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dragon_fire372
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 Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:14 pm Post subject: Uncertain Quests |
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Walking down a winding sunlit lane, whistling happily as a slight breeze stirred the trees, a tall wizard strolled along. His hair was long and blond, and his robes were clear blue as the sky above. Strangely enough, he walked with his eyes closed, but his steps did not falter. At his feet walked a small black cat. Unlike the man, she looked around as she went, watching the road, the sky, and the birds in the trees.
After a period of silence, the cat turned to the wizard and said, “Are you just going to sleepwalk all the way to Maylin?”
Smiling, the man replied, “I’m not sleepwalking. I would have fallen in the ditch by now.”
“That would have been a rude awaking. I would have laughed.”
The man laughed in a merry voice and said, “I’ve no doubt of that, Guia.” She sniffed delicately and looked away.
After a time, a wagon appeared around a bend in the road ahead of them. The wizard didn’t stop walking, but Guia’s steps faltered. “There’s someone coming,” she said.
“Yes,” he answered. “Are they dangerous?”
The cat paused and cocked her head, as if listening to a sound no one else could hear. Then she answered uncertainly, “I’m not sure. They could be trouble, but…no, not dangerous enough to avoid. But be cautious.”
The wizard nodded and continued along. The wagon approached slowly, pulled by two white horses who would have been beautiful, if not for the dust covering their coats and their downtrodden demeanor. A young woman sat on the bench with reins in hand. She, too, looked dispirited, as if a great weight sat on her shoulders and bowed them down. Her head hung down, and her brown hair was lank and dull. She did not appear to have seen the walkers approaching. Soon, though, her head did rise, when the man was but 5 yards away. The horses whickered at him and would have continued walking his way had not the woman pulled them to a stop. The wagon halted, and so did the wizard. He smiled courteously in her direction, even though his eyes were still closed.
The woman looked at him suspiciously. “Who are you?” she asked.
“A traveler on a friendly road. I’m on my way to the city of Maylin, in search of old friends and new direction.”
She narrowed her eyes and said, “I asked for your name, not your life story.” Studying him, she then said, “I would have you look at me as you answered, stranger. Closed eyes do not belong on the road.”
Guia hissed at the woman’s tone, but the wizard merely shrugged. “My name is Persivian,” he answered, and then he opened his eyes. They were cloudy and white, and the woman, upon seeing them and hearing his name, gasped. “Persivian the Sightless?” she asked, now sounding nervous. “The wizard known to all lands between the waters?”
He nodded. “So some call me,” he replied. Although his eyes did not move, he seemed to study her, and then he said, “I have given you my name. Will you not reply in kind?”
For a moment it seemed she would refuse, but then she bit her lip. “I am called Minaar,” she replied.
He smiled. “Well, then, Minaar,” he said, “well met.” Then he paused. A strange sense of intuition made Persivian want to speak further to this woman. There was no real logical explanation for it, and the wizard wondered if it was simply loneliness for human company. Then again, Guia had cautioned him against trouble with this woebegone traveler, and the cat had never failed him before. Persivian wasn’t entirely sure what to do: trust his own chancy intuition and speak further to Minaar, or heed Guia’s warning and his own common sense and continue on to Maylin.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
Last edited by dragon_fire372 on Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:45 pm; edited 12 times in total
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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Great start! Very nicely written! 
<slaps his knee in appreciation>
Perhaps he could 'chat' a little more with this down-trodden lady, find out a little more and then make a decision on what to do next...
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jnmrcs
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:50 am Post subject: |
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| If Guia had never failed you then you know that thi is problems. It's better to continue your way unless she had something else to say. But don't start the conversation...
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Smee
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:58 am Post subject: |
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Hey Dragon_Fire,
Welcome to the City. Great start to the story. 
He's looking for a new direction, and has Guia's assurance she isn't dangerous (just potentially trouble). Who knows what shape a new direction might take, and if he has a feeling to talk to her then he should take it.
I look forward to more.
As a fantasy author feel free to take advantage of this thread to advertise your story and pull in the readers.
Happy Writing.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 5:35 am Post subject: |
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NICE opening chapter!
I'd say talk, but be cautious. Keep your guard up and avoid doing or saying anything that might get you into trouble.
After all, you and the cat are probably both right!
*looking forward to chapter 2...*
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 7:33 am Post subject: |
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I would say wait and let her talk to you.
Great chapter 
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LordoftheNight
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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i liked it
what type of person is the wizard will probably have the main effect on what he does
for example - if he was an overbearing arrogant one he'd keep on going, ignoring her - but he doesn't seem to be
he seems to be more inquisitive - so i think he should stop and talk to her
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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After a moments consideration, Persivian gave a mental shrug. Who knew? Perhaps both he and Guia were correct. Besides, maybe she knew some news from the city. “Have you – ”
“Do you know – ” Minaar began at the same time.
They both stopped and laughed a little embarrassedly. With a slight bow, Persivian said, “Ladies first.”
“I was, um…I was just going to ask if you knew…” The woman seemed far less confident now that she knew who the wizard was. He waited patiently for her to collect her wits. Finally Minaar was able to ask, “Do you no aught of…the Golden Star?” Guia’s ears perked up – it seemed a strange question for such a woman to ask.
Persivian, too, was slightly surprised. Of course he knew of the Star, though he had never seen it. It had been built in the center square of Maylin, a sign of goodwill to all the people and a magical omen from the High Casters of the court. The wizard had heard of it from an old friend of his that lived in the city, one of the old friends who he had come to visit in the first place. It was, in fact, largely about the Star that Persivian had opted to return, and it was uncanny that this woman, the first met so close to his destination, would ask about it. Guia pressed against his leg, and he returned with a slight nudge – their form of a meaningful glance. Trouble indeed, he mused.
“I have heard some of the lore about it,” he answered slowly, as if trying to recall what he knew. “It came to the city after I left. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I just…” Minaar looked down at the ground.
“Get on with it!” hissed Guia impatiently.
The woman stared at the cat incredulously. “She – it talks!” she exclaimed. Persivian noted the hesitation at the pronoun; how she had switched from “she” to “it” at the last second, but did not think much of it at the time. He was too curious about what the woman had to say.
“She is often rude,” he said reassuringly. “Just ignore her, and finish your question.” Guia harrumphed at him, but he took his own advice and ignored her. “What were you going to ask?” he prompted.
“Well…I was curious whether you’d heard the tales about how, if you carve a wish into the gold of the Star, it’ll come true.”
“I have heard that rumor,” he answered. “It is said that when the first star appears in the sky after carving your wish, it disappears from the star and soon will come true, is it not?” Minaar nodded. “Well, I don’t know if it is true. As I said, I have not seen it. Why do you ask?”
Her voice was muffled as a curtain of hair covered her bowed-down face. “You are said to be wise,” she muttered.
At that moment Guia turned around, facing the road behind them. She gave a hiss, and then a yowl as her fur bushed out. Minaar looked up and gasped. The wizard did not yet turn, but instead cocked his head to better hear behind him. What he heard was the thumping footsteps of a man, by the sound of it tall and well built. It sounded as though he were trying to appear intimidating, and judging by Minaar’s reaction, he had succeeded. The man then announced in a deep condescending voice, “Well, well, look who we find on this lonely stretch of road.”
To either side, Persivian heard the rustle of leaves and knew that more men were stepping out onto the road. He could sense Minaar shaking. It seemed obvious to him that she knew these men, whoever they were, and it seemed to him that this meeting could not be chance. But whatever the circumstances, it made him uneasy. Guia shared his sentiments, for he felt strong waves of apprehension coming from her. The wizard turned around.
“That is a good question,” he stated, courteously yet with an edge. “I am interested in the answer myself.”
Mutterings sprang up in the strangers around him, which served a double purpose – it showed Persivian that these men recognized him, and it told him about how many there were: from the sound of it, eight including the leader. The wizard cocked his head, first one way and then the other, trying to take a measure of these men, whoever they may be. Guia stepped delicately on his boot. Caution, the touch said.
Ahead of him, the leader sketched a bow. “Sightless One,” he said, his tone less imposing now, respectful but not overly fearful. “Forgive us for startling you. Our quarrel is not with you, but with the woman. It would not do well for you to witness, and is of no consequence to you.” Persivian smiled. It was nothing more than a none-too-subtle request that he leave.
Minaar sat on her wagon, twisting the reins in her hands. Guia, at his feet, was still hissing in her throat, and it was obvious this encounter bothered her. It did not sit well with the wizard either. Eight men to confront one woman? He could of course leave; as the man said, this had nothing to do with him. But he did not like that option.
So what then? He had no idea who was in the right here, the men or Minaar. He didn’t know the situation, he didn’t understand the circumstances. Common sense counseled him, once again, to walk on. But then, common sense didn’t really seem to count for much right now. So stay, then? Talk with the man? Make sense of the situation, and offer his council? Many respected his opinion, but then it seemed unwanted here. He could fight the men off, the odds didn’t seem difficult to him, and yet it wasn’t in his nature to attack unprovoked. What would serve him best, intimidation, wisdom and reasoning, or simply walking on?
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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Another chapter that pulls you right in
I'd say go for wisdom and reason. You need more information before you can decide whether to fight or whether to walk away. I have a sneaking suspicion that, if it takes 8 men to go after a single female, then the female is either extremely valuable or can look after herself in a fight.
I could be wrong, of course. I often am 
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, first rate. Top notch. Two thumbs up! 
Play it cautious I guess, though it is a little hard to say how cautious, not knowing how much firepower the wiz is packing. So I am sitting on the fence a bit. String them along a little, see how it plays out.
And post the next chapter!!
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | And post the next chapter!! |
Ah - I discover the not so subtle culprit for all the new authors producing 15 chapters a day 
Indeed a great chapter - to the point and interesting to read. As the stoat said, pulls you in.
I fight my desire to just say attack so I can read how Persivian would defeat 8 soldiers. Given my enjoyment of magic this is hard, but it doesn't seem in our magicians nature.
Ask questions, use wisdom and reason, but I have my fingers crossed that curiosity won't kill the cat.
Happy Writing.
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The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!
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jnmrcs
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| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:57 am Post subject: |
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Nice chapter.
I said that you must talk to them but not figth even when they started. It's better to have a little more information. If they want to fight then leave them figth her.
I'm curious about her. What importance she have? Maybe she have the thing that she asked for. Who knows?
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:55 am Post subject: |
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| Nice chapter. I think you should ask if they would mind waiting till you finish your conversation.
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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Found this one after Smee gave it its well-deserved nomination. Nice job! I agree with Ingro's idea.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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Hey dragon_fire, let me add my welcome to everyone else's. Your first chapter really drew me in with its light banter and all because it not only sets up the background and personality of the wizard, but also sets the stage for an interesting conflict. As for the second chapter, the little information you give really keeps the reader interested. That is my two pence 
As for what to do. I would like to see some battle between a wizard and eight men, but that would not do much for the story I think. I would say try and delay their attack, and act neutral. Try and find out their reasoning for coming after this woman. Like someone else has mentioned, eight men after one woman is a bit strange, and must mean the woman is either very important, or very dangerous. 
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Yay, my first poll ever.
I hope you appreciate it too, cuz I was all set to write another chapter, but then realized I would have to wait. The poll's up for 7 days, and then I'm writing another chapter, no matter what you say!
By the way, thanks for the nomination <blush>. I'm glad you're all enjoying it!
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 1:35 am Post subject: |
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Hey Dragon,
I've voted for reason with the men and try and find out what's going on.
I look forward to the new chapter.
When this poll finishes give me a PM and I'll delete it for you ready for the next poll.
Happy Writing.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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“What exactly is your reason for apprehending this woman?” Persivian asked the man in charge.
“ Our reason’s of no business to you, wizard!” called out a young man, to Persivian’s left.
Some of the other men laughed, but the leader called out, “Quiet!” Persivian heard the subtle change in tone a seeing man may have missed. The leader was smiling behind his harsh reprimand. He just didn’t think the wizard could see it.
“Forgive the rudeness of my men, Sightless One,” said the man. “But we have every right to apprehend this…woman,” the sneer in his voice was undeniable, “and resent being questioned on the matter.”
“I can see that,” the wizard said with a bow. “Eight men on a chase are not given to lenience.” More mutters, he was pleased to hear. Perhaps that would make them a little more wary. “Be that as it may,” he continued, his voice now hard as a sheathed blade, “I do request that you answer my question, for I cannot in good conscience leave here without knowing the truth of it.”
The big man sighed in a way that reminded Persivian of a growling bear. Clearly this was not what he had expected and he did not welcome the change. Persivian didn’t care. Something about this encounter made him increasingly suspicious. Surreptitiously he folded his hands into his belled sleeves, where they could not watch his hands. Then he spoke, “I bid you speak quickly so we can all be on our way.”
For a moment no one spoke, and there was nothing to hear but the wind and nervous motions of the horses. Guia leapt up to Persivian’s shoulder and crouched down, watching the men with narrowed eyes. Her tail switched back and forth.
Finally the man spoke. “We were hired in the courts of Elbberon, a grand city west of Maylin. We were told to track this woman and recover several precious objects that had been stolen – ”
“Stolen! You – ”
“Thieved away from several wealthy estates in the nobles’ district of the city,” continued the man with a raised voice.
Behind him, Minaar was in outrage. “I am no thief! You are a vagabond and a liar, Dolan!”
“Be quiet, rat!” cried the man. One of his gang leapt at Minaar and struck her. Her protestations stopped with a groan.
“Stop!” exclaimed the wizard, whirling unerringly to the warrior who had struck the blow. His cloudy eyes gleamed with anger. “You will not attack a woman who is defending herself to an impartial stranger,” he snarled, his voice soft but venomous. “Not while I am here.”
“Well then maybe you ought to leave,” someone muttered, but no one dared dispute Persivian as he moved to Minaar.
“Lady?” he asked. “Are you greatly injured?”
“No.”
“Then what have you to say?”
The leader (now identified as Dolan) interrupted. “This is not a courtroom, wizard!” Persivian help up one imperious finger, quite obviously instructing him to shut his mouth. Dolan complied. Even so, Persivian knew he was not idle. He heard the squelch of leather as the man gripped his sword. Behind him, someone nocked an arrow.
“What have you gotten us into?” muttered Guia.
“Lady?”
With some effort, Minaar spit out, “That man is a liar. I am no thief, and he pursues me for his own gain.”
“That snake would spit out any lie to get help,” Dolan said. Slowly Persivian turned to face him. “Sir, you are said to uphold justice,” he implored. “Would you hinder us to the aid of a thief?”
A tricky situation, Persivian thought. Either the man was a gifted actor, or sincere. Minaar’s situation was still a mystery, but he did not believe it was one of thievery. But in the end, he let Guia decide. She always knew the truth. Persivian kept his sightless eyes on Dolan and waited for the cat’s verdict.
“Liar,” she hissed.
The scene exploded into action. “Attack!” cried Dolan, and steel rang on steel as swords were drawn. The archer pulled back and aimed. Unfortunately for them, Persivian was quicker. Withdrawing his hand from his sleeve, he pinched a small glass ball between his thumb and forefinger. It shattered in his grip, and at once a thick, inky darkness fell over the road. The advantage abruptly switched from the assailants to Persivian, who was at home in the darkness.
Some of the assailants screamed in panic and blundered away through the trees, but others kept their wits. The archer was among them, and he let his arrow fly. The wizard heard the snap of the bowstring and the soft pfft sound as the arrow rushed through the air. He slashed his hand and if fell to the ground in two pieces. Then he swung the same hand through the air in a backhand motion. There was a thump as his adversary flew through the air and hit a tree. No more archer.
“To your left,” whispered Guia in his ear. He heard a man running at him, and the sword whistled in the air. Persivian murmured a syllable, and briefly, the new attacker was slowed. Although he could not see, Persivian knew that the sword swinging through the air in slow motion was aimed at his neck, so he dropped into a kneel. An instant later time returned to normal for his unfortunate opponent, and he sprawled forward, off balance, straight onto the wizard’s upraised hands. A boom swiftly accompanied by a blast of fire shot from his hands into the chest of his adversary, and he fell in a heap.
A moment later, Persivian felt a touch of metal on his throat. He heard the voice of Dolan, saying, “Clever wizard. Lucky for me, I can see in the dark, even yours.” The man chuckled, and said, “You should not have interfered, but I’m glad you did. Your head will fetch a worthy price.”
Persivian smiled. Raising up his hand, he placed it on the blade of Dolan’s sword. Frost spread up the metal and onto Dolan’s hand, faster than it took to blink an eye. The big man cried out in pain as burning cold swept into his arm, and the sword fell to the ground. Ice quickly spread throughout his entire body, leaving him breathing steam in quick gasps, unable to move except for violent shivering as the frost invaded his body and left it immobile. Not to mention in pain. Ice can burn colder than fire.
No longer worrying about the leader, Persivian turned to deal with the rest of the man’s gang. Frowning, he realized there were none. Three had run away when the darkness descended. Persivian had disbanded the two, and now Dolan. There should have been two more rushing him, but no one came. “Guia, where are the other two?”
The cat replied, “They are unconscious or dead. I presume the latter. Their heads are at odd angles.” Guia’s eyes, which could see through any darkness, then said, “One of their swords is missing.”
“Minaar,” Persivian murmured. Of course. She was not as helpless as she had appeared. His attention returned to Dolan as the man groaned on the ground. “Now, Master Dolan, I shall deal with you,” he said. Lifting his hand with the palm facing up, Persivian focused his mind on Dolan. The man rose through the air until he was floating in front of the wizard, his frightened eyes focused on the other man’s cloudy ones.
Regarding him coldly, Persivian stated, “Only a fool mocks his opponent before killing him.”
“Then, wh-what are you d-d-doing?” retorted Dolan, his teeth chattering with the effects of the spell.
“Oh, I’m not going to kill you,” said Persivian.
“Pity,” muttered Guia, circling around the inert man.
The wizard continued, “I just want information. The same information as before, only this time the answer had better not be a lie.” Eying the man, Persivian added, “For your own good, I’d suggest you don’t test us.”
Settling down on the ground and staring Dolan in the eye, Guia hissed, “I will know if you do, and it will be my pleasure to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” In a different situation, being threatened by a cat would not have seemed particularly frightening to the suspended man, but looking into Guia’s wide green eyes and eager claws, he began to shiver with more than cold.
“I-I can’t answer yuh-you,” Dolan began. “The commissioner p-put a s-s-sp-spell on m-me…”
Guia hissed. Persivian placed his hand on the man’s forehead. “Let’s get rid of the cold, shall we?” he commented, his voice far frostier than his spell had been. From his hand a glowing red heat spread out to envelop Dolan’s body. It burned away the effects of the ice spell, and though it did no physical damage, it felt like flames passing slowly over his flesh. He gritted his teeth and tried not to cry out.
Though his face remained impassive, Persivian winced inwardly. He did not enjoy watching others suffer, but it was necessary. The girl was dangerous somehow, and he needed to know why.
Finally the spell reached its end and Dolan was released from its burning grip. “Now it is time for the truth,” Persivian said.
“Alright,” said the man. “Just don’t…cast anything else on me, please.” When the wizard made no reply, he continued, “I was the captain of the guard at an estate outside Elbberon. My lord ordered me to travel east and search the city Maylin for one who was called Minaar, a woman traveling from the north.”
When the man halted, Persivian demanded, “Why?”
“I don’t know. He did not explain his purpose. I only received a name and a…basic description.
The wizard waited, but although her tail lashed back and forth, Guia said nothing. The man was not lying. Persivian sighed; this made it more difficult. “Is there anything else you can tell me?” Dolan said nothing, and the wizard knew there was something more. “Speak!”
Reluctantly, Dolan replied, “Only that she, she is – ” Then he gagged and retched. A surge of magical power surrounded him – the aura of a latent spell. There was a ripping sound, a short scream and then nothing.
After a moment, Persivian lowered the hasty shield spells he had erected around himself. He listened for Dolan’s breathing, but it wasn’t there. “He is dead,” said Guia. She pressed herself against Persivian’s leg, clearly unnerved.
“Thank you for pointing that out,” he muttered dryly. Obviously, someone had wanted the man to remain quiet. Carefully he lowered Dolan’s body to the ground, stooping to close his eyelids. He felt blood and had no desire to know what it was from. Kneeling closer, Persivian felt the aura of a cloaked magical device. Feeling in Dolan’s shirt pocket, he pulled out a chain hung with a small stone. “So this is how he could see,” Persivian murmured. He put the item in his pocket.
As he stood, Guia remarked, “The battle did not go well.”
“We are alive.”
“You were careless,” she said sharply. “You did not scan for enchantments properly, and you underestimated them. A little less luck and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Persivian sighed. “You are right, I know. I was cocky. But we are alive, and there is something else going on that bears investigation.”
Quickly the two searched the area. There was little to see. The wagon and horses were still there, afraid but unharmed. Guia found Minaar’s trail, leading off the road into the woods, but they had not followed if very long before it disappeared. When he asked if she could pick it up again, Persivian received a tart reply that she was not a bloodhound. So instead they went back to the road.
As he passed again the bodies of the men they had fought, Persivian shook his head. “Not as reasonable as I would have hoped,” he commented. “Such a waste of life, for what?” Guia climbed back onto his shoulder, and he stroked her fur and drew what comfort from her that he could. Raising his hand, he gathered the cloud of darkness back into a small ball, and the shattered glass reformed around it. He stowed the ball back in his sleeve and sighed as the sunlight returned. Then he turned to the wagon and said, “Only one thing left to investigate.”
The wizard walked around the back of the wagon and found the steps leading inside. He let himself in and then asked, “What do I see, my friend?”
“A small aisle, cabinets and shelves on each side. The shelves have herbs, foodstuffs…and gems.” Sensing his surprise, she clarified, “Three raw gems: kyanite, emerald, and tiger's eye. I do not know their purpose.” Persivian felt for the gems and held them in his hands. He could sense not spell in them, yet they tingled in his hands, and he knew they had magical properties. After a moment's hesitation, he slipped them in a pouch to study later.
“There is an envelope here,” said Guia. She jumped from his shoulder and placed her paw upon an opened envelope of heavy parchment. There was no letter inside, but Guia said, “It is marked with a name and address of someone in the city.”
Holding the envelope, Persivian was once again in a quandary. He needed to learn more about this Minaar, who was clearly more than she had seemed. Why was she interested in the Star? Why had Dolan been after her? How could she be so important that they would risk attacking him to get to her? The wizard could not find the answers here. Searching for her in the forest was an option, but it hardly seemed to be a good one. The other option was to continue on the Maylin. But from there? The name on the envelope was a good lead, but he knew nothing of the person and did not wish to be careless again. One of his old friends might know more answers; might he head for them?
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:00 am Post subject: |
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Another enjoyable chapter. Nice work, Dragon
As far as I see, Persivian has no great reason to start a quest on behalf of this woman. Unpleasant as the episode was, it seems over now. She has gone, the guards are dead. He'll be curious, but I don't think that will be motivation enough to change his plans.
His main focus should return - for the time being - on going to consult his old friend about the Golden Star. Of course, what he learns there might change things significantly.
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:54 am Post subject: |
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Aye, I have to hit my f5 key again (does so) and agree with the Twisted Stoat.
It's been a pleasant diversion, but back to basics now. In the cart perhaps. to the victor the spoils.
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 5:43 am Post subject: |
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 Agree with those two
Nice chapter
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Smee
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:28 am Post subject: |
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Great chapter.
It was a good fight, nicely described. Our hero is obivously a good mage, but you included his weaknesses well.
Unfortunately *reaches for F5 only to find it worn out* I only agree with Stoat.
He is close to his original target, and surely he hasn't got any other friends nearer than the one in the city. Carry on as before, and ask your friend if he can shed any light on the mystery.
I don't think he'll forget this easily though - it sounds like quite high level magic that kills someone if they talk and he'll want to find the person behind such a spell.
Happy Writing, and good luck with SGoTM.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:58 pm Post subject: |
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Excellent chapter, dragon. I really love Guia with her droll remarks. I have to go with everyone else on this decision. It is no use trying to look for the women, and Guia has already reprimanded you for being careless, and it would seem she is normally right. And looking for the other men would just be a useless move. We need to know more about this women, and her connection to the Star.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Well, unless half a dozen people decide it would be amusing to send a blind man tramping through a forest, I think a poll is somewhat superfluous here. Any last-minute suggestions before I write the next chapter?
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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I suggest you write the next chapter.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:06 am Post subject: |
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wow, awsome story, well written
i agree with the others's opinions
sorry i read this earlier today and would have posted but my internet broke shortly after finnished it
*reaches up to press thje f5 button*
ooookay what did that do
ahh well
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:10 am Post subject: |
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You will forever amuse me, saxon.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:18 am Post subject: |
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oh must 1? forever is such a long time and my arms will grow tires, although you're wish is my command
*picks up three running chainsaws and begings juggling them*
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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I am very sorry that it is taking so long to write this chapter. Tonight has been the first time I was able to start working on it, and it should be up withing a few days.
So to all those waiting on the edge of your seats for the next chapter, hold tight. (If you think you detected sarcasm, pat yourself on the back )
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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saxon215
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| Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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*waits impatientlyer*
*waits less impatiently for smee's correctual reply*
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:44 am Post subject: |
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*Sits and chews on apple, waiting for new chapter* I don't think Smee is going to check on you, saxon.
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:55 am Post subject: |
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*checks on Saxon*
Munches banana whilst waiting for chapter.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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Hurray! Another story I've caught up with. There are so many! Well crafted, Dragon Fire, and bold. Even with his spells, a blind wizard is a tricky character. I'm sure it will be very rewarding in terms of story. I'm terrified for Guia, being not only a marvelous companion but also being the wizard's eyes! Very compelling....
Storywise, there's no doubt the wizard needs counsel about Minaar and the name on the envelope. I'm confused by that envelope, by the way. If it was a letter to Minaar, why does it have someone else's name on it? Does it have both names in a "To:" and "From:" manner? Does it have her address on it too? Or does this envelope suggest that she has someone else's letter? Or she was planning to send a letter in that envelope but didn't get around to it. If there is a broken signet on it, I hope Guia noticed it....
Or maybe I should calm down and assume that the letter was from the person mentioned, providing us our first lead. 
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Smee wrote: | *checks on Saxon*
Munches banana whilst waiting for chapter. |
LOL. 
Reminds me of a monkey.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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| *scratches his head and goes to pick fleas out of ravenwings hair*
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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Slowly Persivian shook his head. No, he would not risk following the address on the envelope. Such a course would be foolhardy at best. “We will go on to Maylin,” he told Guia, “and find Jud’ami. I’m sure he can help us discover more.”
Guia nodded. “Good. Finally you’re showing some sense. Why you even stopped to talk to that woman is beyond me.”
With a smile, the wizard stepped out of the wagon and went along to the front. Stroking the horses absently, he considered the bodies on the road. Sighing, he remarked, “I can’t leave them like this.”
“Why not?” When the wizard frowned at her, Guia rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t being serious, you dolt. Let me help you.” With the cat’s guidance Persivian magicked the bodies so they were lined up by the side of the road. Then he solemnly unfastened their cloaks and covered their faces. Tracing a cross in the air, he intoned, “Honor in death,” then turned away.
As he climbed up onto the bench of the wagon, Guia remarked, “Even after all this time, you can still amaze me. They tried to kill us, after all.”
“So?”
In silence they turned the wagon around, and continued their way toward Maylin. Persivian was grateful for the transportation, although he did wonder how the girl might act if she returned to find her wagon gone. She’s the one who left it, he reminded himself, and put the matter aside. With the aid of the horses, they could make it to the city by dusk, and he was grateful that their last night on the road would be eliminated.
With Guia’s guidance they made good time and by evening were at the city gates. At first the guards seemed inclined to deny them passage as they were preparing to close the gates, but once they recognized the wizard they opened the way immediately. They hurried up even more after Persivian told them of the attacker’s bodies, lying several hours ride down the road. Persivian had been mildly concerned that his reputation would fade while he was gone, but judging by the look of the guards, the absence had merely increased their curiosity and respect. The wizard was pleased with this, because it would make getting through the city easier.
Now that they had finally reached the city, Persivian and Guia were free to locate Jud’ami. First, however, they decided to make their way to the city square to view the Golden Star. The cat sat upon his lap, directing him through the crowded streets, leaning to either side when they needed to turn, crouching to signal a halt. It took them twenty minutes to reach the square, and during that time Persivian marveled at how the city had grown. He could sense the people pressing close about them, and the scent of perfume, sweat, and salty air were heavy. There was also an underlying odor of waste and filth common to any city, but he was pleased that it was very faint. The city was obviously well kept. After a while he concentrated more on his ears. The sound of children running about was all around, as well as the clatter of hooves and boots on cobblestones, hawkers closing up their shops for the evening, and mothers calling their children inside. Considering the bustle, the wizard was glad it was the evening; he could only imagine what it would be like here in the daytime.
As they drew closer to the square, Persivian noticed a change in the atmosphere of the place. The mood was almost reverent, one of hope and sorrow. There was a low clamor of voices ahead, and a general air of contained chaos and fervor. Finally, they pulled out of the street and into the square. Reaching out with his senses, Persivian could feel it, set in the center of the space and those people surrounding it – the Golden Star. He could feel a magical aura about it, but didn’t know exactly what it contained.
“Guia,” he whispered. “May I borrow your eyes?”
With a glance of her green eyes, the cat nodded and jumped onto his shoulder. Persivian pulled the wagon out of traffic, then laid the reins aside. Placing one hand over his own eyes and one over Guia’s, the wizard murmured a few words. Once his spell was complete, he lowered his hand.
This spell was always the strangest for Persivian to use, and the most disconcerting, and he usually avoided it. It allowed him, briefly, to use Guia’s eyes, giving him sight. When he lowered his hand, the wizard’s mind was flooded with images, color and shadow and light. It took him a moment to adjust. Once he had, though, he was able to look around.
They were in a circular square, much as he remembered it. The sky was a velvety dark blue, a few clouds laced across it. Torches rimming the square gave it a gentle luminescence, outlining the crowd of people queuing in the center. Persivian turned his eyes to the Star. Its initial appearance reminded him forcibly of a sea urchin, rays radiating out from its center in all directions. After staring at it for a minute, though, he began to recognize its beauty. The surface glittered with a gentle sheen of burnished gold, and it seemed to glow somehow with its own quiet radiance. As the dusk deepened and the glow became more pronounced, it truly took on the appearance of a fallen star, descended from the heavens.
Surrounding the Star were all manner of people, men and women, young and old. At first it appeared as if they were defiling the Star, but then Persivian realized that they were in fact carving wishes into it hurriedly, with anxious glances up into the sky. Looking closer, the wizard realized that its entire surface, as far up as people could reach, was covered with scrawled messages etched into the soft metal. Suddenly someone pointed up and cried, “There, look! A star!”
Indeed a star had appeared in the sky, the first of the night. Returning his gaze to the one on the earth, Persivian was greeted with an incredible sight – with a soft glow, the marks on the gold were fading. The Star was mending itself, and the wishes had disappeared. All around the square were cries of gladness mingled with groans of disappointment, for no wishes could be carved into the star at night. Slowly the square emptied. Once the last star had disappeared from the sky at dawn, it would be full with wishers again, but until then, no one approached except to gaze at the luminous Golden Star in wonder, and then pass on.
With one last look at this new marvel, Persivian released the spell and returned to his blindness. Whenever he did he always felt mingled regret and relief, because as strange and wonderful as it was to experience sight, it was disconcerting as well, and he was not sorry to return to his comfortable realm of darkness. The spell also left him with aching eyes and a dreadful headache, and he sagged against the wagon with fatigue. Guia shook her head, then rubbed against him. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” he nodded wearily. “The day’s events have drained me. It is good we brought the wagon. I don’t know if I could have made it to Jud’ami’s home on my own.”
More stars were appearing in the darkening sky above, and the streets were emptying except for a few stragglers and late-night patrols. Persivian guided the weary horses through the streets with a bowed head, not even bothering to pay attention to the road, instead trusting completely to Guia’s guidance. Even after all these years, she knew the way.
In short order they were clattering up an empty street near the harbor. Tall brick buildings, aged and huddled closely together, lined the street on either side. It was at one such building that Guia sat back, announcing, “We’re here.” Persivian, who had been somewhere between wakefulness and a doze, lifted his head. The smell of salt was stronger here, as this street was only blocks away from the waterfront. Sleepy silence seemed to reign, the quiet of age.
The wizard guided the weary horses to the side of the road, then slowly eased himself out of the bench. “Guia, can you call him?” he asked. “I haven’t the energy.” With a nod the cat sauntered to a short set of steps, leading to a thick wooden door several feet below ground level. It led to the basement level of the old building. Once there, she opened her mouth and yowled. A moment later Persivian heard footsteps slapping up the stairs, and then the door eased open. Out of it stepped a stout black man, somewhat shorter than the blond wizard but wide-shouldered and strong. He wore the loose, airy clothing of a sailor, and a bandana tied over his head like a skull-cap. “Greetings, Guia,” he said in a rich, deep voice. Then the sound of slippers stepping on cobblestones came to Persivian’s ears, and Jud’ami said warmly, “Welcome, Persivian. I knew you’d be coming.”
“Jud’ami, my old friend.” Although in this case, old was a term referring not to age but the length of their friendship. The two had met long ago, perhaps thirty years, when they were both children. Jud’ami had been living a life of hard work and travel on the seas, Persivian journeying south to learn from the High Casters, in the hopes of one day reaching their level of magical prowess. He had been alone when he came to buy passage across the sea to Maylin, but Jud’ami’s father had watched over him as they traveled, and the two boys had become friends easily. It was on this trip that Jud’ami learned that he too held the will to cast magic, and Persivian awoke in him the desire to become a sea wizard, a master of water and wind. Sailing was his livelihood and passion, and these talents had come naturally to him. The two studied together, learning their magicks. They parted ways eventually, but never forgot the bond between them, and they stayed close in each other’s minds and hearts. Jud’ami was always the one Persivian could return to, his closest friend besides Guia.
These memories passed through the wizard’s head in an instant, leaving him with a grateful smile on his face, one that he knew was mirrored on that of his friend. As Jud’ami approached and Persivian smelled the familiar scent of sea brine and silk, he felt the weariness in his heart ease. The two friends embraced.
Looking up at him, Jud’ami shook his head. “I can’t say it’s a surprise you’re here, but I’m glad all the same. Come in, you look exhausted.”
Shaking his head, Persivian argued, “I cannot. The horses must be seen to.”
Eyeing them closely, the sea-man said, “They do look rough around the edges. Don’t worry, I’ll have them stabled in the inn down the street. But first I’ll see to you.” After a few protestations, Persivian allowed himself to be guided down the steps into Jud’ami’s basement apartment. As he came to the bottom of the steps his footsteps were muffled by the thick carpets that covered the floor. The walls were hung with exotic tapestries and sailor’s apparatus, sextants and compasses, a star chart and sea map, gleaming dully in the light of the low fire. The room was comfortable and rich in color, which although he could not see, Persivian sensed all the same.
Jud’ami left him for a moment to take off his boots and settle into a thick armchair. Guia had already curled up on a low cushion next to the fireplace. Then his friend’s slippered footsteps returned from the kitchen, and he pressed a glass of red wine into Persivian’s hand, and laid a bowl of cream before Guia. She purred her approval, and Persivian sipped the warming liquid gratefully. His friend pulled on a surcoat and announced, “I’ll take care of the horses and your wagon, so you needn’t worry, just stay here and rest for a while. There’ll be time for talk when I return.”
“Thank you, Jud’ami. I am grateful.”
After Jud’ami left, the wizard allowed himself to relax, sinking back into the armchair with a grateful moan. He listened serenely to the sound of Guia lapping up the cream, the low crackling of the fire, the steady tinkling of the water clock as it ticked away the time. Swirling the wine in its glass, he listened to it slosh around the sides and admired its rich scent. Taking a sip, he closed his eyes.
Some time later he opened them again and yawned. The fire crackled strongly before him, washing warmth throughout the room. Guia lay curled on his lap, and he could sense Jud’ami’s presence beside him. “Have I been asleep long?”
“Not so long,” his friend replied. “A few hours. I did not wish to wake you, though. Conversation is not so important as rest for a weary traveler.”
“I told him to get you up, but he doesn’t listen to me.”
Smiling, the man continued, “Guia has told me a little of what has happened, but largely she remained quiet. I could stand to wait before, but now the time is ripe to tell.”
Persivian nodded and thought where to begin. Ever since he made the decision to leave the court and its political machinations, letting the just but grisly business of serving the Emperor and aiding the High Casters fall behind him, his life had been peaceful. He had studied his magic in the privacy of the southern forests, aiding people where he could but largely keeping to himself, finding Guia all the company he required. Such has been his life for many years, until rumors, like smoke on the wind, began to find their way to him.
First had been the letter from Lehrar (one of Persivian’s teachers of magic), telling him that a magnificent Golden Star had been erected, seemingly overnight, in the center square of Maylin. Then had come the whisperings of the people living in the area, of how they had heard of the miraculous nature of the Star. After that had been darker rumors - rumors that, though undefined in nature, had left a vague impression of darkness. It was after that that the real push had come. He and Guia had been outside one afternoon, when the cat had raised her eyes and yowled, alerting Persivian to the presence of a comet streaking across the sky. It had been followed by a rook, winging its way north as it cawed. This was an omen, he knew, one of change, and neither Guia nor the wizard would take it lightly. The fact that all this happened within weeks of each other did not escape Persivian, and after some discussion they had determined that it was time to reenter the world. Naturally they had thought to come here to Maylin first, for Persivian had sorely missed his friend and knew that, as a traveling man, Jud’ami would see and hear what others may not. After that they would go the Lerahr to gather more information about the Star.
Persivian gradually became aware that he was speaking, explaining his musings to his attentively listening friend. Jud’ami sat beside him, smoking a pipe and nodding, as the wizard spoke. After this short narrative, he came to the events of that day, meeting with Minaar, then Dolan and his men. He described the battle, and the gruesome fate that had befallen the unfortunate captain. The more he said, the more concerned Jud’ami became; Persivian could sense his discomfiture.
