City of IF

[Shady Stoat]

The majority vote was to let Shakal scout out the problem, using her invisibility. Chapter 16 follows from that...

Chapter Sixteen

Keli gave in.

“Go on then,” she whispered to the wolf, watching the light at the top of the stairs, as the movement of feet caused the shadows to flicker.

She quietly drew her knife, just in case it was needed. As she watched, the shadowy form of the wolf faded to nothing as she got towards the top of the steps.

Keli waited, biting her lip. The door began to open outward, very slowly, almost as if it were simply swinging open of its own accord. Almost, but not quite.

One of the voices upstairs raised in thickly-accented protest and the door was pushed shut again. A moment later, it flew open, banging with a hard thud into the still. Keli gripped her knife with white knuckles and faltered forward to the first step.

Shouts of alarm became roars of rage a moment later. There was the sound of crashing furniture and the thud of a body, slamming the cellar door shut again. Then, a howl of pain that sounded like it came from Shakal.

Forgetting caution, Keli ran towards the top of the steps, wanting to help. When she pushed on the door, however, something was blocking it. Whatever had landed so hard seemed still to be in the way. She shoved at it with all her strength, but could only get the door to open an inch. Her face felt hot from the exertion and frustration combined, but she could see no more than a tiny sliver of the room beyond.

Another yelp, then a shriek, cut off suddenly. If Shakal was down, then they would be down here after her in a minute. She took a step back from the doorway, renewing her sweaty grasp on the blade.

A moment later, there was an answer, of sorts. The cries had turned to ragged breathing, only broken by the sounds of floorboards creaking under feet, in a curious quick-slow rhythm. As she watched, a side-view of Shakal came into sight, retreating slowly, teeth bared. Her thigh was leaking blood from a gash which had ripped the material of her leggings and matted the fur beneath. She was limping, although there was no telling how bad the wound was.

A moment later, another creature came into view. Keli could see at once that it wasn’t one of the City Watch. The patchy hair, the grimy rags, the misshapen curvature of the spine – they all told of one of the local residents. He was holding a curved blade in his right hand, and he seemed to handle it with ease.

Keli made a split-second decision. Without thinking about it, she tried to summon her possession magic again.

‘Look through his eyes.’

It’s not going to work…

She thrust the inner doubt away and continued to try. ‘Feel the sword in his hand. See Shakal through his vision.’

It was an accident last time. You’ll never manage it again.

‘I’m winning. I’m confident. The wolf looks scared. The sword is right here. I’m…’

Suddenly, for an instant, she was there. There was a wolf in front of her, leaking blood, yet at the same time, there was a sensation of rapid shifting, dizziness, being out of control.

The sword dropped from her hand. She saw Shakal diving towards her, jaws open and deadly. At the same instant, she felt a flash of pain… somewhere…

…everywhere…

…and she was back in her own body, lying breathless and hurting on the cellar floor. The pains were fresh and raw, there was no way to evaluate how badly she was hurt. She cursed herself for a thousand types of fool.

What had she hoped to achieve by trying out her new magic? If she had succeeded, and Shakal had been able to kill the possessed body, then what? Would she have returned to her own body, or would she have died with the new one? That had been a reckless way to set about finding out, she thought, as she groaned aloud.

She had tumbled sideways off the steps as soon as the control of her own body had been taken away. What had she been thinking?? She could have at least sat on the steps, it might have kept her more secure. The only small piece of luck was that she hadn’t fallen backwards and bounced down each stone step as she had fallen. That would have been worse.

Perhaps. It seemed pretty bad right now, actually. Her shoulder, only recently healed, was throbbing steadily. Her head felt as if it had been fetched a nasty crack on the cellar floor. She was fairly sure that two of the fingers on her left hand were broken, or at least badly bruised and swollen. She was tasting blood in the back of her mouth, and her tongue hurt from where she had bitten it as she had landed.

It was only when the cellar door opened that she realised she had no idea what had happened between Shakal and the stranger with the sword. She struggled clumsily upward, only to relax as she saw the form of the wolf at the top of the stairway.

The wolf hop-bounded down the stairs, still limping badly as she neared Keli.

“Are you damaged?” she asked, concern and a little anger in her voice.

“I’m…” faltered Keli. “…my fingers hurt a bit.”

She sucked in a deep breath as Shakal examined her left hand.

“You should not have tried to help,” said the wolf, obviously reining in her real emotions. “I was simply waiting for the best opportunity to attack.”

