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| Lodged | From | Messages |
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 The Borderlands of Wabacha | The nose of the hybrid guides him to new hidden food, swiftly liberated from their hidden locations. Farnus pulls open doors to grab what's hidden within, and if the doors are locked or open in a way different to how he is doing it they give anyways with broken hinges and cabinet and refridgerator doors littering his wake. Cooked, raw, meat, starches, carbs, plants- Farnus consumes it all at a blistering pace. His black tail whips about as he sniffs out some dried meat in the form of emergency travel rations kept to sell to adventurers as emergency provisions. It also twitches in agitation as he senses something moving towards him, instead of away. So when Guildmaster Thrak sees what is causing the disaster in the guild kitchen, he is locked with the burning and snarling gaze of a dragon. The sensation instantly ends, and he sees a half-boy and half-dragon in the middle of inhaling a chunk of dried unidentifiable meat, watching him with his red eyes. They keep track of his every move, more like a dog defensive of its bone than a wary human. The kitchen has been completely overturned and ruined, and the damage seems to not be ending just yet as his nose twitches with the scent of more hidden treats. Farnus inhales the meat in his clawed hands before turning back to the cupboard he pilfered the ration from, digging more dried meat out. His back has turned fully to Thrak, now completely ignoring him. Either he is unaware of the danger he's in, or has written Thrak off as not a threat. Difficult to tell, as Farnus himself is revealing no signs as to how powerful he is. His souls are heavily muted, and his body feels like it lacks any magical power that would be necessary to slay a Gurgoth, let alone pull one apart bare-handed. The only sign that he may be more than he seems is the vision of a snarling dragon's head filling the kitchen that Thrak had seen for but a moment. | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | The two share a troublemaker's grin before they begin to leave the house, Heimrich gesturing to Vance for him to follow. Heimrich shuts the front door after they all step outside, though pauses and shares another look with Alice when Vance asks if they're going to be using abilities to get to Darly. They both had spent together quite some time in quickly moving from place to place, staying ahead of Templars looking for signs of a super powered person and a woman. Laying low was something they were accustomed to at this point. But Vance has never had a reason to, at least not like this. "Not quite. Your powers will cause quite a stir if you use them too openly, even among non aura users. Same would apply to me if I used my Mentat abilities openly. This time we're going on foot, using nothing but our physical ability. You're going to have to get used to hiding what you can do. We're a lot farther east now than you or Duncan have ever been. There are a lot more eyes out here than you can imagine. You have a good strong base," Heimrich says as he begins to flicker, rapidly relocating from one spot to another, like he was spacing out an opponent in a spar. The rate he is moving is difficult to pin down for Vance. He can tell that while he can still see the movements rather clearly, the rate Heimrich is moving would be completely invisible to his old base in Duncan's body, and probably invisible to everyone in this village bar them and Atticus. Curiously Alice can follow Heimrich even easier than he can. With the gift of sight Heimrich has given her to see even Mentat levels of speed, Heimrich right now likely looks slower than usual. "You'll just have to get used to your current limits. I can lead us to Darly, and we'll be going through the forest at your pace. I'll be making sure we won't be noticed." Heimrich stops his movement next to Alice and scoops her up in a bridal carry. This is something they've done before while they were on the run, though with Vance here now a hint of red touches Alice's cheeks to be doing this in front of someone else. Hints of green energy runs through Heimrich's skin as a calm fills the air, signs of the Mentat's presence that encircle both Vance and Heimrich carrying Alice. The sensation fades as the hiding effect is woven around them, making sure that they would spent their time in Darly unnoticed while they are outside the warded forest. "Alright. Try to keep up, yeah?" Heimrich tells Vance before he and Alice practically vanish, already well north of the village in the span of a blink for a normal man. But Vance is far from normal. He may be uncertain in how well he can avoid running into and through the dense trees at such speed, but he is certainly capable. The run to Darly will prove a strong confidence builder in himself, and a good distraction from the ache in his heart. | |
