Madican wrote:Mary looked over at the scholar. "My name is Mary. Why would a fire mage be looking for me?" She resumed scanning the forest. "I am the Prodigy of Nature as you say. Was the giant bear a clue?"
"It wasn't the bear, it was the fact that one of your men called for the prodigy and you stepped forward. Although the bear helped. Have you heard of the rising tension between Magmasa and Cairns? I fear that it is inevitable that they will go to war, unless someone steps in. My first thought was to ask the closest country, Kudzu, for help. If you and a few others could come in and talk some sense into the leaders, they might listen to reason."
(Map map I need a map, or at least a definition of where we are and how to get to Madoitus.
Also, sorry everybody but I'll be gone tomorrow, and tonight.)
Marcus and the elder reached the the grand templar's door, the guards opened it immediately. The grand templar welcomed them happily.
"Welcome shadow prodigy and elder, I have heard you have come to support my cause against Magmasa." he said
"Yes, but we want to talk privately, there may be spies working for Magmasa listening in." Marcus said
"Ha ha! of coarse." the grand templar dismissed the guards. He went up and stood next to Marcus "There is one thing though"
"Yes?" asked Marcus "What is it?"
"I'm not as ignorant as the guards are." the grand templar said. Marcus backed away from him, shocked.
"Y-you knew?" he asked the grand templar
"Of coarse." he said "you gave yourselves away easily, your cleary not the prodigy and elder, but mere shadow users." he was pleased with his assumption "I have seen the shadow elder, she has also told me her prodigy is female." Marcus looked at the elder in a expression that said "He is not this stupid...is he?"
Marcus then said "Can I please do it now?"
"Alright" the elder said. Marcus slammed the elder to the ground and shoved a fireball in his face.
"Okay I'm going to tell you something" he said "If you resist, yell, or try something you will be severely burned by either me or my elder."
"Marcus!" the grand templar realized his mistake "So have you come here to kill me?"
"No, we just want to talk. However if you resist we won't hesitate to use force, so just give us a chance here." Marcus asked.
"You thought Kudzu would have news of the outside? Take a look around you scholar. Though the Iron Path exists as a safe route through the forest, very few people brave it, and certainly not for something like rumors. It's possible the merchants know of what you speak, but gossip doesn't thrive in Kudzu when no one wishes to continue down the vine." Mary spent a bit of her magic to warn off a creature hidden in the darkness that had been enticed by a new smell. It hesitated for a moment before vanishing.
Mary resumed her scanning. "Let's say you do manage to convince our Council to send me and my Elder out of the country, not an easy feat I assure you. What then? What reason would the leaders of Magmasa and Cairns have to listen to us? We cannot scare them, Kudzu has no army when the forest itself suffices. Appealing to logic when it comes to rulers is like telling a tree to stop extending its roots. It might do so, but only if you kill it first. And diplomacy, forget it. Kudzu is not exactly in the public eye, why would Magmasa or Cairns listen to us?"
The Crushbear thought of something and transmitted the basic idea to Mary. She looked at it and then at Miji. "Now if you wanted a war averted by any means necessary, that we can help with. Kudzu has many assassin suppliers, it's one of our more notable features. They sell the poisons extracted from various plants of the forest and arrange contracts throughout the world. Might take some effort to find the ones who'll kill kings, but I'm sure they're out there, for the right price."
"Ok, I get your point. I'll go ask Madoitus for help." I should've known they wouldn't help. Darn Kudzuans consider themselves in an entirely different world than the countries around them. "If you don't mind, in which direction from here is Madoitus? Perhaps if you have a map I could use?"
"You don't have to call me 'My Lady' like you do, you know," she said conversationally. "Though I suspect you will no matter what I say."
Garrett looked back at her and grinned. "Ah, but what kind of bodyguard would I be if I did not display an appropriate amount of respect to my client?"
Grey grinned back, raising an eyebrow. "That makes it sound like I hired you for more than protection," she responded. "You are less of a bodyguard than a 'partner' of sorts, somebody to ensure I'm not entirely on my own when I get jumped by twelve lightning-wielding bandits."
Garrett flourished his cloak as best he could and smiled. "Nevertheless, I intend to perform my job with some manners of professionalism." He turned to look back at the road and nudged his horse to go faster. He was using some energy to make sure he could see through the darkness--to him, it was a bright as day. But he could feel his eyes starting to ache already, and he hoped the sun would begin to rise soon.
------
A few hours later, Garrett and Greylin had almost reached their goal. The town of Kanamira was no longer a faint dot, but a cluster of buildings that were perhaps an hour away. As they neared it, faint rays of sun began to flicker across the landscape and gave the two riders a faint amount of light. Garrett was grateful for that because he was starting to feel some fatigue, and his eyes were throbbing. Now that he had some light, his eyes could relax.
