Cairee woke from her dream completely disoriented. It took her a moment to remember that she wasn't in the cage anymore, half starved and chained to strangers. She was safe, among...surely they were friends after the short but intense time they'd spent together. Or, if not friends yet, at least people she could trust.
Though something wasn't quite right. She felt different. Cairee turned her head and got a flash of brilliant orange. Her hair! It was clean! Not dull brown with dirt and dust and sweat. It shone the dazzling orange of Saiph's sun. And her skin was scrubbed clean and pink. Her clothes were no longer stiff with mud and looked less ratty.
And her mouth! The grimy paste that had covered her teeth was gone. There was a fresh, almost minty taste on her tongue.
A quick glance over the sleeping forms of the others told her they were much cleaner too. Had they been visited in the night by whatever attacked Dounia in the mist?
No, of course not. It must be a handy talent of one of her friends. Likely not Dounia, who still referred to Cairee as a witch. And Tymythy seemed more a fighter than one imbued with an otherly power. It must be Zahra, though she'd held her abilities close to her chest. Cairee wanted to ask her about it, but thought it probably best not to press it. Let her keep her own council if that's what makes her feel safe.
Cairee took some time to meditate, enjoying the privacy of the courtyard. It was her first real uninterrupted time with Saiph that she'd had in months. She sat in the sun and enjoyed the feeling of peace that washed over her.
When the others were ready to leave, Cairee was happy to follow. She put her cloak hood up - unsure if her unnatural hair would draw them any unwanted attention.
She stared at the amazing city in wonder. The buildings were so high! Look at those carvings! IS THAT A CAT PERSON???? She stayed close to Zahra, sure that if they were separated she would never find her way.
Zahra looked around expectantly as she jerked herself awake but quickly realized that her father was no where to be found. She experienced relief knowing that her father wasn’t actually shackled somewhere. Having recently been unfairly restrained herself, she didn’t wish that on anyone – even Khata.
She felt much better this morning now that she was clean and she used her mirror to make sure she was presentable before they left the safety of the courtyard. Zahra led the group confidently through the streets of her city. She was sure that their group looked much different today than yesterday so hopefully none of them would be recognized. As far as the citizens of Zhayalahmar were concerned, there was nothing distinctive about any of them.
When the lesser bazar came into view, Zahra’s pace quickened from excitement. ”This is where my father usually sells his spices! I practically grew up here in the bazar. We’re very close to my home. My father is probably busy with work and our home is a safer place to talk so I’ll take us there first.” She smiled brightly, ”Plus, mother will surely have something for us to eat.”
After all the other strange things that had happened to him lately, Tymythy did not question who had slipped in during the night to mend his clothes or wash his hair from the accumulated dust of days wandering in the desert but simply took it as due course. He simply took his time inspecting his gear, nodding in satisfaction that most of it seemed to remain present and accounted for, and counted the loss of his coins as cheap price to pay for surviving the encounter with that strange godling wearing man’s flesh. An entity that now seemed to hound his dreams… unless that was a mere happenstance. He had never been too interested in the parts of the ancient tales that spoke of magic, but as his brother had studied the lore and history of their clan, he had been subjected to more of it than most other children in the clan. Thus, he recalled the tales of connections forged by a brush of great power against the thread of a mortal’s life, connections a spirit might ride, by accident or intent. And since the Black-Winged Lord had found his dream, the weight of the great spirit’s attention might have roused the curiosity of the other one…
… or not. Who was he to say, after all? He should be satisfied with another proof that he was still on the right track, another confirmation that his god sought to make use of his life. A thought that awoke in him feelings of pride and dread in almost equal amounts, for while being the mortal piece a god moved on the board was a great honor, few players ever missed the odd pawn sacrificed on the road of victory, or for mere a chance at an advantage.
When the time came for them to depart, Tymythy followed Dounia and Zahra as they led them into the massive city’s streets, and did his best not to gawk like a youth taken to the market for the first time by his brothers… not that he believed he managed to keep up a very convincing façade. For nothing around him, from the people to the architecture to the wares peddled to them was like anything he had ever seen before. And the sheer amount of people who filled the streets… a single market square might well hold more shoppers that the population of his whole clan.
