| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The roar of the horrifying tiger-headed aberration catches Garvid off-guard. The towering snakes, the tiger heads covering the walls, all seem to work together to draw the feeling of alienness, of strange, unknown Korvosa, one he'd never seen before.
The burst of magic from Talfryn, the familiar haze as the world slows down around him pushes the thought to the side, and as Yazi's Shoanti incantations echo loudly in the subterranean halls, he feels the reverberating call of Korvosa, of guards, braves and protectors from ages ago.
This isn't some terrible beast roaring as you thread upon its lair warily, the spirits whisper in the low of his neck, as they feed into his anger. This is a poor, lost, wretched thing, away from its land, raising its voice in one last call of defiance. You are the Guard, and that is your quarry.
"You should've stayed quiet, beast man.", Garvid roars back. Passing by Kynes, the two snakes snapping at him, he glances at his foe. "You're in our town.", he snarls, sprinting forwards, the furious ghosts at the base of his neck roaring viciously in his head. The halberd's tip finds its mark into the creature's bared chest, the force of the blow such that it pierces through the back. Raising his head towards the rakshasa, Garvid bares his teeth at the carnage, the spirits sated, for now.
The fang pierces Kynes flesh glistening with a sickly ooze. Immediately he begins to find it difficult to draw breath, but Kynes is not easily subject to panic, and he takes the opportunity to examine the cobra's motion, then unleashes a snake of his own.
.
With a cheer of triumph at Garvid's vicious attack, Mouse ducks forward, relying on her boots' enchantment and Garvid's magic to speed her steps. Drawing close, she whips into a frenzy, letting loose a blindingly fast series of kicks and punches at the huge reptile.
Seeing the damage that the cobras could potentially do to the others, Li continues to shoot bolts at the creatures. This time her nimble fingers grab her shocking bolts from her efficient quiver. She rapidly fires them at the cobra that just took a bite out of Kynes.
Garvid races into the chamber, rebounding around the cobras who bite at him with their massive maws . His momentum sends him crashing into the rakshasa and leaves only the tiger’s body to absorb the monumental blow. The tiger screams, reflexively clutching at the wound and staggering, but remains upright .
Kynes endures the sickly poison that creeps through his veins, turning his arm black, and unleashes his bladed scarf. His second strike knocks the cobra unconscious, and his third swipes the air exactly where its head would have been a moment before.
Mouse veers in under the remaining cobra and delivers a stunning uppercut to its jaw . Li finishes it off with a series of precise shots to the skull. It collapses, lifeless.
”Vimanda, help me!” the rakshasa booms with blood-slicked fangs, a note of panic in his voice. He staggers back, pawing at the flames and managing to put them out. ”Show these whelps with what they meddle!” With a triumphant roar he glares at Garvid, then twists toward the door and unleashes a lightning bolt that strikes Mouse, Neolandus, and Yazi in turn! ”Gah-ah-ah-ah-ah!” Neolandus stutters and jerks as the bolt strikes him.
With a crash of waves an enormous reefclaw emerges from the water of the pier! Vencarlo is thrown back and lands heavily on the rocks, unmoving.
The reefclaw’s gigantic pincers snap at Yazi, capturing her easily and squeezing her tightly in its grip . It drags her toward the water, claiming a prized meal.
”Ahhhhh!” Neolandus leaps forward and attempts to bury his axe in the reefclaw, but his blade bounces off of its thick hide .
The rakshasa eyes garvid, his fangs bare as he breaks into a deep laugh. ”Which do you choose, human? To kill me, or to save your friend?”
__________________________
Garvid:
Kynes: poisoned (each round DC 19 Fort save or take 1d3 Con dmg)
Li: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Mouse:
Neolandus:
Talfryn: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Vencarlo:
Yazi: grappled (for concentration checks, grappler’s CMB is +26)
Avidexu: shaken (–2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks)
Reefclaw: grappled
pass
You finish what you started Garvid. I'll go help them! Kynes rounds the corner staggering a bit as the venom spreads from his thigh toward his heart. Reaching down into his belt, he grabs his extract of channel vigor. Instead of ingesting the extract, The Lamplighter cracks the gelatanized extract and begins to rub his palms vigorously. He studies the reefclaw for a moment as his hands begin to emit a piercing light. At onece he raises his arms and shoves the searing light at the reefclaw. Come into the light!
