Etai snickered from his treetop observation post as he observed the
street peddler fix broken jewelry and sell it back to the owners. The poor
boy couldn't have been more than thirteen years old, but seemed to be very
skilled at his profession. However, none of that mattered as 'Tai strung
his bow silently.
He was clad in shadow-black attire, and his shoulder-length black hair added to the effect. He was well concealed by the cover the shade of the tree gave him, and by the twilight just before the break of dawn. He had recently bought a vial of Viegraf's Blood from a strange merchant who had a wide variety of toxins. He wanted to test it out on a victim He finished stringing his shortbow as the young, blonde-haired boy started to pack up shop before the dawn broke. He was a night merchant, and wouldn't easily be missed by the public.
'Tai plucked an arrow silently from his quiver, the silver tip of it gleaming slightly by the light of the setting moon. He drew a tinder twig and lit it ablaze. Etai was several stories above the ground, and anyone who did notice would just think it a candle being tossed in some form of mundane celebration.
He seared the tip of the arrow long enough to partially melt the arrowhead, and then dropped the soft steel into the poison and removed it. He placed his arrow in the firing position and let it fly.
It landed true to its mark, as the boy screamed in unearthly voices of pain, clutching his forehead where the sharpened projectile had landed. Etai watched in satisfaction, ignoring the bone-chilling tones of soprano the child's voice achieved. His eyes grew wider with excitement when the poison took effect. The boy started to collapse in on himself, as though a void had opened itself inside the child. The screaming ended abruptly as the boy disappeared completely from the Material Plane. Those few Royal Guards of the High Priest that had arrived stopped suddenly within ten feet of the void that had now made itself visible, and each let out screams of pain. The mixture of alto, soprano and baritone was too much for 'Tai. He watched the Guard's scream end shortly enough though, as they disappeared from sight as well, forming voids of their own. The child's black spot of existence metamorphosed from black to a sudden flare of light, and the ten foot radius that had consumed the guards burst into a white-hot flame, leaving a molten crater. Soon after, the same happened with the other seven soldiers who had disappeared. Etai looked on in strange awe as he stood and leapt down from his perch, heading back to the inn. In his haste, he knocked over the vial, but left it with a shrug. He had seen what he wanted.
'Tai's cackling seemed louder than any of the screams caused by the horrified townsfolk.
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"Etai, get up!" Terra was yelling into 'Tai's ear with the addition of vigorous shaking. "It's six candlemarks past dawn! What the hell were you doing last night?!"
"What?" 'Tai sat up and brushed Terra's hand away as though trying to swat away a fly. "I was here all night. What do you mean where was I?"
"You were gone all night," She said coldly. "Don't try and contradict me 'Tai," Her eyes narrowed at his confused expression, "You know damn well what you were doing."
"Terra, you insolent fruit bat, I was here all night damn it! And don't try to act like your older than I am. I still got eleven years on you, little girl. Don't boss me around." His voice softened slightly. "Thanks for waking me up though. Where's Kris?"
She opened her eyes to a normal expression and relaxed both her body and her tone of voice. "He ate some breakfast—" Etai cut her off.
"Don't lie to me. I refuse to believe that someone that skinny eats. Just where did he go?"
"Okay, so he didn't eat anything, but he looked at it and shook his head—"
"Damn it Terra! You let him go?! Why'd you do that? You had better hope I don't find him in the same situation as last time. The only reason I could save him is because the two assaulting him were my victims for that day. If anything happened to him Miss 'look-at-me-I'm-a-Wizard-so-I'm- smarter-than-you', you will pay hell."
She raised her voice high enough that, afterward, Lia and Lynnell came running in to see if they were going to fight. "Listen 'Tai, don't go pointing fingers at me for what you assume is your responsibility. He said he'd think about staying, so he left. If it makes you feel any better, for some reason he took a long look at you before leaving. He never said anything, he just, left. Don't blame it on me! You don't own him just because you found him!" She sighed heavily and shook her head as Lia and Lynnell walked in. "If you're going to find him, then go. I'm not going to waste my breath arguing with a drunken Bard. But, 'Tai, I'm telling you to leave him alone. I looked him over. He's afraid of all of us, and you were right about him being hurt. You can tell just by looking into those shadowed eyes of his. I don't see how he got like that, but you had best leave him be to his own problems. You may make people feel better, but you don't get rid of their problems. You need to realize that Etai. Just because you got a second chance at life and a chance to atone for past mistakes, doesn't mean a damned thing. And I myself will be damned if I'm going to let you ruin Kris' life by interfering. You'll grow up some day, and until then it seems as though you need to learn a little about morals. Get your act together. Now get out of my face."