A humbling reminder, so soon after a dream where he had been singled out by a god. One that he would do well to remember, he felt.
When the lesser bazar came into view, Zahra’s pace quickened from excitement. ”This is where my father usually sells his spices! I practically grew up here in the bazar. We’re very close to my home. My father is probably busy with work and our home is a safer place to talk so I’ll take us there first.” She smiled brightly, ”Plus, mother will surely have something for us to eat.”
Tymythy nodded silently, wiping sweat from his brow. The heat in the streets was oppressive to him – the buildings on all sides did a lot to block even the slightest of breezes, and even if the sun above were to temporarily be obscured behind a cloud, he was sure the almost-solid mass of living bodies would produce enough heat to keep the sweat flowing.
Sun. Frowning in thought, the hunter cast a suspicious look at the burning orb hovering above them. There was something… odd about that, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was, exactly, that was troubling him. Besides, the very thought was ludicrous – it was the sun. It was what it was and could be naught else. But still…
As Dounia packed her belongings, Cairee remembered her offer from the night before. "If you give me a few minutes, I can try to see if any of these items have a special quality to them."
She handled each item carefully, muttering a few words as she tried to sense a magical aura.
Cairee sat with the objects before her. Her eyes felt strange - itchy - as a fine grey dust appeared to be radiating from all things. All things except for the vial, the copper rod, and the bandages, as the dust around them started to take on colour. It took a few seconds for the colours to present themselves. Around the vial and the bandages a faint dark purple dust slowly flowed out and disappeared. The torc had the weakest golden aura.
Dounia woke up disoriented - the day was too hot and the sun too high. It took her a moment to remember where she was. In the day-side of the big city, not at home, in her cool oasis, waking up next to Cyra.
Cyra. Somehow she had to find her sister and rescue her. Rearranging one of the carpets she'd slept on, Dounia knelt and began to pray. She had missed sunset two nights in a row, (or was it three?) but she thought the spirits of the Four Winds would hear her anyway. Keep Cyra safe. Lead me to her.
Rising from the ground, she finally noticed that she was cleaned. Again. And this time without being assaulted first. Smiling, she realized this was another sign of the gods' favour.
Walking through the city, Dounia felt her fingers twitching. So much wealth around! It had been many months since she and Cyra had worked one of the markets here, and her finger felt bare where the ring they'd traded for safety had once rested.
Looking for a likely target, Dounia noticed a fat, balding man wearing golden rings on every finger. His silk slippers looked too tight for his feet, and he was constantly mopping his brow in the heat. Sidling up to him, Dounia decided to see if his money pouch was as rich as his ornaments.
Dounia slipped past the the man and carried away his pouch but immediately it felt light. She opened and counted the coin only to find a meagre nine pennies. It was barely enough for two weak ales and a penny tip besides! Who was this man? His clothes did not match his outward appearance. Perhaps he was too paranoid to carry real money into the market block.
The four skirted around the market circus, a nearly one mile diameter circle. In some places the upper city spanned gaps where no lower city existed. Huge blocks of buildings rested on an architrave of impossibly wide columns.
As they passed the market they followed a major roadway flanked on one side by one of the many slum districts of the city and several blocks of mixed apartments on the other. The street created a clear line between buildings held together by trust, and fair buildings filled with peoples of every race mixing together: elf and dwarf, gnome and man; as well as some peoples not familiar to most. People with blue skin, red skin, skin like polished brass, or skin like speckled granite.
It was an hour of walking. The towers sang of the sober hour of eleven. Zahra's dream came back to her as the faint scent of the garden district, even a quarter mile away, became noticeable. They were a mere five minutes away from her home. The others sensed Zahra quickening her pace.
They turned the corner around the great block and saw a series of buildings, like townhouses, crammed together. Where the point of the block jutted out was a stairway to buildings three stories up and there you could all see a stone facade painted a pattern of ochre and blue, with herbs growing just inside the unshuttered windows.
The exterior of the house was quiet and the front windows hadn't been shuttered. It was common for some professional people to go home for lunch and shutter the windows for a mid-day meal and rest.
