Frozen Memories 1.8 Bridge
Hidden Past – Back Cover
Kiyori – Tears of Nothing
Chapter 3: A Whimper, not a bang
7 November 2057
Arendelle
Castle District
9 am
Kiyori paced in the castle throne room. "You are sure the woman was spotted in the Market district ?" He asked the man, a District Lord named Hamas had seen Xeir speak to another woman outside a structure, but could not see who the scale armed woman was speaking with. Only that he saw the scale armed woman.
"Sure as my own eyes" The Lord replied, "She spoke with somebody inside a structure, I couldnt see who she spoke with, but she handed the person something then left. I tried to follow her without getting noticed, but several of my residents spotted me and started bothering me with questions concerning the Heir that the Council is to pick for Lord Xercine" Hamas replied
Kiyori was not exactly happy, but he was calmer then he used to be about the matter. Kiyori of course was calmer then normal, which scared the other Lords and most of the Council. "What is your thought on the three chosen Heirs ?" He finally asked to Hamas directly. "Who do your residents pick from the three, who do they favor the most ?"
"If I had to gather, the general concensus seems to favor the woman named Anna, however they dispise the woman named Waterlight based on her appearance alone, I believe it is due to the way her face looks, some of my residents report the woman's face alone frightens them." Hamas replied.
"So the district generally favors the woman named Anna" Kiyori said, he himself had given a careful look over the poster with Annas face upon it. He picked up the poster from the nearby desk. "This woman, Anna, does she look familiar to you ?" he held the poster to Hamas
Hamas took the poster and carefully viewed it. "Yes" he said after a moment. "This woman, Anna, looks remarkably like the Princess, the old Queen's sister." He said, he held the poster up to the nearby panting of Anna on the wall. "See, look, it is too similar. It is possible that this Anna woman is acting like the lost Princess, and in process, if chosen as Queen, would keep the kingdom in the initial royal family line." Hamas said
"Indeed, which is why when or if this woman, Anna, is found, she is to be taken directly here to this room." Kiyori said he went to the throne and sat down upon it. "I will deal with this woman myself. See to it that your men speak to the owner of the structure the scale armed woman spoke to. Try and be gentle this time, apparently the woman that my men go into that same structure for always return to me dead."
Hamas nodded, a bow as he spoke. "It will be done my Lord. Is there anything else you wish of me ?"
"No, you may go, see to it that the soldeirs are gentle in asking for information. They seek only where this woman currently is hiding, or at least some kind of knowledge of her last known whereabouts." Kiyori allowed him to leave. Shortly afterwards the captain of the guard showed up.
"Sir, I bring news" The man said after a brief bow.
"Speak" Kiyori said as Manny stood nearby at his post.
"The target woman, Sapphire Wolfe, had been removed from the jail, the building was empty, the jailor insisted he saw nobody get the woman free. My men and I agree that he was drunk on duty and Sapphire Wolfe used that to her advantage and managed to escape." the soldier replied. "We are unsure of what to do, so I came to you for orders."
Kiyori smirked and started laughing. Waterlight was feared, Sapphire was ignored, but the kingdom favored Anna, at least so far in the Marketplace District. Finally he said "Have your men aid the Marketplace District Lord Hamas in locating the woman chosen from the three, Anna. Ensure the questioning of anyone is done in a certain fashion that is gentle, and that there is no idle threat of any harm to anyone with information."
"By your command" With that, the soldier left. Kiyori smirked, this was going to be an interesting day. A different day. But he knew he would not be able to find Anna, not on his own, and not through his soldiers. He had to let Anna come to him. He needed to think about how he could draw Anna to him. He wanted the Throne. Not just as High Priest, but as King. And that meant destroying Anna, and any Heir that Xercine named. Or that the kingdom picked.
He stood from the throne, stepping from it he thought a moment. He needed to think a bit. If he went for a walk, what would he see ? Who could he speak with ? Would the kingdom fear him ? Kiyori smiled, with that thought on his mind he decided to take a walk. He needed it truth be told.
The last walk he had was when he briefly met Waterlight out in the kingdom, and now there was talk of a woman with wings wandering the kingdom freely ? As he and Manny walked along, Kiyori asked aloud. "Manfredd"
"Sir" Manny replied
"What feeling do you get from the kingdom ?" Kiyori asked him
"That depends entirely on the feeling of each pereon you see, how they see you by the deeds you do" Manfredd replied
"I asked you of what feeling you get from the kingdom, not its people" Kiyori said, but he then smiled, "But you still answered the question correctly. Which was something I think I needed to expect. What then would be the general feeling from the kingdoms residents then that you get, in general I mean."
"Careful watchfulness for one, peaceful watchfulness as well. In the children, awe, admiration. In the elderly, respect, thankfulness. But in those between, fear, loathing. Caution." Manny replied
"All good answers. All good feelings." Kiyori replied. The two walked among the kingdom, a small group of soldiers kept them within their view at all times.
It was almost time
Arendelle
Markplace District
A few moments later
Emile watched the soldiers go by, unseen by them he simply watched them pass. He accessed his phone and dialed. "High Priest is in the Marketplace, seems to be observing the happenings as if nothing else is going on"
"Who is with him ?" Asked his sister on the other end. Emile regarded the soldiers, the closest man to the High Priest was big.
"Looks like a mountain of a man. Big brute like fellow. The kids admire him," Emile replied.
"Huh, that's what Jek said in her text." Spike replied.
"Speaking of Jek, where is she now ?" Emile asked.
"With me, for now" Spike replied, "Get your ass to us once you know where the high priest is going. I'm gonna take a flight when you get here." Spike told her brother, Emile liked that she was a take charge type.
"You got it" Emile said, he hung up the phone and headed after the soldiers, he needed to know where they were going. He saw Kiyori enter a structure. Emile easily skirted the soldiers and climbed to the rooftop. Sitting upon it he was able to easily listen in to what was said within the building.
"Manny, see to it I am not disturbed I wish to enjoy this establishments food and drink as much as I can" Kiyori said, Emile smiled, Spike was gonna love this.
"How long do you need sir ?" Manny asked as Emile listened in.
"A few hours" was the reply, perfect.
Spike needed only a scant few hours to explore through the air to get a gist of what Kiyori had planned in the kingdom as a whole. Emile left the rooftop as if he had never been up there
Emile turned to leave the corner and came upon instead a woman who walked into him. "Whoa, are you alright ?" The woman was unlike anyone that Emile had met, and if he was a betting man, the reason she looked so familiar was because she was the one looked with favor the most in the district.
"Oh pardon me." Anna said when bonked into Emile. Emile of course had grabbed her and ushered her safely around the corner, out of view of the soldiers. "I did not hurt you did I ?"
"No, I am alright, its you I am worried about." He had seen the posters. "You're the woman on the posters" Emile said, Anna looked at him confused.
"What ?" She asked, Anna had no idea just how important she was at that moment. "What do you mean ? What poster ?" Was she still in the dream world ?
No she was not.
Emile nodded towards the nearby posters. "Apparently there is an election coming up in this... kingdom I guess is what it is called. It seems that Xercine, the guy on the council apparently named three different women as an Heir, you're one of them." Emile said
"Me ?" Anna asked, if she was one of the three possible Heirs to the Throne of Arendelle, that then meant that Xercine wanted to keep the throne in the Arendelle Royal Family bloodline. "Why me ?"