Her guide had guessed what she had done then.

“You – OW! – were wounded,” she said, between clenched teeth as Shakal dropped her hand again.

“Not broken,” said the wolf. “Do you have other injuries?”

She began to run her taloned fingers over Keli’s clothing, seeking a pain response. She continued to talk throughout the examination.

“It is my job to protect you, huma – Keli. You should not be thinking about coming to my aid. I will die for my people if I must, in order to see that you live to fulfil your purpose; but you, in return, must focus on the end goal and not be distracted by misplaced feelings of loyalty or friendship.”

Keli had had enough. She leaned away from Shakal’s touch.

“I’ll survive,” she snapped. “You should be more worried about that gash on your leg. It looks bad.”

“It will heal,” replied Shakal, gruffly. “Weres recover quickly.”

The girl shook her head impatiently, wincing as skull and shoulder throbbed in synchronization. “It won’t do any harm to clean and bind it. Let me see.”

To her surprise, Shakal gave no further argument. With a curt nod, she began to shrug herself free of the leggings. The careful way that she peeled the material away from the wound was evidence enough that she was in pain.

Keli waited, reminded again of the alienness of this creature. Her legs were covered with fine, blue-grey fur and her bone structure and musculature were different in a way that the cloak usually hid from casual observers. It was ironic that someone so different could be her only friend in this place.

As soon as Shakal was ready, Keli went to the shelves and fetched one of the pots of water. She made rags and bandages from her old clothing and began to wipe the blood away from the wound.

“It’s deep,” she said, as the wolf bore her attentions stoically. “It should really be stitched, but I don’t have the equipment. You’ll have to make do with this.”

“It will heal,” repeated the wolf. Her voice was tight.

After a few moments, Keli spoke again.

“Whether you like it or not,” she said, eyes on the wound, “we’re in this together. I can’t get to where I need to go without you. If I’m to face Itharian eventually, let alone beat him, then it will take the two of us.”

“I do not…”

“Am I ready to face him yet?” demanded Keli.

There was a pause. Then, “No.”

“If that ever changes, consider yourself as dispensable as you want to be,” she snapped, as she began to bandage the bloody wound. “Until then, we’re looking out for each other. Accept it, that’s just the way things are.”

The wolf laughed sourly. “You are… different than I expected. Perhaps I begin to see why the Oracle set so much store in you.”

“Well, at least one of us does,” muttered Keli. “Okay, it’s not much, but it’s the best I can do.”

She looked at the bindings, already beginning to stain and a thought occurred for the first time since her fall.

“What happened up there?” She nodded to the cellar door. “Who were they?”

“Looters,” answered Shakal, shortly. “They were robbing the empty houses while people have been scared off by the raid. In a way, it is good news.”

“Why?”

“It means that the guards are not yet near this corner of the city. If they were, the locals would not be taking such risks. It seems we might be passed over after all.”

Keli felt a weary kind of relief. Another day was past without this city having devoured her. How long could it continue, though? How long before her luck ran out? It only needed to happen once and Itharien had won.

“We need to get back to training,” she said, ignoring the thumping in her head that told a different tale. “Teach me more about possession magic.”

“We should be concentrating on spirit travelling,” the wolf reminded her.

“Will spirit travelling help me when I come face to face with Lord Itharien?” asked Keli.

“Perhaps not directly, no, but…”

“Is there more that I can learn in studies of possession?”

The wolf looked at her, wryly. “You do seem to have a certain raw skill. I could teach you how to refine it, but…”

“Then I want to learn possession.” She shook her head to forestall an argument. “You may be my guide, but in the end, I’ll be the one who goes up against this man. And when I do, I want a weapon that I can use.”

“Information is your best weapon. The Oracle told you that himself.” Shakal sighed. “However, you are correct. I am only your guide and our time is limited. If this is what you wish to learn, then I shall teach you.”

Keli felt a moment of doubt. She squashed it instantly. Whatever Erath had told her, he was gone now. It was up to her to decide. And she was sick of feeling helpless all the time!

“Teach me,” she said, simply.

There, in the candlelight of pre-dawn, the lessons began again. With no-one else to practice on, Shakal was her willing subject. After the first couple of tries, she could enter the body of the wolf, perform simple actions and even keep a clumsy kind of dual-awareness going with her own body at the same time. She exulted in the ease with which she was mastering her newfound skills.