 The Disastrous Planes of ZOCOM | The great grumbling continues as he follows the troublesome pair out of the house. He had a feeling that the two of them were going to continue calling back to how romantic he was for the rest of the day. So today was going to be one hell of a toll on his sanity. Vance pauses and looks at Heimrich with a quizzical look as he says his powers will cause a stir. "We have Demons, Angels, Forgotten and all kinds of supernatural sh!t going on everyday. And a guy with black flames is gonna cause the most commotion? Even Scotti used a type of Black Fire for alot of our training..." He wasn't too well versed in too many Aura natures outside of what Duncan was taught, and Sam told them. Though with Sam's own warped sense of logic, and lack of common sense for modern scaling of Aura, it's likely that Vance has little idea of just how much Aura has actually declined since the Golden Age since the Golden Age crew are the only available example at hand. And he didn't really care enough to look into the girl that was hovering around Crash to see an example of a modern aura mage. Vance had a very sheltered opinion on Aura. Only knowing what he himself has experienced. And having the lifetime experience of someone who grew up in a land where magic was abundant down to people who can't use magic being in the minority, the concept of people finding powers strange was not on his radar. Though he did understand why Heimrich wouldn't be using the Mentat so openly. It was nuts and frankly overkill to be using that for some light travel. Vance does his best to try and keep his eyes out for Heimrich, eyes flickering around to catch the glimpses of his afterimages and finding him only after he moves at first, though the more he wanted to find Heimrich, the more easy it became to start gaining on his location. But he sees that Alice can perfectly keep up with him... Whatever he gave her before the rematch was certainly doing its job... He felt whatever Heimrich was doing after seeing the tint of green run through the guy's skin after he picked up Alice. Practical. And something bulliable. "Getting warm over there?" Vance says as he see's Alice blush, giving her a similar grin to the one they gave him. He didn't have long to enjoy in that gloriously little slice of petty vengeance before Heimrich and Alice vanished. But Vance was not too far behind. In the first fleeting moments of them disappearing, Vance had focussed solely on speed to try and keep pace. But that gap was growing larger, frustration easily wormed its way forward into his head because of that. Hasty imitations of Accel or any movement magic he had seen were thrown together to give chase. The distance was growing. The forest was not easy to navigate at these speeds, he already felt himself crash right through one before he realised it. Needless to say. Ouch. But the more Vance stumbled. The more Vance made mistakes as he did his best to follow them. The faster he grew. The more precise his movements. Less crashes too. The stronger the emerald glow in his eyes as he became more motivated. He didn't want to fall too far behind them, but he was playing catch up the whole time. | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | Alice sticks her tongue out at Vance in response before they leave him in the dust. Heimrich doesn't respond to Vance's open question regarding why he should keep his powers as much under wraps as possible. He lets him remember on his own time the conversation they had about his ancient power, and the attention it can draw. The same reason he uses the Mentat to create the illusion of normalcy around their souls and power levels for when they reach their destination. And the same reason they are doing this now. Vance is used to fighting using abilities and spells. Not as much with his own natural skills. It takes time for Vance to catch up enough to sense what Heimrich is doing, only to find him difficult to track. Mainly because his Aura feels like it hasn't been unlocked, perk of Mantra, but he is also not using any Aura at all. He moves and weaves smoothly through the dense trees at incredible speed like a phantom, all with Alice in his arms. He even is barely disturbing the leaves and plants he passes by, difficult to track by the five senses, and by sixth senses too. It is the opposite for Heimrich keeping tabs on Vance. Vance isn't doing anything overt like flying with a generated jet of flame or something like that, but his motivation is climbing in his desire to catch up. His unique burning soul is like a house-sized bonfire following Heimrich, and only burning hotter. A good thing to train and get used to, but he's had plenty of that already. He needs to learn now in the real world how to avoid attracting attention from across the sector. Luckily they're still in the forest, and under Atticus's protections. Even with that issue, he's getting more used to reacting and avoiding high speed obstacles, and formulating multistep plans to weave through the dense trees at the speed they're moving. Heimrich doesn't slow down, but he does increase the width of the weaves he is making, lengthening his path which allows Vance who's taking a more efficient path to catch up. "You need to relax," Heimrich tells him rather calmly, while he's tripled how many trees he's weaving though at a time. "Don't think of it as a competition, or trying to keep up with us. You need to learn how to move in a fight at this pace, when your soul is at its calmest, and hardest to sense. Cuz right now you're a lighthouse." "We'd win anyways," Alice adds in an unhelpful manner. | |