As they approached Zahra's home, something tugged at Cairee's mind. She wasn't sure if Zahra had been kidnapped at random, or if she'd been specifically targeted. If someone had gone after the girl, perhaps they'd be after her family as well... Cairee slowed her step and looked around. Was anyone watching the house?
Grumbling at her poor choice of target, Dounia didn't notice where they were going for a while. When she finally looked around her properly again, they were standing outside a nice looking house. "Is this it? she asked Zahra. "Can we go in?"
Zahra saw the garden district and instead of possibly being cautioned by the memory of her dream, she walked all the faster. The ordeal was almost over! She couldn't wait to burst through the door and be swallowed in a comforting hug by her mother. In that moment, she felt more like a child needing the comfort of her parents than she did a young woman looking to possibly start her own family.
Even in her haste to get home, the significance of the windows being unshuttered at this hour was not lost on Zahra. In fact, her thoughts went to worst case scenario. Instead of thinking about the implications, she rushed towards the door. "Something isn't right!," she threw over her shoulder to the others.
She ran inside yelling for her parents. "Mother? Father? Is everything alright? I'm home!"
Cairee glanced about the street and, though there were many souls going about their daily business, none seemed to be paying any attention to the four characters on the stairs. As she started to look away her eye caught sight of an osprey perched on the roof of a neighbouring building. It was looking at where they stood. It met her eye then stood bolt-upright, arched its' shoulders and took off to the west.
She ran inside yelling for her parents. "Mother? Father? Is everything alright? I'm home!"
Zahra thought she heard the upstairs sound of one of the seamstress mannequins tip over. It wasn't unusual for a wind from the open window to tip one, except that today there was no wind. She looked at the front room and a shelf that held practical objects, a hand fan, a teapot, a weather almanac, all of its' contents had been emptied onto the floor.
Cairee would've liked to chat with the Osprey. They tended to speak in funny little rhyming couplets that always made her giggle, and they could all use a smile. But it flew away too quickly. Next time, Cairee thought.
(It wasn't until later that it occurred to her perhaps the Osprey had been watching the house. Birds! As spies! What was the world coming to?)
Zarha rushed towards the door. "Something isn't right!," she threw over her shoulder to the others.
Cairee snapped her attention away from the retreating bird any back towards the house. She followed Zahra in, hoping the girl's parents were okay. She entered slowly, keeping an eye out for signs of a disturbance or areas that might make good hiding places.
"Why do you think something is wrong?" she asked, as she followed Zahra inside. Then she saw the mess on the floor.
Dounia stepped into the house and looked around in curiosity. The only time she ever entered homes like this was to steal something from it. She couldn't help running a professional eye over the items in the room, many of which were now on the floor.
Knowing that her family were spice merchants, Dounia knew that the vast majority of their wealth was probably in the kitchen or storerooms. Not that I'm here to steal. Probably.
Hearing the sound upstairs, Dounia whispered, "We should be careful. And quiet."
Cocking an ear, she listened intently, trying to determine if there were others in the house, and where they might be.
Hearing the sound upstairs, Dounia whispered, "We should be careful. And quiet."
Cairee took it to heart and quietly listened as she looked in every corner. Her ears strained to hear any noice of any kind. When she looked through the arch to the kitchen she saw a shirt draped over the shoulders of a chair and it gave her a start!
Dounia could see value all about the room. The painting on the wall was small but seemed to depict an historical battle and was very nicely done. The plain wooden chess board was on the floor with all of its' associate pieces, some of ivory and some of deep blue halite. . Even the almanac was valuable to the right buyer. . A look into the dining room, a simple 5' table with four chairs showed a jar at the centre of the table that held chilies, ginger, and vanilla. Not as valuable as the saffron from the night before last but still.
She watched as Cairee scared herself looking around the corner but the desert girl noticed it had gone completely silent in the house. Like time was dead here.
Cairee took it to heart and quietly listened as she looked in every corner. Her ears strained to hear any noice of any kind. When she looked through the arch to the kitchen she saw a shirt draped over the shoulders of a chair and it gave her a start!
Cairee started at the shirt! Both hands flew to her mouth but fortunately there was no scream to stifle. She backed away from the kitchen, wanting to stay close to the others.