[/ooc]
The Shoanti can't even cry out as the lightning strikes her, the chest muscles locking up until she cannot breathe. Suddenly, the energy releases her and she slumps to one knee, easy prey for the monstrous crustacean that surges out of the depths.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Yazi!" Lord Talfryn's plans are all discarded out of hand as he sees the Shoanti woman snatched and rended, then dragged toward a watery tomb.
Squinting through the piercing pain that wrenches at his mind, he nevertheless unleashes a potent spell, warping the very fabric of space as he reaches forth in desperation to clutch at Yazi's foot.
Both of them are immediately transported away from the reefclaw and into the main chamber, where Yazi is deposited on the floor of an alcove, out of sight from both enemies, Talfyrn standing in bristling outrage before her and blocking all approaches.
Seeing the lighting and the launch a vicious assault against Yazi, only for her to be safely whisked away by Talfryn's rapid spellslinging, Garvid's attention turns to a mask of cold fury. "Oh, you're not getting out of your f$#!ing mess that easy, kitty.", he snarls in the rakshasa's face, as his fist lands into the tiger's maw, spilling blood and broken teeth onto the beautiful marble. The halberd's bloodied tip lunges out of the wound, rending the rakshasa's hide and clothes with furious blows, one after the other.
Her exultation short-lived, Mouse turns and darts back to the other room, moving to stand over Yazi and protect her - until the older woman disappears at Talfryn's touch. Least she's safe, I 'ope. But if the giant sea creature could do that once, it could do it again...unless Mouse had something to say about it.
A cry of dismay erupts from Li as the reefclaw attacks Yazi, "Nooooo!" So many things happen at once and Li is torn between helping Garvid and helping Yazi. Thankfully Talfryn's magic gets Yazi to safety but then Mouse steps up to take her place. The rogue didn't want anything to happen to her either.
Deciding to let her fingers do the talking, Li sends two bolts hurtling towards the rakshasa.
She then pivots on her foot and sends a shocking bolt towards the reefclaw, aiming at the part of its body that was submerged in the water.
A beam of coruscating energy erupts from Kynes’s outstretched hand, striking the reefclaw directly in the face. The creature emits a sound like ripping metal as it flails .
With instincts as sharp as his wit, Talfryn acts quickly to magically whisk both himself and Yazi to safety.
Garvid’s punch knocks the rakshasa’s head back, but it takes two savage cuts with his halberd to bring the creature down.
Mouse charges forward and, leaping up, delivers two swift kicks to the now-empty-handed reefclaw
Li turns and sends three bolts at the giant crustacean, but each ricochets off of its exoskeleton .
The reefclaw snaps at Mouse. She flips back to avoid one claw but finds herself snagged by another. Its rigid spines squeeze relentlessly!
Neo continues to hack fruitlessly at the creature.
__________________________
Garvid:
Kynes: poisoned (each round DC 19 Fort save or take 1d3 Con dmg, cure 2 consecutive saves)
Li: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Mouse: grappled
Neolandus:
Talfryn: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Vencarlo:
Yazi:
Avidexu: bleeding out
Reefclaw: grappled, sickened (–2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks)
miss
hit
Yaziyah lies unmoving, blood slowly trickling from her horrific wounds.
Kynes spits blood. I rather like boiled crab, think of the party we shall have. Then the Lamplighter unleashes a storm of whipping blades that leaves no appendage of the crustacean unadorned by oozing crevasses.
As the claw tightens around her, Mouse wriggles and fights furiously against the restraint, attempting to slip away before the claw tightens any further.
Seeing no imminent threats, Talfryn turns to kneel beside Yazi, gaze running up and down her horrific wounds, hands hovering over her as if unsure where to start, what to do. The amount of blood that's already puddled around her is terrifying, and for a moment Talfryn's mind is a blank, crippled by the pain he's laboring under and the fear of losing his companion.
"No, no, that's right, a simple potion, arrest the damage, the loss of sanguinus vitae..."
Fingers fumble at the four vials tucked into his belt, and he quickly draws one free, biting the cork away and pouring the glowing blue liquid over the worst of Yazi's wounds.