"Are you Princess Anna of Arendelle ?" Emile asked. Anna looked at him.
"You know me ?" She asked him.
"I know you because of that poster, now if you plan on keeping yourself alive youi'll come with me and meet up with my sisters. They can help you." Emile said
"Go with you ? I dont even know you. Who are you ?" Anna asked him
"The name is Emile Milligan, older brother of Spike Milligan and her sisters. I got a bunch of other brothers too but they're not worth mentioning right now, the point is, I need to get you to my sisters preferably without the soldiers seeing either of us at the time."
Anna thought a moment, then she nodded. "Alright, I trust you" Anna said,
"Good, now to figure out how to get to the other side of the district" Emile said, he looked back around the corner.
"What do you know about Arendelle ?" Anna asked him, the man seemed knowledgeable to the point that he could sneak his way around if he had to. Butr he had only really just arrived the day before. "When did you get here anyway ? I know pretty much everyone in this kingdom, but you I've never seen before. You're different."
"Like I said my name is Emile Milligan, and no, I'm not from here, just arrived yesterday" He replied as he looked around the corner. "I'm from California, at least, whats left of it, my sister Spike, and our brothers and younger sisters all oversee Sacremento with the leadership there. Its incredibly complicated, but there's no time to give a full backstory." Emile said giving her a look.
Anna smirked, stepping next to him they both looked around the corner. Two soldiers were at the end of the alley. "Two guards" Emile said.
"And they're not looking at us" Anna said to him
"For now" Emile replied. "That gives us the chance we need, that window is open. Dunno what it leads to however" Emile focused on it, thanks to Vitas helping him and his brothers and also Spike after Mark ruined her hold on Sacremento, Emile and his brothers learned some new skills and abilities.
One of them was Eagle Vision. A shift in focus and it allowed him to see the room was empty. "Come on. But be quiet." The two then darted forwards, Emile smiled and helped Anna silently into the building before he himself ducked inside before the soldiers turned their way.
Arendell
Yaeko District
12 Noon
Xeir sat at the table in her bedroom. The doors of the couryard house lead outside within the walled courtyard, and yet still allowed privacy, there were only women on that property. At least for now.
"Did you get to her ?" Tiri asked, Xeir had left and returned without notifying Tiri the day before. Giving to Blackmane some numbers, where she was staying. It was just a matter of time before things got worse however.
"Yes. Blackmane has it" Xeir replied, getting to the Tigris was not easy. But it worked, it did the job, for now. To the point that somehow it made sense. "Blackmane will have to figure out how to come to us. And when she can do so without attracting the soldiers to us."
"Blackmane is smarter then that" Tiri said, it was true for most cases. Blackmane was a strong smart woman, able to take down most if not all of the High Priests men. "But what about these posters, I mean sure Waterlight looks great with two eyes." Tiri said regarding the poster that Zax brought them. Zax of course being the other Sparrow that mostly did the cooking while Tie, Tea, Dia and Zen did the servant work that people saw them doing.
"Waterlight has one eye though ?" Xeir said, "I never remember her with two eyes." Waterlight had lost her eye to a bunch of dragons, blacks and Reds in a huge battle long before Xeirs birth, back before Irral disappeared actually. "How does she have two eyes ?"
"Lookit at the mug on this poster, sis" Tiri said, showing Xeir the poster of Waterlight, Xeir read it and started laughing. "I know right ? Xercine is looking for an Heir, so he puts Waterlight down, also puts down Marks cousin, Sapphire Wolfe down too, and then get this, your Nothing's sister. Princess Anna, is already looked at as the leading frontrunner for the place of Heir to the Throne of Arendelle."
"Waterlight does look good with two eyes. But I doubt she could get used to it to begin with" She was thoughtful as Xeir looked at the poster of Anna. A pang of memories flooded through her mind briefly. But then she focused stiffly and smiled. "We still have time before things really get rolling. Have Zax get to cooking, we're going to have more then one guest I think." Xeir said
"Right, back soon sis!" Tiri chittered and flittered off. Leaving Xeir alone with the posters.
"Waterlight is not gonna like this." Xeir mumbled. A good ten minutes later and Dia arrived, with her was a woman dressed in a black almost wedding like dress. "I was not aware there was a funeral in progress ?" Xeir said, a soft smile on her face as she recognised Blackmane's outfit. The first time they had met the Tigris had worn the exact selfsame gown.
"I had to dig it out of moth balls, but it still fits, even after all my kittens!' Blackmane said showing off to Xeir as Dia took her leave. It made Xeir smile seeing her old friend.
"It is so good to see you after so many years, Blackmane!" Xeir said, she stood from the tasble and took her old friend into a hug. Blackmane couldnt help but purr in reaction to the hug as she returned it.
"Three decades and then some, I think it is long enough. Maybe a year or two longer and I might go crazy" Blackmane said to Xeir, the two women then shared a brief bark of laughter before the two sat down. Dia and Zen brought in the food as Tiri returned. "Truth be told when I saw your scales on your arm I had to really think and wonder if it was really you." Blackmane said
"What these ?" Xeir said lifting her left arm. Blackmane smiled
"My friend, what happened for your scales to show up, even to a Man like the High Prest ?" Blackmane asked, the last time she had met Xeir, or rather the only time she really got to know the woman, was when Xeir was basically still a teenager, and Blackmane was in the Mythic Realm doing some tasks for Light with her sister Snowfeather. One of those tasks was to help xeir with some magical knowledge.
"Oh these ? Uh..." Xeir did not want to tell Blackmane she tried to cook food. But she sighed and said truthfully. "I tried to cook a few weeks ago, grease fire." She said.
"You never did learn to cook did you ?" Blackmane asked, Xeir shook her head to confirm Blackmanes question. "I take it Elsa never learned either, nor Anna for that matter."
"You mean my Nothing and its sister ?" Xeir asked her
"What ?" Blackmane asked her, "Your, nothing ?" The term startled Blackmane and it made her want to know more. Blackmane held up a hand with a question. "Wait, what do you know about, Nothings ?"
"The only thing I know is that when I cast my soul out, and made Tiri, and Elsa, Elsa was never supposed to exist. Elsa was a Nothing, was nothing."
"But it became a somebody regardless, your Nothing as you call her, was the Queen of this kingdom, she left last year, leaving behind a council, a week after she left, everyone in the kingdom forgot her. And then you arrive and it feels like the kingdom is simply remembering an old friend who had gone away."
"In other words, I returned, as did Tiri" Xeir said, the two women soon got down to brass tacks as Xeir asked. "What do you make of these posters ?"
"Xercine is right in picking Anna as one of the three possible Heirs, according to the word around the districts, she's generally favored as the front runner, while the other two, I dont really remember this woman, Waterlight, and I only briefly know Sapphire from this last year. A very skilled arena fighter. Though she is prone to implusive movement however, but still, Sapphire is very skilled at what she does."
"And Anna, if my Nothing's sister, Anna, were to become the Heir for the throne of Arendelle." Xeir said simply
"It would keep the in the family, it would also help to have it tie into Light's Court as well through you." Blackmane said, Xeir smirked and nodded to those words, it made more sense in the long run. And yet, there they were, chatting over lunch about Anna.