| The Disastrous Planes of ZOCOM | Vance's own question would be lost too quickly for him to question why he had to worry about being overt. Though he'll remember why he has to keep his Primal Magic on the down low if he thinks of it again, it would be hard not to remember the Red haired man or that creepy pale bastard that nearly manifested in his mentalscape. Vance was not used to using natural skills. That much was true. His subtle nature only applied to matters of the mind, for subterfuge and illusions, for lying. Not for this. Moving around in the real world required magic, be it Enochian, Old Magic or Aura. Trying to be covert like this wasn't in his skill set. Though now was as good a time to learn as any. It was a necessary skill to learn with what will be happening going forward. 'This is crazy...!' Vance was doing everything he can just to keep them in sight and try to keep them in his visual range, but Heimrich is weaving through this forest like a ghost. He was unsure if Heimrich was even really dodging or if he was using some kind of Logia-like skill to just go through the forest and using illusions to try and trip him up mentally. He was a hair away from constantly losing the goofy pair if his motivation wasn't constantly rising from the fact that he naturally has that Cross family inclination of 'losing is for losers, RAAAAAAH'. He does recall why he needs to not be a primal lighthouse all the time. But it seemed easier said than done, his future never told him how he could be covert with this power either... Then again, his future self had abandoned all attachment and went on his own. So that loner had no reason to hide. Fat load of good that was to him. Being told he needs to relax does little to lessen the fuel for the bonfire. "Great advice." He sarcastically grumbles. "How would I even do that?!" He blurts out after being told that he needed to remain calm, having nearly face planted into a tree yet again as Heimrich increases just how many trees he continues to weave past by a ridiculous amount. The main issue was, Vance has only ever fought in highly emotional situations. The power of the Godling and all of Salem's passed down abilities require a great deal of emotional turmoil in order for them to work because of how flawed the recreated Gates were from the original Gates of Triumph. To be emotional like this was so ingrained in him at this point, and with how his Primal abilities work... Being calm was... Well a run in the woods was NOT going to solve this. Also, how was this NOT a competition at this point? He was showing off and expecting him NOT to take this as a challenge? And Alice wasn't helping. | |
| The Disastrous Planes of ZOCOM | The ancient ancestor of the Cross Family watched as Heimrich's soul shifted and changed with Samantha's words. To see such drastic changes was... Well it was startling. He did not know if the change was a totally positive one, but having more anchors, more reasons to ground him and keep himself from running wild were practically no brainers. Short of rooting around in Heimrich's head and solving this issue himself anyways. Perhaps if things grow too out of hand... Mentioning Crossvale had him raising an eyebrow. What purpose did they have in returning to Samantha's family home? "Paying respects back home?" He says as he looks to his pupil, her face still tomato red as she does her best to compose herself. She didn't think she would be practically proposed to like this. "N-No." Samantha answers, centring herself with a calming breath in and out. "We wanted to go to Crossvale so I could gather some of my Knights, start preparations for Duncan's funeral once things die down..." "Heavy no on the Knights I'm afraid. If we're going to the Spirit Well then the less people the better. We need to cross the Heartland Wastes, those sands will challenge those who cross it. And it will certainly challenge a descendant of mine, because of our lineage." Revan says before his brow furrows, realising the presence of something else because he was so focussed on Heimrich. "Or maybe the trip will be quick. You have Haelgrym?" Samantha looked to her master with surprise before nodding, reaching a hand behind her before it sinks into a grey rift. She produces the greatsword in question, easily holding it out for her master. "Yeah, the sword was the only thing to really survive the fight..." "So Duncan did wield it? I doubt it awoke for him while he was infected. Haelgrym is a picky eater. He likes only refined energies." Revan says as he peers down at the blade. Though in doing so, the blade cracks before a large crimson and bestial eye forms along the entire length of the blade to glare at Revan. "Ah, you're awake. Good." "Haelgrym would prefer to be asleep. The girl's energy is tasty. The boy's is too punchy. The other boy did not have a good end. Haelgrym should have eaten him earlier to save him the trouble of that." "... Tactful as always you greedy butter knife." | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | Hmmm... He was having a harder time with this than he thought. Vance is