| Welcome to our home, a world in which anything can happen. From sprawling deserts and vast forests to massive volcanoes and luscious hot springs, Soare and the Scattered Isles are beautiful places just waiting to be explored. For the brave and the bold or the cautious and the wary, creatures of all kinds roam the earth, looking for adventure or for a place to call their own. Species of all kinds - the well-known and the unknown - thrive here, though not always in harmony. Elenlond is an original medieval fantasy RPG with a world that's as broad as it is unique. Calling on characters of all kinds, the sky's the limit in a world where boundaries are blurred and the imagination runs rampant. Restrictions are limited and members are encouraged to embrace their creativity, to see where they can go and what they can do. It's no longer just text on a page - it becomes real. Enter Our World |
| Not Broken, Just a Different Form; For Shrista | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Sep 22 2014, 12:17 AM (239 Views) | |
| Tekun | Sep 22 2014, 12:17 AM Post #1 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
"WEeP...sOldIEr...yoUr SAcRifiCe...iN vAIn...so...unLoVEd...Rather pathetic really. I know why you're here, and isn't it such a shame you weren't part of the plan. Poor boy, you wanted to be the knight in shining armor." Their words rang in the back of his mind with each glance at the twisted and broken area of his blade and with each pain brought about by twisting and stretching. That damned illness had just about passed but he still felt under the weather and maybe just a bit tender from having been run through and used as a ragdoll. Their taunts couldn’t help but frustrate him though they held no truth; Tekun and Aniketos’ efforts had only been half of a victory in the end. However, the pain brought clarity; Tekun had a new focus. Recovery and then vengeance, Tekun did not like loose ends. At the center of this entire matter was still one very important individual that was worth almost dying over. He’d given her space as to not suffocate her and waited until he felt he should talk to her alone. Part of himself blamed Aniketos for allowing this situation to happen to begin with. If he hadn’t shown up on his doorstep would the councilor have ever known just what the hell was going on? Maybe he blamed himself too much for not being keener on just what was occurring back in Morrim. He might have been able to stop the matter if he’d been bolder. Before he reached out to her, he reminded himself that whatever he was feeling could only be that much worst for Shrista. He asked her to meet him at the Red Barrel; an inn not terribly out of the way. With a time and room given he waited and wondered just how many times he’d chosen an inn or tavern to meet someone at. |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Sep 22 2014, 07:04 PM Post #2 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Damned sunlight. It didn't matter how long she'd been on the World Above, she never got used to the infernal ball of fire hanging overhead, forever making her eyes water and squint while it was up. And just when it was sinking into the west and she thought she might gt some reprieve, the moon would rise and strike her down almost blind for the token glance in its direction. Beautiful, both, and terrible to gaze upon. Clad in tight calfskin pants and a simple loose ivory blouse belted about her waist, the drow kept her head down beneath her much loved and worn cloak, tugging the hood as far forward as she dared, despite the heat. If it wasn't the sunlight it was the strange changing of the land, the ever revolving seasons, or the way the sky pelted down rain as if it would attack her with cold stinging droplets. She would have even preferred that to the now. A break in the light would have been welcome indeed. So how was it, now things were back to normal? Normal...right. As if any of it had ever been normal. She still didn't belong, still felt accusing eyes on her wherever she walked in the streets, sticking the label to her. Drow. Dangerous, treacherous, conniving. Yes perhaps she was all three and it did her no favors that everyone knew it. Even her vile surface cousins, traitors to their own kind had a crappy reputation to be proud of, apparently. No, it was not normal. She struggled yet with overwhelming emotions, as if someone had dropped a heavy enchantment on her head, befuddled her with them. Alien, confusing, none of them should have existed, yet they did. And even after Aniketos had made it quite clear that he forgave her for the mistakes, the hard words and the absence, the fear and the running and worst of all, the secrets, it still didn't feel right to her. She worried, worried that any day he'd turn his back on her, see her for the sham she was and cast her aside as she deserved. Getting out of the house was a welcome change, even if it all chased her relentlessly harrying her back and driving her pace to a swiftness that had her sucking air by the time she'd surfaced from a crowded street. Or was it the people that did it, clenching her chest, coiling tight, the anxiety winding tighter, tighter until she thought she'd burst, couldn't take it anymore...and then air. Respite. The tavern stood innocently enough, but she found her feet unwilling to move, reluctant to make that step. He'd come there to drag her away from Neriasis as well, just as she was beginning to wonder if she shouldn't have just asked him to kill her and be done with it. What was this...guilt, that assailed her? Why should she feel guilty? She'd not asked for them to come to her, had hoped that they wouldn't. Hadn't expected Tekun to get involved at all, but there he was, bursting into the room, wounded. Someone jostled her roughly on the edge of the street, and she reacted automatically, elbowing