"Yes, yes it would, worse case scenario it would also stay in the Wolfe family as well if memory serves me right, there were a brief dynasty during the Yaeko period or just after during the Maeze Period of Arendelle where at least three Wolfe Clan women were Queen of Arendelle directly. Not just the guard of the family tree"
"And that is where we come in ?" Blackmane asked her.
"Exactly, if Anna is to get the Threone, the only way to ensure Arendelle survives until then is to hinder as much as we are able, Kiyori, and his men. I learn more about the models daily, they are harmless, yet the people fear them."
"The models are easy to crack on ones own providing they have the weaponry to break the seal once the puzzle is figured upon." Blackmane explained the puzzle that Vaeyuko had discovered and thus freed herself through.
"The models open when I near them on my own" Xeir said, she had already freed dozens of people that had been trapped in them over the year. "I believe we had some help in that however ?" Xeir then said
Blackmane smiled, "Some, the Council have been active recently, aiding us where they care to do so. It was rather strange to find my nephew coming home instead of returning to the Castle with his wife." She gave a dark look at Xeir
"What ?" Xeir asked her, clearly confused of why the expression Blackmane was giving her.
"Your Nothing, and my nephew, were husband and wife." Blackmane said to Xeir, the Silver Dragon went thoughtful. "So it came as quite the shock for him to come home, to the Den in the Marketplace District, without Elsa."
"You act as if she was someone important." Xeir said softly, almost upset by where the conversation was headed.
"She was queen, and also the dear friend of Mark, eventually even his wife as I mentioned." Blackmane said simply, it was truth.
"Elsa was never meant to exist, and yet, she did, because she was me. Under a different name." Xeir said simply. It was a hard truth to bear.
"I agree" Blackmane said, it was oddly terrifying at how calm Blackmane was when she agreed to what Xeir just said, "Elsa was never supposed to exist, you were never supposed to die to be reborn, and yet you were, which birthed Elsa in the process, you in the process. Had you not cast aside your old body, and left your soul to land upon your Notrhings mother, the last Queen of Arendelle. You would have died on the mountainside."
"So you are saying it was fate that allowed my Nothing to become someone so important as to become queen ?" Xeir asked. She gave her friend a confused look. "Blackmane, look, when you came to the Court of my Mother all those years ago, well, for a while, other then Diamond, you were my best friend, you and Snowfeather both."
Blackmane smiled at the memories, turning into panther and white tiger, chasing Xeir and Diamond, in their mostly draconic while still human forms around the Crystal Palace where they lived to help them learn combat and stealth skills. "So I mean this in the best possible way, friend to friend. Elsa, is dead, she never was alive. It was me all along. I am scared to go back to Mark now, because I am scared he wont remember me."
"Oh he remembers you, he acts like he is simply away from his beloved wife. Unable to go home because someone else is using his bed." Blackmane replied. That made Xeir smirk.
"So what do I do ?" Xeir asked her.
"There are many options, many paths you can pick to follow. But for now, we're going to wait and see what the High Priest has cooked up. Because the last time I saw wind of him, he was trying to find me, so he could find you. Because of your arm. Turns out the District Lords arent as trusting as we can believe them to be. One of them, Hamas, is more trusting in money then in words and deeds." Blackmane said. She was able to bribe the man to leave her alone. For now.
Xeir smirked, then started laughing. "Good, I wanted the District leaders to notice me. Its why I went to you, not to draw them to you, but to draw them to me through you. But they did not follow you here did they ? This distrct is an absolute maze to begin with." Xeir said. Blackmane smiled and shook her head, none of Kiyoris men followed her to the District. If they had Xeirsa Sparrows could one by one isolate them and take them to Xeir to give them a one on one chat with the Silver Dragon
"When I left my home, they were never expecting a black Panther to wander the streets and alleys. So they never followed me. Naturally even whern well armed, the soldiers are scared of black cats like me." Blackmane said, it made Xeir begin to laugh again.
"I can see why, if they were to meet you or Snowfeather, or any of your sisters in combat. Well. I'd actually want to watch that fight, I'd pay my weight in emeralds alone to watch it now that I think about it." Xeir said, it made Blackmane start to laugh at that thought. "You think so too ?"
"You remebmer the Pits in your mothers realm ?" Blackmane asked, Xeir nodded. "One of those pits had a Man there, a woman actually, I do not recall her name, but Kalda, he uh, he used to go and watch the fights there. With that woman doing most of the fighting. From what I remember hearing, even though he was loathe to say it, he had his ass handed to him a few times from the same girl too." Xeir snickered
But she stopped when Blackmane said, "But he said something that I still remember, something that he said he could never forget." Xeir looked at her, "'Mankind has the most beautiful eyes of any race' and you know something, he was right. Kalda was right."
"That he is, Mankind is very beautiful." Xeir agreed. She sighed then, there they were, talking over humanity as if it was a lunchtime topic, which it actually was since they were eating lunch at that moment. A few moments of silence passed. Finally Xeir spoke up. "This kingdom feels ready to explode. But there is also an underlaying feeling of forboding, that if it were to explode into open war. It would unleash something far worse." Xeir said.
"You mean the guy you killed ?" Blackmane knew of Xeirs battle with Draco, but she mentioned that Xeir had killed him. But that was because Light had stressed to blackmane that Xeir killed Draco, but Light actually banished Dracos body somewhere else, and his soul disappeared from the Mythic Realm at the same time. Xeir never saw it happen, merely thought she had killed Draco, as was her fate to do so.
"Yes, I keep seeing... visions, bloodshed, fires, complete total destruction with Draco simply just walking away from me at the time." Xeir sighed, it was not easy for her to even bring up the memory, she was scared to do so in fact. " I am not sure of what to do"
"What exactly do you see in your visions ?" Blackmane asked her as she lifted her glass to take a sip of the wine within it. "Its quite possible it is residual memory from your Nothing."
A memory formed and words were heard in Xeirs mind. "'A Nothing is not meant to even exsist, in the end, it will rejoin with Xeir, and the power it holds, will be given back'" Xeir sighed. "A Nothing does not exsist, they're not to exsist. And yet somehow, they are able to exsist." Xeir mused.
"What did you see in your visions ?" Blackmane pressed.
Xeir looked to her. "I saw him, Draco. The Shadow Lord. There was fire, ruined buildings of the kingdom all around. I heard an infant crying for her mother. For me" Xeir said.
"You saw a vision of the future ?" Blackmane thought aloud, more of a random statement rather then a question.
"No, it can not have been a vision of the future, it must have been something else. Draco is dead. I killed him. Why is he haunting my memories like this ?" Xeir asked to Blackmane
"That I cannot answer, but I might know someone who could." Blackmane set her mug down on the table and set a piece of paper on the table next to the mug. "Take this." Blackmane said
"What is it ?" Xeir asked
"A location, like the one you gave me, only in this case, the person might be able to aid you more then I can ever hope to" Blackmane said. She patted the table surface. "This was a good meal. I am glad we were able to see each other again. I am glad that you are back."
"Me too" Xeir said, a soft smile on her face. She saw Blackmane to the courtyard gate. Stepping onto the road with her. "I will go to this location. See what help I can find there. Thank you" Xeir and Blackmane briefly hugged and Xeir watched Blackmane disappear into the crowd around a corner.