pretty literal when it come to these things it seems. Heimrich feels a tap on his arm from Alice, who has been watching Vance struggle behind them. They lock eyes for a moment, and he can see the earnestness in hers. It seems she has an idea. "Can we stop here?" She asks. "Sure." Heimrich slows at a pace that would allow Vance to notice and not plow into them, and the three of them eventually come to a stop. They are still deep in the forest, with no clear path through it. Heimrich lets Alice down, allowing her to approach Vance with her idea. "I think I know a way, but you'll have to copy what I do, ok?" Alice tells him. | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | The way the eye opens in Haelgrym is unnerving. So unnatural. Though what is natural these days. The way Revan brought up mentioning the sword however brings a question to Heimrich's mind. "Is the sword a key off some sort?" | |
| The Disastrous Planes of ZOCOM | Vance was tunnelling pretty hard, doing his best to push himself into catching up with them even as that distance between them never seemed to close. It wasn't until that distance was closing that he noticed that he wasn't catching up. No. They were slowing down? 'Wha- Why are they slowing down?' He thought to himself. Was he causing a problem? Dammit, he must be... As they came to a slow stop, Vance was trying to think of how he could do better. But he was stumped. He had to use Hate to use his power but he was being asked to 'keep calm'. May as well ask him to solve world hunger. No, that's not fair. He might be able to do it, but he doesn't know how. He's shares a similar mindset to Duncan, similar temperament too. Keeping a cool head while angry was not a Cross strong suit. Vance looked to Alice as she approached, wondering what she was going to say. Hearing what it was, the primal man raised an eyebrow but it wasn't like he had any better ideas. Maybe all he needed was an example. "Sure. Go for it." Says Vance. He's only really just met Alice, so he's going out on a limb to trust her, same as her really. But he was sure he could trust her and this wasn't some kind of way to make fun of him. Revan cared little to inflate the Blade's already considerable ego, picky and pedantic piece of metal that it was, but he did confirm Heimrich's suspicions. "Of a sort. Haelgrym devours many kinds of mystical essence. A devious curse looms over the ancient capital of our homeland, one laid by the original Salem to keep the Spirit Well closed and cut us off from Spirits so our people lose the ability to commune with Old Spirits and gain patrons more easily. More importantly, we lost our ability to commune with Moria." "The son of the egg bleeder wishes to make Haelgrym eat a Forgotten curse?! May as well ask Haelgrym to eat a Reaper." Revan looked down at the blade held in Samantha's hand with a dismissal. "Oh, you'll do it. And do it gladly. Otherwise I'll throw you to the Dwarves you lump of wasted steel." The beastly blade snarled, the eye along the blade narrowing and shaking as it sounded like the blade was cracking. "I will not suffer at the hand of those Deep children again. Hmph. Fine. Haelgrym will eat the filthy curse." "Good little butter knife." Revan says with a coy smile before looking back to Heimrich and Samantha. "It's easier to have him eat the curse than to waste time dealing with it ourselves. With me there we can enter the Palace easily too, since it is where I was born in my first life. I know plenty of secret entrances the forgotten don't know about." | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | Alice holds her hands behind her back and leans slightly forward, watching Vance with a slight smile as he calms down and relaxes fully from his high effort chase. Heimrich is standing a little off to their right at this point, patiently waiting. He's certain he knows how Alice is planning to get Vance in a better frame of mind. Their run through the forest has already been a trip down memory lane. Once she's satisfied Alice turns on her heel and begins to walk towards a tree behind her, roughly the direction they've been heading. She's looking over her shoulder at Vance, still bearing a slight smile as she turns just enough from walking into the tree. Vance would follow as instructed, likely confused by the slow pace they are taking. Shortly another tree is in Alice's way, requiring another course correction. And another, and another. Vance notices she's beginning to walk faster, building up into a jog with sharp turns around the trees in their way. Heimrich is keeping pace to the side, bearing a soft smile, his eyes on Alice. "We used to run rings around Tropica like this," He says, hopping over a fallen tree. Alice smiles back at him before she picks up the pace more abruptly, now in a swift jog. She can't just turn anymore, now kicking to the side and dodging to avoid bushes and trees. But her focus still isn't on cutting it as close as possible, or being efficient. Her mouth is open in a smile as she breathes, enjoying weaving through the trees at high speeds. For a normal human like her anyways. From Heimrich and Vance's point of view they are still barely moving. But Vance can see now how Heimrich was moving