Then the rules began to change. Shakal began to resist her attempts. Mildly at first, then with more force. She struggled to penetrate the defences of the wolf.

“You’re making it too difficult,” she complained, rubbing her eyes.

Shakal cocked an eyebrow. “You are not trying hard enough. Again.”

“It’s impossible!”

“You think a victim, knowing what you are about to attempt, will stand passively by and let you do this to them? You must find a way through. Now – again!”

Keli’s fingers were pulsing, swollen to the point where she could no longer bend them. Her shoulder and head were down to a dull throb now. Nevertheless, she felt like she had been doing this for hours. She stared at the wolf, wondering whether it was worth continuing with this.

The inevitable answer came back. It was this, or die at the hands of the Cult. She gritted her teeth and tried again.

“Better.” Shakal spoke with absent concentration. “Keep trying.”

An hour later, she had only succeeded once, and briefly. However, she was beginning to feel her way past Shakal’s barriers, bit by bit. The wolf was putting up increasing resistance, to less effect than before.

However, before their studies could continue to yet another attempt, the front door opened upstairs. They tensed, then relaxed as a vehement exclamation identified the voice as that of Maurice.

A moment later, the cellar door flew open.

“What the hell have you bin up to?” he demanded, voice rising in anger. He pointed to the room behind him. “Bloodstains on the floor, three corpses – can’t I leave you folks here for a single night without you commitin’ murder?”

The wolf eyed him levelly. “Would you prefer that they had been allowed to rob you unhindered? Or that they had found the girl and I here in the cellar? If even one had escaped to inform others that you were keeping magic users in your home, you would never have been left in peace.”

Maurice gave an inarticulate grumble, then nodded his head curtly.

“I s’pose you’re right. It’s all the same now anyway. I’m gettin’ out of Shift while I still can. I’m not going to throw you out of the place – not after you saved my whisky – but I wouldn’t recommend you stayin’ here too much longer. This ain’t no ordinary raid.”

Keli and Shakal looked at each other.

“It isn’t?” asked Keli.

Maurice shook his head. “Looks like they’re tryin’ to finish the job they started with the Oracle and the Snake-Healers. They came across the river with oil an’ flame. They’re burning as they go.”

He spat. “They calls it purifying, o’course. Gettin’ rid of the beast. That’s their word for doin’ whatever they like to us poor sods in the Shiftier side of the city.”

Shakal’s eyes were unreadable in the faint candlelight.

“We should have expected this,” she said, her voice as expressionless as if she were commenting about the weather. “Everyone with magic has fled to Old Shift. They will raze it to the ground before they allow any pretender to challenge Itharien.”

Maurice barked a laugh. “I don’t think they’re gonna find it that easy, wolf! There’s gonna be one hell of a fight – as soon as those idiot neighbours of mine can agree on what it is they’re fightin’ for.”

“What do you mean?” asked Keli.

“Some of us are runnin’ for the gates while we still can,” answered Maurice, his stare challenging her to criticize him. When she didn’t, he continued. “Others think that they’ll leave us alone if we give up all the Weres to them. There’s some as think we should gang up against the Churchies an’ leave the guards alone. Most of them that’re left are all for fightin’ the Watch with everything we got though.”

Keli couldn’t resist trying to reason with him.

“If you leave now, you’ll lose everything. They might not even let you through the gates, just throw you in prison instead. Why not stay and fight?”

“Because, lass, they’ll lose in the end. Oh, they got magic. Prob’ly more than them ‘holes at the church think they have. They got no reason to fight, though. They’re not fanatics, an’ sooner or later they’ll realise they can just turn tail an’ get out alive. You think this dump is worth dying for? What’ve we got that’s so valuable that we can win out against them as are willing to die for the cause?”

He filled up the silence that followed. “I’m off, with as much of that whisky as I can carry. You’re on your own from now on.”

As Maurice closed the door behind him, Shakal turned to Keli.

“What do you want to do?” she asked, calmly.


============

So, there you have it. What will Keli do now?

Find a way to get back to the west side of the city somehow? Then what? Will she and Shakal head towards the Stone of Oracles? Visit an Itharien temple? Try to find a place to hide, or go somewhere else entirely?

Should she split up from Shakal, for safety's sake, planning to meet up later? Should the two of them stay together?

Or should she try to find out more about what and where the resistance is? Make a stand against the guards, with their flames and oil? Try to take control and organize a more directed attack somewhere else?

