Brief Respite

Cloaked in an ancient barrier, the house was secure. Inside, the inhabitants each went about their own business. Izael went into the other room to sit down "just for a moment" and promptly passed out. Lessa paced restlessly outside of his door, half guarding him and half thinking about what to do next. Seth settled down near Lessa, seeming to be asleep, but in truth he was keeping vigil over his friends. Jessie moved swiftly about the house, from place to place, gathering objects and putting things in order. It had been a long time since she had been here last.
Jessie decided that now was the time to retrieve something very special, something she had hidden away in her own private sanctuary. She let the others rest and went off into a separate room of the small house, locking the door behind her. This room was very dark, windowless and without a source of light. Jessie stepped forward and a circle on the floor lit up before her. From its light, she could see the old warp gate, still functional. She shifted through the pictures, finally stopping on the correct symbol, her symbol, and passed through to the other side.
She emerged in an enclosed cavern deep in the heart of a mountain. There were only two ways to access this place – through one of the warp gates hidden away in her secret waypoints or by teleportation. Nowadays, she relied more heavily on the warp gates because teleportation took too much energy to use on a regular basis. The cavern was lit by small orbs of colored light that floated near the ceiling, perhaps arranged into the patterns of stars no one in Nosgoth had ever seen, but the place was rather dim. It had several other rooms branching off from it, but they were closed off now. Various plants grew along the walls, carefully surrounding paintings and shelves of artifacts from everywhere Jessie had ever been.
Jessie walked over to a shelf designated for Amazonia, another dimension she had accessed not too long ago, and picked up a stone as large as her fist. It was a deep ruby red in color with gold veins interlaced throughout it. She might be needing this. She put it into a pocket in her coat, gave one last look around, and reluctantly headed back to the warp gate.
Jessie emerged in the darkened room of the small house completely wrapped up in her own thoughts. She wanted to visit some of the other dimensions once more, but for the time being she was trapped here. Oh, well. There were worse places to be trapped, but she missed having the ability to leave. She unlocked the door, but stopped before opening it. Something was wrong. She could sense another presence in the house, vaguely familiar but strangely different. In an instant, Jessie recognized what it was and opened the door without a second thought.
Lessa stood against the wall, deep in conversation with herself. Jessie could sense the presence of the person Lessa was whispering to. It was Vorador. Jessie was capable of listening in on the conversation, but she intentionally blocked it out. She didn't want to intrude. Instead, Jessie thought to herself, "So, he does remember how to get around my barriers. I wonder what else he remembers…"

The group continued down the mountainside towards the lights below them. Most of Meridian sat on the opposite end of the mountain, though a few small hovels stretched this far around. "I wonder if Kain is safe," Gadorian uttered, his voice devoid of emotion. Had anyone else said it, Novanus may have let it slide, but from Gadorian he viewed it as a direct attack. "P'haw! I'm sure that dog Lent is using him for something."
Abel's words came into the night like a soft breeze. "If I know Kain, he'll be just fine." "Oh really?" Gadorian asked. The latest comment from the usually quiet Abel peaked Gadorian's curiosity quite a bit. The dark angel had seemed all too interested in Kain before, though none of his questions ever had a chance to be answered.
Novanus looked up at the sky. The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, but the darkness was indeed fading. "We'll need a place to stay," he said as he shot a glance at Abel. He continued, "There's no way we could stay in daylight. I could cast an illusion over his wings, but I don't know how long it would hold."
Gadorian was touched by Novanus' display of modesty, as much as he was capable. For the past few days he had been unable to shake an overwhelming feeling of apathy. He grieved for his old vivacious self, but grieved more for the days he had wasted as such. It took a little longer for it occur to Gadorian that perhaps Novanus' humility was due to some loss; on further thought it became more apparent - Novanus hadn't telekinetically pulverized any small animals (or unfortunate humans) or made any illusions of raining blood at least since they left the temple. Something was certainly amiss.
Finally they reached the border of town. "You two wait here, I'll figure something out." Gadorian felt a little bad, looking at the duo - blind leading the blind - but before long he had shrugged it off and arrived in town. His attention was soon drawn to the grandest inn this side of Meridian, which, considering its surroundings, wasn't saying all that much. Nevertheless, he entered its doors.
Drooling on the desk was the clerk. Gadorian walked silently up towards the man. He picked up a cloak left there by some busy traveler, rolled it into a makeshift pillow, and then slipped it under the clerk's head. Still not satisfied, Gadorian hummed out a few measures of a traditional human lullaby. Upon seeing the clerk reach a complete peaceful state of slumber, Gadorian was ready to rent his room. He abruptly and furiously began ringing the bell. The clerk awoke in an irate, yet still somnolent, stupor, knocking over a few chairs before gaining his senses. The shenanigan caused the first smile Gadorian had shown in days.
"Wha? Werr...What do you want?" "Oh, excuse me, sir, I'm sorry about the hour—you see, my friends and I are dreadfully tired from traveling all night, and need a place to rest our bones. We would be ever so grateful if you would spare us some rooms?" "Friends? I don't see any..." the clerk let out a large yawn. "So it's settled? Wonderful!" Gadorian set a pouch of coins on the desk and managed to coax the clerk into passing him some keys before he again drifted off.
A halo of light was gathering in the distance, preparing the way for the soon to rise sun. "Alright guys, it's clear." Gadorian tossed Abel and Novanus their keys, but Novanus nearly dropped his in a clumsy fumble. He was worse off than he appeared. Upon entering, Abel shot a knowing glance towards the sleeping clerk and stifled a chuckle. The blind vampire's hearing was acute indeed. When Gadorian reached his room, tiny shafts of sunlight were already beginning to dance on the floor. He worried about Izael - through their bond he could sense that he was alright, but Gadorian knew it was his duty to protect the boy. He hoped Lessa would be able to take care of him till the group reformed.