like a phantom. He sees it now on a much slower scale, he is and was completely relaxed. There was no energy trail to sense, or aura to feel, because this was not training for him. It was just physical exercise. It was fun weaving through the trees for Alice and Heimrich, and that was what Alice was trying to show him. This "training" was to enlighten him that not everything is about pure power or deadly battles, or preparing for a grim showdown. They were going out on the town after all. Vance has to see the difference between the all-consuming fire inside him and the man he was and wants to be. Once Alice reaches the limits of how fast she can go, Heimrich takes over again. He slips in from the side and scoops Alice up mid dash. Vance catches the hint of a smirk on him as he starts going faster and faster, Vance still keeping pace as he realizes how fast and observant he really is. In short order Heimrich is moving through the trees at his original blistering speed, but Vance now can much more easily keep up, as he realizes his own viewpoint of what this was was slowing him down. "I barely sense you at all now," Heimrich says, showing off some as he now is running backwards before moving back to Vance's right side. "You're not depending on your power anymore." Indeed, Heimrich is very familiar with how swiftly Vance and Duncan are capable of moving when relaxed and carefree, and he hasn't gone any faster than that point. Just a few short minutes ago Vance had to depend on heavily using his power to keep up. Now he can clearly feel the difference between his body and his powers. Alice silently celebrates with a determined and satisfied smile. "Atticus better watch out, you'll be replacing him soon at this rate," Heimrich teases and congratulates Alice, much to her happy embarrassment. "It's nothing different than what Brude showed us," She attempts to weasel out of it, though with little success. Opening this Spirit Well sounds like an important undertaking to start healing the damage Salem has caused the land. And it may lead to trails to track down his other half, that separated from Hakaar. Though it would distract them from their other goals. Heimrich looks to Samantha for her input. He knows she wants to go home to make sure things are alright in her absence. She hasn't been gone for long, but in a warzone a lot can change in 24 hours. "If there's other traps on the path to the Well that Salem set up, it would be more difficult to keep others safe compared to just us. But, I don't think there would be any harm passing through Crossvale to make sure everything's alright. Land's End can wait a little while." | |
 The Honorable Elites of The Sangheili Separatist | ||
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | Irondale Inn, Irondale 3:56PM Life slowly stirs in the comatose woman. Kiysa's eyes flutter open with the less than welcome light that has begun to shine at her from the afternoon sun. The aches she already feels in her arms and legs tells her that getting up isn't going to be a painless affair. “Oh she's still alive,” A guttural voice carries across the room as light flashes off the blue blade of her sword as it flies about her room. “You were so out of it that I thought you died a few times.” “Didn't bother getting a doctor huh.” Kiysa groans as she forces herself to get it out of the way and sit up in a single motion, every muscle in her core berating her for doing so. “Seeing you wake up in the Veil would have been a good bit. So how are you feeling,” Jingo asks as Kiysa swings her legs over the side of the bed with some difficulty. “Like every muscle is torn in half. Haven't had to push myself that far in a long time. It's not too bad though, not like I'm actually Injured. Thanks, by the way,” Kiysa looks up at her floating sword. “If it weren't for you stepping in I wouldn't be complaining about a little soreness right now.” “That's what partners are for, right? All we have to do now is get strong enough that we won't end up in a situation like that again.” Her stomach’'s sudden growl interrupts them. “Looks like getting some beer and overpriced food in me is the first step.” Kiysa stands and stretches for a few moments, getting a feel for what shape her body is currently in and how far she can push it. “Then we go find Priscilla.” “There haven't been any Forgotten in the mountains since the Pureborn showed up. She's likely working again. That's a lot of mountains to cover.” “And this time, we don't have to scour every rock and shadow for hidden camps,” Kiysa smirks as she performs one final stretch. “Hmm, true. We should be able to fly through the mountains all tonight then.” “Yep. I already wasted too much time sleeping. We gotta tell Priscilla, and get back to Wabacha and find Utu too. I want to tell them the good news both in person.” Kiysa makes sure her side bag is still secure after she noticed she slept with it on before opening the room door. Jingo slips through above her as they head out on one of their last adventures before dedicating themselves to their Master's training. ____________________ Irondale Tavern, Irondale 4:21PM The place was far busier than the last time Kiysa and Jingo were here. With the unified warband