Finally, the pair reached the village gates--or, what was left of them. A pair of charred pillars rose on either side of the blackened village wall, with a few splinters where the gates might have been.
Greylin looked up and stared. "This place is a mess."
Garrett had a dark look on his face. "I wouldn't be surprised if the innards of the village were nothing but charcoal by this point. Let's leave the horses tied just inside the wall, where they can stay out of trouble."
The inside of the city was covered in a monotonous pallet of browns and grays. Buildings stood in teetering formations, blackened and burned, near skeletons of former structures. Rubble lay in the street, making it hard for carts to navigate. Shops were closed off, with windows that had once held a rainbow of colors stood bare. Amongst it all, people were wandering through the streets with packs of supplies on their backs. Some appeared to be leaving, while others appeared to be getting ready to rebuild. It was all a very confusing and jumbled mess, and it was almost completely silent. Aside from some muttered gossip or reports, exchanged in alleyways where they were not easily eavesdropped, most of the people on the streets continued on with little interest in stopping to talk.
"They all seem thoroughly disheartened," Garrett remarked. Greylin gave a small nod. They dismounted and located a makeshift stable--which looked like it has been put together in a single day--where they handed the reins off to a haggard looking stablemaster and his surly stable boy.
Garrett dragged the toe of his boot on the cobblestone and watched a puff of ash rise from it. "Well, it's obvious that this is the work of Pyromancers. The question remains, though, IS this Magmasa's doing?" He froze as they came around a corner and saw a man sitting in a pile of rubble. The man spotted them and stood.
"You, prodigy. You came here to stop the quarrelling? I doubt you will be able to. You would do well to go back from whence you came...these are troubling times...you can feel the death lingering in the air. The chaos, the fire."
Garrett scowled and moved so that he was positioned between Greylin and this stranger. His left hand grasped the handle of his rapier and his right hand was clenched, gathering a sphere of compressed shadow energy. "And who, may I ask, are you? How did you know that this was the Bavarel Prodigy?"
"My name is Nathanial. I can tell she is the prodigy because of the power radiating from her."
Greylin moved around Garrett, who realized that he had been standing between her and Nathaniel. He blinked and looked back at Nathaniel as Greylin addressed him. "What do you want with us?"
"What do I want with you? I would like to remind you that I was here first."
"But you were the one to instigate conversation," Garrett growled.
"Am I not allowed to have idle chats with passerby?" Nathanial shrugged. "Well...this has been a nice conversation and all, but I really must be going. Things to do, places to be, just wanted to check this out while I was... in the area. Farewell, prodigy and friend." Nathanial said, walking away.
Garrett stared after him as he rounded a corner and disappeared. A light wind suddenly gusted through the street, bringing clouds of ash in its' wake. A shiver ran up Garrett's spine and tickled his shoulders as the wind finally died down.
The woman scowled, crossing her arms. "I'm not a huge fan of cryptic bullshit," she stated. "Let's move on. He probably knew me from my markings." It was one of the few times she would openly acknowledge the tattoos. She prefered to leave it up to her companions to mention them. Sometimes they felt awkward asking, and it amused her. Jane had openly quizzed her about them the day they met.
She strode over to the rubble he'd been kneeling by, sifting through it. Soon she saw a boot poking through the charred remains. She tut-tutted, pulling more of the fallen and badly burned debris off to reveal a body. "Oh, look at this. That was easy," she commented. "Now to loot the corpse." Grinning, she searched its pockets. It was wearing what looked like a Magmasan uniform, but it was difficult to tell. Garrett moved over to stand by her, watching as she expertly flipped the body to get at the back pockets. She'd done this before, of course. The smell was unpleasant, but she didn't seem too bothered. "Got it!" She extracted a signet ring, and frowned as she examined it. Garrett knelt down beside her.
"It appears to be Altuanian," and she nodded as he spoke.
"This is exactly what I was looking for. Strange. Maybe it's just a coincidence."
"Perhaps there are other bodies?" He suggested.
"Good idea. Search them for me."
He pulled a face at the thought of handling days-old dead people, but did as she asked. He wasn't getting paid for nothing.
Soon they had what they needed. More than half of the other bodies had signet rings on them, some even on their hands. Why they had torched the village was unknown, but they had proof enough to show it was not Magmasa. The sun climbed higher in the sky as they finished their search, and Grey straightened up, wiping her hands off in the dirt.
"That's good enough. We should head to the castle and tell the Grand Templar." She was all business now. This was serious. Very interesting, girl child. This adds a chapter to the story.