Finally Persivian finished his tale, ending with what they had found in Minaar’s wagon – the gems and the envelope. Then he fell silent, listening to the flames leap in the hearth, absently stroking Guia’s fur. Jud’ami mused quietly, then said, “You said rumors followed the appearance of the Star. What did they say?”
“Just the usual. A plot against the Emperor, betrayal among the nobles, all the common slander. What concerned me was not the presence of rumors, but that these appeared in force not a week after I received word of the Star.”
“So you think that the Golden Star has something to do with it?”
With a shake of the head, Persivian answered, “No, after seeing it I cannot believe it is a work of darkness. It is a pure creation, an inspirer of hope and faith. But I do believe that something dark is surrounding it. I had planned to ask Lehrar about it.”
Silence, then, “You sense a plot the way I sensed your coming. Magic works almost as mysteriously as God,” Jud’ami said sardonically. Staring into the darkness, he spoke again, “As you have mentioned rumors, I feel I ought to tell you that this time they may have bearing.” Turning to look at Persivian, the sea-wizard continued, “You are right. I do hear much when I travel on the sea, and lately it’s not been good. People have spoken of subversion among the nobles of the court, and a plot against our young Emperor.”
“Young?” Persivian repeated, frowning. “The man is at least sixty.”
In his chair, Jud’ami stiffened. The cushions squeaked as he leaned over to Persivian. “No, my friend. The old Emperor took ill shortly after the Star was raised. He is dead.”
“Dead?” he echoed. His pale eyes were shadowed as he murmured, “How could I not have known?”
For the first time in a long while, Guia spoke up. “You feared a plot, Persivian. I think you’ve found one. The only way we would not have known of the Emperor’s demise is if someone hid it from us, especially if it happened a year ago. I fear all these events – the Star, the girl, the spell used against Dolan, and now this – are connected. I can feel it.”
That’s what I was afraid of, Persivian thought grimly. Turning to Jud’ami, he asked, “What of this new Emperor? What is he like?”
“He is a good young man, by all accounts. Honorable, strong, idealistic. He loves his people.”
“Then who would want to take him out?” mused Persivian.
“But that is not all,” his friend continued. “I think Guia is right about Minaar being connected, because I have heard of her as well.” When Persivian turned his sightless eyes on him in consternation, he swiftly continued, “Not specifically, mind you. But I have heard that a strange traveler, a lone woman, has been beset while traveling south, which is unremarkable till you hear that she fought them off and disappeared – apparently, with the help of magic.” Speaking intently now, he continued, “The same brand of magic that is apparent in the Golden Star.”
Shaking her head, Guia said, “This becomes more muddled by the minute.”
“It seems such a small connection, but…” with a sigh, Persivian said, “That is what I suspected as well, and I would be a fool to ignore the instincts all of us share. I must discover whose address that is!” Shaking his head, he muttered, “I don’t even know if this person is the sender or recipient.”
“The sender.”
Jud’ami glanced at the cat. “You are sure? How do you know?”
“Cats work in mysterious ways,” smiled Persivian. Turning to Jud’ami, he said, “Do you – ”
He was interrupted, however, by Guia. She was staring intently at the stairway, her eyes wide, growling softly in the back of her throat. A moment later there was a knock. Jud’ami looked over at his friend. “Who would call so late?” he asked, but neither knew the answer.
The knock came again, more insistent this time. Jud’ami stood. “Be cautious,” warned Persivian, though he did not know why. His friend nodded and climbed the stairs.
Persivian listened as his footsteps rose up, as the door creaked open, as greetings were exchanged. Then an unknown voice asked, “I am looking for Persivian the Sightless, and am told he is a friend of yours. Is he here?”
“Why would you call on him?”
“There is a matter we must discuss.”
As Persivian listened, Guia leapt up to his shoulder. “I can tell Jud’ami what you want him to do. The visitor would not know; I can tell Jud’ami from here and no one would hear it but him.” The wizard nodded, remembering Guia’s limited capacity at sending (the ability to give messages to others, a form of telepathy).
Above them, Jud’ami was stalling. “Which matters, perhaps I can help?”
Meanwhile, Persivian considered. He could easily pretend not to be here, and have Jud’ami send the late-night visitor away. Another option was to have Jud’ami bring him downstairs and disguise himself and Guia in the shadows, gathering what he could from their conversation, choosing when (or if) to reveal himself. Or he could play it straight, admit to his presence and speak to the stranger. Plans rushed through the wizard’s head, options and considerations. He had only to choose.
_________________
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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Finally it's up, and it was more difficult that I had imagined it would be. Very long to, but no matter. Enjoy!
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
Last edited by dragon_fire372 on Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Great development, Dragonfire
I'd say go hide in the shadows and choose when and if to reveal yourselves. That way, you're less likely to get any unpleasant surprises
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Smee
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:10 am Post subject: |
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*rubs hands together*
The plot is beginning to reveal itself.
I also think hiding is the best option here. Events are moving faster than we realise at the moment, and now we are aware of this we need to act cautiously if we are to stand any chance of getting ahead of these unknown plotters.
Plus, if it proves to be a friend then no harm can come from an impressive revealing. Might keep the rumours of mystery about us that much stronger.
Happy Writing.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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And the plot thickens...
I can see why this chapter was so long. You revealed a lot of information. Found no glaring errors, and it was nice read.
Persivian I am sure could handle anything if it came at him. But we know that Guia's instincts are pretty accurate when it comes to determining friend versus foe. Trust her now, and do not reveal yourself to the visitor should he or she enter. Like Smee has said, so much has been revealed, and the clock of time is moving fast.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:41 am Post subject: |
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| i would read the new chap but my eyes are still way 2 blurred form the chlorine so ill do it tommorow
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:22 am Post subject: |
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| saxon215 wrote: | | i would read the new chap but my eyes are still way 2 blurred form the chlorine so ill do it tommorow |
Either you went swimming in an indoor pool, or you decided to immerse yourself in a bucket of chlorine, which would be very dangerous.
Despite the chlorine, your spelling is not that bad.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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I do not think the visitor would say much to Jud'ami that he wouldn't say to Persivian, and I don't think we have much to fear from the stranger. On the other hand, the wizard is fairly weak right now. If something did go wrong, it wouldn't be a good time for it. It's clear that Jud'ami doesn't know this man either.
Talk to the man later. Have Jud'ami take his name "Just in case Persivian does show up", and find him tomorrow. If it was urgent, the man would say so and be insistent. But if the man becomes insistent, let him in and speak to him directly. At best, hiding would show weakness, even if it was meant to represent cunning.
Nice set up! This could get very interesting (And I love the water clock, by the way)
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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Nice. I go for hide in the shadows, with a spell ready in case things go wrong.
Good chapter! You have a nice 'mellow' flow!
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saxon215
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | Either you went swimming in an indoor pool, or you decided to immerse yourself in a bucket of chlorine, which would be very dangerous.
Despite the chlorine, your spelling is not that bad. |
close rave, outdoor pool but for like the entire day, well seven hours straight anyway
i am reading the chap now so ill reply once i'm done
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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Seven hours straight?! You're crazy, Sax. But you already knew that. I would have turned into a prune if I stayed in the water for so long.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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*strungles to finally finnish the massive chapter* phew that wqas a long read and very broken up becxause i had to leave and come back so many times, but it was a good one and i enjoyed it
| Ravenwing wrote: | | Seven hours straight?! You're crazy, Sax. But you already knew that. I would have turned into a prune if I stayed in the water for so long. |
hahahha im a costal ozzy we're around water alot plus i was with my mates an enjoying myself despite feeling very sick so yeah we stayed in for a while, then we chased each other around with water baloons and wreslted each other for them
then rach tried to dack costie when we captured her an so i was trying to get her off an tugging her around and let me tell ya that girl has got a bloody good grip i swear her hands are like crap claws, when they lock omn to something they stay locked
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:14 am Post subject: |
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Your life seems to be always filled with drama. LOL. :rofl:If mine only had something as entertaining...
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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What the hey, the poll is now up. If someone else has a different option they'd like to submit, I can put it up too. The poll will run till there is a definate majority of votes and I have time to do the next chapter. Happy voting
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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saxon215
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | | Your life seems to be always filled with drama. LOL. :rofl:If mine only had something as entertaining... |
you say that now rave but a simple straight forward relaxing life would do me no harm, rather then having to race off every five minutes to fight aslines or dinosaurs or dinosaur aliens, while being a funtioning Beast in the A.C.P.A. being a regular teenager, writting, friends AND school
i spose one mans torture is anothers paradise right?
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saxon215
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| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| atleast i can spell a word that only has wto letters in it corewctly
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:10 am Post subject: |
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| saxon215 wrote: | | Ravenwing wrote: | | Your life seems to be always filled with drama. LOL. :rofl:If mine only had something as entertaining... |
you say that now rave but a simple straight forward relaxing life would do me no harm, rather then having to race off every five minutes to fight aslines or dinosaurs or dinosaur aliens, while being a funtioning Beast in the A.C.P.A. being a regular teenager, writting, friends AND school
i spose one mans torture is anothers paradise right? |
Guess you're right on that point. But I would like to see what it would like to go hunting for dinosaurs or dinosaur aliens or whatever crazy space being that may fall onto the Earth. I It adds spice to life.
My vote is cast to stay in the shadows. I gave my reasoning, and I keep with it.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:43 am Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | Guess you're right on that point. But I would like to see what it would like to go hunting for dinosaurs or dinosaur aliens or whatever crazy space being that may fall onto the Earth. I It adds spice to life.
My vote is cast to stay in the shadows. I gave my reasoning, and I keep with it. |
mmmmmm spice, well if your ever down under rave then come visit me and we'll have a few beers an then go dinosaur or alien or alien dinosaur hunting
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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We will see. I would like to visit Australia, and actually most of the world. I just need time, and money. LOL. Most students have very little of both.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| hahaha Rave in ozz now that WOULD be a funny sight, but then again rave anywhere is pretty hillarious
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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K, the poll is closed now, and the chapter should be up hopefully in a couple of days. Staying hidden in the shadows won, but I'm still open to suggestions and comments while I write.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:44 am Post subject: |
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| cool i cant wait
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:53 am Post subject: |
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Of course you can't wait because you're sitting on the edge of your seat.
| Quote: | | hahaha Rave in ozz now that WOULD be a funny sight, but then again rave anywhere is pretty hillarious |
[color=darkviolet]Seeing me around the world would be a funny sight. Probably would break every custom unintentionally of course.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | Of course you can't wait because you're sitting on the edge of your seat.
| Quote: | | hahaha Rave in ozz now that WOULD be a funny sight, but then again rave anywhere is pretty hillarious |
[color=darkviolet]Seeing me around the world would be a funny sight. Probably would break every custom unintentionally of course. |
but doesent every tourist do that?
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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It only took a moment’s consideration for Persivian to decide what to do. The stranger’s appearance, like so much of what had been happening recently, hardly seemed coincidental. Guia’s reaction to the man’s appearance had not been quite favorable, so the wizard had to assume he wasn’t exactly an ally. The stranger knew he was in the city (after all, Persivian hadn’t made his arrival a secret) and since Jud’ami and Persivian were life-long friends it would not seem illogical for Jud’ami to have the stranger come in for a bit and “wait” for Persivian to come. And if Jud’ami could get any relevant information out of him while they waited…
“Guia,” he whispered, “have Jud’ami tell the stranger that although he knows I’m in the city, he doesn’t know exactly where I am. Have him invite him inside for a while, to see if I show up. See if he can get the man to say a little about why he’s visiting, and we’ll hide and watch.”
The cat nodded and conferred the message to the sea-wizard upstairs. Meanwhile Persivian, his senses reaching out so as not to trip over anything, crossed over to a shadowed corner where the light of the fire couldn’t reach, grabbing his wine glass and Guia’s empty saucer as he went. Drawing upon his powers once again, he gathered the shadows a little closer about himself and Guia, till he knew they’d be invisible from where the stranger would sit. Then he seated himself and waited.
Apparently the stranger had accepted Jud’ami’s invitation, for they could be heard clumping down the stairs. Jud’ami, ever the gracious host, offered him wine, which the stranger accepted coolly. He obviously didn’t want to make friends. As his friend left to get a glass, Persivian “examined” the stranger in his own sightless fashion – a combination of smell, sounds, and the use his magical senses.
He seemed to be a slight man, a little more than average height. The scent of dust and horses lingered about him as though he’d been traveling, and when he leaned back in his chair he was stiff, tensed and on guard. He did not fidget, sitting silently in his chair, sipping the wine but only out of courtesy. Guia leaned against Persivian, and he knew that there was something about this man she did not fully trust.
After a few moment’s silence, Jud’ami asked casually, “How long have you known Persivian?”
“I do not know him, precisely,” replied the stranger. “Only by reputation.”
“I see. Well, perhaps I can offer my aid to you, in case he does not come tonight. What did you need?”
The stranger said coldly, “He and I must speak.”
“I gathered that,” said Jud’ami with a smile. “And I realize that perhaps you may not enjoy speaking much. But this is my home you are waiting in, and I would appreciate a little more elaborate of a reply.” Haha! thought Persivian. Score one for Jud’ami.
The stranger considered this for a moment, and then answered grudgingly, “It has come to my attention that he was involved in a battle earlier today, over-” then he stopped and bit his lip.
“Yes?” prompted Jud’ami.
“Over a woman,” said the stranger.
“I see,” pondered the wizard. “Was this woman a sister, mother…” giving the visitor a sly glance, he continued, “lost lover?”
This seemed to anger the stranger. “Lost, yes,” he replied tightly. “Lover, no. A – a friend of mine, I suppose you’d say.”
“Hmm. I suppose you are looking for my friend so that he can help you find her?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I need to know what happened and where she is. I worry about her, after she left, and then I heard about this fight. So you see, I must discuss the matter with Persivian.” Then he fell silent again, and let body language communicate how unwelcome the questioning was.
Jud’ami nodded and sipped his wine, staring into the fire. “Well,” he said slowly, “If you tell me your name I can pass a message on to Persivian, should he arrive.” The dismissal was clear, to both the stranger and Persivian, hidden in the shadows. Both men stood up, and the stranger handed his glass over to Jud’ami. It had hardly been emptied.
“Thank you for the refreshment,” he said curtly. “I feel much better for the rest, but I must be going.”
“Of course,” agreed Jud’ami. As the stranger started for the stairs, he asked again, “Your name, then?” sounding for all the world like a man trying to help out. The stranger could hardly refuse the request.
“Verrad,” he replied, then climbed the stairs. Persivian listened to the sound of his footsteps climbing up, the opening of the door and the dull boom as it fell shut again. Only then did he emerge from the corner.
“I am sorry, friend,” said Jud’ami, extending a hand and guiding Persivian back to his chair. “But it was clear to me that this Verrad would say no more.”
“It is all right,” Persivian answered. “He was very tight-lipped.”
Shaking her head, Guia remarked, “I doubt you could have done better given another hour. A very unhelpful person all in all. He didn’t even give you his surname.”
“Yes, it’ll make it difficult to track him,” mused Persivian.
“Assuming that’s what you want to do,” Jud’ami remarked. Looking at his friend with raised eyebrows, he continued, “I don’t think he was here to aid you.”
“No,” Persivian agreed, “but he does know something about Minaar, and perhaps would be worth talking to at a later time.” Turning to the cat, he asked, “Guia, what do you think about all this?”
She, however, remained silent, as if troubled somehow.
Finally Jud’ami sighed. “Whatever you decide, I think it should wait till morning. It is very late, after all.”
Persivian sighed. “Perhaps you’re right. Today has been taxing.” As he stood up, he heard a dull thump behind him. Turning around, he felt the seat of the chair until his fingers brushed the smooth surface of a gemstone. He picked it up. “Odd,” he frowned. “The pouch this was in was tied shut, I thought.”
“What is it?”
“One of the gems we found in Minaar’s wagon,” Persivian replied. He handed it over to Jud’ami, who studied it carefully. “An emerald?” the sailor asked.
“Yes,” answered Guia. “As well as tiger’s eye and kyanite. Perhaps you should examine them now,” she suggested.
Nodding his agreement, Persivian pulled out the other two gems. “They are strange,” said Jud’ami as he examined them. “They do not appear to be ensorcelled, but they contain magical energies.” Looking up at Persivian, he asked, “You say the girl had these?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Handing the gems back to his friend, Jud’ami said, “They feel familiar somehow, the type of magic in them. I wonder…”
Persivian held the three gems in his cupped hands. Pulling up his magical senses, he delved into them, trying to divine their magical aura, to discover their properties. Finally he said, “You are right to say they are familiar. They feel just like the Golden Star; their magic is of the earth. They seem to have innate properties, rather than ones spelled into them.”
“Can you tell what those properties are?”
The wizard continued to stare straight ahead, his cloudy gaze lost in concentration. Suddenly he swayed. “Help me,” he said. “I am too tired…” Immediately Guia jumped up, onto the arm of the chair, and then to Persivian’s shoulder. She leaned against his head and purred, the rich sound pouring into the man’s ears. Jud’ami clapped a hand onto Persivian’s other shoulder, willing him his strength as well. Together they stood for almost a minute. Finally Persivian smiled. “Thank you,” he said. “What with the impromptu battle, and the sight spell, this task was almost beyond me.”
“What did you find?” Jud’ami asked.
First Persivian held up the emerald, a two-inch long hexagonal crystal, its green color rich in the firelight. It almost seemed to glow with its own inner light, as was the way of such un-shaped stones. “I remember now,” said the wizard, “a lesson we once had about the natural properties of many things found in nature. Someone used earth magic to enhance this emerald’s innate property of healing. It is now a sort of health stone, able to heal one’s wounds.”
Tiger’s eye was next. “It is the same for this stone,” he said. Persivian rubbed his thumb over the smooth hemisphere of the gem, imagining its multi-colored amber sheen. “This stone can be used now to influence the opinions of others. Too bad I didn’t know that when Verrad was here,” he said wryly.
Finally he held up the kyanite. Unlike the others, this one had very few smooth sides. It was a long-bladed crystal, nearly five inches long, and its points were sharp. The color was rather beautiful, a deep sapphire blue, with many planes that glittered and reflected the light of the fire. “This is a scrying gem,” he murmured. “A fairly powerful one, if you knew how to use it, I should think.”
Guia rubbed her head against the wizard’s cheek. “Well done,” she said.
“So someone skilled in earth magic…enhanced these gems?” Jud’ami asked.
Persivian nodded. “For healing, influence, and scrying. I wonder who had the ability to do such a task,” he wondered aloud.
Jud’ami didn’t seem to be paying attention. Instead he exclaimed, “Of course! I’d often wondered how the star was made, and what spell was laid in it. But there was no spell; its natural properties were simply brought out. That’s why the Star makes people feel such hope and strength after they carve into it.”
“It must have been done on a grand scale, to produce such results. I think its power has been augmented by more than just the gold, but it does fit. Perhaps that is the connection between Minaar and the Golden Star.”
Before they could get too excited, Guia cut in, “Well, it sounds like you boys are on a roll. But before you get too carried away, may I remind you that it is no longer nighttime according to your charming clock, and if you want to be able to do any investigating tomorrow, sleep may be in order?”
Persivian shook his head. “I can always trust you to pull me back to earth, Guia.”
“But before we rest,” Jud’ami interjected, “I think we ought to decide exactly what we will be investigating. What’s the plan for the morning?”
An excellent question. They had several options. The original plan had been to find Lehrar, and ask him more about the Golden Star and the events that had transpired since its arrival. But now they had two other leads as well: the address on Minaar’s envelope, and the strange visitor of the night, Verrad. The only question was, who to track down first?
_________________
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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I had to doom myself to less than six hours of sleep tonight to get this chapter done, but it was well worth it. Getting caught up in a story makes you remember why writing is such a wonderful thing.
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Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter DF, as usual!
I say stick with the plan, seek out Lehrar.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:26 am Post subject: |
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I'm really enjoying this one
I'm also F5ing Chinaren again. Let's find out more about the Golden Star
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| I agree lets stick with the plan
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:53 am Post subject: |
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Excellent Chapter Dragon.
The detail of his blind observations are fantastic, and the interactions between the characters are very natural. I throughly enjoyed reading that.
I think answers from Lehrar can wait - he isn't going anywhere, whereas Verrad could be lost very soon. Sure we could go and learn about the Golden Star, but what if we learn something important that marks Verrad as a vital connection and we'd lost him. At the very least we should aim to get a better means of finding him , maybe a surname or destination so that if we do need him we can find him quickly.
Maybe we could split up - Jud'ami could try and track Verrad whilst we go and learn about the Golden Star, or maybe we could attempt to use the scrying stone to find out Verrad's location.
Lots of possibilities, great chapter.
Happy Writing.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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Nice new chapter, fellow dragon.
It is not likely you're going to find Verrad any time soon. Persivian wanted to stay hidden from Verrad's presence, if he starts making inquriries, there may be a likely demand of why Persivian did not reveal his presence and all. Finding more about the Star I think can wait.
Investigate the address I say. You may find something more about the woman carrying these powerful stones.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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It's too bad this storygame couldn't be nominated for SGOTM. It would have definitely received my vote. Smee is right, the descriptions are great. The blindness helps flesh out the environment more, but we're still allowed to see the scenes for ourselves. And the story has a lot of mystery to it, and man do I love mystery. I've also noticed that you're very good at finding a place in the story for all of our replies. We've noticed and we appreciate it!
I think finding Verrad will lead to finding a lot more answers instead of mere speculations about the star. Anyway, as a person concerned for Minaar (which I think is sincere on account of his insistence that they are friends, not lovers... he's sensitive about it, which means he feels a very certain way about her. An enemy would just say "not really" or something dismissive), we should find him to tell him about the battle and offer some help.
However, if Verrad is found, we need to make it clear that there are no secrets. Tell him about the stones, but tell him that he can't have them. Only Minaar may ask for her rightful property (if they truly are her rightful property).
I like the idea of splitting up for information, if Jud'ami is for it, but I think Persivian should find Verrad. We've already heard what he's had to say to Jud'ami. I don't think we should invoke the power of the stones yet. I would like to know more about them before doing anything hasty. If there is a connection to the Star then we may be tapping into more than we bargained for.
And by the way, it took me a moment to figure out this sentence:
"“I see,” pondered the wizard. “Was this woman a sister, mother…” giving the visitor a sly glance, he continued, “lost lover?”"
Both Persivian and Jud'ami are wizards, so I wasn't sure who was being quoted. Then I wasn't sure if it was being spoken or just thought. It's a small slip, but I figured it was worth telling you.
Keep it up! I want to see "Uncertain Quests" nominated next month!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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I really wanted to nominte this story for the SGOTM for January, but dragon_fire had already been nominated by I think chinaren for another story. I made mention of that in that topic.
But I am with Lebrenth here. This story deserves to go through the competition.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| sorry i took so long for me to get around to reading this, good chap though we learned a little about the secrets of the gems, when this story is in sgotm you've got my vote
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I really wanted to nominte this story for the SGOTM for January, but dragon_fire had already been nominated by I think chinaren for another story. I made mention of that in that topic. |
Well, there's nothing to stop you nominating another story by the same author!
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saxon215
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| actually im pretty sure we used to have a law against that, check with a member of the IFolice for the City of InterFable book of Laws and Ordinances
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:33 am Post subject: |
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That's rather funny. Sorry Dragon Fire, when I read the rule "Only one nomination per person" I assumed that meant you couldn't have two nominated stories! ... Are we sure? Maybe we should ask Ingrothechundyer. And there's still ten days left before the 31, if he was willing to do a recount. There was certainly interest expressed in the nomination forum, and I never nominated anyone if he needs that extra technicality taken care of.
But don't get me wrong! I want to win SGOTM too!
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Smee
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:54 am Post subject: |
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There isn't a rule about multiple stories from one author - Chinaren had three in one poll just a couple of months ago.
Such things may change in the future, but for now, there's no issue.
However, quite a few people have voted already - I don't know if you'll be able to get the poll changed at this time.
Dragon Fire seems to be doing ok for readers in this story anyway, and his other story is nominated. There is always next month.
Happy Writing.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, thanks for all the responses everyone! I figure there's enough responses now for a poll, so vote away. Oh, and Lebrenth, thanks for pointing that out. I usually try to make it clear who's who, but I slipped up that time. It was Jud'ami talking there.
And if I could beg a favor...if anyone is reading along with A Nightmare Realized, could you maybe go there and post a suggestion or two? I'm kind of low on responses and need a little guidance myself, so that would be cool.
Anyway, this poll will be up for a few days, then I'll get to work on a new chapter. If anyone has a poll option I missed, let me know and I'll try to add it in.
By the way, I thought I'd let you all know that I am a girl. Not that that matters of course, just didn't want to continue on under false pretenses.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry everyone, it won't show the 4th poll option, to split up and follow different leads. I'm PMing Smee as we speak...
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
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Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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| dragon_fire372 wrote: | | By the way, I thought I'd let you all know that I am a girl. Not that that matters of course, just didn't want to continue on under false pretenses. |
Yay, I was right! I've been dying to know that for a while now. I was even checking the "what gender are you" forum in hopes that you would happen to join and mention it.
As soon as it's ready I'll cast my vote here. And as far as "Nightmare Realized" goes, you shouldn't sweat it. Proceed with the story with what you've got. If you're set on saving the family, stop worrying about it. If it doesn't work out, even if they just die it can be used for the story. Maybe something to get Nate worked up and motivated. He needs something to get him into gear or he'll just be an anchor through the whole event and he'll hate himself forever.... Ok, maybe too far. But anyway, don't let yourself get bogged down. Keep the momentum! The key is persistance!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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Persistence and dedication, and of course, time. *grins* Dragon_fire you should try Nano Wrimo. It's a writers' competition that requires people to write 50,000 words of a novel in a whole month. And during that the month, the forums are always filled with suggestions and support. I am sure you would enjoy doing it. It really taught me time management skills let me tell you. Definitely gave me a break from my college essays.
Hope Smee fixes the poll soon. I don't want to vote until all the choices are up.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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I'll have to ask you about that Nanowrimo sometime. Is it only in October? I really like the idea. And congratulations by the way.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Lebrenth wrote: | | I'll have to ask you about that Nanowrimo sometime. Is it only in October? I really like the idea. And congratulations by the way. |
Do you mean November? No, they don't. There are other competitions, there is a list on the site. Just go to the home page, and it will probably tell you more.
If you do Nano Wrimo, you have to tell me. We can be writing buddies.
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:50 am Post subject: |
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The fourth option is now on - those who have already voted please let Dragon Fire know if you wish to alter your vote.
Happy Writing.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Do you mean November? |
... Yes. That must have been what I meant.
Ok, I got confused. I actually checked the site out a week ago, and thought that it was only one month a year. But I'm very interested. I'll have to check into it further and get back to you. I'd love to be writing buddies!
And I would definitely like to change my vote to the fourth option instead of the third, but under the circumstances I mentioned above.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for fixing the poll Smee! For the record, when the poll is ended, the third option will have one less vote than it appears, and the fourth will have one more. Alright, you're covered now Lebrenth.
I'll have to check out the thing for the Nano Wrimo, it sounds very interesting. I dunno if I could pull it off, but it would be fun! <Runs off to check the home page>
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AreonK
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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I voted track down Verrad, more fun and probably going to be more productive. I haven't posted in your story but I have been reading it the whole way through, so far I like! Andways, Search for Verrad.
I always thought you were a boy... :biggrin:
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 5:51 am Post subject: |
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I thought I voted...  I still go for my suggestion to explore the address. A curious address I might add.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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One more day and the poll is closed!
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:36 pm Post subject: |
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As he thought about it, Persivian realized that while Lehrar and the address weren’t likely to go anywhere, there was no knowing what might happen to Verrad. “I need to find our late-night visitor,” he said. “However, I wonder if you could find out more about the mystery address?” This last he directed towards Jud’ami, who hummed thoughtfully.
At last he replied, “It makes sense. I doubt Verrad will want to talk about anything while I am with you. Do you want me to talk to the sender of the envelope, or simply scout him out?”
Persivian shrugged. “Find out who he is, what he does, how he lives. Use your judgment; if you think it would be worth a conversation, go ahead. If not, I’ll meet you back here and we’ll go to him together.”
His friend nodded, then said, “Let’s make it even simpler then.” He stood and crossed over to a cabinet. Jud’ami rummaged around inside if for a moment, before crossing back across the room and pressing something into Persivian’s hand. It was a small raindrop shaped amulet. The thin chain snaked between his fingers as he transferred it to his other hand, rubbing his thumb over its smooth surface. “It’s a tracker stone,” the sailor explained. “Cost me a pretty coin to have the pair enchanted, but it was worth it. Once you call upon the spell, you can feel the location of the other stone, wherever it goes. After I investigate the address I’ll simply come to you, or you to me.”
“This will be excellent,” said Persivian, examining the spell that had been set within the stone. It was a good, long lasting spell, and would remain in the amulets for a long time. Perfectly suited for their needs.
Jud’ami nodded. “I think we’re all set for the morrow then. After we meet again we can speak to Lehrar together. I’ve been meaning to visit him, actually,” he said wistfully, “but I never go around to it. He’s always so busy whenever I return to town.”
“Well, he’ll just have to make time for us,” Persivian grinned. “After all, how could he resist a visit from his favorite pupils?”
“Indeed,” his friend agreed. His smile faded as he said slowly, “Of course, we will have to find a way for you to track down Verrad in the morning, and I don’t fancy you walking around the city alone – ” The cat hissed. “With Guia,” he amended, “with naught but a name to help you find him. Should we use the kyanite?” the sea-wizard asked.
Frowning, Persivian said, “I had not wanted to use any of the gems until I had examined them more, when I was more rested. But if we have to – ”
“There’s no need,” Guia interjected. She stood up and stretched, her tail a black exclamation point in the air as her claws snagged in Persivian’s robes. Then she leapt down to the ground and sauntered casually to the stairs. Shaking her head, she muttered, “I don’t know what you’d do without me.”
“Where are you going?” her wizard asked.
Sighing, she replied, “I’ll follow this Verrad and find out more about him. For instance, where he’s staying the night. I’ll be back before morning,” she called over her shoulder, disappearing out of sight.
Jud’ami glanced at his friend and asked, “Doesn’t she need the door opened?” Persivian shrugged. Echoing the cat’s sigh, the sailor heaved himself out of his chair and looked up the stairwell. “She’s gone!” he exclaimed. Looking over to the blind wizard, he asked, “How did she get out the door?”
“Don’t look at me,” Persivian objected. “I haven’t any idea how she does half the things she does.”
With tomorrow’s plan settled, they made themselves ready for bed. Jud’ami led his friend to a guest room. The sea-wizard didn’t have any beds in his apartment, preferring a hammock, but there was a comfortably deep pile of cushions, quilts, and luxurious furs the Persivian nestled into with delight. At first he couldn’t quite relax; he did not like being without his closest companion. After a while, though, the weariness of the day caught up to him, and he fell deeply asleep.
He awoke early the next morning to the smell of sizzling sausages and Jud’ami humming in the kitchen. His stomach felt warm, and when he reached down it was to feel the silky fur of Guia, nestled against him. As he rolled over and stretched, she awoke as well. She shook her head, her ears flapping, and then yawned widely, her pink tongue curling up. Purring, she laid her head back down and closed her eyes.
Persivian smiled at her, glad she was back, but knew better than to disturb her in the morning. Instead he stood and got dressed, then walked to the kitchen. Jud’ami was bending over a pan of sizzling hash browns, rolling sausages around, his back to his friend. When he heard Persivian enter, he remarked sardonically, “Impeccable timing. Just in time to eat, but too late to help cook.” But a booming laugh belied his words, as he plunked a plate in front of his friend.
Soon the two had breakfasted and were ready to begin the day. After collecting Guia, who draped herself over Persivian’s shoulder after devouring some sausage, they climbed the stairs to the street. It was still fairly early, but already a warm breeze blew in from the harbor to the north. Jud’ami led them to the inn to collect the horses, which would make traveling somewhat faster in the vast city. The sailor grumbled a little over the lack of saddles, but Persivian didn’t mind. After that they parted ways, Jud’ami tracking down the address, Persivian to find Verrad.
“Guia, what did you discover last night?” he asked the cat, who had moved to a seat at the base of the horse’s neck and was grooming herself meticulously.
“I followed him to an inn where he stayed the night,” she mumbled through a mouthful of fur. “I figured that was enough to be getting on with, so I came home.”
Sitting motionless on the horse, he waited. “And?” he asked finally.
“It’s on the high street, near the gates,” she replied finally, after a suitable pause. “I trust you can find your way there without my help?”
The wizard rolled his eyes and didn’t answer. After giving the horse a gentle nudge, they were moving. As they went Persivian kept his senses alert for anyone who might get in his way. He needn’t have worried, however; once people recognized him they cleared the way immediately. They pointed and whispered as he passed, thinking he couldn’t see, but he sensed their stares all the same. He had to admit it to himself – despite how he loved the people, they were part of the reason he had left. Although it made navigating the streets easier, their awed scrutiny was disconcerting.
As the heat of the sun increased and the day wore on, it became apparent that Persivian’s predictions about the city in the day were quite on the mark. The sweaty scent of the crowd was everywhere, the clatter of hooves and footsteps echoing on the cobbles, and loud conversations as people hurried on their ways ever-present. Behind it all, the wizard could hear the cry of gulls and pungent smell of brine that always brought his thoughts to Maylin whereever he went. If he hadn’t been the renowned Persivian the Sightless, powerful wizard and defender of the meek, it would have taken a very long time indeed to push his way through the crowds. As it was, he was able to keep up a moderately swift pace, occasionally pausing to get his bearings, but always heading unerringly to the High Street. Unfortunately the city was still very large, and it took him the better part of an hour to traverse his way to the southern end, where the gates could be found.
Eventually though he did find it, and the bustle was even more pronounced, and no amount of reputation would make traveling on it easy. Here there was the greatest concentration of vendors and tradesman, and travelers and residents alike flocked to the street like bees to honey. Or flies to blood, the wizard thought for no particular reason. The image made him shudder.
Pulling himself out of his reverie, Persivian laid a hand on Guia’s back. “We’re here,” he remarked.
“I can see that. Took you long enough too,” she replied. “The name of the inn is the Hawk’s Flight, it’s up the street to the right. I’ll tell you when you get to it.”
The wizard nodded his agreement and turned up the street. Slowly they wound their way through the throng of people, the horse naturally shying away from contact with others. Guia perched on the front of the horse, balancing perfectly as she watched the street, lending her guidance to the wizard as they rode through the crowd. Finally the cat called him to halt at the entrance to a tall building to their left, set a little back from the street. Persivian could hear the sign creaking as it swung over the door, and the smell of manure let him know that there was a stable next to the inn. He handed the boy at the door a small coin to hold his mount while he went inside. The Hawk’s Flight was a good inn, simple but good quality. Together with Guia at his side he stepped into a foyer, with the desk to the left, a flight of stairs hugging the right wall, and straight ahead a corridor leading to the common room, kitchen and dining hall. He could smell the syrup and coffee from breakfast.
The innkeeper sat behind the desk, his feet propped up on a stool as he looked over a leather-bound ledger. When he heard the little bell over the door ring, he said, “Be with you in a minute, please.” Then he glanced up to see who it was. Seeing the tall wizard with his milky eyes, he gave a startled gasp that he quickly stifled. “Master Persivian!” he exclaimed, sitting up in a hurry. “You’ve returned to the city! It’s an honor to have you in my inn.” Setting the ledger on the counter with a thump, he hurriedly stood and smoothed his hands down his apron. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Not much today, I’m afraid,” the wizard remarked. “I only require the name and whereabouts of a guest who stayed here last night.”
“What does he look like?” the innkeeper asked. Then he stuttered hurriedly, “That is, I mean to say, um…”
With a warm laugh Persivian help up a hand, forestalling an apology. “It’s fine, I assure you. His first name is Verrad.”
“Verrad, you say?” the innkeeper asked. “Let me see if I can find him.” Guia pressed against his ankle, and he tapped his foot twice. Although the man had strived to keep his voice level, Persivian could detect the subtle change in tone, and he noticed the way the man shifted his bulk nervously when Verrad’s name had been mentioned. “Ah, yes,” the man finally said. “He did have a room here last night, and is booked for the rest of the week. I remember now though, he…uh…went out, early this morning. He should return later, though.”
“I see,” said Persivian inscrutably. “Well, thank you for your time.” With a nod, he turned to leave, pausing only to let Guia leap to his shoulder. When he stepped outside, he heard the innkeeper crossing the floor to stump quickly up the stairs. Persivian knew he was going to alert Verrad that he had been there. So he retrieved his horse, rode about twenty yards down the street before reining over into an alley, and waited.
Soon enough he heard hurried footsteps, and then a shadow fell across his face as a man walked by, momentarily blocking out the sunlight falling into the alley. “That’s him,” Guia remarked unnecessarily, for Persivian had recognized both his form and his scent. Not moving from his position leaning against the wall, the wizard called out, “Hold, Verrad.”
The man started, then looked into the alley, to see the wizard leaning against the wall, his sightless eyes fixed on him. With a glance up both ends of the street, he entered the alley as well. “Persivian,” he said, holding out his hand. The wizard pretended he couldn’t see it (which of course he couldn’t) and after a moment Verrad coughed slightly in embarrassment and put it down.
“I was told you were looking for me,” stated the wizard.
“Indeed I was,” he replied. “I did not expect you would find me first. How did you find me?” Persivian deigned not to answer, and when the stranger realized this, he said somewhat coldly, “I was hoping you could help me with a certain…delicate matter.”
The wizard nodded. “Perhaps I could. Tell me your name and what it is you ask, and I’ll see if I can help.”
“You know my name.”
Even before he was finished saying it, Persivian cut him off. “Your surname,” he said pointedly.
“Ah.” After a barely discernable pause, the man replied, “Menteira. I am Verrad Menteira.” Guia dug in her claws, briefly. Why would Verrad lie about his name? Persivian wondered, but nothing showed on his face, his expression unfathomable. Not privy to the silent exchange, Verrad continued, “As to my business, it pertains to a girl.”
“There are many girls.”
