Wandering in the Waking: part 2
Here for today, but as for tomorrow?
"I barely knew him really, no one did, and yet every one who came in contact with him knew at once that they were in the presence of something... something special, and were some how uplifted by it."
-Heidi
notes: So this one's a challenge... //~ ... ~// is for when Sydney is "talking" to Ashley in the Waking world... I needed to differentiate it /somehow/ because Ashley is the only one who can hear the mage at present and having too many // ... // things floating around was giving me a headache.
"So... How was your day?" Sydney's voice would've been at home in a courtroom but his appearance would have raised eyebrows among legal crowds. His baggy cotton pants were rolled above the knee as he daintily picked his way through the stream; the only concession to a shirt was an oversized vest. The knight watched the younger man dubiously as he had since the blonde had arrived, waiting for the inevitable slip. Between the mage's often comical balancing maneuvers and his outfit, he bore a striking resemblance to a drunken sailor.
"Why do you always ask me that? And /what/ are you doing?" Ashley surrendered his relaxing seat to wade into the stream, and caught the blonde mid-tumble from a particularly wobbly rock. Dropping the petulant mage on the shore, he resumed his seat and worked his water-stiff boots off. Sydney watched, amused, as the knight pitched the offending articles carelessly over a shoulder and into the tall grass.
"I ask you because it's as good a way as any to start a conversation with you... besides, you never actually /answer/ it, so I'm hoping that mayhap familiarity with the question may trigger a more verbose response." The mage poked him soundly, emphasizing his point. "As for what I was doing, I /was/ having fun... It's not like I can come here when you're not around... and your water's warmer than mine... " Ashley snorted and watched the blonde flop backwards into the grass. "Riskbreaker, why don't you simply /dry/ the damn boots instead of flinging them hither-thither-and-yon? You'll never find them again..."
"What?" The soldier vainly fought to keep abreast of the man's verbal wandering. "I'll find the boots when I need to. And to answer /your/ earlier question, the /day/ was fine... as always."
" 'Fine' he says... Whatever, did you practice?"
"No. Hunted." The knight's voice was deadpanned, knowing the response would irritate his companion.
"Why?"
"I felt like it."
"But not like practicing."
"Not particularly, no."
"Your /hopeless/!" Sydney gave up the verbal sparring, rolling over to kick the man in the shin, and stubbing his toe. Still grumbling in pain, he stood up and dusted the loose grass off. "Well come on, if I can't make you /act/ the part of a proper Rood Bearer, at least I can make you /talk/ like one... conversation practice. My place. Now. From now on we converse in Kildean!"
Ashley followed morosely, the evening suddenly seeming to become longer at the prospect of conjugating the difficult phrases. "And how long will we attempt this exercise in futility?" He knew that the complaints were just a screen, the lessons had been remarkably pleasant once the mage had taken them over and his confidence was improving. They had covered more ground in a month than the goddess had managed in half a year.
// Of course it helps that he can explain things in ways I understand... even if he does think I'm an idiot because of it.//
The blonde stopped suddenly and tossed him a sinister smirk. "'How long?' Why.... Until you can do it /right/ of course."
// I feel like someone's been using my head for an anvil. //
Ashley rubbed his forehead and glanced forlornly out the window, the dark waters seeming strangely welcoming after the rigorous lesson. The blonde had drilled him for seemingly endless hours but at length had pronounced the knight's performance /adequate/ and allowed the conversation to lapse. Sydney used the quiet time to stare into the flames of the hearth, ignoring his customary cup of tea.
// And is it just me or is he /a lot/ more tightly strung lately... As he wouldn't hesitate to point out if the fault was mine... it must be something else... unfortunately that covers an infinite range of possibilities. Come on, you can puzzle this out... the whelp is difficult, but hardly impossible to predict... most likely it has something to do with Müllencamp, and what she told him last week...//
The goddess had put in a surprise appearance in the middle of one of Sydney's lessons, the chiming of her veils audible outside the window. Both men rose to greet her as she made her entrance and sat down.
"Greetings my children! How go your studies, Ashley? " She waved away the cup proffered by the mage and fashioned herself a large goblet of something undisputedly alcoholic. Touching goblet to teacups, she toasted the room and downed the drink in a gulp, drawing a laugh from the blonde.
"You seem in quite a cheerful mood, been having a good time then while you've been away... 'Tis well. " Sydney and the woman exchanged arch smiles. She then leveled a look at his student, giving the knight a pointed stare.
"My studies continue, Great Lady. There is some small hope that I am improving." Ashley nodded politely to the goddess, who beamed in happy encouragement. She didn't seem to note the sharp glare he shot at the mage who had been kicking him under the table.
"I knew you could do it!" Müllencamp smiled at them in turn and resumed speaking to Sydney. "You always were so /dependable/... this makes me so happy... knowing things are well in hand..." She abruptly stood, as if recalling an appointment. "Well, troublesome one, if you'd walk with me for a moment, I would speak with you. Not you Ashley." She gestured for the knight to remain inside and Sydney offered a placating shrug before following the woman outside.
Through the window Ashley witnessed a rather animated conversation, which was soon over, the woman disappearing in a rainbow flash. The mage stalked back in to the kitchen moment's later, expression sour, but managed to deflect the knight's questions with ease and continued the lesson.
The silence was growing unnerving, and headache fading, the knight decided to take drastic steps. Sometimes a head-on approach was the best way to get a reaction from the man. "Sydney, what the Hell did that woman say to you the other day? I'm assuming it wasn't good..." Ashley successfully caught the blonde's eye and pinned him with a stare. The mage grimaced but remained silent.
// She said that she's fallen madly in love with some new jerk in another dimension, and has fundamentally left me /completely/ responsible for you... but I can't precisely /say/ that... you'll just look at me with that "She's completely daft" look... And for some reason it really bothers me that she doesn't seem to care that she has a new Rood Bearer, she prefers to just use me as the go between. It just feels wrong... Not that it's likely that Ashley cares /what/ she thinks of him or how much attention she pays him... but why is she so distant? //
Sydney chose his words carefully to bait the knight, keeping his tone light. "Nothing much, and /don't/ call her 'woman'... she /is/ my deity after all. She's /yours/ too, so show some respect."
"Unlikely, I think she'd appreciate that I'm honest more than any fake politeness." Ashley frowned seeing the blonde's attention fade, the younger man refusing to rise to the occasion and continue the playful argument.
// Haven't we already had this argument? Twice? /Repetition/, even our arguments have grown stale... barely a month passes and it's already bothering me, this place. There's nothing /new/ here...except what I create for myself... and lately there's been little inspiration. When I was alive I never noticed... I still spent most of my time in the Waking so this place was a novelty... but now 'tis like those old philosophers speculated... even Paradise can be a prison if you are forbidden to leave. //
"Hello, Sydney... anyone there? If it's not Her, than what the devil is eating at you so? Your constant moping is out of character... not to mention a trifle disturbing..."
"What do you know of /my/ character! You do not /rule/ me, Riskbreaker!" The mage's sudden and angry outburst caught both of them by surprise, Ashley blinking in amazement as the mood in the room flickered from cold rage and back to defeat all within a moment. Sydney covered his traitorous mouth with a hand, feeling the complete idiot. He mustered a wan smile for the dumbstruck man. "I'm sorry... that was uncalled for... I meant nothing."
The knight watched him a moment longer, obviously uncertain of what to say to defuse the situation. "Very well... 'Tis forgotten if you wish... I was only trying to get you to speak... I've shared more than my fair share of troubles with you lately... as a friend I had hoped that you would feel free to do the same..."
"Friends... a curious thing is it not? For the likes of us? In the beginning you were trying to kill me."
"You were resisting arrest, what was I supposed to do?" Ashley caught his eye again and the mage found it impossible to look away.
"Besides... you're trying to change the topic."
Sydney made another sour face and drank the rest of his tea. "Alright, you have a point... just don't laugh or I'll /kill/ you." The Riskbreaker merely rested his chin on his fist, calmly waiting. "'Tis a small thing really... silly even. I never before realized how... This place can be just so..." He smiled ruefully, not certain how to explain himself to the pragmatic man.
"You're /bored/."
Ashley's voice was emotionless, and as closely as Sydney looked, he could spy no trace of the smile he was sure the man was hiding. The mage's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I was going to say 'trapped', but yes, 'bored' works as well... There's just not bloody much to /do/ here... except educate you and run errands for Müllencamp. And /you/ don't really need me anymore, I've just about finished with everything you're interested in... and /she/ doesn't have anything for me to do because she keeps /wandering off/. I mean, you've /met/ the others here... you /know/ what they're like... Not precisely the kind of neighbors you visit often... I think I'm going stir crazy."
"You're bored...?" The knight repeated himself in a murmur, obviously still amused by his deduction despite his stern demeanor. "You mean to tell me that you've been in a /snit/ all week, because you have /writer's block/?! Do you have /any/ idea how worried I..." He cut himself off with a huff and leaned back, giving the mage an irate glare. "You could've /said/ something."
"I'd hardly call it 'writer's block'... I'm talking about raw forces of creation here, not just scribbling... /that's/ easy... I write all the time." Sydney matched the knight's look with one of his own. "Besides, it's bloody embarrassing to have to admit it. Who the Hell gets bored in Paradise?"
"What kind of writing?" Ashley's question abruptly derailed the blonde's rant between one sentence and the next.
"What?"
"You write. I was curious as to the topic."
"Nothing you'd be interested in." The mage tidied the room with a wave of his hand and stood. "Come on then."
The soldier allowed himself to be pushed towards the door, humoring the younger man's wild shifts in mood. "And where might we be going?"
"Your place. 'Tis more entertaining than being cooped up in here."
"Odd, you always complain that my place is too bright..."
"It /is/, but at least /that's/ novel."
// A question I haven't had to ask myself since... well ... not ever I suppose... Tia was easy to entertain... but what /does/ one do to amuse a person who is tired of being able to /do/ whatever he wants... even the question itself seems idiotic. //
"What precisely do you want to /do/? I'm assuming your mood stems from the fact that you are foiled in your aims somehow?" The knight had produced a small block of wood and a sharp knife, and proceeded to carve a rough shape. The mage was sprawled amidst the dappled shadows watching the leaves above them shift in the breeze.
"You assume correctly." He shifted his gaze to the older man's hands and watched as the curls of wood slowly formed and fell from the blade. "What do I want...? The /impossible/, of course." He smiled at the knight's grunt of amusement. "It seems today is my day to be truthful... /Truthfully/ then, I want out. I want to leave this place... just for a bit, a day, Hell... I'd settle for an hour..."
"So?"
The mage blinked at the man's blunt response, "Hello?! I'm /dead/ remember? The only ways that the dead can walk in the Waking is if they're /cursed/... or mentally unstable enough to /want/ to haunt someone or someplace. The only way I could leave the Shadow Lands now is if I sever my bonds with the Dark and die a 'complete death' or ..." Ashley watched, amused, as the blonde seemed to reach the same conclusion that he had arrived at moments before. Sydney's face went slowly blank as his mind furiously attacked the problem.
// For /once/ I figure something out before he does... but then I do these things all by /feel/ where as he, being more knowledgeable of the rules, would be less inclined to consider /all/ possibilities. Now all I have to do is wait and see if he can determine /how/ to do it... Resurrecting the dead... that's what being Rood Bearer is all about, isn't it? Just because I've never done it before doesn't mean I can't... but then Sydney isn't /precisely/ dead, is he... and I doubt that Müllencamp would be amused if I brought him back for real. //
Sydney's smile, as he sat up, was positively manic, a sharp, wild thing. "Say... Ashley... what are you doing tomorrow...? Nothing too /tiring/ I hope?" The knight set aside his hobby and gave the gleeful blonde an indulgent look.
// If he was scheming any harder he'd be rubbing his hands together like some sort of gnome who had just discovered treasure... and chortling... what a disturbing image.. ugh. //
"Not particularly, why?"
"Would you mind /terribly/ if I came for a visit?" If possible the mage's smile became wider.
"Do I have to /do/ anything?"
Suddenly all business, Sydney tapped his chin in thought, "I think I can still draw power from /here/ when I'm there... But it will be your energy that will be needed to carve the path between here and there, and then you'll have to sort of 'hold the door open' for as long as I'm there... It could get to be burdensome... more of a slow continuous drain than casting a spell, but requiring far less energy." The mage noted the man's somewhat baffled look and tried a different tack. "You have to 'loan' me some energy... and 'allow' me to haunt you... But aside from that no, there's no chanting or drawing symbols or any of those 'magicky' things you loathe... Come on... it'll be an adventure... what do you say..." He assumed his most patently innocent face, the one he used to wheedle favors from Müllencamp, "...Please? ..."
// It would serve him right if I let him squirm... but there's not much point to it is there. //
Ashley shrugged his surrender, one of his rare smiles ghosting across his features. "You really shouldn't make faces like that, you know... it completely obliterates any hope you'll ever have of me visualizing you as a cold, menacing dark-mage." His laconic comment caused the mage to blink in surprise then stick out his tongue childishly. "You're only damning yourself further..." This time the knight couldn't suppress a chuckle.
