quote:
Hear my voice,
It beckons you,
Don't fall,
Astray.
Come to me,
I'll wait for you,
I'll light,
the way.
Don't you fall,
Or stumble here,
The grounds,
All thorns.
Come to me,
And don't you fear,
Your flesh,
All torn.
The melancholy song slowly faded from Jacqueline's ears and was replaced by a high-pitched ringing. She opened her eyes; and the world came rushing back. She was lying on a dead body. Wide-eyed, she hastily jerked herself upright and away from it. No. This can't happen. Not today. She still had things to do.
Teetering, feeling unstable, she fired her bow toward the blurs in the distance. She couldn't have explained exactly why at that moment, for her thoughts were hidden from her. -Muscle memory no doubt. But nonetheless, she saw an arrow enter somebody, somewhere
{Jacqueline deals 5 dmg to Xubada}. Standing up, she lurched and moved toward the pillars. Not entirely remembering the journey, the next thing she knew she was leaning heavily against the wall, and was welcomed by a soothing voice hovering over her – a man's voice. Gradually, her senses started to come back. The voice was still speaking, and, slowly, it started to make more sense; the blurry face, too, became clearer and clearer, like the murkiness of a pond settling to the bottom. And there, standing over her, was Imbellem, smiling – whose face was tinged with relief, worry, and hope all at the same time
{Imbellem heals Jacqueline 14 hp}. She felt better, and she felt gratitude.
Apologizing he had to leave her so soon, his face disappeared - but this was ok. She could hold her own now. And she knew what her friends had to do: Alldyde had to go down.
Not far away, Kelden's voice rang through, "
Grao, Edgaren – you have done enough my brothers. Fall back! Darus with me!" Jacqueline soon had company. A large orc, Grao, appeared next to her. He placed his back against the wall and, slowly, slid down until he was sitting beside her. It looked like he had seen better days. Leaning his head back, weary, he looked at Jacqueline over his shoulder. "
Hey."
Edgaren joined them and sat beside Grao. Both of them looked so tired, so exhausted. Grao, wearily, looked at Edgaren. He chuckled – coughed – then finished chuckling. "
Do you ever think about death, Ed?" Edgaren weakly smirked through his helm. He took his time in replying. "
Yes, of course."
There was a moment of silence, and Jacqueline thought that was all they were going to say for a second. But then Grao continued, "
In my home country... dying for the horde is the greatest thing you can do. It's different though, here. You know I didn't grow up much in my homeland, Ed; but I've always tried to carry on my culture, like dad does. But, it's different here. He says see the humans, the honorable ones, as the new horde. But even the honorable ones don't see the horde themselves. They don't see- they can't see, what this means. And how can one be part of a horde where the bonds are broken? How can one be brother to another if that brother has disowned you?.. How can death have meaning... without the horde?"
Edgaren breathed deeply, struggling as he inhaled. He, too, took a long pause, and finally said, "
It's doesn't matter." Grao seems disheartened by this, but Edgaren placed a hand on his arm. "
Wait." He breathed deeply again. He was having trouble speaking, but he soldiered through every phrase, speaking wisdom from his years. Jacqueline never realized he was older; she could see the gray hair now. "
It doesn't matter, because... You don't have to give death meaning... a meaning that it doesn't have... But, you can give life meaning. You can give it meaning by living it, in the best way you possibly can... Eventually, we all die. It is, truly, the only thing we know for certain. All we can do, is use our time here... the best we can. And then, there will be nothing to fear when we leave it... Truly, it's sometimes good that we remember death, and we are reminded of our mortality... For then, we remember not to waste time; remember to keep our eyes, on what really matters to us..." Edgaren finished.
Grao placed his hand on Edgaren's shoulder, smiled, and firmly nodded. The orc didn't make a reply. He didn't have to. The nod was enough, and Edgaren knew it... Some bonds don't break after all.
***
Elsewhere, the battle raged. Along the rightmost wall, Mikael hustled behind the pillars, advancing closer to the enemy than any other; he even entered the forest of vines, nimbly escaping their grasping stalks. He almost felt at home again here – holding his spear, lying in wait for his enemies amidst the lush, tropical growth. But even saying '
almost' would be an exaggeration. He was far from Galia; and the jungles of Galia were far more beautiful than this nightmarish field of weeds.
Adwonus followed behind and stopped beside Marcus. He desperately wanted to fire a shot at someone, to do damage to some pirate scum, but he only had time to load his sling.