“I’m looking for one – Minaar. I know you saw her yesterday coming into Maylin.”
“Really?” smirked Persivian. “I hadn’t been aware of that.”
Verrad’s face flushed angrily when he heard the mocking tone in the wizard’s voice. “What I mean is,” he said tightly, “I know you met her on the road before the fight, and I need to know what happened to her.”
“Well, before I answer your question, I’d like to know how you know all that.”
The man shrugged. “My ways are my own.”
Persivian frowned. “I see. Well, unless you decide to share them, my information will remain my own as well.” When Verrad clenched his fists and did not reply, the wizard remarked mildly, “Forgive me for my suspicion, but I have reasons for caution. If you desire my help, you’ll have to accommodate me.”
After a moment Verrad inclined his head. “I was at the city gates at the same time you entered them. I overheard you talking to the guards about the bodies down the road, and I recognized Minaar’s wagon. I had intended to find you then, but was…delayed at the gates. Does that answer your question?”
“It does,” remarked Persivian. He declined to ask why Verrad had been delayed, and instead replied, “Now I will answer yours.” He detailed a swift and brief description of his first meeting with Minaar and the attack by the soldiers. One thing he did not describe, however, was the manner of the captain’s death, or even that Persivian had spoken to him before he died. It did not seem prudent, seeing how little he knew of this man, especially since he knew Guia was wary of him.
After he finished telling of the attack, Verrad asked, “And Minaar? What happened to her?”
“I don’t know. She ran off after the fight began, dispatching two men as she fled.” Verrad nodded but did not answer. Finally the wizard asked, “You said that Minaar was your friend, so you must know something about her. How did she manage to take on two armed and trained warriors with such ease, in darkness?”
Rather than answering, Verrad asked, “Was she hurt? Did they injure her before she fled?” Was he only imagining it, or did Persivian detect more than concern for the girl’s health in Verrad’s voice?
“Again, I don’t know if she was injured, I didn’t meet her again after she fled. I presume she was unharmed, for I could find no traces of blood.”
Verrad nodded. “That is good. If she had been injured…” Persivian sensed the man’s shudder.
“You have failed to answer my question,” he reminded Verrad. “How did she kill two those two men?”
“It would seem she broke their necks, from your description.”
The wizard did not move. “I am in no mood to play games, Verrad.” His tone held a hint of danger in it, and it was painfully obvious how short Persivian’s patience for this man was becoming.
With a sigh, he reluctantly answered, “I don’t know exactly. She has been trained, I believe, to take care of herself. She’s gotten out of such situations before.”
“I have heard she got out of them with the aid of magic.”
Instantly Verrad’s temper flared. “What business is that of yours?” he demanded.
“I am a wizard. Magic is my business.”
“I see,” he said slowly. “…She may have used some enchanted objects, she does have a fair collection of them. Speaking of which, did you find any magical objects in her wagon? I know she had at least three gems with magical powers. If you did, I would like to take them, so I can keep them for her.”
“Yes, I did find some curious things in her wagon. I will not be giving them to you, however.” When Verrad shifted in anger, he said smoothly, “I intend to find her and speak to her myself. She is their owner, and I will only return them to her, no one else.”
As he spoke those words, Persivian detected a sudden tenseness in Verrad, as if something he’d said caused him to worry. After that the man bowed slightly. “Thank you for your information. It eases my heart to know she is unharmed, and I appreciate you helping me like this. Unfortunately, I have other business in this city, so I must leave you now.” Not waiting for a reply, he turned and strode from the alley.
The wizard, still leaning, bowed his head and sighed. “An illuminating talk,” he remarked to Guia.
“Yes,” she hissed. “I still don’t trust him, but I can’t really say why.” She snorted to herself, then said, “Maybe I can. He was thoroughly rude, very sensitive to ridicule, and entirely too shifty.”
“He didn’t like to be made fun of, did he?” Persivian remarked. For a few more moments he stayed still and pondered. Then he mounted up again and fingered the tracker stone that hung from his belt. “I think it’s time to find how our friend is doing.”
Activating the spell, he found that Jud’ami was riding towards him, from the northwest section of the city. Orienting himself to his friend’s position, Persivian entered the streets and rode towards him. After less than fifteen minutes he heard Jud’ami hailing him from up the street, so Persivian directed his horse out of traffic and waited. Soon the sailor had pulled up beside him. “Greetings,” he said in his deep voice. “Did you find Verrad?”
“I did,” Persivian confirmed. “And you?”
Jud’ami nodded. “There’s a place a few blocks from here where we can buy an early lunch. Why don’t we head over there and compare notes?” Persivian agreed and together they guided their mounts to a small café, where they hitched their horses and went inside. The smell of beef stew and freshly baked bread assaulted them, and it was somewhat cooler than outside. Jud’ami led them to a table and they sat down. In a few minutes a woman came to them with two steaming bowls of stew and set them down.
Looking at Guia, she said, “We normally don’t allow animals inside…”
Eyeing the soup hungrily, the cat replied, “Do you want to try to make me leave?”
The woman eyed Guia with considerable surprise, then shook her head. “Shall I bring…another bowl, then?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes,” she answered. “That would be excellent.”
After the waitress had brought the last bowl, which Guia dug into with relish, Jud’ami and Persivian discussed what each had found. The sea-wizard had tracked down the address, belonging to a man named Borgen Oculdo according to the envelope. This took him longer than expected because the street name was a very old one, not commonly used anymore. When Persivian asked why he thought this was so, Jud’ami replied that he thought it was for the man to keep himself hard to find. In any case, he had eventually found the home, but had found it dark, with locked doors and shuttered windows. To all appearances it was empty. After questioning some neighbors, Jud’ami found that Borgen kept to himself, seldom coming out in the day, and rarely letting people in at any time. Indeed, they didn’t even know if he was still living there, because he had become even more reclusive and no one had seen any activity there for some time. When Jud’ami asked for how long, they said a little less than a year.
“So you think it’s empty, a dead lead?” Persivian asked.
Jud’ami shook his head. “I didn’t say that,” he replied.
In any case, the sailor had eventually decided that there was nothing more he could do there. After all, he could hardly force himself inside, and no one was answering the door. So he had come back, to report to Persivian so that they may return later, together.
After Jud’ami had finished, Persivian gave him a chance to eat and detailed how he had found, and spoken to, Verrad. His friend listened intently, and soon they were both sitting back in their chairs, pondering this new information.
Some time later Jud’ami finally asked, “So, where do we go next? I could take you back to the addresser’s home.”
“I think…” Persivian began slowly.
Guia interrupted him. She looked up from where she had been crouching on the table over her bowl of stew, and the fur on her back and tail bushed out. “We need to speak to Lehrar, I think,” she said uneasily.
Looking at his friend with concern, Persivian asked, “Why?” And a moment later, “Is it urgent?”
The cat shook her head. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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Ha! And you thought the fourth chapter was long...
Anyway, there it is, enjoy. There was something else I was planning to say, but I can't remember anymore, so oh well.
Oh, and thank you for your votes and comments! They are very much appreciated.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:13 am Post subject: |
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It may have been a long chapter, but it was an excellent one. Good work, DF!
I think we should listen to Guia. Her instincts are usually spot-on. Possibly, if there's time after we've spoken to Lehrar, we could go back to the house and try to find out more about Oculdo's address.
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:54 am Post subject: |
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Nice chapter DF. Maybe they should quiz the cat a little more, see if they can tease more info out of her, and if it is urgent.
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 2:38 am Post subject: |
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She doesn't seem to be willfully holding back information...just sensitive to things we don't spot.
Trust her and go see Lehrar - now the leads are tied down knowledge is what we need and that is the best place for it.
Fantastic chapter with wonderful interactions.
Keep it up.
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:05 am Post subject: |
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Very nice chapter
A very enjoyable read. I agree with the above. Lets go find Lehrar
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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Long certainly. Reminds me of Chapter 2 of Truthseeker. It came out to be quite a long chapter, one of the longer ones if you haven't read it yet.
Guia seems to be a trustworthy source. I agree with Smee, listen to the cat. She seems to know things better than most human beings. I just love familiars.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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| quite a big read, i had to scroll down a whole page at ;least 7 times to read iot all, your lucky i did too because normally any more then three and i cant be stuffed reading the restof it, good chapter though
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:53 am Post subject: |
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That's strange... it didn't occur to me that it was a long chapter as I was reading it. I think it went really well, Dragon Fire!
And of course we're taking Guia's advice. I always trust cat intuition.
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:55 am Post subject: |
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I didn't notice either - although even if I had I'd have been happy - I like long chapters.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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Since there seems to be universal agreement over what shall happen next, a new poster will hopefully be chapped in the next few days. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.
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Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:48 am Post subject: |
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| Smee wrote: | | I didn't notice either - although even if I had I'd have been happy - I like long chapters. |
Well you see, Smee. You yourself writes long chapters for your storygame, so of course you wouldn't mind. I, on the other, am an enigma that likes/dislikes long chapters. *grins*
And we all know, Sax, here has an attention span as short as a fish.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Ulgh. Ok, more than a few days, but it's been busy. Anyway, the wait is now over.
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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Jud’ami leaned forward over the table, fixing Guia with his dark eyes. “Is something wrong? Is Lehrar in danger?”
When the cat failed to answer, Persivian laid a hand on her back and said, “What is troubling you, my friend? Please tell us, we need to know all that you know.”
“That’s just it,” replied Guia, looking at him with wide eyes. “I don’t know. Usually I know at least some part of the reason, but all I feel now is a sense of urgency. I can’t tell if Lehrar is in danger, or if we are, or anything!”
Persivian immediately stood up. It was clear to him that Guia was sincere, and also extremely unsettled, by what she was feeling. He knew better than to ignore her instincts, vague as this one was. “Come,” he said to Jud’ami. “We must go to Lehrar.”
The sailor nodded without hesitation, and strode to the counter to pay for their meal. Persivian exited the café, Guia walking close to his heels, brushing against his ankles and weaving across his path in a typical cat-like fashion. Normally she did not do this, except in jest. It only made her agitation more obvious.
Within minutes both wizards were riding down the street, swiftly but not daring to run because of the crowds. Guia stood before him, peering over the horse’s head, directing Persivian as her tail lashed back and forth. They rode east along the streets, to where the wizard’s academy sat in a broad square just north of the city center. Persivian was brutally aware of the sun above them, beating down cruelly from a cloudless sky. This, compounded with worry over what had upset Guia so, was giving him a headache.
They were only a few blocks away from their destination when Guia suddenly crouched down and wailed loudly. Several people looked her way in surprise, including her companions. Looking at them with fear in her eyes, she cried, “RUN! Lehrar is in danger!”
This time they asked no questions. Jud’ami, his voice magically amplified, yelled, “Make way! The King’s wizards require passage. To the sides!” The crowd looked their way and, seeing the two powerful wizards astride their white steeds, immediately complied. Kicking their horses into a run, Persivian and Jud’ami bolted towards the academy.
The masses of people opened an aisle for them in the street, like a vast wave pulling back from the shore. Persivian did not hear their gibbering, did not feel their stares. He heard only three things – the pounding of his steed’s hooves, the throbbing of his own heart, and an echo of Guia’s yowl enduring in his mind. They arrived at the gates of the academy in mere moments it seemed, where two spell-sword guards stood, one on either side.
As one, the two wizards pulled their mounts to a halt. “Open the gate!” cried Persivian.
They looked once into his white eyes and did not hesitate. Within seconds the gates were swinging inward. The companions did not wait for them to open fully, instead thundering inside, straight to the residence hall where upper-level wizards and instructors lived. As they passed, Jud’ami called out to the guards, “Follow us to Lehrar’s quarters!” Then they were racing again. Those walking on the path before them had to leap out of the way, but did not hesitate to do so. All three friends were well known and no one wanted to cross them when they were in such obvious haste.
At last they reached the residence hall, a white marble edifice rising stately from the flowerbeds that surrounded it. Hardly waiting for his horse to halt, Persivian dismounted and ran up the steps, Guia before him, Jud’ami behind. Of course the old man has to live on the high floors, the wizard thought, but that only made him push himself harder. Together the three ran to a lift and stepped in. Warm air buffeted their clothes and gently they rose through the air. “Faster!” Persivian muttered through gritted teeth, thinking only of his friend. Finally they reached the correct floor and stepped onto the landing. They ran with renewed speed, praying with every breath that they were not too late, shoving people out of the way. Guia was ahead of him, she would have reached Lehrar’s apartments by now. Persivian turned the corner –
And skidded to a halt before Guia, who stood beside the door. Her fur was bushed out, but when she spoke it was with infinite sadness. “We’re too late,” she whispered.
“What happened?” he demanded, but she gave no reply. Persivian held out his hand to the door, intending to push it open. Before he could touch it, though, he felt a hand close over his wrist.
“Let me go first,” Jud’ami said.
After a moment’s thought, Persivian nodded. If an attack came, Jud’ami would be able to see it. Persivian stood aside, lending his friend magical protection as Jud’ami pushed the door open. All the while he extended his senses, trying to detect any threat. He could feel none.
Cautiously Jud’ami entered the room, Guia slipping in after him. There was about a minute of silence, then Persivian heard Jud’ami’s call. There was no more threat. The wizard stepped inside.
Immediately a coppery scent entered his nostrils. It was the smell of blood, freshly spilled. He could also hear the dull drone of flies. Persivian held his hand ahead, and Jud’ami grasped it. He allowed himself to be led to a small bedroom in the back of the apartments, and it was here the scent was coming from. Reaching out with his senses, Persivian felt the presence of a body on the floor. It was not breathing.
Slowly the wizard fell to his knees, shuffling forward till he could grasp the hand of his old mentor. It was still warm. Persivian bowed his head. On a dresser to his left sat Guia, staring at Lehrar’s remains and mewling mournfully. Jud’ami looked upon the kind, wizened face of his teacher, now contorted with pain, the blue eyes staring glassily ahead. There was blood everywhere. Stooping down, he closed the eyes, and traced a cross over the old man’s body.
At that moment the spell-swords emerged into the room, panting. They took one look into the room and blanched. One, a woman, screamed softly in shock, the other turned and exited swiftly. Persivian’s keen hearing picked up the sound of retching from the other room.
Finally he wiped his eyes and stood. His mind was dull with sadness, and he did not notice that his hand left a streak of blood across his face. Cloudy eyes stared hollowly out of a mask of red as he asked Jud’ami, “How was he killed?”
“He – ” when his voice came out hoarse, Jud’ami cleared his throat and tried again. “He had his tongue ripped out. Through his chest. It’s completely open, you can see his heart…what’s left of it…” Here he had to stop. The sea-wizard looked away and wiped his eyes.
Persivian closed his own eyes, hot tears running in salty tracks down his cheeks. He felt bile rise in his throat. A thought rose unbidden in his mind – this must have been how Dolan had been killed. Suddenly the wizard became aware of everything. He could feel the hot stickiness of the blood on his face, his hands. His boots crunched on fragments of bone, and the reek of blood and fear, vomit and pain was everywhere. Slowly his hands clenched. Anger was beating against his brain, clouding his mind. It was intoxicating. When his sightless eyes snapped open, they blazed. The spell-sword remaining in the room saw it, and backed away.
The sound of buzzing vibrated in Persivian’s ears. The flies were drinking, already fat from Lehrar’s blood. For one perfect moment, the wizard hated them. He focused on them; they burst into flame and trickled down through the air in little clouds of ash. The silence was restored. But not for Persivian. In his mind he could hear his old friend’s dying scream…
Jud’ami placed his hands on Persivian’s shoulders and looked up at him. “My friend,” he said, but no more than that. Persivian realized he was shaking.
“I will find him,” he said through clenched teeth. “I will bring the bastard who did this to justice.”
His friend nodded. “We will,” he vowed.
Finally Persivian nodded. He began to concentrate on his breathing, slowing it down, stilling his quaking muscles. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his anger, keeping it intact, but putting it away, for the time being. It was still there, beating dully in his heart, but no longer all consuming. It could be controlled now. At last the wizard opened his eyes. His attention was then drawn by Guia, who still sat on the dresser. “Here,” she said. When he cocked his ear toward her, she pressed her paw down lightly. There was the sound of crackling glass. “The mirror has been broken. Nothing else is out of order though, except over here.” There was a light thump as the cat jumped off the dresser and crossed over to the desk under the window. Persivian followed her, carefully stepping around Lehrar’s body. He heard Jud’ami drape a cloth over it.
“Lay your hand down on the desk,” Guia instructed. The wizard did, but felt nothing. There were no books, papers, or quills, only a fine powder.
“Ash,” he remarked. Rubbing his fingers together, he repeated, “There is only ash.”
Jud’ami stood beside him. “I expect that someone was watching our friend,” he said. “He must have been about to find something, so they m – murdered him, and destroyed his work.”
The other wizard had to agree. He wanted only one thing – to find out who it was that had ended the life of his mentor, and destroy him. But they had so little to go on…where could they go next?
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter!!
Next next. Ah. No. Got nothing, but I will ponder it oh yes.
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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*sniffs* 
Awesome chapter. 
It's 5:40am so I'll think about it as I wake up a bit more.
Happy Writing even if the product isn't so happy.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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Great chapter Dragon
So... we've left it too late to see our mentor. It's possible we could still find something in the empty house that Jud'ami visited earlier.
I think it's worth the time to really explore this place though. Difficult through blind eyes, but maybe they could split up again. Jud'ami could stay here and see if he can pick up any scraps of information. Paper fragments that remain unburned, maybe? Letters that were being written? More gemstones like the ones we found? Who knows, but we'd kick ourselves later if we didn't give the place our full attention.
Meanwhile, Persivian could return to the house and see if anyone is around now. Even if they're not, it might be possible to get inside and have a prowl. He's angry enough not to care about a bit of law-breaking.
I'll think on it further and come back if I have better ideas
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:09 am Post subject: |
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They should be able to use their magical abilities to assist them. Whether it be a vision of the near past, or summoning a demon or something to aid them in some way.
Let your magic do the walking.
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Smee
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:57 am Post subject: |
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The body is still warm and Guia didn't know it had actually happened until a few seconds before they got in the room.
Get the palace/compound locked down. Get the place crawling with spell-swords and split up and try to get the assasin. Surely Guia could be some help there?
Jud'ami's loud voice spell out the nearest window should get the gates sealed quickly, and raise the alarm effectively. Speed is the essence.
I think the immediacy of this action will also help Persivian cope with the anger (although he's done pretty well so far).
Happy Writing.
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:39 am Post subject: |
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Very nice chapter even if we did arrive too late.
I agree we should raise an imediate alarm so that no-one leaves and begin a thourgh search for both the assisn and anything that might give us a clue why our menter was killed.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:06 am Post subject: |
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*cheers* A new chapter, which I just read. Wonderfully written, dragon.
I go with everybody else. Immediate attention must be done to keep anyone in the area within the area.
I like the idea that Judami stay and search through the remaining stuff. Maybe Persivian could look into the past. I keep thinking that he being blind gave him a gift for something.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, so it seems that so far our plan is this: lock down the compound, and have Jud'ami stay and investigate the room. You could also have Guia aid in the search for an assassin. Meanwhile, Persivian can go investigate other sources. He could look into the address of Borgen Oculdo, or he could try to look into the past.
If this is your choice, here is how it may be done - he could study Minaar's gems a little more and try to use the scrying stone, or he could have someone else help him. Persivian doesn't have any scrying ability, though he does have some pretty intense magical gifts. (In a later chapter I'll explain the rules of magic here a little more, so hopefully then you'll be able to see what Persivian's gifts are.) Don't lose hope though. Persivian isn't able to look into the past, but he knows someone who can...
Anyway, this is how the basic plan for the next chapter is looking. I won't post a poll unless someone comes up with a completely different plan. If anyone has more comments, let me know!
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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saxon215
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| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | | Smee wrote: | | I didn't notice either - although even if I had I'd have been happy - I like long chapters. |
Well you see, Smee. You yourself writes long chapters for your storygame, so of course you wouldn't mind. I, on the other, am an enigma that likes/dislikes long chapters. *grins*
And we all know, Sax, here has an attention span as short as a fish. |
*measures a fish* woah, thats pretty small, hang on, you never specifies what type *spends the entire day measuring different fish until he fins the longest, a bass strait swordfish from tip to tail measuring a whopping 56 cm long* well personally i dont think thats that small an attention span
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:51 am Post subject: |
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Actually I meant that just like a fish's memory is only about 3 minutes long, maybe shorter than that, you have the attention span at the same length. *grins* Okay, you're right that 56cm is quite long, I will grant you that.
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saxon215
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| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| are you sure we're still talking about attention span here
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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I am pretty sure, we're on the same wavelength. A fish's memory is three minutes, and your attention span is also three minutes long. Now we could go on and question your memory if you want to. LOL.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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I am pretty sure, we're on the same wavelength. A fish's memory is three minutes, and your attention span is also three minutes long. Now we could go on and question your memory if you want to. LOL.
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:17 am Post subject: |
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The Twins - now we truly know Rave is properly back.
It's true fish have a very limited short-term memory, but they do have a long-term memory and with enough repetition they can learn simple things - like when it's feeding time and where in the tank to wait for it.
*stamps on pnume*
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:38 am Post subject: |
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We should definitely search for the assassin! But just to cover our tracks, perhaps we should feel for magical auras in the room the murder happened. Dolan had an enchantment on him that caused the same damage. It isn't possible Lehrar had the same latent spell effect is it? Was the mentor perhaps part of this conspiracy?
Additionally, whoever used magic on a wizard is no mere backstabber. We shouldn't be expecting a sword-weilding ninja running around the compound. In all likelihood, our attempts to catch the murderer are already futile because the magic-user who killed Lehrar could probably disappear very quickly. Thus we must rely on magic to help us discern most of the clues.
And here's a thought, the book (or books) that were destroyed. Either they were in his library already or he borrowed them from someone. We should check his bookshelf for a gap which might give us an idea (if the books are alphabetized) what he was reading, or else contact fellow wizards or sages who may have given him the book in the first place. Servants might also give us clues to what he was reading. If the wizard was killed for it, we should find out what it is, perhaps find out about it through another book or knowledgeable source.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:47 am Post subject: |
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I just love how Lebrenth goes on and continues discussing the story while we're discussing fish and their memory span.
Back onto the fish topic. The only reason they have long-term memory is because the same thing happens to them over and over again. A lot of people remember things that way just be repetiting things to themselves constantly so it stick is in the long-term memory tank. *looks back at what Smee posts, and slaps self* Okay, I just repeated what you said. I think I better work on my memory.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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One of the spell-swords behind them spoke up. “Perhaps we should lock down the academy?” she suggested hesitantly. “Then we could search for the assassin.” Even she sounded doubtful, and Persivian understood why. This was a magical attack; it was highly unlikely that the murderer would stick around. Jud’ami nudged him and shrugged. With a sigh the other wizard nodded. It couldn’t hurt.
Immediately the spell-sword stalked out into the halls of the living quarters. Using a similar spell to the one Jud’ami had used on the streets, she called out for the immediate lock down of the entire area. Her voice was not only amplified, but spread over the entire academy grounds, so that everyone could hear her message. No one was to enter, no one was to leave. Persivian nodded grimly at her efficiency.
Guia bunched herself up and leapt onto Persivian’s shoulder. Purring into his ear, she asked, “What shall we do now?”
In his deep slow voice, Jud’ami remarked, “I think it is more obvious than ever that everything that has happened is connected. Unless I’m very much mistaken, this is exactly how the captain died.”
Persivian nodded. “That was my thought as well.” Running his fingers through his hair, leaving behind even more red streaks, he commented, “I feel blind in more ways than one.” Then he bowed his head and considered. His friends waited for him to come to a plan, and their patience was rewarded.
“Jud’ami,” he said, “I think you should stay here for awhile. Supervise the care of Lehrar’s body,” his voice broke and he cleared it roughly. “Look for any other clues – hidden letters, gaps on his bookshelf, spell auras, anything that might point us on. If you run dry here, check with the library masters. They’d have a record of anything he’s been looking at recently.” The black man nodded, so Persivian turned his attention to Guia. “I would like you to assist the guards. Use your instincts, see if the assassin has remained behind.”
The cat dug her claws into his shoulder in consternation. “We both know that is in all likelihood pointless. Perhaps I should stay with you?”
“In all likelihood,” Persivian emphasized. “We must cover all the bases. Besides,” he added with both a shiver and a smile, “I won’t be leaving the compound.”
Jud’ami groaned. “You’re not going to see – ”
“We need to know what happened,” Persivian interjected. “Devanta is one of the only people who can help with that, and she is close by. And – ” he continued, his voice rising to halt further argument, “she also happens to be my friend.”
Shaking his head, Jud’ami conceded. Guia leaned against his cheek and gave it a single rough lick before landing with a thump on the floor and loping out the door. Briefly clasping his friend’s shoulder, Persivian exited as well. Swiftly he walked down the halls and across the grounds, to the larger, main academy building. If he noticed the way people skirted around his bloodstained form, he did not show it. Instead he strode confidently up the marble steps of the academy, rising with spires and columns to a grandiose height, cool despite the heat of the sun.
Pushing through the elaborate oak doors, Persivian stepped into the cool shadows of the building, the sounds hushed except for the whisper of padding feet on the tile. Breathing deep the musky scent of magic and knowledge, he passed under a high vaulted ceiling to a carven door across the way. Through it he passed, into a corridor filled with closed doors, where all noise ended completely, and the darkness gathered like a living being, overshadowing those who entered. Although it was not unfriendly in nature, most people were daunted by this place; few people liked the dark. Fortunately, Persivian was one of those few. He passed through the solemn surroundings without fear.
At the end of the long corridor was a circular staircase, winding down into darkness. His hand trailing along the stone blocks, his fingers following the lines of mortar and finding every dimple in the stone, Persivian descended into the ground.
The bottom, when he reached it, was chill and dry, silent and dark as a grave. There were no lamps burning here; had not the wizard already been blind, he would not have been able to see anything at all. The wizard did not hesitate. He strode forward with confidence down the shorter underground corridor. Unlike the one above, this had no doors leading off into separate rooms. Instead, it had only one door, at the far end. It was plain, without ornamentation, set on hinges that creaked with age and disuse. On this door, Persivian rapped thrice, and then entered.
Inside this room there was light. It illuminated from a single source, a deep stone basin carved with magical symbols, filled to the brim with water. Though there was no breeze, nor accidental bump, nor any movement near it at all, its surface was covered with ripples. Their small waves reflected blue, then white, then midnight black as they moved about on the water. Seated beside the basin, staring into its depths, sat a woman.
Devanta was young in years but old in spirit. Her skin was pale and white, having not seen the sun in years; her hair was lush and blue-black. When the wizard entered her room she did not move from where she was seated, and gave no indication that she had noticed him come at all. Persivian was not surprised by this. After all, she was a seer, one of few. Not only was she a seer, she was also the Matron Seer, the most powerful of all those at the academy. Despite her status it was obvious she received few, if any, visitors. She sat naked in the dark.
The wizard gently closed the door behind him and stood beside it, waiting. Devanta was peering into the basin with intent eyes. Anyone who spent time around seers knew better than to interrupt one while they were having a vision. Persivian himself had a scar Devanta’s predecessor had given him, when he interrupted her as she gazed into her mirror, watching the future. The woman had gone into a fury and pulled a knife on him. Afterwards she had apologized, but Persivian knew it was his own fault, and had never made such a mistake again. So he waited now.
Finally the girl sighed and blinked her eyes. When she looked up, it was to see Persivian staring sightlessly into the darkness. “Persivian,” she said hoarsely, in a voice unused to conversation. “I saw you here, but I did not see your purpose.”
“May I sit?” Persivian asked. When she nodded and patted a cushion, he sank down and grasped her hand. “I need your help, Devanta. Lehrar has been murdered.”
“When?” she asked intently.
He shook his head. “Not fifteen minutes ago,” he whispered. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Gaining control of himself, he went on, “It happened in his own room, and it appears to be magical. Can you look back, to see what happened?”
Devanta sighed. “Yes,” she said. “Since it is you asking, and since he was a good man, I will aid you.” After squeezing his hand briefly, she broke the contact and sat up on her knees. Placing both hands on the rim of the basin, she began to sway back and forth, murmuring. The ripples in the water began to move with her, right, then left, in a rhythm that was clear in Persivian’s ears. The air thickened, and all the warmth gathered in the center of the room. After a moment it was icy cold at the wizard’s back, uncomfortably warm before him.
Suddenly the chanting stopped, and Devanta stopped moving. She sighed, and it was like air rushing through a canyon, gathering speed and force as it went. The water flared with a blinding light that even Persivian could see, and then it rushed to the sides of the basin, forming a watery depression in its center. Devanta leaned over and looked.
“Touch me,” she said, in a ringing, hollow voice. It seemed to be coming from more than just her. “You will see what I see.” Without hesitation Persivian reached out and grasped her arm.
He gasped as his mind was flooded with light. Slowly it separated, forming figures – a bed, a wardrobe, a man – Lehrar. The old wizard was at his desk, poring over a book, making notes in a journal. By his manner, he seemed frantic and excited. Suddenly he exclaimed, “There it is!” There was fear behind his delight.
At that moment there was a noise, of cracking glass. Persivian watched as his frowning friend got up and stood in the center of the room. Then he saw what the noise had come from. The mirror on his dresser had a single, long crack, splitting the glass in two from top to bottom. As the wizard watched, more cracks formed, spreading like spider webs across the mirror. In it Persivian could see the face of his friend, peering at it with a puzzled frown. He watched as Lehrar’s eyes widened in horror, and he tried to shout. It was too late. Lehrar went rigid, his head tilted back, his fists clenched, as he floated several inches into the air. Magical energy surged around him, and Persivian recognized the spell that had been used to kill Dolan. He frowned, because the captain’s death had been far quicker than this. Clenching his fists, he thought, Are they deliberately torturing him? Then he realized the truth. Lehrar was resisting the spell.
Persivian focused on his friends face. It was contorted with pain, the blue eyes running with tears. Then the wizard lowered his gaze. Lehrar’s left arm was rigid, and slowly rising. It was pointing unerringly to the corner of the room, to the left of the door. Now Persivian was on the edge of his seat, trying to see what his friend was pointing at. But at that moment, Lehrar’s resistance gave out. A moment too late, Persivian shut his eyes. A spray of blood, a scream, a gurgle… then silence.
Devanta released the spell, and the room plunged into darkness. Once again blind, Persivian kept his eyes closed, feeling tears trickling down his cheeks. The pain of Lehrar’s death felt fresh, as if it had only happened seconds ago. In a way, it had.
After a moment, though, his resolve hardened. The vision he had shared with the seer proved two things: The attack had been purely magical and no assassin had stepped foot within the academy, and that there was something Lehrar had wanted to be found. He must have thought I’d ask for Devanta’s help, Persivian thought.
The wizard came to his senses only to the sensation of a wet washcloth rubbing his face. “Be still,” Devanta murmured. “You are covered in blood.”
After a few moments of the seer’s tender ministrations, Persivian was released. Still shaking, he stood up, with Devanta’s help. “Thank you,” he told her. “Thank you for helping us.”
Devanta nodded, and gave him a gentle shove. “Go,” she whispered.
But before he could leave, she called him back. “While you were gone, you missed my birthday,” she said. Her hoarse voice was impassive, and a little sad. “I turned seventeen while you were gone. That marks six years of my life, spent in this room.” Looking away, she asked, “Did you ever feel that your life has been wasted? I have spent so long lost in the future, and the past, that I sometimes wonder what I would find, if I ever ventured into the present. I wonder, if things had been different…would I have found you?”
Pity and sorrow welled up in Persivian as he listened to Devanta’s words. He could not imagine how lonely it would be, down here alone, year after year. The emptiness of living others’ lives while forfeiting your own…
“Go now, Persivian.” Her voice now grieving, she said, “I do not think we will meet again.” As the wizard stood, stunned, not knowing what to say, the door closed solidly in front of him.
When Jud’ami asked, five minutes later, why his eyes were so red, Persivian replied that Devanta had scrubbed the blood away. Then he asked what Jud’ami had found.
The sailor sighed. “Not much at all. No paper, nor book, nor any written thing at all, survived. It is all ash. I sensed in the ash the remains of a spell. Whoever cast it destroyed every thing with written words on it in this room. The mirror had a great deal of magical residue on it, and I think it was used to channel the spell that killed Lehrar.”
Persivian nodded as Guia ran into the room. “You’re back,” she said. “What happened?”
Quickly the wizard described what Devanta had shown him. He kept her last words to him silent. After he finished, Guia said, “You two investigate it, I’ll call off the lockdown.” In a flash, she was gone again.
Without hesitation the wizards set to work, examining the corner where Lehrar had pointed. At first, they couldn’t see anything. There were no hiding spells, nor locking spells, no disguise or illusion magicks to hide whatever had been pointed at. There was absolutely nothing to indicate that anything out of the ordinary was hidden here. They exhausted their supply of spells that were normally used to find hidden things, which between the two of them, was considerable. Finally Persivian, frustrated and angry, set fire to the carpet.
“Whoa!” cried Jud’ami, dousing the flames with a spout of water from his hands. Glaring at his friend, he scolded, “Now is not the time to lose your temper! You can’t – ” Then he stopped. He reached out to touch the floor. Persivian heard a spring being released, and felt a whoosh of air. Then Jud’ami started to laugh. He continued to guffaw until Persivian set the end of his trousers on fire.
With a yelp, he set these out as well, then showed Persivian the small depression in one of the floor tiles under where the carpet had been. Then he demonstrated how, when opened, it sprung open to reveal a cleverly hidden and completely non-magical hole in the floor. “Ingenious,” Persivian muttered. “If it had been hidden with magic the fire spell might have found it.” Inside the hole was a slip of paper an inch long gold disk. Written on the paper were a few words.
Connection?
Find the girl
On the other side of the paper was a very familiar address. It was that of Borgen Oculdo.
Jud’ami turned to Persivian. “Do you ever get the feeling you’re running around in circles?”
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
Last edited by dragon_fire372 on Tue Feb 21, 2006 7:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Smee
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, nice connection. This story is wonderfully woven together.
We don't know where the girl is now - the only option seems to be to investigate the address with a little less caution now. We need a lead to follow.
Keep it coming - really enjoying it.
Happy Writing
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, this story is very clever, and you tell it very well
The decision point seems a clear one now. We have an address, we need to find the girl. I think we head straight there and do not take no for an answer this time. Whatever we need to do to get inside, we should do it
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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We also need to find the girl. It's naturally very likely to be the girl we met earlier, of course, and we already know she has a connection because she had the address. We are confident she's coming to this city, and she even had interest in the star, right? So we need someone to watch for her. It would be really spiffy if we had some sort of spell that would allow us to create her image from memory (Guia saw her, right?) and show some of the servants so they can help us keep watch. We could station them at certain places, such as gates and the star and the address that was on the envelope. We ought to keep watch of that anyway. But if not, then perhaps speaking with the guards would be prudent. The attack on the girl came from a conspicuous group. Perhaps the guards could tell us if they saw similar gangs that seemed to be looking for someone.
As for the address, as our best lead, we should investigate it thoroughly, but I'd hate to blunder into a trap, so careful observation of the place first might be a good idea.
Also, though I know it's paradoxical to contradict a seer, I think it would be a nice gesture on Persivian's part to see her again and get her some flowers as a late birthday present. She might even like a little pet if it isn't too distracting... maybe a goldfish for her basin or something.
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Also, though I know it's paradoxical to contradict a seer, I think it would be a nice gesture on Persivian's part to see her again and get her some flowers as a late birthday present. She might even like a little pet if it isn't too distracting... maybe a goldfish for her basin or something. |
That's wonderful Lebby
*Skips around with the fluffy bunnies *
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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Yes indeed. Perhaps you could bring her some clothes? Not that I mind naked young ladies of course.
I f5 the above. The address is the obvious choice. Go to it!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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Seems an obvious choice to investigate the address.
I like Lebby's idea that we have somebody in the group, Gaia being the best choice to look out for this mysterious girl. Of course it seems very obvious it is the girl we met before. But we don't know who she is exactly quite yet, which adds into the whole suspense.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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A new chapter is on its way, though I have no idea when it'll be posted. I've at least started on it. The plan is: investigate the address, while getting touch of some city guards to keep watch over certain areas of Maylin, mainly the gates, near the Star, and at the address (discretely). Have them looking out for a girl, probably Minaar (who Guia will describe). Anything I missed, let me know.
BTW, we don't really know if Minaar will be heading back to the city. After all, she was heading away from it when Persivian met her. It is highly possible that she would turn back at the loss of her horses and possessions.
I'll try to get the new chapter up soon!
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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Good to see your still alive, dragon. I was afraid this story was not going to be continued just when I was all caught up in so deeply.
I don't think Minaar will turn back with the loss of her possessions. She seems to be a very determined woman, and lets few things deter her from her mission. But that is just my impression of the character.
Hope to see that next chapter.
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:26 am Post subject: |
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We don't know how vital those items were to her mission, so I guess there's always hope she's returned.
I don't think she'll be obvious about it though. She seems known around the city.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:58 am Post subject: |
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Hmm. I do wonder what these items she had do in relation to her mission. Persivian noticed they were very powerful. But she wasn't using them when she was attacked. Perhaps she was delivering them to somebody. Or what I think is a more likely idea is that she was trying to hide her power or something.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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The wizard ran his thumb over the wrinkled piece of paper and inwardly seethed. Jud’ami was absolutely right – they were running in circles. Now, however, they had a definite lead. “We’re going to investigate this address, together, and this time we’re getting inside. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Jud’ami nodded, looking slightly apprehensive, and it was Guia who pointed out what was on his mind. “We can’t rush off right now, though,” she pointed out.
“Why not?” demanded Persivian, sounding uncomfortably petulant but unable to alter his tone.
“Think about it,” Guia replied, with a hint of scorn.
Persivian sighed, but of course the cat was right. They had other things to consider. Such as, what if the girl (who the wizard was almost certain was Minaar) came back to the city? They needed to keep a watch out for her. Also, there were practical considerations to their visit to Borgen Oculdo’s house. When should they go? Should they go alone, or with soldiers and spell-swords? Persivian sighed again.
