Winterheart

Chapter 2

Burning Man

The heat in the room was oppressive. The young man was sweating, though this wasn't entirely from the temperature. Again he struggled against the chains binding him, to no avail. He was trapped. He looked up at his captor, a scantily clad woman with bright red hair. She sat on a couch, legs crossed, arms spread, her demeanor of someone relaxing, completely at odds with the situation. The woman had kicked down his door, slammed him against the wall, and produced a chain from somewhere, which snaked out on it's own accord and bound him.

"W-what do you want with me?" He asked.

"Not much, I just want to talk."

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!"

The woman appeared to ignore this.

"I have some questions for you!"

"Pike off! I ain't a barker!"

"Oh but you are!"

"And why the sodding hell is that?"

"Because I want you to be. People tend to be what I want them to be." She slowly walked over to him, swaying her hips sensually. She leaned over him, and tapped her nails to his skin. He winced in pain, as each tap created a brief spark, leaving a small spot of burned skin. "It's a good way to stay out of trouble..."

The man's heart sank.

"What to do want to know?"

"See? See how better it is to cooperate?" She knelt down, straddling him, placing her face uncomfortable close to his. He looked away, though it didn't stop him from gagging. She smelled like smoke, fire, and ashes. "Now, about two days ago, an transport caravan working for me was robbed. They had been unearthing ruins on the Plane of Mineral, and apparently decided the fastest and safest way back home was through Sigil. Why they thought that was a mystery, but that doesn't matter, they've already been... shall we say, disciplined."

The young man didn't like the way she phrased that.

"Now, I'm a tracker of some renown, and the trail led me here, to you."

"I ain't bobbed ya! I swear!"

She caressed his cheek. "Oh, of course you didn't, but you can tell me who did. It's someone in your little 'circle of friends'."

The mans face grew pale.

"No! Do you have any sodding clue what they'd do to me if I barked?! I'd bite the iron for sure!"

"Possible, but that's way off in the future, and honestly, who has the time to bother with that?! No, you should be focused on the here and now." She placed her hand under his chin, forcing him to look at her. "It's much more beneficial. Trust me."

Wide eyed, the man could only shake his head.

The woman frowned, and stood up, turning around and slowly walking away. She placed one hand on her hip, and another under her chin, as if she was thinking. After a few seconds she turned around.

"I have an idea! Let's make this a game!"

"A g-game?"

"Sure, you tell me what I want, and you get the fantastic prize of walking! However, tell me something I don't want to hear, and you'll face penalties."

"W-what kind of penalties?"

"Their quite severe. I'm afraid they'll cost an arm and leg." The woman held up hand. Fire flared up taking on the form of a sword.

If it was possible for the man to grow any paler, he would have.

The woman was about to speak, when there was a loud, "Bar this!"

The closet burst open, and a dirty looking man rushed towards the door. A thief?! the captive thought.

The woman didn't seem too surprised, and instead annoyed. She sighed as the man ran out into the apartment complex. "Also, you're not allowed to Message a friend." Without any visual motion on her part, the man suddenly burst into flames. The horrid scent of burning flesh filled the air, as the man collapsed to the floor, screaming and writhing. Eventually, he stopped, and lay still, the fire spreading from his body into the old dry wood.

"By the way, this contest now has a time limit." She said, indicating the growing inferno.

"No! Please!"

The woman strode over and grabbed his hand. She placed one boot on his head, and then ripped off two of his fingers. The man screamed as blood spurted out onto the floor.

"Sorry, wrong answer."

"Oh gods! Oh gods!"

"Sorry, wrong answer."

She sliced off the rest of his fingers with a single sweep of the fire-sword.

"Please! Wait!"

"Sorry wrong answer."

Another swing of the blade severed off half of his forearm.

The man screamed in pain and fell over, writhing in agony.

"So, what's your next answer!"

"Th-there's a man, called Leon. He was boasting about bobbing some stuff from these fire genasi!"

"Correct answer! Now where can I find this, 'Leon'?"