The bite from the cobra stirring in his veins, Garvid wastes no time turning away from the rakshasa and lunging towards the reefclaw. Glancing at Talfryn leaning over Yazi's body, he roars out as he batters back through the gate. Howling, he swings his halberd at the reefclaw. "Mouse! Hold on!", he barks.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Li's eyes narrow slightly, "Ya ain't takin' anoth'r," she mutters to herself as she grabs another bolt. Having another member of her 'family' being threatened seems to guide her bolts making her attacks more deadly. She focuses on the reefclaw squeezing the life from Mouse and drills three bolts in rapid succession into vulnerable parts of the creature.
Yazi continues bleeding out, while Kynes lashes the reefclaw. Mouse struggles in vain against its massive claw. Talfryn comes to his senses, administering a potion to Yazi to stem the bleeding .
Garvid carves a large slab of meat from the reefclaw, while Li sends three bolts straight into its skull. It crashes back into the water, releasing Mouse as it falls.
__________________________
Garvid: poisoned (each round DC 19 Fort save or take 1d3 Con dmg, cure 2 consecutive saves)
Kynes: poisoned (each round DC 19 Fort save or take 1d3 Con dmg, cure 2 consecutive saves)
Li: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Mouse: grappled
Neolandus:
Talfryn: symbol of pain (-4 attacks, skill checks, and ability checks)
Vencarlo:
Yazi:
Avidexu: bleeding out
Reefclaw: grappled, sickened (–2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks)
ooof. I don't feel so well. Kynes falls to a knee, breathing heavily. Kynes centers his mind, directing it to subconsciously combat the poison.
"Yazi? Yazi!"
Lord Talfryn uncorks one potion after another, pouring them into the Shoanti's mouth.
"Curse the inefficacy of these blasted potions!"
Gasping and sputtering, Yaziyah comes to consciousness, unseeing eyes staring wildly about and her hands clawing at Talfryn.
"Haaaaaaah!"
She blinks rapidly and her gasps turn into wheezes as she wraps her arms around herself, her body shaking uncontrollably.
"Where- What... what happened?" She seems to remember something and a look of horror crosses her face as she looks frantically around. "Where are the others? The rakshasa! The reefclaw!"
Seeing Li's marksmanship bring the beast down, Garvid lets out a victorious roar, but a racking cough shakes him in the middle. The flesh around his snakebite pulses with pain, the skin turning rapidly a dark purple. I'm not going down... to a damn snake. Abadar, this is worse than the blood veil. "Damn Vudrani and their damned snakes.", he grunts out woozily, leaning on Kynes' shoulder. "We'll pull through, Kynes." , he grunts out a moment later, standing up to rush to Yazi's side with a heavy wobble.
A breath of relief leaves the man's mouth as he sees the Shoanti stand up and look around, Mouse rising up from the cliffside. "Vencarlo's injured, but Li took out the reefclaw. The rakshasa, well...", a pained, prideful grin appears on his face. "I left quite the impact on him. He's still breathing, though, in case we need to find another way to skin a cat." Patting his halberd, Garvid gives a glance at Avidexu's shallow breathing body.
Shuffling towards the Rakshasa, he cuffs the creature's hands behind its back. "Lordship, why the hell are its arms so messed up? You imagine that's for...", he raises an eyebrow at Talfryn, waggling his fingers in a poor imitation of a somatic gesture. "Do we have something we want to ask our trespasser before I turn them the right way around?"
HP: 59/71. Thank someone we have lesser restoration wands.
As soon as the reefclaw drops, Li flat out runs towards Yazi and Talfryn. Her face shows visible relief as she sees that Yazi is alive and speaking. She drops to her knees beside the woman, "Ya need ta be takin' it easy. Ya still look like ya be hurt." The rogue pulls the healing wand from Yazi's belt and pushes it into her hand. "Ya need ta make yerself be heal'd. We ain't be movin' 'til yer good ag'in."
Satisfied that Yazi is okay, Li gets to her feet and runs over to Mouse. She supports the brawler as she gets to her feet. "Let's be gettin' ya over ta Yazi an' she c'n fix ya up proper."
As she walks Mouse towards Yazi, Li looks over at Garvid her eyes hard, "His creature be almost killin' Yazi an' it be hurtin' Mouse. He don't be deservin' any mercy so don't be showin' him any. I be doubtful he be tellin' anythin' resemblin' tha truth anyhow so I don't be havin' anythin' ta ask."
"Attempting to apply logic to the morphology of demonic creatures like this one is to court madness, my dear Garvid."