“What do we need to do to prepare?”
* * *
Later that evening the three snuck through the streets in darkness. Clouds had blown across the sky, and the breeze from the harbor was chill for the season. Even so, they made not a sound.
Persivian, Guia, and Jud’ami crept in the alleys, followed by three spell-swords known for their discretion. The afternoon had been spent giving out descriptions to the guards and posting lookouts at the city gates and center square, as well as other well-visited areas. They had been armed with Guia’s description of Minaar, and had been told to keep a watch out for her. If the girl Lehrar had written of was not Minaar, Persivian didn’t know what they would do.
After their preparations, it had finally been time to visit the mysterious address. Jud’ami led them, while Guia walked close to Persivian, guiding him as usual. Though considering the darkness of the streets, especially since the group had brought no light of their own, and he was hardly worse off than them. Watching him maneuver around the obstacles in their path ahead, the spell-swords wondered if he wasn’t more comfortable than they.
At any rate, they soon arrived at Oculdo’s home. As Jud’ami had said, the windows were shuttered, the doors locked. There was no hint of light showing anywhere from inside. They might have thought it long abandoned, if one of their escort hadn’t pointed out the faint mark of footprints below one window, both entering and exiting. Persivian also noticed a barely perceptible odor around the place, a mixture of minerals and herbs that seemed to come from inside the house. While the spell-swords examined the window, the wizards and Guia stalked around the building, searching for traps and wards.
“Do you think we’ll find anything?” Jud’ami asked.
Persivian nodded, listening for noises in the house. He could here none, but he was almost certain there were people in there. His guess was two. Then he told his friend, “Whatever is in there, it had better be in a talkative mood.”
Guia hushed them. “The others are ready. Come.” Her lithe form melted into the darkness, and the two friends followed. They found the spell-swords clustered around a window, which they had triple checked for spells and then somehow eased open, without making a sound. They nodded to Persivian and Jud’ami and stepped back, allowing them to go first. Inside the house, it was pitch black. Jud’ami placed a hand on the windowsill, but Persivian stopped him.
“Let me go first this time,” he whispered. “You can’t see in the dark.”
“Neither can you,” Jud’ami pointed out.
Putting his mouth close to Jud’ami’s ear, he said, “I’m used to it.” Then he winked. With surprising ease he hoisted himself up and dropped gracefully inside, Guia right beside him. Jud’ami and two of the spell-swords followed, the last remaining outside to keep watch.
As soon as he was inside Persivian stood stock-still, extending his senses to every corner of the room. It was empty, but for one doorway and a great deal of dust. He could taste it in the air, and it gave the impression of an abandoned dwelling. But faintly there was another scent, the same he had noticed before. He took a few steps inside.
Behind him came three slight thumps as the others followed him in through the window. Persivian winced, although the noises were faint almost to the point of silence. Still, they were clear to the blind wizard, and he shook his head.
Guia went in front of him, sniffing around the door before continuing on. Persivian went more slowly, though there were no obstacles; caution was a wizard’s friend, especially in situations like this. It took him back to a time when he had served the emperor, on missions similar to this. He had tracked down fugitives, acted as a spy, sought out sacred artifacts, and executed justice, in his time of service. Years ago he had sought to leave that world of subterfuge, and his time in the southern forests had, it seemed, dulled his reactions and judgment somewhat. His skills had grown rusty in disuse. But already they were coming back, and he knew instinctively how to step so the floor wouldn’t creak, how to breathe so the dust wouldn’t make him sneeze, how to keep his senses alert for the slightest motion or spell that would give them away.
Unfortunately the others behind him (save Jud’ami) had no such ability, and Persivian flinched every time they made their presence obvious (to him at least). Finally he turned around and stopped them. To the spell-swords he whispered, so quietly they barely heard him, “Stay here, guard our backs.” Jud’ami stayed with him, for he had been on several missions with Persivian when they were younger, and knew what he was doing. Besides, Persivian really didn’t want to be caught alone in here.
Eventually though Jud’ami had to stop him. “I can’t see anything now, not even your outline. I don’t think I can keep going – I can’t help you if it comes to a trap.”
“It was dark before,” Persivian said.
“There was some street-light coming in through the shutters. Not in these rooms though.”
Persivian nodded, but was loath to leave his friend here alone. Then he mentally kicked himself. From a pouch he extracted the enchanted stone he had pulled from Dolan’s body. “Use this,” he said. Robes rustled as Jud’ami took the stone and hung it around his neck. There was a sigh of relief, and Persivian knew it had worked. Together they continued on.
The layout of the rooms was strange. In every room there were two doorways, save the one where they entered. Some of the rooms had a window, and they were fairly small, mostly empty except for dust. Walking through them Persivian knew that every room through which they passed was set against an outside wall – none of them led to the interior of the house. There was one room that had three doorways; the extra third had once been the front door of the house. It was sealed shut now.
The window through which they had entered was at the back of the house, opposite the street. Persivian and Jud’ami walked the entire perimeter of the house through the rooms, turning all four corners until they found themselves at a dead end – the last room had only one door and it seemed to be right next to the room they had first entered. In fact, when Persivian laid his ear against the wall he could hear, faintly, the spell-swords whispering. It seemed the address was a dead end.
Both wizards, however, doubted it. Based on their estimations of the size of the building, they had yet to reach the inside of it. The house had also had a small second story, and they had found no stairs. And besides that, they had not yet caught up to Guia, and she had not passed by them going the other way. She had to have found a way in.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sorry for the weak decision point, but I was desperate to post something. I haven't visited this site in a very long time, or read anyone else's stories, and I so wanted to get a new chapter up. <sigh> the next chapter should be more exciting. Hopefully soon I'll be able to start writing more regularly and catch up on all the wonderful story-game chapters I haven't yet read.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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We forgive you Fire.
Um. Now then. Check for hidden doors seems most obvious. Otherwise climb up the outside wall? It would make less noise. Maybe.
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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Don't worry Dragon - life is like that, but I'm glad you managed to get a chapter in.
I F5 Chinaren - seems like the best thing to do, no point giving up just yet, after all the effort to get there.
Happy Writing.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Good chapter, Dragon. I F5 the others, adding only that it would be nice to see a bit of magic in the door detection. It's always nice to see a bit of magic *grin*
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:50 am Post subject: |
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Hmm. Do not worry, DF. Every author has those kinds of days.
I F5 everyone. If Guia got in, the wizards probably can. Maybe there was a hole in the wall fit only for a cat. Persivian may have to widen the hole with a bit of magic if they want to go through that way. Of course finding a hidden door may be easier.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:05 am Post subject: |
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Well just to point out, this story wouldn't be much of a fantasy story also without some use of magic. That does seem to be the template for fantasy stories.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:28 am Post subject: |
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I was just about ready to send a P.M. to see where you had gone to, Dragon Fire!
I know how you feel with the DP, and don't worry, you have plenty of creditability.
I would be concerned about getting extra attention if we used magic. I don't know, specifically, how the wizards sense the magic around them, but I wouldn't want to make ourselves too noticeable. But I think time is of the essence and that wizards already have their own auras, and as far as they can tell, no spells or wards have been cast to protect the place.... So yeah, go for it!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:37 am Post subject: |
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If we had time to worry, I would say be cautious about magic. But like you have figured, Lebrenth, we don't have time to waste at this moment.
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:41 am Post subject: |
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| I agree with the above folks. Unless we can communicate with the cat of course
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Good point, Ingroth.
We know Gaia can speak...but as in mental telepathy or something like it, we don't know...yet. We will have to see.
Though I think it may be possible, since Gaia has been with Persivian for quite some time.
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Smee
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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She sent mental commands when they were showing the stranger into Jud’ami's house.
Sounds like a good plan to me.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:55 am Post subject: |
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Hey Dragon Fire! Have you been checking your private messages? You ought to accept your nomination for SGOTM this month! We're not sure how long Ingro will wait!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:08 am Post subject: |
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Let me guess. Lebby you nominated this story for SGOTM.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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Yes he did, and I was flattered. Gosh, don't you people have anything better to do that read my dumb story? Anyway, thanks for sticking with it, and I really hope I can start writing more often! I won't come out with a new chapter till I can finish the next one for A Nightmare Realized, and who knows when that will be.
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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Your story's not dumb Dfire, it rocks! Of course I'm parital to blind heroes, just ask smee...
I say ask the cat for some help, she seems to have been invaluble so far...
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Smee
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| Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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Great to see you catch up with this one Kalanna - good choice too.
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Key
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| Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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Great story, DragonFire! 
Can't believe I've missed it for so long...
Magic is good, and if you can figure out where Guia went that's good too. But if you know there's a second story, maybe you want to look for a trap door in the ceiling...
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Smee
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| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 12:34 am Post subject: |
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Interesting idea from the Mayoral visit. Good to see you make it here too.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, never would have thought about lookin above for a trap door....Good idea, Key.
But I though we were still outside of the building?
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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No, we're inside, sorry if that was confusing.
I'm going to put a poll up, with these options: magic, Guia, or a hidden trapdoor or passage. In the next few days I'll have a new chapter up for NR, then another few days should have this new chapter up (I hope)
By the way, thanks to everyone who voted for me! It means a lot.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm. But if we were to choose Guia, would that mean we would try contacting her to see about a secret door or passage. I think you need to be a bit more specific on the choices. Though it seems a lot of them can overlap.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, you're right, sorry.
Ok, option #1 - magic. That means we first use a locator spell to magically search for doors possibly hidden by magic, then if one is found use magic to break through it. If said door is not found, probably remove a wall so we can get through. Flashy but efficient.
Option #2 - Guia. Persivian and Guia have known each other a long time, and Persivian was able to learn how to contact Guia mind to mind. Since sending isn't one of his natural talents this is difficult and slightly draining, (though not enough to incapacitate him, only enough to be an inconvenience), and such a spell might be noticed by a high-level magic user if one is nearby. However, it would guarantee that they know if they can follow Guia, and they can get her advice.
Option #3 - the ever practical but time-consuming search for a hidden door, either to the interior of the building or to the second floor. They would not use magic at first unless nothing else could be found, hence time consuming. However, there don't have to risk the chance of being discovered prematurely, and they can save their magical energies till they really need it.
I hope that clears it up. In one of the next couple chapters I'm hoping to better explain Guia and Persivian's relationship. Probably not the next one - maybe the one after it.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Voted.
I think we need to risk it and contact Guia. At least she would be able to tell us the most sensible, and probably the safer way of getting in.
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:52 am Post subject: |
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| Tied it
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:54 am Post subject: |
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How shameful, Ingroth.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:38 am Post subject: |
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Voted for old-fashioned searching. Guia will contact Persivian if she finds something and I think we can spare a little time to be more careful. We do know our adversaries use magic.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:45 am Post subject: |
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1, 2, 3, A, B, C...don't know the rest of the words. La De Da.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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one hundred and thirty-three bottles on the wall, one hundred three bottles on the wall, take one down, pass it around, one- hundred and thirty-two bottles on the wall...well thats not really going to happen, but whatever.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Good news, my avid fans (hehe, and everyone else too).
I am now free to start writing the next chapter! Unfortunately...there is a tie. If it's not broken tomorrow, i'll just roll with it as best i can. Expect a new chapter next week! (and if you don't get it, beat me with a stick to teach me discipline so i'll get on the ball again. )
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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Aye, aye. *goes off to look for a decent looking stick for beating DF* Will expect that chapter.
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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*Carefully selects poking-stick no. 5 in readiness*
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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And I thought you had one poking stick...
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 3:22 am Post subject: |
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Broke the tie, yay me!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:06 am Post subject: |
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So we're going to search for a trapdoor it looks like. *sigh* And I wanted to talk with the Cat.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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“Perhaps you should ask Guia?” Jud’ami suggested in a whisper.
“No,” replied Persivian, shaking his head. “Not right away, I don’t want to waste so much energy if we can find another way in.”
Jud’ami nodded and together they began the search. The sea wizard hunted the inner wall for a hidden door or passage. Persivian stretched his hands up and began searching the ceiling. It was surprisingly low, only about eight feet high, and the wizard could easily feel along it, grimacing a bit from the slick coat of dust that covered it. For several minutes both men were silent. Then Persivian felt a narrow ridge – the edge of a trapdoor. “Jud’ami!” he hissed. “I found a trapdoor.” After a bit more searching Persivian found a metal ring, which he pulled on gently. The door came down without a sound. Giving him a congratulatory pat on the back, Jud’ami clambered up into the second story. As soon as he’d made sure it was safe, he reached down and helped Persivian up as well, and pulled the door closed after them.
There were in a small room, with a slanted ceiling, a window and a doorway. There was a faint breeze passing through, which rustled Persivian’s blond hair and brought the scent of freshness and nighttime with it. Unlike the lower rooms, it was not at all dusty in here, and seemed to be clean and uncluttered. Jud’ami started for the open doorway, but Persivian stopped him. “Listen,” he whispered.
From the doorway came the sound of voices, talking quietly. Together the wizards crept to the door and peered through. It opened to a kind of loft, smelling faintly of alfalfa as if it once was a hayloft, which was very odd. Light shone up from below, because half the floor was gone, and opened up to a large room in the interior of the house. It was from the lower room that the voices came.
There you are, came a voice in Persivian’s mind. Took you long enough. The wizard started to answer, but Guia cut him off. Keep quiet, they might hear you. Come over here. By the edge of the loft the cat crouched and looked over the side. A glance back warned both wizards to move silently, though she didn’t look too concerned, only curious. Together the two men lowered themselves to the floor and pulled themselves to Guia, and looked over the edge.
The room below was large and well furnished, with a bed, a couch, a water pump, and a stove. A kettle hissed faintly, but was ignored; the two people in the room were too deep in conversation. Though they spoke quietly, it was obvious that they were worried. The man must have been Oculdo. He was a small but fit man, pale and brown haired. The scent of wood smoke hung around him. It was from the woman that the scent of minerals Persivian had noticed earlier came from…in fact, it was very familiar. Minaar! They had found her at last. But there was something different about her. The wizard couldn’t place it.
She looks different, Guia said in his mind. You can still see it’s her, but…she’s changed nonetheless.
This remark confused Persivian greatly, but he couldn’t ask his friend about it just yet. The conversation below had just become interesting.
“I can’t leave now!” Minaar said plaintively. “I thought when I came back, you could help me find them…”
“Don’t you know, if I could, I would!” exclaimed Oculdo. His voice was slightly husky, not too deep, and was very similar to Minaar’s. “But things are getting so heated in this city, I can’t risk moving about now. Especially with that man poking around earlier.” So, Jud’ami’s visit hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Yes, but…”
“Minaar,” the man interrupted, his chair creaking as he leaned forward. “I can’t risk leaving this house, and you can’t possibly stay in it. I’m sure more people have been sent after you, and even now they may be coming! You know what could happen if they find you!”
The girl sighed and hung her head, and Persivian could sense the despair emanating from her. “I know, but…it doesn’t seem right to leave without them. Who knows what they could be used for in the wrong hands? Besides,” she fumed, “the whole point of the journey was to get any examples of my power away from here!”
“No, the point was to get you away from here, not a handful of gems and herbs, even after you boosted them. The important thing is you. You need to get away, with or without your things. You shouldn’t have come back at all,” he finished sternly.
Abruptly the girl stood and began pacing, the floor squeaking under her feet. “I wish I could stay. Warn the Emperor, or something…not go running off to hide in some forest while you risk yourself here! It’s not right to leave your brother in danger.” Ah…so they’re siblings, Persivian thought. Interesting. Guia interrupted his thoughts by saying, She’s changing again, her appearance. Too bad you can’t see it.
“How is she changing?” murmured the wizard.
She’s becoming…angry. Persivian barely restrained a snort. “I could tell that.”
Shut up and listen, I’ll explain later! the cat snapped. On Persivian’s other side Jud’ami stiffened suddenly and leaned forward further. He could barely hear the sailor whisper, “Very interesting.” Obviously he was seeing the same thing Guia was, which frustrated Persivian greatly. Although perhaps he did notice something…
“I don’t want to leave this,” Minaar said, half to herself. “There’s too much going on that I could help with…somehow,” she added bitterly. “No, I’d probably get in your way. You can control your magic, while I can hardly use mine! Unless it’s used for me…which of course is why I have to go. If those pursuers find the gems, where will I be able to hide? But if I stay to search for them I’ll be found even easier! Why does this have to be so difficult?!”
The chair creaked as Oculdo stood before his sister. “I know it’s hard,” he said consolingly. “But someday you will be able to control your magic, and when you do there will be nothing to fear. You’ll be able to help me, and the empire, when you do. But until them, you must stay out of their hands.” All three companions listened intently to this. Gradually, Minaar calmed down, and when it seemed she was through ranting, her brother continued.
“You’ll have to leave tonight,” Oculdo was saying. “Sneak over the wall, I’ll give you some supplies. You won’t have a horse I’m afraid, but maybe it’ll make you harder to find. And don’t be getting any ideas,” he warned. “You know your duty, as I know mine. I’ll warn the emperor when we find out who’s behind all this; you just don’t let them find you. Your power could bring their plan into fruitation.”
With a sigh, Minaar acquiesced. “Alright,” she murmured. “I’ll go as soon as I have some supplies. If you do see the wagon…let me know, all right?” Oculdo nodded. The girl continued, “Borgen? I am sorry I came back. I was just so unsettled by that wizard…I hope it was he that took the wagon, not the soldiers. He would look after it.” Minaar said it almost wistfully, and Persivian felt himself start inside, a thrill that came unexpectedly and left just as soon. He blinked and wondered…but his friend brought him out of his reverie.
We have nothing to fear from them, said Guia. And I believe our questioning time this night will not be long. Persivian thought she was right. Already the two siblings below were making ready a pack for Minaar, not speaking much but moving swiftly through their duties. Soon the girl would be ready to leave, and then she would find them eavesdropping and that could possibly be dangerous. By the sound of it the Emperor really was in danger, and it all had something to do with this girl, and her power. They needed to know what this plan the siblings had spoken of was, and who was behind it. When should they reveal themselves to ask?
No better time than the present, he supposed. Briefly clasping Jud’ami on the arm, Persivian said, “Time to ask some questions.” He sensed his friend’s nod, and together they stood up. Below Minaar and Oculdo didn’t notice, having begun talking once again.
“How soon do you think they can begin?” Minaar asked.
Sighing, her brother answered, “As soon as they find you, or another significant source of earth magic. That’s the main element they seem to be missing. After they get it, they can put their plan into effect.”
“And what, exactly, would that plan be?” Persivian asked from his position in the loft.
Both Minaar and Oculdo spun around to see the two wizards standing over them. Not initially recognizing them, Oculdo’s reaction was swift and immediate. Drawing back his open hand, a ball of green writhing energy formed in his palm, and he hurled it to where Persivian stood. The wizard recognized it as a powerful spell, both of earth and light, which he found interesting. It was a deadly combination, however, and one that he had seen before. Once it hit its target the spell would erupt into strangling vines that trapped the victim helplessly within its coils, while the light that flashed from it blinded the target and deadened its mind. The effects were almost immediate, and left only a split second for a counter spell, and no time at all for a weapon to be used to escape.
Persivian never needed to use that split second. He had recognized the spell and remembered its effects the moment it had been cast, and even as the green sphere hurtled towards them, Persivian called forth his own magic. With barely a gesture to show it, his own spell destroyed the other, consuming it with fire and letting it sprinkle to the ground as dust that glittered faintly before disappearing forever. Oculdo stared at him in shock.
At that moment Minaar recognized them. “Borgen, it’s him! Persivian the Sightless, and Jud’ami as well. Don’t attack them!”
Her brother squinted up at them and then saw that she was right. “Oh,” he said. “Um…” Still he looked wary.
Persivian held his arms crossed over his chest, with his palms towards himself, a common gesture of peace among magic-users. Jud’ami followed suit. “We aren’t here to fight you,” he said. “Just to find some answers.”
“What makes you think you’ll find them here?” Oculdo asked.
“Because it is of Minaar that we are inquiring.” This did not reassure the other man, and he scowled and stepped protectively in front of his sister.
“We mean you no harm,” said Jud’ami, his deep voice carrying easily in the room, calm and soothing. “Like you we have been searching for answers, trying to protect our Emperor and homeland. Everything points us here, to you. I think, if you can answer our questions, we can help you.”
Thank you Jud’ami, Persivian thought silently. Out loud he said, “You don’t know us, I know, but I am asking you to trust us, and to help us. We – ”
“But we do know you,” Minaar interrupted. “The three of you are well known as helpers of the empire and friends of its people. Perhaps, as you said, we could help each other.” When Oculdo turned to her in protest, the girl laid a calming hand on his arm. “Remember who they are,” she murmured to him. “Have you ever heard ill spoken of their works?” Lowering her voice still more, she whispered, “He risked his life for mine, Borgen. What have we to fear from him, or his friends?”
At last Oculdo relented. “Please, come down, so we can speak more easily,” he invited warily. The wizards found the ladder Oculdo had gestured to and climbed down, Guia on Persivian’s shoulder, and moved to stand in front of the siblings. For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence, as both party was distrustful of the other. It was the cat that broke the silence.
“We need to know everything you know,” she said. “Your powers, the plot, who’s behind it – everything.”
Somehow, being ordered around by a cat in his own home did not sit well with Oculdo. “What right have you to demand answers after you’ve broken into my home and spied on my sister and I?” he asked, incredulous.
Guia started to reply, but Persivian cut her off. “You ask by what right?” he asked quietly. “My life and Guia’s was threatened protecting your sister. There is a plot against the Emperor, and it is our duty as wizards to protect him. Minaar has magical, uncontrollable powers that men are willing to kill for. Our friend and mentor died a horrible death trying to uncover a plot, alone, against the will of unknown enemies. In his last moments of life, he pointed us on the way to you, and you ask what right we have to find out why?” By now his voice was no longer quiet, and his white eyes were burning. Oculdo fell back a pace as Persivian cried, “What right have you to ask us that?!”
The tension in the room was palpable, but it soon gave way to shame, on the part of the siblings. “I’m sorry,” Oculdo said, looking away. “I didn’t…”
“Well, now that you do,” remarked Guia, “perhaps you will give us some answers. Please be quick…I don’t think we have very long.”
Cocking his head to her, Persivian demanded, “Why?” Her answer was an enigmatic shrug, and as he laid a hand on her back Persivian noticed her fur stood slightly on end.
“Where shall we start?” asked Minaar, after a final exchanged glance with her brother.
“The Emperor’s safety is our first concern,” Jud’ami remarked, and Persivian nodded.
Sighing, Oculdo began. “As you know, about one year ago, the Golden Star was raised. It was the late Emperor’s idea – he wanted a way to bring his people hope and strength as he lost his own. It took a lot of powerful magic to construct it – the substances that created it had to be conjured to the site, and a ring of priests stood around the wizards, calling down God’s blessing. At the same time, powerful earth and light wizards…enhanced the properties of the substances, so that they would work with magical effects without having to be altered at all. They would be stronger that way.”
“Whose idea was it to construct the Star in that way?” Persivian interrupted briefly. “I know the process of enhancing objects in such a way was known before, but I’ve never heard of it being used on such a grand scale, to such effect. It’s an obscure ability.”
“It was my idea,” said Minaar, meeting his eyes boldly. “I suggested it to Borgen when he told me of the project – ”
Jud’ami turned to the other man. “You were in on the creation of the Golden Star?” he asked.
Oculdo nodded, shooting an irritated glance at Minaar. He still did not fully trust the companions. “Yes,” he admitted. “Anyway, the Star was created, after months of planning, and the results were even greater than we had hoped for. Unfortunately, it did catch a lot of outside attention… and that is where the plot comes in.
“Less than a month after the Star was raised, the Emperor became ill, a strange wasting illness that no one could identify. The Emperor believed – though he didn’t say anything till he was in his final days – that the illness was magical in nature, for he detected a strange lingering aura around his mirror just before the sickness manifested.” Jud’ami and Persivian exchanged glances. Oculdo continued, “He lingered several months before death, and in that time lost both his physical strength and that of his spirit. The illness left him broken and heartsick, and he remained that way until his final days of life. It was only then he was able to muster enough strength to tell us his suspicions.
“His son, the current Emperor, took over management of the empire, and after hearing his father’s suspicions about his illness quietly ordered the High Casters assign wizards to look into it. I was one of those chosen, and have been spending the past few months gathering what information I could.”
“How?” demanded Persivian. “According to your neighbors, you’ve barely left this house since the old Emperor died.”
“Only in their eyes. My comings and goings were at night, hidden, and I used my magicks to search for new information and, I must admit, to spy, in search of the answer. What we’ve found…isn’t much. We know the one behind the plot is from the east, but who it is we can’t say. We also know that the perpetrator can use magic, of a peculiar kind. His is shadow magic, which as you know deals with secrets and mystery more than anything else. As he has acted as an assassin, it is appropriate.”
“And what he plans?” the wizard pressed, for Oculdo had paused in consideration. “What is the plot?”
Oculdo cleared his throat and looked at Minaar, hesitation clear in his eyes. “Get on with it,” hissed Guia, glancing around tensely. “We’re running out of time.”
Finally, the man nodded grudgingly. “We believe that the man behind the plot plans to copy the Star’s making to create something of his own, for his own purposes. While the exact plan has yet to be ascertained, we believe he means to end the life of our current, and heirless, Emperor. Undoubtedly, he will continue to use its power to bring the empire, cast into chaos and anarchy, to its knees.” He snorted, then said, “Dramatic enough, and dangerous for us, but the reason why he plans this is what we’ve yet to discover.”
Persivian nodded. “It is a plan that has been tried before, and it has failed before. But given the power the Golden Star has…could this unknown man really create another artifact like the Star that can have that huge of an effect?”
The two siblings exchanged glances, and then Minaar stepped forward. “That is why they are after me.” Finally, Persivian thought, I can understand where she fits in to all this!
The girl was looking down at her feet, but on her face was a willful yet bitter expression that had the wizards puzzled. They waited patiently for a few moments for Minaar to continue, but still she hesitated. Suddenly Guia exclaimed, “Hurry! We’re – ”
At that moment a crash sounded outside, making them all jump in surprise, except for Guia. She had stood on Persivian’s shoulder and was peering up at the door to the loft. “Yet again, it’s too late,” she said sardonically. Both she and her wizard could hear the clash of steel outside, and all of them could sense the spells being cast. Turning to look at the entire group, the cat remarked, “Prepare for battle.”
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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Haha! I am victorious!
I dunno why I said that, it just sounded fun.
Anyway, here's the brand spanking new chapter just for you, enjoy! The decision point is really open - you can use it to suggest a battle plan, or to try to get out before the assailants come, with or without Minaar and Borgen, or you could try to negotiate with the attackers, or whatever. It's up to you.
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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Ooh Excellent chapter.
I'll have to think about battle plans though. I'll be back.
Happy Writing
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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Wonderful chapter, as always DF
Now - what can the plans be?
I would say don't stay clumped up together in the upper storeys of a house. You're prone to being penned, smoked out or set fire to up there.
Would Persivian (or one of the other Mages) be able to make the four of them fade to invisible before they split up? I know that in the past Persisivan has been able to make himself unseen.
Then, they could perhaps have a chance of mounting a guerrila attack against the forces, distracting them for long enough that at least Minaar can get away. It's her they're after and the main task has to be thwarting the evil plot.
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter DF. Um. Well, a couple of them should prepare to hold off the attackers, while the other(s) should try and find a way out, or prepare a teleport spell or something.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: |
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Hmm, a very informative chapte, DF.
We have 4 mages, and a cat to do battle against who knows how many foes. I agree with China. We need a distraction to allow for some kind of escape. Would Borgen know of any other way out of the house?
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Smee
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:43 am Post subject: |
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We need to take advantage of darkness again.
Persivian obviously isn't effected; Guia will be fine, and Jud’ami has the talisman for darkness.
Minaar got away during the darkness on the road, so it's safe to assume she'd do ok too.
Get Jud'ami to help Oculdo, whilst Persivian goes on the offensive.
| Quote: | | I can hardly use mine! Unless it’s used for me |
Minaar's powerful, but unable to use it. Is this something Persivian could link into for a power boost - or would that take some time, and study to learn how?
Just some thoughts.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:14 am Post subject: |
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Hey DF. I was wondering if you're going to put up a poll anytime soon?
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Does Oculdo have a nifty escape route to his tricked out house? I think escape would be best, especially since we know nothing at all about the aggressors except that Guia sensed them intuitively.
I like the idea of using darkness to our advantage, but I'm still more concerned about escape. We're doing really well if we can just get Minaar somewhere safe.
Also, if we suspect a magic-user who uses this little known shadow magic is with the aggressors, we should avoid using a darkness spell, since it isn't likely to be effective and may even strengthen our opponents. I'm still hoping for stooges like from the attack on the road!
Keep it up Dragon Fire! You're descriptions and magic system are remarkable! I look forward to your next chapters!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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You'll probably get really tired of hearing this - but I've been rather busy. I'll put a poll up, but don't expect a new chapter till the end of next week at the earliest, unless I really outdo myself.
Ok, poll options are as follows: 1) Since it would be really dumb of Oculdo to have a home with only one way to get in and out, especially given what's going on, he probably does have an escape route. Option one is ask him about it, and get everyone out - no fighting if at all possible. 2) The basic opposite - make a stand, using Persivian's power of darkness to your best advantage. Since there are three powerful wizard and a very resourceful familiar, as well as three spell-swords at the entrance and Minaar who, as she as already proven, can defend herself well, you stand a good chance. There may even be the possibility of capturing a prisoner for questioning. However, there is a risk, since you don't know how numerous and powerful these enemies are, and how many are wizards.
Thus, we have the middle ground. 3) Send Minaar out the escape route, with perhaps one of the wizards as an escort, while the others stay in the room and distract the enemies long enough for her to get away. We'd still use Persivian's powers of darkness to our advantage.
Those are the options - if anyone's confused, let me know. Also, if you vote for the third option, please tell me who you want to accompany Minaar in the escape, if anyone.
| Quote: | | Also, if we suspect a magic-user who uses this little known shadow magic is with the aggressors, we should avoid using a darkness spell, since it isn't likely to be effective and may even strengthen our opponents. I'm still hoping for stooges like from the attack on the road! |
It makes me glad to know y'all are willing to look deeper into Persivian's world than just the story at hand . Anyway, we hope for stooges, but it is possible for wizards to accompany our enemies, so take care in your vote. And about the whole shadow-darkness thing - As far as magic goes, shadow and darkness, though related, are quite different as far as spells. Shadow is only half darkness - it is made of light as well. A darkness spell would not strengthen shadow magicks for that reason. After all, when there is total darkness, you see no shadows.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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I think they're all great options. I will await the poll before I make my choice clearer.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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LOL, i am so dumb! i forgot to put the poll up. Ok, i'll put it up now - for real this time.
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Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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Smee
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| Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:40 am Post subject: |
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After some thought I've voted for make a stand and fight.
We are behind in this mystery and we need some straight answers. Prisioners or even just the clear look at our attackers that we get from making a stand could be vital in gaining on those we persue.
Happy Writing DF
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| Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: |
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I am going for the distract option. We can find out about our enemies, and make sure Minaar is safe.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Oh dear. I need a tie breaker people! Hurry!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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Woah. Did not expect this. You know you could just PM somebody on this site to break the tie. I did that as favor for someone else's SG. Or you could break it yourself.
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Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:22 am Post subject: |
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Ok, no extra votes, so distraction it is. I'll start the new chapter hopefully tonight.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I didn't see the poll before but now the tie is broken
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm. Change in the poll. I dont' know if Dragon Fire is going to change his or her mind about the choice now. We will have to see.
_________________
Stories
New Story: Glassbreaker Presently on Hiatus until further notice.
Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
Samadhi Traveler 2005 Nano Wrimo winner (53,019 words)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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Yay, tie broken. I guess it isn't distraction after all. If I had started the chapter already you'd of been out of luck, but...<shame> i hadn't started it yet. Stupid prom decorations argh!
Anyway, I am starting the new chapter right now, so in a few days we'll see how Persivian and the rest fared in the attack.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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Cool thanks
*sits down to wait for the next chapter*
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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*grabs 'waiting stool'* LOL. Hope to see that next chapter. DF.
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Stories
New Story: Glassbreaker Presently on Hiatus until further notice.
Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
Samadhi Traveler 2005 Nano Wrimo winner (53,019 words)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Jud’ami rolled up his sleeves and watched the loft door intently. Persivian grasped his ball of darkness again and prepared his spells, while Guia crouched on his shoulder with her tail lashing. Oculdo turned to Minaar and said, “You should leave. If they get you…”
“There’s no time. Besides, I can fight,” the girl snapped. She grasped a sword in her hand – it was the one she had taken from the dead soldier on the road. Her other hand fished in her pocket for chunk of pyrite, which she clasped in her left hand. Pyrite…defense against negative powers, Persivian recalled. I really must ask her about those gems.
“Remember, we are behind these people as far as information,” the blind wizard said. “If the opportunity to capture a prisoner comes to you, take it.” The others nodded.
In the other room the sound of battle could be heard. Sword clashed on sword, and spells were hurtled with abandon. Searching with his powers, Persivian’s suspicion was confirmed – there were magic users coming against them. But the spell-swords were putting up a fight. None had managed to find the trapdoor yet.
Guia cocked her head and her green eyes narrowed. “There are only two spell-swords left,” she said. Another moment of fierce battle, and then, “One.”
“When they get to the loft, I’m going to call darkness upon us,” Persivian said. “Jud’ami and Guia will be able to see. Oculdo…”
“I will shield us,” he said. “I don’t have time to cast a seeing spell now. Your spell would be stronger than mine anyhow.”
Persivian nodded. “Minaar?”
“I’ll use my stones,” she said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Just as long as you make yourself useful and don’t get caught,” Guia snapped. They all winced as they heard a loud crash and pained cry. “Here they come.”
Through the walls of the room Persivian could hear the clumping of booted feet as the assailants ran through all the rooms of the house, circling their position before coming to the room with the trapdoor. “There are six,” he said. “At least…four of them are wizards.” This he detected by searching their auras, seeing who had any magical residues that would be left by casting spells. Then the assailants reached the room with the trapdoor, and it only took them a moment to find it. The sound of clumping footsteps ascended to the second story room. The defenders waited tensely for the attack to come.
No one rushed the door to the loft. Instead the six attackers stayed in the first room until all had come together on the second story. They weren’t total imbeciles, but waited for their numbers to be complete before daring to enter the loft. As one unit they burst through the doorway, six men, four of them with spells waiting for a target before being released, the others brandishing swords before them.
The moment the assailants entered the loft Guia let out an impossibly loud, screeching yowl that set everyone’s teeth on edge. It served to both unsettle their opponents and the let Persivian know the exact moment to call the darkness upon them. Inky blackness settled upon the combatants before the attackers had even fully seen their targets. The two swordsmen couldn’t stop their forward momentum in time and stepped with brief cries off the edge of the loft, falling fifteen feet to the floor below. One managed to turn the fall into a jarring roll even in the darkness, the other lay still. The swordsman who had recovered from the fall rose dazedly to his feet before lurching forward to the unarmed magic-users. He did not make it so far. Persivian’s robes had barely rustled from Minaar’s passing when the last swordsman’s head rolled away from his body. It settled near the stove, and the scent of burning hair filled the room.
These actions barely concerned the wizard though. His attention was focused solely on the four wizards on the loft above him, who had sensibly stopped when the darkness fell. One of them seemed familiar…but he couldn’t spare a moment to place him. Behind him Oculdo was in the grip of his magic, holding a shield around the defenders that would turn away many magical attacks. Jud’ami had conjured a miniature hurricane in his hand, the wind swirling in a tiny maelstrom that held all the fury of its full-sized counterparts. He hurled it to the enemy wizards above. One tried to block the spell, two others prepared to launch the offensive. Persivian had a moment to regret not having the advantage of the high position, but dismissed it as he focused on the fourth enemy wizard.
Fighting a few regular warriors, unless one is completely surrounded, is usually no great feat for a wizard. Their spells are devastating to those who cannot counter them, and normal folk know better than to start a fight with a magic-user unless they outnumber him at least four to one and are close enough to get a hold of him. Even then, they should prepare for some casualties. But fighting another wizard is tricky. One has to juggle being able to shield themselves from, deflect, or in desperate cases simply dodge, an opponent’s magical attacks, while being able to keep a little on the offensive themselves. That is why wizards will normally not duel one-on-one. It is a risky affair, and the effects can be draining. In a group, the wizards can delegate tasks between themselves and enforce each other’s spells if need be.
But that isn’t even the most important reason to not fight alone. The stronger a wizard is, the more powerful his will when casting spells, determines how they will fare in a fight against another magic-user. Evenly matched wizards can duel for hours until one of them makes a mistake or their endurance ends. But the shield of a powerful magic-user will always block feebler spells, and the effects of a weak-willed wizard’s spell could never hope to counter those of one who is strong.
Thus, when the fourth attacking wizard attempted to lift Persivian’s darkness, he failed miserably. There was no way his power could hope to compete with a wizard as strong as the Sightless One, and by attempting it he only broadcasted his exact position to Persivian and revealed who was the better caster. Feeling the aura of his opponent, blazing with the effort of magic, the blind wizard raised his hand in concentration, palm up, as if beckoning to the other wizard. He clenched his fist, and the opponent combusted. Incredibly hot, burning blue flames unseen in the darkness consumed the opposing wizard until he fell to the fire, his life snuffed in an instant. The flames died as suddenly as they had appeared, their work completed.
The odds thus evened, Persivian turned his attention to the efforts of his companions. Jud’ami’s attack had been rebuffed – barely – and their opponents were launching a few attacks of their own. Oculdo was frowning with the concentration of holding up a shield, deflecting the attacks. If he had been alone, he would have been in great trouble indeed. But with Minaar calling upon the powers of her gem, reinforcing his strength and that of his shield, he was holding up remarkably well under the assaults of the other two wizards.