Etai listened to every word she said with intense thought, and looked at the Wizard with a trusting look. They always had their feuds, but in the end, 'Tai always knew that among all others, this little girl was wiser than all of the people he had ever known for her age. He saw Terra nod at him, and he sheathed his rapier and waved a goodbye. He left without a word. He knew she was right, but he knew he had to find Kris. 'Gut feeling.' He thought, and he shrugged to himself as he stepped into the afternoon sun of the town. "Now where did he go?" he said aloud to what appeared to be thin air. "Maybe somebody's seen him. Kinda hard to miss someone that skinny with hair that long."
He walked with a casual pace down the street corner. He felt as though he stood out among the commonplace folk, of whom sold the trinkets he adored so much. He stopped long enough to notice a merchant, a small big- eyed, brown-haired boy, who was selling musical equipment. "Hey kid. How much for the parchment and the harp strings? And do you know where I can find someone? He's about half a foot taller than I am, really long black hair, attractive, and extraordinarily skinny."
"That's three silver for the parchment and five gold for the strings, sir. And I believe I saw someone like that. I wouldn't know about attractive though sir He stopped and bought the same thing you just did sir. He told me not to tell anyone where he was though. Honestly sir. I bind myself to a moral code. I don't lie sir." He extended his hand to accept 'Tai's payment and found over fifty extra gold pieces in the tiny sack. His eyes went wide with gratitude. "He said that in case there was an emergency, he would be at the Scarlet Bluebird tavern. The place is right over there sir. Thank you sir."
The boy's voice was by no means annoying, and Etai didn't mind the gratitude at all. "Not a problem kid. Thank you." He walked off into the crowd of peasants and merchants towards the tavern, when he heard a loud crash come from one of the buildings. As he got closer, he realized this was where he had been directed to.
The victim who had been tossed through the window stood up and shook his head. He was slightly taller than Etai, with brown hair that was long, but still masculine. "Ugh… last time I make a pass on that guy. I could've sworn he was a lady though. Such a slender physique, and with hair that long… damn, that hurt." He turned to 'Tai and looked at him. The Fighter's blue eyes were indifferent. "That kid's got some kind of strength. You'd think someone like him could be snapped in half…" He paused to pull a glass shard from his left calf. "Ouch. Not that I would do such a thing. I work with a group of Paladins you know. That boy's got to have some kind of magic tossed in with that strength. I know I weigh quite a bit, and there is no way I could fly that far without some kind of extra boost. Scarlet Cardinal's a big place, and the bar is in the back… I was standing at the bar. So words of warning to ya, don't try and hit on him. You look like a si'ian, or whatever they call it. No offense if your not, but you look the part. Sorry to bother you. Bad habit of mine. I talk to complete strangers like I knew 'em forever. Well, see ya." He dusted himself off and walked back into the bar.
'Tai watched as the Fighter headed toward the figure spoken of, which indeed looked like Kris, and seemed to extend an apology. The figure was outward facing, and he seemed content for a moment, until the fighter clapped him on the back in friendship. Etai moved aside as the armored figure was flung through the window again. This time, 'Tai helped him up. "You okay?"
"Oh, hello again. Boy, he's sensitive. He accepted my proposal to buy him a drink until I touched him. You saw right? Well, see ya." He walked back into the bar, but sat with a group of ladies on the other side of the tavern. 'Tai smirked and walked into the bar.
The figure had definitely been Kris. When Kris received the drink the Fighter had paid for, he gave it to an orc sitting next to him. The orc accepted and went to pat Kris on the back, but held back when he saw the fear in Kris' eyes. A gruff voice echoed through the noise of the tavern. It was the orc, with a big smile on his hideous, gray, deformed face. "Heh… Thanks friend. But why are you so afraid to be touched? Do you fear me? Yes. That's it. Hey everybody! Look at this poor cross-breed. He's afraid to be touched!" Both the orc and the entire tavern, including the bartender began laughing at Kris. The orc decided to continue mocking the half-elf, and extended his hand to touch Kris once more, in spite of what he had seen happen to the Fighter earlier. 'It was 'Tai's turn to laugh as the tavern went silent the moment the orc touched Kris.