Why do you think something is wrong?
"The windows should be shuttered at this hour and they aren't." Zahra tried to keep the worry out of her voice but failed.
She was in such a hurry that the state of the door, whether locked or unlocked or ajar, never registered as she moved into the house. She could feel the panic rising as no one answered her when she called, only a thump from upstairs. She immediately headed for the stairs.
She heard the sound of Dounia's voice but not what she said. What consumed Zahra were thoughts about something bad having happened to her parents. It's possible that Father hadn't come home for lunch but Mother should be here. Was she hurt? She needed to find out.
"The windows should be shuttered at this hour and they aren't." Zahra tried to keep the worry out of her voice but failed.
Tymythy narrowed his eyes at Zahra’s words and quietly drew his dagger, holding the blade in a reverse grip in his shield hand, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from the palm of his right hand against the leg of his trousers before picking up his spear. Thus armed, the hunter followed the others into the building, his instincts to take the point to shield the women from possible harm awaiting inside warring with his realization that Zahra should be the one to lead the way into her own home, just in case her never had got the best of her and her parents had just closed the shutters on their volition. In that case, the last thing they needed was to have a complete stranger charge into their home brandishing weapons.
But he could stay close, a few steps behind the black-haired woman.
Dounia and Cairee could hear Zahra rush to the top of the steps and then sounds of a struggle. An unfamiliar voice yelled something in a foreign tongue.
Tymythy watched Zahra reach the top of the steps in a panic as a figure in loose fitted tunic and pants of crimson stepped around the corner. Their face was masked and they held a curved dagger in their left hand. They grabbed and yelled, <Limaninite>"Come here!", at Zahra but she was too flexible, too quick! Whatever threat they uttered only seemed to awaken not frighten the young woman.
Zahra reacted out of a mixture of fear and anger as she was confronted by a stranger in her own home. She screamed as the masked intruder grabbed at her. Then the anger bloomed as she thought that this person may have hurt her parents. She demanded harshly in Limaninite, "Get away from me! Where are they?" The rush of emotions caused the claws to grow once more but the sorceress didn't notice. Instead she reacted on instinct and foreign-sounding words began to spill from her mouth even as her hands began to move which released a dart of force into the stranger to push him back. "Get out!"
She yelled down the hall, "Mother! Where are you?"
Dounia felt a rush of adrenaline course through her body at Zahra's cries. Rooted to the spot, she glanced wildly around, and cried, "Zahra?! What's happening?" She fumbled for the dagger at her belt, and nearly dropped it.
Relax, little rat. Keep your head. Watch for others. Don't let anybody get behind you.
Cyra's voice in her head calmed her. She slid past the northern man, trusting him to rush up the stairs with his spear to confront the burglar. She kept her eyes down the hall, watching to see if another surprise was coming.
Cairee could hear Zahra yelling and didn't need to understand the language to know - someone unwanted was upstairs. She hurried after Dounia.
Tymythy was already at the bottom of the stairs and Cairee figured he might actually know how to fight. Instead of getting in his way, Cairee briefly touched his shoulder and whispered, "Ecna Duig."
.
Cairee stayed at the bottom of the stairs, keeping an eye on the front door.
Zahra could hear a voice around the corner on the second floor.
<Limaninite>"Athnyn! Don't mess around! Bring her!"
The burglar yelled as the powerful pulse hit him in his core. His body lit up like a flare.
Holding his chest the burglar called out angrily, <Limaninite>"Is that why the Fida Hurras took you? You are a wild talent?! Wahid, we have what we need! Tell Th'lath we're going!" The burglar spun like a dervish and ducked around the corner.
"...You are a wild talent..."
Zahra realized too late the implications of what she just did and the mistake that it was. No one was supposed to know that she could do magic. The fate of her family was now at stake.
She looked after the disappearing burglar wondering where he thought he was going to go because there was no place to get outside from this floor.
She called down to the others in the common tongue, "There are three of them. They can't be allowed to leave. The fate of my family depends on them not being allowed to escape. They have to come out this way so guard the stairs."