"I'll show you /menacing/ in a second or two, if you don't agree to help me..." Sydney moved with lightning speed and prodded the older man's chest with a metallic claw threateningly.
"/Yes/ then, you demanding whelp... Anything to get you to stop sulking... just try to stay out from underfoot...Ok?" Ashley closed his eyes and settled back, feigning sleep.
// I have you now brat... maybe now you'll see that you can rely on me as much as I've been obliged to depend on you. Then we can be relaxed again... the way we were before... //
In a rare moment of harmony, they spent the rest of the timeless afternoon in companionable silence. The warm breeze and bird song flowed around them.
Sydney was a patient man. Really he considered it one of his finer attributes.
// Probably a predictable side-effect from all those years of studying... not to mention being more than a little precognitive... When you know /what/ is going to happen... the /when/ is sometimes less important... //
So he waited. Ashley's world had no more association with 'time' than did his own; the afternoon stretched on unwaveringly. Sydney dozed for a time, most of his mind idling while the analytical machinery churned through the potential difficulties of his plan. He kept one eye cracked however, always aware of the cloud-watching man at his side. It was a fairly short time later when the man faded out, his form wavering, then gone between one breath and the next.
// Finally. And now to see if my plans are for naught... but then there's never been a prison that could hold me... not when I was alive... and there's no reason for my luck to turn bad now... //
Sydney closed his eyes and concentrated, visualizing a thread running from himself and extending /upwards/ towards the Waking and reality. Its far end, attached to the Riskbreaker, was well out of sight. Gathering his strength, the mage began to climb, trusting his friend to maintain the connection.
// This ... this is going to take a while, I think. //
The Shadow Lands rapidly faded around him as he pulled himself upwards, less like climbing than like walking up a steep hill. He moved cautiously and kept a hand firmly in the 'rope', using it as a guide. The gray mists swirled angrily and twined about his straining limbs but he shrugged them off, continuing out of their reach. He had entered the Betweening, the twisting chaos that existed between worlds. The dark and dizzying sensations were unpleasant so he shut his eyes against their pull and concentrated harder at moving steadily hand over hand towards his goal. The rope came to a halt at a solid barrier, and Sydney opened his eyes to find himself completely in the dark save for the pale luminescence of the cord in his hands and the Rood Inverse etched into the air in front of him. He released his careful grip of the cord with one hand and touched the sigil carefully, feeling Ashley's life force flowing through it.
// Well... here goes nothing... I hope he hears me.//
// Ashley... Open the door? Please? //
There was no verbal response to the request, but the Rood flared brightly, seemingly responding to some predefined instruction. With a yelp the mage was rapidly drawn into a brightly shimmering portal and he fell into reality with a spiritual /thump/.
// That will definitely take some getting used to...//
Sydney went to rub his forehead, not yet willing to try his legs, but paused, noting his appearance altered. Inspecting himself carefully he found he was once more as he was in Léa Monde but otherwise things were as anticipated. If he looked carefully he could see the lines of power connecting him to the Shadow Lands trailing behind him, leading the way back home.
// Makes sense, the stress of the transfer /would/ trigger my shifting into a more 'powerful' form... and that one would most certainly have to be the one I possessed when I walked the city. //
He brushed some illusory dust from his pants and stood taking in his surroundings for the first time. Touching anything was a useless endeavor. His body possessed no physical mass and brushed easily through the nearby table, leaving no mark.
// A true ghost then... amusing. That does prove my assumption though, if the Dark is providing me most of the energy I need to be stable in this place the strain on the Riskbreaker ought to be minimal... Still, it's odd... He doesn't seem to be fully awake yet... Not that I can see much in this darkness... Where /am/ I?//
The mage turned slowly, investigating the area as well as he could in the limited light. The room was quite small, and dark, and /cluttered/. Every surface seemed to be covered in /things/. Furs hung heavily on the walls; the varied pelts surrounded him and were interrupted by a solitary tiny window of heavily bubbled glass. The little light that pushed through the window barely illuminated the rough table that dominated the room, shining over the bits of scrap and various weapons and tools that festooned its surface. Sydney idly glanced over what appeared to be a small notebook and smiled at the carefully copied Kildean characters.
// So he /is/ practicing... at least a little... there may be hope for him yet. //
Off to one side a large pile of furs stirred suddenly and emitted a rough groan, breaking the hushed mood and startling the mage badly. Backpedaling quickly, Sydney lost his balance and, unused to not being able to catch himself, fell /through/ the wall of the hut, flailing furiously. His vision went white as he landed with a bump, then sat up and blinked frantically to adjust his eyes to the light as he found himself in a snow-bank. Cursing luridly he collected himself and stomped back into the cabin.
// Maybe if we put a little /light/ on the subject. //
In no mood for further surprises, Sydney held out a hand and summoned a tiny ball of light, allowing it to drift upwards near the ceiling. Its cheerful glow fell on everything, revealing better the contents of the small space. Surely enough, buried deep with in a nest of blankets and cured pelts there was the definite form of a largish man, who shifted again with a muttered curse as the light grew brighter.
//~ Rise and /shine/ Riskbreaker... it is apparently a bright, /sunny/, winter day... wherever we are... ~//
The blankets stirred again and a thick voice croaked a startled, "...Sydney? ..." The man rapidly pulled himself fully awake and sat up, kicking off the offending covers to reveal a rough shirt and carefully patched pants of nondescript color. "What are you /doing/ here?... wait... I mean /now/. What are you doing here /now/ ? Can't you give a man a little warning so he can tidy up a little? This place is a mess."
//~ I'd noticed. ~// The mage laughed merrily, teasing commentary at the tip of his tongue. He fixed his best superior /look/ on the man in front of him, opened his mouth, and /froze/. The moments ticked by as he stared but despite his attempts no words would come out, his shock was absolute.
// This... /Impossible/!... but the /voice/ is the same... and the attitude... but he's ... and the... /what/ is he /wearing/? // At length his mind was able to focus again and supplied him with a realization.
// ... well... now I know why he never talks about his day in any detail... where he is... what he's up to... I can guess... I /don't/ believe it. But I can guess. //
The two men continued to stare, one still too sleep-muddled to recognize the problem, the other too stunned to enunciate it clearly. Finally Sydney found his voice.
//~ Ashley?! ~//
The knight blushed, or would have if his cheeks had been visible under the thick dark beard. The fact that the small cabin was not the only thing that needed 'tidying' struck him with painful force. "I can explain." He tried to forestall the clearly faint cultist with an outstretched hand.
//~ Explain. /Explain/ ?! Ashley, what the /Hell/ have you done to yourself! You look like a savage! ~// The mage staggered backwards as the soldier gingerly stood, and overbalancing once more, resumed his previous position of stupidly admiring the inside of a snow drift.
// Usually when a man makes an effort to 'pretty' himself up... it's for a woman. //
Ashley kept his irony-laden thoughts to himself as he dragged the razor across his cheek, scraping off the last of his beard. The accomplishment of several months lay in a large pile on the tabletop. He was faintly grateful for the small mirror he had borrowed from Tam after their journey at mid-winter, although he had forgotten all about the original reason for borrowing it until now. The rest of his hair, with the exception of his customary 'tails' had been eliminated by the simple means of pulling it back into a mass and hacking it off. An additional rough trim of the remaining pieces had given him a fairly close approximation to his usual look. The remains of his beard would soon be joining the rest as they charred to cinder on the small fire outside under the watchful glare of the mage. Ashley carefully ignored the laughing maniac whom he had evicted from his perch on the table on the grounds that the mage was a distraction he didn't need when applying a sharp knife to his face.
The knight wiped off the last of the stubble with a sleeve and leaned back to glare at the mage through the doorway. "Sydney, if you won't be useful will you /please/ shut up?! "
The blonde continued chortling; now that the shock had worn off the younger man apparently found the whole situation vastly amusing. "You... you looked /ridiculous/!" Sydney crowed with new mirth and fell off his tree stump, metal arms hugging himself, trying to contain his gasping laughter.
" I /swear/ if you weren't already dead I'd... /ouch/!" Ashley daubed at the small cut on his chin and proceeded to mutter his threats more carefully as he patted his tender face. The cabin had been quickly and methodically straightened, every tool back in its place, but this didn't stop the ghost from grumpily 'tsk-ing' his living conditions. Sydney had remained vocal in his complaints until the knight had set about the tedious task of restoring his old appearance.
// He scolds worse than a harridan... //
//~ Hey! I heard that! ~// The blonde had pulled himself back upright and shot him a disgruntled look. Noticing the job was complete, the mage moved in for a closer inspection of his handiwork. //~ Well, you no longer look like the stuffed bear that father used to have in the hall... but your clothes are practically /rags/. You look positively destitute... my my... ~// Sydney left off his teasing and returned to the clearing in front of the hut, glancing curiously around.
Repressing a frustrated sigh, Ashley donned his coat and pack, checking his weapons on the way outside. He found the mage clearly waiting for him as he shut the door.
//~ So where /are/ we, Riskbreaker? I've never seen so much snow in my entire life... ~//
"Northeast. Borderlands." The knight pushed past the stunned man and started down a narrow trail. There were several miles of traps to check before nightfall.
// Tam will be expecting me in a few weeks so we can do the spring run... with luck I can pile him up with furs to distract him from my recent addled-ness... living this double life has not helped my attention span any these past weeks. I swear, last time he was dying to ask me if I had suffered a blow to the head, I was making so many mistakes. Not that the man hasn't always suspected that I'm a rooster short of a hen house...//
He continued down the snowy trail, feeling Sydney's amusement tickle the back of his mind as the blonde moseyed behind him, observing his chores.
//~ So... /this/ is what you /do/ everyday? All day? Just /tramp/ around in the woods alone? Is this supposed to be some kind of /great penance/ for your many sins? ... Forsaking the world won't make you a better person, Ashley, it'll just make you a lonelier one... ~//
"Don't be absurd. I'm here because I like it... 'tis a quiet, peaceable sort of place." The knight found a trap that was full and methodically killed the rabbit, tucking it into the sack. He didn't bother to reset the lines. There'd be no time to get a second pass at them before heading into the lowlands. The mage's disbelieving stare spoke volumes as he picked his way over the snow, leaving no trail. "Besides, people give me headaches."
This elicited a grin from the younger man, //~ They wouldn't be as irritating if you had better social skills... ~//
"What, like you? All you ever did was /manipulate/ them into doing what you wanted them to..."
//~ Manipulation is a social skill... a /useful/ one too! ~//
Sydney pouted a moment, then proceeded to wander off the trail, something having caught his eye. He had not moved further than fifty feet, however, when he found himself unable to proceed, at the end of some invisible leash. The blonde turned to complain but noticed the Riskbreaker was leaning heavily on a tree trunk, breath coming in short pants.
"Get /back/ here, whelp... /now/. I do not need a /migraine/ today..." The fierce pain and dizzying /draining/ sensation relented immediately as the mage closed the distance between them, and Ashley rubbed the last of the feeling away under the blonde's worried gaze. Waving off the blonde's apologetic smile, he moved once more along the track.
//~ Well now we know how far a distance I can go before you feel the strain... ~// Sydney's voice was optimistic as he gamely followed the knight-become-woodsman out of the trees and onto a high ridgeline.
The ground dropped away with alarming abruptness as the trail ascended over the apex, and the clear day afforded the pair a rare view. Long accustomed to the natural splendors of his new home, Ashley paid it no mind, carefully placing his feet, but was quick to pause and turn at the blonde's awed gasp. The mage had ceased any attempt to progress after his companion, eyes wide as he took in the panorama before them.
"Yes, I suppose it is rather nice, the weather is seldom good enough this time of year to see quite this far..." The knight backtracked down beside the younger man and followed his gaze across the sweeping lowlands.
//~ "Rather nice"...? Ashley you can practically see the entire country from here... 'tis /amazing/... no... 'tis grander than that... this.. this is France?! ~//
The soldier chuckled wryly at the blonde's childlike wonder. "No, those are the Prussian nations... there are quite a few... fairly small kingdoms I've been told... I've only been to the one nearest to here... it is where we go to barter for supplies."
//~ I never made it this far... South? Yes. Spain was impressive... and the kingdom of Portugal... but never north... ~//
" Well, now you have... come along.. I'd rather not walk this route after dark..." Sydney nodded dazedly and quietly followed for the remainder of the day.
The snow was still hip-deep in the mountain passes, but the winds had abated somewhat, and in the protected valleys the first snow flowers were making an appearance. It was spring at last. Tam carefully checked the ties on the loaded sled, appreciating the warmer weather. He figured on being able to get maybe one or two additional trips down the mountain using the sled before the mid-summer heat made the mountain snow too unstable for the runners. Then it would be back to the backpacks once more.