Talfryn stands up heavily, wiping Yazi's blood onto the sides of his greatcoat, still watching her carefully as Li helps the Shoanti work her healing wand.
"Nor would I place any value in whatever 'truths' it might reveal. Mistress Li has the right of it. Best to put it to death and be done with this whole situation."
He then catches sight of the fallen swordsmaster. "Vencarlo! He's hurt!"
The constraint of the claw suddenly falls away and Mouse thuds to the ground, panting heavily to regain her breath both from the claw's grip and from the impact of the fall. Gratefully she accepts Li's help to regain her feet, wincing as her ribs protest the movement. They mayn't be bruises yet...but they sure're gonna be nothin' but, t'morrow. "Take it Miz Yazi's ok, then, or I'll 'ave t' give y' a good knock f'r leavin' 'er f'r me," she jokes with Li as they make their way toward the older woman.
For just a moment, she imagines Yazi standing beneath the foreboding tower she'd seen...but then violently she dismisses the thought from her mind. Not if I c'n 'elp it. "Glad to see y' 'ad a good nap," she goes with instead, offering a hand to help Yazi to her feet.
Breathing in relief as she sees the others gather around her, Yaziyah sets to work healing the others and restoring their poison-ravaged bodies.
"Bring Vencarlo here as well, so I can tend to him."
Garvid jumps up at Talfryn's answer. "It's another demon? I thought it was just some other weird thing the Arkonas brought from Vudra. That's what, three demons in as many months?", he grunts, then sets to his grim task. The halberd pierces Avidexu's neck, and as Garvid wrings the blade, the last breath of the rakshasa leaves its body. "Good riddance. F$*+ing Arkonas opening the f*%$ing gates to the f%~$ing Abyss in Korvosa.", he starts grumbling, returning a moment later with Vencarlo's body. "Bastard's been through hell already.", he nods as Yazi sets to restoring the man's wounds.
Vencarlo, surprisingly, hops to his feet after the reefclaw is dispatched. He hangs back as Garvid finishes Avidexu, his fingers gripping the door and a strange look on his face. "His fate was sealed," he offers matter-of-factly, coughing and wiping his eyes.
Neolandus moves toward Vencarlo. "Are you alr--"
"Of course!" Vencarlo cries. "Just glad to see them pay for their crimes. And now, Glorio! Up to the gardens, yes?"
Kyne listens, Vencarlo seems to be what his face shows him to be, no more, no less. Only the man's reputation gives him pause. Let us proceed then with all alacrity. Kynes pulls two extracts from a hidden cachet and imbibes each in turn without comment.
Talfryn looks at Vencarlo strangely - the man seemed awfully spry for somehow who'd looked unconscious if not dead a moment ago - but then shrugs and turns to his friends.
"Let us proceed with all haste. The sooner we bring justice to the Arkonas, the better."
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Li looks at Vencarlo quizzically. "Is there somethin' th't ya be wantin' ta be tellin' us, Vencarlo? Ya seem angry an' sad, like ya be losin' somethin', but ya also seem ta be tryin' ta hide it. I be thinkin' ya be seein' and experiencin' some real bad thin's down here but mebbe it be helpin' ta talk 'bout it."
She gently places her hand on his arm, "Ya don't be seemin' alright ta me an' I want ta be helpin' if'n ya be lettin' me."
"Is there somethin' th't ya be wantin' ta be tellin' us, Vencarlo? Ya seem angry an' sad, like ya be losin' somethin', but ya also seem ta be tryin' ta hide it. I be thinkin' ya be seein' and experiencin' some real bad thin's down here but mebbe it be helpin' ta talk 'bout it. Ya don't be seemin' alright ta me an' I want ta be helpin' if'n ya be lettin' me."
Vencarlo offers a pained smile, his eyes tearing up, and then he breaks into a sob. He falls to his knees, his gloved hands covering his face as his shoulders shake. But the cry is not that of Vencarlo Orisini--it is a female voice.
”I’m so s-sorry,” says the voice. ”I couldn’t think of any other way!” As the gloves fall away, so does the polymorphic facade. Vencarlo’s face, hair, and clothes seem to melt away, replaced by silken robes dyed in rich indigo.