sharply back and uttering a low spiteful hiss that left the woman staggering, clutching her brood to her skirts. She'd half a mind to lash them into bloody shreds, after all, what guard would be able to stop her? She'd dash them about like rag dolls, toss them into the sea and...no, no she wouldn't. Her association with Aniketos was too close for her to do something so rash as make herself a criminal outlaw. Brooding, she tucked her chin, hunched her shoulders and crossed, pushing on into the tavern. He wasn't hard to spot, as tall as he was. Many males were such, she found, but few were built so sturdily, and she half thought she'd know the tousled thatch of brown hair anywhere. Shrista slid noiselessly into the seat opposite, resting thin, spidery hands in her lap. She didn't need him to see how much weight she'd lost since they'd last seen one another. Of course, she'd started putting it back on again, started exerting herself after half a year of nothing, building her stamina back up...but it still showed in places. Not enough meat on her hands, making them fragile seeming, the graceless way she moved yet, as if she carried more weight on her bones than she laid claim to now. The little things that she'd yet to shed. "You wanted to see me?" Pale eyes watched him from beneath the shade of her cowl, flat, but not unfriendly. Merely wary. Every time she encountered the Immortal Soldier, some sort of trouble followed suit. |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Sep 24 2014, 01:15 PM Post #3 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
She wasn’t hard to spot as she entered, he recognized that cloak. When she approached he knew well enough from the familiar sensation of her life force. She owed the talents to her in the end. He made eye contact and allowed his lips to up turn lightly at the corners, offering a slight but warm smile. The Immortal Soldier relaxed as much as he was going to in her presence. Tension left him slightly though he remained upon his guard. She settled in across from him. Now that she was this close he could feel that things might have been off more than he initially suspected but it was hard to tell for the time being. It was gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach; only talking would get to the bottom of it. Her gaze was cautious, understandably so but her words and tone made him question too many things as to what it was she expected of him. “Yeah. I did. You seem surprised.” It was like she expected him to just disappear again. “I wanted to talk to you here, away from Aniketos. You know the two of us don’t see eye to eye and well. I think the last thing you need after this is for me to bicker with him. Being sick and getting run through has a way of making someone…salty.” Tekun tried to play off that last part like a joke, swallowing slightly and letting out a slightly amused ‘heh heh’ from his lips but his expression grew stern soon after. “Putting it lightly, it’s been rough. I wanted to see how you were holding up and what I can do and what happens from here.” |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Sep 24 2014, 02:51 PM Post #4 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Shrista canted her head a little towards her shoulder, curious. Why did it always strike her as so surprising that he was so..civil? Possibly the reputation that he carried around with him, that shouldn't honestly be flaunted. While he no longer had a bounty in Morrim, she wasn't sure about the rest of the continent. Soto, she was certain, still held it in effect. It was to be expected, when everyone anticipated you to be a ruthless killer that showed next to no mercy. She'd only ever seen that surface once in him though, never since. A little dour perhaps, and stern of face, but there was something of a hesitance underneath, a deliberate care as though he might crush her hands in his, were he holding them. As if he didn't know his own strength. Preposterous of course. "How very perceptive of you." She remarked dryly. "Honestly, I don't see why either one of you persists with this foolishness. But...I suppose, things are done so very differently here, I should have adapted by now." She drummed the fingers of one hand on the table restlessly, pushed her hood back. It was dim enough within the tavern that her eyes did not struggle overmuch, even if it was almost as bright as the noonday sun for her. "Why do you hate him so?" She half expected one or other to draw steel and dance about one another, as she'd seen people do. Or subtly try to slide the knife between the other's ribs, as she was more accustomed to. People seemed to have a far higher tolerance for poor company though. She should have expected no less, they were, as a whole, incredibly versatile. Still it vexed her. She would have liked to have been able to sit in the same room with both of them, without the tension that suggested they would be at one another's throats the second she left the room. "I am..." She couldn't say fine. There was still the sadness, she saw it in herself every morning and night in the mirror. Still the inability to enter Reverie, the inner peace unobtainable. Still the night terrors that left her with bruised flesh on waking, gasping in unfamiliar fear. Or...she wished it was unfamiliar. Hated that it wasn't. But there was Aniketos, beside her, and that was something. It buoyed her spirits, picked her up every time she fell beaten to the ground. And the feeling of 'how long' lingering, every waking second. How long before Kaahn breaks free and comes after us, finds a way to terminate the pact... "Adequate." Putting it mildly. She didn't really have the vocabulary for it, stumbled at the best of times when she didn't understand a particular word. But she got by, spoke with her oddly accented common well enough to make herself understood fluently. "There is little that can be done right now, except perhaps to work on a way to deal with my problem at hand....if you are willing to assist. I have few ideas on where to start." She picked idly at the table, exhaled, moistened her dry lips. It was difficult to think that such an innocent and stupid inquisitive nature had triggered these events, stolen children from her, driven herself into exile and the disfavor of her god, the dwindling of her faith. "And you? You were badly injured when last I saw you." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Sep 24 2014, 07:11 PM Post #5 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