// Not that the last trip was burdensome in the slightest...that hermit's stronger than an ox and twice as obliging... This trip ought to be a breeze provided he remembers to come... I think being so much alone has finally started to get to him... when we crossed paths last week I swear he was talking to himself before he noticed me...but I didn't have the heart to mention it to him. //
Tam rested against the side of the pile of pelts and made up a pipe. His worries for the hermit intermingled with a sense of unease about this trip. At mid-winter, his friends in town had been full of odd stories of goings-on in the lowlands, more religious nonsense with the strong preying on the weak. Such gossip was generally nothing to bother about, but apparently this time it had been a little to close to home for the folks in the village. A similar settlement not two days away had been torched to the ground, and in the middle of winter.
// Those bloody church idiots... they won't rest until you've either converted to their new fangled ideals or have been "cleansed" to an early grave... and just as soon as you've finished bowing and scraping to one pack to make them /go away/.... /another/ group comes along telling you to switch /back/... When will they realize that poor people like us really couldn't care less how we pray and where. They're lucky we remember to pray at all with all the work to be done around here... No day of rest for us... The minute you let your guard down here, the mountains will /get/ you. //
The trapper looked toward the house and smiled at the sight of his daughter playing happily in the snow. Although this was usually one of the safest runs of the year, he had decided to leave her behind. The fickleness of nature he could tolerate with ease, but the random violence that possibly awaited them once they came down out of the woods made him uneasy. Heidi was well and old enough to start learning the trials of the passes, but he was unwilling to dispel her innocence as to the cruelties of man quite yet.
// Let her think that the world is good and loving for another year, Lord; don't let her see the madness that those lowlanders get up to. 'Tis just too dangerous this time, especially if what the barkeep says was true... that those crusaders aren't just seeking converts but some escaped felon... From the sound of it, they'd been looking since early winter... and if they're the ones who burned that town, they'll stop at nothing till they find whoever it is they're looking for... Ah well, with any luck they gave up long ago and went /home/... //
As if thinking of the troubles abounding in the world had somehow summoned them up, the morning's peace was suddenly interrupted by a ragged shape stumbling out of the forest and tumbling down the gentle slope to the valley floor, towards the house.
// That's not Ash. // Tam quickly put aside his initial guess as he watched the stranger flail through the crusty snow. //Not unless he's gone /completely/ of his rocker anyway... but no... this one doesn't have Ash's build, or his way of moving... 'tis someone else... and they're not in good shape... //
"Daddy?"
"Get inside sweetling, quick now. Tell you mother we have a tramp come to visit... he'll need something warm."
Heidi quickly darted towards the house while Tam proceeded more cautiously towards the staggering vagrant, weapon at hand. The mostly frozen man was in no condition to be a threat however, and seemed barely aware of the trapper's presence. His voice was cracked and raw as he chanted snatches of feverish babble. For a moment Tam's survival instincts warred with his humanitarian ones; the temptation to drag the man back into the trees and lose him was strong.
// Damn my tender heart... this'll lead to naught but trouble, I feel it in my bones. //
Nevertheless, Tam abruptly sheathed his sword and bodily /lifted/ the quivering madman up and carried him into the house.
// Mary'll have a fit over this one... //
It took the three of them together to peel the man's frozen clothing off and tuck him into the warmed bed. Tam and his daughter watched carefully as Mary spooned the broth into him. The vagrant slept through the remaining hours of the day but shortly after dark, came awake with a shout.
"Please! I won't go back there! I won't... People in boxes make the fire grow brighter... no one gets out... But /I/ got out... and they're coming! The Lord sends his servant... the servant sends his jackals... horses bring fire... dead... dead... they're all dead... only me... a tiny flea... or a bee... in a tree... knee... free..." His senseless speech trailed off into a terrified giggling. The man's un-bandaged eye darted continuously about the room.
Mary touched his fevered brow and frowned in concern. "Mother have mercy, he's been too long in the cold, it's gone straight to his brain..."
However, the madman's rambling had made all together too much sense to Tam's paranoid reasoning.
// If only that were true... but it /does/ make a sick sort of sense... and he seemed lucid enough at the start... "people in boxes" ? Does he mean the dead? But the "They're coming." And the "Lord" and "jackals"; those words seem more than plain enough for me... sounds a mite too similar to those crusaders and their doings for my comfort... I hope to Hell you're not the /someone/ that they were looking for, my crazy little friend. //
"You! Hey! Don't go crazy on me just yet, I have a few questions!" The trapper moved to the babbling man's side and began to shake him briskly, ignoring his wife's protests. "Are you being followed? These 'Jackals', are they near? Tell me!" The wild-man ignored him, lost in some nightmare, wailing in fear.
"Tam! You'll only make him worse, scaring him like that.../really/. He's obviously delusional... what is the matter with you?" Mary moved to comfort the frantic tramp while giving her husband a sharp look. Their daughter watched the scene solemnly from her small cot on the other side of the room.
"Fine. Keep him quiet... I'm going out." His wife blinked in surprise as he stalked out the door into the lengthening shadows.
// Gods preserve us, the madman left a trail that even a child could follow. There'll be no way of disguising this mess... Well, might as well follow it back a bit to see where he came from and what I can do to muck it up a bit. With luck Ash will arrive tomorrow and together we'll figure something out... //
The trail was fresh and wide; the trapper was easily able to follow it even at a loping pace. He traced the route for several minutes but neither saw nor heard any signs of interest in the trail from potential pursuers. Tam came to a halt as the trail crossed a half-frozen stream, the possibility for subterfuge materializing in the evening gloom.
// If I can make it look as though he sought to disguise his tracks by going down stream... maybe they'll lose the scent and get lost in the woods... That would buy some time... /Gods/ listen to yourself Tam, you're about to waste valuable hours disguising trails from phantom villains when you could be comfortably at home eating dinner... You're as bad as that lunatic is... or at least Ash is starting to rub off on you... //
Despite his own mental protests, Tam got quickly to work breaking the ice in the stream for several yards and then obliterating several hundred feet of trail. Removing signs of the stranger's passing was slow work but Tam felt safer as he made his way home by moonlight. His nerves were still jangling with the possible dangers the invalid in his bed represented. The hunter had a sick feeling that his life was about to suddenly grow considerably more difficult. He stared watchfully into the dark long after his family had drifted off to sleep.
Ashley tightened the final strap on his pack and slung it across his shoulders. He shot his lazing partner a curious look. "You coming?"
//~ Do I have a choice? ~// Sydney ceased humming his cheerful tune and joined the knight at the door. The blonde produced a long coat on a whim and adjusted his gloves. The cold had no effect on him but he felt the need to play the part, especially since he had mastered the art of altering his appearance outside the Shadow Lands.
The knight allowed a brief sigh, "Well, you /could/ always go home..." He checked his weapons once more and started down the trail. They set off into the woods down a new trail, their destination a modest valley some distance away.
//~ What? And miss the social gathering of the century for these parts? Be serious! ~// Ashley gave no reply and continued along the trail. Sydney smiled cheerfully at the man's back and began to sing the silliest song he could think of as the traveled.
//~ Oh the Daisy-Knight went out one day/ O'er the hill, a Dragon to slay/ But when it came out, he Ran Away!/ Oh that Daisy-Knight! ~//
The next verses proceeded to tell the tale of the knight's unenviable defeats at the hands of unlikely opponents and how his princess eventually ran off with the dragon, getting sillier with each verse. The blonde gleefully noted that the Riskbreaker was actually smiling after the second verse, despite the fact that the man was keeping his head down, generally 'ignoring' the ghost.
It was just another cold day that found Ashley out and cleaning the hides in preparation for their initial curing. The large copper pot was already hanging from its trestle over a small fire, the flames' weak heat intended merely to keep the watery mixture from freezing in the middle of the process. Ashley worked quietly as ever, methodically cleaning each pelt before dropping it in the pot. Occasionally he'd give the odorous mixture a stir and pull out a fur that was ready to be stretched on the drying frames. Sydney had observed the process with interest at first but, having committed its particulars to memory, he amused himself by wandering around the camp looking at things. The morning was so quiet in fact that Ashley nearly jumped when the mage randomly started to hum. The song was a curious, mournful thing, the sort of song that slipped down a person's spine causing a shiver. The knight casually glanced at his companion but Sydney didn't notice; his gaze was fixed on the clouded sky.
// I'd forgotten he could sing... What was it Merlose said? "He hums his prophecy as though it was a simple ballad"? Odd how, exhibitionist that he is, I've never heard him before... he's not bad... //
The Riskbreaker continued to work quietly, attempting not to disturb the mage's reverie. He was certain that any distraction would break the younger man's mood and likely end the song. However the mage continued until the tune concluded, and when he had reached the end he surprisingly started over, his voice softly adding words to the haunting melody. The light tenor carried well in the still air, seeming real despite the knight's knowledge that the sound was only in his head. The words were Kildean and Ashley paused in his labor in order to better translate them.
//~ On a wagon, bound for market/ there's a calf with a mournful eye/ high above him there's a swallow/ winging swiftly through the sky/ oh how the winds are laughing, they laugh with all their might. They laugh and laugh the whole day through and half the summer's night... ~//
The song continued its mournful lament, an improvised conversation between the imprisoned calf and the wild songbird, its slow melody encompassing the inevitability of the one animal's death and its dream of freedom. The knight found the simple farmer's song to be strangely appropriate for both the singer and the audience.
// So simple.. yet complex... like most things from that time... a tale of those trapped by rules and birth into the roles that life thrusts upon them... a yearning to be free of unpleasant responsibility while at the same time a gentle resignation to the impossibility of it... Much in the way Sydney was able to face his long-foreseen death with calm complacency... Will I do the same I wonder... half the time these days I can't be certain if I would relish the chance if offered, or rail against it with everything within me. Or maybe I too will be inured to it after I am told how it will be. Some how I'm glad I do not seem to have a gift for divining the future as he did... I doubt I'd be entertained by it. //
The song found its way to an ending and Sydney's awareness returned with a jolt, causing the man to guiltily look around. A pink blush rose in his cheeks as he met Ashley's serious eyes from across the clearing.
//~ Umm... Sorry? ... I didn't realize I was being so loud... ~//
"I didn't realize you could sing."
The man's simple statement seemed to fluster the mage even more as Sydney fidgeted under the curious stare. //~ It wasn't my intention to interrupt your work... It won't happen again. ~//
"It was no bother... You can sing or not as you please... I... I liked it."
The mage arched a curious eyebrow at the admission and his face fell into a familiar smirk. //~ Did you now... Very well then, any /requests/ ? ~//
Ashley merely smiled and returned to his work. With the knight's back turned, Sydney didn't expect further response and was therefore surprised to hear the man murmur, "Something more cheerful perhaps... " The blonde laughed merrily before thinking for a moment and beginning to sing again.
They were making good time down the mountain when the mage's latest comedic tune was cut short with a pained gasp. Ashley turned rapidly to see the man clutching his head, eyes wide and unseeing. For an anxious moment neither man moved, but then Sydney staggered and shook his head as if to clear it. The knight's senses were on edge as he watched his friend recover, unable to offer any more meaningful assistance to the ghost.
"Sydney... what?" The mage held up a hand and seemed to listen carefully to the silence around them. The Riskbreaker also opened himself up gradually, attempting to detect whatever it was that had pained the blonde. The woods were strangely quiet and subdued but he could find nothing out of the ordinary. Sydney finally broke the silence, his voice revealing his confusion.
//~ That... that was odd... and shouldn't have been possible... ~// The prophet gave Ashley a concerned look. //~ Riskbreaker, is this friend of yours in some kind of trouble? ~//
"You had a /vision/ ? But isn't that ..."
//~ I know, I know... but I've had enough of them to recognize it when it happens... and I /definitely/ heard /something/...~// Sydney stared into the woods, perplexed. //~ There was a man, his wife and a daughter, all of them scared... and another man... I think he was mad, Ashley, his words made /no/ sense... They were being besieged by a group of others, horsemen, but something's odd about them... in any case they were making some rather unpleasant threats. ~// The mage rubbed his neck, trying to work a kink out. //~ I hate to say it old man, but I have the definite feeling that whatever's going to happen, this wasn't the far future I was experiencing... it's going to happen /soon/ or is happening /now/... I wish I'd been able to better make out what they were saying... ~//
"Figure it out while moving. I need to get down there." Ashley's face was tight with worry as he picked up the pace, soon loping down the hill at an impossible speed, ignoring the trail. "I need more information, Sydney!" He called to the flickering presence of the ghost as it darted along side him through the trees. "Who are these horsemen, what do they want, when will they arrive..."
The blonde sighed in exasperation and reflexively dodged another branch. //~ I'm /dead/, must I keep reminding you? I only have so much power here... the only reason I could hear anything at all was probably due to the fact that I'm linked to you through the Rood right now... ~//
The knight casually leaped down a steep rocky slope, landing with the grace of a mountain cat to continue his unbroken pace. The deep pockets of snow didn't noticeably decrease his speed and he was barely winded as he sprinted forward. "So? If your powers in this place are channeled through me... what's to keep me from giving you more of them? You need more strength? Take it. Take all of it, just leave me enough to get down there, and get me answers!"