There was a louder crash than before, and the orc stopped as he careened into the iron doors of the bar, but not before colliding with every oak table in the tavern. 'Tai looked after the orc's flight path while laughing. He looked up in time to see Kris making a hasty retreat. Etai snapped to the real world, but the orc had heard him laugh, and blocked his path. "You think it's funny?" he snorted, "Let's see how funny this is! No one laughs at Heshra Galeshaw!" He drew his wicked looking scimitar and waved it at 'Tai's face menacingly. Etai merely blinked at him, and drew a very small dagger.
The orc, Heshra rather, sliced at 'Tai with the blade, gashing the Bard's arm slightly. Etai stared at his arm while blood seeped through the rest of the white fabric. He attempted to dodge out of the way of the second swipe, making an attack of his own while doing so, but his dagger became stuck in the table, and the scimitar brought itself down on Etai's thigh, which started to soak his pants with blood as well. 'Tai looked on at the hunk of flesh floating through the air, severed from his leg. He succeeded in redrawing the knife and stabbed the orc in the face, right between his eyes.
The whole tavern was watching the fight with interest, and they gasped as the orc kept swinging his blade, impervious to the pain.
"Tai on the other hand felt like giving up. He would fight to the end, but he saw no hope of winning. However, he felt a bit of déjà vu as the orc stopped in his path suddenly. Etai watched a blade, glinting from the sunlight, slide across the orc's neck. The orc fell over facing 'Tai, and revealed Kris standing with the knife in his hand, the steel dripping with new blood.
The elf looked at Kris with disbelief, and stammered out what was on his mind. "Why?"
"You saved mine, I saved yours. We're even… Next time 'Tai… don't follow me." Kris walked over to 'Tai and picked him up easily. Etai himself only weighed a hundred and ten pounds. The amount of wine bingeing kept him very light. Kris looked down at the elven Bard as 'Tai looked back.
'Tai had one thought before passing out. 'Why can't I figure you out Kris? Are you feeling for me the same way that I do for you?' Darkness closed over the Bard with the mind's last breath.
He was clad in shadow-black attire, and his shoulder-length black hair added to the effect. He was well concealed by the cover the shade of the tree gave him, and by the twilight just before the break of dawn. He had recently bought a vial of Viegraf's Blood from a strange merchant who had a wide variety of toxins. He wanted to test it out on a victim He finished stringing his shortbow as the young, blonde-haired boy started to pack up shop before the dawn broke. He was a night merchant, and wouldn't easily be missed by the public.
'Tai plucked an arrow silently from his quiver, the silver tip of it gleaming slightly by the light of the setting moon. He drew a tinder twig and lit it ablaze. Etai was several stories above the ground, and anyone who did notice would just think it a candle being tossed in some form of mundane celebration.
He seared the tip of the arrow long enough to partially melt the arrowhead, and then dropped the soft steel into the poison and removed it. He placed his arrow in the firing position and let it fly.
It landed true to its mark, as the boy screamed in unearthly voices of pain, clutching his forehead where the sharpened projectile had landed. Etai watched in satisfaction, ignoring the bone-chilling tones of soprano the child's voice achieved. His eyes grew wider with excitement when the poison took effect. The boy started to collapse in on himself, as though a void had opened itself inside the child. The screaming ended abruptly as the boy disappeared completely from the Material Plane. Those few Royal Guards of the High Priest that had arrived stopped suddenly within ten feet of the void that had now made itself visible, and each let out screams of pain. The mixture of alto, soprano and baritone was too much for 'Tai. He watched the Guard's scream end shortly enough though, as they disappeared from sight as well, forming voids of their own. The child's black spot of existence metamorphosed from black to a sudden flare of light, and the ten foot radius that had consumed the guards burst into a white-hot flame, leaving a molten crater. Soon after, the same happened with the other seven soldiers who had disappeared. Etai looked on in strange awe as he stood and leapt down from his perch, heading back to the inn. In his haste, he knocked over the vial, but left it with a shrug. He had seen what he wanted.
'Tai's cackling seemed louder than any of the screams caused by the horrified townsfolk.