“Fighting while under…whatever I came down with…almost got me killed and your situation was about all I could focus on. I made too many mistakes when fighting Kaahn. To be frank, even my body has limits. I lost a lot of blood and almost drowned to boot. If my blade had not banished him as it had, I have no doubts that he’d probably would have killed one of us and taken a limb before we put him away.” He let out a groan. “In hindsight, I’m glad Neriasis fled when he did. I don’t think I could have handled another fight. It’s foolish on his part; I would have killed me when the chance was presented to him on a golden platter. Nothing is going to stop me from ruining him.” “As for Aniketos. I can’t say I liked him by reputation. I can’t say I liked him when I was fighting during the refugee matter because he feels the need to. Maybe I’m a little bitter about you being around him as much as you are and maybe a little bit about how you get along with him. I probably blame him a little bit for what happened too. When I found out you were missing, he barely knew what the hell was going on. Thought about why else you could have been in Morrim. Didn’t bother to think about Kaahn or his implication at all.” Tekun answered bluntly but honestly, he owed her that much. “I tolerate him. Even if he is a cretin, I can at least say the man was willing to put everything on line down for you and I couldn’t have found you without him.” He exhaled and brought his gaze up the ceiling. “Maybe he isn’t so bad. Things are touchy right now.” And then shifted his visage back to Shrista. “It’s funny how easy it is to unite people with hatred.” His gaze grew a little more intense as he readied himself to listen. “As you have aided me I will more than aid you. If you have ideas on where to start, I’m more than ready to listen to them.” |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Sep 26 2014, 02:11 PM Post #6 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Imagine that, The Immortal Soldier, beaten and cowed...not so immortal after all. She almost bit her tongue as the thought skittered soundlessly across the web of her mind, fixed her eyes on the table before her. It didn't seem so terrible to her, somehow. The extent of her grief seemed to have detached her from a mass of other emotions, allowing her to drift aimlessly as the days mashed chaotically together, only the ever present shifting of light that was meant to mean something signifying the passage of time. She was aware that she was supposed to feel bad about this, that they were friends, that he'd risked his neck for her, but it seemed so...insignificant now. If neither of them had showed up, as she wanted, then none of this would have happened. She'd still be anchored to Kaahn, come what may, with less peace than before. But she might have at least had her son in her arms, and not simply now ashes sitting in ceramic, warmed only by the sun's feeble warmth. Perhaps she resented them both a little at that, she definitely did of Neriasis, but there was a weariness there. She'd not trusted him the first time, but had allowed herself to grow complacent, to rely on the Incubus for his protection in her time of need. She should have expected that he'd turn on her even then. Even if he did think that it was, in some way, keeping her safe, out of sight and out of mind of the councillor, and anyone else who dared to impose. Others like Tekun. "Do you require medical attention still?" Her gaze scrutinized him, as if she might be able to pick out a weakness in him just sitting there, then danced away again. Foolish. Anyone might read things in that gaze, things that she didn't want to expose to the public. She cared enough for him to not chase him away, could call him friend for now, could only imagine after his outburst almost two years ago now, how he must be feeling knowing that the child she'd been carrying was someone else's. That her affections were given to that male, and no room was made for another. Was that it? A simple jealousy? It was hard not to see how things had developed. They'd adventured together once or twice, but she'd spent far more time with the politician, from the moment they knocked shoulders in the street, to his hiring her after their open threatening argument over those damned refugees, to the growing, tentative connection. He must have seen it...yet never did anything about it before then. Curious. It was just not as simple as fighting another female for the right to a male. Here it was backwards, and she'd rather not have them fight at all. "Neriasis would not have harmed me. Though I wonder why...by every right, he probably should have." She tapped her fingertips thoughtfully against her lips, slid her eyes sideways to view his reaction as she spoke, "I would have." Of course...but then, she was female, and probably had bigger balls than he did. Figuratively. Still she had to wonder what the whole point of it was...just a..how did Kaahn put it, 'pissing contest' to show who had the most power? Why not just outright duel? She didn't understand, not the politics, but the methods. "You could have stepped in sooner, if it was that important to you. For all your prior connections to my