The Yaeko District was primarily a residental district. A few dojos for soldiers to train were in the district at places, enough so to make the streets busy. Xeir turned the other way, activating a mental map of the area she heard to where the numbers Blackmane had given her detailed.
It was an eating area just outside the Greensky District. The Greensky district got its name from the green hue the trees gave to the sky each night as the sun set the greenery refocused the sunlight into a beautiful teal and green hue.
Xeir stood outside the eating area and stared at it. A smirk on her face. "The Broken Arm Tavern." She read aloud, her memory refocused and a vision played before her of two people, one of them obviously Mark, the other her Nothing more then likely, entering the tavern. Was this were she was to go ?
Stepping into the tavern, Xeir saw first the owner was quite busy, he had two waiters, both of them young women, who looked like they could easily handle themselves in a fight. Another man stood near the door, he nodded to her in greeting.
"Can I help you ?" The man asked, he had a stiff ish accent to his tone as he spoke.
"I was recommended to visit someone here, they could be of help to my mission" Xeir replied. The man took a careful look at her and noted her scaled arm. He nodded a smile gracing his face.
"Up those stairs is a hallway that goes round the second floor, it looks over the first floor. Up either set of stairs and then to either your left or right, he's up there somewhere. He's not hard to miss" The man said, there was no mistaking the tone the man had for sure. He was pretty much the bouncer.
"Thank you" Xeir stepped towards the stairs and went up to the first landing, then up to the second floor without a word to anyone around in the rather rowdy tavern. The second floor had a wall around its seemingly hall like feeling while the other wall was simply a low railing, the railing looked down over the first floor easily. There were several doors, only one of which had another man standing outside it.
Xeir stepped right for the door. "Can I help you ?" Asked the rather, compared to Xeir, comically shorter fellow. The Kobold, Mike, stood at about half the hieght if not the average man in America. So that made him about half the height of an Arendelle native.
"Yes actually I was told to come here" Xeir replied, she showed him the paper. The Kobold nodded.
Without even looking at the paper he simply nodded. "It is unlocked, feel free to enter. He just ordered, I hope you like beef" Xeir gave him a confused look but did not say anytrhing as she entered the door, closing it behind her. With the door shurt, the rowdiness from the rest of the tavern was extesively dampened out by the walls.
"I wondered when you might show up" Jarius said from where he sat at the low table. He was seated upon a soft pillow in a kneeling pose, his hands on his knees as if meditating "Please join me here, I am sure you have many questions" Jarius had been told by Light never to disclose to Xeir the truth about what happened to Draco, infact Light told Jarius that Xeir had killed Draco, but Jarius knew otherwise and had found out the truth. But he swore to Light in the precense of Kanwar that he would never tell a soul.
Xeir went to the table and sat down oppisite of Jarius, a kobold poured the drinks for them both and then stepped away. A long moment of quiet was had, the faint rowdiness of the tavern was heard. "You seem troubled." Jarius stated. "You look tired"
"I am concerned of recent events in ther Kingdom, recently I have begun having visions as well" Xeir said to him as she drank the wine the kobold poured.
"Tell me of the visions" Jarius said, Xeir did so. Once she finished he sighed. "You are seeing memories, clearly memories from either your past, or the memories directly of your Nothing."
"How can that be ? I killed Draco all those generations ago" Xeir said
"Draco might be dead yes, but his soul more then likely still lingers on the Mortal Realm, he is neither dead nor alive, but he cannot leave Earth like you and I can." Jarius said.
"Earth ?" Xeir asked him
"The name of this world. It is more then just this world though that makes up the Mortal Realm, there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of planets. The Mythic Realm is simply a realm beyond this one. And this realm, the Mortal Realm, well. Somehow this planet is the most important." Jarius said
"So what are you saying ?" Xeir asked him. Jarius was full of riddles, but he was also a good advisor, and a good teacher.
"What I am saying is that in another world, you fought Draco and killed him, or maybe you didnt ? Maybe because he ius now a wandering soul he is trapped between life and death and so with his magic he is messing with your mind ? Or maybe he is dead, and these visions are just that, visions from beyond the grave." Jarius always played the fine line between truth and lies, action and reaction.
"What are you saying ? Are you saying that I did not kill Draco, that he is still alive somewhere ?" Xeir asked
"No child, Draco is very much very dead, you killed him. Everyone saw him die when your sword exploded in his stomach." Jarius replied. Of course the fact that the force of her sword exploding in Dracos stomach is what knocked Xeir out, she didnt actually see him die, but she heard his screams of sheer agony as he died.
So that was something at least. "Of course there was the issue of you getting knocked against that stone and didnt see the end of your battle. Though I hear you slept like a rock for six days before waking up"
"And Kethend ?" Xeir asked then, she needed to know. She and Kthend fought for all of three days before Kethend got her good and Xeir made her Nothing because of it
"No idea. Wish I could tell you what happened to her. But your Mother wont tell anyone, nore will anyone who was present at the time of what happened to Kethend. Whenever I bring it up, for historical details and all that. Kanwar gets a rather queasy expression on her face. As if she is about to do a technicolor yawn" Jarius said.
"So whatever Mother did was too gristly to detail" Xeir said, she smirked. "Trust Mom to look out for her children, and punish where needed. I miss her. Can I see mom ?" The question made Jarius briely cough into his wine.
"Uh, no, Nobody has seen Light in a year. Nobody, not even Waterlight, her Lady-in-Waiting nows where she is." Jarius told her, he set his glass on the table. "Like I said there are many planets in the Mortal Realm, far too many to count. And so. Finding your mother, even on just one of them. Would be like looking for a stray shard of crystal in a gravel pit" Jarius said to her.
Xeir nodded, her mother was missing, nobody knew where Light was. That meant it was just her and Tiri, and Jarius, and also Blackmane. And maybe if she could see him, Mark. But would Mark recognise her ? "Do you think I could find Mark then ?"
"Who ?" Jarius asked, he hadnt seen Mark since the dream world. "If you can, tell him I said hi." Jarius joked, but he sobered up at Xeirs expression. He sighed. "You should be able to. But where he is right now I couldnt hope to tell you." He looked to the window
"Thanks anyhow" Xeir said, she sipped her wine
"On second thought, I dont think you might have to go looking for him., he could come to you" Jarius said, he'd spotted Mark in the street outside the tavern as he neared the building. "Shall I send one of my men to fetch him ?"
Xeir looked at him confused. "What ?" She asked
"He is outside as we speak, on the street now. I can fetch him if you wish" Jarius said, Xeir thought a long moment. On one hand she could be with the man her Nothing loved. But on the other hand, he wouldnt recognise her one bit to begin with. Was it worth the risk ?
"No, it is alright. I need to think on things some more before I see him. Him getting this close is something of an issue, can your men delay him ?"
"Possible, if he is coming here" Jarius said
"If ?" Xeir asked
"He is simply passing by, he has no intention to step inside. Wait a few moments to leave. And he will easily miss you, stick around and he might come back" Jarius explained
Xeir thought a brief second or two, then she downed her wine. It was time to go. "I will wait but a moment before leaving. My old master. You tought me for five hundred years. Can you not teach me a little more ?" Xeir asked the ancient Brass
"I can teach you one more lesson." Jarius said, Xeir looked at him.