Up on the loft their enemies were doing well also. They also had a shield-holder, whose knees were shaking but seemed able to endure Jud’ami’s ruthless attacks with the help of his companions. The other two wizards were pressing their attack, loosing spell after spell down upon them. Lightning sizzled upon the shield, and the other used a combination of fire and earth magic to bombard the companions from above. The spell-swords were very good to have lasted so long against these opponents.
Skilled as they were, thought, the attackers were not as powerful as those they attacked. Jud’ami used his sailor’s combination of water and wind to wear down their assailants, and the enemy shield grew shakier and shakier. Even as Persivian observed the battle, Jud’ami sent a whirling spear of wind into the enemies’ midst, and the other wizards had to leap aside as the powerful spell broke through their defenses.
All of this happened in the space of less than thirty seconds after the assailants had first entered the loft.
After only a glance to send his will out to assess the situation, Persivian decided how best to jump into the battle. The other wizards had the advantage of the high ground, but he could change that. Persivian raised his hands as if holding up a burden, arms parallel to the floor. Then he tilted them, so his arms made a slope down towards himself. He smiled grimly as the effects of his spell became apparent to those above, who let loose startled cries as the floor beneath them grew slick with his ice. It built itself up behind them, forming a slick ramp that had them sliding despite themselves to the room of the floor below.
The lightning wizard collected himself in time to cushion himself and his companions as they fell, so they managed to land on their feet. But the sudden descent was enough of a distraction to let the shield falter, and Jud’ami’s next miniature hurricane hit its target, the earth/fire wizard, dead center in the chest. The spell stole his breath and collapsed his lungs, shoving his prone body into the wall with a crash.
Now that they were on even footing and faced a number of opponents twice their number, the assailants became desperate. They were bereft of their sight, and could only use their sense of the other wizards’ auras as spell targets. Minaar further confused their aim by activating her gems in different locations within the shield, causing some spells to go awry. The lightning wizard sent bolt after bolt of electricity arcing into the spell, hoping to overwhelm the shield with the ferocity of his attacks, but Oculdo held up well. The enemy shield, on the other hand, was buckling under the steady onslaught of Jud’ami and Persivian’s spells. As the sailor sent bullets of water streaking towards their enemies, Persivian called a circle of flame to envelop their enemies. Neither attack went through the shield fully, but a few scattered droplets broke through to pelt the enemy wizards, leaving nasty welts, and the flames still scorched their feet. Persivian and Jud’ami exchanged smiles in the dark. The shield was failing.
Both wizards changed their spells, Jud’ami raising a whirlwind of water that surrounded and buffeted the other shield without mercy, while Persivian called down a hail of frost, each spreading cold fire wherever it touched. Under the onslaught the enemy wizards buckled, unable to withstand the powerful attacks. The wizard holding the shield abandoned his companion, pulling his defenses tightly around himself like armor. With a swift cry, the lightning wizard raised his hands above his head as the full fury of Jud’ami’s wind and water, and Persivian’s ice, fell upon him. He crumpled to the floor.
Victory seemed imminent. They had their prisoner, and it seemed all that was left was to incapacitate him and see to the wounded. They had won a fierce, though brief, battle, and yet had hardly been taxed at all. The attackers had probably expected Oculdo to be alone, and they would have had a far simpler time taking him out if they hadn’t been there. Persivian was glad that for once, they were in the right place at the right time.
Or so it seemed at first. But as the hope of victory entered Persivian’s mind, the cat on his shoulder let out a warning squall that sent shivers up the wizard’s back. Then a surge of magic emanated from the air surrounding the last opponent, and with a burst of power a portal opened up into the room.
“Get back!” he cried. “Reinforce the shield!” One, two…five more stepped through the portal into darkness. Immediately the shield around them was intensified, even as the companions fortified their own. By their auras, all the new opponents were wizards.
Now the tables had turned, and Persivian and his friends found themselves fending off attacks of far greater power than those previously. The enemy group had three reinforcing their shield, so Persivian’s attacks simply bounced off. Jud’ami had stopped attacking to lend his power to Oculdo to keep them safe, but unless something changed in a hurry, it was ended.
When it became clear that little offensive action was being taken against them, one of the enemy shielders and one of the attackers joined their powers, and began to try to force Persivian’s darkness to lift. By the pattern of the casting it seemed that their new opponents could not see any more than the first ones could, but if they succeeded in banishing Persivian’s spell, the companions’ advantage would be lost…
“Guia,” the blind wizard muttered. “Tell everyone to close their eyes.” Then he stepped back to where he sensed Oculdo standing and whispered a swift instruction in his ear. The earth/light wizard nodded and tensed himself. Persivian waited until the instance before the other wizards released their spell, then whispered, “Now.” At the same time their enemies released their magic to destroy his spell, he called the ball of darkness back into itself, lifting the spell himself. The power the enemies let loose exploded out of them without purpose, wasting their energy and knocking them out of their shield.
The banishment of the darkness was accompanied by a flash of light so dazzling that their assailants cried out in agony. Even Persivian in his blindness could feel the light through his eyelids, and were it not for the warning, his friends would have fallen too. The intense light faded after a moment, but the attackers could still feel its painful effects. “Now, attack!” Persivian cried, as he conjured daggers of ice and sent them speeding to their opponents, who clutched their eyes in pain. At the same time, he wove a spell of darkness around Minaar, so that she would be merely another flitting shadow to the casual onlooker. Despite the momentary distraction of their opponents, there was still a chance they could fall, and if they did Minaar would not be captured as well.
Guia, who had previously been aiding Persivian, leapt from his shoulder to Jud’ami’s, to help him keep up the shield. She normally didn’t aid other wizards in such a way, but was familiar enough with the sailor to do this task for him. Jud’ami took over full management of the shield, allowing Oculdo to use his own magicks more effectively. Minaar continued to reinforce their shield with her gems, not seeming to realize the spell Persivian had woven around her. Oculdo stepped up and folded his hands in a grasping motion, eyes unfocused. Immediately, great thorny vines burst up from the floorboards, thin and strong as steel cables, to wrap around the two wizards who had been thrown from the protection of their shield. Soon they were completely ensconced in the painful bindings. Then the wizard used another light spell to dazzle their minds, so that they could not cast another spell for hours at least, possibly days.
As Oculdo was dealing with their fallen opponents, Persivian turned his attention to the four remaining inside the enemy shield, which they had managed to hold. In the precious moments Oculdo’s burst of light had bought them, he felt the shield for its weakest location, and sent a tendril of fire probing it. After a moment of resistance it pushed through the shield and lashed out at the nearest wizard, grasping his neck and tightening. In a moment it had severed the head and cauterized the remaining flesh at the same time.
Three to four, he thought. Maybe we’ll be able to pull out of this after all. The thought was fleeting, and Persivian pushed it out of his mind before the hope could distract him from battle. The remaining wizards had linked power to bring the shield to full strength, cutting off the flames of his spell and blocking any further attacks. Only one wizard on their side still attacked, conjuring darts and daggers to accost them, but Jud’ami’s shield repelled them with ease. Meanwhile Persivian and Oculdo did their best to probe their assailants’ defenses, but the shield was very well strengthened, and neither Oculdo’s missiles of light, nor Persivian’s bursts of flame, made it through. After a moment, they changed tactics. Persivian tried to freeze the air and layer ice on the floorboards where their enemies stood, while Oculdo caused the earth to rumble beneath their feet. The third opponent stopped his attacks to help the others, and the effects were deadened within their circle and they kept their footing.
It seemed they were at a standstill. Neither group of wizards could penetrate the other’s defenses with magic, and they both knew it. Both groups largely ceased their attacks, only sending low-energy spells to check each other’s weaknesses. Persivian sensed movement behind him. Cocking his head, he realized it was Minaar, starting to step forward with her sword raised. He willed his magic to push her back. When he felt her scowl at him, he shook his head imperceptibly.
That was when he felt the magic growing around their opponents. It was like a whirlwind of power, spiraling into the attackers in a spell that Persivian didn’t recognize. At the same time, he felt a damp chill spreading out from where they stood. “They conjured mist,” Jud’ami muttered to him. “What in Lord’s name are they doing?” Persivian couldn’t answer.
Then he jumped in recognition. This was shadow magic! Reaching with his mind, he realized it was pouring out of the portal, being fed into the enemy wizards as if they were a conduit for someone else’s power. No, not a conduit, more like an amplifier, for the unknown spell fed on their strength.
Suddenly Oculdo raised his head. His eyes were wide and panicked, and he trembled in sudden understanding. “The shield!” he cried. Immediately he and Persivian fed the shield their power, but it was not soon enough.
For a moment, it seemed time had paused between one tick of the clock and the next. In that second, several things happened. Persivian felt his powers deadened, and the magic he was trying to feed to the shield moved sluggishly, repressed by an outside force. Beside him, Oculdo fell to the ground in the effort of pushing his power where it could no longer go. Then he felt the true nature of the mist. It was not simply a conjured fog behind which to hide; it was another example of shadow magic, sneaking past their shield to weaken their defenses and repress their magic. That was the way shadow magic worked – subversively, deviously, attacking not from the front but from angles to the side, nearly undetectable. As Persivian realized this, the spell that had gathered in the other wizards reached its culmination, and with a soundless boom, rocketed out in all directions. It was a product of the combined powers of the three remaining enemy wizards and the source, who had to be, Persivian realized bitterly, the very enemy that Oculdo had been telling them about, who wielded the power of shadows. Its powers burst through their weakened shield with barely a pause. Minaar cried out as it approached, Jud’ami tried to step in front of his friends, but movement, in that timeless moment, was nearly impossible. Persivian threw his hand in front of his face and felt the nature of the spell. It would mean their deaths.
But the moment from eternity did not cease in such a way. Instead, it ended with Guia, launching herself from Jud’ami’s shoulder, straight into the onrushing spell. Persivian felt the flight of his closest companion and tried to cry out, but his voice was drowned out by one of the most powerful sounds he had yet heard in his life.
Coming from the cat was a humming purr that grew louder and more intense with every passing moment. It seemed to shake the walls, though nothing moved. It pressed against his eardrums, his eyelids, every inch of his skin, but he felt not a thing. Finally, and in an instant, it ended with a soft hush sound, and Persivian could feel himself fading.
The clock ticked again. The shadow spell rushed forward, and Guia’s leap carried her through it, without further sound. Persivian desperately wanted to go to her, to aid her as she had always aided him, but he felt himself falling, and blackness settled over his mind. It was not a shadow as he may have expected, but an absence of light that came upon him like an unwelcome salve, and then he felt no more.
* * *
It was to silence and cold that the wizard opened his eyes again. The stench of smoldering flesh filled the room. They were still in Oculdo’s home, and nothing but the wind outside and the breathing of his companions could be heard. Cautiously he sent out his will to search for the enemy wizards, but there was no trace of them beside the lingering auras left by their spells. Only the bodies of the dead remained, and the two Oculdo had trapped with his vines.
In a sudden rush, Persivian jumped to his feet. “Guia!” he cried, but there was no answering meow, no brush of black fur against his ankles. He could sense the presence of Jud’ami, now stirring, Oculdo lying comatose, and Minaar, crouching beside the wall, hugging her knees. But of Guia, there was no sign.
“Guia,” he moaned in despair. They had gambled, and they had escaped with their lives, living prisoners, possible answers. But the price was his friend, the familiar he had known since his childhood, and all Persivian could feel was terrible emptiness. Silently he sank to the floor and held his head in his hands.
He felt Jud’ami’s warm hand on his shoulder. “She is…gone?” he asked hesitantly. By the grief in his voice, Persivian knew what his friend meant: Was Guia lost to life, as their mentor had been?
The void in Persivian began to fill with growing rage. “No,” he whispered to Jud’ami. He clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms. He could feel a bright spot in his mind, far away, and his initial grieving panic bled away with a wild mixture of relief and anger. “No,” he repeated.
“She isn’t dead.” Minaar raised her head and met Persivian’s white-eyed gaze without flinching. It wasn’t a question.
“They have taken her with them,” said Persivian. Slowly he stood, and blood welled in his palms as he squeezed tighter. “Captured her, in her weakness. To use as bait.” He spat the word like a poison.
“Persivian…” Jud’ami said. He was obviously joyously relieved that Guia was alive, but he had also been around his friend long enough to know that he did not get angry lightly or easily. This was as furious as he had ever seen his friend.
The blind wizard, for his part, took a few deep breaths, not destroying his anger but simply controlling it. He knelt behind Oculdo. “He won’t wake,” Minaar said. “He breaths deeply, his pulse is steady but very slow. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” An edge of hysteria crept into her voice, and she snapped her mouth closed so it would not show again.
Both wizards examined Oculdo briefly, then nodded in agreement. “When the shadow spell was rushing us, he tried pushed every drop of power he had into the shield, as fast as he could. The mist sucked it away before he realized what it was. All of his magical energy was pulled out of him.” Glancing up at Jud’ami, Persivian said, “It can be a dangerous thing for a wizard to overexert himself in such a way, but with the proper care he will recover.”
Persivian bowed his head and forced his body to relax. But his mind continued to spiral tighter. Fed by his anger over Guia’s capture, over their narrow defeat, over Oculdo’s present state, he allowed his rage to grow until he shook. “This has gone on long enough.” Raising his eyes to his two remaining companions, he startled them with the blazing vehemence they showed.
He stood up to face them. “Enough has been lost to this man, this shadow wizard. From now on, he is done winning.” The wizard’s voice was tinged with frost, but his eyes burned like fire.
Jud’ami nodded, and his face settled into an expression of determination and wrath. “I am with you.”
Minaar, looking between the two wizards revealed in their fierce and powerful glory, began to smile. There was no amusement in her expression, nor laughter. It was more a smile of battle lust, of the long-awaited chance to fight back, to stand beside these allies. “No more hiding,” she murmured to herself. Standing swiftly, her bloody sword laying across her shoulder, she said proudly, “As am I.”
Persivian’s sightless gaze jumped between the two, the cloudy eyes veritably crackling. “The hunt has begun.” A moment later, he smiled as well.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
Hallowed IFian
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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Wonderful, wonderful stuff
Awesome fight - I was transfixed reading every word.
No Happy Writings or smiling faces...
Lets hunt... 
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The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: |
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That's possibly the best fight scene I've seen anywhere in IF. Outstanding writing, DF!
I agree with Smee. On with the hunt!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:07 am Post subject: |
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I agree with the others. That fight scene had me riveted. F5 Shady, and Smee. No more hiding. Besides I want to see Guia again, I miss her sarcastic comments.
_________________
Stories
New Story: Glassbreaker Presently on Hiatus until further notice.
Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
Samadhi Traveler 2005 Nano Wrimo winner (53,019 words)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:55 am Post subject: |
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Congratulations DF! You have been awarded the First Ever Chinaren Hall award for Great Fight scene!!
A PM will be flying your way soon, though maybe a bit slow, as my internet connection seems to be stuck on 'slug' speed just now.
FYI, Smee and Ravenwing nominated you for this award.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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<humble bow>
Thanks for that, y'all. Glad you enjoyed it so much. I've been waiting to write that chapter since, I dunno, maybe chapter four, so I'm glad it was worth the wait.
BTW if anyone out there reading the chapter was thinking, ok, I'm missing something, where's the decision point, I'm sorry. It's less of a "what do you do" and more of a "how do you do it"
Anyway, thanks for your ego-boosting compliments!
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DarkeFlyte
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| Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, that was an awesome fight! I like you have the settings planned out and timed perfectly.
Hmmmm, the hunt has begun. Sweet, hopefully lots and lots of steel and blood. 
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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| lordofthenight wrote: | Aww, poor kitty-cat.
For some reason I feel like I lost something too - where's that plushie? |
LOL, Lordy.
Welcome to the City DarkFlyte!
P.S. I hope that was a deliberate mispelling of Flight...
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Ingrothechundyer
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| Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Nice Job
I vote that we get more of those powerful crystals before starting the hunt anew. We need to be more powerful if were going to win next time.
We should also take advantage of the opertunity to extract info from the captives the wizards convientently left behind for us to question.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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First thing we need to do is get a counterspell that will prevent their instant death if they reveal any information. Last time we interrogated someone, he died gruesomely, so I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that again. Get the magic-users to collaborate on this and hurry. These jerks with their portals will move fast.
As far as what to ask, big question: WHERE? If we know where the shadow mage behind all of this is, we're a lot closer to defeating him. We should also ask about what his strengths are, especially this shadow magic we're so unacquainted with. It's a major weakness we have. And if we can learn their weaknesses it would be good to.
Basically, we won the fight, in spite of the loss of my favorite character. But we have what we came for and they don't. Assuming we have the upperhand, we should prepare a trap. We know they'll come again, it would be nice to not have our pants down next time.
Less hunting, more trapping, and we need to keep our energies high!
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with what Lebby says. We may have won this battle at a great cost, but it's best we find out more about our enemies.
I don't think Gaia would want the group to worry about her too much.
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Despite the length, cathing up on this story was worth every second (hour )! A wonderfully constructed tale, with incredibly detailed and life-like characters, stunning descriptions and a stupendously told plot, full of perfectly executed twists. Marvelous Stuff Dragon, staggering! :biggrin:
I caught up at a sad time though. I too loved Guia, and am sad to see her captured by such an insiduous enemy. We must locate her and hopefully in doing so we can find the evil-doers behind everything.
Oculdo said something about the threat coming from the east. Maybe some hasty research should be done to discern what possible threats could originate from there, and then they can try and track it to its source.
If that doesn't give us any leads, we should think about looking for Verrad again, as he seemed to have a link to Minaar that isn't good. We should ask her if she knows anything about him, and then try and locate him. His relief at hearing that she had not been harmed sounds like he works for the enemy; they would not want to see her harmed as they need her for this scheme of thiers. He could be the link we use to get at them.
Really looking forward to reading the next part DF! Can't wait!
*holds awe-struck breath*
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"Humankind cannot stand too much reality" - T.S. Elliot
Thesopholis - A Noir Sci-Fi Story - Chapter 8 is up! Read it here
The End of the Voyage - Chapter 9
Shady the Furry Goblin! [Demon's, Satan and Slobadan Milosevic!] - Chapter 3
The Quest for the Legendary Rubber-Duckie! - Chapter 3
One Last Bullet.... Chapter 3
Green Eyes - Chapter 5
Last edited by Solomon Birch on Fri May 12, 2006 12:24 am; edited 1 time in total
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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Don't you mean you can't wait until we have a poll up, Soily?
Good observations by the way. I think I missed them, since I was still grieving for the loss of Gaia.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 6:30 am Post subject: |
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So many options for a poll, I'm trying to think of how to approach this...I may have to nix a few of the suggestions, sorry!
Ok, these will be the poll options:
*Interrogate the prisoners, after examining them for a similar death-curse as they had seen before and removing it.
*Go to the Academy's library and learn as much as possible about shadow magic.
*Attempt to discern any possible threats from the East.
*Track down Verrad, use him to find the enemies.
*Ask Minaar about her gems and use them to gain information if possible.
Ok, that'll be enough to get us going. I'll probably use more than one of these options in the chapter, so you should vote for whichever you think has the highest priority.
Enough talking. Vote away!
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:18 am Post subject: |
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| Solomon Birch wrote: | | I caught up at a sad time though. I too loved Guia, and am sad to see her captured by such an insiduous enemy. |
So, Solomon arrives at another story just in time to for the disappearance of another main character, just like HNP.... Is it coincidence? Or is it something more devious ....
Voted for emphasis on interrogation. The fact that the curse was placed on a minion in the first place suggests knowledge that they're desperate to hide. Talk about a confidentiality contract! I wonder if they knew what was going on when it was being cast on them....
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yup, going with Lebby. We need some insider information.
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 3:50 am Post subject: |
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Voted for finding Verrad. He has sinister links to Minaar, so we should try and discover what these are, and if he has links to the enemies who just kidnapped Gaia.
And I'm sorry for being such a bad luck charm.... I have this effect on anything technological, eventually.... My PC's graphics card jsut died, at a terrible time, and its really p'ed me off.... Argh. Damn my techno-killing abilities...
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Thesopholis - A Noir Sci-Fi Story - Chapter 8 is up! Read it here
The End of the Voyage - Chapter 9
Shady the Furry Goblin! [Demon's, Satan and Slobadan Milosevic!] - Chapter 3
The Quest for the Legendary Rubber-Duckie! - Chapter 3
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LordoftheNight
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| Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 8:31 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, I also tipped my vote for Verrad, mainly for the reasons that Soily mentioned.
Plus his name starts with a V. See Soily - a 'V'. Further proof. (Sorry people, side argument/discussion)
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 6:29 am Post subject: |
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V for Vendetta is the only title I can think of that starts with a V. Sorry, totally off-topic.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, looks like interogation is our plan. Dunno when the new chapter will be up, but it'll come...eventually.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 6:23 am Post subject: |
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It's a pleasure to return to the City after an extended absence and find such a remarkably good story in it. Bravo! Looking forward to reading and commenting on the next chapter.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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Hope to see that next chapter, DF soon enouhg.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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I am so mad at myself for not having posted a new chapter in over a month! I'm so sorry, and I am working on the next chapter.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Smee
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| Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Awww, that was a shame - A new chapter might have been all that was required to secure your SGoTM victory - so close.
Oh well, we've loved it for the last 6 months in here, and I'll certainly continue to. I look forward to the next chapter.
Happy Writing
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, its a damn shame you didn't win this month DF; yours was the only one I think deserved it. Can't wait for the next chapter! :biggrin:
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"Humankind cannot stand too much reality" - T.S. Elliot
Thesopholis - A Noir Sci-Fi Story - Chapter 8 is up! Read it here
The End of the Voyage - Chapter 9
Shady the Furry Goblin! [Demon's, Satan and Slobadan Milosevic!] - Chapter 3
The Quest for the Legendary Rubber-Duckie! - Chapter 3
One Last Bullet.... Chapter 3
Green Eyes - Chapter 5
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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First things first - the prisoners must be questioned. Any information they gave would be vital to finding Guia and stopping the shadow wizard’s plots. However, that couldn’t very well be done here – especially if they had been cursed as Dolan had. “We have to get our prisoners to the Academy to be questioned. Oculdo too – and any of our spell-swords who are still alive.”
“I’ll check them,” Minaar said. “If they are hurt maybe I can help them.” Biting her lip, she said, “I do wish I had my emerald though.”
“Here,” Persivian said, untying the pouch from his belt. The wizard retrieved the green gem and, after a moment of hesitation, the kyanite and tiger’s eye as well. “I found them in your wagon,” he told her. “I had intended to keep them for a while, but they are yours.”
Minaar reached out and took the gems, her fingers brushing his palm. “They are,” she murmured. Aware of the trust he was placing in her, she said, “Thank you.” Then she hurried to the ladder and climbed out of the loft.
Jud’ami was taking care of Oculdo, laying him on the bed in the corner and wrapping him in a blanket till he could be moved to the Academy, so Persivian turned his attention to the two prisoners the earth wizard had incapacitated. He walked over to the nearest and examined him. The man was completely covered in thorny vines that smelled of earth and reeked of magic. They worked better than the finest chains in confining a victim, because every movement caused pain. Effective, but cruel. Persivian would hate to be in the enemies’ position.
Right now the prisoners were unconscious as well as tied, thanks to Oculdo’s light magic, but they’d soon wake up, and by then may be able to cast spells again. This would be dangerous to everyone, so Persivian held is hands over the enemy’s body and called upon his magic. Vines of darkness snaked from his fingers and wormed their way past the thorny plants to the bound wizard within. They spread, covering his body and sinking into the skin, tightening upon his power. Persivian sat back and stood. He had bound the man’s magic, at least for a time. Now he had only to do the same to the others.
As he completed the spell for a second time on the other enemy wizard, the man suddenly shifted, rising from unconsciousness. When he moved, the thorns bit into him and he cried out in pain. Hearing his voice, Persivian started and fixed his gaze upon him. He recognized the man’s aura as the sole survivor of the first attack, the shielder. It was also this man who had seemed familiar to Persivian, and hearing his voice for the first time, the blind wizard understood why.
This was Verrad.
Which, of course, made sense. His unusual knowledge of what had happened to Persivian, Guia, and Minaar on the road, his inability (or unwillingness) to explain how he came by that knowledge, the cat’s instinctive dislike of him, all pointed to him being in league with their enemies. How much of what I told him helped lead them to us tonight? Persivian wondered bitterly. But this was not the time to dwell on the thought.
“Mph hnimph gerf!” the man cried, which Persivian translated to mean, “Let me go!” Briefly he considered knocking Verrad out again till they reached the academy, if only to shut him up, but anger turned him away from that course. Let him suffer, Persivian thought. After what had happened, the wizard was in no mood for mercy. Instead after strengthening his magic bindings on the enemies, he crossed over to Jud’ami.
“How is he?” he asked.
The sailor was leaning over Oculdo’s prone form with his hand on his forehead, but looked up as Persivian approached. “He’ll live,” he said. “If we get him to the Academy soon enough he’ll even recover full use of his magic.” This was a relief, because it was not unheard of for wizards who exhausted their power to not get it back in full.
Above them Minaar reentered the loft. “Two of the spell-swords are dead,” she announced. “I’ve done what I can for the third, but he needs the help of a healer.”
“All right then, let’s go.”
“How will we carry all of them?” asked Minaar. “I can’t aid you magically, and I don’t know if you both want to float them all to the Academy.”
“Let’s get them outside and then we’ll worry about that.”
As they spoke, the other prisoner groaned and shifted. Hearing his companion, Verrad started trying to speak as well, but he at least knew better than to wiggle around too much. His friend learned this quickly as well.
The three companions turned to look at their captives. “Should we knock them out again?” Jud’ami asked.
“No.” The savageness of Persivian’s voice startled his friend, and Minaar as well.
“You’ll not show them mercy?” Minaar asked. “Not that I mind, of course…” her voice trailed off darkly as she glanced at her brother. Jud’ami stayed silent, but continued to watch the blind man curiously.
“You can show him mercy if you wish,” he said, gesturing towards the newly stirring prisoner. “But that one can suffer.” Looking at his dark-skinned friend, Persivian said, “It is Verrad.”
“Verrad?” Jud’ami shot a swift glance at the enemy wizard, and turned back to Persivian. “I detected nothing in his aura, when he visited us,” he said with some consternation. “He must be powerful to have evaded our detection.”
Nodding, Persivian replied, “He is powerful. He was their shielder in the first attack, and he could rebuff our attacks.”
“Not very well.”
“Well enough.” Glancing at the man, Persivian said thoughtfully, “I think his magic is illusion. He must be a master of the class, to have fooled us. An adept spy.”
“Aye,” agreed Jud’ami. The two wizards pondered this for a moment, until Minaar cleared her throat impatiently.
“Right. Let’s go.” Persivian and Jud’ami levitated the prisoners and Oculdo up out of the loft, and climbed out themselves. Minaar pushed open the window in the other room and they sent their burdens down to the ground below, preferring to leave them a while unprotected than waste the energy floating them throughout the entire house. The question still remained as to how they were going to transport two wounded, two prisoners, and two of their comrades’ bodies to the Academy, but they would think about that later.
As it turned out, the question was answered for them. When they emerged from the house it was to find a five spell-swords and wizards from the Academy waiting for them. “We were told you would need our help,” the leader said to Persivian. Looking at the inert bodies arranged beneath the window, she remarked, “Seems we were right.”
The blind wizard nodded gratefully. “Those two need medical help – that one has spent his power. Those two are prisoners, and must be guarded well at all times. I’ve bound their magic, and obviously they aren’t going anywhere,” he gestured to the vines, “but it’s best not to take chances.”
Immediately the others nodded and went into action, loading the wounded and dead carefully onto a cart they’d brought and preparing to levitate the prisoners to the Academy. Before they left, Persivian stopped the leader and asked, “Tell me, who told you we’d need your aid?”
“Devanta,” the woman replied.
“Devanta?” Persivian repeated in surprise.
She nodded. “She actually came up from her quarters, wrapped up in a blanket and ordering us to come here. Gave us the address, and here we came.” Persivian heard the rustle of clothing and creak of armor, and then a small cloth bundle was being pressed into his hand. “She asked me to give you this, as well.”
He nodded his thanks as Jud’ami came up beside him. “What is that?” he asked.
“We’ll see in a moment,” Persivian replied.
“We’re heading back to the Academy,” the leader said, mounting her horse. “If you want a lift, jump in the wagon.”
Persivian, who did not fancy walking all the way back after the battle, immediately climbed up, followed by Jud’ami and Minaar, who settled on either side of him. With a slight jerk they started moving, but the companions didn’t rest yet, instead leaning over to watch as Persivian untied the bundle Devanta had sent him. His deft hands untied the knot at the top, and something fell into his hand. “A ring,” he said. Feeling it, the cool metal warming beneath his fingers, Persivian traced the thick band and the shape of the flower the metal spread into. He recognized it after a moment as a desert bloom, a night-blooming blossom found in the Akbar Deserts. The seers had adopted it long ago as a standard symbol for those of their powers. “This is Devanta’s ring,” he murmured, now recognizing it as the one piece of jewelry the young seer owned. Guia had described the silver ring to him long ago when they’d first met the girl. Why would she give it to me?
After slipping the ring on his finger so as not to lose it, Persivian turned his attention to the cloth the ring had been wrapped in. It smelled faintly metallic…he brought it close to his nose and sniffed. “She wrote on this cloth,” he announced.
“It’s so dark, I can’t even see,” Minaar said. “What’s it say?”
Jud’ami, however, recognized the troubled tone in his friend’s voice and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“She didn’t write the message with ink,” Persivian answered. “It’s written in blood.” Jud’ami and Minaar exchanged glances while Persivian traced his fingers over the cloth. The blood had dried without soaking fully into the cloth, and he was able to feel what was written. “It says:
‘I had a vision. This is it.
A secret was hidden in a man’s tongue, but his tongue was trapped and locked with chains.
The key to the locks is sblochiave.’ ”
“Sblochiave?” Minaar repeated in confusion.
Persivian continued, “Then she wrote something else: ‘When you’ve found it, come to me. You will be given a name.’ ” Once more he ran his fingers over the cloth, but found no more words.
“A short message,” he remarked. “But very valuable.”
“Do you think it could really be that simple?” Jud’ami asked.
Folding the cloth up carefully, Persivian replied, “She wouldn’t have written it if she hadn’t been seen it.”
“I’m confused,” Minaar interrupted. “Who is Devanta? What does all that mean?”
“Devanta is the Matron Seer of the Academy,” Persivian replied shortly. Turning to Jud’ami, he said, “It makes sense in a way, thought I’ve never heard of sblochiave being used with death curses. We’ll have to examine the spell at the Academy to see if we can unravel the curse.”
“Hello?” the girl interrupted again. “What is sblochiave?”
Jud’ami answered, “It’s an ancient type of guarding spell, used to safeguard treasures. If whatever’s being guarded gets too close to being revealed, the spell hides it in some manner, usually by moving it away, or setting off traps around it so that the guarded object becomes unattainable.”
“I suppose sblochiave could be modified with shadow magic to protect information,” Persivian murmured. “It is a complex spell, but it is foolproof.”
Considering this, Minaar said, “But your seer said that seb – sbla – whatever – was the key to finding the secret, not what’s guarding it.”
“It depends on how you look at it,” Persivian replied. “I think what her vision meant is that knowing that sblochiave was being used to guard the secret would be the key to being able to access it. Now that we know the spell that was used, we can find a way to undo it.”
Minaar sat back and nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”
The blind wizard was hardly listening though. It seemed they had a way to find whatever secret Verrad and his companion might hold, without killing them off before it could be known. It would be tricky to undo the spell, and who knew how it had been modified to work on information rather that material treasures, but it would be do-able. But there was the second part of the message to consider…
As if reading his thoughts, Jud’ami remarked, “I wonder what she means. Whose name will she give us?”
“Hopefully whoever’s behind this whole mess,” growled Minaar.
So this is how life is, Persivian thought. We go from having almost no leads, to having to choose between them.
They arrived at the Academy shortly, the grounds fragrant and lit by moonlight. The wagon pulled to a stop. “Where do you want us to take you?” the driver asked.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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Thar she blows!
Hmph. Well, it's late in coming, and not as good as it could have been, and didn't progress very far, but I suppose it'll have to do.
By the way, thank you everyone for your support over the month (s ) in SGotM. I love you all!
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 12:46 am Post subject: |
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Woo-yeah! A new UQ chapter! Marvelous stuff DF! And glad to see you back!
I think that they should go with the prisoners and try and extract some information before the spell stopping their magic wears off and they have to wait for it again. They may not be able to get too much, not without prepared spells for interrogation, but I'm sure something useful could be... extracted with a little persuasion. Perhaps ask them, nonchalantly, something about the 'sblochiave', try and see if a look of fear or anger crosses the prisoners face at the mention of this.
Minaar should probably go to her brother, unless she has some trinket that could help with interrogation. They probably wouldn't ask her, but at the mention of what they are going to see the prisoners for, then she could notice and suggest one of her things. Just a thought.
Looking forward to stuff and you know. Stuff. :biggrin:
*holds breath*
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:47 am Post subject: |
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Excellent chapter again DF
I tend to think sblochiave has to be our priority here. If the seer felt strongly enough about it to edge us in that direction, then that's the direction we have to move in.
Go to the academy and research the spell, see if we can find a way around it.
Splitting up may be an idea, but Persivian seems the best qualified both to research the spell and to interrogate the prisoners, so I'd say our secondary objective will meet with limited success, in that case. Besides, after the last attack, we're better off staying together. Strength in numbers, and all that
Let the spell swords handle the enemy Mages and hope that they can keep them under control until we have a few answers.
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 6:20 am Post subject: |
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Nice chapter. I'm thinking that if our heros are fairly confident they can keep hold of the prisoners for a while, then the spell needs to be the highest priority.
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Smee
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 7:01 am Post subject: |
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An enjoyable chapter again DF
I agree with Stoat and Powers - get to work on the spell. If it's as foolproof as it sounds then we are relying on mistakes made by our enemies when they adapted it with Shadow magics. They've already proven to have Masters in their ranks and those mistakes are going to be small.
Great stuff, keep it coming,
Happy Writing
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:51 am Post subject: |
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I just found this story, and I wish I had known about it sooner. I am very impressed and I can easily see why it has been nominated for SGOTM!
I have nothing insightful to add to this decision point, unfortunately. As has been said, if the Matron Seer says that the spell is where to focus their energy, then thats where they should focus it.
I'm sure there are others who could extract information from the prisoners in the meantime though.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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F5 pretty much everybody. I am curious about this complicated guard spell. And if it is as complex as Persivian believes it to be, it may be best that many heads work the solution out.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry for the long wait between replies. We'll send our prisoners with the reinforcements, and go research the sblochiave spell. After we have more information and know how to undo it, we'll return to Verrad and his friend and question them. (and I have a feeling you're looking forward to that a little too much )
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Starwalker
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:36 am Post subject: |
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I've just read your tale today. I'm enjoying what you've written and am looking forward to reading more.
I glad to hear that the party is heading off to research the information that was provided to them by the Seeress
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Shogun
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| Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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When you "question" them. Make sure to brand them with hot iron in the palms, first. You'll set their pain sensors on fire, literally.
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Mother Goose
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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I've finally caught up with this wonderful story! I have no new ideas to add; everybody's comments get an f5 from me, so I'll just sit back and wait with the rest of your growing audience for the next chapter.
Keep writing, and have fun!
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OldJoe
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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Ah agree with the good folks above. Ah fine yarn it is too.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:31 am Post subject: |
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“To the academy,” Persivian told the driver. “We must go to the library.”
The driver nodded and clucked the horses along the cobbled road. The grounds were empty and silent, except for the mourning bell that rang once every five minutes. This would continue till dawn – it was the first stage of the wizards’ Academy for honoring the dead. Lehrar was on everyone’s mind tonight.
Shortly they pulled to a stop outside the white steps of the academy, the main center of learning for which this entire section of the city, controlled by the wizards, was named. Immediately the three companions exited the wagon, which then continued along the road to the hospice, where Oculdo and the other spell-sword would be treated. Persivian led the way up the steps and they entered the building.
The wizards’ academy had an entirely different feel at night. During the day, it had been quiet. Now it was entirely silent, every step echoing to the high ceiling, and the feeling of openness, without teachers and pupils hurrying along to fill the space, was just short of oppressive. Persivian, Jud’ami, and Minaar strode across the vast hall and felt like three lone bees trying to make their way in an abandoned hive. Of course, everyone else was in their rooms, trying to sleep and heeding the grieving bell’s mournful calls, so they should have anticipated the emptiness. Still, it was disconcerting, and made Persivian jumpy.
They hurriedly made their way to the doors across the hall, which led to a corridor of classrooms, at the far end of which was the library. If there was any place to find information about the sblochiave spell, that would be it. As they passed the door to the seers’ quarters, Persivian wondered what Devanta would tell them when they came. He couldn’t help feeling that it was odd, the seer contradicting herself so. Only a few hours ago she’d told him they probably would not see each other again, but now she was instructing him to come to her. It was strange, but Persivian pushed it aside. He would find out what Devanta wanted after they’d talked to Verrad, as she herself had told him.
They arrived at the doors, and Jud’ami pushed them open without hesitation, taking the lead. Minaar was staring around with obvious fascination to what little of the hall could be seen in the faint light, but could not hide the worry she felt over her brother. She kept glancing back to the doors, and her concern was palpable. It was then Persivian noticed again the subtle change he had observed earlier, watching her talk to Oculdo from the loft. Once again, he put off looking into it further, because they had arrived at the library.
The wizard stepped through to door and immediately knew the change of rooms. The smell of leather, parchment and must floated on the still air, and the sense of age and knowledge surrounded the companions. Still, the impression of openness remained, because the library of the Academy of wizards was a vast room, filled with thousands of books, scrolls, tablets, pamphlets, and every other conceivable type of written lore, and yet it was no more than perhaps 150 feet wide. The hugeness of the room was a product of its height – it extended upwards story upon story, fading into darkness at its zenith where the most dangerous and celebrated spells and histories were kept. In the center of the ground floor was a massive octagonal desk, hollow in its middle where the librarians sat, from where all the business of the room was conducted. Along the walls of the library (also in the form an octagon) were thousands, millions of shelves, filled with more knowledge and learning that any other place in the known world. Rolling ladders allowed access to higher shelves, while wrought iron spiral staircases led up to the different levels, which circled the entire circumference of the library on each level, making every single book perfectly accessible. Of course, there was not a man nor woman alive who could ever learn all the library had to offer, for to do so would mean to know hundreds of languages, thousands of dialects, the histories of generations of forgotten kingdoms, and more spells than there were stars in the sky.