She called down to the others in the common tongue, "There are three of them. They can't be allowed to leave. The fate of my family depends on them not being allowed to escape. They have to come out this way so guard the stairs."
The battle came almost as a relief after a day – a very long day – spent in this strange city. For this, at least, was something he could understand. Thieves, or enemies of Zahra’s kin, the specifics did not matter. The hunter dashed up the stairs, dodging past the young mystic – who had already sent a bolt of mystical force to strike the intruder – and struck.
With the agility of a dancer, Tymythy whirled around, slashing with his dagger – the blade partially hidden by the buckler – at the enemy’s eyes… but the strike was nothing but a feint. As the stranger brought his own dagger up to block the strike Tymythy completed his turn, took a half step forward and lunged with his spear, taking his opponent by surprise and sinking the blade deep into the man’s abdomen – a killing wound, more likely than not, but not the quick kind.
Zahra had barely spoken when Tymythy breezed past her and ducked about the corner.
The burglar had turned to meet Tymythy's attack. Breathing heavily from the bruising he received from Zahra, the red clothed thug defended himself. He was trained ... but he was no Tymythy. The spear caught him in the gut just under the ribcage. He grabbed Tymythy's shoulder, his eyes went wide as they could manage, then he fell never to get up.
Zahra could see from the top of the stairs the sewing room was in complete disarray.
Round 2
At Zahra's cries Cairee dashed up the stairs, staying close to Tymythy. Her stomach turned as his spear slid into the burglar's belly and she felt a little light headed as blood seeped out of the wound. She could almost hear Arnie & Mar laughing at her - her distaste for battle was their constant source of amusement.
She turned away, looking around the room for another assailant. None were visible. But Zahra had said there were three. Cairee would be ready for whoever was next.
Dounia couldn't hear or see anybody else downstairs, but it sounded like there were several enemies upstairs. The girl hesitated for just a moment, then turned and ran back out the door. She sprinted around to the back of the house - if anybody escaped out of a window, she wanted to make sure they didn't escape.
[dice=stealth]1d20+9
Dounia ran down the hall. She passed an open door to her left to a medium sized square room that looked like a dressing room. It was untouched, though a little messy. She reached the end of the hall to a thick wooden door with a little lattice window and sunlight pouring through. To her right was a small door with a conch shell on it. From the shell hung lavender and was probably an indoor lavatory.
The young pickpocket opened the door to be reminded of the true heat and the bright sunlight.
Just outside the door was a nearly twenty by thirty foot space. Along the walls was a lush garden shielded by moveable awnings. To her left was a little sitting space with a stone pedestal table with two wicker chairs.
Further into the courtyard were three doors. The closest might be a workshop. The others, perhaps back doors to other households.
Dounia looked for a place to hide.
Against her better judgment but because of concern for her parents, Zahra ran deeper into the house. She moved past Tymythy and the fallen body of the intruder. She felt deep relief that the one who had seen her do magic was dead. They just needed to make sure the others didn't get away.
"Give yourselves up!" she demanded. "There is no where for you to go and you are outnumbered. And if you hurt either of my parents, you will pay dearly!"
Zahra's threat of there being no way out didn't seem to phase him and the burglar, a little stalkier than the other, rushed towards his fallen ally.
As soon as the thug started to move a voice issued from Cairee. It wasn't painful though it sounded like it was the voice of a being a mile tall. It didn't deafen though it shook everyone in the room to their core.
Dounia had just made it outside and she could still hear the voice blast out the upstairs windows. A pot of dahlias fell from the sill and onto the courtyard stones.
The burglar was halted where he ran and staggered a few steps. His eyes went wide and he appeared all the angrier. He stepped to stand over his compatriot and slashed at Tymythy with a short bladed scimitar . It went under Tymythy's buckler and left a long, but not deep, cut under his arm!
Zahra could see a third burglar. He must have come from inside her room! He held something in his hand that was giving off a steamy aura. He threw it at the young sorceress with all of his might! It flew past her and lodged itself in the wall. Zahra looked back to see an ornate dagger made entirely of flame, a flame that was going out almost as soon as it was thrown.