Revealed is a young woman of Vudrani heritage. ”I knew that after hearing the… the awful things my cousin must have told you, there was no way you would trust me. But you must listen, and believe what I say! Glorio has trapped me in our own dungeon, holding me prisoner as well! You were my only chance at escape, but I feared for my life if I had approached you as Meliya Arkona! And rightfully so, as you’ve slain poor Avidexu.” She averts her eyes from the body. ”He must seem strange to you, but he has served us as a protector and a guardian. He was only acting as Glorio commanded him to...” She wipes her eyes, coming uncertainly to her feet.
”And so I took the form of someone whom I believed you could trust. Do not worry, Vencarlo is safe. He remains in the dungeon, but you have my word he is unharmed. But not for long, if Glorio has his way. What I said of my cousin is true. He is a wicked man, truly, and seeks nothing less than to rule Korvosa in place of the Queen.” She looks to Neolandus. ”He plans to leverage the seneschal and Orisini in some way, to win favor with crown, or to subvert it in some manner. I don’t know, exactly. After the quarantine I urged restraint, and he ordered me seized and delivered to the labyrinth. He would not have released you into the dungeons if he intended to let you live. We are in danger, all of us, as long as he yet draws breath. That is why I have encouraged you to destroy him. For the sake of us all!”
Yaziyah's face darkens with anger. "Safe? In this place?" She makes a cutting motion with her rigid palm. "I do not care for your family squabbles. We are getting Vencarlo. Now." She glowers at Melyia. "And perhaps after that we will deal with the both of you, and make sure that you can never hurt anyone ever again."
Lord Talfryn stares in shock at the newly revealed woman. "But how? I employed strong magic to ascertain the veracity of Verncarlo's form. You deceived us all? But to do so would have required potent magics of your own - who are you? A sorceress? Why would someone so powerful require our aid?"
He then nods stiffly at Yazi's suggestion. "Quite right. We must fetch Vencarlo immediately. To think that you were tricking us into abandoning him. For shame!"
Kynes scowls, even as his face twitches from poisoned remnants.
A moment ago you were perfectly willing to leave Vencarlo to rot as we escorted you away...and being familiar with these lairs, you gave no warning of Avidexu or reefclaw. A poor and devious ally are you.
”But how? I employed strong magic to ascertain the veracity of Vencarlo's form. You deceived us all? But to do so would have required potent magics of your own - who are you? A sorceress? Why would someone so powerful require our aid?"
Meliya grows grave. ”It has been the first and last mistake of many to underestimate Glorio Arkona. As to magic, I know little of it, only of what gift I possess: to change my form as I will.”
"Quite right. We must fetch Vencarlo immediately. To think that you were tricking us into abandoning him.
”A moment ago you were perfectly willing to leave Vencarlo to rot as we escorted you away.”
”No, you misunderstand! If by my deceit I have forfeit your trust, then I implore you - listen not with your eyes but with your ears! My plan was not to abandon him, but only to first remove a greater threat! Once the deed was done I planned to reveal all, and to help you retrieve your friends.”
...and being familiar with these lairs, you gave no warning of Avidexu or reefclaw. A poor and devious ally are you.
”Poor Avidexu was my friend! I did not come to your aid, but neither did I hinder you in any way. What I said was true. His fate was sealed. And it is not you whom I blame, but my wretched cousin.”
"I do not care for your family squabbles. We are getting Vencarlo. Now. And perhaps after that we will deal with the both of you, and make sure that you can never hurt anyone ever again."
”Of course I will help you retrieve Vencarlo. But won’t you return my aid and help me to dispatch the master of lies who waits above?”
Rakshasas were evil, she knew that. But they were also intelligent, sentient beings. Were all of them defined by their blood? Could they fight against their nature? Change it? Melyia's grief was real, and the Shoanti starts to feel the faintest flicker of sympathy towards the woman.
"We go and get the real Vencarlo." She stares at the deceitful Arkona for a moment. "Then we will see."
She walks over to where Avidexu's body lies, going down on one knee besides it. "Is there any ritual or ceremony that you would like to perform, to send off your friend? Among my people, I help usher departed souls into the beyond. I can do the same for him."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Garvid's face turns rapidly red as blood flows to his face, glancing at the body of the rakshasa at his feet. Just a damn guard, huh. Hell of a job, even if you're from Hell itself... "Listen here!", he roars, his gauntlet grabbing the scruff of her silken robe. "I've had it up to my neck with you and your thrice-damned family!", he shouts, pointing down his halberd, Avidexu's blood still dripping from the tip. "My eyes are wide open, believe me! First, it was your damned niece, Vimanda, convicing a guard to start a damn butcher shop with human meat." His knuckles widen. "Then it was your brother throwing us down here, and we, the fools, came like idiots!" Exhaling, he bites his lips glancing at the body.