of the Forgotten Dragon Tycorphian destroyed, traffic between the dwarf and human kingdoms was renewed, and Wabachan relief efforts were able to more readily reach the town and the nearby mountain dwarf villages. Still Kiysa is alone at the bar. Even though words of her deeds have spread through Irondale, both residents and newcomers dare not approach the demonic presence that surrounds Kiysa. Thousands of years of rightfully earned fear and hate creates distrust towards the swordswoman and her unholy sword. Kiysa never minds. They don't bother her, and she won't bother them any more than her presence already does. She's far more focused on finishing off her bangers and mash, and picking up her third dwarven brew again. Looks like a lot more adventurers than the last time, Jingo speaks in her mind to not bother anyone. Kiysa turns away from the bar and looks at the rest of the bar while she takes a drink from her tankard. Glints of light off armor, weapons, and decorative metal on spellbooks are the only interaction she gets. Just from their gear and their body language she sees they range from entry level to quite skilled, none want to make eye contact however. Kiysa lets them be as she continues to drink. The collective conversations in the bar weren't hushed, making it easy for her keen ears to pick up hints about the current state of the Ironpeak Mountains. A lot of monsters were displaced when that warband moved in. Them being gone now and the monsters coming back probably changed the territorial status quo between them all. A monster free for all with civilization in the crossfire. Sounds like it. Kiysa turns back around and sets the tankard back on the countertop. She already had heard the bartender silently clear her empty plate when she was turned around, and makes no reaction to finding it gone. Priscilla may be contracted with a guild now to take adventurers through the mountains. That should make good money. Yeah. They listen for a while to the conversations behind them, looking for any mention of a dwarf guide. Luckily it does not take long. They pick up from a booth by the door that they were waiting rather impatiently for a dwarf guide to come back to Irondale, after a different party makes it back from the dwarf kingdom with her help. A smile sneaks onto her face, hidden by downing the last of her drink. Sounds like Priscilla. With that she pulls up her bag to find her coinpouch as the dwarven bartender approaches. He's scrubbing the tankard in his hand with more force than is necessary as he looks at her with an impatient, strained look. He's silent, like he hasn't decided how much he wants to charge this time to make sure she doesn't come back. She is driving customers away from the bar after all. She's used to it. “I had another beer compared to last time, guess I couldn't help myself,” Kiysa confidently talks aloud mostly to herself as she starts counting the coins up in her hand. Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, making a noticeable show for the bartender, showing she doesn't mind his exorbitant prices. “No one brews them like a dwarf. Based on the number last time, each beer should be about this, right?” Kiysa knows there are people in the bar that can hear her, but she doesn't make a show of how much she's paying this, and she doesn't hold the gold aloft. It's only the bartender that sees the stacks totalling seventy gold pieces that Kiysa places on the counter, her body blocking the sight from the other patrons of the bar. The bartender looks down at the gold, and looks back up at her, the same hard look in his eye. Kiysa doesn't want to make a scene or try to throw mud at the bar owner for how much she's being charged. She just wants to show him that charging her crazy prices won't drive her away. The bartender holds her stare for some time, before he lets out a grunt and reaches for the gold. “It seems I had misremembered the cost of your meal the last time you were here.” The gold pieces clink against each other as they are pushed back towards Kiysa's hand. “Since you overpaid, I'll take this off your credit.” The bartender picks up her tankard and walks over to his sink behind the counter, beginning to diligently clean it as Kiysa looks at him with silent shock. The bartender doesn't make eye contact again, very focused on his task. Light returns to Kiysa's eyes as she smiles, silently scooping the gold back into her bag. “... Thank you.” The bartender just grunts in response. “Now if you're done, clear on out of here. There are other ignorant folk who want to use the bar.” Kiysa can feel some in the bar bristle at the bartenders words regarding them and closes her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the moment, just for a second. “You got it boss,” Kiysa spins off the barstool as Jingo flies into her hand, making for the door. “When you see that guide…” Kiysa pauses and half turns around as she rests Jingo on her shoulder. The bartender is making eye contact now. He still has a hard look in his eye, though some stress seems to have been lifted from them. “Could you give her a message for me?” “Hm? Sure.” “Just… Tell her I apologize.” Kiysa eyes him for a moment, unaware of what had happened after she had left, but doesn't pry. “I will.” The dwarf behind the bar just nods before silently returning to his duties, the door shutting soon behind the demon swordswoman. | |