Tymythy grunted in pain as the burglar’s curved blade cut a deep gash to his arm, yet would were nothing new to him – he had suffered worse under the slaver’s whips and clubs, and he had taken worse wounds during training, as eager young warriors were not always the best at pulling their blows when sparring. He was in pain, yes, but could keep fighting.
Reacting swiftly, Tymythy stepped back, shifting his grip on his spear’s half closer to the end, lengthening his reach and giving the blade more momentum as he slashed at the masked figure’s face, following the first attack with a half-step forward, flipping the dagger in his left hand to thrust the shorter blade into the enemy’s side, while he was still reeling from the strike that cut open down cheeks to give the man a smile that reached almost from ear to ear.
Tymythy's spear did its' work and left a ghastly wound through the thug's mask and the crimson turned yet a deeper red. The thug got a desperate look of his face as the warrior's dagger went deep ... and turned the lights out.
The second thug fell on top of the first.
Dounia tucked herself into one of the garden boxes behind a rather enormous aloe plant and waited.
The second intruder fell on top of the first, causing Cairee's head to spin. She was a healer at heart and watching bloodshed went against all of her training. Sure, these folks were somewhere they weren't supposed to be. But wasn't that true of Dounia when she was taken? Did she deserve to die? Of course not! And these poor, misguided people didn't either.
There was another person upstairs, but surely they'd drop their weapon after seeing what happened to their friends. Cairee turned her attention to the two fallen burglars. Were they dead, or just unconscious? If the latter, she could stabilize their wounds and then restrain them.
Were they dead, or just unconscious? If the latter, she could stabilize their wounds and then restrain them.
Even with Cairee’s experience she couldn’t examine the thugs with all of this wanton blood. For all measures the two appeared to be only bodies now. But she had seen deader men return before this.
Zahra was fortunate that the burglar in her way fell by Tymythy's hand which cleared her way to the last intruder.
"What were you doing in my room?!?" The clawed sorceress closed the distance between her and the remaining interloper. She scratched at his eyes with her fingernails that had now grown into claws again. However, Zahra was not an experienced fighter and the man was able to dodge her attack.
She yelled back at the others, "Help me restrain him. He must answer for why he's here and what he's done with my parents!"
Zahra rushed into the storage room and it was much like the others, every box, crate and shelf had been overturned. The door to her bedroom was wide open and that room's contents made it look like it had been hit by a hurricane.
She lashed out with one of her claws and it rends the final burglar's red suit, tore through a heavily padded under-layer, and cut deeply into his flesh. Blood instantly welled to the surface as he cried out in pain. Pieces of skin came free, stuck under Zahra's fingernails.
The Burglar rushed away and as he turned his back Zahra made a second swipe but she had stepped on loose papers and nearly slipped and fell to the floor.
As the burglar made it into the bedroom he turned and threw something at the floor in front of Zahra and muttered something as it flew. The object was a red stained-glass orb with a net of twine plated around it.
Dounia could hear a ruckus coming from the second floor window - someone was headed her way!
The orb crashed against the door frame and landed right in front of the masked attacker as he cursed his clumsiness <Limaninite>"The explosive diarrhea of an elephant!". When it broke a three foot whirlwind of flame burst free and ripples of heat radiated from it distorting the air. The whirlwind slowed down and took the shape of a little humanoid, not unlike a cherub, save it was made entirely out of flame.
But it had landed far too close and burned the thieve's hand in the process. Slashed and now burned, he looked all too seriously wounded.
Tyhmythy’s eyes widened in concern when Zahra rushed past him to confront the third (and, sounding from the lack of voices raised in challenge, possibly the last) thief, and as soon as his second foe went down he stepped over the body and hurriedly followed the mystic – whose hands had once more turned into those fearsome claws. This time, though, she seemed to accept them, or at least decide to make good use of her curse by tearing into the robber, forcing him back into another room.
The hunter was about to rush after him when a sudden burst of flames at the portal caused him to stop and shield his eyes against the sudden burst of light and heat… not that the trick had seemed to serve the enemy well, as he seemed to be beating out flames that had caught his own clothes as well. Tymythy was in no hurry to rush into the blaze, however, and he feared the flames might quickly spread if not put out. Thus, the hunter hefted his spear, brought back his arm, and…
… cast his spear through the flames, watching as the weapon buried itself deeply into the burglar’s abdomen.