Twisting the collar downwards, he turns his full attention back at Meliya's face. "And you, faceshifter. I've not a single clue of what you told me was true, but my hindsight's working fine. You heard me shouting about capturing your poor, poor friend, your 'guard' alive,", he grits his teeth, pulling the woman closer, "and you pretended to be out cold, just to feel bad and guilty the moment we caught you feeding us h!@@$&&+@, and tugging at our damned heartstrings."
Shoving the woman roughly backwards, he snarls once more. "If you'd paid any attention to us commoners talking, you manipulative b!$#~, you'd know we don't just blindly murder anyone! And I'm betting you don't even give the slightest of f&~%s that I just killed Avidexu, and not even the slightest remorse in knowing that if you told the truth a moment sooner, he'd be alive." Pulling on the robes with no regards to their fine make, he shoves Meliya towards the still bleeding body. "That's all on you. Look at him! People and friends die in your games, but when it's your ass on the line, you want to stop playing."
Letting go, Garvid shoulders his halberd. "So now, as my friends said. Drop your damn weapons. Show us to Vencarlo." Wiping the blood on his halberd with his cloak, he drills his eyes into Meliya's, a bloodshot and vicious, almost feral look in his eyes. "And, since you're a creative sort, imagine what'll happen to you if you lie to us again or lead us into an ambush."
Li pulls her hand away as if she's been burned as Vencarlo's face melts away revealing Meliya. That same hand then makes a return trip and slaps the woman across the face. "Ya let that thing almost be killin' Yazi! An' ya were goin' ta have us leave Vencarlo behind ta experience whatev'r oth'r horrors be existin' down here. I don't be carin' what ya say yer woes be. Good people don't be actin' like ya be actin'. Now where be Vencarlo?"
At this point Garvid makes a much more impressive impression on the woman and Li can't help but stand back with a small smile on her face. Good to know she could count on Garvid to always set things right.
With narrowed eyes the rogue adds, "Ya shouldn't have been lying ta us. There be no second chances fer ya now so no more tricks."
Lies upon lies upon lies. Not for the first time, Mouse finds herself almost longing for the simplicity of her former life - Gaedren Lamm was scum, but at least you knew he was scum right from the off. "Like 'e said," Mouse adds, jerking her chin toward Garvid. "We're 'ere f'r our frien's, not f'r your crazy games an' power playin'. 'Ere's a bargain you c'n consider - take us t' Vencarlo, an' mebbe we don' leave y' t' rot in y'r own hellhole."
Lord Talfryn taps his chin. "Plus, you've changed your face once. What's to prove this isn't another front? And does anybody else find it incredibly curious that she never mentions the sister, but only Glorio? A sister that's been missing this whole time?"
The mage stares at Meliya. "What's to say you're not the sister, trying to manipulate us into killing Glorio for her?"
Meliya starts to reply to Yazi but is confronted by both Li and Garvid. She takes a moment to respond, stunned by the show of physical force against her.
”You heard me shouting about capturing your poor, poor friend, your 'guard' alive, and you pretended to be out cold, just to feel bad and guilty the moment we caught you feeding us h%&*%+~#~, and tugging at our damned heartstrings."
”I was overcome with fear! If you would murder him as he lay there helpless, what would you do to me? And I revealed the truth to you of mine own will! I could have maintained the trick as long as I wished, and you would still be none the wiser. Even your esteemed wizard could not see through my disguise. You accuse me of attempting to misguide you, yet you have allowed my cousin’s poisonous words to cloud your judgment. It is I who was trapped in the labyrinth, remember, not him. He remains in the safety and comfort of the manse, waiting only to receive word of your untimely deaths before feeding you to the serpents. Er...” She glances at the decimated corpses of the snakes.
"So now, as my friends said. Drop your damn weapons. Show us to Vencarlo."
”Very well. I will prove myself. I will help you find Vencarlo within the labyrinth. Glorio’s labyrinth, for only he knows its secrets. But you are a fool if you think I would set foot in there again without my weapons. There are undoubtedly...things that lurk in those halls. Glorio likes to play his own games with his victims before they die. And you would not use an unarmed woman as bait, I hope. Surely a guardsman has more honor than that? Vencarlo’s possessions, of course, I will return.”