| The Borderlands of Wabacha | West Beyond the Citadel, Crimson Range Border Smoke rises above the canopy of trees, blanketing the rising sun. Sam stands a short distance behind the silent knight deep in prayer, illuminated by the funeral pyre alight with holy blue flames. His best friend lay upon it still clad in half-digested armor. Finally lifeless after three nights of nightmares. The ageless Vampire had never seen a creature like him before, shrugging off deathblow after deathblow and recovering with speed rivaling the supernaturals, if not even faster. And with alarming strength as well. His hand subconsciously rubs his neck, where an armored boot snapped it just a night ago. Even with suppressing his physical abilities to avoid suspicions, it is a disturbing feat. Their only relief is that removing the host from the evolving beast killed both. He can see and hear that all lifesigns are gone. Still, he will be be keeping his ear close to the underworld grapevine for a while. They can't afford to let another monster like Heimrich roam free. With his prayers completed, Duncan's eyes open to look at Heimrich one last time. “I know you didn't believe in the Goddess like us Zoconians do, so I prayed to your gods too buddy. I hope they don't mind a good word in your behalf coming from a pagan.” His joking smile falters for a moment. “I pray they remember all the good you've done for everyone, and not what you became.” There is no hesitation when Duncan places His hand on lost friend's burning shoulder, ignoring the searing pain coming through his gauntlet and the blistering of his skin. “Goodbye, Heimrich. I pray you find your peace in the hereafter.” Duncan turns and leaves, his eyes now focused on the Citadel and the future, rebuffing Sam's token offer to heal the burns the vampire can very well smell. They leave the pyre and perpetrator of the slaughter of Fort Arcius's Templars to burn alone, making their own versions of peace that the threat is now gone. Heimrich is dead. His armor and body will become ashes, scattered by the breeze under ruby trees. That is the end of his story, cut shirt before it can truly begin. But that is not fate's design. He lay motionless, by all rights a corpse. But in each charring cell, in every drop of inert blood, in each silent neuron, there is anticipation. Waiting for the call to enact resurrection. And it slowly comes, long after the departure of his killer; A gentle gust of wind, luring the scent of his own charring flesh into his nose. The spark of life races through Heimrich's body as he draws a hoarse gasp of air. Immediately he coughs and gags upon the mix of of smoke, incense, and his own burning flesh. The pain then sets in, and instinct rolls Heimrich off of the pyre and onto the dew covered grass with a crash of armor pieces. His armor scatters him, the straps used to bind it to him have long burned away. Heimrich in his throes experiences a sensation familiar to his body, but not his mind. Muscles spasm as they shed burnt fibers and skin and reknit themselves together, a sight horrifying to see. The pain the now doused flames left behind is immediately gone, letting Heimrich’s mind focus entirely on the horror he is experiencing. He sees dark blue and red flesh before his skin stretches closed over it, the end of his body moving of its own accord. His hands rapidly move across his body, checking to see if he was in one piece while his mind races. It feels like an eternity as he forces himself to try and calm down. He could tell that something was wrong with how he was perceiving time. Turning to look at the pyre behind him, his pyre, the flames weren't even moving. Heimrich looks down at his hands, then back up at the flame. He feels like he's moving normally. Finally standing, he waves a questing hand slowly through a frozen tongue of flame. Despite moving at what he feels would be a steady pace, the flame parts around it without leaving a sensation of heat. Heimrich looks at his hand with confusion as the parted flame continues to move, rapidly slowing until it too appears frozen once again. An odd result that gave him some important information. He wasn't frozen in time, luckily. He was simply too fast. Faster than he thought possible, faster than anything he's ever witnessed. Maybe even faster than the were- The memories of the last three nights return. Heimrich falls to his knees, gripping the sides of his head in the vain attempt to block out the visions. There is no use, he cannot escape what he had done. As the memories ravage their way through his mind his hands release his skull, falling to his sides with a tremble in the fingers. The things they had done felt like a film, released directly into his brain. He didn't feel like he was the one in control, but certainly the one who experienced it. But it does bring with it one sobering realization. Heimrich's heart in time cools, and the flames begin to move. He can hear now the wind and the rustling of grass. The passing of each subtle scent of the forest hidden under the brashness