Even with Cairee’s experience she couldn’t examine the thugs with all of this wanton blood. For all measures the two appeared to be only bodies now. But she had seen deader men return before this.
Looking at the crumpled bodies of these two thieves, Cairee couldn't help but remember another scene, only a few years ago. Her parents and siblings celebrating while a young half-elf bled out on the stairs. Flyson had been hired to steal something precious from her family, and they believed that meant his life was forfeit. Saiph had shown Cairee another way.
She'd brought that thief back to life, and in a way that act had saved them both. Cairee found a new home with the Order. Flyson became one of her closest friends.
Everyone deserves a second chance.
"Help me restrain him. He must answer for why he's here and what he's done with my parents!"
Zahra's panic tugged at Cairee. But there was nothing she could do that Zahra's claws and Tymythy's spear couldn't.
Instead, Cairee pulled her rope out of her bag, ready to tie up her captives if they showed any signs of rousing. Then she clasped her necklace in one hand, held another over the bodies, and focused all of her energy on connecting to Saiph's power. Please, help them.
The third burglar watched as the spear darted through the licks of flame over his elemental creature and lodged itself in his belly. Slashed, burned, and empaled, he had enough strength to pull the spear from him and collapsed.
Everyone felt a great warm glow engulf the room, a white light that brought an inner feeling of compassion and healing.
Zahra's eyes widened in fear and amazement as the creature of fire appeared. Amazement at the magic involved - who were these people? and fear because of the fire. - will the house burn down?
Fear won out for the moment and Zahra yelled, "We need water! The kitchen downstairs is probably the best option or else everything will burn." She grabbed some of the material that had been tossed on the floor as the home was searched and prepared to smother any spreading flame.
She looked at Tymythy, "We also need to restrain that man if we can get past the fire. I need answers because none of this makes sense."
Dounia saw a flash of light from the window, then nothing. It seemed very quiet. However, she had such a good hiding spot that she was loathe to give it up. Might still be somebody coming, she thought to herself. She decided to wait a little while longer.
Cairee watched as the burglar that had fallen on top of his compatriot woke. He strained to open his eyes and stood up bracing himself against the wall, "Lee-mah-dah, Lee-mah-dah!" He paused staring with bloodshot eyes for three heartbeats. "Why?!"
The childlike living flame moved like a toddler, always just catching its' balance with its' next step, except it was remarkably fast, nearly twice as fast as a human being.
It didn't seem to have picked a target until the last moment. Zahra watched as the flaming being caught note of the curtain weight cloth she was preparing and slammed her with its' dull burning arm.
The doorframe where it once stood was now burning and, as Dounia watched from her hiding space, smoke started to lightly billow out of the bedroom window.
"We need water!"
Cairee smelled the smoke and heard Zahra's cry at the same time. Just then, one of the burlgar's woke up.
Cairee watched as the burglar that had fallen on top of his compatriot woke. He strained to open his eyes and stood up bracing himself against the wall, "Lee-mah-dah, Lee-mah-dah!" He paused staring with bloodshot eyes for three heartbeats. "Why?!"
"To give you a chance to redeem yourself my brother," Cairee said gently as she reached for her water skin. "Help us put out the fire your friend has started."
Cairee left him to decide whether to flee or stay, help or attack. The choice was his. She turned her attention to the fire.
She ran forward, uncapped her water skin, and dumped it over the burning doorframe.
She looked at Tymythy, "We also need to restrain that man if we can get past the fire. I need answers because none of this makes sense."
”Getting past the flames might not be the issue here,” Tymythy said warily as he swapped his dagger to his right hand and turned on spot, keeping his buckler between him and the little flame spirit the burglar had summoned. The man must have been a formidable sorcerer to have managed such a mystical feat. The creature didn’t seem so much hostile as curious or perhaps confused… that was, until it decided to punch Zahra with its little fiery hand.
”We need to rid ourselves of this creature if we are to keep the flames at bay,” he grunted, moving around the spirit and slashing it with his dagger, but the small foe dodged easily past the blow.