//~ Are you /daft/? Listen to yourself! You've just given me the power to virtually kill you!... 'Take all of it' he says... /idiot/! Have I taught you nothing? ~//
"Stop psychoanalyzing me and get going!" The man plunged across a narrow ravine, rapidly descending into the woods near Tam's holding.
The ghost gingerly tested his link with the Rood Bearer and was almost disoriented by the incredible rushing, unfettered energies that the man had given him access to. The world snapped into clearer focus around him as the strength poured across the bond. Careful not to pull to much energy from the knight, Sydney wove a quick enchantment and /shifted/, jumping over the remaining territory lying between himself and the small homestead. The freedom to go where he pleased was exhilarating, but it was quickly shunted aside as he found himself experiencing déja vu. The scene below his perch on the rooftop was exactly as he had heard it mere minutes before, and he watched wide-eyed as the leader of the horsemen began to bark questions at the family.
// That must be Ashley's friend... He's a little roughed-up but still in good shape... certainly not a match for that many men on his own though... wait, that's a cassock... they're /priests/? Crusaders more likely... but for whom? Their insignia is none that I recognize... and their French is terrible... Prussians then...and they have Tam's woman as a hostage... Ashley's not going to like that... speaking of whom...//
// Sydney! Report?! //
//~ I'm gathering your information for you as we speak, do you want it or not? ~//
// .... //
//~ Thirteen brigands, mounted. They're using the woman as a hostage and are demanding the turn-over of a man named 'Stray'... whom I'm assuming is the demented fellow hiding under the sled with the girl... There is some definite weak mage talent present... one man, maybe two. ~//
// Understood. I have the cabin in sight. //
Sydney could feel the knight's proximity and decided to see what could be done to further even the odds. Testing his new power, he moved amongst the unsuspecting crusaders, glad that only one of them showed signs of the necessary skill levels to notice his presence, and that one wasn't looking. He closely watched the rider who was holding the woman, and waited for his chance. Sure enough the man had to shift his grip slightly to get a better handle on his reins, and for a moment the knife blade was away from her throat. The mage made sure not to waste the opportunity and gave the horse a stinging swat across the rump with a sadistic laugh. The animal surged forward in panic and started to buck, unseating both its rider and the unwilling passenger in the ensuing fuss.
// These stupid peasants... they're hiding him... I just know it... //
Father Michael shifted his shield and glanced down at the man lying in the snow. Even a kick to the ribs hadn't quelled the irritating /insolence/ in the trapper's expression.
// Maybe listening to his little heathen woman begging will inspire him to talk... //
"Brother Jerome, if you would be so kind as to demonstrate the seriousness of our mission to these primitives?" His voice, like his armor, was polished and formal. The younger soldier to his left tightened his grip on their captive, knife pressing into her throat. The other Brothers turned in their saddles, grinning appreciatively. Everything was cut short however when Jerome's horse inexplicably exploded forward, rearing then lashing out with its hind legs. Jerome and the woman were thrown at the first drastic lurch. The peasant rolled quickly to her feet and scrambled away, daubing the scratch on her neck. The priest however found that his foot was caught in the animal's stirrup and was dragged along as it continued to buck and stumble into the rest of the group's mounts. The noise and confusion were intolerable and the Father swore a most unholy oath.
"Get that fool back in his saddle, and then /burn/ this hovel!" He shot a cold glare at the woman, who was now cowering near her husband. "Thus is the fate of all who defy /our/ Lord... kill them!" Several priests dismounted and moved towards the couple. Then, with a scream, all hell broke loose.
Brother Jerome had just staggered to his feet, wiping the blood from his face, when a crossbow bolt caught him in the stomach. Tam wasted no time taking advantage of the confusion. He sprang to action and tossed his wife away from the chaos.
"Get going woman! /Hide/!" The trapper ducked a wild swing and fluidly yanked a long dagger from his boot to jam it into the man's chest. The attacker went down with a satisfying gurgle.
"Run!" Mary sprinted towards the sled, intending to pull her child free and make for the trees. She stopped in horror as both the sled and house were suddenly wrapped in flames.
Father Michael smiled grimly as his men moved in on the belligerent woodsman. They would pay for their stupidity, and with a chant he summoned the purifying flames of his Lord, setting their home alight. His attention was distracted however at Jerome's screams. In the distance beyond the writhing man, a dark shadow had detached itself from the tree line and was flowing towards them at speed.
// So... These little animals have a protector? How interesting... but he shall be cleansed as well... //
The smoke and flames spread quickly from the thatch and furs. Coughing and wet-eyed, Heidi pulled the invalid along with her as she abandoned her hiding place under the burning sled. The head priest gave a shout of victory as the pair was quickly surrounded.
"Of course! We should have done that to begin with! What better than /smoke/ to drive a rat from his hole?" He raised his hand and began to chant once more, intent clear. A long quarrel sprouted suddenly from the crusader's thigh and he broke off the incantation, swearing in pain. Ashley tossed aside the now empty weapon and vaulted the fence, close enough now to close with the intruders hand-to-hand. His sword was drawn and smoothly severed the saddle-strap on the first horse he sprinted past, dropping the startled man with a cry. Another man went down rapidly as the running knight cast a knife with precision through the chain mail on his chest. Snow flew as he skidded to a stop, a ferocious barrier between the small girl and her would-be attackers. Tam began laughing in delight and fell upon the recently toppled junior priest who was still disentangling himself from his gear. There was no finesse to his style, just the simple goal to defend what was his. Mary recovered as well, claiming a fallen club and moving to assist her husband with the same brutal efficiency she showed in killing chickens.
The remaining soldiers milled for a moment, their leader still hunched over his bleeding leg. One soon gained authority though and began snapping sharp orders, attempting to regain control of the situation. Ashley grinned at the three younger men closing in on him; their superior smirks and sloppy attacks proved that they had no idea what they were doing. His blade was certainly no slower despite the months of peaceful living, and two of the prelates fell in a stroke so quick that they didn't move to block it. The edge of the knight's blade bit through the first man's neck before quickly sweeping down to open a massive wound in the other's gut. Tam and his wife stolidly held their own and worked together to pull the unsuspecting rear guards off of their horses and dispatch them in quick succession.
The Riskbreaker could feel his blood rushing as the energy of the battle awoke the Dark within him, and he moved to intercept his next target. However in the chaos of the yard he closed with the man only to be rammed and crushed against a wall by a frantic horse. He saw stars a moment as the animal surged off him and bolted away. Fighting to clear his vision while keeping track of the battle, he faintly heard the clicks as several crossbows were cocked and aimed.
//~ Ashley! /Move/! ~//
Still partially blinded, the knight rolled himself along the wall, dodging the first two bolts, and brought his sword up instinctively to block the third. He shook his head sharply to try to clear it, certain that there would be more coming, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough. Braced for another series of shots, he paused, hearing several unhappy twangs and the archers' startled curses. Ashley grinned in amusement, realizing what must have happened, and changed course abruptly to dive into the midst of the group before they could react. In his head Sydney's laughter echoed wickedly, the mage having impolitely severed the strings on each of the bows right under the noses of the startled priests. The men were still dumbstruck as they were pulled from their mounts, going down with simple, brutal moves. Ashley drove the panicked mounts out before him and used them as cover to cross the now decimated yard.
Father Michael gritted his teeth and pulled the barbed arrow from his leg. Around him the tide of the battle was definitely taking a turn for the worse, and this compounded with the distinctly /chill/ aura that had settled over the area upon the berserker's arrival quickly decided his next course of action.
// The peasants, even the runaway... they're not worth this trouble. As much as I would like to crush them I doubt that their rabid friend would stand idly by... Yes, /that/ one... he's the devil in him... or something /otherworldly/ at least... he fights like he was born to it... //
The logical side of his mind suddenly provided him a way to salvage the potentially pathetic situation as he wrested his horse back under control.
// If I could somehow /capture/ him... He would make a fine prize... more than enough to recover the honor lost in failing the mission... And once they broke him, he would fight for /us/... but to do that I'd need more men... Not here, not now, this requires planning... and a trap needs must have bait... // The priest scanned the area for a moment before catching a glimpse of the child and madman scuttling across the field towards the sheltering trees.
// Perfect. It seems this demon is somewhat attached to these people... let us see how loyal he can be... //
Michael wasted no time kicking his horse into action and jumped the remaining fence, racing across the field. He smiled grimly as he bent to sweep the girl over his saddle, casually riding down the initial reason for his hunt. The child's loud resistance was quelled with a sharp cuff and holding her unconscious form tightly, he plunged into the trees and out of the valley.
"/Tam/!" Mary's frantic cry echoed through the air and drew the attention of both woodsmen despite the continued clash of battle. Heidi's faint screams chilled her to the bone and the men followed her gaze to see the escaping horseman. Ashley dispatched the last of his opponents and swore an ugly oath; the priest was already moving amongst the trees. But before he could move to catch one of the loose horses wandering the yard he caught sight of Tam being dropped by a sharp blow to the head. The man was surrounded by the remains of the crusaders but made no sign of being able to rise and defend himself.
// /No/. //
The Riskbreaker was standing over the comatose man in a flash, his blade at the ready, his face an impassive mask. The men remaining were by now well aware of the skill of their opponent, but they trusted in their superior number and rushed him in a mob.
// Five on one... child's play. //
Ashley made no sound as he surged to meet them, plowing a shoulder into the one directly in his path and tossing the man into the churned snow. The knight then swung about sharply, using his greater strength to deal crushing unarmed blows to the remaining men until he could create enough distance to use his blade effectively. The priests' clumsiness was used to his advantage as he efficiently impaled one man by kicking him back onto his Brother's sword; the second priest fell with a crunch as Ashley's elbow collapsed his throat. The remaining three had no time to regroup as the Riskbreaker fell on them with the cool brutality that had proven him the best of his kind.
The last priest watched wide-eyed as he fell back, bleeding, his companions collapsing simultaneously around him. He met the knight's eyes with a shudder, seeing no trace of humanity in their dark depths.
"Please... please have mercy... ?" He dropped his blade in terror.
"Mercy?" The Riskbreaker's voice was flat and cold. "Mercy has never been my business." He stooped to claim the soldier's weapon, but his eyes never left the trembling man.
"Who /are/ you?!"
"No one of any consequence. " The blow was swift and sure, dropping the man in an instant.
Ashley let the weapon slip from his fingers and sank to his knees, gasping for air. The Dark energies rolled and sang through his body, gathering strength from the recent destruction and death. They were not content to be still and the knight growled softly as he resisted their impulses to /keep going/, to complete the destruction and slaughter /everything/. The Dark twisted petulantly as his iron control refused to relent, and at length he found his body relaxing as the energies settled. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sound of the blood rushing in his ears faded and then became aware of a new sound, a rhythmic metallic clacking that caused him to jerk his head up in a sense of déja vu. Sydney hovered in the air in front of him, slowly clapping his metallic hands while smiling darkly.
//~ So /this/ is a /Riskbreaker/. Most men complacently accept "knowledge" as "truth". They are sheep, ruled by fear. But /you/ are different. Always calm, detached. A smooth flow of thought into action... ~//
"Stop that."
The mage gave a bark of laughter, //~ My apologies ~// he clasped his hands behind his back looking not at all apologetic. //~ I forgot how much you detest being reminded of our shared past... I found the potential for parallelism irresistible... but come now, /admit/ it. You /enjoyed/ that... letting loose for a bit... the fight... the /kill/. Tell me you haven't /missed/ that. ~//
"They were no challenge... it wasn't a real fight..." His bloodlust had faded, leaving only the salty taste of blood in his mouth and a sense of emptiness in his chest. Despite his best intention he had failed to protect his friend's family. Heidi's scream haunted him. Sydney watched the knight stagger to his feet, metal fingers tapping arms with an impatient clicking. The older man's eyes were filled with a tired acceptance as he met the mage's gaze again.
"One got away." The flat voice was faintly accusatory but the ghost was unsure precisely /who/ the Riskbreaker sought to blame.
//~ Yes... but don't look at me. As I recall, I was busy making sure this gentleman here didn't gut your friend's woman... ~// Sydney examined the dead man blandly. //~ Not to mention the energy I exerted on /your/ behalf this afternoon. An arrow to the head at that close a range is nothing to laugh about, even for the likes of you. Even if it hadn't killed you, it would've slowed you down and made you easy pickings. Given the choice of preserving your hide and playing hero to a stranger... that's not much of a choice, no matter how much I would wish it otherwise. ~//
"So you'd just as soon have let her die..." The knight's eyes narrowed in bitter accusation. The blonde met his glare with one of his own, his usually animated face as closed and hard as Ashley's.