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"Etai, get up!" Terra was yelling into 'Tai's ear with the addition of vigorous shaking. "It's six candlemarks past dawn! What the hell were you doing last night?!"
"What?" 'Tai sat up and brushed Terra's hand away as though trying to swat away a fly. "I was here all night. What do you mean where was I?"
"You were gone all night," She said coldly. "Don't try and contradict me 'Tai," Her eyes narrowed at his confused expression, "You know damn well what you were doing."
"Terra, you insolent fruit bat, I was here all night damn it! And don't try to act like your older than I am. I still got eleven years on you, little girl. Don't boss me around." His voice softened slightly. "Thanks for waking me up though. Where's Kris?"
She opened her eyes to a normal expression and relaxed both her body and her tone of voice. "He ate some breakfast—" Etai cut her off.
"Don't lie to me. I refuse to believe that someone that skinny eats. Just where did he go?"
"Okay, so he didn't eat anything, but he looked at it and shook his head—"
"Damn it Terra! You let him go?! Why'd you do that? You had better hope I don't find him in the same situation as last time. The only reason I could save him is because the two assaulting him were my victims for that day. If anything happened to him Miss 'look-at-me-I'm-a-Wizard-so-I'm- smarter-than-you', you will pay hell."
She raised her voice high enough that, afterward, Lia and Lynnell came running in to see if they were going to fight. "Listen 'Tai, don't go pointing fingers at me for what you assume is your responsibility. He said he'd think about staying, so he left. If it makes you feel any better, for some reason he took a long look at you before leaving. He never said anything, he just, left. Don't blame it on me! You don't own him just because you found him!" She sighed heavily and shook her head as Lia and Lynnell walked in. "If you're going to find him, then go. I'm not going to waste my breath arguing with a drunken Bard. But, 'Tai, I'm telling you to leave him alone. I looked him over. He's afraid of all of us, and you were right about him being hurt. You can tell just by looking into those shadowed eyes of his. I don't see how he got like that, but you had best leave him be to his own problems. You may make people feel better, but you don't get rid of their problems. You need to realize that Etai. Just because you got a second chance at life and a chance to atone for past mistakes, doesn't mean a damned thing. And I myself will be damned if I'm going to let you ruin Kris' life by interfering. You'll grow up some day, and until then it seems as though you need to learn a little about morals. Get your act together. Now get out of my face."
Etai listened to every word she said with intense thought, and looked at the Wizard with a trusting look. They always had their feuds, but in the end, 'Tai always knew that among all others, this little girl was wiser than all of the people he had ever known for her age. He saw Terra nod at him, and he sheathed his rapier and waved a goodbye. He left without a word. He knew she was right, but he knew he had to find Kris. 'Gut feeling.' He thought, and he shrugged to himself as he stepped into the afternoon sun of the town. "Now where did he go?" he said aloud to what appeared to be thin air. "Maybe somebody's seen him. Kinda hard to miss someone that skinny with hair that long."
He walked with a casual pace down the street corner. He felt as though he stood out among the commonplace folk, of whom sold the trinkets he adored so much. He stopped long enough to notice a merchant, a small big- eyed, brown-haired boy, who was selling musical equipment. "Hey kid. How much for the parchment and the harp strings? And do you know where I can find someone? He's about half a foot taller than I am, really long black hair, attractive, and extraordinarily skinny."
"That's three silver for the parchment and five gold for the strings, sir. And I believe I saw someone like that. I wouldn't know about attractive though sir He stopped and bought the same thing you just did sir. He told me not to tell anyone where he was though. Honestly sir. I bind myself to a moral code. I don't lie sir." He extended his hand to accept 'Tai's payment and found over fifty extra gold pieces in the tiny sack. His eyes went wide with gratitude. "He said that in case there was an emergency, he would be at the Scarlet Bluebird tavern. The place is right over there sir. Thank you sir."
The boy's voice was by no means annoying, and Etai didn't mind the gratitude at all. "Not a problem kid. Thank you." He walked off into the crowd of peasants and merchants towards the tavern, when he heard a loud crash come from one of the buildings. As he got closer, he realized this was where he had been directed to.