Discuss please :D

[Solomon Birch]

Lovely chapter Stoat! Keli is finally growing up. A tricky predicament they appear to be in though.

I don't think trying to organise resistance would work. She isn't a good enough orator and Shakal is... a wolf lady. There will be few who would listen, and those that would are probably already running away.

Now, I'm trying to work out if the watch will be burning everything... They are probably burning enough to make most places dangerous. But, equally, returning to the western side would also be very dangerous, especially for Shakal. If they were to do that, then Keli would have to go alone while Shakal fled the city or, if miracles happen, she found somewhere in the slums that was safe.

I think that they could perhaps try the sewers? What are the sewage systems like in the city? Are they very basic, with just channels for the effluence, or are there places that they could hide in relatively safely, away from the zealots and guards and thugs. If there is some level of infrastructure down there, then they may be able to hide for quite a while, complete her training and then proceed from there. Maybe even make forays into the city to inspect a Church or something, though we know how dangerous that would be for the both of them.

*holds breath* :shock:

[ninja baloon]

I suggest wait a while and see how good Keli can get at possesion. She managed it with the guard on her own and practice makes perfect. After she is alright with the skill then they could go out using her possesion and Shakals strength to get wherever they want.

[Chinaren]

I think they should temporarily withdraw. Regroup, train more and then return.

Maybe even out of Shift* City.


*So easy to spell the wrong.

[ninja baloon]

agreed

[Smee]

Great chapter :)

I agree with Chinaren. We need to get out the city for a while, find out what's going on in the rest of the world whilst we continue our training.

I think the city is too dangerous to be involved with and we have bigger fish to fry than this one place.

It'd be handy if we had some of physical attack in our spell repertoire - could we ask Shakal if there is anything we could learn?

Happy Writing :)

[ninja baloon]

Some sort of spiritual shun. Everyone in an area instantly goes to sleep while there souls try to realine themselfs. Effects are very short.

[Ingrothechundyer]

Yay it looks like we can finaly leave the city for somewhere safer :clap: :D ;)

Nice chapter Shady :smile:

[Shady Stoat]

Does anyone else want to venture an opinion? :D

[Kalanna Rai]

Get moving towards your ultimate goal...and someplace to practice where an angery mob's not going to be coming after you.

[Ingrothechundyer]

But what ultimate goal? Survival? ;)

But I agree, lessons are a great plan.

[DukeReg]

I feel Ingrothechundyer's pain. ;)
They should leave the city somehow. Keli has a teacher, but needs time to learn. She wont get a moment's peace in Itharien's city. Even if they somehow survive the burning raid, they have no safe place to stay.

With Shakal's help, Keli can vanish into the countryside for a while. Maybe they can even find more people on her side to protect them.

One thing I should mention is HOW to get out of the city.
1) Find a mob of people who want to leave and/or fight the watch, preferably with some desperate weres among them.
2) Arrange for them to all go to one of the gates to do what they want to do.

I have a feeling that the gate will end up open and relatively unguarded while Keli and Shakal leave, if they can get a sufficiently emotional mob to it. :lol:

[Shady Stoat]

Okay, since 'leave the city' seems to be virtually uncontested, I'll assume that that's the option everyone wants to go for.

I'd like to see more than one suggestion as to how they get out though.

Through the gates, by whatever means? Over the walls? With a mob or alone? Use the river? Use the sewers?

Some methods will have a greater chance of success than others and will result in different directions for the next chapter.

Thoughts, anyone?

[Chinaren]

Out of the city. Damn, that's going to be tough. However, perhaps with her newfound powers she could baboozle the guards and slip through.

[Ingrothechundyer]

If folks are already fleeing the city woudn't that mean that they can follow the crowds out? :?

[Solomon Birch]

No, I don't think they should leave; firstly because it would be so difficult, and secondly it wouldn't help them achive their aims. They should hide in the sewers, keep training Keli and prepare to fulfill her destiny.

If they leave, then where would they go? Back to the Wolven camp? That would just mean another lengthy trip back to the city when they decide to return. Do we even know if they are still there? Or even alive, or not captured? The sewer's would allow them to remain largely undetected, as long as they move around occasionally, or find a long-forgotten bolt-hole to shack up inside.

[Shady Stoat]

Ingrothechundyer wrote: If folks are already fleeing the city woudn't that mean that they can follow the crowds out? :?