He removed from a bag nearby a weapon. Xeir stared at it. "My broken sword ?" Xeir asked. He nodded and threw it to her. "I am not sure I understand." Xeir replied as she caught it. It was perfectly balanced
Jarius smiled, "Your sword broke within Dracos stomach when you stabbed him with your left weapon. Your left arm is in scales because you burnt yourself in a grease fire when trying to cook your own food. While you were visiting Blackmane in the Marketplace one of my Kobolds retrived your broken sword. And reforged it anew to what it once was with its old shards all gathered with it."
"Will it feel any different, any heavier or off balance ?" Xeir asked
"No, none of us can use it, and my men are scared to go near it. Once it was finished I had it with me. It did not take long for us to repair it, but to get to the repair time, we needed all the pieces." Jarius said "Youy had the last remaining piece of the blade that we needed in order to properly repair it."
Xeir flexed and swung the weapon around a few times, her right hand weapon fromed from thin air as if by magic as she felt their balance. She smiled, a sigh of relief. "They are together again. Like they should be" She turned to Jarius, "I am still not sure of the lesson you want me to learn however ?"
"The lesson, is never forget what you have learned, but you must always be ready to adapt to everything that changes around you. In the dream world, consider it your training. All those battles and sessions you went through within that world" Jarius said, he smiled and bid her goodbye, Both blades fading into thin air as Xeir bowed towards Jarius in thanks and then took her leave. Jarius had to smile, for once he was happy with how life was sending him young folk for advice and care.
Though he was still curious of why Draco would go so far as to send his own children to him for advice and direction.
Arendelle
Taelieon District
6 PM
The Taelieon District bordered the Tael and Talo Districts to the east and the west, and the Greensky District to the north, the Galasia District to the south. And it found Mark wandering it freely, seemingly lost in thought. He had no idea what he was looking for only that he had to find something important.
So he wandered the district, more posters had his cousins face, along with a woman he had never met, Waterlight, and also Princess Anna's face. That made he nod to himself, that was what he was doing. He was looking for Princess Anna.
He needed to find Anna before Kiyori and his soldiers did. But his mind was torn, first there was that debate he and his aunt Shadowmane had concerning his cousin. Which opf course also made him incredibly confused concerning what his aunt meant by it. Fortunately, Kiyomori and Sapphire were not present for that chat. Mark honestly had no idea exactly what was going on. His aunts words confused him to the extreme and he even told her that much, only to have Shadowmane give him a task in the Taelieon District.
That task, Mark was aware, was incredibly simple. And yet incredibly dangerous. He had to take out a certain target. Entering the district was easier said then done. The Districts entry points were chokepoints and bottleknecks. Everyone knew everyone, it would end up impossible for Mark to enter without getting reocgnised by anyone there. So instead of trying to simply blend in, Mark instead decided to take to the rooftops. The Taelieon district was mostly a covered structure. One giant warehouse. Really. It was large enough to house dozens of structrures inside it, but also small enough to be a district and now its own city.
Standing in the shadows, mark focused his vision and smiled, his targets not far away. Heading in that direction allowed him to listen to some conversations as he passed through the groups of people. Most people ignored him, others eyed him with a curious glance. The Taelieon District was a place where gangs were known to reside. A gang like TheDragonWatch. But they were in the Dojo District not this one. This one had places where street fights were common, and where men in suits did the dirty work of men playing golf at the same time.
Mark headed up a flight of stairs and came around a corner. Listening for conversation. "Did you hear" he heard two men in a groiup speaking. "Some of the guys said they saw one of the ladies on the posters in the block. Said she looked mightly fine, looks almost like the last queens sister Anna."
"So I hear, but there is also the possiblity that people do not want such stories to be told. Word is, the soldiers are also looking for her, but they wont say why. They only say a reward is offered for those who have information on any of the three." Said the second man in the group
"Are you two talking of other women besides us ?" Said a woman, the two men Mark noticed, looked nervous as their wives were standing right there talking of them.
"We are only speaking of the women on the posters. Three Heirs for the Kingdom" Said the first man, he pointed at the nearby wall. "See ,those three there"
"Huh, the woman on the right, she does not look like a leadership type. Seems spiteful, dangerous. Evil maybe ?" Said the first mans wife.
"Possible, she does indeed look like the lost Princess Anna" Said the first man while pointing at the poster of Anna in the middle of the three posters Anna was in the center, Waterlight was on the right, and Sapphire was to Annas left.
"I am not sure of the woman named Sapphire, wasnt she recently arrested ?" Said the second mans wife.
"Yes" The second man in the group said, "The soldiers were reported dragging the woman away, but where they took her, I cannot hope to fathom" The man was mostly right. Mark left that group and headed for another
Mark came upon a group of mercs. He listened in as the leader spoke. "Sharka has us all a job huh!" he said
"What kind of job ?" Asked a fellow mercenary.
"It seems the High Priest is having enemies, and his enemies are getting to be a fun bunch of folks. But its not the high priest or his enemies that we got hired by." Sharka said. "You see, Sharka made a deal with a princling welp. We find the Princess, Anna, she is on the posters across the kingdom. One of the three Heirs. But our job is to recover her and keep her safe as we can."
"Sounds like an easy job." Said one of the other mercernaries.
"That is where you are wrong my friend. Very wrong." Sharka replied, "Because it was not the princling welp that took on Sharka, but Anna herself. She was with a young lady who is quite pretty, they are nearby in a Inn in the Galasia District." Sharka smiled, "Did you know some women are angels ?"
"Angels ?" asked a fellow mercernary. Sharka nodded. "That is not really possible is it ?"
"It is, I seen her with my own eyes. But theres a problem, nobody can get near her, she is too skilled and just a glance from her alone tells you everything you need to know, dont try to bed her, she will kill you and dance on your dead body." Sharka told him.
"So what did you do ?" Asked the merc
"Easy, I told Anna we can protect her, for a price, she promised good coin direct from Oslo and also the kingdoms treasury itself. Sharka agreed to her terms. We start at sunrise. According to Anna we are not to let her out of our sight until she is either chosen as the Heir to the throne as the posters say or there are no more of the High Priests men to fight"
Mark turned and left the area. After overhearing the mercs talking he figured his mission was not needed. But it still was, as he spotted his target not far away.
"Amazing is it not" asked the man. "Sharka and his kind, nothing but paid soldiers, men able to take the fight to those who want it, for a price. In this case they take the money to make sure the target is safe." The man smirked. "It is almost too easy."
"Is it ?" Mark asked, stepping up next to the man. The man stared at him.
"I was starting to wonder when the Wolfe Clan would return, I guess it was to be now. But, you are too late." The man said, he turned towards Mark entirely. "Go ahead, strike me down. Its your mission after all. Shadowmane was never one to take lightly. I rightly made that mistake when I made off with the gear we agreed to sell as partners."
"That is not why I am here" Mark replied, "However I am here to let you know that Aunt Shadowmane sends her regards."
"Ah yes, the adopted nephew" The man replied. A moment passed of odd calm. Then he smiled again. "It only makes it hurt some much more when I send you home to her in a bodybag!" At those words he attacked Mark.