It took them about a week to reach the castle.
[vealin, this is your chance. grey and garrett will encounter marcus as he exits, perhaps. have him running out and they'll stop him, and he'll threaten them by saying "STOP I AM THE SHADOW PRODIGY" or something]
"I have no time for this!" the grand templar was being held down by Marcus with the elder nearby, he was struggling under Marcus's grip.
"We just want to talk! For god sakes listen to us!" The grand templar didn't listen to his pleas."UGH, stop struggling we aren't even going to torture you!" the grand templar opened his mouth to scream
"GUA-" the grand templar was cut short by having his mouth gagged with a strip of cloth torn from the templars clothes, he still struggled trying to get up
"My god he is stubborn as hell." Marcus said "This dude is way to stubborn, and so is our king. I was so stupid to think we could have made peace with each other" Marcus sighed "Should we wait until he calms down, Or should we knock him out and go?"
"Hahaha. Oh you're funny," said Mary. She looked at Miji. "If you were free to go do you think those guards would be surrounding you? You're not really in trouble, but you're, oh what's the word, detained? Yeah, you're detained until the Council talks with you. Depending on how that goes, you might get to leave."
Mary grinned. "I think you should emphasize your diplomatic mission as much as possible. Might give some of them pause before they freak out once they realize you're the one the Herald spoke to. He's never actually done that before you see."
Madican wrote:"Hahaha. Oh you're funny," said Mary. She looked at Miji. "If you were free to go do you think those guards would be surrounding you? You're not really in trouble, but you're, oh what's the word, detained? Yeah, you're detained until the Council talks with you. Depending on how that goes, you might get to leave."
Mary grinned. "I think you should emphasize your diplomatic mission as much as possible. Might give some of them pause before they freak out once they realize you're the one the Herald spoke to. He's never actually done that before you see."
"Whoa, wait, why am I detained? Did I break some kind of law here?" Miji asked frantically. He calmed down, and thought about what she said for a moment. "Wait, is the herald that thing that attacked us?"
"You mean you tried flying into Kudzu without even knowing about the Herald? Yes, he's the immense dragon that attacked your ship. He also happens to be the master of the Silent Forest and by extension what would count as the second most powerful being in Kudzu aside from the Immortal Root. And he has killed every human he goes after. But until you came along, he never spoke to any of them."
The Crushbear took back the chest to hold and Mary stretched her arms. "So the Council has to review what happened and determine if the Root either wanted to use you as a message or as an ambush. I don't see any sign of the Root in you, so the possibility of you being a Seed is low. Which means they're going to want to know the Herald's message."
The Crushbear took back the chest to hold and Mary stretched her arms. "So the Council has to review what happened and determine if the Root either wanted to use you as a message or as an ambush. I don't see any sign of the Root in you, so the possibility of you being a Seed is low. Which means they're going to want to know the Herald's message."
"And how long do you suppose this would take? I am still on a mission of utmost importance, you know, and this doesn't sound like the sort of thing to get resolved in a couple of minutes." Miji replied.
Garrett saw a pale block on the horizon, with tall structures and needle-like spires pointing towards the clouds. He looked back at Greylin. "There, in the distance. That must be the capital of Cairns. I'm sure the Grand Templar and your...Elder...are waiting for us there." He had to bite his tongue in order to keep a rude comment about Jane to himself.
"We should hurry then, before it starts getting dark," said Greylin.
"Wait," Garrett halted his horse and held up a hand. "I thought..." He strained his ears for the sound he was certain he had just heard. His eyes scanned the road around them as he cautiously dismounted and drew his rapier. "There were two footsteps off to the left."
Greylin dismounted as well. "Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid, pretty boy?" Despite her joking, she moved to stand near him and put her hands over the handles of her twin blades.
Garrett scowled at her and gave a startled shout as a searing hot fireball shot towards them from the RIGHT of the road. He dived out of the way, shoving Greylin to the side as well. Their horses screamed and took off, frightened away by the fire.
"Still think I'm being paranoid?!" He shouted at her. From the left side of the road came another fireball. Garrett jumped backwards and away from Greylin to dodge it.
From either side of the road stepped two Pyromancers, with heat still radiating from their hands. They stood with their shoulders squarely facing their victims and a look on their face that meant business.
"Move." The Pyromancer closest to Garrett clenched his hand and formed a whip of fire. The whip soared towards Garrett, who yanked a solid shield of shadow in front of him. The whip cracked on the shield and both objects dissipated. Another whip flew at Greylin, who had yanked out her blades and dodged the whip. She ran towards her enemy with blades ready, only to be knocked away by a sudden clap of lightning from off the side of the road.