kind, however many hundreds of years ago, you do not know them well enough to assume that we feel the same way." She paused, softening the harshness in her tone and wringing her fingers together once more. "It is only recently I seem to have broken that barrier on myself, in some areas." "He is not a cretin!" She hissed an expletive under her breath, eyes as hard and cold as chips of glacial ice, boring into him. Nobody would say a word against Aniketos in her presence, as far as she was concerned. "If you must blame anyone, then blame me, for allowing my weakness to show enough for our attachment to become common knowledge. Blame me, for allowing myself to grow comfortable in the presence of my daemonic ward. Blame me for not thinking faster..." She pressed her hands together, exhaled slowly, shakily through her nose, containing the sudden, irrational spike of rage. Maybe it was the way their pact had progressed, making them more like to one another than she had thought prior to it, that had opened up these emotional channels. "You will not like it, and there will be many things to clarify. You though...you banished him, back to his Plane. First, tell me the details of what happened. I know some of it, from Aniketos, but a clearer image may help me think on what I wish to do, to combat this once and for all." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Oct 8 2014, 12:05 AM Post #7 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
Now that was a question. Everything about him was abnormal. His upbringing, his lifespan, his body, what went on in his head. He’d only been run through, but it was not just that. It was disease and other injuries toppled upon that. Not counting the emotional turmoil he’d endured. “If I did I wouldn’t know it. For the most part I’ve recovered. There’s a large scar from the more serious of the wounds but beyond that everything has healed. Give it enough time and I’ll be at peak condition again. For the time being I need to let the soreness pass.” He’d worry when he did need the attention. It helped he could siphon life when he needed to. But this next part had him questioning much. What was it that Neriasis was after? Admittedly Tekun knew little beyond the fact he’d abducted her and in a state where he could barely tell what he was walking into he hadn’t thought about who he was and what he wanted and more about what he needed to do to stop him through force. “I didn’t know that. As it stands I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. In my experience people who abduct other people tend to kill or mutilate them if they don’t get what they want. What did he even want? How does he tie in to you and Aniketos.” Tekun seemed more confused about how this even came about than anything else. “If he didn’t want us barging down his door he shouldn’t have laid a hand on you it’s as simple as that. If someone hurts you, it won’t go unanswered.” He furrowed his brow in more thought. “Did you think we were just going to let him do whatever the hell he pleased with you?” “I could have done more but I didn’t and nothing between Ashoka and Angkar is going to change that. Moving forward is the only option. This time I’m going to be on top of things.” He felt the ice of her gaze with the instant shift of her demeanor. The touch alone gaze him pause and a change in his own posture. It was not challenging but one that seemed to acknowledge that he’d said wrong. It was not how he expected her to react and he wondered deep down that if someone were to have insulted him in her presence would she have reacted the same? The thought alone forced him to stoically shift his eyes away and towards the ground. He wasn’t sure why but it weighed heavily on him. “He deserves better than that; however bitter I feel won’t change that.” He left it at that, not wanting to drive the issue further. Shrista gave a damn about Aniketos and he supposed that was enough for him. “Reality warped and twisted around us. I recall a rush of water that came down upon everyone. I don’t think Kaahn has full control over his ability to warp his surroundings considering it seemingly backfired on him. He broke my weapon due to it; he clearly recognized it as holy.” He paused. “I remember being stuck up to my waist in sand, I was sinking and desperate. I couldn’t get out. What came after was a blur. I just…pulled myself out and rushed at him screaming at the top of my lungs, gripping the end of the weapon and pressed hard into him. I got a few stabs in and the weapon reacted with him. His body just seemed to break away into nothingness.” Tekun explained to the best of his abilities. “The sword I’ve been carrying at my side since the venture to those accursed ruins was responsible for his temporary removal. There are many things I won’t like about what will need to be done but it can’t be helped.” Tekun knew it was going to be an ordeal but the benefits outweighed most of the negatives. He supposed at the worst they all died working towards it. |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Oct 18 2014, 03:49 PM Post #8 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Reluctantly the woman moved her tongue, tracing the back of her teeth while she chewed on the words that slowly formed. Trust was not something easily come by, and she found that even though the curse in him was gone, even though he walked through hell with Aniketos to get to her, she felt uneasy about their friendship, without being able to put a solid finger on the reasoning of why. Still she bought forth the suggestion, knowing that while he was more fearsome warrior of them, she was more than capable with the Arts than he was. "I could assist...if you wanted me to. You have only but to ask it of me." Plus...she didn't like thinking that anyone connected with her was a liability in some way, call it her awful