Mark blocked and parried, both men werent using weapons of any kind as they fought. They relied soley on martial skill. Mark's own martial prowess was thanks to training mostly with his older sisters, the twin daughters of Snowfeather his mother. And also with his mother Snowfeather herself, sometimes with his cousins as well.
"Something tells me you do not want to die today, Master Wolfe" The man said, he knew Marks name, as he had been informed by the High Priest to watch for him. But for Mark to be actively searching for him under request from his aunt, then it made more sense.
"No, its more me thinking that about you" Mark replied, the two men locked arms then, spining in a circle until the man looked Mark dead in the eye. "Besides, we keep this up and I am gonna be late for dinner." Mark said, he then saw that the guy did not seem to care.
Mark was going to have to step it up a notch. Activating his armor that Irie gave him, Marks armored fist connected with the mans chin. The man staggered back a few steps. As he did so it gave Mark some breathing room. Flicking down a leg, Mark wrenched up a pallet and flung it at the man. The pallet smashed to pieces as the man went flying into another stack of lumber.
Mark stepped forwards, the remains of the fight was fast and brutal. Finalyl Mark lifted the man verging on the edge of being knocked out due to pain. "My job is not to kill you. But to take you to someone who is to kill you. Now, you can treat her right, because if Karma does not beat you to a pulp, I gladly will" Mark said to the man. Mark never learned the mans name, only that her aunt wanted him to pay back some old debts. His job done he opened a portal and threw the man through it before stepping into the portal himself. It was time to get some answers from his aunts.
A new war was begining to brew. And if Anna had hired Sharka and his crew. It meant to Mark that he did not need to worry more of Anna's protection. If Anna, through Spike, managed to find a merc group to keep her safe. All Mark had to do was look up Sharka
Arendelle
Taelieon District
At that same moment
"Take a breath man," Sharka said upon sight of a breathless messenger. One of the younger members of the Mercs under Sharkas command. Anna was with them, standing in their midst, it made sense for them to all be present, yet also helpful too for what they needed. Sharka turned to Anna. "It is not the business of the Kopekh to pry into private matters. But this business with you being named one of three Heirs to the Arendellian Throne, when it should be yours in the first place. Well. That makes for some interesting dinner conversation."
"Your wonderment is the same as mine, Sharka. When you insisted on not being paid for this security detail for me. Is it because I am indeed the Princess of Arendelle, or is it something else ?" Anna asked him
"Its tradition" Sharka replied truthfully.
"Tradition ? How so ?" Anna asked, confusion clear in her tone. "The Kopekh are mercernaries, private security, are they not ?"
"We were" Sharka said simply, "At least until you told us who you really were, and the power that you showed us. We remembered the initial tradtions as well for our clan." Sharka replied, he smiled then. "Walk with me Princess, and I can try to explain."
"Then lead the way" Anna said to Sharka. The two then left the Taelieon District and headed into the Galasia District, before taking a turn into a new district Anna never heard of. A strictly Mongolian strength was felt upon the members living within the new district.
"You see, Princess. When you told me who you were, what you were. An old memory resurfaced, a memory concerning a vision one of our sages back in Mongolia had." Sharka said as they walked. "She said 'a woman would seek us out. She would say she is a princess and that she would be willing to pay for a security force. But the Kopekh are not merceenaries, not any more. When you return to Arendelle, you return to your true roots.'" Sharka explained. "The womans name was Kameriliah. Her daughters, Yin and Yang, became my clans Great Mothers. We're all decendants of the same family here."
"So Arendelle is where you started ?" Anna said, at Sharkas nod she then continued. "So why refuse my offer of payment ? It does not make any sense, according to some people, the High Priest means to kill me, not keep me safe."
"And that is where you are in luck, you see, the High Priest is scared to go near the Taelieon, or the Hychyt Districts, as well as the other three districts, the Maral, Alagh, and the Jochi Districts all are too strong for his soldiers to venture deep into, any models they try to place we use for our own needs." Sharka said to her.
"You still did not answer my question Sharka, why wont you take my payment to keep me safe ?" Anna asked him
"Because it is our time honored job. Our lives are dedicated to keeping the most important in acity safe, even if they are a ruthless dictator, or a kind teacher. You see, the Kopekh originally started in Arendelle generations ago, but with our Great Mothers and their mother. They left Arendelle after a great war of history so very long ago. Hundreds of thousands of years ago" Sharka explained, he pointed at Anna as he spoke. "The original job of the Wolfe Clan, as laid down by Second Wolfe himself, at the very start of Arendelle was to protect the royal family as long as his bloodline survived."
Sharka smiled and sighed then. "Alas, came the Crystal Wars. With the death of her youngest brother, Kamerilah Wolfe set aside her sword, and traveled east, she settled in Mongolia. Started a new root of the Wolfe Clan there. A secret root. Giving it the name of The Kopekh, our front shop as one would call it is simply a group of mercenaries for hire, but deep with in, we're a family, tried and true, and we work in the dark to protect those we love."
"So you're a Wolfe ?" Anna asked him. It was starting to make sense to her at that point, the refusal of money, the Wolfe Clan protected the Arendelle Royal Family for no pay whatsoever, often ensuring by night time patrols within the castle unseen by even the Arendelle Guards appointed by Elsa and her soldiers.
Sharka nodded "Yes, that we are, all of the Kopekh that you saw in the Taelieon District are Wolfe Clan members, but we dare not make a move to return to our ancestral home of the Wolf Manor in the Wolfe District, not yet. Its too soon. We might even be viewed as outsiders, unable to be taken in by our own family." Sharka smiled then as Anna realised what he was saying.
"I think I see what you mean, you fear that you could be seen as outsiders, uncouth, brash. But that is how you grew up isnt it ? There's no denying its your way of life, to adapt to a new way of life isnt easy" Anna said, coming from her it was as if she had matured greatly over time. "So, until anyone says otherwise, or if anyone I know disagree with me, I name you my guards, all of the Kopekh, you are all Wolfe Clan members, and therefore its sworn duty by blood to protect the royal family."
"Agreed, and for that we refuse payment, we only ask that instead we get a daily wage, in this case enough to buy a meal or two during the day. The basics really, we want to establish a solid base, the Taelieon District borders both the Galasia District to the west, and the Wolf District to the southwest, to the east we border a few others, the Dojo mostly. With Roughwater to the direct south. With your permission I would like to get some of my guys started on collecting supplies and materials needed to begin work on a permament structure there."
"You have it. Anything your men require can be had from any district that is still loyal to my sister" Anna said.
"In this case, we are loyal to you, and because of that we are working to not just keep you safe, but to keep Arendelle safe from your wrath should it come to it." Sharka said, a jovial tone in his voice.
"Oh now that might not be right, me, wrathful ?" Anna said, she had a smirk in her tone, almost as if lighthearted like Sharka was joking with her. "You really think I could be a force to be reconkend with ?" Anna asked him.
"More then likely your highness. My men and I will see to it that you are kept safe, A member of the Kopekh will always be within earshot of your beck and call. And should you need it, at your elbow to ensure your needs are met. We have female members as well to aid you in more intimate needs should you need privacy." Sharka said, the two then started walking again, back into the Taelieon district.