A tall man stepped out into the road, lightning crackling from his fingertips. He fired two bolts simultaneously, aimed at both Garrett and Greylin. They both dodged, just in time to avoid two more incoming fireballs. Garrett fired a barrage of shadow needles towards the Pyromancers. One of them dodged, but the other tried to pull up a shield of fire. The needles pierced the shield and knocked the mage to the ground, blood leaking out of the small wounds.
The Lightningmancer spoke. "You have something we need. Give us the rings you retrieved in Kanamira."
Garrett grinned. "So, you're from Altuania, eh? Don't want us to present this evidence to the Grand Templar, I see."
The two Pyromancers shot a blast of fire at the Garrett and Greylin. Garrett pulled up another wall of shadow to deflect the blast as Greylin rushed forward with her blades ready. She slashed at one Pyromancer, then spun through the air and stabbed at the other. They dodged and began to attack, but were simultaneously sliced by the blades. They fell back and the Lightningmancer fired a bolt of lightning at Greylin. She ducked and began to run forward again--only to be blinded by a photon blast at her side. She fell to the ground, stunned, as a Lightmancer stepped out with her hands pulsating with white energy.
Garrett scowled. More shadow needles rose into the air, but before he could fire them he was blindsided by a surge of shadow from behind. He collapsed as two Shadowmancers approached him from behind and appraised him. Garrett stared back at them, but he could not meet their eyes. Their eyes were covered with a black strip of cloth that must have made it hard for them to actually see anything. One turned to the other, and they nodded. They hauled Garrett to his feet. Garrett tried to dissolve into a nearby shadow, but he felt their own shadow energy nullifying his own. His eyes widened in fear--he was helpless! He couldn't even reach his sword, because they had his hands.
The Lightmancer hauled up the dazed Greylin. The two Pyromancers divided and searched them both, finally pulling away with the pouch full of signet rings. They took them over to the Lightningmancer and offered them with a small bow. The Lightningmancer took the pouch and hid it within his doublet. "Good work." He smiled at Garrett and Greylin. "Our work here is done."
Garrett growled. "What are the Altuanians trying to achieve by burning down small villages?"
The Lightningmancer smiled. "That is for us to know, and for you to not find out." He turned and began to walk away. The Pyromancers followed, and the Lightmancer dropped Greylin and began to walk away as well.
The Shadowmancers remained in place, silent, until the Lightningmancer remembered them and turned back around. "Shadowmancers," he called, "Release and return."
The two mages dropped Garrett and melted into the shadow on the ground, speeding after the small group and their commander.
A deep, almost inhuman growl rose from Grey's throat as she stared at their retreating backs. She'd regained full consciousness and her complex motor skills, and she climbed shakily to her feet. She threw both her blades deep into the ground. "Tell your men to throw out their daisies rings before they impersonate Magmasan soldiers!" She paused for a second. "Wait, nevermind, don't!" She continued to call out insults until they were out of sight. She was a very sore loser.
She plopped back onto the ground, the blind fury not yet abated. Her pride was bruised and battered, but she looked back at Garrett. "Well, when I say twelve lightningmancers..." she trailed off, raising an eyebrow. She turned away as she replayed the fight in her head, a snarl on her lips. You're wide open, my dear child.
Shit!
Her hand flew out suddenly, her face turning impassively blank. She gripped the handle of Dread until her knuckles turned white, digging her fingers into the hard earth. It was clear she was involved in another fight, this one internal. After a few minutes, she let out a hiss of breath and collapsed on the ground, hand slowly sliding from Dread.
Hal and Adam arrived at the gates, and the guards directed them towards the guest building, where they would stay until the queen requested their presence. The building was a part of the castle, so it was well-decorated, with ivory and greenstone, but it was less ornate than the rest of the castle, inside the gates. There, Hal noticed a lanky purple-haired young man. He seemed to perk up as he saw Harold enter. He stood up, and started walking to him, then began speaking to him.
"...Hal...I'm from Humidian. I was supposed to meet you." He said it listlessly, like speaking annoyed him.
"You are? I am sorry for what happened, if we were there, we could have prevented it... but what do you need to speak about?" Hal said.
"....Thought you knew. I was told to talk to you. .....I use wind control a lot too. ... I have nothing better to do in life, can I tag along and learn from you?" He said, looking at Hal. If Hal looked towards his hand, he would notice the worn leather volume in his hand on advanced mechanics of wind control. He had obviously read it many times. Rick stretched as he finished saying this, a pop echoing from his joints as he did so.
Hajime Areba Owari Ari: Everything that starts must have an end.