of his own funeral. Now stable legs bring him back to his feet, and Heimrich holds one outstretched hand out in front of him, blocking the sun. He remembers nothing after the gluttonous beast began to grow from his body. And he feels no ill effects now. Whatever happened between then and waking up burning had freed him from that influence… Temporarily, at the very least. Heimrich looks down to see that his clothing that was under the armor was little more than smoking tatters, before staring into the blue flames. Only a Templar's rite could make flames like this. Duncan had something to do with his ‘death’ and newfound freedom. He turns to look in the direction of the Citadel, but knows there is nothing left for him there. Being clear headed wouldn't garner him anything more than being aware of his execution if he were to go there. Knowing his time as a Templar is over pangs his heart, but now he must think of his own life. Whatever is left of it. And if he were to get started, he needed clothes and supplies. Only one place readily comes to mind. Heimrich turns on his heel and leaves the Citadel behind him, striding past his pyre and back into the shade of crimson trees. He has to return where his life had ended, and where his destiny begins. With its fuel walking away the pyre has little time left. Within the hour the flames will consume what is left and its heat will fade. Leaving only ashes behind that tell the lost stories of what was and what might have been. | |
| The Disastrous Planes of ZOCOM | Calming down from his high effort chase, having done all the chasing since they left the village, wasn’t just a few easy seconds of breathing. The guy was worked up for one reason or another. And he had afew reasons to be. But besides those reasons, Vance had no idea how Alice was going to get this to work. Was his head that muddled in his worries and emotions that he was missing something crucial? Being calm. Or at least calm enough. He watched Alice as she turned on her heel and started for the nearest tree, to which he started to follow, and just before her face planted into it she turned. The pace was slow, and already he was starting to see what she was trying to show him. ‘But this only helps if I can see the f*ckin tree coming…’ He muses to himself mentally. Missing the point in his still addled mental state. Though as this went on. As Alice began to gain speed and she dodged trees with increasing swiftness, Vance’s mind came away from the previous troubles of his world. Not realising quick enough that the grim trauma of his circumstance, of the grieving coronas of his sun from not so long ago, had clouded the truth from his first lesson. Yet with each moment that passes, as Alice grows faster and faster, as they weave and bob around the next tree and the next tree, that simple lesson was remembered in both mind and body as he effortlessly kept pace. Hate, the violent and dark desire to make sure that nothing is stolen from him again, is but a catalyst for his strength. It is not the sole reason for his strength. Something he had forgotten. Strength is a mindset now. It is not an attained truth as it had been previously. As Heimrich stepped in to carry Alice, he finally recalled his fight with the image of Samantha in the mentalscape. How it took Hate and a sharp mind to overcome the fight. The lesson, along with this reminder, was not so easily learned. But Vance did learn all the same… Not everything was doom driven. Life can be simple. But life can also be troublesome, annoying, fantastic, sad and so much more. He has the rest of his new life to fully figure that out. And the first step to that lay beyond this forest. Running like this. Weaving through the trees with such ease. He could do it as easily as breathing now. It was even… Fun. Then Heimrich had to get his style points in as he started to run backwards as he came alongside Vance in their run. If he wasn’t currently holding Alice, he’d trip him. 100%. It was pretty plain to see in his eyes as he shook his head at seeing this nonsense, yet had a smile on his face. “Damn showoff. Of course I’m not. It’s just my power, not the whole me.” He says like he didn’t just have a tough time relearning that himself. As Heimrich switches to teasing Alice, Vance joins in. ”He’s right, you’re a really good teacher. Easily better than any I’ve seen.” By itself that statement wasn’t much considering Vance has only really learned under Samuel Mason and their group during his time with Duncan. And Vance would hesitate to call what Sam did for that decade in the mirror realm teaching. It was more apt to compare it to ‘gentle parenting’ but dialled up to 11 and threw in instant death in a realm where you can’t die. But besides all that. Vance ended his little addition to the tease by looking back forward, doing his best to not look like he had a human heart now. “Thanks Alice. You are a good teacher, and you’re sizing up to be a decent friend..” For a guy that looked like he was allergic to happiness, saying sweet and genuine things seemed to come naturally. The fact Salem thought to erase this guy from the world was more of a travesty than it already was. |
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