“We’re supposed to find out information about one spell in all this?” Minaar whispered incredulously. Even in the semi-darkness the enormity of the library was painfully evident.
“Do not worry,” Persivian told her, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of the room. It was all so familiar, and he almost regretted the years he’d spent away. “Both Jud’ami and I have experience in this library – we know how to find what we need.”
With that the search began. Persivian spoke with the night attendant, and older man who spent most of his waking hours in the library and knew it better than almost anyone alive. Jud’ami looked in the library atlas, an enormous set of books that told the locations of materials in the library based on subject matter. Between the two of them they quickly found the location of several books that might contain the information they were looking for.
Sblochiave was an old spell, and thus found higher up on the walls, but Jud’ami used his wind to gently raise himself and Persivian up, while Minaar waited below. Very soon after that the three were sitting around one of the many tables in the library’s ground floor, a stack of books between them, ready to begin.
“What are we looking for exactly?” Minaar asked, pulling a dusty tome towards herself.
“Anything about the use, casting, modification, or dispelling of the sblochiave spell,” Jud’ami answered.
She nodded, and then looked curiously at Persivian, who was cracking open the cover of a large spell book. “Um…are you going to…read that?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“…How?”
Persivian smiled at her mischievously and replied, “Magic.” Then he rested his fingertips upon the book and concentrated. After a moment he said, “It’s a spell that textures the print on the page. I can then feel the words, and am able to ‘read’ what it says.” He paused and said, “Lehrar developed it for me.”
Minutes passed in silence as the three searched the books, broken only by Minaar’s frustrated sighs. Eventually she exclaimed, “This is pointless! I don’t understand any of this spell-casting mumbo-jumbo – how exactly do you expect me to help you here?”
“All you have to do is find places in the books where it mentions the spell. Show them to Persivian or me, and we’ll handle the rest.”
“Fine, but I still don’t understand this. If we know what spell was used to curse the prisoners, why do you need to know how to cast it? Shouldn’t we be with them now, trying to undo the thing so we can figure out who’s behind all this?”
“There are two ways to unravel a spell, Minaar,” Persivian said, turning a page in his book. “One is to use your will to examine the magicks that form it, to try to determine the pattern that created it and decide where the weakest part of that pattern is, and then manually take apart the spell with your own magic. Or, you use the knowledge you already have about how the spell was cast, find the cornerstone of the magic, remove it, and watch as it collapses on its own. The more we know about the spell, the easier finding the cornerstone will be.”
“Cornerstone?”
Jud’ami said, “The cornerstone is the block that holds a building up. Remove it and the entire structure falls. With magic, there’s something of the same deal. Wizards can examine cast spells, I’m sure you knew.” Minaar nodded, and the sailor continued, “It’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t a trained magic-user, but spells have certain patterns when cast, and wizards can ‘see’ the pattern, which is what I mean by examining them. And in the midst of any spell pattern there are one or more ‘cornerstones’. In simpler spells they are easy to find, but the more complex the spell the harder it is to find. In order to dispel magic, you must know, or be able to find, the cornerstone. Once you remove it, the spell collapses and the effects of it die as well.”
“So you’re studying the guard spell now, so it’s easier to unravel later? Why can’t you just undo it the other way?”
“Because ripping magic apart is flashy, uses up too much energy, and is very messy,” Persivian replied. “And it can take a very long time. Trust us, Minaar, we know what we’re doing.”
The girl pursed her lips and made a small impatient sound in her throat, but otherwise remained silent. They continued the search, finding many references to sblochiave, some vague, some very clear, but little that would help the wizards familiarize themselves with the spell. That is, until Jud’ami chanced upon what they needed.
“Persivian! I found the spell!”
“You did?” the wizard exclaimed excitedly. “Excellent!”
“The complete instructions to casting it are found here,” the sailor continued, scooting his chair over so they could examine the passage together.
Persivian cast his reading spell over the book and read the words. “Yes, this is exactly what we were looking for! Well done, my friend.”
“So that’s it?” Minaar asked. “We’re done now?”
“Well, we have to study the spell before we can be ready to go back to the prisoners.”
“And how long will that take?” the girl cried.
Glancing at her briefly with his white eyes, Persivian answered, “That depends on how many questions you intend to ask us before we can begin.” Minaar took the hint and sat back in her chair, sighing occasionally as her wizard companions bent over the old text and discussed it at length. Persivian found its complexity fascinating and would have loved to inspect it more thoroughly, but he understood the need for haste. He and Jud’ami instead concentrated on the pattern of the casting and locating where the cornerstones of the magic would be. They were difficult to find, and both wizards understood that once they were examining the actual sblochiave spell placed upon Verrad, the effects of the shadow magic would have altered the spell and the cornerstones probably wouldn’t be the same as before. Persivian only hoped that the information they gained now would make their job easier in the end.
After an interminable length of time pouring over and discussing the spell together, Persivian turned to Jud’ami and asked, “Are we good, do you think?”
“I think we’ve learned what we need,” his friend replied in his deep voice, and together they stood up. Minaar started out of her doze and was immediately on her feet.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Chuckling, Jud’ami said, “Let me check this out, then we will be.”
The three left the library and crossed the empty hall, stepped into the night-scented air, and followed the paths northeastward, deeper into the Academy’s compound. Jud’ami led the way, with Persivian just behind him, following the sound of his friend’s feet crunching on the white gravel of the paths. The bell rang and its deep sound echoed in the air. Distantly Persivian could hear the cry of gulls and waves. It seemed odd to him that on a night such as this, with every breath taking in the scent of the ocean and the very air around them heavy with sleep and mourning, they were going not to any sort of peaceful repose, but to an interrogation.
In the northeast corner of the Academy, hidden from the sight of the streets by tall stone walls and separated from the rest of the complex by an arcing row of hedges, stood a high tower. It was topped with sharp, toothy battlements, had one door at its base, and was protected by strong magicks. Within the tower, from its heights to the spread of dungeons below, were kept the criminals of the wizarding world. They were the would-be assassins of the Emperor, the war-mongers and thieves, the ones who murdered and consorted with demons for the sake of their own magicks – in short, the most dangerous men and women in the empire. It was the Prison Keep, and it was here Verrad and his comrade had been taken, to be held until questioning. Persivian had told the spell-swords transporting the two prisoners that no one was to begin interrogation until he or Jud’ami were present, for fear of what the curse might do. Now that they could undo the spell ‘trapping their tongues’ as Devanta had written, they would see what the men had to hide.
Persivian and his companions came quickly to the Prison Keep, and were directed to the room where their prisoners waited. Once again Jud’ami went first, his blind companion walking with a hand on his shoulder. Sounds echoed strangely here, and the corridors were designed to confuse visitors. Both wizards had seen the inside of the Keep several times, as a result of their service to the late Emperor, but years of being away from such business had robbed Persivian of what little familiarity he’d had of the place. For the first time in a long, long time, he felt a little uncertain in his blindness. He needed Guia.
We’ll find her, he told himself. Verrad will tell us what we need to know to understand what’s happening. Persivian told himself that, but could not banish the voice in his head that told him optimism was not always merited. He wanted the prisoners to have the information they’d need to lead them to the shadow wizard and put an end to the plot, but he also knew full well how little wishes counted in world.
Finally Jud’ami stopped. “We’re here,” he said, over the sound of locks being undone and chains rattling in their slots. The companions stepped inside the holding room, and with a metallic boom the door slammed shut behind them.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
Last edited by dragon_fire372 on Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:36 am; edited 1 time in total
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:36 am Post subject: |
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I'm sorry there's not much of a decision point here. This is really just part of the overall chapter, but I had to split it up into two because of how long it was getting. The decision point can be what you want to focus the interrogation on - what questions do we ask Verrad and his companion?
I know it's not much, but I have no idea when I'll be able to even finish the rest of the chapter. Hopefully I'll surprise myself and finish it soon, and you all will be the first to know.
Anyway, enjoy the new chapter. Happy reading
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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Very good chapter. We learnt more about how magic works, and had some more insight into the characters. I too miss Guia...
And the D-point is fine; it's good to have these kind of descisions to be made every now and then.
I think they could ask them about how they knew about the meeting, and just basic stuff like where have they taken Guia, what the whole crazy plot is. I dunno, my brain 'aint in it tonight. I'll give the previous chapters an once-over later, and then come back with something better. :biggrin:
*holds breath*
_________________
"Humankind cannot stand too much reality" - T.S. Elliot
Thesopholis - A Noir Sci-Fi Story - Chapter 8 is up! Read it here
The End of the Voyage - Chapter 9
Shady the Furry Goblin! [Demon's, Satan and Slobadan Milosevic!] - Chapter 3
The Quest for the Legendary Rubber-Duckie! - Chapter 3
One Last Bullet.... Chapter 3
Green Eyes - Chapter 5
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Starwalker
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Umm, don't they want to remove the spell first, before doing the interrogation?
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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Nice part1, Dragonfire
I'd suggest following the chain of command up as far as you can, for questioning. Also concentrate on what powers the higher-ups have at their disposal. Forewarned is forearmed.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:08 am Post subject: |
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Starwalker, that is a given.
I would say that one of the questions will be, "Where is Guia?" and another could be "Who are you working for?"
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Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
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Starwalker
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:38 am Post subject: |
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| Ravenwing wrote: | Starwalker, that is a given.
I would say that one of the questions will be, "Where is Guia?" and another could be "Who are you working for?" |
Rule #1, never underestimate the power of human stupidity or forgetfullness.
Anthing can be overlooked when chaos, distraction are abundant and your mind is focused on a number of differant problems at once.
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:15 am Post subject: |
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Though I totally agree with you on that point. Persivian and Judami I don't think would put to waste all that effort in researching that spell.
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Stories
New Story: Glassbreaker Presently on Hiatus until further notice.
Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
Samadhi Traveler 2005 Nano Wrimo winner (53,019 words)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:30 am Post subject: |
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Of course they're going to undo the spell before interrogation. That was never in question. The decision point is not what they're going to do next, it's what they're going to ask once they've removed the spell. Sorry if that confused you.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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Ravenwing
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:43 am Post subject: |
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And our esteemed author has clarified everything. So is this where it ends. Stoat called this chapter Part 1?
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Stories
New Story: Glassbreaker Presently on Hiatus until further notice.
Truthseeker (Completed SGOTM)
Samadhi Traveler 2005 Nano Wrimo winner (53,019 words)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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Well, it's sort of a part one. I hadn't originally planned for a decision point to be there, but if I'd have kept writing to where I meant the chapter to end it would have been very, very long, and taken a while more. So I split my original chapter into two parts and will post each as its own chapter.
Of course, doing that meant I had to come up with a rather lame excuse for a DP...oh well.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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The holding room was square, twenty feet to each wall, and barren except for the small barred cells at the far end where the prisoners were kept. Though the whole Keep was built from stone, every surface of the rooms inside were covered with paper thin sheets of metal, etched with spells to prevent the criminals held within from escaping. The bars behind which the prisoners sat held similar magicks. A great deal of trouble, time, and power had gone into the construction of the Prison Keep, but when Persivian extended his senses forward and sensed the two assailants they had captured, he was thankful for it. When it came to such dangerous magic-users as the ones before them, no expense ought to be spared.
As they entered Verrad looked up from his rest against the wall; in the other cell his companion stopped pacing. Persivian released his grip on Jud’ami’s shoulder and the two wizards stepped forward together, Minaar coming up behind. The prisoners also came to the front of their cells and the two groups observed each other silently.
Someone had been found to free the two men from the vines. Both were covered with scratches from the thorns, many still oozing beads of blood. Persivian could sense the binding he’d put over their magicks, still holding strong against their resistance. It would not wear off for a while, but it wouldn’t matter if it did. No spells could be cast behind the enchanted bars of the cells. Verrad and his companion were quite helpless.
“Well now, look who’s here to visit us,” Verrad sneered. “The sightless one, the black seadog, and the little witch. Welcome, friends, welcome.” Minaar tightened her grip on her sword.
“Only scum like you would keep friends like that,” she spat. Verrad’s lip curled in a snarl.
“Enough,” Persivian told them both. Keeping his flinty gaze forward, he said, “We’re going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to answer.”
“Is that so? What’ll it be first then? Shall we start with hot irons in our palms?” Verrad held his up and bared his teeth in a grin. “I’ve heard it’s the best place to start.”
“You have to know it’s futile.” This came from the other assailant, a dark haired wizard with a gravelly voice. “Even if you could make us talk, you’d never get your answer.” He yawned and said, “Still, if you want to torture us, I haven’t been stretched in a long time.”
Persivian smiled tightly. “Your bravado is impressive,” he said. “But do you honestly think we need a rack to get the answers we need?”
“I like the idea of hot irons,” Minaar said. Persivian frowned and turned his head towards her. Her voice had been hostile and eager. Not a good thing in this situation.
“As wizards, you both should know the Academy does not condone torture in interrogation,” Jud’ami said sternly. He watched the prisoners, but his words were directed at Minaar as well. “Besides, we have far more effective ways of getting answers from you.”
“Is that so?” Verrad smirked.
“It is,” Persivian replied. “But first things first.” Then before Verrad could react he stepped forward, thrust his hands through the bars of the cell and grasped the man’s head in his hands. Verrad tried to jerk back, but could not escape Persivian’s iron grip.
“What are you doing?” he hissed.
“Let’s see about removing that pesky curse, shall we?” Persivian said, and without another thought dove into the man’s mind, searching for the sblochiave spell. After a moment, he found it – a complex web of magicks that surrounded and entrapped a single bright nugget of knowledge. “There it is,” he murmured.
Verrad grasped Persivian’s wrists and gritted his teeth in pain. “They know about sblochiave!” he forced out. His companion looked at him in alarm, then at the companions. Jud’ami was standing back, ready to help Persivian when the time came, but when his eyes met those of the prisoner, he sprang forward, reaching with his magic.
Unfortunately he read the prisoner’s intentions a little too late. Even as Persivian cried a warning and the black man’s spell was rushing forward, the prisoner started to speak. “My lord’s – ach!” The sblochiave spell was activated, and Jud’ami was showered with the prisoner’s blood.
“Damn!” swore Persivian as he listened to the man’s body fall to the floor with a thud. Before him, Verrad opened his mouth. “Oh no you don’t,” the wizard snapped, and with his magic bit down on Verrad’s tongue. The man tried to speak, but could not.
Still, the effort of holding the enemy wizard, both physically and mentally, was draining Persivian as long as he kept his hold on the sblochiave spell within Verrad as well. “Jud’ami!” he cried. Immediately his friend joined the blind man’s efforts. Together they could hold the prisoner easily, but Verrad put up a strong resistance. Keeping him from speaking would be too much of a distraction while they tried to unravel the spell.
“Minaar, is there any way you can silence him?” Persivian asked, digging his fingers into Verrad’s head to keep the struggling man from escaping.
“…Yes! I can use – ”
“Just do it,” Persivian interrupted, his eyes closed and his concentration focused on Verrad. A moment later he sensed an earth-tinged tendril of magic winding around Verrad’s jaw, clamping it shut. With a sigh Persivian let go of his own magical hold, and he and Jud’ami were finally able to study the sblochiave spell.
The spell appeared in their senses like a massive three-dimensional spider’s web, strands of magic crossing each other in a brilliant cage that shimmered in the mind’s eye. Its complexity was such that it was difficult to even find the ends of the spell – it seemed like it was simply one long cord of magic, weaving in and around itself in a perfect impenetrable knot. The pattern was difficult to see; it was smoky and veiled, and seemed to shift. This was the effect of the shadow magic. The spell tried to trick the senses and distract the will from seeing the pattern, and a novice wizard trying to examine it would have quickly given up.
Persivian and Jud’ami were not novices, though, and they were able to see past the illusions of the shadow magic and examine the pattern. It was immediately recognizable as sblochiave, which meant that the alteration into a death curse had not changed it altogether much. Knowing this, the wizards began searching for the cornerstones. Their will shot over the threads of magic that made up the spell, looking for the places where the many single strands gathered together into a dense knot of power.
They searched, unaware of Verrad’s pained gasps and attempts to break away or Minaar’s wary expression as she watched them stand, stock still, over the writhing prisoner. Suddenly he stiffened up, his knuckles whitening from the grip he had on Persivian’s wrists. Jud’ami, who stood with one hand on Persivian’s shoulder and the other resting on Verrad’s forehead, murmured something unintelligible. Persivian nodded once, and then Verrad screamed.
His cry was loud and long, echoing off the metal of the room in a cacophonous din of anguish. Once again he tried to wriggle away from the wizards’ grip, but was held fast. Sweat pored down the man’s face, contorted with eyes squeezed shut and mouth wide enough Minaar could see the back of his throat. Persivian and Jud’ami stood stock-still, but on closer inspection the girl could see their hands trembling with effort. At that moment Verrad fell silent with a gasp, and seemed to sag. But the wizards’ did not loose their grip. Together they nodded.
Verrad’s eyes flew open. They stared straight ahead uncomprehendingly, and if the lids could have parted any further they would have fallen out. His mouth gaped open soundlessly, until from it was ripped a sound that made Minaar shudder. To call it a scream would have been to understate the agony it conveyed. It carried on until Verrad’s throat gave out, and all that could be heard was a rasping exhale that to the girl was somehow worse than the scream had been. She had been eager to cause pain to the man who had helped put her brother in the condition he was in, but somehow seeing the effects of such excruciating pain turned her mind from all thoughts of vengeance. It was evident in the revulsion on her face – she wanted it to end.
Then it did. Persivian and Jud’ami, who had previously been so tense and intent on their purpose that their grip had surely left bruises on the prisoner, gasped. Breathing hoarsely they stepped away from the bars of the cell, fingers trembling as they released their death-grip on Verrad. The prisoner stumbled backwards, panting and twitching, until he fell to the floor in a heap. Persivian stumbled and caught himself on Jud’ami’s shoulder; they propped each other up to keep from falling. “That was more difficult than I imagined it would be,” he gasped.
“The spell was strong,” Jud’ami agreed, wiping his brow on his sleeve.
“So it’s done?” Minaar asked tentatively. “The spell is undone?”
Persivian nodded. “There were three cornerstones to be unraveled, the last one of the strongest I’ve seen. But it’s gone now, and he can safely be interrogated.”
“It sounded like you were torturing him,” she said in a quiet voice.
“Did it disturb you?” he asked in an odd tone. “You were so keen on branding his palms.”
“It’s not the same,” she snapped, her eyes not meeting his.
Persivian sighed and listened to Verrad, still gasping on the floor of the cell. “The spell was inside him,” he murmured. “How would you like someone rooting around inside of you?” Glancing darkly at the prisoner, the wizard said, “That’s what we were doing – delving into his mind.”
In the cell, Verrad propped himself on his hands and stared at the trio hatefully. “Are you happy now?” he gasped as tears and perspiration ran down his face. “Have you had your revenge?”
Now standing up on his own, Persivian turned his head to the prisoner and said, “I hadn’t had revenge in mind, but you would’ve deserved it anyhow.”
Struggling to his feet, the prisoner sneered, “I would never have guessed that you, of all people, would be the one to pass judgment or vengeance. Where is the great Sightless One, the fair and impartial judge, merciful, wise and benevolent?” He shook his head and sighed in mock disappointment. “To bad we have to add ‘hypocrite’ to that list.”
“Enough of this,” Jud’ami told him. “Hold your tongue or I will do it for you.”
“Now that’s just silly,” Verrad smirked. “I thought you wanted me to talk.”
Minaar gripped her sword and took a step towards the cell, anger on her face, but Persivian stopped her before she could speak. “Only the foolish argue with a fool,” he said. Verrad’s face darkened, and he opened his mouth to retort. Persivian gestured, and it clamped shut again. “You’ll not talk until you have something useful to say to us, and I think we both know you won’t do that without a little persuasion.” Turning to Jud’ami, he said, “I think it’s time interrogation begun.”
“Go ahead then,” the prisoner cried as they retreated out of earshot. “Give it your best!”
Ignoring him, Jud’ami said, “I’ll fetch a truthsayer.”
“There’s no need,” Minaar told them. “I can make him talk.” Seeing the wizards’ apprehensive expressions, she reassured them, “Without harming him, I swear.” When they made no further move to stop her, she reached into a leather pouch on her belt and drew forth four stones. One was the tiger’s eye that Persivian had returned to her. She also held out a bracelet of spherical blue beads, a shiny black oblong stone, and an unshaped striated piece of some pale purplish-blue mineral.
“More of your gems?” Jud’ami asked.
“Tiger’s eye, blue chalcedony, hematite, and blue lace agate,” she said. “Tiger’s eye to increase influence over another. The chalcedony,” she continued, holding up the beads, “gives you more authority over another. Hematite is the stone of mental mastery, and blue lace agate makes the target speak the truth.”
“Excellent,” Persivian said, picking up the black stone and feeling its aura. “These are very powerful.” Handing the hematite back to Minaar, he asked, “How are they used?”
“I’ll activate them,” she replied. “I don’t think we have the time now for me to teach you how. But only one of you will be able to ask the questions.”
“Why is that?” Jud’ami asked.
Minaar replied, “I’ll explain when you’ve decided.”
Jud’ami looked at Persivian. “I think you ought to do the questioning, my friend.”
When Persivian assented, Minaar said, “Alright then, here’s how we’ll do this. I’ll activate the agate on Verrad, so he won’t be able to lie to us. You must hold the other stones.” Minaar pressed the tiger’s eye and hematite into Persivian’s hand and fastened the bracelet on his wrist. “Normally these would work for whoever activated them, but I know them well enough to alter that for a little while. As long as you’re holding these, they’ll work for you. All you have to do is, as you wizards say, ‘will’ their powers to work on Verrad, and they will. I will activate them whenever you’re ready. Just remember, only Persivian can talk to Verrad when they’ve been activated. The stones are powerful enough that they’ll work on him, but if he’s distracted then he may be able to resist their power.”
The wizards nodded, and the three stepped towards the cell. Verrad glared at them but otherwise didn’t move. Persivian closed his fist over the stones in his hand and said, “Go ahead.” Minaar closed her eyes, and immediately the wizard could feel that the stones were in use. He could sense the magic awakening within them, like a gentle hum against his senses, and they grew slightly warmer to the touch. The blue lace agate Minaar held sent a ray of power that wrapped around Verrad. The wizard focused his attention on Verrad, and the hematite and tiger’s eye did the same. The chalcedony filled him with the bright aura of authority. As he felt it Persivian knew that with all four stones working on the prisoner at the same time, it would be almost impossible for Verrad to resist their magic. Knowing this made the man confident again. Soon we’ll know more, he thought, and with that thought the interrogation began.
“Verrad, can you hear me?”
“Yes.” Persivian could hear the difference in the man’s voice and posture. Before he had been rigid, defiant, his voice full of anger and fear. Now he was relaxed, and his tone was both deferential and vacant.
“Alright, I have a few questions for you. You will answer them?”
“Yes.”
“Good. My first question is, who are you working for?”
“My master does not reveal his name. We call him the Shadow King.”
“Tell me all you know about him.”
“He is a shadow wizard of great power.”
“…Is that all?”
Verrad sighed. “He is not a trusting lord, and never tells any of his servants very much about himself or his plans. I myself am not close enough to him to have even seen his face – he is always masked. I believe he is a foreigner, though; he has a slight accent.”
“You mentioned his plans. What are they?”
“I know only my duties to my lord, but I have not been told his purpose. My duties are to locate and capture Minaar Jortierra and nullify her brother.”
Beside the wizard Minaar stiffened. “Ask him what he means by nullify,” she said in an angry voice.
“By nullify, you mean kill him?” Verrad affirmed this, and Persivian asked, “Why?”
“He was part of the group of wizards that had been assigned to investigate my master. He was coming too close.”
“Do you know what he found out?”
“No.”
Persivian sighed. “You said you were to capture Minaar. Your Shadow King needs her alive?”
“Yes. She is an unprecedented source of earth magic, and is also unable to control that power effectively. This means she is the perfect supply of power. He will need to use her magick to complete his plan.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us of this plan?”
Verrad considered for a few moments. “My master has also taken a great deal of interest in the making of the Golden Star. He said that he needed to understand its making to be able to implement his own plan. I do not think I was meant to hear that.”
Jud’ami leaned toward Persivian and said, “Ask him where his master lives and operates.”
“Tell me, where does you master live, and where did you receive your instructions?”
“I was summoned to an estate near Elbberon, where my lord met me. He does not live there, but I think he stays there on occasion. He travels between his servants’ homes along the eastern coast. However, he does have a hidden place of his own where he lives. Only his most trusted servants know its location.”
“Do you know who any of those servants are?”
“I believe one of them is the lord of the estate, Baden Criado. The others I do not know.”
Excitement stirred in Persivian. Finally they had solid information. Still, there was more to ask. “When you attacked us earlier tonight, you had several comrades with you. During the battle more were called to you. Who were they, and how did they know to open the portal at that time?”
“The warriors were mercenaries. The wizards were fellow servants of the Shadow King, assigned to aid me. I know only their first names.”
“I may need those later. For now, I need you to tell me more about the ones who came through the portal, and their powers.”
“They were my master’s personal assistants and bodyguards, who stay with him at all times. I cannot tell you more about them, except how I called them. My master told me a spell, to call for aid if need be. You had destroyed all of my comrades, so I used it.” This seemed to awaken something within Verrad, and for a moment he tensed. Minaar increased the power of the stones, and he relaxed again. “You asked about their powers, correct?” When Persivian nodded, Verrad said, “My master is clever. He employs wizards of all types. It would take a great deal of time to detail the types of magic-users he has under him, but I will begin if you wish.”
“Perhaps later. For now, I have three more questions, and then we’ll take a break. The first is, how did you know to attack us at Oculdo’s house?”
“Oculdo? Oh, you mean the Jortierra brother. Oculdo was his hiding name. The address was given to me before entering the city, and I found it after speaking to you. We went there tonight to question the brother about the girl’s whereabouts before exterminating him.”
“So you didn’t expect to see us at all?”
“No, your presence was an unwelcome surprise.”
Persivian smiled grimly. “I see. All right, the second question – ” Verrad shrank a little as the wizard’s face hardened. “What do you know Lehrar’s death?”
“Lehrar?” the prisoner answered. “I don’t know of any Lehrar.” His scratched face was wrinkled with confusion.
Persivian glanced at Minaar, who whispered, “He can’t be lying, remember?” The wizard sighed.
“Okay. It was a long shot anyway, I suppose. Now, Verrad,” he said, turning his attention back to the enemy wizard. “Last question, and then we’ll stop for a little while.” Persivian’s white eyes fixed on Verrad’s, and the prisoner flinched. The sightless gaze felt like a physical force. “Where has Guia been taken?”
“Guia was taken through the portal. She is with my master now.”
“How do you know that?” Persivian demanded.
“I told you. The ones who came through the portal are always with my master. If they were there, so was he.”
The sightless man closed his eyes. “Of course. A little rest, Verrad.” The prisoner immediately sank to the floor and leaned against the wall, but his eyes remained on Persivian.
The companions drew back from the cell and began to speak in low tones. “Our opponent is obviously smart, not to trust his underlings with personal information,” Jud’ami remarked. “But still, we have enough to be going on.”
Persivian nodded. “I’m not sure what else we can ask him. Though, I may think of something in a moment.”
“It better be soon then,” Minaar said, sweat beading her brow. Glancing at Verrad, she said, “His mind is strong. I don’t think we can use these stones on him once we release him. If you want to ask more questions, it has to be now.”
“We can always call a truthsayer in if we need more information,” Jud’ami reminded them.
There was a lot to decide. Had they gotten enough out of the prisoner to move on? If so, where should they move on to? Persivian mulled over the problem, turning the newfound information over in his head, and tried to formulate a plan.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
Last edited by dragon_fire372 on Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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I find myself looking back on the days when four pages on Word was a "long" chapter...and laughing.
Anyway, here's the new chapter, hope y'all enjoy it. I've a few suggestions of my own, but I'll hold them to see what you come up with.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | but Verrad put up a hard resistance |
strong resistance may look better.
| Quote: | | To call it a scream would have been to understate the agony it spoke of |
I like this sentence, but the last bit doesn't seem to feel right. Maybe agony it conveyed may work better.
Anyway, nice chapter DF.
Mmm, what else to ask. I can't think of anything just now. I will mull it over...
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LordoftheNight
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| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, I liked this chapter a lot as well. Probably my favourite one that you've written DF. Personally, I thought Verrad was cool.
Just wondering though, you alternate the spellings of magic and magick. I was wondering if you had any intention of the alterations, or was it simply an accident.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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I think they should learn more about this spell to call for aid. It's at least possible that the spell could be repeated, leading them through the portal to the next link in the chain (or to the Shadow King himself), when they're ready to go and fight him.
Then they'll need to prepare...
Excellent chapter, DF
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 3:52 am Post subject: |
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The interrogation should continue for a while. I hope they had the sense to bring paper, or some accurate means of recording information. Here's a list of things he should ask:
- Tell me what you know about the aid spell, and how it works. Who developed it? (like Stoat said)
- How does the Shadow King recruit new wizards?
- Give names and brief description of every other servant of the Shadow King that you know of.
- Give as much information as you have about each location the Shadow King stays at.
I think that will take a long time, and the compulsion will probably end before they are through it all, but some useful information should be gained from it.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:26 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for those edits China. You're right, they did work a lot better
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Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Alright, I'm posting a poll, mainly because I haven't put one up in a while, but also because I wanted people to think of some other factors in the story before decideing where to go.
The poll will have three options:
1) all three companions stay with Verrad and continue questioning as long as possible. If you choose this option, post some questions you want to see asked and I'll see which I can get in the chapter. (btw, thanks for the interrogation questions that have already been posted!)
2) Call a truthsayer to continue interrogation as all the companions go to investigate another lead. Again, post which lead you wish them to follow, and suggest questions, as these will be the questions the truthsayer would ask in his/her interrogation.
3) Have a truthsayer ask questions while the companions split up. Once again (sorry for being repetitive) tell me where each person would go.
Before you vote, consider these points as well.
For one thing, it is taking a lot of effort for Minaar to keep the stones activated and Verrad under their influence. We don't know how much longer she'll be able to keep them in use.
On the same note, the longer the gems are in use the stronger Verrad's resistance to future mental influences will be increased. So, the gems probably won't be able to be used again, and a truthsayer will have to spend longer breaking into his mind and thus, further answers could be longer in coming.
Only three other things I wish to point out. Minaar is anxious about her brother's health and will wish sooner or later to see him, though I'm sure she can stand to wait. There are now a few other leads to research, which could be done after they leave Verrad, or during his continued interrogation at the hands of a truthsayer or two. And lastly, we must not forget the advice at the end of Devanta's message. She has information for us as well.
I hope you don't think I'm trying to influence anyone's vote with these points, I just am hoping that in bringing them up readers will see things they may have missed instead of voting half cocked. I'll leave the poll up for a few days, and then we'll see what happens!
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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Hey DF - good chapter
As the sblochiave was described, it said...
– a complex web of magicks that surrounded and entrapped a single bright nugget of knowledge.
Shouldn't we be asking specifically what this nugget of knowledge was, or is it assumed it's just what we've already learnt about the Shadow King?
I like Stoat's question about the emergency aid spell - very good idea to investigate. Once we've got an answer to that one, then leave him to the Truthsayers.
Then briefly split up.
- Persivian off to see Devanta,
- Minaar off to see her brother (we don't need her worried and distracted)
- Jud’ami should look up Baden Criado's estate and arrange travel to the estate for all of them.
On the basis Devanta doesn't tell Persivian anything specific to do immediately then head to the Lord's estate. Otherwise do what Devanta says.
Happy Writing
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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I can't see anything wrong with Smee's reasoning (apart from the fact he said all that and then didn't vote)
So I'll go with that too.
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Smee
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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Hey it was 6:42 in the morning - and besides, I think I suggested every option
erm.. well I guess I'll be interrogating for at least one more question.
*votes for top option*
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:43 am Post subject: |
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Voted for number 1. (My question suggestions have already been made.)
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:35 am Post subject: |
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Voted to continue the interrogation. Why do these guys work for the Shadow King? Just money, or have they been promised something?
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Solomon Birch
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:59 am Post subject: |
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I also agree with Smee's reasoning. Very sound, Mr. Mayor.
Great chapter once again DF. I loved the description of sblochiave. Very enthralling. :biggrin:
*holds breath*
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:27 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll start on the next chapter soon. Looks like we have a lot more interrogating to do.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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With a glance at Verrad, who was still watching him calmly, Persivian shook his head. “There are a few more questions that ought to be asked. Do you think you can hold him?” he asked Minaar.
“I’ll hold as long as you need me to,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Alright.” Persivian walked back across the room. As he approached Verrad climbed to his feet and waited silently. “I’ve a few more questions, Verrad.”
“Yes.”
“You mentioned a summoning spell earlier, that you used to call for aid during the battle. Tell me more about it.”
The prisoner frowned and considered. “I don’t know much about it. The Shadow King gave me a trigger word and told me I could use it once, but only in dire peril.”
“You don’t know how it was cast?” When Verrad shook his head, Persivian sighed and said, “You don’t know how it works, then?”
“Yes.”
The wizard raised his head in surprise. “How?”
“How does it work, or how do I know?”
“Both.”
“My master developed the spell. When he told me he had cast it on me I asked how it worked, and he decided to tell me. It creates a bond between the caster and the target, so the caster can feel the other’s location. When the target is in trouble he can say a one-time use trigger word. This activates a distress call through the bond, and the caster can choose how to aid his target. Shortly after the trigger is activated, the spell falls and the bond dissolves.”
Persivian nodded. “So the portal your master opened had nothing to do with the aid spell?”
“No.”
Once again the mysterious shadow wizard had proved himself a clever adversary. Such a spell would be impossible to trace back to the caster. Persivian had hoped he might use the spell to discover the Shadow King’s location, but that was obviously not going to work. So he put the matter aside and posed another question.
“How did you come to work for this Shadow King? Was it money or a reward? Were you forced into it?” If Verrad had been pressed into serving the enemy wizard Persivian would have been a little more forgiving to the man. But this was not the case.
Verrad laughed in response to Persivian’s query. “Forced? My Lord uses many servants without their consent, but I was quite willing to serve him. He promised me something I couldn’t refuse.”
“What’s that?”
With glittering eyes, Verrad replied, “A chance to see the Empire fall.”
Once again something seemed to strike a chord within the man; he clenched his fists and his eyes flicked about the room. Minaar gasped, and Persivian could feel the effort she put into keeping Verrad under control. She succeeded to a point. His hands relaxed, but his eyes continued to dart.
Once the prisoner was calm again, Persivian remarked, “You hate the Empire?”
“Yes,” was the growled reply.
“May I ask why?”
“…Yes.” The man seemed to wrestle with himself for a moment. Then he spat, “It is a haven for cowards. The Empire coddles the weak and hides behind its morals, but when true power and ambition are shown, they are quenched.”
Persivian and Jud’ami exchanged glances of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Look at who fills this keep,” he snarled in reply. “These are people of true power, but your Emperor keeps them chained.”
“They are criminals,” Persivian said, frowning darkly. “Ruthless men and women who committed atrocious deeds for the sake of their ‘power’.”
“They were willing to pay the price for greatness!” Verrad retorted hotly. “Not like these ants who scurry through the Academy! They were not afraid!” For a moment he remained tense and livid, but then he relaxed. “But their time will come soon,” he said. “They are recognized by my master, and he will offer them what he offered me, and when the Shadow King’s plans are realized, we will share the spoils!”
Persivian took a step forward. “What spoils?” he asked intently.
Leering at him through the bars of the cell, Verrad replied, “The spoils of war.”
Chilled, Persivian stepped back again. “So your master plans a war,” he mused softly.
“Plans?” Verrad sneered. “The war has already begun. It started before he ever found me. I have played my part in it eagerly, as have many before me, as will many after me. Others will do so…less willingly…but in the end, my lord will triumph!” After a pause, he turned away. Staring into the distance, he murmured, “It will be my pleasure to see you fall.”
Questions whirled in Persivian’s head. Wars? Plots? Magic, murder – who was behind it all? It was beyond frustrating that Verrad could tell them so little of what was happening, but they must discover the truth somehow. For a moment the wizard almost felt overwhelmed. Taking a deep breath, he told himself, One question at a time.
“You said that the Shadow King forces people into his service. Tell me how.”
“Oh, your standard persuasive methods. Blackmail, hostages, torture, all those good things. But that’s only the least of it. My master can use his magicks, so that some people don’t even realize they’re aiding him. And there are those among his willing servants who when their powers are joined can bend the minds and wills of others. There are many ways to use the unwilling.”
“And I suppose your master is utilizing them all,” Persivian said bitterly.
Verrad smiled a nasty grin and replied, “Of course. He is strong.”
At that moment Minaar gasped. “Persivian, his resistance is increasing! I have to let go of one of the stones.” The wizard felt the aura of the tiger’s eye fade away. Verrad jumped slightly, and Persivian could sense the change of demeanor that signaled a slight return of will. With cruel eyes, the prisoner turned his gaze to the woman.
“Speaking of servants,” he remarked slyly. “I feel I ought to tell you…no, it would be too unkind.”
Minaar looked from Verrad to Persivian with confusion, shifting from one foot to the other. The wizard asked, “What are you saying, Verrad?”
“Well, I was going to tell her something…but I don’t want to disillusion the poor girl. After all, no one likes to hear that their brother is a traitor.”
The room was utterly silent for several seconds as Minaar gaped at the prisoner. Then Verrad chuckled. “Oh, goodness, I’m sorry. I guess I … let the cat out of the bag, didn’t I?” He turned his smile upon Persivian, who despite himself felt the anger rising. Since they’d lost the influence of the tiger’s eye, the prisoner was far more aware, and he was taking advantage of that awareness to goad his interrogators. Persivian did not want to lose him now – they still had questions to ask.