nature, but if someone couldn't be cut loose at a moment's notice and disassociated with, she didn't usually bother to entangle herself with them. Unless there was little choice. "I thought as much. Actually I hoped that nobody would come, then he would be left with naught else to do but release me, or kill me." Relief, when they'd appeared, and anger, despair, when Neriasis had mentioned them. The Gods had a way of turning everything against a person, just for the sake of enjoying their torment. She might have asked what she'd done to deserve their disfavor, if she didn't already know. "Did you? Whatever he is, it is not...like me. Not Drow. He and I do not share the same interests...if he were Drow, he would have killed me." Thoughtfully, she added; "I would have, if I were him." While it was nice to think that someone cared enough about her while she was still breathing to exact a punishment for her mistreatment, she found herself wondering how different, was it really, from what she'd ascended from? "I don't know...because he could? Some grievance with Aniketos I believe. he is the Guildmaster of Argos...a guild which is disputed at even being a guild...said to be a haven for criminals." She flicked her gaze from her fingers, scratching absent designs into the tabletop, to gaze at him. "Mister Hesperés and I have differing views on Argos...but not their leader..." She tilted her head, watching him with some consideration, though not unkindly. Hunched forward as she was, cowled and shrouded in the gloom, she appeared to be every bit the small and dangerous spider she made out to be. Was he intending to try to jeopardize their relationship with petty trinkets and bitter words? She'd never really understood the concept of jealousy over another person, but for ambitions and the greedy lust for power. At least until recently. She'd always put it down to a human thing. Yet he confirmed that he wasn't in line for that. Curious... She shrugged it off, leaned back and picked a splinter from beneath her nail, flicking it out into the space of the room. Her interest sharpened as he spoke about the fight, before tapping the table with one slender digit. "This sword, you have it with you? I may see it, yes?" She'd not seen Tekun carrying his old zweihander in an age, hadn't seen the new weapon either, and now given the chance... "I don't believe he has full control over everything. But that is the nature of chaos, it moves at random, entropic and insane. It is the polar opposite of all that we must consider orderly. I believe that an aura as such may be manipulated, to a point...just at the shiver of a thought." Indeed she'd felt his departure, the insane animal rage, the frenzied mirth and glee at his timely escape...the slithering touch of pure chaos, a blight on her soul. It already had its claws in her, had since the moment of her birth. All she'd done was open door after door to let it in. "Banished. He recovers...I still...he comes to me in my sleep. I cannot enter Reverie, have not been able to in some years. There is a storm in me, but the center is not calm." She angled her hand first one way, then the other, "Like a...look-see? I don't know the words. A strange balance of two things." Shrista shrugged it off with a wry smile. "So I sleep as a human does...only not quite so much now." "Show me this sword. You say it was broken..describe it as a whole to me. Perhaps there is a way we might repair it, make it better, even." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Nov 7 2014, 12:19 AM Post #9 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
So, Neriasis was the leader of Argos then? He supposed that helped draw a better picture as to what was going on but he wasn’t a Drow? He certainly looked like a Drow. “What do you mean? He appeared to be one? Was he something else? A shapeshifter perhaps?” It was not unheard of but it added further complications to an already muddy matter. Whatever could be cleared up now would later aid when he choose to pursue the fiend. “I do have the blade on hand.” He carefully produced the scabbard of the long sword from his side, the weapon seemingly placed within it. Judging from the length the blade was almost 4 feet in length. A plain wooden sheath covered in dark leather met a diamond hilt with a gold coating that hovered over the dull brown leather wrapping of the weapon. He grasped scabbard and handle and pulled the first half of the weapon free and placed it before his companion upon the table. The silver coated blade was broken at about the foot and a half mark and held a magical sheen to the weapon, emitting the faintest of glows. A series of arcane runes ran along the center of the blade, length wise and though halted where the blade ended seemed to hold the magic to the weapon yet, though how escaped Tekun. While it may have been overshadowed by the runes and magic, the weapon remained frighteningly sharp and maintained. “Hang on.” He reached into a burlap sack placed behind the seat of his chair and produced something wrapped in a thick cloth and unfolded it with care. The glow broke through before the rest of the weapon could be revealed. The other half of the blade was just as magical and keen as the other. “The weapon was forged from steel but coated in silver in order to ensure that certain forms of undead were harmed greatly. But the enchantments upon the weapon exist to do the greatest amount of harm to wicked entities that are not of this world. Even broken like this, this sword still was capable of fulfilling its purpose. The damage done to the weapon can be repaired through forge or magic, but either case requires a certain kind of person.” His gaze grew more intense and intrigued with the latter part of the statement. “I take it you know how to find someone whose good with the craft? I'm more than willing to listen to any suggestions. Reforging the weapon is priority but if I can make it stronger at the same time..." