 [Talek] "Let's cut to the chase, I'm a busy man" Talek laughs

01:04 [ST] Silence.

01:04 [ST] Silence.

01:04 [ST] Silence.

01:04 [ST] And then, a scream like nothing Talek has ever heard before, purest rage.

01:05 [Talek] Talek doubles over, wincing extremly

01:07 [ST] �"MISERABLE WHELP! CRACK YOUR SKULL BENEATH MY BOOTS HOOK YOUR EYES OUT WITH MY FINGERS BREAK YOUR BACK YOU'LL BEG FOR DEATH, YOU'LL BEG AND I WILL NOT GIVE IT TO YOU. BY THE TIME I AM FINISHED YOU WILL BEG TO FUCK YOUR BLIND FINGERLESS COUSIN IN THE MAZE AND I WILL NOT PERMIT IT. I WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE FOR CENTURIES. I WILL USE THE OLD MAGICS. I WILL TORTURE YOU BEYOND ALL HUMAN UNDERSTANDING.

01:07 [ST] I WILL REDEFINE THE CONCEPT OF AGONY. THE GODDESS OF PAIN SHALL DESCEND UPON ME WEEPING IN THANKFUL BLISS. I WILL DESTROY YOU."� Her voice becomes even more crazed, petulant, childish. �"I- YOU. WILL. BE. SO. SORRY."

01:08 [ST] Her scream becomes higher, essence welling up around her prone form.

01:08 [ST] "�OCTAVIAN!�"

01:08 [ST] �"BRING ME HIS HEAD!"

01:08 [ST] The brooch trembles once and shatters.

01:14 [Talek] Talek looks up, taking a deep breath

01:15 [ST] "She is frightening," the goddess offers, patting his shoulder. Perhaps the Ghanites would have suited her better.

01:15 [ST] The goddess sighs heavily. "I will aid you. If you will help me die."

01:18 [Talek] "Alright Mom, I promise."

01:21 [ST] She pats Talek's head softly. "Good boy."