You don't know for sure that folks are fleeing the city. You know what Maurice has told you - but you don't know whether they're being allowed out, which is possible, or whether they're being barred from leaving, which is also possible. You don't know whether there's magic-detectors on the gates, waiting for those on the wanted list to come past them, before they nab them. You don't know whether all three gates are the scenes of riots that will end up with you being injured or killed if you get caught in the middle of them.

Much of what Keli and Shakal do will have to be improvised at the time, but based on what you know and what you can guess, come up with what you think is your best chance for leaving the city.

[DukeReg]

Solomon Birch wrote: No, I don't think they should leave; firstly because it would be so difficult, and secondly it wouldn't help them achive their aims. They should hide in the sewers, keep training Keli and prepare to fulfill her destiny.

If they leave, then where would they go? Back to the Wolven camp? That would just mean another lengthy trip back to the city when they decide to return. Do we even know if they are still there? Or even alive, or not captured? The sewer's would allow them to remain largely undetected, as long as they move around occasionally, or find a long-forgotten bolt-hole to shack up inside.

Um, yeah... I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on a couple of points here...*

Being in a sewer is not likely to be a pleasant or healthy experience, particularly over a lengthy period of time, and theres nothing to stop the guards sweeping it when the city is burned. And what part of their aims will be better served from the sewer than from the countryside outside the city? I agree wholeheartedly that she should keep training, but I think that staying in the city is bad news.

I agree that going back to that particular wolven camp is not a good idea, but there's nothing to suggest that thats the only place they can go outside the city. In fact they can go wherever they want outside the city, and probably never get found, without squeezing into an abandoned nook or cranny while the guards are searching around 3 feet away.

In any case, it comes down to personal preference. Only the magical vote will tell what is the best course. :)

* You've seen Office Space... you know I'm not being a jerk, right?

[ethereal_fauna]

You used the river to get into the city. Seems a likely way out as well.

[Smee]

I agree with DukeReg - good points :)

Practice that magic :)

[Shady Stoat]

Poll's going up tomorrow. Anything else to say, say it today :D

[Kalanna Rai]

You should have said anything important to say say it today Stoat! I personally think that they should slip out through the river exit...it's unlikely it's been repaired, although if it had they'd been in deep trouble.

Are there any structures close to the walls that they could climb atop without being spotted? From their they could hop from wall to river and then on to freedom...although one of them would most likely be injured in this attempt....

Oh well just a last minute idea...

[Shady Stoat]

Kalanna Rai wrote: [color=darkred]I personally think that they should slip out through the river exit...it's unlikely it's been repaired, although if it had they'd been in deep trouble.

True - although if they're slipping out the river exit, it would have to be slipping out South of the City, where the current would help rather than hinder. Keli isn't a hugely strong swimmer and would have to go with the flow. I doubt Shakal could keep both of them afloat throughout it.

Just to make things absolutely clear, Shakal and Keli came in through the North-West river entrance after circling nearly half of the city. Going back out South (if that's what you choose and it works), is heading back the way you came, towards Great Lake, the Weres encampment and all that stuff. Whether that's good or bad is up to you, but the river entrance they came in from is not going to be their first choice as the river entrance they leave from :D

Quote: Are there any structures close to the walls that they could climb atop without being spotted? From their they could hop from wall to river and then on to freedom...although one of them would most likely be injured in this attempt....

Going over the walls is a possibility. In this level of chaos, it might be realistic to think that the guard detail would be down, given the fighting and the burning. We are into daylight hours now though, and you'd have to pick your route over carefully, to make sure that you weren't drawing huge amounts of attention to yourselves.

Thanks for the extra suggestion. I'll put it into the poll a little later :D

[Shady Stoat]

Poll's up. You have three days to vote :D

[Solomon Birch]

Voted for making a base in the sewers, as it's the only sensible thing to do. Leaving the city would just be detrimental, so finding a safe place to hole up is the best thing to do.

*holds breath* :shock:

[Ingrothechundyer]

I think your going to have to let your breath out sometim Soily. You are holding it on too many stories to survive this long ;)

[Solomon Birch]

Havn't people guessed by now that I can hold my breath indefinately?! Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be here, would I? ;)

But thanks for your concern Ingro! :D

[Shady Stoat]

1 day left for voting :D

[Shady Stoat]

Magical possession seems to have worked. Okidoke. I'll get to writing, in the next day or two. Thanks everyone :)

[Shady Stoat]

Chapter 17 up. Locking this one :)