//~ If you think that's true then /fine/. You're being stupid. Learn to value yourself more highly, if not from some natural sense of self-preservation then out of respect for the burden you carry! If you die without a named successor, a number of Very. Bad. Things. /will/ happen. Not the least of which being that this valley, /including/ your friends, would be at the epicenter of the largest cataclysm since /Pompeii/. ~//
The knight found he couldn't continue to meet the blonde's burning glare and looked away, feeling faintly guilty.
"Fine, fine... But can you find him?" He slowly moved across the yard, pausing to retrieve his weapons. "We should follow him immediately."
//~ /Should/. But probably won't. ~// Accepting the knight's change of topic as a silent declaration of truce, the mage let his anger slip away and pointed over to Tam's prone form with a jerk of his chin.
Mary was weeping softly as she desperately tried to staunch the flow of blood from the side of her husband's head. The knight swore softly, all hope of a rapid departure slipping away as he moved to join her.
"Mary... let me handle this. Check for survivors, I still have some questions." She was staunchly unwilling to leave the trapper but Ashley gently touched her mind and encouraged her to feel a calm certainty. A little dazed, the woman dusted herself off and surrendered her husband with a confident nod before picking her way across the field to check on the prone tramp. The knight quickly stripped of his gloves and tilted Tam's head it inspect the damage. By luck the blow had been a glancing one and despite the amount of lost blood the man's skull seemed to be intact. The trapper proved it a moment later by opening his eyes and beginning to mutter faintly.
"... those fardling bastards... what gives them the right... my home gone... wife widowed..."
Ashley felt himself smiling at the man's disgruntled tone, "Hush you hard-headed ass, you'll be on your feet in a few breaths, save your curses."
//~ You're losing him. ~//
"I've got it... Syd do you think you could get the fire out?"
The mage shot him an odd look but nodded sharply, //~ Sooner done than said. ~// The flames quickly began to recede under the blonde's watchful eye, eventually extinguishing altogether. The knight wasted no time observing his partner's work, carefully murmuring the words to a healing spell. His hand glowed with a cool light as it touched the wound and the tissue rapidly knitted. Ashley held onto the spell for a minute more, letting the energies restore the lost blood and repair the other various bruises and abrasions the man had suffered. He glanced up from his work to see Sydney observing him once more, the mostly intact house gently smoking behind them.
"Thanks." The Riskbreaker patted Tam's face gently to rouse him from his torpor. "Tam. Tam get up, your woman's worried about you." The hunter blinked, sense slowly returning, and stared up with an expression somewhere between fear and awe.
"You!"
"Me."
"Ash?!"
"You were expecting someone else?" Ashley felt distinctly uncomfortable with his friend's reaction.
// It was inevitable I suppose. Magic is bloody rare in these parts, and what little there is seems closely bound to the church... now he'll think I'm one of /them/... //
The grizzled man continued to stare wide-eyed. "You /shaved/!" The knight rocked back in shock at the unanticipated exclamation, and couldn't help a rueful grin.
// The weather was bad last week, he wouldn't have seen anything amiss with the way we were both hiding in our hoods. How absurd. //
"That should /really/ be the least of your worries..."
"My god! You're right! /Heidi!/" Tam surged to his feet and paused, taking in the massacre around him. Mary had been jogging back across the snow when she had seen the trapper stand up, and shouting in amazement she broke into a run. He happily caught his crowing wife in a fierce hug, both of them carefully checking the other for signs of damage. Ashley and Sydney exchanged eloquent shrugs as the two moved to give the couple some privacy. The knight hadn't gone far before Tam's voice hailed him back.
"Ash, I have to go after her... Gods only know what will happen... could you..."
The knight raised a doubtful eyebrow, "You want me to stay /here/? Don't be foolish. You should stay here, I'll go... Someone has to get this place back together again, and then there's Mary to consider... I'm the one to blame that the bastard got away... I'll get her back." The two men stared measuringly at one another for a moment before the Riskbreaker sought to distract him by aiming a question at his wife. "Who was that one?" He flicked a glance at the fallen man in the field.
The couple followed his gaze to the corpse, and exchanged a look. Tam sighed in defeat, "He never gave a name, but the church-dogs called him 'Stray'... ain't much of a name if you ask me... the poor mad bastard found his way here yesterday morning. I truly can't say what they wanted him for... and he wasn't talking enough sense to explain himself... I was hoping you'd be able to make something of him, but dead is dead."
Sydney gave a superior snort and moved across the field to investigate the corpse. The knight followed after him, equally curious about the history of the dead man, but the trampled form offered no clues.
//~ Got him. /Gods/ his mind is akin to a broken mirror. He'll not remain long... ~//
Ashley watched sternly as the mage knelt close to the body, carefully gripping the last of the spirit's weak presence to keep it from slipping away, and scanning the man's mind. "Just find out what you can."
"Umm... Ash, who are you talking to? The man's dead." Tam had joined the inspection unnoticed and the knight winced realizing he had been overheard.
"... Sorry... I do that sometimes...talk to myself I mean." He winced again at how the admission would not reassure his friend in the slightest. "If we're going together, we should salvage what we can of this place and get Mary to shelter... these horses at least will fetch a good price... as will the weapons." Ashley deliberately ignored Sydney's sniggering laughter and moved to assist in the clean-up. In a matter of hours Tam and his wife had harnessed the last of the horses to a crude sled that the men had pulled together. The trapper led the horses as Mary rode on top of the pile of their carefully packed possessions, Ashley following behind to assist in pushing.
"So, now that we have some uninterrupted time... What were you able to get from the fallen ones? I saw you checking out one or two of the church-men as well while we were packing..."
The blonde collapsed in his customary boneless style in the tall, shady grass and ignored the question for a moment, content to stretch sensuously. He eventually locked his hands behind his head and met the knight's bemused stare with an impudent wink.
"We wouldn't get interrupted if you'd just remember that /they/ can't see me, or hear me... I can hear you perfectly well even when you /don't/ move your lips."
"Whatever... Report."
"Touchy touchy..." The mage smirked again. "Our little lunatic was actually quite informative. He was from a place called Waadt in a kingdom called... forgive me, my Prussian is /very/ rusty... Eidgenossenschaft...? I think. What a name... /anyway/ it seems 'Stray" /is/ the man's name, the only one he remembered anyway... Oh yes. And he was /very/ cursed. Quite a professional one too." Sydney paused to hide a yawn with the back of his hand.
"Don't tell me you're tired." Ashley gently teased, shifting nearer and tousling the blonde's loose hair.
"Hey... Being a ghost is hard work! And then I had you bossing me around... 'Fetch this, Sydney', and 'Find that, Sydney', and 'Do this, Sydney'... I don't appreciate being treated like the hired help, you know... I have seniority!" The mage's voice was playfully aggrieved, softening his criticisms.
"I know... I overstepped myself today; forgive me?"
"Yes, just don't let it happen again." The younger man propped himself on his elbows and fixed his partner with a serious look. "You made some mistakes today... You really shouldn't depend on me being there to save your butt... I may not always be around... /I/ never had someone like me..." His voice trailed off into an amused grumble.
Ashley produced a genuine laugh and prodded the mage. "You'd have never tolerated it either..." Sydney thought about it for a moment and nodded, conceding the likely truth of the statement. The Riskbreaker laughed again and settled back in the grass. They lay a while in companionable silence, shoulders barely touching as they contemplated the clouds.
// I have to remember to ask the whelp how he gets his clouds so random... that's the fifth one in a row that resembles a dog... I think it's the same one... //
Ashley brought his mind back to the task at hand and glanced over at his friend, only to see the man's eyes were closed. "You still with me?" The blonde didn't open his eyes but made a vaguely affirmative noise. "Was there more? Aside from the fact the fellow was cursed? What about the various priests?"
"Oh... yes.. sorry." The blonde cracked an eye briefly but decided he preferred them closed. "Stray was good for little... but what remained of his memories of his home life were... /interesting/. It seems as though this new church sprung up somewhere nearby and is using his village as a launch point for their... let's call it 'missionary work' shall we? There seem to have been a lot of classic 'disappearances' soon after... anyone who made trouble. But there are also a decent amount of memories that I could make little of... everything more recent than 5 years ago looks to have been deliberately jumbled."
"The curse?"
"Yes, I think so. There's something about it... the /feel/ of it. I don't recognize the creator... but I have a feeling I should. It'll come to me in time. The one thing that caught my attention was also what Tam related to you... the words 'People in boxes' and the bit about the flames... I heard that very clearly... something else though... Stray was definite that these people were /alive/ when they were put in... Perhaps this church has taken a page from our friend the Cardinal back home... human sacrifice is disgusting, but it's a highly effective way of spreading terror."
"I think declaring war on a neighboring city is /a little/ different from casually tossing villagers into bonfires, Syd." The knight mildly argued. Sydney's response was surprisingly sharp as fixed the knight with a serious stare.
"If you had spoken with the dead of Léa Monde as I have, you would realize that /that/ is precisely what that Cardinal /did/. That wasn't a war Ashley, it was a /massacre/... Their bodies were tossed to the dogs, their souls to the Dark... they never stood a chance." The younger man looked visibly ill at the memory. The Riskbreaker nodded in understanding, silently waiting for the man to regain control.
Sydney sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. "'Tis no matter. As for your crusaders... I only found two who had remained behind long enough for me to interrogate them... the ones called Jerome and Maüler. After a little persuasion they were very talkative. The newly dead are always easy to bully, especially when they're zealots. Threaten to send them to Hell and they'll tell you whatever you want..."
"Could you really do that?"
"Don't be ridiculous. The dead always go to the same place, saint and sinner alike... From what I am told, once you are in the Dead Lands, /then/ you must choose where you go; Heaven, Hell or /whatever/ it is you believe in... They didn't know much really, they're new to the order but they were definitely sent to destroy Stray before he drew attention to their church's power play... They were also extraordinarily bigoted gentlemen; apparently this group sets the bar rather high when it comes to judging the purity of others. Something strange about them though... They said that their order was the only /real/ one because they had His Divine Mightiness' own word on the subject... the church is apparently led by 'The Voice of God'... whomever that is."
"You're inclined to believe this prophet a false one then?" Ashley sat up in interest at the new news.
"Who can tell at this point... But I get the definite impression that they were convinced that this fellow was the real thing... I'm convinced that this church is about more than simple high handed religious ideals... something stinks about this... and call me a betting man, but whoever this man calling the shots is, he's /powerful/... and I'll wager that should we ever meet him I'll recognize his 'mark' in a hurry. My hunch is that he's the one responsible for scrambling Stray's mind with a slotted spoon."
"Your hunches are as likely sound... even if the imagery is a trifle nauseating." Sydney laughed in response and playfully rested his head on the taller man's shoulder. The older man suppressed a yawn of his own and gently shifted so they were propping each other up in earnest, resting his head on his knees.
The blonde cracked an eye to observe the relaxing man. " Don't tell me you're /tired/..." his voice was a clear parody of the knight's declaration earlier. "I was the one who was scouting ahead, creating diversions, quenching fires and scanning minds... all you did was grunt and swing a pointy stick about."
Ashley grunted in amusement. "Hey... it's hard working being the Rood Bearer..." His murmur gave no hint as to whether the man was consciously continuing the parody or not.
Ashley and Tam made up for the lost day with a vengeance, crossing the high passes back to the valley in record time to pick up the trail at the homestead. Their horses were refreshed from the night's rest and kept the quick pace. At Sydney's coaxing the knight carefully /influenced/ the simple creatures, giving them some of his own enhanced stamina. Tam was luckily preoccupied enough with following the trail to not pay much attention to how remarkable their progress was. The track dove unerringly down the mountains along an overgrown route, and they found themselves once more heading for the lowlands. Even at their enhanced pace it took them three days to make their way out of the highlands, and into the warm springtime weather. Never once did they catch sight of their quarry, despite the fact that they kept to the trail as closely as hounds. Even when Sydney shifted ahead as far as he was able, he could make out no sign of the man.
// Three days... No horse could have kept the pace that man must have been going at. // Ashley shared the thought with his phantom companion as they rested in a convenient grove. He had called a rest at midday, seeing that Tam was ready to drop. The man had been unnaturally silent during the trip as he fretted for his child. The knight kept watch, allowing his enhanced senses to probe the area for danger and finding none. Sydney's presence, previously distant as the man scouted, returned with a shimmer and the younger man's ghost was suddenly perched on a nearby branch.