Jessie's reverie was suddenly broken by an intrusive presence in her own mind. At first she tried to block it, but then she realized the source. It wasn't a coherent message, more along the lines of transmitted emotions—loneliness and hunger. In his sleep, Kain was calling out to her, although he probably wasn't aware of it. Jessie's first instinct was to go to him immediately and help, but she remained still. Much as it pained her to leave Kain alone in that state, the Temple would keep him safe for now. She would do more harm than good by breaking the Temple's illusions to enter, and teleporting through the barrier would require enough energy to make her lose her material form shortly thereafter. So she just stood there, leaning against the doorway, sensing Kain's pain and knowing that she couldn't do anything without hurting him further. Something was slightly suspicious about this sensation, but Jessie couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.

Abel stayed close behind the walking party, tracing his palm over the key and feeling for the engraved number. As he rolled the key in his hand he kept the other hand upon the opposite wall and tucked the staff under his arm, trying to match the feeling of the number to the plates nailed to the doors. "Oh," he muttered, distraught. "Kain always helped me with numbers." Whether he said it loud enough for someone to hear or not was none of his concern at the moment. Abel was determined to find his room by himself. But he had been heard; Gadorian looked back over his shoulder to the blind one behind him with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't about to ask him to repeat himself, he had heard the statement, but was he going to ask him what he meant by it?

Lessa turned to Jessie. "I know you now, though you looked different then. You would have seen me, a child of seven, walking around Vorador's mansion - his daughter," Lessa said bowing. She did indeed remember her though not the name. It had been so long ago, it was Vorador that reminded her. "I can see by your look, you have questions. I will tell you all I can." Lessa sat down at the table and waited for Jessie's questions. Seth kept his eye on her but Lessa nodded and he finally went to sleep. She could tell that Izael was in a deep sleep and so there would be time to talk.

Jessie sat down across from Lessa, considering which question to ask first. Before she could even say a word, the wash of Kain's emotions was over her again. It still seemed to be coming from the Temple, but slowly it dawned on Jessie that that was impossible. The barrier around the Temple would not permit the signal to leave. Kain's whisper must be coming from somewhere else...At that thought, Kain's whisper stopped and Vorador's laughter filled her mind. Jessie came very close to blushing. So Vorador still remembered just what emotional buttons to push to get her wound up and worried for no reason. She and Vorador were good friends, but from the beginning they had a playful sort of rivalry going on. Never mind. She would have to get him back later. She refocused her attention on Lessa.
"I do seem to remember you, although that was a lifetime ago," began Jessie. "How is Vorador, by the way?" she said with a small bit of an edge to her voice. "Is he taking good care of Kain?" "How did you know he had Kain with him?" asked Lessa. Jessie answered slowly, "He played a trick on me, dredging up my memories of Kain and convincing me Kain was in the Temple. Luckily, I realized it before I tried to find Kain. I never should have told Vorador how to contact me like that... We are good friends, but we always seem to end up trying to outdo each other." Lessa replied, "Well, stop it, we have work to do." "But he started it!" Jessie exclaimed, relapsing for a moment into a child-like state. She shook her head and said, "No. You're right, of course. What directions did Vorador give you? I will gladly help in any way I can." "Vorador has given instructions to help Novanus and Gad any way I can. The mortal there carries the Sword of the Serioli. He is a descendant of that line, though Gad could tell you more of that. They are trying to stop the return of the Nerayan."
Lessa leaned back in her chair. "As for Kain..." Lessa sighed. "He's in a bad way, betrayed by the ones he trusted and defeated by the Sarafan Lord. We have healed him somewhat but his mind is broken and we don't know how to restore it. No doubt Vorador will find a way though. So I'm sure Vorador will take good care of him, he maybe our only hope to kill the Sarafan Lord. We have been hunted to the brink and stand on the edge of the knife. So that is how it is. What of you?" Lessa asked. She wanted to know what Jessie would do. Would she go to Kain or help them?
Lessa sat, waiting for a reply from her and to hear from either Gadorian or Novanus as to where they were hiding. If anything, this hut would be the best thing for now. Lessa hoped they were alright, but for now she would protect Izael. Lessa owed it to them both.

Jessie thought for a moment, considering the choice before her. She wanted to help Kain directly, but if this world was overrun by the Nerayan, it would not matter if she was with Kain or not. Her best course of action would be to trust Vorador's skill, which she held a high regard for, and try to aid her new friends as best as she could.
"I will help you, of course," began Jessie. "It would serve no purpose for me to go to Kain right now. There is nothing I could do for him at this time. I will aid you in the upcoming battle. You will need my help and perhaps I will remember something from a past 'life' that will prove useful." As if listening to her own words, Jessie sifted through her memories, trying to find something that would help their current situation. For now, all she remembered of the Nerayan was that they were wraiths of some sort, and they wanted her to join them. She did not want to lose her friends, her identity, or what semblance of free will that she possessed to the ravenous appetite of the Nerayan.
Lessa noticed the pause and was about to say something, but she held back her words. Jessie seemed to be lost in thought and Lessa was reluctant to interrupt her. Suddenly, Jessie refocused on Lessa and asked, "What of your other friends? Have they told you where they are yet? Have you tried reaching them? I seem to remember how to whisper to Novanus, if you want me to try." Jessie stopped talking and waited for Lessa's reply.

"I have been trying but I sense a weakness that wasn't there before, and it worries me. I will try to contact Gad. He will tell us where to meet," Lessa replied. Lessa closed her eyes. She was not as close to Gad as she was to Vorador and Novanus, so she would have to find Gad's mind in the jumble of others. Finally she found his mind and smiled. "Gad...Gad...can you hear me?"