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Nov 23 2014, 09:07 AM Post #10 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Shrista shook her head, puzzled. "If i knew I would have said. We hold the similarity in our appearances, but being something is more than just what it looks to be on the surface. Things always go deeper than the skin, Tekun." She couldn't say for sure what exactly she meant by how Neriasis was not like her. It wasn't that he was merciful, or had performed his act with anything less than a selfish reason. She wanted to think that perhaps there was an underlying reason he'd simply sat back and waited for them to arrive, and done nothing but observe, but she couldn't for the life of her pinpoint anything that jumped at her, and it bothered her. "I do not believe he is a shapeshifter in that sense. I would have sensed the discrepancy in him, I am sure." Forget that her sorcery had been more or less unavailable except under times of great stress, but there were things she could do even without it. Her eyes ran the length of the scabbard, noting the casual plainness of it, a nice cover for what was held within the wood. Unusual too, she thought. Rarely had she gotten a good look at the weapons that the soldier wielded. The cross-guard was a stark reminder that the thing within the scabbard was far grander than he would have them believe. Providing he kept that hidden, it might have been overlooked, but such a material was incredibly pricey here. Shrista hummed low in her throat as she closed her hand around the hilt, feeling the leather shaped from use, to a bigger hand than hers, and drew it forth. When he placed the broken blade before her, she picked at the cloth to reveal it, and then placed her fingertips against her lips in thought. It was unlike anything she was used to, though steel worked just as well as adamatatine for stabbing things. Most sharp objects did. She found it not to be as strong though, but far more flexible that the dark metal her people utilized. "Steel I assume?" She scratched with one ragged nail at the surface, checked her fingertips a little disdainfully at the soft silvery coating on her dark skin, the tiny groove she'd made in the metal. "You coated it?" Lifting it she tested the balance. Heavy, for her at least. How long had it been since she'd last swung a sword? Too long, perhaps. Still, it had never really been her thing. Her proficiency with sorcery was testament to that, and there were other things that she yet was better with, like her whip, as dull and inanimate as it was. "Perhaps." Her brow furrowed, a troubled expression writing itself there before she smoothed it calmly away. "I am not sure it can be made better without knowing the limitations, and I do not deal in this sort of thing. But...I know that it could be reforged, possibly enhanced. At least physically, were you willing to have the blade remade anew." She tapped the metal, her fingers eliciting a soft ringing with each impact. "I do not know about the enchantment. I know of a handful of very fine craftsmen...perhaps they might improve or at the very least replicate it for you. Getting there is more the problem." Shrista sighed, released the blade to fall with a clunk onto the table, careless, but it was broken now, might as well be trash. Not unlike herself, she thought with a wry twist of her lips. The comparison struck a nerve, and she twisted her hands in her lap again, her mind already working at how it might work out. "Have you ever been to the Underdark? There are many places that are very diverse, they do not just hold my kind. The problem with taking you there, instead of just your weapon, would be blending in. Despite the diversity of the lesser races, humans..." She flexed her jaw, not wanting to offend him with how it sounded, even if she did not usually give a damn. It was different, he was...a friend. "You do not belong down there. Your kind belong in the light, with clean air and sunshine. I could disguise you, but it would hurt, and you do not speak the language...and neither of us is a telepath." She rested her chin on her hand, frowning again. "I could disguise you as my slave but...such a rare find may attract unwanted attention. It is not completely unheard of for your people to integrate with mine...but never warriors. Crazy mages, certainly...unless...hmm." The drow woman turned half lidded eyes on him, heavy thoughts clicking and snagging into place. "We could disguise you as a tiefling, I suppose. That might account for your height...and your lack of language..." She paused, uncertain. Why was she even considering this? She'd wanted to take Aniketos there for some time now, to show him the things she thought were beautiful, but feared to for the dangers, the sheer unpredictable nature of it, could never forgive herself if he was injured. Not that he couldn't hold his own, but one or two alone in the dark was just asking to be eaten, or dismembered, or worse. It was no different with Tekun. "That is...if you want to...if you think you are ready. It is dangerous, even in the cities. Probably more in the cities. And we'll have to do something about our clothes." Too light, too easy to make a target of. She pointed at his pale shirt, then her own, and shrugged. "We will not want to be made an easy mark of, if something takes interest." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Jan 5 2015, 06:39 PM Post #11 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