//~ I Think I have an answer to /that/ particular puzzle... ~//
// Which? // The older man found his thoughts temporarily scattered by the blonde's arrival. // Oh, about his /speed/? //
//~ Yes. I won't attempt to guess how he knew to do this, but his horse is a /revenant/. That's how he got his speed... This morning you found that clump of 'odd-feeling' tail hairs and it reminded me of something, so I went back and checked. That wide stream that we crossed early yesterday... it had the same odd feeling, but I didn't bother to look into it as we were in a hurry... ~//
// Understood, what about it? //
//~ Well, it seems that our little Father is no slouch at necromancy... He rode the animal to death getting to that point at speed... then used the water to disguise the bloodletting... It almost worked, too; I had to look quite hard... /Anyway/ the animal was bled, then resurrected... He probably used clay from the streambed for the heart... ~//
Ashley shrugged in ignorance of the meaning of the process. // So he made a kind of /undead/? //
//~ Hmm... closer to a /construct/ than a zombie... a soulless yet animate body... a little different, but as it is powered entirely by the enchantments, it can go for as long and as fast as the spell lasts... till the last Trump of Doom if that is his wish. ~//
The knight banged the back of his head against the tree trunk in frustration. // So you're saying that he likely took two days to get down the mountains, then did his thing.. and crossed all this territory in a matter of hours... Where the hell does a /priest/ get off raising the dead... //
Sydney swung his legs childishly and laughed. //~ I have /no/ idea... last I checked they weren't teaching stuff like that in your average seminary... maybe he did some independent study. Not like I'm one to point fingers and declare 'Thou Shall Not'... I've been known to pull a blessing or two out of my 'sleeve' on occasion... ~//
// You didn't have any sleeves when you were Rood Bearer... //
"Oye. Ash, I'm good now, let's move! We'll catch the bastard soon, I know it!" Tam was grimly stretching in preparation for another long push in the saddle.
// I don't think so, friend... but I'm not about to say so. //
Sydney was already on the move, /shifting/ in short jumps from treetop to treetop.
//~ Let him hope, Ashley. It does him no harm... We /will/ find him eventually... when he /stops/. It's not like we're going to give up now, we've come too far. ~//
// Who said anything about giving up? I promised to return the girl and I will... 'tis the least I can do to repay the kindness Tam has shown me. //
//~ Good. Despite my callous reputation, I'm really not fond of people who abuse children... ~// The mage's look softened into a more teasing one as he let the riders catch up to him. //~ Just try not to make any more mistakes? ~//
It wasn't until the dawn of the fourth day that their destination became apparent. The gently forested hills had given way to a flat uninhabited plain, and resting a short distance from the last of the trees was a large stone monastery. Tam stared in disbelief.
"But I know of this place... these monks are as peaceful as they come! They make their living brewing beer for Christ's sake.... What do they know of /crusading/?"
"Maybe their order has had a change of heart." Ashley crouched low, examining the trail. "Or maybe they drank a bad batch of beer..." Tam snorted in disbelief, but the knight ignored him as Sydney appeared nearby and casually adjusted his jacket.
//~ Or maybe they aren't the monks that you think they are... ~// The mage smiled grimly at the knight's sharply curious look. //~ The walls and surroundings show signs of fairly recent damage.. maybe six months, maybe less. You'll see it as soon as you get a little closer. Call me a gambling man, but I doubt if any of Tam's Bashful Brewing Brothers are still in residence... the place reeks of death. ~//
// And inside? Did you find the girl? ~//
The blonde made a sour face as he walked alongside. //~ No. I couldn't get in. They have wards against 'intruders' all over the place... very new and very good ones too... I'm afraid I'll be rather useless until you can either breach or break them... the best I could manage as I am would be to set off a few alarms. ~//
Tam followed the knight's lead, walking his horse off the trail and into the woods near the building. His harsh whisper was laden with frustration. "Ash? What do we do /now/? I wasn't planning to have to lay siege to anyplace..."
"There may be a problem..." The Riskbreaker chose his words carefully so as to not reveal the true source of his information. "These crusaders are probably /not/ the same Brothers that you're familiar with... and they've proven to be mages as well..."
"And /I'm/ no mage..." Tam frowned in thought then grinned. "Although I've had my doubts about /you/ for a while... So, you seem to have an idea... What do you think, full frontal assault is out, right? People like you and me work better where there are shadows... too much light hampers my style." He scratched his chin to disguise his nervousness, oblivious to Ashley's amused look.
//~ 'People like us work better where there are shadows... too much light hampers our style'... Ashley, I do believe I'm definitely starting to like this man... ~// The mage's incredulous laughter was pleasant but distracting.
// Hush, whelp, let me think. //
The two men crept closer, using the trees for cover. The wards that had blocked the ghost buzzed in Ashley's mind like a nearby nest of hornets, and he moved cautiously, afraid of triggering an alert prematurely. The simple barriers could not stop a physical attack, but to his less ordinary senses they formed an opaque barrier effectively cloaking all within. There was no doubt that anything more invasive than a passive probing would result in the residents being immediately alerted.
// But it looks like this thing is really only meant to detect mages... and magical things... and as many things as Tam can be classified as... /magical/ is not one of them... //
A plan began to rapidly fall together as he inspected the area, counting the patrols and making note of tumbled walls and poorly repaired doors.
// They definitely rely too heavily on the wards to alert them to danger... this place isn't that much of a challenge. //
At length he was satisfied and pointed Tam over to an unguarded patch of wall. "How good do you feel your sneaking skills will be this evening?"
The trapper smiled as he ran his hands over the masonry and noted the way the crumbled mortar left perfect crevices for fingers and toes. "Just point the way Ash... just point the way."
The knight returned the smile and they retreated back into the woods to rest and wait for dark.
Sunset gradually ended, sucking its bright colors from the sky while Ashley lazily kept watch. Tam was carefully sharpening his knives, waiting for full dark. The knight felt a familiar tickle at the back of his mind and turned his head a little to see the mage pop into existence behind him. The blonde was now wearing more somber colors than usual, and gave him a brisk nod before settling down.
// Have a good rest? //
//~ Adequate. You? This may prove a challenge for you... supporting /me/ and casting... even with the Rood Inverse providing me with most of what I need, there is still what I take from you as well... ~//
// I know... It isn't much of a burden, though... and your presence is usually worth it... With any luck I can get through this without any major casting... it's not my style. //
//~ We'll just keep our fingers crossed then shall we? ~//
The knight flashed his ghostly partner a menacing grin and proceeded down the trail, tapping Tam's shoulder as he passed.
"It is time." The three men took up their positions on the various sides of the keep and waited. Tam started the events rolling by beginning his climb of the rough wall, timing his scramble over the top to coincide with the guard's pause in checking the opposite corner. The alarms remained silent, much to Ashley's amusement, and the trapper's low whistle signaled that he was on the move inside the walls.
// And now to buy him some time by generally raising /Hell/... 'Frontal assault is out'? No, I don't think so... /Sydney/? //
//~ Ready and waiting. ~//
// Now. //
//~ You're /crazy/. ~// Despite his sardonic commentary the ghost wasted no time in deliberately throwing himself against the barriers, feeling several alarms shriek in response to his presence. He moved back and hovered high in the air, vastly amused to watch the frantic soldiers flocking to his side of the walls searching for an invisible attacker. Ashley felt both the mage's amusement and the chiming alarms as he waited, giving the men plenty of time to flock into the courtyard and mill about in confusion. When satisfied with Sydney's view of the situation, he calmly stepped up to the thick wooden doors and placed a hand on them, uttering the final word to one of his more impressive cantrips. The spell was simple but ferociously powerful, a massive fireball burning through the wards, taking the heavy doors of their hinges only to turn them into fiery splintered shrapnel that exploded into the confined area. The flames swirled around the interior of the keep's walls, hot enough to crack glass, and eventually ran out--but not before blackening the walls and killing or maiming a large portion of the crusaders caught without shelter. The Riskbreaker was inside the walls before the rubble had fully settled, moving briskly among the bodies to kick open the entrance to the main building.
// Well, it looks as though Tam got in his tower entrance with no delays... Otherwise I'd be hearing him cursing me by now... You with me, whelp? //
The mage's outline wavered at the base of a nearby staircase, vicious smile already in place.
//~ Indeed, you only just toasted a solid 14 of them in a single hit... you do have a knack for elemental magic... It /was/ a little excessive perhaps... but I rather liked it. ~//
The hall rapidly came alive, the priests seeming determined that they could defend themselves despite the poor accounting their Brothers had given outside. Ashley wasted no breath for warning or challenge, raising his blade to meet the onslaught. The first priest was dealt with by the simple expedient of catching the man's collar before he could raise his weapon, and hurling him bodily into a crowd of his comrades to knock several down in a tangled heap. Out of the corner of his eye, the knight caught sight of Tam darting across an upper walkway, as yet undiscovered.
// Let's do this. // The Riskbreaker's mental declaration was the man's only battle-cry as he dove into the fray, casually dodging blows while dealing death with every move. With in minutes the hall was still but for the groaning of those too injured to fight. Ashley prowled through the lower level's rooms like a wolf, carefully checking each room for signs of life or clues as to the inhabitants' purpose. The ghost joined him after a cursory inspection of the fallen men, shaking his head grimly at the lack of new information that they provided.
//~ I don't like this Ashley. I can sense that there are others here, but they're hiding their location from me... ~//
At length the only room left to check was the monastery's chapel, and shrugging at the blasphemy Ashley casually kicked the doors open to pad silently into the room. Sydney swept the entire room swiftly for signs of life, and finding nothing in the eerie abandoned church opted to perch on the altar, looking over the sacred texts. Frustrated at the lack of opposition, the Riskbreaker stalked past the ornate candelabras at the front of the room and moved to investigate a closed door off the side; the chapel's vestry. He went to open the latched door, but the moment his hand brushed the wood he felt the trap activate.
// Oh shit. //
There was no time to do anything as the door dissolved into a portal of light and swallowed him. Sydney found himself suddenly alone in the dark nave, the innocent door mocking his astounded stare as he absorbed what had just occurred.
// The door ? They /trapped/ the door? What in the Hell for? //
The blonde was moving at once, inspecting the complex bindings in the wood.
//~ Ashley? Ashley, can you hear me? ~//
The mage strained his senses, but the door remained a door; the knight was beyond his reach.
// But I recognize this spell... they don't have us yet... //
Behind him, he felt the hiss of a spell being released and he could suddenly feel the presence of five men moving into the church, Father Michael's familiar aura among them.
"Will the seals hold?" The eldest man's numerous insignia and powerful aura proved him to be the ranking member of the group. His pale eyes missed nothing as they suspiciously swept the room. Sydney felt a distinct sense of danger from the man and instinctively crouched low behind the ornate altar, hiding.
"He's a strong one milord, 'tis sure... one only has to count the bodies to see that... but this is one bubble he'll not break. Any damage he tries to inflict will be dealt back upon him. The seals will hold for as long as the door does..." The subordinate's tone was pompous as he boasted of his achievement.
"He had a companion in here with him, did he not? What of that?"
Father Michael coughed guiltily and shuffled his feet. "We have not yet apprehended the second villain, your Grace... there are few men left for the search and there is the captive to be guarded and watchmen needed..."
Sydney smothered a chuckle behind his hand as he heard the older man snort in irritation.
"It is doubtful that anyone /else/ will be attacking us /tonight/, my son. Go pull the remaining men from their useless duties and put them to work. I want that little mouse found. As for you three, " He waved the remaining men forward. "Fetch that door down. Carefully, mind you! Not a scratch will be tolerated. The sooner we get underway the better... you've done well, Michael, the Lord will be pleased."
Sydney flattened himself further against the back of the altar, frantically building a plan of attack.
//Why can't things ever go /smoothly/? At least I don't have to worry about Tam... he seems to be in good shape... provided I can keep our dear /friends/ here from leaving the room to relate that order to the survivors... Ashley'll just /kill/ me if I put his friend in danger... Shit. Have to think fast... I'm not strong enough to take all of them if they can see me like I think they can... //
Inspiration struck with moments to spare; the ghost /reached/ for the power lines that fed to him through the Riskbreaker and /pulled/.
// Here's hoping that the old man is sitting down... This sort of drain might very well knock the wind out of him... From the Icy Void I Summon thee, with the Dark I Infuse thee, by My Blood you are Bound and to My Words you must Heed, by the Bloody Glyph born of Torment. I Call you.... /Dullahan/! //
The room was bathed in weird shivering light as a new portal opened on top of the altar. A cold wind suddenly swept the room, driving the priests backward in surprise. From the heart of the distortion stepped a dark, armored figure, gigantic sword held aloft in challenge as it dropped to the floor.
"I thought you said he was /contained/!" Father Michael hurriedly drew his weapon along with the other men and shot a bitter look at the now sweating sub-priest. The pale-eyed head priest's lips thinned as he studied the new development.
Sydney crouched on the floor feeling momentarily nauseous because of the vast energies bleeding out of him. The chapel was sacred ground, and it was all he could do to summon up this one /weaker/ creature as a distraction for the men.
