A/N: I think the next chapter'll be the last one, then I'll get back to the main storyline.
evildictionaryninja: I hope all your questions will be answered here.
Calasier Avamela Prologue
Verimir - Chapter 3: Caught
When they joined with the rest of the group, all triumphant and accounted for, they emptied their bags out onto the floor, each person having their own heap. Gold Diamond saw with a pang that his was noticeably smaller than all the others (though he was still astonished that Tin Turquoise could gather so much despite having only one arm). The silver needles skittered across the floor and one was nearly lost between the floorboards. Titanium Quartz inspected his pile closely. Gold Diamond relaxed when he saw approval on his face when he picked up the many dresses he had stolen,
"Did you steal these from the house of Melys Serrowind, perchance?"
"I don't know." Gold Diamond shrugged, "They had a daughter called Gailia, though."
"Aye, I heard they had a girl. Serrowind and her family are some of the most skilled seamstresses in this region, possibly in all Valivial. Pity they restrict themselves to female clothing. Tin Turquoise chose a good house for your first Beryl and Emerald. Aye, these look perfect for the girls. About their size, too. How'd you know the daughter's name, by the way?"
"I overheard the father talking her before I left." Gold Diamond said, truthfully. He did not want anyone to know they had seen by the girl; he feared their reaction, a fear that increased as Titanium Quartz nodded,
"Good. Wouldn't want to hear that you'd been seen."
Suppressing his worry as much as he could, he swallowed and said, "I noticed that the slavery mine was so near the town. Do they do nothing to stop it?"
"Nah. They like to pretend it doesn't exist. They all like to ignore it."
"That's awful!" Gold Diamond shook his head in disbelief. He was still reeling from the sight of the slaves in chains and lashed with whips,
"Aye, 'tis that." Titanium Quartz nodded solemnly, "There are some who oppose it but they're only a small voice, a minority." He straightened up, "Hai, girls, Gold Diamond got some new winter clothes for you! Serrowind clothes, no less!"
The girls were delighted and were soon happily squabbling over which one they wanted. Gold Diamond gave Tin Turquoise the earrings and helped her put them in her already pierced ears. When he was finished, she gave him a big hug and kissed him on the cheek. When she went off admiring herself in a piece of broken mirror by the fire drum, Aluminium Topaz silent presented Gold Diamond with a fur cuirass, fur-lined breaches and matching fur boots. He supposed he was being given this to replace the much disliked old Akhohr uniform. So, after pulling the new clothes on (everyone was surprisingly unbothered by the sight of the others' naked flesh), he threw his old things on the fire.
So, the years went on. Slowly, Gold Diamond's early doubts about committing crimes faded. They were now a normal part of life. He stayed away from Serrowind's village, though, if he could help it. It the girl had a particularly long memory, she would recognise him in an instant; she had had a very close look. After a few hundred years, one would not have recognised him as Verimir, the Akhohr deserter. His golden hair had been cut shorter (by accident after a run in with a gang of orcs on their terrority) and a little bit of golden stubble was manifesting itself on his chin.
When he first realised it, he didn't know what is was and had rushed to Tin Turquoise (with whom he had grown very close to after the first Beryl and Emerald) to ask for help. When she saw what he was worried about, she'd burst out laughing, "Have you got any human blood in you?"
"I don't know." Gold Diamond shrugged, not know what this had to do with it, "Is it some kind of human disease?"
"Not a disease, no. It's something a lot of human men get though. It's perfectly natural, nothing to worry about. You can shave it off fine if you want but it always grows back."
"No point, then." Gold Diamond shrugged, checking his reflection in the mirror piece. By the end of the year, he had grown a thick, golden beard, curling like a thorn bush. Tin Turquoise loved pulling on it for fun and he'd learned to take her tugs with good humour. By then, he had gained a place among the Steel Jasper gang and no longer encountered guarded animosity.
Then, after three hundred years of relaxed peace, disaster struck. A particularly harsh and cold winter battered their shack. The thin wood was hardly substantial to keep out the biting cold. The fur clothes were just not enough. Titanium Onyx and Bronze Kunsite, being part Fire-elves, came down with dangerous illnesses. The cabin was filled with their coughs and many of the others were weakened. Only the Drows (being at an afinity with the cold) and strangely Gold Diamond seemed unaffected. He supposed it was all those cold nights spent on watch for the Akhohr that had hardened him.
As a result, it was up to him to go and steal some herbs to try and help them. Drows were social outsiders of Valivial and they needed to stay and tend to the worst affected. So, Gold Diamond trudged through the thick snow and merciless blizzard towards the next village. But so great was the wind and snow lashing his face that his enhanced sense of direction was beaten. He only had the chimes of the hated slave mine to guide him and he just prayed that he wouldn't fall into it.
Ever since this thought came to him, he had taken more care where he stood and didn't pay much attention to where he was going. He trusted his instincts to guide him to the right place. He hugged himself desperately to try and shut out the cold, This is for my companions, for their good. I must not get lost. I mustn't!
His heart lifted as he saw a familiar white-bark tree. A left at this and straight on should bring me to the village. At last, a clue. He trekked through the snow and his heart leapt when he saw the shadow of a town. He sped up towards it and smiled a teeth-chattering smile. There it was, the cluster of buildings and right before him, a herb garden sheltered by a thin sheet of down. It was so easy to pick up a corner, reach in and grab what he needed.
His bare fingers shaking, he reached in and tugged at the perfect herb, This family is certainly well off to have such expensive seedlings here. Oh, they will be so pleased when they see these! Pushing the leaves into his pocket, he failed to notice the down-sheet being thrown off. He only realised too late when he took hold of another leaf...and felt a hand on his.
He looked up at the stranger at the same time they did. Though her hood was pulled up, her brown hair was all too familiar. He spent about two seconds staring at Gailia Serrowind in horror and she stared right back at him. It took those two seconds to realise that he had taken a wrong turn and came straight to the place he had tried to avoid for centuries.
Coming to his senses, he leapt to his feet and pelted in the vague direction of the forest. He had just reached the trees when he faintly heard her scream on the wind. Cursing himself for his mistake, he ran blindly through the thick snow sheets that fell from the sky. On, on, on; trees just a blur as he passed them. He had just enough for today and hopefully, tomorrow would be clearer. But would he be allowed out after his folly? With his beard, he would be easy to spot and identify. He could cut it off, of course, but would that be enough to ensure his security?
Panic added to his confusion in direction. He thought he was heading for the shack but he saw no landmarks. The chimes of the slave mine were nowhere to be heard. They were always heard even over gails so why not now? He stopped, panting, his breath misting the air, Calm down. He told himself. His heart was racing, his lungs feeling as though they'd burst, You're far enough away for sure. He glanced about. The visibility was improving now. But he still recognised nothing. His heart sank. Had he gone the wrong way again?
It was that moment that the howling wind became his enemy. It masked the intruders' footsteps until it was too late. The soldiers could creep up on Gold Diamond without being detected. Just as he thought of running again, he was grabbed from behind and his vision became black from a hard hit to the head.
A/N: Oooh, a cliffhanger!