"Plus, you've changed your face once. What's to prove this isn't another front?”
”And whose identity do you believe I would conceal. Am I the Queen herself? I realize it is too much to ask you to trust me, but you must admit that you need my help to find the real Vencarlo.”
”And does anybody else find it incredibly curious that she never mentions the sister, but only Glorio? A sister that's been missing this whole time?"
Meliya looks confused. ”What sister?”
Show us your palms. Kynes demands of Meliya. Do not move your lips as you do so.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Because last demon we fought was a picked corpsebeast in a jar, not a damn guard. Hell was I supposed to know... Gritting his teeth at Meliya's reminder of Avidexu's death, he shakes his head. "All I have for you being trapped is your word. For all we know, you saw what happened to Senshir and decided to help your brother dearest when you realised we're a little more than he can chew. And you seem to know a helluva lot about Vencarlo and, more importantly, about us." His fist curls. "Something's fishy here, and it ain't the reefclaw."
"How would you have learned all that?" Taking a step forwards, he rubs his eyes. He paces around, his lips moving silently as he tries his best to recall the past hour in detail. Found him... her in the labyrinth. Head hummed, nobody confirmed anything magical. Argued about capture and justice. Refused Blackjack's weapons, which was a red flag. Chatted about stuff, which was reassuring. Vesper, Trinia... Grau came into question... Called me on my s++% about training in the academy, the- Wait a second, Grau?! Garvid's eyes snap back at Meliya, accusatory finger pointing straight at her ribs.
"I can go with learning about sisters, given all their relation to the throne." Baring his teeth in a vindictive snarl, he adds. "Which, by the way, means you were probably there when he was questioning Vencarlo, or at least trusted enough to be given that information. That's not my point, as much as I'd like to."Smash your head for it... Waving his hand, he shakes his finger at the rest. "What I wonder, though, is how would you know about Grau's family?", he snaps back, glancing at Li. "Can't imagine the first questions Glorio's asked him on the torture rack was 'how's your friends' families doing'. Yet, you knew. How?"
Li takes a sharp intake of breath as Garvid voices her thoughts that were only beginning to come together but hadn't fully formed. How did she know about Trinia and Vesper and how did she know about Grau and his niece? Did that mean they were all in danger somehow?
Something very visceral rouses in Li as she meets Garvid's eyes, something needing to protect those important to her and those who couldn't protect themselves. She was tired of being manipulated by those who thought they could do whatever they wanted with the lives of good people.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a dagger appears in her hand and in a blur of movement is suddenly behind Meliya. With a coldness that rivals Garvid's fury, she says through gritted teeth, "Ya be answerin' his question 'fore I be losin' me patience an' be teachin' ya th't people ain't pieces in a game ta be toy'd wit'. We may be needin' yer help but ya don't be needin' all yer body parts ta be helpin'."
"Hmm, yes," rumbles Talfryn menacingly. "I'm thinking of a very nasty evocation spell right now, might be Heatstroke, might be Twilight Knife, might be Sheet Lightning - I'm not telling, but believe you me, Arkona, it's quite, quite nasty."
Yaziyah goes cold all over as Garvid points out all the knowledge that Melyia has that she shouldn't have, the reach of her presence. She doesn't add to the threats that the others are voicing, but she decides that she will not let this creature live.
She thinks back of all the villainous encounters they've had, and where they chose to imprison or spare, rather than kill. Not one of them comes close to the deviousness of this Arkona.
She crosses her arms and stares coldly at Melyia as Slinky rears up on her shoulder and hisses.
Meliya swallows, but succeeds in remaining calm. Her hands outstretched, palms upward, there is no tell-tale sign of a third eye.
"It's nothing as insidious as you must be imagining. You've seen that I have a certain...talent in that I can assume the form of others. Another of my tricks is to read thoughts. I simply plucked the answers to your questions from your mind as you asked them. Other details of Vencarlo I learned by being near the man and listening to his own thoughts as well."
"Now if you're quite done interrogating me, I'm ready to help you find that very man."
Kynes sighs. Up is down, round and round. Perhaps you tell us where Vencarlo is being held first. We tire of being played the fool.