"Why are you telling me all of this, Sharka ? Do you wish to gain anything from this aside from resuming your old role as a protector ?" Anna asked him as they walked along. They entered a crowded street
"I have always been a protector. Its the job of a Kopekh member, and as its leader. I have to do what I can to ensure the family grows. My wife can see that your room is readied for what you need." Sharka said as they entered the massive warehouse structure of the Taelieon District.
"You never struck me as a married man" Anna said as they entered what looked to be a longhouse designed out of a old Arendellian novel that Anna had read.
"Oh that I am, and my wife will see to your needs, she's just inside, I need to speak with some of the messengers that arrived while we were on our walk. Dont worry, Altan does not bite. Too hard." Sharka said, allowing Anna to go on her own into the house. Anna had to briefly wonder what Sharka meant by that last two words.
The messenger stepped into view of Sharka. "What news do you bring ?" Sharka asked the two men.
"Two people fought upstairs, both men before disappearing before we could intervine, it seems that one of the two was more intent on taking the other prisoner alive instead of outright killing" Said one of the messengers
"Go on" Sharka said turning fro9m one messenger to the next
"The portal used by the man was similar to the one used by the Great Mothers" The first messenger said.
"He is a Wolfe, or trained by them, did you see the Gauntlet ?" Sharka asked
"No" Came the reply as the messenger shook his head. "But we did see formation of armor upon his hand and body. It is similar to how the armor described to us years ago during the Queens midnight birthday party"
"It is possible then that he is the Wolfe we heard rumor of. Remember how we suddenly remembered him a few weeks ago ?" The second messenger said as Sharka looked his way, it made the three men think a moment in thought before Sharka was nodding. It made sense in the long run.
"Alright, let us say he is a Wolfe, he might be one of us sure, but what of his fight style ? According to most reports of the man you describe, an idea of his style of fighting could come in handy." Sharka said.
"Well, he fought like a Egyptian boxer of some kind. Skilled and rather crafty, yet he aimed only to knock out, not to kill" The messenger described Marks fight style, heavy, weight and raw power coiled like a snake ready to strike, and yet his stance was the most confusing. "It is possible he was trained by the fabled Elisars of Egypt."
"If that is indeed the case then he is indeed a Wolfe, you remebmer how decades ago that the Wolfe Manor was attacked in ambush. There was no other way for anyone to escape if it were not for Marcus Wolfe's children, Marion, and Mark, had set those traps within their home if the stories are to be believed" Sharka said thoughtfully.
"I believe them, they were children then, born before our time, this kingdom has been lost to time until recent events across the world. So now, here we are." Said the first messenger.
"Yes, see where he is staying, if you can, get word to him, I want to meet him. It does not matter where, just get me an appointment to meet with him, it can be a eatery, or house, or even a muledeer stable for all care." Sharka said. The two messengers nodded and left to find Mark. Leaving Sharka in their wake.
As the two men left, Sharka rubbed his Mongolkian braided beard thoughtfully. Mark Wolfe, his last meeting with the Great Mothers, his ancestors who were very much alive. He had been told, wore the Gauntlet, and if it was anything like it was said to be. Sharka was actually glad that it was Mark who was chosen, not anyone else.
The more Sharka thought about it, the more he was relieved to not have been chosen to weild the Gauntlet of Second Wolfe. A incredibly powerful ancient artefact made by an Isu. But just thinking of his own ancestors made him smirk. He turned and went into his house, calling for his second in command. "Darbai!"
"Sir!" Said a voice from nearby.
"Can you get me a connection to the All-Mother ?" Sharka asked
"I cannot, there has been nothing from her in a year and a month now. Nobody can find news of her." Darbai replied simply, it was a unpleasent truth. Sharka sighed, he facepalmed himself, dragging his hand down his face in a low growl. Just their luck that Light was still out of reach.
"Alright" Sharka said after a moment, "What about the All-Father ? Surely he is in reach ?" Again another shake of the head, this time with a sad expression, they were running out of options. Sharka sighed, "What about Lady Kanwar ? Or her daughter, Lady Xeibo ?"
"I am not sure of Lady Xeibo, but Lady Kanjwar did try to get in touch with us shortly before we were contracted by Princess Anna" Darbai said simply.
"When ?" Sharka asked
"This morning, just before breakfast. She said that it was merely important to try and get back to her regarding events here in Arendelle, and if you needed them, she'd send some of her own soldiers to aid us. I said you were busy, I didnt want to disrupt you and Altans morning wake up rutine" Darbai was a smart man, Altan and Sharka were husband and wife. And their morning rutine normally meant that she was naked and he was tanged in her legs and four blankets struggling to reach the alarm clock.
Sharka smirked, Darbai had seen worse, but it made sense. "Good man, I'll contact her. Same niumber ?" Darbai nodded and Sharka took his leave. This was gonna be a fun day. "Alright, have the main area cleared out, we can set up for soldiers should Kanwar send some."
Darbai smirked, he headed from the house and headed for the main area of the Taelieon district.
Arendelle
Marketplace District
8 PM
Dinner was eventful. Once again Mark noticed his cousin, Irie, either over dressed, or just dressed enough to make Aunt Shadowmane choke twice on her drink and once on her meal during dinner. To say Irie could dress modestly and in some cases more recently rather provocatively was an understatement. That night at Dinner, Irie was basically dressed in a rather modest yet still very revealing swimsuit. Mark of course barely batted an eye at such thing. After all, he had seen both of his sisters buck naked at the dinner table and never said a word. Then again the girls also slept in the nude so seeing each other in a sexual manner was entirely lost on the three siblings. Even though Mark was their brother by simply adoption and not by blood, it was not unexpected to see the three naked and quite literally not caring whatsoever if the other saw it.
But Irie wearing a swimsuit, with leggings, she looked pretty nice truth be told, nothing over extravagant, yet still modest and beautiful at the same time. Enough to the point wherein had Mark been paying attention, Irie was trying to flirt with him. Just like the Horny Chief as Mark kept thinking of the crazy Mongolian side of him kept saying. The Chief, Mark could feel was trying to get greater control over Marks feelings. But somehow he kept that from happening. For the moment.
Instead the conversation was more focused on the fact that Mark had brought home his aunts target in one piece, very much alive, and ontop of that learned some important infoformation as well. In this case it became clear that Mark was still able to follow orders and even porform those orders better then he used to. "So, did you get what you wanted ?" He asked to Shadowmane, meaning the revenge she sought.
"For the most part, yes, but not all of it. You see he did try to treat me wrong again." Shadowmane said, Mark smirked. "I told him that Karma was a bitch."
"And let me guess, you tried to wreck him and he got away ?" Blackmane spoke up before Mark could ask the same question, which made him point at her as if saying 'what Aunt Blackie said'
"No, I let him get away, because Karma is too busy fucking with certain parties in Arendelle already. Word is that Sapphire is now wanted by the Honor Guard for failure to show up for work on time." Shadowmane said.
"So it falls to me to kill him ?" Mark asked, he for the moment ignored his cousins very soft, very bare leg against his foot under the table. Irie was getting bolder, and both women with them was either oblivious to it, or simpoly wanting it to play out.