The victim who had been tossed through the window stood up and shook his head. He was slightly taller than Etai, with brown hair that was long, but still masculine. "Ugh… last time I make a pass on that guy. I could've sworn he was a lady though. Such a slender physique, and with hair that long… damn, that hurt." He turned to 'Tai and looked at him. The Fighter's blue eyes were indifferent. "That kid's got some kind of strength. You'd think someone like him could be snapped in half…" He paused to pull a glass shard from his left calf. "Ouch. Not that I would do such a thing. I work with a group of Paladins you know. That boy's got to have some kind of magic tossed in with that strength. I know I weigh quite a bit, and there is no way I could fly that far without some kind of extra boost. Scarlet Cardinal's a big place, and the bar is in the back… I was standing at the bar. So words of warning to ya, don't try and hit on him. You look like a si'ian, or whatever they call it. No offense if your not, but you look the part. Sorry to bother you. Bad habit of mine. I talk to complete strangers like I knew 'em forever. Well, see ya." He dusted himself off and walked back into the bar.
'Tai watched as the Fighter headed toward the figure spoken of, which indeed looked like Kris, and seemed to extend an apology. The figure was outward facing, and he seemed content for a moment, until the fighter clapped him on the back in friendship. Etai moved aside as the armored figure was flung through the window again. This time, 'Tai helped him up. "You okay?"
"Oh, hello again. Boy, he's sensitive. He accepted my proposal to buy him a drink until I touched him. You saw right? Well, see ya." He walked back into the bar, but sat with a group of ladies on the other side of the tavern. 'Tai smirked and walked into the bar.
The figure had definitely been Kris. When Kris received the drink the Fighter had paid for, he gave it to an orc sitting next to him. The orc accepted and went to pat Kris on the back, but held back when he saw the fear in Kris' eyes. A gruff voice echoed through the noise of the tavern. It was the orc, with a big smile on his hideous, gray, deformed face. "Heh… Thanks friend. But why are you so afraid to be touched? Do you fear me? Yes. That's it. Hey everybody! Look at this poor cross-breed. He's afraid to be touched!" Both the orc and the entire tavern, including the bartender began laughing at Kris. The orc decided to continue mocking the half-elf, and extended his hand to touch Kris once more, in spite of what he had seen happen to the Fighter earlier. 'It was 'Tai's turn to laugh as the tavern went silent the moment the orc touched Kris.
There was a louder crash than before, and the orc stopped as he careened into the iron doors of the bar, but not before colliding with every oak table in the tavern. 'Tai looked after the orc's flight path while laughing. He looked up in time to see Kris making a hasty retreat. Etai snapped to the real world, but the orc had heard him laugh, and blocked his path. "You think it's funny?" he snorted, "Let's see how funny this is! No one laughs at Heshra Galeshaw!" He drew his wicked looking scimitar and waved it at 'Tai's face menacingly. Etai merely blinked at him, and drew a very small dagger.
The orc, Heshra rather, sliced at 'Tai with the blade, gashing the Bard's arm slightly. Etai stared at his arm while blood seeped through the rest of the white fabric. He attempted to dodge out of the way of the second swipe, making an attack of his own while doing so, but his dagger became stuck in the table, and the scimitar brought itself down on Etai's thigh, which started to soak his pants with blood as well. 'Tai looked on at the hunk of flesh floating through the air, severed from his leg. He succeeded in redrawing the knife and stabbed the orc in the face, right between his eyes.
The whole tavern was watching the fight with interest, and they gasped as the orc kept swinging his blade, impervious to the pain.
"Tai on the other hand felt like giving up. He would fight to the end, but he saw no hope of winning. However, he felt a bit of déjà vu as the orc stopped in his path suddenly. Etai watched a blade, glinting from the sunlight, slide across the orc's neck. The orc fell over facing 'Tai, and revealed Kris standing with the knife in his hand, the steel dripping with new blood.
The elf looked at Kris with disbelief, and stammered out what was on his mind. "Why?"
"You saved mine, I saved yours. We're even… Next time 'Tai… don't follow me." Kris walked over to 'Tai and picked him up easily. Etai himself only weighed a hundred and ten pounds. The amount of wine bingeing kept him very light. Kris looked down at the elven Bard as 'Tai looked back.
'Tai had one thought before passing out. 'Why can't I figure you out Kris? Are you feeling for me the same way that I do for you?' Darkness closed over the Bard with the mind's last breath.