"He's a Half-Elf, bangs around a lot at this old bubhouse, the Smouldering Corpse!"

"Huh, ironic. Where is that?"

"In a square just southwest of the Mortuary!

"Another correct answer! Well, see ya."

The chain around the man released him and slithered away towards the woman wrapping itself around her waist.

The man struggled to his feet, and noticed that the blaze already blocked off the doorway.

"H-hey! How am I supposed to get out of here?!"

"Sorry, it appears you've run out of time. Were sorry, but we hope you've enjoyed your game!" The woman then casually strode into the flames.

The man rapidly looked around. The door was out, that only left the window. He stumbled over to it, feeling more faint every second. He looked outside towards Sigil, and then down to the ground, many stories below...

Before she exited the inferno, Raaida turned invisible. She ordinarily wouldn't care if cold-bodied filth like these saw her, but that could be inconvenient now.

She took off flying, but not before turning around to watch as her former captive desperately leaped out of the window, falling screaming to his demise in front of a crowd of gawkers. With a smirk she flew over the Hive, heading towards her destination.

Raaida would have preferred to stay visible, but she realized that things would work better if she had the element of surprise. The bar wasn't too difficult to locate. The Mortuary was a massive dome, with giant spiked towers surrounding it. Heading southwest of that, she came to a plaza where a large structure dominated. Above it's entrance was the bars title, and an image of a burning man floating above a grate. Sounded like her kind of place.

Raaida landed in a nearby alleyway, finally returning to visibility. She casually strode towards the bar. As she passed the threshold, she felt a pleasant wave of heat. The inside had numerous grates beneath which burned fires. She didn't see any smouldering corpses, though perhaps that would change...

The drone of conversation and the smell of cooking food filled the air. Raaida didn't eat, and so payed little attention to the scents. With practiced ease, she focused on each conversation, blocking out the others. One by one she listened to the people in the bar as she slowly strode through it, until she finally found what she was searching for.

"-lly a big haul."

"You ain't bobbin' me, are you?"

"Nah, Leon and some other bashers bobbed these fire genasi. They was carrying gems and jink. A lot of gems and jink."

"What about the genasi? Did you take care of them?"

"Probably sent them cryin' back to the Crucible."

Raaida walked faster, moving towards them. Most people in the bar payed little attention to her, even when she shoved some of them out of the way. She stepped up to the table, sitting next to a particularly fiery grate. It's occupants were four muscular thugs.

"Hey hey!" One of them said, upon noticing her. "Who called the Jinkskirt!"

Ignoring this, Raaida leaned over the table. "Leon, where is he?"

"Why are you in such a hurry, love? Leon can wait!"

"I am not a patient woman. You'd best tell me what I wish to know!"

"Perhaps we can work something out... You seem to look like you enjoy a good time."

Raaida frowned and clenched her fist, her sharp nails scratching against the metal table. One of the four men, likely less drunk than the others, spoke up.

"Er... Ren? I think we should do what she says. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ren looked back at him, shrugged and then placed his hand on Raaida's waist. "I can show you a good time."

Raaida's reaction was near instantaneous. She grabbed Ren, and hurled him across the bar. He bounced off a table and hit his back on a railing before flipping over onto a fiery grate. The man screamed and writhed as he burned before rolling off, his clothes in flames. Several bar patrons screamed and fled, others grabbed water to douse the man, and yet others drew weapons, advancing on Raaida.

For her part, Raaida didn't care. She felt a thrill as the man burned and a grin spread across her face as more opponents approached. Ren's other two friends leaped up, coming at her with their weapons. She blocked their blows with the armguards she wore, then pushed them away, before kicking one of them. He went flying back, knocking over several tables. She then spun and backhanded the other man, whipping his head to the side and snapping his neck.

She turned to the fourth man, who had warned Ren. The thug backed away, and panicked when he touched the wall. Raaida advanced on him. "Your friends aren't very bright... well one of them is now. But you-" Raaida turned as she sensed someone throwing a beer bottle at her.

