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Chapter 3
----Merc. Encampment facility------
There was a sound like crumbling rocks. Ah Fleet then.... Shadow thought. Sky was being taken care of by Garnet, the group's healer, and they couldn't afford to move him. Fleet came in panting, and ignoring protocol he ran up to Rai and Emreys and said, "There coming! We have to leave!"
Rose fell to her knees on another beaten dirt road, just outside a dense forest. The whiskey and soup from the tavern battled like half-mad werewolves in the pit of her stomach. With trained strength and patience she fought heaving... and subsequently lost her meager dinner.
Teatime was on his knees a couple feet ahead of her, panting heavily.
As soon as Rose had emptied the contents of her stomach, she attempted to stand, but her legs slipped like jelly from under her.
After a moment, Teatime stood. "That was... interesting."
Rose rolled her eyes and with a determined shove, tried to stand. Again, she dropped like a stone. "Why can't I stand?" she demanded, voice quavering uncharacteristically.
"Your body isn't used to travelling at such a speed, I imagine. I daresay it isn't used to magic, either." He turned about to examine their surroundings. He frowned. "We haven't quite made it."
The sounds of something being packed, raised voices and shouting, reached their ears. One voice rose above the others and sounded like "He cannot be moved! I don't care if they'll find us or not!"
Teatime cocked his head, as though to guide the sounds to his ear. "...Or perhaps we have."
Rose struggled to her feet--this time able to remain standing, though her legs felt like rubber.
Teatime glanced about, still listening. He strode off of the road and into the trees. He had not gone ten steps when Rose heard him call, "Ah!"
Rose, still unsteady, hobbled into the forest. It was much darker here than it had been at the city. Clouds constantly brushed the moon's edges.
"Here it is," declared Teatime quietly, gesturing to a great boulder, covered in vines.
Rose cocked her head in question.
"An illusion," he explained. He strode up to the boulder, and tapped the center. He touched it a second time, and his hand went straight through.
Magic again, thought Rose, shaking her head. All the same, she followed Teatime through what she would have sworn was solid rock.
Suddenly Storm's eyes widened. Someone had broken through the illusions! "The illusions are gone! They're almost here!"
Together, Teatime and Rose crept through winding stone passages and deserted hallways.
Perhaps they had fled after all. Rose was about to say as much to the Assassin when they heard a commotion just inside a pair of great, wooden doors.
Inside the doors there was panic. They couldn't leave Sky, he was injured and unconscious, but they couldn't stay and be found out! It was decided that while the core stayed there the others and Rai would leave. That way even if they were caught, the job could still be done. After the last group left, all who remained were Shadow, Storm, Emreys, Eclise, Fleet, Raven, Garnet and Sky, obviously. They gathered around Sky's bed and waited for what was about to happen.
A manic grin spread across Teatime's boyish features.
Rose saw it and grabbed his wrist.
Teatime turned a cool, mismatched gaze upon her. "I thought we decided it was not a good idea for you to do that," he articulated crisply.
Rose ignored him. "You know what happens when anything is frightened, don't you?"
"Of course. It screams," he declared as though stating the correct answer to a simple math problem.
"It fights back. You can't just appear in the middle of the room without them wanting to kill you."
"Wanting is not doing," he answered in a lilting tone.
"We don't want to hurt them. We want answers. Let's just enter like civilized human beings!" Rose released his wrist, and opened the doors.
They strode into the room. Rose's twin weapons clanked together on her back in the silence. The tail of Teatime's coat--which by all rights should have a least made a tiny swishing sound--glided noiselessly behind him.
Emreys glared at them. "For the Goddess's sake! You can't take a hint can you?! We won't answer you!" He practically screamed.
Fleet rose to his feet (Feet Fleet hehe!) slowly bringing his arms up, an earthen wall appearing to rise from the ground. At shoulder height it stopped and he said, "Speak what you want but stay behind this wall!" Fleet snarled.