“Explain yourself, Verrad,” he commanded. “What are you saying about Minaar’s brother?”
Verrad sighed and shook his head sadly. “He serves my lord.” Raising his eyes to meet Minaar’s, he said, “Your dear brother is a servant of the Shadow King.”
Persivian began to speak, but his words were drowned out by Minaar’s angry screaming. “It’s not true! My brother is no traitor, you – ” at which point she spat out a stream of curses that had Persivian and Jud’ami awestruck. The heat of her anger scorched the air around her, it seemed. Then the blind man sensed a strange thing, the same thing he had been noticing about her, but was unable to put his finger on. Minaar was changing. He just didn’t have the eyes to see quite how.
The room seemed incredibly hot to Persivian, and was filled with the scent of sulfur and magma. He felt Minaar’s presence moving up, stepping closer to the cell where Verrad sat. The prisoner sat pressed against the far wall, trying to stay away from the woman’s wrath, but though his eyes were averted and his arm was raised in front of his head, as if to ward her away, he was laughing triumphantly.
His scorn only incensed her further, and the heat continued to build. It made Persivian’s eyes water, and he knew that it must be worse for Verrad. If she wasn’t stopped, Minaar may very well kill the closest link they had to the Shadow King.
On his other side Persivian sensed Jud’ami raising a barrier between Verrad and Minaar’s magic. The prisoner was protected, now the girl must be stopped. Persivian raised up his hands and called upon his power, and felt the cold growing between his fingers. To him it was just a feeling of frost gathering in the air between his palms; to any observer, it was a glowing ball of shifting ice, intensely cold to even stand beside. With his will he commanded the ball to flatten out and spread, like a wintry net. Coils of darkness ran throughout it, to bind and hold opposing magicks. He fed his own strength into his creation, and cast it over Minaar.
She still stood before the cell, screaming at Verrad with fury, her hair flying wildly about her face. Shadows had gathered around her, and her eyes were black throughout, lit by a glow like fire, or molten rock. But as soon as the net touched her, she gasped and was silent. The shadows fled, the odor faded, and suddenly she was just a young woman again, shivering and small. All that remained of Persivian’s net were the threads of darkness, still holding her powers in check. There was nothing left of his ice, or the girl’s heat, save clouds of steam that rose hissing to the ceiling.
After a moment Verrad lifted his head and peered through the watery barrier that Jud’ami had set between him and Minaar. His eyes flicked between Jud’ami and Persivian, who were both watching Minaar warily, to the girl herself, who was still breathing hard but also looking at the ground in shame. “My goodness, I fear I’ve upset her,” he smirked.
Minaar stared at him with tear-filled eyes. “You bastard,” she whispered.
With a grin Verrad started to reply, but just as he began to speak he started, his eyes closed and his head nodded forward. The enchantment from the stones had all died out; Persivian felt their auras fade. Their part in the questioning was over. “Damn it,” Persivian whispered, clenching the warm gems in his hands.
“What’s going on?” The prisoner sat up in his cell, staring wildly at his interrogators, fear in his eyes. “What have you done to me?” He looked between the three, and he shrank back, whispering, “What have you made me say?”
With her arms crossed over her chest, Minaar smiled at him and snarled, “You have told us everything we needed to hear. Now who’s the traitor?”
Verrad stared at her with frantic eyes, then at Persivian and Jud’ami. They regarded him in such a way that he could not doubt the truth of the girl’s words. “No,” he whispered. Scrambling to his feet, he cried, “What have you done? You have condemned me to death and worse! I have betrayed my lord, and we all shall pay for it now!”
“We will allow no harm to come to any within our walls,” Persivian said. “Even criminals.”
“You don’t understand,” Verrad replied. “What will you do when your walls crumble?” He stared at the companions with burning eyes, clutching the bars of the cell he was in. Then he shook his head and slowly released his grip, backing away into the corner of the cell. “I will redeem myself in his eyes,” he whispered, but Persivian could hear him nonetheless. “But you are all damned.” With that he turned his back on the three, and said no more.
Persivian listened to the room’s silence and sensed the anguish of the prisoner, Jud’ami’s watchfulness, Minaar’s guilt and anger, and considered again what must be done. He must lead his companions if he could ever hope to free Guia and stop her captors. But now there was so much to be considered, and he couldn’t help feeling a little overwhelmed. Still he knew that this situation was far bigger than he or anyone else, and so he made his decision.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Interesting chapter. Minaar with dark powers, her brother possibly a traitor... very involved stuff. I'm not sure how useful the extra information was, but I think we should follow up the obvious lead, from the previous chapter.
Travel to Elbberon and find Baden Criado. If they can deal with him, then they may be able to find out where the big bad is.
After what's been said about Minaar's brother, I think he's best left where he is at the moment. Hopefully, the three wizards will be enough to deal with the servant.
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:04 am Post subject: |
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Indeed.
I think Stoat has summed up my thoughts nicely which, of course, is why the f5 term came into place to begin with.
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LordoftheNight
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:28 am Post subject: |
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I like this Verrad more and more. Of course, there's always the possibility that he was able to lie to them, even with the power of the stones. Therefore, there's no reason to start hounded her brother straight away.
However, keep him under observation, as well as the prisoners. Keep an eye on Minaar as well though - who knows what this dark power could lead to.
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Mother Goose
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| They have probably learned everything they're going to from Verrad, so the condition "when you have found it" seems to have been met. Maybe it's time to go to Devanta - if she's still there. The fact that her message was written in blood is ominous
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with Mother Goose. He has a lot on his mind, but he can't have forgotten a message from a friend written in blood that led him to where he is at the moment.
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Smee
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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Great chapter - I enjoyed reading about the Shadow Lord's powers, and the dialogue from the prisoner was very good.
I have a suspect feeling that Minaar is heading towards being one of those unknown workers of the Shadow Lord. The manipulation by Verrad smacked of more than just out of spite. Especially during her loss of control, and the power she used. He was laughing. We know the Shadow Lord wants her. Would she do/tell what he wants on the bargain he leaves her brother alone? She needs watching as much as her brother.
Other than that, my previous comment stands. Only change - get Minaar to help Jud'ami prepare for the travel, keep her busy and occupied and not dwelling on what they've discovered.
Happy Writing
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:52 am Post subject: |
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Sorry it's been such a long time since I replied to anything. It's been one thing after another...but enough excuses.
There doesn't seem to be much need of a poll. I think our plan here will be to send Persivian to Devanta while Jud'ami and Minaar prepare for the companions' trip to Elberron. I'll start writing the next chapter and hope it doesn't take to long.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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10 days since your last post and 26 days since your last chapter. But that's all right since I just caught up !
So why don't we interrogate Minaar's brother? He's been implicated and we have the means to get the truth from him. At least see if he has Sblochiave cast upon him. If he does and we go through the same methods, we might discover a lot more. If it's willing service, then it's likely he knows a great deal. He'd at least know what the Shadow King intends to do with Minaar's power, if he gets it, and we may have the means to set a trap. Oculdo is helping the Shadow King? How? Bringing his sister to him? Or calling the Shadow King's men to his sister? Either way we could lay in wait and ambush more of the Shadow King's agents. Maybe Oculdo has a one time use portal spell that we can force him to use.... A lot of possibilities here....
There I go again trying to complicate things.... If you're in the process of writing, please don't let my mumblings interfere.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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There’s nothing more to do here, Persivian thought to himself as he observed his companions. Sighing, he turned to the door and said, “Let’s go.”
The moment the metal door clanged shut behind them Minaar spun on the wizards and said, “My brother is no traitor.”
“You told us yourself, he couldn’t have lied,” Jud’ami reminded her gently.
“I don’t care!” she exclaimed. Immediately the wizards tensed, their magicks at the ready. Minaar bit her lip and took a deep breath. When she looked up again, the anger was gone from her face. “I know my brother,” she told them. Her dark eyes met Persivian’s white ones, and she implored, “Please believe me.”
Persivian sighed and folded his hands in his sleeves. Despite what Verrad had said, the wizard had a difficult time believing betrayal of Borgen Oculdo – no, Borgen Jortierra, that was their real surname. Not only had the Shadow King wanted the man dead for finding out too much, Guia had shown no signs of mistrust against him. Guia…if only she were here now. Persivian shook his head and focused on the matter at hand.
“Verrad did say that there were people who served his lord without meaning to or knowing they did so. Your brother must have committed some act of betrayal – if the agate is to be trusted, that is. But perhaps he did so unwillingly, or without his knowledge.”
“Yes!” Minaar exclaimed. “Borgen would never turn traitor willingly.”
“So we hope to believe,” Jud’ami said.
The girl turned her frowning gaze on him and demanded, “What do you mean?”
“We hope to believe your brother is innocent, as you do,” Persivian clarified. “But until we can question him with a truthsayer present, we cannot assume anything.” When Minaar turned her wounded gaze upon him, Persivian said, “People have died over this, and more may in the future. We cannot afford to take chances.”
For a long moment Minaar remained tense, but finally she sighed. “I understand,” she said, looking down.
Persivian continued to regard her defeated form, before mimicking her sigh. “Please lead me out of here,” he said. “We need to continue on.”
As he laid his hand on Persivian’s arm to guide him, Jud’ami asked, “Where are we going next? To see Devanta?”
“I will,” was the wizard’s reply. “But I don’t think there’s any need for us all to go. We can accomplish more separated than together right now.” Persivian didn’t mention that he had an apprehensive feeling about the message the seer had sent. He wished to make the visit alone.
Unaware of Persivian’s thoughts, Jud’ami simply nodded. “We’ll start making arrangements for a journey to Elbberon, and find out which estate Baden Criado is lord of.”
“Also, get some truthsayers up to Verrad, and have them find out the names and descriptions of every other servant of the Shadow King that he knows of, as well as information about locations he stays at. And have them ask how the shadow wizard recruits new servants. It won’t help us, but whatever they learn can be passed on to any of the other wizards who were working with Borgen to research the plot.”
“I know one of Borgen’s friends who knows others assigned by the High Casters,” Minaar said. “She could let the others know what information we’ve found out.”
“Good,” Persivian said. “Give her name to the truthsayers then, but remember – this must be kept as secret as possible.”
Jud’ami nodded and reassured his friend, “I know who will be the most discreet.”
As the companions emerged into the cool early morning air, Minaar asked hesitantly, “May I go see my brother? I would like to check on him.”
“We will take you to him before we leave,” Jud’ami told her.
Minaar pursed her lips and looked away. “I see,” she said tightly. Looking up at them again, she said, “You don’t trust me either, do you?”
“It is not you we distrust, Minaar,” Persivian sighed. “But the power you displayed back there was…incredible, and all the more dangerous because you had no control over it. We can’t risk you – ”
“Yes, yes, I understand,” the girl replied with narrowed eyes. “Can we get going?”
Persivian looked away. “Of course,” he said quietly. Her reaction hurt him, but they had no choice. She was simply too dangerous to be left alone right now, especially if her kin was a possible traitor. He wished she would understand…
The wizard was broken out of his thoughts by Jud’ami’s dark hand on his shoulder. “Go see Devanta, we’ll take care of the rest. Find us as soon as you leave the seer, alright?”
With a nod, Persivian replied, “Yes. I’ll see you soon then.” Without another word he made his sightless way down the paths, to the academy building and his young friend. Unconsciously he fingered the ring she had sent him, tracing the petals with his sensitive fingertips and wondering just what it was she had seen. What name would she give them? Why was the message so urgent that she had written it with blood and not ink, and not even taken the time to dress before coming out of her quarters? Within the darkness of her own small domain she had no need for modesty, but it was very unlike her to disregard her appearance so much as to come up in a blanket. After all, she was the Matron Seer of the Academy, and she knew the responsibilities of her position.
Something was wrong, and the wizard didn’t need Guia to tell him that. He quickened his pace.
In a few minutes he was climbing the steps to the hushed academy. Without hesitation he went through the door, along the corridor, and down the stairs. He did not stop until he was standing for the second time that day in front of the ancient door to the Matron Seer’s quarters. Knocking three times, he stepped across the threshold.
Persivian’s foot slapped in water. The wizard froze. “Devanta?” he called, but there was no reply. He stepped again, and the cold liquid splashed on his ankle. “Devanta, where are you?” he called again, fear creeping into his voice. The door creaked slowly shut behind him.
There was no light in the room, and the coppery scent of blood hung in the air. “Oh God,” Persivian whispered, stumbling forward. His feet slipped and he automatically raised his hands before him, and yelped with pain as his fall was broken by the broken edges of the pedestal. The stone basin was in shards on the floor. Just like Lehrar’s mirror… Shaking Persivian stood up again, his fingers rubbing across his palms as he tried to think. “Devanta!” he cried, sending his will out in all directions, but the seer was not in the room.
But wait…there was something in the sleeping room, through a doorway across from the basin. He staggered to it, tripping over every cushion on the floor. Never had he felt so blind.
A curtain hung in the doorframe, but it had been neatly pushed aside. Persivian stepped up out of the water and examined the room as best he could. What he sensed made him stop and lean against the doorframe in despair. There was a body lying on the cot, and it wasn’t breathing.
Slowly Persivian made his way across the small room. He fell to his knees beside the bed and reached with trembling hands toward the body. His hands touched the cold skin of the girl’s hands, folded across her breast. They moved upward, leaving streaks of blood across the midnight purple cloth of the Matron Seer’s ceremonial robes. His fingers tangled in the dark hair, carefully brushed and arranged, and finally touched the girl’s face, red marring the paleness of her features. “Devanta, my young friend,” Persivian whispered. He reached up to make sure her eyes were closed, but drew his fingers back with a hiss when they reached into hollows instead of orbs. He felt around the back of her head, and realized what had been done.
Blood congealed on a pool on the ground beneath the cot, from the hole in the back of her head. Her eyes had been torn out by magic.
“Oh God,” Persivian whispered again. She was only seventeen…he held his hands up before him. Once again they were stained with the blood of a friend. Slowly he clenched them, blood welling from the wounds in his palms. It mixed with Devanta’s as it dripped down his wrists.
For the third time that day, one of his closest friends was lost to him, and he had been too late. Too late to stop it, too late to save them, too late to do anything but grieve. “Oh God!” Persivian cried, his fingers clutching his head in torment. Give me anger again, he wished. Rage was easier to deal with than this horrid despair, but it wouldn’t come. He hung his head and sobbed.
Outside, the mourning bell tolled.
~ * ~
How long he sat beside the seer Persivian did not know. Reality had shrunk for him, and contained only one thing – overwhelming loss.
Finally though he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Persivian!” a deep voice cried. The wizard felt himself being shaken and raised his tearstained face.
“Jud’ami,” he said. His white eyes were wide as he pawed in the air, until his hand touched his friend’s face. “She…her eyes…” he gasped.
“I know,” his friend said, his voice filled with both sadness and alarm. In all his years of knowing Persivian, he had never seen him looking so vulnerable, shaking and lacking all of his usual confidence.
“Good God, what happened here?” Minaar said, standing beside the shattered basin, but Persivian did not hear.
Jud’ami placed a hand under his elbow and raised him to his feet. Persivian trembled and turned his head to where Devanta’s body laid. “I ruined her gown,” he said absently, his hand running through his hair.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jud’ami said, trying to turn him away. “We need to get you out of here.”
“No!” Persivian exclaimed, jerking away and stumbling backward. Both his companions stared at him as he turned his head this way and that. “No, we can’t leave. She left me a message.”
Stepping towards him, Jud’ami asked, “How do you know that?”
Once again the wheels began turning in Persivian’s head. He gestured at the seer’s body and said, “Look at her. She put on her ceremonial robes, she brushed her hair – she laid down on the cot and arranged herself for death. She knew this was coming!”
His two friends considered the body and realized the truth of Persivian’s words. “She must have had a vision of her death,” Jud’ami said.
Shuddering, Minaar murmured, “I can’t imagine knowing that would happen to me. And she just…got herself ready for it.”
“She was the Matron Seer,” Persivian remarked sadly. “She more than anyone would know the truth of her visions.”
“Yes, but couldn’t she have tried to prevent it?” Minaar asked. “Isn’t that the point of seers, so people can try to prevent unwanted futures?”
“Normally, yes,” Jud’ami said, his voice low and confused.
Persivian frowned and rubbed his temples, considering the possibilities. It would stand to reason that whatever knowledge Devanta had found would be easier communicated alive rather than dead. So why hadn’t she at least tried to forestall her fate? “I don’t understand it,” Persivian muttered. “But if she did leave a message, then we have to find it. Perhaps it will help to explain…”
“All right then, let’s start looking.” Jud’ami stepped over to a small table beside the bed and began moving things around; Persivian could here the clinking and rustling.
“Well, what exactly do we look for?” asked Minaar.
“A message, anything unusual, just…anything,” Persivian replied. “I don’t know. But she wouldn’t have told me to come here if she didn’t intend to tell me something, even if she wasn’t alive to do it.” Heavily he stepped into the main room, the water splashing about his feet. Then he stopped. He could detect a slight magical aura, some sort of low-level artifact by the feel of it. “Minaar, check over there,” he said, pointing. Her footsteps as she stepped through the water were clear in his ears, until she stopped and stooped down.
“There’s something here,” she said, and her hand brushed against the stone floor as she picked up the object.
“What is it?” Persivian demanded. “Describe it to me.”
“It’s a small glass marble,” she said, holding it up before her face.
Jud’ami appeared in the doorway behind Persivian. “A marble?” he repeated.
“Here, you look at it,” the girl said, handing the object to the sailor, who held it up to the light and examined it. The small sphere was an inch in diameter, perfectly transparent but for the small violet glow at its center. “Ah…it is a seer’s recording glass.”
Although seers were notorious for their memory for detail, many times the visions they had would bleed away before they could be properly written down and deciphered. So the seers, having no other magical abilities besides their gift of sight (which was enough to handle) asked the other wizards to devise a way for the details of visions to be recorded and then heard again. The result was enchanted glass marbles that could preserve the voice of the user. Since you didn’t have to be a wizard to use these tools they fit the seers’ uses perfectly, and were widely distributed to all those with the sight.
“Of course, what better way for a seer to leave a message?” Persivian mused.
Jud’ami pressed the marble into Persivian’s hands and said, “Activate it, my friend. Let’s see what she says.”
The blind man closed his eyes and nodded, and then activated the glass. After a minute pause, Devanta’s hoarse voice filled the room. “The vision I had tonight was long and unexpected, and I only told you a small portion of it. This is the rest. I saw the ground rushing along beneath me as I flew towards the eastern coast, through the icy tunnels and away from the setting sun. I saw that which I told you, and then I saw myself.” Her voice was shaking as she said, “I saw myself die.” Persivian bowed his head as the seer continued, stronger now, “As I saw it, I knew the reason for my death. I would be visited by a vision, one of the great Enemy who you now hunt. I would see him, and he would see me. I will pass the name to you, before he…” she fell silent. For a long time there was no noise but the sound of water moving from side to side. Then she said, “It’s coming…” she gasped, and the sound of her voice changed entirely. It deepened, and like when she had shared her vision of Lehrar with Persivian, it came from more than just her. “I see three…the sea, the deep earth, and the darkness. The darkness searches, the deep earth guides, but the sea cannot follow. The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not.” There was a pause, and then a gasp, as Devanta continued, “From the East come fleets…but then they flee. One is left behind…the Shadow King’s name…Kreysk dom Sella.” This last came as a whisper, a harsh expulsion of breath that sent a shiver down Persivian’s spine.
“That is the end,” came the seer’s voice, shaking so badly the companions could hardly make out the words. “May you find luck and blessing in your quest.” Persivian’s hand was tight upon the glass as Devanta whispered, “Farewell.” With that, the marble fell silent.
Jud’ami bowed his head. “May you find peace in your final rest, Devanta, Matron Seer,” he intoned, his deep voice solemn and echoing in the small room.
“Amen to that,” Persivian murmured, clutching the marble in his hand.
“I could never be that brave,” Minaar said, shaking her head. “If I knew the next vision I was going to have would lead to my death, I’d do anything to keep from seeing it.”
“She was courageous,” the wizard replied, listening to the slight sounds of the water, their rising and falling breath, to the silence. Then he shook his head. “We have our name,” he announced, his eyes staring forward but his voice holding the attention of both his friends. “And a little more besides. Now we need to decide what to do with it.”
Jud’ami spoke up, “The name sounds foreign.”
“That does fit the information Verrad gave us,” Minaar said.
“Yes, that is true,” the sailor replied. “But what about the rest? I was never very fond of riddles.”
“Nor I,” Persivian said. “But we are confronted with them, and must do our best.” He shook his head, and then asked, “Any ideas?”
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sorry it was so long in coming! 
The decision point here...basically whatever you want to make of it. I especially would like to hear your interpretations of Devanta's vision... | Quote: | | I see three…the sea, the deep earth, and the darkness. The darkness searches, the deep earth guides, but the sea cannot follow. The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not. |
and the rest of it as well. Of course you'll probably need to know the real meaning of the vision to make a real decision for our characters, so I'll probably reveal that before a poll (or the next chapter) goes up.
Anyway... read, reply, enjoy.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | There was a body lying on the cot, and it wasn’t breathing. |
I think the fact it was a body implies that it wasn't breathing.
| Quote: | | Her eyes had been torn out by magic. |
Cool!
As for the DP, I have no real idea. I was always crap at riddles. However, I would do some research on the name if nothing else, find out where it came from and why it was left behind.
Nice chapter.
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Shady Stoat
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter, DF. Looks like Devanta was right - they were never going to meet again in life
So, the riddle. Well, it's very mysterious and atmospheric (as all good riddles should be), but it does speak clearly in parts. It talks of going east, and of the enemy being across the sea. Then it goes into:
| Quote: | | I see three…the sea, the deep earth, and the darkness. The darkness searches, the deep earth guides, but the sea cannot follow. The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not. |
The deep earth guides. Could that be some sort of tunnel, leading straight to the Shadow King's lair?
The waves uncover many things. A passage from the coast, perhaps? As the tide goes out, it may be possible to reach a tunnel-mouth, to a cave system that stays dry despite its entrance being filled with water at high tide? Just a suggestion. It would be a reason why 'the sea cannot follow' at least.
The wind can hear what others do not. That's difficult. Perhaps they should be guided by standing on the coast and listening? Although personally, I'd favour researching lost tunnels over listening to the wind
The darkness searches. Could be referring to a tunnel, could be a reference to the Shadow King himself. He's looking for Minaar, he's searching for power, he's hunting down the people who are interfering with his business. That could fit.
All I have are fragments of ideas, really. Riddles aren't my speciality either
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:19 am Post subject: |
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Funny she says she sees three: darkness, water, earth, but what about the wind she mentioned? Well, I guess the wind is kind of invisible....
I'm with Stoat, a cave near the coast, perhaps in a bluff where the wind whistles or something.... I would assume it's the location of something the darkness wants, since it's searching. First thoughts would be a powerful artifact. The city has a harbor, doesn't it? Perhaps there's a tunnel leading under the city to the Star they've been interested in. Or perhaps the tunnel or cave is a secret passage into an imperial stronghold. The prison comes to mind, and so does the Capitol.
If we are near water in this city then we need to search for a cave, otherwise we really don't have much to go on. Maybe we could search for secret passages near the Star. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up missing soon.
And the ships from the east, seem to be portending the Shadow King's invasion and the fact they're turned away an affirmation that Good will prevail....
But those are all unconfirmable speculations, perhaps of little consequence.
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solus.serpen
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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. Very tired...
I can't really think properly about the poll at the minute, but I thought I may as well post to say I've joined the story. An hour or two of reading, but not regretable .
I think the cave idea is right, though not sure where it leads.
Looking forward to next chapter .
Solus.
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JezSharp
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm afraid to say that I only read chunks of the story over solus's shoulder, but I did read the final few chapters and was able to slip into the plot from those hopefully . Really enjoyed the Chapter although like China I'm useless at riddles and atm I'm kinda tired so can't think of much by way of suggestions other than to enquire after Kreysk dom Sella or test out Minaar's brother.
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Mother Goose
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Could the three be: darkness - blind Persivian; earth - Minaar with her mineral magics; the sea - Jud'ami the sailor?
Persivian is certainly seeking, and Minaar may be able to find a way to guide. Will Jud'ami be prevented in some way from assisting?
Not sure what the waves and the wind mean, or what Devanta intended them to do with the message, but going east to the sea does sound logical.
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmm... I'm torn between Goose's and Stoat's ideas.
I wonder... Is prophesy limited to one meaning? Perhaps it means both things concurrently. Maybe this is a pattern that will be repeated any number of times, with different referrents.
Personally I think it should be 2 things at once.
The cave tunnel, with its Darkness, cut off in the sea.
The Sea (Jud'ami), the Darkness (Persivian), and the Earth (perhaps Minaar) are people, as well.
Minaar will end up leading Persivian, but Jud'ami may get left behind.
There is also the Waves (probably Jud'ami again) who finds things out while separated, and the Wind. I reckon the Wind is an animal, like a dog. Find a dog with something to do with the Wind.
My reasoning is: Persivian (the Darkness), being used to blindness, will have no problem with the Darkness in the cave. Maybe its a labyrinth where people get lost, and the darkness magically smothers light? Minaar (the Earth) guides, compass-style by using her affinity with stones. Jud'ami (the Sea) can't follow into the Labyrinth, but finds stuff out. Maybe its as mundane as him stopping the boat drifting away incase they need to go out where they came in. They may also find the dog or other animal (the Wind), that can hear things others cannot. It will be useful with the Wind making a whistling noise outside human hearing, that may be another entrance, or even a tiny hole, where Judami can drop a stone for Minaar to follow out of the labyrinth.
I'm not trying to write the story for you, Dragon, but its an idea.
(I know it's a stretch, but I'm not good at riddles either. )
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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A note is carried to by a young city of urchin of If. He will tell nothing of the person who gave it him, curious, you read the note. It reads,
I abouselty love this story. It is probably the best I've read for a long time, a very long time indeed.
Personally, I'm with DukeReg in fact if I been here early I would probably suggested as much myself.
I agree that the prophecy might very well have double meanings at that while the darkness, the earth, and the sea may mean different things, I personally hold that the Darknesss is Persivian, the earth is Minaar, and the sea is Jud'ami.
Although I have no clue what the prophecy will work out as, I agree with the others reasonings so far. As for the immiadete decision in front of us, I think the trio should find as much as possible about this Shadow King and his name. Perhaps his name appears in record books or something.
Something else to consider is that the Shadow King's name may be more than that, although I wouldn't know since it look like gibourous to me. It's obviously a foreign name, so look it up in the libaries. Find out what foreign language the name is from, where people speak that language, and what the name means in that language.
Although this research may not lead to much, it is at least a place to start.
Looking devotedly for more of this most interesting story.
Until another time perhaps,
I am ever,
The signature at the bottom reads, as follows.
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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I'm amazed at the interpretation, and shocked that I didn't even consider it a possibility. However, if the vision does relate to Persivian, Minaar and Judami, I'm afraid it's not telling us anything. It's saying Persivian is blind (that's pretty well understood), Minaar is a guide (I should hope she intends to help us), and Judami can't help us when the going gets tough. That doesn't give us direction since we have every intention of using the help we have, and if Judami can't help anymore there's nothing we can do about it.
If the wind is an entity, then it would probably be Guia, and if she lives I should expect she knows a lot that others do not where she is. If the vision only tells us that she lives the vision is a useful and good one. But with so much speculation, I can't feel very comforted.
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Lebrenth wrote: | | However, if the vision does relate to Persivian, Minaar and Judami, I'm afraid it's not telling us anything. |
Good point. Its one thing to come up with these theories, but a course of action is needed before we can test them.
If I remember correctly, the estate of the man they want to investigate is near the coast. That seems to be the place to go. It also ties in with some interpretations of the riddle.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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You guys are great. I'll keep your ideas in mind...
But I think since a lot of people have expressed their thoughts about the riddle, I'll give you (part of) the real solution so you can formulate a plan. You were right on the money with the people idea - Persivian is darkness, Minaar is the deep earth, Jud'ami is the sea. (It's a reference to the kind of magicks they use.) Remember, Jud'ami is a sailor, and uses magic of wind and water, which in my mind are the main elements of the sea. So the the next part... | Quote: | | The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not |
is about Jud'ami as well. What you have to decide is what that means. In what role did Devanta see Jud'ami acting in, if he cannot follow his friends? What kind of person deals with secrets, with uncovering and listening?
That's all the clue I'll give you for that. So go on and make plans, I'll be waiting to see where you send our companions next.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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...Two weeks. Has everyone forgotten me? I feel directionless and lost! Help!
If you have any new ideas, please post them. If not (or if you just don't care anymore) I'll wing the next chapter, and have them research the Shadow King's name to see where he's from and what his history is, if possible.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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Come on now, you know I'm keeping up. I don't have anything to add to the story though. The vision wasn't very helpful to me. I'd like to get moving to Elberron. Perhaps more research would be useful... but I don't expect much can be found about the elusive shadow king. Maybe we'll get lucky and meet someone who knows about this guy. In the meantime, let's try to find the footprints of the enigma and see if we can sniff up some clues.
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 6:40 am Post subject: |
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The open-ended vision interpretation was a nice interlude, but I think its time has passed now.
I think its time to give us a single, specific question to answer, or put up a poll for where to go next.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I think you're right DukeReg. No more riddles; I want to write the next chapter soon.
I'm putting a poll up, with four options:
1) Research the name Kreysk dom Sella and try to discover what country it comes from, if it's mentioned in any records, etc.
2) Take no immediate action on the riddle; instead travel straight to Elberron and question Baden Criado.
3) As tunnels were in Devanta's first vision, and possibly alluded to in her second, search for any hidden tunnels or caves, around the harbor or near the Golden Star, the palace, or wherever.
4) Both 1 and 3 - the more info the better.
I'm sorry. I realize now I should have just put a poll up sooner, and that it's difficult to make a suggestion with so little information. I'm more used to writing linear stories, and I forgot that I can't just let information be shown in its own time in the story when that information is necessary for the reader to make a decision.
To that effect, here's what Devanta meant about | Quote: | | The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not. |
She is describing a spy, basically; someone who can investigate, research, and listen where others might not necessarily be able to.
Anyway, happy voting, and I'll start on the new chapter soon.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:26 am Post subject: |
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Normally I like to arm myself with knowledge before going into a situation, but I think I'm too eager for revenge, honestly. I voted for travel. Maybe we can have someone research for us and send us word of their findings.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Holy cow! I didn't realize it had been so long since the last chapter. Stupid school...keeping me from what's actually important.
Well, I'm proofreading the next chapter now, so it'll be up in a few minutes. Not the best chapter, but I really can't wait any longer.
By the way, the third chapter of Dreamwalker has been posted, and the story's been moved to Skiffyville, in case you didn't know.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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| Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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The three companions stood silently for several long moments, each considering the vision Devanta had presented them with. Then Jud’ami murmured, “I think what she saw was about us. The deep earth, the darkness, and the sea…our magic is tied to those elements.”
“I agree,” Persivian replied. “I am the darkness, you the sea…and Minaar the deep earth.”
“But if that is true, what is the next part?” Minaar broke in. “If you are to search, and I am to guide, why can Jud’ami not follow?”
Persivian began to pace, his feet splashing in the water and soaking the hem of his robes. “It couldn’t be…”
“What is it?” Jud’ami asked in concern.
“I just thought…if she says you can’t follow, does that mean…” the wizard was unable to continue his thought.
“No,” Minaar interrupted fiercely. “You can’t think like that, Persivian.”
“It is a valid concern though,” Jud’ami pointed out, his voice laden with melancholy. “So much death has come already.” When Minaar turned her incredulous gaze on him, the sailor continued, “But I don’t think that’s what it means. There is the second part of the prophecy to consider.”
“The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not,” Persivian recited. “Your magic is of wind and water – perhaps she still speaks of you!”
Jud’ami nodded. “That makes sense. If she does, then maybe I still would have a job to do here, so I can’t accompany you on your quest.”
“What sort of job?” Jud’ami only shrugged.
Tapping her chin in thought, Minaar said slowly, “In her first vision, Devanta mentions seeing icy tunnels. Then in the second part she speaks of darkness, earth, and sea…what if she spoke of a place? What if there’s some sort of cave we need to find, that will lead us forward?”
Persivian appraised the girl with a slight smile on his face. “I hadn’t even considered such a possibility, but it does make sense. Often prophecies have double meanings.”
“So perhaps Devanta’s vision was meant both to identify, and to guide.” Jud’ami sighed and rubbed his temples. “Why must they all speak in riddles?”
“Well, we don’t have to figure it all out now,” Persivian said. “We have some time to think about it. Right now, I think we ought to find out more about the Shadow King, if we can.”
The others agreed, and made one final check to make sure the room was as they had entered it, and that Devanta’s body was still laid out as well as it could be. It felt almost wrong to leave her there, all alone, but a colder part of Persivian’s mind knew that it didn’t really matter whether someone was there or not. It was not Devanta lying on the cot, only the shell of her. So they left the seer’s quarters and came back upstairs.
It was early morning by now; a handful of very early risers traversed the entry hall of the academy building, yawning in the gray predawn light as they tried to work in some studying. Everyone seemed tired – the mourning bell did not allow for a good night’s sleep. It occurred to Persivian that the bell would toll all tomorrow night too.
As they emerged from the door, damp, bedraggled, grieving and bloody, people turned to stare. Upon seeing Persivian, who they knew had been a friend of the Matron Seer, with teary tracks running down his face and blood on his hands, they began to murmur fearfully. One wizard, an older woman who worked as a kind of manager for the Academy, approached the trio with worry in her eyes. “What has happened?” she whispered urgently, looking between their faces with thinly veiled fear.
“Devanta,” Persivian replied, equally quiet.
The woman gasped. “No – not the Matron Seer! Was it an accident?”
Jud’ami shook his head. Taking the smallest step back, the woman whispered, “Not like Lehrar?”
Persivian hesitated, then said, “We believe the…” he shrank from saying murderer, “the culprit is the same.” The wizard heard the woman’s small noise of grief and horror, and told her quickly, “Please, have someone go down, to take care of her properly. She laid herself already, but I…she needs to be properly cared for. And please, be discreet.”
The other wizard nodded. “Of course,” she promised. “Did you say she laid herself out?” When the companions nodded, she sighed and said, “She must have seen it…the poor girl. Have you gotten any closer to finding the bastard who’s done all this?”
“Yes, but we can’t say more about it,” Jud’ami told her. “Please, take care of the seer.” The woman nodded and hurried off, talking to an assistant in a low voice. Both of them hurried on their way, and the companions continued on theirs.
The librarian halted them at the door. “You two may enter,” he said to Jud’ami and Minaar, “but I’ll not have your bloody hands near my books!”
Both Jud’ami and Minaar turned around, and saw the wizard’s cuts for the first time. “Persivian!” Minaar exclaimed. “How did you do that?”
“I tripped in Devanta’s room,” he explained as Minaar examined his palms, tutting to herself. “I caught myself on the basin.”
“You tripped?” repeated Jud’ami, frowning with concern. Persivian never tripped. Casting his eyes downward, the blind man didn’t answer. With a sigh, the sailor leaned over and examined his friend’s hands as well. “You’ll need to have them cleaned,” he said.
“I can do it,” Minaar told them. “I can heal them up some too.”
Persivian sighed, abhorring the delay. “We’ll join you as soon as she’s done,” he told Jud’ami, who nodded and continued into the library on his own.
“If you can take me to the nearest first aid office I can wash and bandage them properly,” Minaar said, so the wizard let them down the halls until they came to a small and presently unoccupied room, smelling of soap, and quite chill. A water pump was in the back corner, and a cabinet by the door held linen bandages, healing creams, and a variety of other healer’s apparatus. The main healing ward was in another building in the Academy complex, but the girl announced this would suit her needs and set about her business, beginning by scrubbing Persivian’s hands to remove the blood and clean the lacerations. The wizard winced as the pain returned to the wounds – he had forgotten them before, but now they stung from Minaar’s thorough ministrations.
Finally she finished, and Persivian sighed with relief as she set the soap down and placed his hands under the soothing water. Once his hands were rinsed and toweled off, Minaar rummaged in a pouch and pulled out one of her stones. “It’s the emerald,” she informed him, and Persivian felt its glowing aura as she rubbed it between her palms. “It won’t close the wounds completely, but it’ll speed the process along quite a bit.” The girl hesitated a moment, as if pondering how to go about her business, before folding the gem between Persivian’s palms and enclosing his hands in her own. The wizard’s pain faded for a moment, forgotten as he concentrated his mind instead on the smoothness of the gem within his hands, and the softness of Minaar’s skin surrounding them. Then Minaar hummed a low note, and concentrated. The soft aura of the emerald spread outwards and caressed his palms, warming them and causing the most curious sensation as the skin began to heal.
After a moment the glow waned, and Persivian felt the power of the green stone cut off. Gently Minaar opened his hand up again and washed the gem off before placing it back in its pouch. Then she examined his palms. “How do they look?” Persivian asked, as her thumbs traced across the cuts.
“Well enough,” she replied, sitting back and releasing her hold on him. “How do they feel?”
Clenching them slowly, he said, “Well, they don’t hurt as much. They itch some though.”
“That’s fine then,” Minaar said. “The should close up the rest of the way very quickly now. If you’re lucky they won’t even scar.”
Persivian shrugged; he had his share of scars already, and a few more wouldn’t hurt. “Why the hum?” he asked her as she prepared the bandages.
“It helps me concentrate sometimes,” she answered. “All right, let me finish and then we can get back to Jud’ami.”
As Persivian held out his hands again, a draft of air stirred his hair, and he knew the door had been opened. A moment later he caught the familiar scent of the ocean, and turned around. “Jud’ami,” he said. “Who have you brought?”
“A messenger,” the sailor replied, gently pushing a young student to stand in front of him. “He found me first, and I followed him to you.”
“Well, go ahead boy,” Persivian prompted.
The student looked a little flustered at having all three adults watching him so closely, but he said with only the slightest stutter, “Mistress Bodes sent me,” he began.