Her answers left much to be desired regarding Neriasis. He would have to tread carefully despite the urge to stomp all over him if he wished to understand the nature of his enemy a little better. “Steel. The weapon is coated. Silver. Silvers kills a lot of undesired things. It helps, despite the lack of edge to the weapon but I find a weapon can only be so sharp.” When the weapon clunked against the table, Tekun visibly twitched as though she’d struck him herself and almost moved to catch the blade. “Be more mindful.” He could have scolded her for treating the weapon poorly. He doubted it would have broken but the tool deserved more respect than she gave it. A broken blade had been more than enough to send Kahn back to whatever monstrosity had spawned him. “Even though the weapon is in two pieces right now, the enchantment upon the weapon holds fast. It’s valuable and not just for the silver on its coating. I’ll be wielding both parts until I can have Akul properly repaired or reforged entirely.” He eased and took the part back. “Even if it wasn’t enchanted. The weapon is still more finely crafted than most. It’s far from needing to discarded.” And then the Underdark came into the picture. It conjured rather vivid imagery of things…he’d rather not see or experience. Slimey things, a society filled with the same drow that threw Shrista away, spiders the size of houses and other unpleasant things. “Disguise me as a slave. Disguise me as a tiefling. It may aid to teach me a little of the language if need be. I understand the nature of these things a little better than most. My upbringing wasn’t exactly common or pleasant. While I don’t hold it to my heart I know that in some places humans are inferior. Same goes with elves and dwarves. Any race really.” He remembered that underneath his father everyone who did not belong to the “clan” he forged was beneath him. And even then, most fell into line unless they had a death wish. It never really mattered to him what their race was. They were either dead or property or one and then the other. “I think I can do it. I just need a change of clothing and an act to follow. If you can guide us and we can keep a relatively low profile I believe we’ll be fine.” He supposed he could play the role of doormat once more. |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Jan 9 2015, 02:36 PM Post #12 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Silver could indeed kill a number of things, oddly enough. You'd have thought that generations of breeding might have evolved a race of slobbering inbred things such as daemons, vampires and other strange, fey things that crawled the earth... still, if it worked, why not use it? Silver was certainly a powerful alchemical property, and often used in magic the world over. It was, she thought, a surprisingly intelligent idea, though the softness of the metal would mean he'd have to recoat the blade often...expensive to do, too. Metal was a valuable commodity where she was from. With the abundance of gems and such things that were considered riches here, perhaps it should not have been, but armor and even small trinkets of the stuff were pricey at best. Shrista frowned mildly at the scolding, yet said nothing about it. it was far more accessible here, so why did it bother him? It was just a weapon...had it been a living weapon she might have understood. It merely sat there though, gleaming dully in the low light of the lanterns hitched to the ceiling behind her. She watched the swirl of particles dance on the surface a moment, turned it in her hands, then replaced it more carefully than the first time. "What does the enchantment actually do? If I am to find someone skilled enough to replace it, I will need to know." Not being able to recognize the patterns in the flow, she couldn't tell. It was a language in itself, and though she knew the simpler ones on sight, she was still learning the finer nuances. Each type of magic had its own signature to boot, so even if two different kinds ultimately did the same thing, the method in their execution might be vastly different. A smirk twitched the corners of her mouth. Inferior. Well that was putting it mildly. If a human could be patriotic about their country, try imposing that sort of mindset on a drow, only with the entire race. While most places didn't hold any personal love for them, the fact that they were considered incredibly dangerous and one of the most intelligent and versatile threats in her homeland was held to a high prestige among them. Her fingers played over the cloth, rewrapping the weapon, and pushing it back towards him. ordinarily she'd have had little concerns, her sorcery was plenty enough to keep herself alive, but it only took one ambush and everything could fall apart. She'd seen mages fall to that before, the simplest things hidden in the dark, skinny fingers clapping over jittering mouths and the sound of grinding bone...poisonously green eyes, unnatural, smiling at her, a finger to a devilish smirk...they died before they'd even been able to rattle off a spell. Caution was an understatement. "I have nothing else I wish to do today." She clutched at the folds of her cloak and drew it around herself as she rose, scrubbing hands gone clammy with nerves on her thighs. Not nerves for the place, but returning at all. "Meet me back here in an hour. I will need to prepare..and bring a real weapon. Going unarmed is like throwing a newborn to a kobold." |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Jan 19 2015, 01:59 PM Post #13 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
