I don't own the Legacy of Kain. I'm writing this simply because I want review crack. The Mystic Bordello is actually a vauge ripoff of Ursula Vernon's "House of the Red Fireflies" except mine can't handle anything much more exotic than vampires. (ursulav on deviantart)

20060526

This happens right after "In Space"

I emerged from the plot hole alone. That wasn't so surprising, this wasn't the first time that we had been separated. What was surprising was that I was again in free fall, only this time it wasn't the weightlessness of space, but that of someone who had nothing but empty air between them and the ground.

I was too afraid to scream. I was just coming to grips with how much my collision with the ground would hurt when a dragon gently drifted under me. I wrapped my arms around its long neck, pressed my cheek against its iridescent blue scales, and let it carry me safely to the ground.

Kain had somehow managed to survive the fall, whether with his bat form or glide or some other means, I couldn't tell. Janos was just coming into view when the dragon touched down. Of Raziel, there was no sign.

"Where the hell where you?" I demanded from the dragon. Its only answer was to huff irritably at me.

"What is this?" Janos asked.

"This is my muse, a creative counterpart to guide and advise," I announced with a hint of pride. I turned back to the dragon and growled, "And you were supposed to be with us from the beginning, you overgrown lizard."

The dragon bristled and hissed, but quickly returned to its poised catlike demeanor.

"Where's Raziel?" I asked.

"The wind took him in that direction," Kain pointed.

The dragon took to the air, deciding that he would go find Raziel.

Kain sneered at the empty meadow that tended to punctuate our adventures. "I grow tired of this wandering."

I shuddered. His simple statement seemed innocuous enough, but I could sense the edge of an unimplied threat. "We will return to Nosgoth before your patience runs out," I assured.

Our attention was riveted on a figure striding over the hill. It was Raziel, but he was changed. His wings were restored and folded loosely along his back. His face, too was whole. He was still blue, but his body was full and well-muscled. Even his drape, which he wore around his waist, was restored.

When Raziel came close, his pace slowed. He stared at Kain with a hard look in his eyes. Kain returned the stare with a look that I could only interpret as 'what are you looking at, punk?'

Raziel then turned his stare on me. I couldn't decide exactly what was going on behind his normal, though vaguely luminous eyes. Recognizing the challenge, I said calmly, "I know what you did."

Raziel's eyes flashed. Was he expecting me to be angry? Not wishing to let the conflict drop, he said, "I killed your dragon."

I regarded him, unimpressed. "The Muse is a job description. The dragon offered it to you and you took it."

"I consumed his soul to restore my appearance," Raziel sneered. "Am I to believe that you would not seek reprisal for that?"

Raziel did not know me very well at all. "You cannot kill an idea," I insisted, still calm. I let a sly smile touch my face. "Even if there were anything to be angry about, there's nothing worse that I could do to you. You're my muse now."

I doubt that my voice could carry enough weight to inspire the necessary dread in Raziel. It would be easier on him if he lept back into the Abyss and never returned.

"The Muse's job is to guide and advise?" Janos questioned.

"Yeah," I said as I glanced at Janos, my tight grin relaxing into a genuine smile. His interruption had broken the tension.

I looked at Raziel expectantly to see if his new status had given him any insight that I had missed. He cocked his head in thought and let his cultured mannerism drop as he said, "Nosgoth, thataway."

"What about Vorador?" Janos asked as we followed Raziel through the seemingly endless grasses.

"Can't you summon him?" I asked.

"Though he is my childe, he is not at my beck and call," Janos answered.

I turned back and called to Kain, who was taking up the rear. "Hey, try using the ring."

Kain snarled. "He will simply ignore it."

I sighed in irritation at this problem. Returning to the Mystic Bordello was as possible as I claimed it was, but it was an annoying detour.

Raziel suddenly grabbed me and reached into my pocket. I squeaked and tried to pull away as his talons brushed against my hip. Raziel fished my cell phone out of my pocket and flipped it open. I was surprised to see that it was actually getting a signal out here.

"Giving him one of these would have been useful," Raziel snapped.

Even if it wasn't in the best interests of my health, I could forgive Raziel's irritated attitude. He was still adjusting to the awesome implications of his new status. Just the vast stream of knowledge he now had access to would have been overwhelming.

I staggered as Raziel began fishing around in my backpack. Kain and Janos both winced, they were aware that I was the only one who had any amount of control over what came out of the bag. When ever one of them had tried it, the results were humorous at best and dangerous at worst. Kain had once gotten a bomb that exploded ten seconds later, and the only thing that had saved him were fast reflexes and a strong throwing arm.

Raziel's muse status seemed to have granted him some abilities similar to mine, and when he pulled out his claws, he held four cell phones of an older and more sturdy design than my own. Though the cell phones would have taken care of the problem of contact, it was still necessary to have a place to meet.

As we topped a ridge, a colonial town on the coast came into view. Ships of various descriptions stood moored at the docks, and the town itself seemed prosperous. A wooden wall surrounded most of the town, but its gates were wide open.

"Do you know what we're supposed to do here?" I asked Raziel.

He shook his head slowly. Raziel seemed to be suffering from a migraine, a sign that he had pushed his new powers past their limits.

(The next one is in the buffer, but it is alone.)