“Kuria Bodes?” Minaar interrupted, sounding startled.
“Aye, m’am,” said the student. “She bid me tell you that when you are able, you might pay her a short visit. She says she has some information that might be helpful to you.”
“Is that all?” Persivian asked.
The boy replied, “It is, sir.”
“All right then, thank you,” the wizard said. The student bowed to the three and left the room.
Turning to Minaar, Jud’ami asked, “Isn’t that the name you gave to the truthsayers?”
“It is,” she said. “She’s one of Oculdo’s friends. They work together sometimes, and she’s one of the ones assigned to investigate the old Emperor’s death.”
“I see. What do you think of this then?”
Shrugging, the girl replied, “It just surprised me that she would contact us tonight. I thought the interrogation would take longer.”
“Perhaps the truthsayers contacted her before they began questioning Verrad?” Persivian wondered.
“I don’t think they would do that. It doesn’t make sense for them to talk to her without knowing something,” Jud’ami answered. “I’m not sure about this…do you think we can trust her?”
“Absolutely,” Minaar answered. “If she contacted us now, there must be a reason.”
Persivian didn’t have to see Jud’ami to know what he was thinking, because he shared the same thoughts. They had trusted Borgen as well, but now he was suspect as traitor. So what to think of this new friend, and what priority did her information have? As Minaar finished bandaging his hands, Persivian wondered, How do we approach this now?
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:08 am Post subject: |
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Definitely visit Kuria Bodes. If she has pre-packaged information, we could use it. Anyway it would be rude to deny her request. Just be cautious and ready, as we should always be.
What about searching for secret passages or caves? Are we still doing that?
Keep it up Dragon_Fire. A lot of the veterans of IF have moved on but there's still readers, and the number of storygames has dropped so we could use your help!
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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They should meet Kuria Bodes, but beware of trickery.
I must admit I was a little put off by the lack of research into the name Kreysk dom Sella and hidden passages. I guess that will come later.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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I'm so sorry! I was in such a desperate hurry to get something posted, it didn't occur to me that I forgot to include the last chapter's decision point.
Well, we still will research the names, and the hidden tunnels and such, I promise you that. It'll just be later than anticipated. That can be part of the decision point for this chapter too - do you want to carry on with the research first, or go to Bodes? Do you want to split up again, or go together? What piece of information has the most priority right now?
I really am sorry about the last chapter. It was so lackluster anyway...I'll be very glad when we can actually get going on the quest. The Academy is fast becoming tedious.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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I'm all right with skipping a random tunnel search when we have a clearer lead, and I would rather get someone else to do the research for us too.
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DukeReg
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| Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Well Bodes is the clear priority at the moment. I think they should go together to meet her.
However, no matter what they hear from Bodes, they should research the name before they go running off into the countryside on any new tangents. There could be important information attached.
As for the tunnels... I don't think they are going anywhere, so they aren't a priority, but they should be looked into in good time.
I was mainly thinking that the latter things should be done eventually because it was the option that won the last poll. Its customary to include winning poll options in the story at some point
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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I was going to post a poll, but I don't think I will. Unless anyone objects, all three will go see Bodes while the librarian man researches tunnels for them, and after the meeting they will come back to research names. I don't know when I'll start the next chapter, hopefully soon though.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Greetings Dragon-fire, as usual I have found myself lurking all alone in the city with time on my hands.
So I wandered in here. Although it has been a long time since I have found time (or my one pair of unscratched glasses) to read or comment on this story.
I look forward to your next chapter, Dragon-fire, and hope that it will be just as intriguing and mystifing as the chapters that came before it.
Good luck and happy writing,
Dinranwen
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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I'm happy to say that DF has resurfaced, so I'm moving this one out of the vault and back into Fantasy.
Looking forward to the next chapter DFire.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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Freakin' finally! (that was directed towards myself, by the way - it's taken me so long to get back. But then you knew that.)
Anyway, here it is. And unfortunately, it's not even complete, though it's long enough to be. The next part will be much shorter, and we'll finally finish our research in the library. After that, it's up to your vote - though I suspect we'll (finally) be out of the Academy and on the road. I know i'm looking forward to it.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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The wizard made up his mind swiftly. “Let’s talk to her now,” he said. “We can ask the librarian to do the other research for us. Although, perhaps it’s best if we don’t throw the name around too much…”
“We can research that after we’ve talked to Bodes. But there should be no harm in someone else looking into tunnels or hidden passages for us.” Jud’ami said this slowly, as was his way, and Persivian nodded swiftly in agreement. A moment later, Minaar finished with his hands, and the wizard stood.
“All right, let’s go talk to Kuria Bodes.”
Jud’ami led the way as they first stopped at the library and asked for information about hidden tunnels and such to be gathered for them, and then left the building and went the western edge of the Academy, where some of the wizards not working as teachers lived. On the way Persivian asked about the woman they were going to see. He was a little surprised he hadn’t heard of her before, but then he hadn’t been at the Academy for years. Jud’ami hadn’t heard much more than Persivian; again not surprising, as much of the time he was at sea or other ports around the empire.
Minaar didn’t have much to tell them, other than that Bodes and her brother were very close, especially after the old Emperor’s death, and that he had trusted her with his life. Bodes (she preferred to be called by her last name) and Borgen had met during their schooling, and as both used light to work their magic, they worked as colleagues during the creation of the Star. After the murder of the Emperor, they were assigned to work together to gather information. Minaar had little idea what she may have to say, and though she assumed it would be about the Shadow King, there was no real way to know. Persivian only hoped she was right, and that this meeting would not be a waste of time.
Though, a waste of time would be better than a trap, and the wizard didn’t want one of those either.
Walking outside made Persivian realized just how long they’d spent delving into this mystery. Though the bell still tolled, it was very close to dawn – this much was clear by the chill air and stillness, spread like a blanket over the city. Soon the sun would rise. Persivian stifled a yawn and continued to follow his friends.
Jud’ami led them along the white graveled walkways, till they were almost upon the Academy’s western wall. From there Minaar directed them, until finally they stopped before a small cabin that she pronounced was Bodes’ home. A moment later she was proven correct, as the wizard herself emerged from the building.
“I didn’t expect you so soon,” she said, her tone both brisk and anxious. Swiftly she stepped aside, inviting them in. Though Minaar crossed the threshold with no hesitation, both Persivian and Jud’ami were far more wary, their senses alert for any sign that something was amiss. They found nothing, or at least, nothing that would harm them. Both, however, noticed the spells of protection laid thickly on the property, including the symbols carved into the inside of the door and the window frames. There were also auras of many spells designed to hide and disguise. Many of these spells were new, but others had been cast long ago, and together there were far more than seemed necessary. The last think Persivian wanted to deal with now was a paranoid informant, but perhaps he was being unfair. He had no idea what she had to say, so he remained quiet and stepped inside.
“At the risk of sounding rude, I’ll jump right to the point,” Bodes said as she snapped the door shut behind the companions. Persivian noted her short stature and upright manner, but she was curiously hard to study. The wizard saw why a moment later, when he felt yet another protective spell centered in a steel chain around her neck, designed to make her presence fade. A casual observer would hardly note her should he walk by, and it also cloaked her from magical discovery. An enemy would have a very difficult time tracking her down. It was obviously a powerful enchantment, if Persivian had trouble studying her while standing right next to her. He also noticed that the spell was almost brand-new.
Whatever it was she’d discovered, its danger to her was obvious.
As he realized all this, the conversation carried on. “You have something to tell us,” Jud’ami remarked.
“Two things,” she replied, before focusing her attention on Minaar, “though one will likely be more important to you than these gentlemen.”
Minaar leaned forward, eager anxiety in every motion. “About my brother?” she asked.
Bodes nodded. “Yes.”
“Are you planning on going somewhere?” Jud’ami inquired suddenly. Persivian extended his senses and a moment later noticed what Jud’ami had seen; in the next room, a trunk sat open, nearly full, with a cloak lying beside it.
“I am,” the woman replied, after a moment of nervous hesitation. “It doesn’t seem prudent to stay here any longer, after what I discovered.”
“And what would that be?” Persivian asked quietly.
Bodes waved her hand and led them to a small sitting room. As she walked, she began to speak. “My first discovery, as Minaar guessed, is about Borgen.” Looking back at the other woman, Bodes warned, “You’re not going to like it.”
Persivian didn’t need sight to notice Minaar’s glance. He is no traitor, it said, but the wizard had his doubts.
Bodes continued to speak. “You may not believe what I say, but I swear it is true.” She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll get right to it – your brother has unwittingly betrayed us.”
Minaar jerked her head up. “Unwittingly?” she breathed. She turned on Persivian and exclaimed, “I knew it! And you wizards were so keen to believe – ”
“We weren’t keen to believe anything,” Persivian replied, irritated by her accusations. She obviously had family loyalty to spare, but somehow it seemed to make him and Jud’ami the enemies.
Bodes must have been looking confused, because Jud’ami explained, “We also received information that Borgen Jortierra was a traitor, but we did not know whether it was intentional or not.”
“I see. Well, it was not, and through my sources I learned why.” She motioned for the companions to be seated before continuing her explanation. “For some time I’d been noticing a problem in the things Borgen discovered – some slight discrepancies between his information and that of others. There were also times where, if someone shared with him a possible lead, it would suddenly dry up. I didn’t discuss it with him, though. I thought it would be a bad idea. If he was a willing traitor, he would either deny it or silence me.”
“Did you actually believe him a traitor?” Minaar asked incredulously. “Surely you more that anyone would not!”
“No, I did not believe it,” Bodes replied curtly. “I felt that I would surely know my partner better than that.”
“Partner?”
The woman turned her eyes to Jud’ami and unabashedly replied, “He is my lover.” Then she continued, “I also knew that my instincts could be trusted, and what I had seen was the greatest of coincidences if I was wrong. If Borgen was being used by the enemy, as I suspected, then he’d want me to find how without alerting him or the enemy to my suspicions. So for a long time I watched and investigated, but didn’t find anything.
“And then last night, I came to the answer. It hit me suddenly, unexpectedly, on the back of a different revelation. There are many ways to cast a spell on someone without their permission, or even knowledge, but few ways to do so without having to ever see that person face to face. I watched Borgen well. He never met anyone, physically or magically. So I knew, if the person was far away, the most effective and least suspicious way to use an innocent as a spy would be to bug them somehow, with a long range spell or a spelled item. I’d considered these things already, but disregarded them. Such a long-range spell would be very difficult to maintain. As for an item…we had already decided, those of us who’ve been involved in the investigation, that no one could accept gifts or items from others, for fear of just this sort of thing happening. I believed that he would never violate that rule.
“But last night I discovered something else, and I was…well, I suppose I panicked. I ran to Borgen, though I knew it was not wise. But perhaps it’s good I did.
“I ran to his home, and my fears increased tenfold when I saw signs of a break-in and felt the magical auras of the attack. I went into the center room and found the aura of the portal, and many other spells. I could almost taste the magic residue. And it was there I found this.” Bodes held up an object then, a glass sphere about six inches across. It had a powerful spell laid on it, to cancel and block spells. At first Persivian was confused, until he realized that the object she had found was not the sphere, but something inside it. The spell on the glass blocked his senses of what lay inside.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It is a locket,” Jud’ami answered, “a locket in the shape of a leaf.”
“I found it on the floor, beside the table. I assumed it had fallen off before he could put it on again. At first I didn’t understand, but as soon as I opened it I knew that this was the cause of his betrayal.” Here the woman paused; in pain or remorse, Persivian couldn’t tell.
“How did you know?” he prompted.
“Because it was me,” was Bodes’ murmured reply. “On one side was a portrait of the two of us, and on the other an inscription, from me to him.” She shook her head, and said, “I never gave him that locket. I’d never seen it before. And I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t mention it to me, if he thought it was a gift. So I searched for an explanation.
“It didn’t take as long as you might have expected. I know Borgen, and I had ideas about what he would consider ideal hiding places. Soon I was able to find a box, filled with letters and notes from – well, everyone.”
Minaar snorted a little and remarked, “He always was a packrat.”
“Yes, well, that habit served me well. I found a tiny scroll inside the box, again written as though from me. It told Borgen that the locket was spelled to protect him from harm. It begged him to wear it always, to break our rule just this once, for his own good and my peace of mind. The locket was a symbol of my love for him, and if he wore it he’d be safe. The letter also instructed that he not show or mention it to anyone, even me, because it would be confiscated if someone knew about it.” Raising her eyes to theirs, Bodes remarked with bitterness, “He never would have broken the rules for anyone else, but the letter was from me, he thought – even the handwriting was mine. He accepted the locket and followed the letter’s directions, hiding it from me all this time.”
“In your writing?” Minaar repeated. “But you didn’t write it.”
“No,” the other woman agreed. “But I examined the letter very closely, and the locket before I put it in the globe. At first I couldn’t find anything on the letter, and only the aura of a protective spell on the locket. But I kept at it, and finally discovered spells on both ‘gifts’.
“On the scroll was a spell of illusion, masking the writer’s actual handwriting with mine. On the locket, as you’ve probably guessed, was the spying spell that allowed our enemy to see and hear everything Borgen did. Into both of those spells was woven another that masked their auras so well, I’m a little surprised I found them at all. These objects turned him a traitor against his will, because of his love for me.” Bodes stopped speaking with her head down and fists clenched.
Though Persivian knew time was short, he could not withhold a few words of comfort for the woman before him. “It is a terrible thing when love and trust can be used to force betrayal,” he said slowly. “When it happens, I do not think any blame can be given.”
Cloth rustled as Bodes sat up straighter, and Persivian felt her small smile. “Thank you,” she said, but her voice was heavy all the same.
“Actually, I want to thank you,” Minaar told her. When Bodes looked at her in confusion, the girl added, “Without your story, I could never have completely trusted his innocence.” Her voice now cast to Persivian, she said, “There would always have been a small doubt.”
Well, it’s not the best apology I’ve ever heard, Persivian thought to himself. But it’s better than none.
“You said you learned this information because of a different revelation,” Jud’ami said, his deep voice quickly bringing them back on track.
Bodes stood and began to pace. “Yes, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it. It’s far more important.” The wizard forced herself to stop and take a deep breath before saying, “I know the Shadow King’s plan against us.”
Persivian’s heart gave a jolt as he straightened in his seat, and Jud’ami repeated, “You know his plan? How?”
She shook her head. “I cannot say, even to you. I know you’re all friends of the Empire, but I cannot compromise my sources. But I did discover it, and I’ll share it with you.
“As I’m sure you knew, or at least guessed, the Golden Star was created using natural metals and gems, enhanced to amplify their magical properties. It is a process still taught in the Academy, but never used on such a large scale till now.
“But what isn’t taught is that there is another process, that works almost as the opposite of the first. It is more difficult, and far more dangerous, because the results could only be used with malice – no good can come from them. With this process, the inner properties of natural materials can be warped, twisted – and reversed. Instead of working against negative forces, they would accentuate them. Do you understand?”
Minaar spoke, “So if this process had been done on, say, an emerald, instead of healing – ”
“It would channel pain and illness into the patient, not out of them,” Bodes finished. “You see why this process is kept hidden? Whoever mastered it could become a walking curse, spreading pain, weakening the minds and souls of others, using objects that were meant by God to help, not harm!” Bodes’ voice, a moment before so loud and agitated, dropped to a low murmur. “Do you not see his plan? Do you still not guess it?”
As Persivian stared blindly forward, utterly still, he felt as though a hand of iron was squeezing his heart. Its touch was cold as he considered the implication of what Bodes had revealed. “Surely,” he said, “surely he could not…” But he was unable to finish.
“He could, though,” the light wizard replied. “He could, and he will.”
“He must have learned the process from spies,” Jud’ami mused. “Over the last year he would have worked to perfect the technique.” The sailor sighed and rubbed his temples, eyes closed in weariness. Then he said, “So, he is going to use this ability to distort natural properties to create a…mutant Golden Star. For what purpose?”
“What we always suspected,” Bodes replied. “To destroy the Empire. He will enslave us with the power of his dark creation. He hates the Emperor,” she said, raising her head to look at them intently. “I don’t know why. But his passion against us runs deep.”
Jud’ami shook his head and leaned forward. “I don’t see how this could work,” he protested. “This Shadow King may be able to make such a creation, but it wouldn’t have anywhere near enough range to affect the entire Empire. Even the Golden Star only magically affects people who are near to it.”
Bodes frowned and began to reply, but Persivian interrupted. “I think Minaar can tell us about that,” he said, before focusing his gaze upon her in an uncanny way that belied his blindness. “You knew about this plan, didn’t you?” he said quietly. “Or at least, you suspected something.”
“We did,” the girl replied, seeming very small in Persivian’s senses. Conscious of the stares leveled her way, Minaar exclaimed, “But not all of what you’ve said, I swear!”
“So what did you know?” Bodes demanded. “And for God’s sake, why didn’t Borgen tell me?”
Minaar veritably leapt to her feet, retracing Bodes’ earlier path with her pacing. “We didn’t knew enough,” she replied. “Borgen found out that the enemy planned to use the warped power of gems to carry out some plan, but we didn’t know what the plan was. We really couldn’t even be sure about what he discovered – there wasn’t enough evidence for the theory to be held up.”
“But you did believe that warped gems and such would be a part of his plots?” Jud’ami said, watching her agitated movements.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“What did you think he would do?” Persivian asked curiously.
“We could only guess. Anyway, it’s irrelevant now, isn’t it?”
“That is true,” Persivian conceded. “But that’s not everything you need to share.” His mind was pulling up a memory, from back in Borgen’s house. That’s where I come in, the girl had said. Then, they had been interrupted; afterward, it had been forgotten. Now, the time was ripe for the telling.
His companions were watching him, waiting for him to continue. The wizard did not disappoint them, and asked bluntly, “Earlier tonight, you started to tell us why you were being hunted. You never finished.”
Minaar stopped pacing, but did not sit down. Persivian could almost see her, standing with her arms crossed as if to protect herself from something, biting her lip, her eyes staring far away. “Perhaps it’s better,” she finally said. “I didn’t trust you fully then, despite what I told my brother.
“I am not a wizard, but I have magic, and power. You saw it earlier,” she said to the two men. There was no need to ask what she spoke of. Both of them vividly remembered the explosive anger she displayed before, though perhaps volcanic would be a better description. Minaar continued, “While I cannot control my power, someone else could use it, if he was strong enough himself. By all the accounts we’ve heard, the Shadow King is strong enough. That’s why he’s been looking for me. His plan is to warp the natural properties of gems, materials from the earth. My magic is from the earth, and my power could…”
When she hesitated, Persivian finished her sentence, with her brother’s words. “You could bring his plan into fruition.”
“Yes.”
“How?” Jud’ami demanded. “The Golden Star was made without your aid. How can you make a difference with this one?”
“He can make his own creation without my power, but it will have no more affect than the Golden Star. But for its effects to reach the entire Empire, the Shadow King needs far more power than even he has. He believes mine would suffice.”
“You don’t have the ability to make that kind of effect,” Bodes scoffed. “You can’t have that much magic in you.”
Persivian felt Jud’ami’s glance, knew what he was thinking, and agreed wholeheartedly. Minaar could easily hold deep wells of untamed power within her. Whether or not it was enough to create the kind of effect the Shadow King desired, he didn’t know. But at this point, nothing was impossible.
Bodes saw the expressions on her three visitors and shook her head. “I don’t believe it,” she said, but despite her words, her tone was less sure. “Not wholly, at least. Such an immense amount of power cannot come from only one person.”
“Maybe not,” Minaar said, sinking into her seat again. “Maybe not.”
For a moment the four sat together in silence. Then Persivian felt warmth on his face as the sun rose, shining through the window. The night was finally over, and it felt like the longest in the wizard’s life. He wondered briefly how many such nights lay ahead, before rising to his feet.
“We cannot linger here,” he said. “Even now, time presses.”
“You’re right,” Bodes said. “I also must leave soon.”
“Where will you go?” Minaar asked curiously – and a trifle accusingly, Persivian thought.
“It wouldn’t do to tell you that,” the other woman answered with a smile. “Defeats the purpose of leaving at all. Suffice it to say that I will not be far, and that I will continue the search. I’m not running away, you know,” she said. “Just retreating to a safer place. Too many people know I live here, and too many people have been hurt or killed for knowing too much.”
“There is a truthsayer interrogating Verrad in the Prison Keep,” Jud’ami told her, “and we’ve asked him to contact you should any further information be found.”
“Give me his name and I’ll tell him how to contact me.” The sailor did as Bodes asked, as she escorted them to the door. “Good luck in your quest,” she told the companions.
“And in yours,” Persivian replied. The door shut with a click, and he turned away.
“Where to now?” Minaar asked as he strode down the path.
“Back to the library, I assume?” said Jud’ami.
The blind man nodded. “I think it’s time to find out about this name we’ve been given, and to see what the librarian has found for us.”
“And then?” prompted the girl.
Persivian closed his eyes and breathed in the morning air. “Then our journey really begins.”
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Wow...that was long.
If you're still awake, I'd like you to consider what to name part two of this story, which will emerge in a new thread in the new storygames forum after the completion of the next chapter, chapter nineteen. I know, another lame dp, but it's the best I can do at the moment.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter DF, as always.
Next chapter title eh? Well, 'Hunt for the Shadow King' is a bit obvious. Maybe, The Shadow of the King. Meh. In the Shade of the Shadow King. Mmmm, not much better.
I will kick my brains into action.
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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WOOT! D-Fire is back!
I F5 China and 'Hunt for the Shadow King'.
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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Well, the orginal was called Uncertain Quest so how about a play off that?
Such as Shadow Quest....
Or Imperialed/Dangerous Quest?
*muses* Healing Quest....or Certain Quest.
Or perhaps something using the prophecy from earlier?
Perhaps...."I see three"?
Or "The Darkness Searches"....
Or the "The Darkest Quest",
Or even "Devanta's Vision" in her honor?
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Lebrenth
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| Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:37 am Post subject: |
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Oh... I suppose I should have looked in here before commenting in Dreamwalker....
WELL
Welcome back Dragon Fire! Looks like you picked up where you left off quite nicely. As for a name for the next part.... hmm... How about "Visions of Shadow"
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Ow I like Leb's Idea...I take away my ideas to f5 Leb's.
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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K, putting up a poll for the title, and working on the next chapter. Don't expect any miracles though - it won't be up sooner than a week, I'm sure. Sorry
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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The companions were greeted by a highly animated librarian as they reentered the massive room. “I never knew,” he was saying, “I had no idea, but I found it, I did!”
“Found what?” Persivian asked with no small amount of confusion, but the man only ushered them along to the desk. Several books lay open, their covers preventing a faded old scroll from rolling in on itself. He gestured to it.
“Never expected to find this here.”
To Persivian it was nothing more than an old parchment, soft with age. But to Jud’ami and Minaar, it was an extensive and highly detailed map of the city and the surrounding area, but from a rather different perspective than was usually seen.
“This is all underground,” Minaar breathed, her hair swinging forward as she bent over the map.
“Are these natural tunnels?” asked the sailor, mimicking her action.
“Some of them,” the librarian replied. “Others, like these, were excavated, and some were made magically.” He traced a few of the paths, his finger rasping against the scroll.
“There is an entire tunnel system beneath us?” Persivian asked, trying not to be frustrated by the lack of explanations.
Jud’ami nodded, saying, “They connect natural caverns and caves, coming up all around the city and at some points within the walls, mostly near the palace and harbor. And you knew nothing of this?” he asked the librarian.
The man shook his head. “I have never heard of it, but this is not unusual considering it was in a special access section of the library. I can see why it was hidden.” So could Persivian. Such entrances to the city could be supremely helpful, or extremely dangerous.
“What about this one?” Minaar asked, tapping the map lightly. There was a tone of intense but concealed interest in her voice that the wizard did not miss.
“From what I see in these books,” he replied, gesturing to the tomes before them, “that one appears to be magically made, and leads west, all the way out of the city.”
“Strange…it’s very similar to the road to the pass?”
“It lies in almost the same place. I believe it goes under the mountains, though I must keep researching – very close to finding it that’s true or not.”
“Icy tunnels,” Minaar murmured, drawing both her companions’ gazes. “Devanta said…” her voice trailed off as she studied the map again, but she had said enough to get Persivian thinking. What if this was what the seer had meant? It seemed so long since they had received Devanta’s vision, and he had not even thought of it till now. But suddenly it was becoming sharper…he began to pace.
Behind him, Jud’ami continued considering the map. “This tunnel that leads under the mountains…it connects to a cave in the cliffs, just east of the harbor.”
“Aye, it does,” the librarian agreed. “But I must keep searching if I am to determine where it leads…” Still muttering to himself, the old man began flipping through the pages of one of the books, searching rapidly but thoroughly.
“Persivian, what is it?” Minaar asked, watching his agitated movements.
“Never mind,” he replied, waving his hand without halting. “We’re not done here. Minaar, if you would assist the librarian and study these tunnels more…I believe we’re getting very close. Jud’ami, if you would search for the name?”
The sailor stepped close to Persivian, who paused in his step. “Is it the vision you’re thinking of?” he murmured quietly. When his friend nodded, Jud’ami stepped back satisfied. “We will keep searching,” he said, before returning to the library atlas to search for the name they had been given. Minaar watched with dark eyes, before turning back to the map once more. Persivian continued to pace.
I see three, she had said. The darkness searches, the deep earth guides, but the sea cannot follow. Was that them? He had thought so, still thought so…but there was more. I saw the ground rushing along beneath me as I flew towards the eastern coast, through the icy tunnels and away from the setting sun. Their way lay towards the east, through tunnels…the tunnel under the mountains Jud’ami had seen on the map? Its mouth lay at the cliffs above the harbor, a cavern of darkness, in the earth, near the sea, connected to a tunnel that led east beneath the mountains. Visions are meant to guide one’s path – had Devanta guided theirs?
But what of the waves, the wind? That had to refer to Jud’ami, who used both wind and water in his magicks. If he was to be left behind, this had to reveal the purpose. The waves uncover many things, and the wind can hear what others do not.
And then it clicked.
Once, years before, both Persivian and Jud’ami had been employed as the Emperor’s detectives, dealers of justice…and spies. Though Persivian had left that profession, Jud’ami still had occasion to do so; he traveled near constantly with his ship, with many opportunities to serve the Emperor in the meantime. Why could he not do it again? If the sailor were to stay behind, what could he discover? What was he meant to discover…
“Persivian!” The gentle voice of his wizard companion broke him out of his reverie. He crossed the library floor to his friend, expertly weaving between the tables.
“What is it, Jud’ami?” he asked.
“I believe I found some references to look at, but there are many.” The unspoken question being, are you ready to look, or must you think some more? Persivian simply nodded.
“Where are they at?”
While gathering the histories Jud’ami had found, Persivian considered how to best make his suggestion to his friend. He was almost certain that this was what Devanta had seen. Jud’ami had the connections and the skills to discover more answers to this mystery than would be possible if the companions continued in the search as a group. It made sense…but it also but the sailor in greater danger, especially considering what had happened to Lehrar, and almost happened to Borgen. What if…Persivian didn’t know if he could stand losing another friend.
But what was the alternative? For Jud’ami to go with them, of course. Persivian dearly wanted that; he had been away from any sort of close companions, save Guia, for a very long time. He would be with Minaar, true enough, but he barely knew her. Could he rely on her as he did on Jud’ami?
The wizard was forced to stop his brooding when Jud’ami floated them down to the library floor to peruse the books they had found. They found Minaar studying the map and a dust-covered tome with a creased brow, looking between them darkly. “What is it?” Persivian asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.
She started under his touch, but replied, “I was just seeing where this tunnel seems to lead, and where it came from.”
“What have you found? And where’s the librarian?”
“Getting another book,” she grimaced. “He seems very excited. But let’s discuss it when we’ve both found more, shall we?”
Jud’ami had already settled in a chair and was pouring over a large tome, so Persivian followed suit. He pulled the nearest book towards him, and cast his reading spell. It was entitled, A Recent History of the Malkeiado War, and seemed to have been printed not very long ago. Strange…how familiar Malkeiado sounds, he thought. Then he opened the cover and began to read. It did not take him long to realize both the reason behind the familiarity and the relationship to their quarry’s name. Unable to help himself, he began to laugh.
Both his companions looked at him with some concern, because there was no mirth in his voice, only scorn. A moment later they realized that Persivian aimed it at himself, as he pressed his forehead into his hand, “Idiot, idiot, foolish man,” slipping out between his chuckles.
“I take it you found something,” Jud’ami said dryly.
“Indeed,” he replied, trying to calm himself. “Forgive me, I just…I couldn’t help it,” he managed, before laughing again. The fit didn’t last long, however; he was not unaware of the expression on Minaar’s face that suggested she thought him slightly unstable. Taking deep breaths, he straightened up and began to explain.
“Several decades ago, many years before we were born, the empire came was attacked by a nation from across the eastern see, called Malkeiado. They were a proud people, the nation both large and strong, and they coveted our lands. Our late Emperor was only a young man, barely to his twenties I believe, when this occurred.”
“Ah yes, I remember from our studies,” Jud’ami murmured.
Minaar watched expectantly, so Persivian continued. “We may be small, but our empire is strong, far stronger than they anticipated. We fought them off…at a huge cost, life lost on both sides. But we persevered, and they fled, back to their home across the sea.”
“Fleets from the East…” Minaar muttered suddenly, and her eyes snapped up to Persivian’s face.
“It was not the future then,” said Jud’ami, “nor the present, that Devanta saw. She was seeing the past war?”
Persivian continued, “After the Malkeiadians returned home, largely crippled and sore from battle, they never troubled us again. They were still watched carefully, of course, as it was believed their aggression had not sunk with their defeat. Rather, their respect for us rose, even as their anger beat against us, and they did not attack again. But their pride had been wounded after being overcome by such a small nation, and they spurned the messengers our old Emperor, newly come to the title after his father fell in battle, sent them in hopes of peace. It was largely due to his prowess that the empire was able to survive the attack mostly intact,” the wizard then remarked.
“Especially notable, as he was younger then than his son, our current Emperor, is now.”
“Yes,” Persivian agreed. “He was an exceptional man.”
“How does this connect with the name, then?” asked Minaar. “And what was so funny about it?”
The corners of his lips turned up grimly as Persivian answered, “Because dom Sella is the family name of one of the generals of the Malkeiadian force, and Kreysk dom Sella was the son of that general.”
Minaar gaped at him, and Jud’ami picked up where Persivian had left off. “One large part of Academy education is the learning of history. We studied this war fairly extensively once; because it was so recent, and because its effects so dire. The Emperor did not want us getting complacent – he wanted us to remember that the strongest tower may shake, and even fall, as we nearly did.”
“I should have seen it!” Persivian exclaimed. “I should have remembered the surname at least, made the connection – it makes so many things much clearer.”
“As should have I,” agreed Jud’ami. “They fairly beat it into us, how could we not have made the connection?”
“I can think of several reasons,” Minaar muttered. “But let me get this straight. Devanta saw a vision of the past war, the fleets coming from and returning to Malkeiado. The Shadow King is from that country, the son of a general in the army defeated by the old Emperor’s forces. He hates us because we beat them, and now he wants to finish what they started?”
“ ‘One is left behind…’ to what purpose? Was it by accident or purpose that he stayed in the Empire?” Persivian mused aloud.
“And why does he wait till now to show himself?” Minaar asked.
“One would think if he was deliberately left, he would have attacked long ago, when we were still crippled by the war’s aftermath.” The sailor’s words were slow and thoughtful, and he gazed ahead with a frown.
“But if it was an accident and he now seeks vengeance, he would have had to build his power before setting any plan in motion,” noted Persivian.
Minaar shook her head. “I cannot see one so filled with rage and hate waiting for over forty years to make any showing of himself. He would need infinite patience for that.”
Persivian laid his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. His mind was swimming with the possibilities and implications, but fatigue was waging war on his senses. “We cannot determine more about this from mere speculation,” he muttered. “Minaar, did you or the librarian find more with the tunnels?”
“Yes,” she replied. “This one here that we noted earlier heads almost straight east, but it splits into three forks. The middle path surfaces in the eastern foothills of the mountain range. The northern one follows the mountains upward until it reaches the coast. The map indicates that a city used to stand there, but I know of no port in that area.”
“What about the southern fork?”
Minaar shrugged. “It’s hard to say – there is an entire natural network of tunnels in that section of the mountains, and the southern fork gets lost among them. I imagine the middle fork would be our best bet anyway, so we wouldn’t have to think about it at all, I think.”
“Unless the natural tunnels are inhabited,” Jud’ami remarked. “There are many subterranean creatures that would love such a place.” The girl grimaced at the thought.
“Was there anything else that caught your eye?” Persivian asked.
Peering down at the map again, she answered, “Yes, there was another tunnel…this one here.” She pointed to it for Jud’ami’s benefit, and continued, “This one begins about a two day’s journey out of the city, but it leads directly under the mountains and comes out about the same distance away from where Baden Criado’s estate is. Unfortunately, to get to that one, we’d either have to try to figure our way through these twisty tunnels here – ” the parchment rustled as she traced it with her finger, “ – that lead from under the city to right near its entrance, or we would go overland.”
“That seems a lot safer a course,” Persivian remarked.
“Yes,” Jud’ami agreed, “except that Nuiden Castle stands in the way.”
“Ah,” the wizard said, leaning back in his chair. That did pose a problem. Nuiden Castle and the forested land that surrounded it was an immensely dangerous place, with good reason. Centuries before when the last Nuiden heir had fallen, the estate had been claimed by a powerful lich. His battalion of enslaved soldier spirits guarded the vast woods from intruders. From that stronghold, he had rebuffed any attempts to remove him. While he generally did not harm anyone outside his land (the only reason past Emperors had stopped trying to destroy him) he dealt mercilessly with anyone found trespassing within the forest.
“Could we not go around the Nuiden lands to get to this other tunnel?” Persivian asked.
“Actually, it lies just within the southern border of the lich’s forest,” Minaar answered. “If we went that way, we’d only have to cross a few miles to get to the tunnel’s entrance.” Which would still be very, very risky.
“I see no other possibilities,” Jud’ami said. “It seems there are less passes under the mountain than there are over them. Those roads are open to us as well.”
Persivian considered the possibilities. Underground there were two - the first tunnel, accessible from the city but emerging much further from their destination, and the second tunnel, ending exactly where they needed to get to, but beginning days away in very dangerous territory. Both of these would probably have the same traveling distance, and though it seemed the first option was far less dangerous, there was the possibility of horrible enemies lurking belowground in either case. Never had Persivian traveled extensively underground before, and he simply could not estimate the dangers. They could take the surface roads and avoid those unknowns altogether, but would it be wise to discount the possible meaning of Devanta’s vision? Besides, there were many possible hazards above ground as well.
Two choices faced the companions now, and Persivian pondered both. Which road would be the best to take? And should Jud’ami walk it with them? What am I going to tell him? Indecision circled in the wizard’s mind as he decided his course.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I was wrong it seems. Here is chapter nineteen, the last in this thread. I could say more, but I'm far too tired and must get up absurdly early tomorrow, so I'll just shut up now. By the way, if you see any errors or anything in this chapter, let me know, because I haven't proofread it yet (too tired!) and I'll fix them later.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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Hey y'all, I didn't know if nobody had noticed the chapter or if they simply didn't care to reply, but here it is...has been...whatever. But that's not why I'm writing. After this week I should be able to be slightly more regular, and I will begin working on a summary of the story to post at the beginning of the new thread, which will be entitled Visions of Shadow unless the poll changes drastically. Apart from that, I await replies to this chapter, as it does end in a decision point. Keep an eye out for the summary, sometime in the next two weeks I would guess.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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| Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I missed it somehow.
Mind you, if you leave a story for a long time experience shows that it takes a lot of work to recover the reader levels. Possibly because the people who were following it are not even around anymore, and the ones that were have forgotten the plot.
It may help to post a synopsis when you return.
Now, having said all that, I don't have time to read the chapter just now, but I promise to do so later!
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:22 am Post subject: |
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Phew, that was a long read! Long but good.
Well, I say he should send Jud off. It's risky, but the good of the many and all that.
As for the tunnel. Well, it simply has to be Lichville. For three reasons:
Perhaps he can cast some kind of masking spell to make detecting them harder, and sneak in. He isn't your ordinary traveller after all. Maybe also bring some kind of cleric along to help defend against the undead just in case.
It's faster too, and the other route isn't without risks no doubt.
Finally, it's just so much cooler, and I want to see hard core undead action.
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LordoftheNight
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with China about heading for Lichville - mainly for the reasons he said. However - just to be different - I'd advise bringing Jud'ami along with them, but don't tell him anything. Yet.
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Punishment leads to Fear. Fear leads to Obedience. Obedience leads to Freedom. Therefore, Punishment leads to Freedom.
Ave Dominus Nox
A Fronte Praecipitium a Tergo Lupi
Blood Bowl
Scraping the Barrel
A Tale of Four Swords
Passion
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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I'm back yet again, and thank God for summer. At long last the summary of the story is posted in a new thread, Visions of Shadow. I'll be posting the poll there as soon as I get enough responses. Again, I'm truly sorry I let the hectic-ness of my life get in the way of this story, and I hope everyone can enjoy it again this summer as they have in the past.
And I will keep up with it this summer, or else I will find the tallest building in the City of If and jump off it.
To view the new thread and summary, click here.
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:28 am Post subject: |
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dragon_fire372
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| Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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Polls up in Visions of Shadow!
_________________
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing ~ Edmund Burke
Sans Dieu Rien Without God, Nothing
Visions of Shadow - 2nd part of Uncertain Quests! Chapter Two
Dreamwalker - Relocated to Linear Lane Sixth Chapter
Linear Story Nightrobber Now Complete!
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NeverNeverGirl
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| Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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I voted Visions of Shadows - that sounds deep and would be the sort of intriguing name that would make me pick it up and read..
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| What should be the title of Part Two? |
| Hunt for the Shadow King |
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14% |
[ 1 ] |
| Darkest Quest |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Visions of Shadow |
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71% |
[ 5 ] |
| Shadow Quest |
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14% |
[ 1 ] |
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| Total Votes : 7 |
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