“The weapon holds a keener edge than most, but also strikes with radiant energy of an angelic sort. Searing like fire but more importantly. I don’t need to tell you what that’s meant for. But the enchantment holds greater strength against outside entities and undead of wicked intentions. The weapon is sometimes powerful enough to banish outsiders. If an undead is slain with the weapon, their body will be lost to the blade’s magic.” Tekun answered. “After our expedition, I decided that I would make a point to become stronger against entities like the one who had tormented me. A lot of the territory fell into this. It is not without a hint of irony that I am wielding a weapon like this.” Of all the people who should be wielding a holy weapon, Tekun was certain that he fell somewhere near the bottom of the list of those who should be wielding it and more towards the top of the list of one who should be receiving it. He recalled a skirmish during their travels that went ugly. He supposed that not everyone who believed they served a greater good was actually good. Some were too zealous and blind. He treated the weapon respectfully as he took it back. Shrista was growing anxious; he could feel through his magic alone. He never did get used to the bustle around him or that steady throbbing of life that he could feel. All too often did what he learned prove to be useful however. Fear and caution kept him from pressing further. Reckless use of magic often meant a dead user, Tekun would be no exception if things went very ill. As it stood, it was near constant and hard to drown out. He could only stand being in crowded areas before it really began to overload him. Without a distraction, he was certain he would not have endured. “First time someone has ever compared me to a newborn.” Tekun gave a wide grin. “I’ll do some preparation myself. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure I had everything I’d need for this type of matter.” He rose from his position. “I’ll be back in an hour. As we agreed.” |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Shrista | Feb 18 2015, 09:20 AM Post #14 |
![]()
Pariah, Apostate, Heretic
![]()
|
Exchanging clothing was usually a simple matter, but surveying the small collection that she'd retained when she'd left what most would consider a terrible place, she found it...unfitting, to say the least. It wasn't good enough, not for her, rank aside, even. She'd given that up when she ran, hoping for something better, had no right to wear a House piwafwi, or claim such associations any more. She thought briefly on whether she ought to leave some sort of note for Aniketos, or his staff, then dismissed the idea. As before, as she'd always done, she didn't want them knowing where she was going. This time, because they'd worry. She'd not mentioned going back before, why should she even contemplate that now? It was with a stiffness and a heaviness to her movements that she removed the feathered cloak he'd given her, and replaced it in the large wardrobe, as though someone had chained an anchor to her rib cage. It wasn't that she didn't want to go...quite the opposite. She supposed that she feared what she might find there, that were her presence discovered, it could potentially trigger a manhunt. She had no doubts as to whether her sisters thought she was alive or not, but to go back, to walk under the eyes of her Goddess who she had already tried to cast off... Shrista had never thought herself to be stupid, until perhaps now. It was positively begging for a reaction. Carefully she chose her old garb, and her ragged cloak, much tattered and in need of repair, still stained with the red ocher of mud along the bottom. She'd never been sure why she'd hung onto it, but when she was known for the feathered one that the councillor had given her, it seemed only right to have something to fall back on. For the first time in more than a year she lifted her weapon from the hook, the grip cold against her palm, lifeless. She shook her head to herself, as if she'd even expected it to stir to life as it once had, then belted the whip at her waist. From there she tore the air asunder with a gate back to the tavern, setting people to crying out as she stepped through the shimmering splice with not a little satisfaction. She'd have to do something about the cloaks, she supposed...but that could come with time. Now she only had to wait for the soldier, something she'd never been much good at. |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| Tekun | Mar 4 2015, 04:23 PM Post #15 |
|
Immortal Soldier
![]()
|
She would not have to wait long. Tekun was punctual. He had since counted the minutes but entered early upon seeing only a few people scramble out, frightened but what must have either been a brawl or someone’s entrance. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been at the scene of a panic in Reine. He hoped this was not becoming habit but things rarely turned out the way he hoped. His time preparing had led him to procure two weapons, a war hammer forged from iron. A leather grip ran from the bottom before it paused at the metal shaft that extended to the head that held both a protruding blunt end, a sharp pick end. The end of the rod was brought to a sharp point. The other weapon was a simple, straight short sword that was plain in design and would aid where smashing would not. The clothing he returned with included more ragged tan traveler’s cloak and a set of worn down leather armor that would offer a small degree of protection but was more to emphasize the look the two were looking for. The clothing he’d acquired on the side was a simple set meant to keep out the cold that had seen better days. A worn satchel was slung over his shoulder that contained a set of supplies that he thought the two would need. From torches to medical supplies. Also within it, his headband and both halves of the broken blade, still wrapped in cloth. He had half a mind to make some snappy remark about driving away people. That she should be more subtle. “I’ve acquired everything I think we’ll need.” He spoke as he approached. “I think we only need a few more touches before we decide to depart. Do you think we’ll need anything more than what we have on hand?” |
| (OFFLINE) PROFILE | QUOTE GO TO TOP |
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Roleplays · Next Topic » |


