Across the chamber, Kelden took position behind a pillar, mirroring Marcus and Adwonus on the other side. He stepped into the forest of vines, and they immediately began curling around his feet; but he tried to ignore them. His men were falling. And he had to do something. Leaning over the corner, he fired Mikael's crossbow at Gage – but his shot faltered and missed
{Kelden misses Gage}.
Dwalin traveled alongside the wall and stationed himself next to Kelden. Even wounded, he felt better on the front lines, as though something deep in his blood, in his ancestory, compelled him. His ancestors were with him. Then, he remembered his Elven Medicine, something he had earned from past deeds. Taking out a small teal vial, he pulled out the cork and drank it. And for the first time, something tasted as good as ale – though, perhaps, only his wounds made it so
{Dwalin recovers 17 hp}. As he finished the vial, someone went rushing past him – it was Darus! Seeing his comrades falter had sparked something in him; and, either valiantly or recklessly, he charged into enemy territory, plowing his way through the vines. Finally he took shelter behind a pillar very close to his foes.
Lastly there was Herr Johannes. The fire, it seemed, had lit another kind of fire in him – one of the spirit. Through his eyes, the world seemed distorted, for reality itself seemed to bend beneath his righteous fury. And Alldyde was the centerpiece of his vision. Prayer – no:
commands – coursed through him, words pouring forth with such ease that they didn't seem to come from him at all. This was the true zeal of a paladin. As he loudly sermonized to his foes and allies, standing upon the pulpit of his soul, they started to feel it too. No – they could
see it. Really, they could
see it!
Before Herr Johannes, in the middle of the chamber, reality itself seemed to distort, bending it ways hard to describe. Light cast from the windows bent and sculpted itself into shapes around an invisible mold, molded directly by divine hands. Herr Johannes could scarcely believe it himself, let alone his companions.
And from the light, created from light, created from shores beyond – came the figure of a horse. With a final, blinding flare, this horse became real; and, within the throne room of Castle Herrod, there stood a very real, living creature. Hair as white as untouched snow, it raised its front hooves in a triumphant stance, declaring to the world, "
I now exist." Herr Johannes could feel a tear in his eye. This was his faith made manifest.
***
Wide-eyed, Alldyde watched this. It was beginning to dawn on him that he had direly misjudged his opponents, that there was far more to them than expected. Nearby, Gage had torn free from his vine prison. And Barnett had began hustling through the vines straight down the middle of the chamber; the adventurers thought this odd, that a rogue would take such an open route.
Diplomacy {Imbellem; Herr Johannes} ~ But when they saw his face, they began to suspect maybe there was more to it. Although he didn't vocally respond to their pleas, not with Alldyde so near, he did speak with his eyes – and they said, "I'm not here to harm you." No such glance though came from his partner, Gage.
Alldyde re-rooted his thoughts, which had wavered in the face of unexpected resilience. He spoke, "
Magic. A horse. Do you think I care!? You will perish! I have worked hard, so hard, for this. I have the army officers under my thumb! All the right resources! And by the end of today, every single damn one of my political rivals – anyone at all who could have challenged me! – will be dead! Once you're gone, this city will get a taste of what true chaos looks like; and then they will beg me – ME! THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GIVE THEM ORDER – the only one fit to rule! - they will beg me to sit on that throne. The days of a shadow government will be over. There will simply be my word, and mine alone. All you have to do is die. Why won't you die? Die. DIE. DIE!!!"
He raised his hands and was surrounded by flame, pouring into his palms, preparing to bring death.
Then suddenly, there was a flash of white, and a cry -"
NO!"-, as someone burst from the doors behind Alldyde. White hair falling over her face, she clung to Alldyde's arm. Alldyde cried out in alarm, "
Taisiya!?"
He swung his arm away and the singularity shot from his palm into the eastern wall. It exploded in a nova of fire, hitting no one. The chains connecting one of the chandeliers to ceiling melted, and the chandelier came crashing to the floor; glass and pearls shattered in a great calamity, scattering everywhere.
Despite this, the adventurer's eyes were on Taisiya –
the Taisiya – who was really there. She saved them. Alldyde's anger vanished and was replaced with frightened concern. "
Taisiya!? What are you doing here? You know you shouldn't- Xubada,!- get her out of here!" At his command, Xubada swiftly moved and grabbed Taisiya, restraining her.
She cried out, "
No! I don't want them hurt! I don't-!" "
It has to be done," Alldyde replied. "
It has to be done..."
Note: Knowledge Arcane & Local ~ Can't try again on knowledge checks!
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:58, Sun 22 Nov 2015.