// Dullahan... keep them busy... let no man leave... //
Snarling softly at his weakness he /pulled/ again and quickly spun out some wards of his own, effectively creating a cloak of silence; there would be no outside distractions if he could help it. Sydney grinned against the pain and staggered to the bespelled door, sending yet more energy flowing through his right arm to give the now-metal limb greater substance. His claws bit deeply into the wood with a satisfying /thunk/ and the mage methodically began to make long raking gouges through the carefully painted symbols. Focused as he was on watching the wards weaken, he didn't see the attack coming until the icy blast caught him full in the back, nailing him to the wall.
// They /can/ see me! ... I knew it... damn stupid of me, but there wasn't much choice... // He pulled himself out of the way of a second blast, this time fire, and forced his uncooperative eyes to work. The remaining symbols on the door were slowly charring as the wards began to collapse; there was no fear that the Riskbreaker would not soon be free. It was merely a matter of time. On the other side of the room the Dullahan was putting up an impressive fight and had apparently dispatched the one boastful mage-priest. It was damaged though, and even as it cast a charm locking one lay-priest's joints, another was moving in for the kill. The remaining mages were keeping back from the action, and Sydney met the senior prelate's eyes. Pale blue met gray in a mix of curiosity and ire as they inspected one another closely for the first time.
"How amusing... I've never heard of a mage using a /ghost/ as a familiar before... Although I can hardly support such unholy ideas... tell me, little one, who are you? How is it that you can walk here on holy ground?" Father Michael brought his staff up to cast again but was prevented by an arm barring his path. "Let the child speak."
The ghost narrowed his eyes in contempt, his opponent's speech irritating him on several levels. His grip in reality was slipping however, and he carefully watched the nearby door as it continued to smoke.
// How I loathe arrogant bastards like you... Just you wait till your precious trap breaks a bit more... I'll laugh as you /die/. //
//~ You can see me then... but can you hear me? I defy your /holy ground/. It is nothing to me. ~//
The man threw back his head and barked in laughter, "What a sharp tongue our little guest has... you will /stay/, won't you? I'm sure your /master/ will be pleased to see that we have you safe and sound... you look... a little /tired/!" The man pointed with his scepter and released a complicated charm. Sydney brushed it aside with a wave, bluffing far more strength then he had remaining.
//~ You'll have to do better than that... I am no man's slave, not /his/, not /yours/... ~//
"Then you can go back to /Hell/!" The prelate's angry cry was given counterpoint by the sound of the door exploding outwards, its prisoner rolling free with a shout. However, both Father Michael and his superior had already released their spells, one speeding quickly across the room to slam into the blonde once more. The ghost muttered a desperate curse but found he could not focus enough to retain his grip on reality. He let go and felt the elastic snap of his line pulling him back to the Shadow Lands. He closed his eyes in exhaustion, not caring much where he would land.
Ashley closed his eyes against the vertigo as he was /pulled/ through the door. The sensation abated at last and he was obliged to stare in wonder at the new surroundings. The trap was admirable in intent if not in application. The prison was a perfect sphere some 7 feet in diameter; if he stood at it's lowest point there was no need to stoop, but the view was disturbing. The interior surface was a smooth, flawless mirror; no matter where he looked, a distorted reflection stared back at him.
// Right then, magic is a no-go. I'll wager a bottle of the finest Valens wine that this mirroring is not just for aesthetics... and I have no urge to scorch something in order to test it... so that leaves brute force... how convenient. //
The knight tapped the cold surface with a knuckle, then struck it harder, but the surface remained unyielding. Its glass-like feel did not translate into any similar weakness. On a whim Ashley drew his sword and attempted to score the glass, to no effect.
// Well, if a blade that specializes in killing mere beasts and men is no good to me... what about a blade that has more of a taste for holy victims? //
Ashley exchanged his weapon for one of a pair of thinner blades that he had retrieved before setting out on his quest. The sword, carefully strapped with its twin out of the way across his shoulders and under the coat, slid free with a chime and emitted a dark glow.
// It's been a while, old friend. Let's see what /you/ can make of this. //
The blade struck the mirror with a musical chime, and /stuck/. The knight winced in pain as the sword's dark nature attempted to cleave through the wall and produced a shrieking vibration that filled the sphere. He pulled the weapon free with a cry and leaned against the far wall to get his bearings. The cell remained unscathed and Ashley grudgingly surrendered to the knowledge that there would be no escape without help. He folded himself calmly on the floor, the soundless space giving a feeling of timelessness, and settled himself to wait. His captors would eventually make a mistake, and when they did, he'd be ready.
It did not take long. Ashley had barely progressed through the first lines of 'The Handbook of Advanced Law and National Treaties Pertaining to the Safety of the Government of Valendia' (1) before he felt the Dark within him give a lurching tug. A wave of dizziness washed over him, leaving him gasping for air, and he looked about vainly attempting to determine what his partner was up to. A set of four scratches suddenly flared into existence on the wall across from him. They were soon followed by four more cuts, and four more after that. The scratches crossed one another in a reckless pattern, causing the rest of the sphere's surface to shiver with each marring. Ashley was on his feet in an instant, throwing himself against the damaged section, feeling it give under his weight. Using the dark blade as a chisel he alternated between hacking at the dulled region and ramming it with his shoulder. The sphere began to splinter and as the knight smashed into the wall one last time he felt himself ejected back into reality at high speed.
He felt the splinters of wood fling around him as he rolled down the altar's steps and into the dusty chapel, but he ignored them and quickly assumed his stance. He was just in time to block an attack, the raw energy surging to the left and right as he cleaved it with his sword. Through the crazed brightness he could make out what looked like one of the armored knights from Léa Monde giving its death scream and dissolving back into the Dark from whence it came. Casting a quick look behind him, he was in time to see Sydney scream in anger and pain as the smaller man's ghost was caught in a hot blast. The ghost's form wavered a moment like the heated air over sun-baked roads, and then vanished. The Riskbreaker carefully assured that the wounded man returned back to his sanctuary safely while parrying another magical blast, sending it back at its caster.
// How /dare/ they! ... /No one/ hurts him.../ever/. I will not allow it. //
Had he listened to himself, Ashley might have been startled at the fierce protective possessiveness in his thoughts, but the man only cared for one thing: eliminating those who sought to harm his friends. His rage was quickly channeled into destruction as he unleashed raw bolts of lightning throughout the room, blasting the younger soldiers. Only the two mages, having shielded, were left standing before him. Recognizing Father Michael as Sydney's attacker, the Riskbreaker closed in on his target, who stubbornly raised his staff in challenge.
"You /are/ a veritable /demon/ aren't you... /and/ you consort with the /dead/ too... Hell is too good for you." The man's voice was cool but wavering; he glanced over at his superior, who gave him a permissive nod and carefully retreated a short distance. The priest was good, better than any Ashley had yet faced. The attacks began without further preamble or boasting. The Riskbreaker smoothly ducked the initial head-blow and responded by slamming the hilt of his sword into the man's ribs.
"You're not entirely inexperienced with 'consorting' yourself it seems... odd for a churchman, don't you think?"
The blonde's only response was a short bark of laughter. They exchanged a furious series of blows, forsaking magic altogether, and drew forth a number of small injuries on one another. The elder prelate watched in interest for a time, but it became quickly apparent that his servant lacked the stamina to compete with the fighter for long. Michael was simply not good enough to offer a /serious/ challenge. In a matter of moments the Father was disarmed and thrown to the floor, cowering as his attacker stalked forward. Seeing his opportunity, the arch-prelate teleported silently, vanishing into the night and leaving his men to fend for themselves.
"Now. /Who/ do you serve."
The prone man sneered in contempt and attempted to move, receiving a sharp jab for his troubles.
"Name! Who sent you!"
"No." The man's haughty voice quavered as the sword's edge pressed against his throat.
"/Name/!"
"You'll /burn/ in Hell for this!"
Ashley blinked in surprise at the icy curse before snorting in contempt. "No, no I won't." He shifted his grip and crouched near Father Michael's head. "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll be forced to /take/ it from you... a painful process, I can assure you."
The churchman's sneer remained in place. "You cannot! I am protected by the Lord!"
Sighing in frustration, Ashley glowered at the condemned man and deliberately entered his mind. Michael had told the truth, there /was/ a barrier over his thoughts. Had the knight's skill sprung from strictly ordinary sources he might have even found it impassable, but the Dark guided him, showing him the weaknesses in the shield. The priest shivered, feeling a chilling tingle in his blood, but found himself powerless to resist.
The Riskbreaker resisted the urge to laugh as all the man's petty secrets were revealed at his whim but then he drew back a little, sickened at his actions.
// How would the whelp say it? 'mind like an open book'? This power is far to easy to abuse, methinks, but it seems it is necessary... //
He carefully prowled the man's thoughts, touching each memory in the search for clues concerning the new holy order.
// Strange how /paranoid/ this church must be... Father Michael is no raw recruit and yet even /he/ doesn't know much... But he does confirm that they were hunting Stray to keep the man from attracting attention... they knew that even mad as he was he could let /something/ slip... something that would attract unwanted attention... which of course he did... //
Ashley looked further, callously indifferent to the man's fearful whimpering. Gathering information about the size, strength and recent movements of the religious sect, the knight came across another curious glassy barrier. Prepared for a quick retreat, he sent a tendril of thought to touch the blockage, and gasped as a /vision/ bloomed in his mind, causing him to drop the mental link to his now writhing captive.
The world shifted crazily around the knight until he found himself standing on a hillside above a ransacked and burning village. The thick sooty smoke billowed into the sky in a way that reminded him of Léa Monde. The village did not stay long however; thinking of the accursed city seemed to call it forward, and as he watched the small settlement morphed and expanded. Confused, Ashley watched his environment change and become the recognizable architecture of Léa Monde's inner city. There was a sound like a cough behind him and he spun, reaching for weapons that were no longer present. The sight that greeted him made him cry out softly in shock. Before him was Sydney, nailed to an ornately carved Rood. The mage's blood flowed freely from numerous wounds but his eyes were clear as he gazed down. Ashley strained to hear the blonde's words, but the flames around them roared higher, obliterating all other sounds. He blinked to clear his eyes of the ash. Reality shifted again. The Riskbreaker found himself projected forward at high speed over the city, only to come to rest in the great chapel on the top floor of Léa Monde's grand Basilica. Around him the candles burned in their sconces on the floor just as he remembered, and seeking to complete the scene he grimly turned to see his friend as the man had been that day, slowly bleeding on the floor where Guildenstern had flayed the skin from his back. He moved to lift Sydney off his wounds, supporting the mage in his arms. The prophet weakly pointed upwards, as he had on that day, but the words were not as the knight remembered. No longer was there the brief apologetic conversation; the man whispered a riddle instead.
"The Imperfect light of Law Enslaves, Saviors and Villains have many Faces, to Do Nothing is still to Act and every action requires a Risk... But Ashley... no strength comes without Cost."
"What? What does that /mean/ !?" Ashley gently shook the now-comatose man and started in alarm as the body changed, becoming the laughing form of Müllencamp.
"Silly child... he couldn't answer... He wasn't /really/ here after all... You're simply seeing echoes of the /future/... Which your brain attempts to interpret by putting it in terms of your past... a /code/ if you will..."
"So you're not really here either?" The knight stared, perplexed at the smiling woman in his lap. She laughed again and reached to detach one of the jingling coins from a veil in her hair.
"Of course /I'm/ real... /I'm/ always real... but don't ask me to figure all this out... you're the one dreaming it up, I'm just here for moral support. All I can do is give you a hint or two to help you /see/." She flipped the coin and caught it expertly before pressing it into his hand.
He cautiously opened his fingers to inspect the coin. It was larger than it had looked earlier, vaguely Roman in appearance with an image of the two-headed god Janus on one side and a set of scales on the other. The silver was of good quality but the coin had no markings on it to hint at its origin or value. Müllencamp peered into his hand, equally curious as to the form her gift had taken.
" Hmmm... a /curious/ coin for you... You seem to be at a crossroads my /darling/..." She pointed to the dual faces of the Roman god, "You're going to find yourself having to choose between two paths..." The goddess then flipped the coin over and prodded the balanced scales on the back. "And it looks that, whichever path you choose, there will be an equal measure of joy and regret... 'Tis just a matter of /which/ regrets you get...what the consequences for your actions or /inactions/ will be. Life is a /bitch/ sometimes isn't it...."
Ashley looked up from the shiny coin to snap at her, but found her gone, her weight suddenly absent from his lap. The knight was completely alone in the shadowy chapel and felt a strong need to climb the stairs and out onto the roof, completing the events that had occurred in the final hours of Léa Monde. It was with some trepidation that he ascended, prepared for /anything/ in this altered reality.
// What next? A heart-to-heart with Guildenstern? That I could do without... //
However, the rooftop was empty of mad men, or anyone else for that matter. The winds swept around him, tugging at his hair as he surveyed the city. Something was out of place, but it took him a moment to realize what it was. At the apex of the roof's gentle dome had stood a stylized cupola, a sword fashioned in the shape of the Rood pointing up at the heavens. He stared at the ornament that now stood in its place, a tall marble angel with wings folded. Its eyes were shut, giving its face a serenely peaceful look, but something in its posture disturbed the Riskbreaker. Curious, he moved closer to the statue, and ran a finger over the cool stone. The statue's eyes came open, startlingly human. The surprise was enough that it threw Ashley badly, causing him to stumble back in shock. The angel shook itself and became more lifelike as it stepped of its pedestal to gaze haughtily at him.