Rose did not look the least impressed by any of this. She gave a respectful nod and stopped several feet from the earthen wall. Of course, within she was extremely impressed. It was powerful magic; of that she was certain. She did not know about magic, but she could certainly guess that little boy must have been the one eavesdropping. She recognized custom technique when she saw it.
The rogue opened her mouth to speak.
"Where is Susan?"
Rose clamped her mouth shut again, and looked quizzically at Teatime. How in the name of chivalry would they know wh--of course! The magic. He must think...
The small girl, Raven, Stood up quickly, a quizzical look on her face. "What do you want with my mother? She's dead so why in the name of Gaia do you ask about her?" Raven spoke quickly, almost indecipherably due to her accent.
Shock spread across Teatime's features first. Then, the lost look of a small child who has misplaced his mother. "Dead?" The look quickly disappeared. He frowned. "That is not possible. I am looking for Susan Sto Helit. I saw her hardly two months ago. I am not sure that it is even possible for her to... die."
Rose studied the Assassin carefully. What would he do... apparently he had made no other plans than to find the person who had killed him. But Susan Sto Helit—dead? Even she had a hard time believing that. Almost as hard a time believing that Susan had a child... but it was possible, she supposed. She turned her deep green eyes upon the small girl. From what she had heard, Raven's angular features would match... and her small build... could it truly be possible?
Emreys spoke from his position next to Sky, "She's dead alright. Saw her killed by Leicester about a month ago. Was one of the main reasons we quit working for Leicester. She took care of and trained us, so when she was killed we became angry and left."
Raven nodded in agreement to the statement and said, "Sky, Eclise and I were forced to watch him kill her. Caught her and she wouldn't give him what he wanted, even through torture so. He killed her."
Teatime spun around, his coat flaring behind him. He glared at the wooden doors. His thoughts raced. Susan. Susan Sto Helit, caught and killed. Tortured? Well. Her resistance to torture certainly made sense. She was a strong-willed creature, that one. But... dead?
Rose could only see Teatime's black-clad back as he brooded. She was concerned about what he might do. Susan was indeed dead, Rose was certain of it now. The tortured looks that passed over these children's faces were genuine enough.
Teatime's back suddenly straightened as though it had been bound to a board. Her grandfather would know. He would have to pay a visit to Death. He turned back to the earthen wall. "I have some unfinished business with her. I shall give you all her regards." He paused, and turned his horribly mismatched gaze upon the small, dark-haired girl. "I don't suppose you could tell me who your father is...?"
Raven shook her head. "No. Mother wouldn't tell me who it was. She said it wasn't important enough to warrant telling." Raven shrugged. "Sorry." She turned away from them and Storm came up and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear.
"Hm," the Assassin replied lightly, "I supposed not."
And then he was gone.
Rose blinked at the space where Teatime had been. He left me alone here! She rolled her eyes. Some partnership that was. Well... now she could ask her questions uninterrupted.
After Teatime left. Garnet looked surprised for a moment before looking at Sky. Sky's blue eyes were open but he wasn't comprehending anything. Eclise grabbed his hand and started muttering under her breath. Garnet joined in and slowly the lights dimmed and then there was a flash, and then it looked as if nothing happened.
Only then Sky sat up confused he asked, "What's goin' on?" in a fuzzy voice. "Why she here? Where is T-t-teatime?" He yawned in the middle of Teatime.
"He's a complete lunatic," muttered Rose. "He seems to think he will find Susan anyway." She paused, a sudden realization coming upon her, "I imagine in Death--how he expects to get there..." Rose shook her head. "I am here to get some final answers about Leicester. I need to know his aims. I was tracking down that assassin... Jarrett, after learning of the havoc he wreaked as he searched--apparently for you."
She stepped, daringly, a little closer to the earth wall.
"What happened to you anyway, Sky? And you," she turned to the violinist, "what is your name? The two of you certainly know your throwing weapons." Rose quirked a little smile of admiration.