"Nope, he will fuck up on his own. I just want to be able to watch" Shadowmane said. She refilled her plate of the meats on the table. She could tell Irie needed help, and Vaeyuko insisted on letting Irie court Mark on her own, even if Mark was completely oblivious to the whole thing. "When men fuck up on their own, it makes for much more fun entertainment then doing it myself" Shadowmane explained to Marks unasked question. Mark had to nod at his aunts explianing it. It made more sense. Letting the man get away. He cast a glance at his cousin across from him. 'later' he mouthed to her. Blackmane however noticed him say the silent word and cracked a smile.
"In the mean time I have a job for you both, thankfully Irie is dressed for it." Blackmane said, Mark looked at her as Irie smiled. "How do you feel about water ?"
"Do I really have to answer that ?" Mark asked her, a smirk in his tone.
"Not entirely, but you're gonna swim anyhow" Blackmane said in reply, she sipped her glass of wine. "There are some items in the fjord that need to be recovered. It should not take too long to recover them and bring them back here. I want the two of you to recover the items on this list" Blackmane set a list of items from her belt onto the table, "and bring them back here to this table."
Mark reached for the list, but Irie beat him to it, snagging it before his fingers touched the paper. "But this is a big list. Lumber, medicines, some of this stuff the Templars had requested, but Mark sank those shipsin the fjords around Arendelle to keep them from supplying their soldiers in the districts." Irie said
"Indeed, sixteen ships went down in the fjord at that order, all in an effort to stop the Templars from suppling their men with drugs enough to take on our own soldiers." Blackmane said
"So we recover the medicines and drugs, but why the lumber ?" Mark asked most ships those days were made of steel and glass, rarely lumber, the Whitesparrow was proof of that thanks to Blackmanes magic transforming it from a gorgeous Man-O-War to a massive Iowa class battleship.
"We'll need it if we're going to have to rebuild several districts after we oust the High Priest from his place of control." Blackmane said.
"I see" Mark said, he went quiet then and took a sip of wine.
"You have until sunrise to recover the medicines and drugs, sunset tomorrow, to recover all the lumber." Blackmane said, Mark spat his wine out, drenching Irie in the face at his aunts very limited timeframe.
Irie merely closed her eyes as the wine sprawed her in the face, drenching her face and getting a bit on her suit. But she said nothing as Mark choked back a "Whoops" and turned to Blackmane, "The drugs and medicines by sunrise I understand, but the lumber, wouldnt it be rotted out by now thanks to the water ?"
"No, the Fjords of Norway are chilling waters, barely anything survives in it for very long. Lumber however will remain intact for an extended periods due to the sheer cold of the water preventing the rot from settling in" Blackmane said "Unless of course the ship sank in a current, if that is the case you can inspect the lumber for its quality and if it is saveable, mark it for recovery. Otherwise mark it as lost, with the mills in the kingdom ready for use anyway, most of the lumber recovered can be offset by what we have to supply directly" Well that made even less sense
Mark however nodded. "Alright, when do we start ?" He asked, then mentally kicked himself in the butt for asking such a question as Blackmane said simply
"As soon as you are done eating, get ready for a swim, you and Irie have this job and you have until sunrise to get the medicines, sunset to get the lumber." Mark then got down to finishing his food. Maybe if he ate quicker he could focus better ?
-8-8-8-
In his room, Mark stared at the door, sitting upon the bed he thought over the events at dinner. Irie was getting bolder, he could almost smell her sweet scent over the meal itself.
But she was his cousin. He had to keep a level head, he was married. But sure his wife was gone, dead more then likely. So he was a widower ? Did that even make sense ? No. Mark was not going to hammer his cousin, he could keep himself in control.
Time slowed to a halt around him, shadows grew lighter as his vision shifted and danced. A figure appearing in his room with him. "Dude, you are oblivious, both of your aunts saw it too!"
"Well hello to you too" Mark said, never looking to the Honry Chief as Mark started to think of him as. "Come to tell me again that my cousin has eyes on me, you saw how she dressed!"
"She was dressed ready for tonights mission ?" Horny Chief asked
"Listen you hornball, my cousin was dressed like a harem girl! Can you explain to me why ?" Mark glared hard at the mongolian leopard that looked more and more like a body builder from Mongolia, in fact more like a Khan then anything. "And what about this Sharka guy ?"
"What about him ? Dont tell me you're interested in married men" the Cat replied.
"You know, I am very close to getting you neutered" Mark grumbled, at that, time returned to normal and Mark stepped from his room, clad in a swimsuit ready to go scuba diving in the fjord for drugs and medicine, and if his aunt was right, lumber as well. Of course getting those was not going to be easy either. Which meant he had to try and focus since Irie was going to be with him.
-8-8-8-
Irie stood in the front porch of the Marketplace den in the darkening evening light. Vaeyuko said that the soldiers ran salvage operations nightly, and wouldnt bother to check in on two more divers offering to get stuff from the fjords. Most of the men were fisherment over anything.
But that did not explain the evenings events, Mark returned, bringing with him a bag of goodies for Aunt Shadowmane. And then aunt Shadow even said to get ready as if to go swimming that evening, which Irie had gladly done so. But the reaction she got from Mark was more of a focused one. And she felt herself just need him. But she struggled to keep herself under control.
But, it gladdened her heart when Mark actually mouthed that one word to her, the word she had been waiting to hear. 'later' he had mouthed, did he mean he would speak to her about her needs later, or could she corner him later ? Iries mother had left to go to the Taelieon District to ensure that the stuff Mark had recovered was also in one place. Vaeyuko was also going to see if there was anything more to be found.
So Irie waited, standing outside the Den on the front porch alone was sure to draw the unwanted attention of the nearby patrols, but the soldiers ignored her for the most part. Knowing full well their patrol routes took them elsewhere. For once Irie was thankful. If needed they had their armor, hidden as it was in the form of a pair of very nice fitbit type watches.
Irie started pacing, Blackmane had put them on the mission together, was that because Vaeyuko, Iries mother, said to let them work together more ? Or was it because Blackmane and Aunt Shadowmane knew that she was in heat, and she just wanted Mark ?
Just thinking of Mark made Irie smile, he was a good fighter. He tested all the gear she made for the Assassins before she sent it into mass production she'd have him test it first, it was always him, sometimes the girls, Serena, or Serenity, sometimes Asami and her brother Jade, once or twice a week she'd send something to Topaz's brother Lazul But almost everything new that she'd make for the Brotherhood she'd test, through Mark putting it through hell. And if it worked and did the job as needed, then that was good. It was always good.
Irie forced herself to calm down. It was no use, she could not try for Mark, not yet, not when she had only just barely scratched the surface of her cousins hard shell. If she tried to ohard too quickly, she would only end in heartbreak, that was what Shadowmane had told her.
Irie sighed, but turned as she heard the door open. "You ready ?" It was Mark. Irie nodded.
"I'm ready, lets do what Aunt Blackie asked of us. Somehow a sleepless night is in our future" She said to him. Mark smiled, a gentle pat on her shoulder and he walked off, towards the docks.
Irie stared at Marks butt in that swimsuit,. And had to mentally shake herself carefully, she had a mission to do from her aunt, this was not a typical hot springs shot they were to do either. The Fjords were freezing and the armor she had made was going to counter the cold on a very thin level.
But somehow she knew it would work. She doubted she would get cold. But Mark, she worried slightly if he would get cold.