"And /who/ are you? How dare you /touch/ me with your filthy hands..." The creature's movements were graceful as it fanned its wings and drew a long silvery sword with obvious intent. The knight rolled out of the way of the descending stroke, leaving it to bite deeply into the tiled roof. He came to his feet armed and ready, the blade's edge illuminated by dark fire.
// I killed Guildenstern and he had the full power of the Wellspring behind him... I can damn well kill this thing too... //
But the angel's blows were impossibly fast and powerful, driving him slowly backwards along the curve of the roof. Desperately blocking yet another hit, the Riskbreaker slid backwards again, only to discover that there was no longer tile under his feet. The angel seemed as surprised as he was, as it watched him waver and fall off the high tower. Below him the city blurred and vanished, replaced by a vast and inky lake. The dark water filled his vision as he plummeted and he plunged into it with terrific force; and the world went dark.
Ashley gasped as he returned to himself, realizing that he was panting in fear as he lay on the floor of the dusty chapel.
// That was... that was /bad/. // He tasted blood in his mouth and realized that he had somehow bit his cheek. The churchman lay still on the floor, blood drying on his face, seemingly having hemorrhaged to death.
// That wasn't me... /somebody/ /really/ didn't want him getting chatty about whatever was behind that barrier... but by the Lady, how long was I out? And where did the /other one/ go... there were two of them... weren't there? //
His memories were still swimming with the images from his dream, refusing to provide clear resolution to the questions. Ashley pulled himself to his feet and, using the blade as a prop, staggered out into the monastery's main hall.
// I feel bloody awful, like that time I tried to out drink ... /someone/... Aw Hell. Fucking memories... //
"Tam!" The knight rested at the bottom of the steps, tired, sick, and uncaring who was left to hear him. "Tam, you sorry excuse for a neighbor! You'd better not be dead up there... your wife'll just kill me..." He sighed and slowly started pulling himself up the stairs, calmly kicking a body out of the way. He had not progressed more than halfway up before there was a rushed clattering and the trapper came into view. The man was all but jumping down the stairs in elation, his daughter safely in his arms. He pulled up short of bowling the knight over and began to scold him gleefully.
"You! What /happened/? One minute you're right behind me... the next thing I know I'm running amok alone up there. Luckily these boys were /pushovers/..." He rambled on as he made his way downstairs, not noticing his audience's lack of response. Heidi stared sadly at the carnage and then up at the hesitating man while her father quickly surveyed the destruction. Tam shrugged in resignation.
"So, where's everyone else?"
"Dead. I think." Ashley made his way down and drew Tam's attention to the wide-eyed child. "Perhaps we should go someplace a little less... /cluttered/." Tired as he was, he felt faintly ill at exposing the girl to the carnage. The trapper nodded thoughtfully and began to murmur to his daughter, following his tired friend toward the back of the building and the empty kitchen.
The Riskbreaker gave a long sigh of relief as he felt the warm sunlight on his face. All he wanted to do was collapse into the green grass and /sleep/, but he knew that would be impossible without checking on his partner. The fact that Sydney wasn't waiting for him, as the blonde had in the past few days, didn't worry him much as he set out across the field.
// If he is half as tired as I feel, he's resting at his place... convenient how we're 'just next door' to each other... but then /everything/ is 'just next door' in this place... just start walking and there you are... //
The breeze became cooler, salty as his grassy hills faded into the beginning of the dusky forest. He walked resolutely through the still-contradictory border region, blinking his eyes as it suddenly went from day to moonlit night. Sydney had plans to integrate the edge more smoothly at some point, but the idea had been put aside in the recent fuss. Ashley pondered the problem idly as he walked and was soon at the base of the mage's tower, the surf behind him crashing impressively against the shore. He hailed at the simple door but received no response.
// Huh, the lights are lit... but no one's home? //
The knight felt a little intrusive about entering the building uninvited. But worry overruled caution, and he found himself in the large homey kitchen.
"Sydney?"
The hearth crackled cheerfully, but aside from that and the sound of the waves, the house was quiet. Feeling decidedly out of place, Ashley proceeded up the stairs into unfamiliar territory.
// Just /great/... prowling around his place like a bloody lurker on the slight chance that he /might/ be injured... need help... which of course he /won't/. It's just your own bloody paranoia... and what's /this/? A library? //
The room was the same area as the kitchen below but much taller, allowing for massive bookcases on every wall and some standing free. Large, ornate encased lamps were placed at regular intervals in the windowless room, casting a soft light on everything. The one shelf-less wall contained another fireplace and in front of it was a table covered in opened books.
// There must be /hundreds/ of volumes here. I wonder... are all these here from /memory/? He'd have had to read /all/ of them when he was alive to duplicate them here... otherwise wouldn't they just be blank? But if he already knows their contents... why reread them? //
Ashley moved carefully between the shelves and saw another staircase leading upwards. He told his guilt to shove off and began to climb.
"Sydney?"
The room initially looked abandoned as he peered over the edge of the floor, but proved to be simply cluttered as he looked closer. There were very sparse furnishings on this level; a tattered couch was pushed against one wall, covered in papers. Against the other walls were several tables and racks, each covered with various tools, bottles, books and other things Ashley couldn't guess the purpose of. The cleared floor was illuminated by the narrow windows on each wall, the pale light catching the gleam of a large pattern etched into the floor, the curving runes looking spidery in the dim room.
// Lots of space for work, but nobody working... I'm running out of floors here, whelp. You'd better be hurt or not here... //
If the previous three floors had been in a strictly utilitarian style that seemed to characterize Sydney's adult life, the top-most floor was a signature of the decadence of his youth. The knight paused at the top of the stairs as the light from the large ornamental windows poured over him. Each large enough to walk out of, they covered each wall, affording views both of the forest and the sea. Their silky drapes rested on the floor and moved gently in the sea breeze. Unlike the other rooms in the tower, this one was partitioned by large embroidered screens that blocked his view of all but one small area with comfortable chairs and a low breakfast table.
// I wonder if a person's supposed to take their shoes off... //
The woven carpet was plush and looked more than a little expensive. Not wanting to risk damaging something, Ashley reluctantly stepped out of his boots to pad across the room.
"... Sydney? ..."
// Vase, another vase, painting...plant, plant, books. Lots of books... the damn things are /everywhere/... no wonder that he calls me illiterate, how many have I read in my life, /ever/? Ten? Twenty? And almost all of them were either legal or military history... //
The knight moved around the tall screen and paused, the object of his search lying before him. The bed was low but decadent, piled high with pillows and a satin coverlet. Sydney was soundly asleep, burrowed deep in the bed, languorously limp and unmoving even when Ashley crouched to look him over.
// He... he seems well enough... dead tired... somewhat pale... but in this light /everything/ looks pale... His sleep seems normal... best to let him be. //
Still the knight allowed himself a moment to watch the blonde's calmly sleeping face, allowing the sight to reassure him. He brushed a stray lock of hair tenderly from the youthful face with a small smile. Feeling strangely content, Ashley carefully backed out of the room and went back down the stairs.
// As tempting as those chairs up there looked... it would hardly do to be discovered, uninvited, in his bedroom... // The knight paused a minute in amusement, wondering exactly what would be so odd about that. What was so improper about a man sleeping in a friend's room to keep an eye on him? It wasn't that he felt that the blonde was a /superior/... nor was it for any other reason definable to his muddled thoughts. The Riskbreaker smiled at his own prudishness. // No, it just feels... weird. It's bad enough I've wandered around uninvited, maybe he dislikes sharing his private spaces... With luck he'll not know I was up here... and if he /does/ make a fuss... I'll tell him that I saw him drooling in his sleep... //
Sydney's mouth felt unpleasantly dry as he awoke, and he glumly realized he had probably been inhaling pillow lint for some time. He blinked blearily, trying to inspire his thoughts to greater wakefulness, but the exercise was a futile one. It was time for more drastic measures. Stumbling out of bed with less than his usual grace, he felt his way over to the basin of water and submerged his head in the chilly water before his brain could muster an objection. The shock of the water on his face produced the desired effect as his body surged into wakefulness as a panicked response. Gasping for air, Sydney allowed the water to stream down from his face and hair, fumbling for a towel, and then braced himself to look in the mirror.
// Serves you right... pulling a stunt like that... //
He pulled a face, seeing the dark smudges still under his eyes along with other general signs of fatigue.
// Still... it was fun to be back in the game... and I could hardly just sit back and watch as they carted him off... stupid Riskbreaker... //
Feeling marginally more alive than before, the mage pulled off the oversized sleep-shirt and paused long enough to generate a loose soft outfit suitable for lounging; then he headed down stairs.
// Time for some /tea/ I think... //
The kitchen was warm and familiar as he padded barefoot down the stairs, but the large lump in front of the fire was a new development. Sydney stared bemusedly at the 6 foot man in a peasant shirt who was gently snoring on the bench by the fire.
// Well well... Look what the cat brought in... that /can't/ be comfortable... //
The older man's legs were stretched out under the table. The rest of him was slouched over onto the tabletop, head pillowed cutely on top of his crossed arms. Ashley's soft rumbling was a source of some amusement for the mage as he quietly put a kettle over the flames and slouched into a seat, across the table from his dozing champion.
// Hmmm... you'll probably wake up soon, unless you were doing something /really/ exciting after I left... //
Sydney eventually had to get up to rescue the boiling water, and placed a second steaming cup in front of the knight in anticipation. The soft clink of china was apparently all the rousing that the larger man needed. He shifted slightly and cracked an eye open, attempting to get his bearings. The blonde watched as his partner met his gaze, and raised his teacup in silent salute to the drowsy man before taking a sip.
// Of all the Ashley's I've grown fond of since we've met, I think I like this one the best... There is something simply irresistible about the man when he's still half asleep... Something in his face just reaches into me... The only expression that can compete with this would have to be the one he gets /right/ before knocking the shit out of someone who /really/ deserves it... like Grissom... /God/ that was a satisfying fight. Lucky me... to fall for the handsomest guy I know... except for the '/beard/ phase'... /that/ was terrifying... //
"Why the sour face?"
Sydney blinked to realize that he had been staring, the knight giving him an inquiring look. He quickly schooled his expression back to a more customary smirk.
"Sorry, was having a bad 'beard flashback'..."
Ashley rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It wasn't /that/ bad."
"Yes, yes it was."
// He's /never/ going to let that go, is he... Best to distract him with something before the beard jokes start... again. //
"Question." Ashley propped his head on his hand.
"Answer." Sydney playfully copied the pose.
"How good are you at dream interpretation?"
The mage was instantly wide-awake and serious, leaning in to check the Riskbreaker over.
"You had a /vision/? /When/? I didn't feel anything... "
"It was after you got 'bounced' back here... I tried to probe the man Michael's mind and got more than I bargained for."
"I'm all avid anticipation... do tell.."
The knight grunted noncommittally. "You likely won't be as amused when I get to the parts with you in it..."
"Me? How exciting... now I /have/ to hear this...
(1) A particularly boring and pompous little volume inflicted on all Riskbreaker Candidates during their training to guarantee that they had at least a passing familiarity with the Laws they were obliged to work outside of to uphold. Most trainees used it as a prop for wobbly tables and such. Ashley had memorized it cover to cover in two sittings and finds it a useful way of meditating when waiting.
Yeah! I've followed one monstrous chapter... with an even /more/ monstrous one! Please forgive the "action" It's lame... I know... I tried to make it cool... but I think I failed... I'm just too long-winded le sigh. Let's see comments... comments... Thank you to everyone who read "Ashes to Ashes" and wrote me to tell me that they wanted more... It was really surprising and gratifying... me so happy. This chapter was entirely written on the beach in Hawaii so any gratuitous mushiness can be blamed on sunstroke. About the footnote, I don't know what made me think of this... I guess I had that one episode of Star trek NG on the brain. (The one where Picard admits that he rereads the star fleet cadet's manual when he can't get to sleep and it tires him out.) Ashley seems the type to utilize all "waiting" times by doing something cerebral... I don't think he's a mantra kind of guy... How do you guys like Sydney's house!? We finally get to see the inside... if only briefly... very eclectic... just wait till he discovers the joys of indoor plumbing... he'll have to totally renovate. Well this is the end of the stuff that I pre-wrote over Christmas break... the next monster chapter is going to be done on the fly... expect more action, more of the boys getting in trouble, more bad guys, and more mush! (Oh baby.)
Oh yeah, another big thank you to the neuromancer site for Sydney's rehashed dialogue snippet...
Ciao my lovelies.
Lunar. (1-8-2001)
http://www.roodinverse.homestead.com