Raven smiled and said, "Yes I imagine he is a lunatic. But I doubt he will be able to find even her spirit."
Sky yawned again and looked at her and said, "I got attacked. And my partner here," he gestured to Eclise, "is Eclise, or Night if you prefer." Eclise bowed slightly and Sky continued, "We have always been talented at throwing weapons, like Emreys is adept at bow and arrow; it is simply a honed talent."
Rose inclined her head briefly, still smiling. They were reminding her more and more of her... interesting childhood. "Good to meet you, Eclise." She turned to Raven. "You're probably right about that. As far as I know, Teatime has no magic talent of his own. For his last contract, he had to hire a wizard. I doubt he will be able to find the realm of Spirits, even as resourceful as he is."
Of course, people had underestimated the boyish Assassin before. And that had not stopped him.
"Can you tell me any more about Leicester? What he wants?"
Emreys snickered. "What doesn't he want is a more accurate question. He wants everything from world domination to pretty slave girls. He attempted that with Eclise but Sky kinda got just a tiny bit mad..." Emreys trailed off at the look on his companions' faces. "What? Why are you two so mad?"
Rose frowned deeply."I hate getting involved," she grumbled. At least it promised to be exciting. And that was what she lived for, was it not? She turned her emerald gaze to Eclise. "That is absolutely disgusting. You're only barely old enough to be a squire! Leicester... he wants the world. That's a mighty big aspiration for one man. Is he human? I assume he has no magic--I imagine that is what he wanted you all for." Rose glanced about, examining each of the young, gifted magic-casters in turn, studying the hall. "Are you all working against him now?"
"He's human. A weak spell caster. Can only cause pain." A quiet, lilting voice came from one of the corners of the room. Brown hair and purple eyes set her apart from most of the others who had black or blonde hair. "The pain is how he made people listen to us. He used a talisman to give us nightmares that can cause pain. But he tried to 'have fun' with most of us. He doesn't discriminate between genders. And we do work.... against isn't quite the right word... but there is no way we are on his side!" She said. She was Shadow, child of the sun and fire.
Rose could not help but give a broad, dashing grin. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm going to go after him. If you all would like to come, I would be honored to have your company." She whipped a leather cord out of the pouch at her side and began braiding her long, auburn hair. "...It will be an interesting venture to say the least."
Excitement built in Rose's chest at the thought of another adventure. Now that the dirty work was over, the fun could begin. She was no longer against a faceless foe. It was no longer an impossible feat. She was in her medium. Rose bet she would have better luck on her quest than the Assassin would have on his.
The Assassin Jonathan Teatime had a different way of looking at things. Where even the most innovative wizard said it could not be done, Teatime wondered, why not? Where the laws of the universe were concerned, Teatime decided, like normal laws, they could always be broken. Where the world staunchly declared, "it is impossible!" Teatime simply found a way to do it.
The Assassin Jonathan Teatime was currently in his (new) permanent residence, a good-sized room at a musty inn in the great city of Ankh-Morpork. The floor, walls, and ceiling were of a dark, dingy brown wood. Two windows, ready escape routes, one on the north wall, one on the east, let the pale moonlight cast shadows on the floor. There was a table fit for four made of oak, two chairs to match, a walk-in closet, an adjacent bathroom, and two beds. More room, he had decided when renting it, was better than less.
Currently, Teatime was bent over the table, affixing the gaze of his ice-blue eye and his black, glass eye upon two wine glasses, set equidistant from one another. Between these two glasses was a tiny, open container, no wider than a half-dollar, no deeper than a bottle cap. Inside the aforementioned container was what appeared to be fine, multi-colored sand. Not sand, but magic dust. Fairy dust. Tooth Fairy dust. Designed to take the wielder from the real world, to the castle of the Tooth Fairy.
If this dust could take you to the Tooth Fairy's realm, Teatime reasoned, why could it not take you to any other realm you desired?