She smacked the projectile out of the air, and then eagerly leaped over the railing, laughing as she landed on one enemy. He fell to the ground, with her on his chest. She raised foot, and smashed down on his neck with a fiery stomp. She then stepped forwards, and grabbed another man's head, slamming him against a wall with such force that his skull cracked, sending blood everywhere.

She turned back to the rest of the thugs, who were starting to have second thoughts about attacking her. Some backed away, but it was too late. She leaped forwards, charging right into the thick of them, tearing them apart with fists or flame. One went flying to smash into the bar, broken glass penetrating his skin all over. Another fell to the ground, writhing in flame, while another collapsed, a burning hole torn through his chest. One by one they fell, in increasingly painful and destructive ways. One victim screamed as his crotch suddenly burst into flames, another cried out in agony as his armor suddenly heated up, cooking him inside it. One man fell to the ground, screaming in horror, bones protruding from both of his legs, while another had his head shoved through the grates, writhing and spasming as he burned. All the while, Raaida laughed and laughed, reveling in the pain she inflicted.

Eventually, all that remained were the dead or writhing. Raaida turned. "Well, that was refreshing. Now-"

She paused as she saw the thug she had been about to interrogate before making a break for the exit. "Hey! Where are you going? The parties over here!"

She made a beckoning gesture, tapping into the power of a magic ring she wore, and the man was lifted off his feet and pulled towards her. He rolled along the ground, landing at her feet. He awkwardly stood up, wary of her.

"So, before we were so rudely interrupted, I believe we were in the middle of something?" Fire flared up in her hands.

The man fell to his knees, hands held up in surrender. "I'll talk!"

Raaida placed her foot on his chest and pinned him to the ground. "Then be my guest. That'd be a refreshing change of pace."

"I know where Leon makes kip!"

"Oh, that's certainly interesting." She pressed her foot down harder. "Do go on!"

"It looks like a warehouse from the outside, but it's actually his hideout. He keeps his stolen goods there, there's also guards all over it!"

"And might you know where this warehouse is?" Raaida questioned.

"It's near Ragpickers Square. Where Pharod and his men used to be!"

"Anything else I might need to know?"

"No, that's all! I'm just a brick in the wall! I swear!"

"Well, then there's no reason to keep you around anymore then."

"W-what? I did what you said!"

"I know, meaning I have no more use for you. Always discard your used merchandise properly. Avoid littering!"

The man emitted a wordless scream as Raaida's metal boot heated up, burning through his chest. The man writhed briefly before laying still, eyes staring blankly.

Without another word, Raaida left the bar, turned invisible, and took off flying.

Ragpicker's Square wasn't easy to miss. The stench alone carried for several blocks, even more foul than the Hive's usual reek. Raaida grimaced as she approached it, and resolved to avoid breathing, at least until she introduced the wonderful scent of burning to the place. Ragpickers Square was dominated by a truly massive pile of garbage. True to name, many figures picked through it, searching for anything of value.

She flew over several of the warehouses, until she found one with many heat signatures. She landed in an alleyway near the entrance, and returned to visibility. She was about to approach the door, when she sensed someone approaching her.

She turned to see a frail man, dressed in ragged, rotting clothes. He moved with a limp, and had a beard that appeared to be graying slightly. It looked like he had attempted to keep it in check, though it came out looking chunky.

The man fell to his knees as he approached her. "You're clearly a woman of privilege. Please, spare a few coins for the downtrodden?"

"Away from me, scum." She kicked the beggar away from her, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The beggar was persistent though. He picked himself up, and again fell to his knees before her.

"Mistress. I have a child. We are starving! I need money for food!"

"Then you will have to look elsewhere, wretch." She kicked him again.

The beggar crawled away, and muttered. "So selfish, so foolish..."

Raaida suddenly froze, before her face contorted into rage. She practically flew over the beggar, picking him up by his collar.

"You low-class worm!" She shouted, before hurling him into a pile of crates. She stomped over to him, fire flaring up all around her. "You would dare insult your better?! You defy your place!"

"No, please! Have mercy!"

Those who show mercy will be afforded none.

Raaida held out her hand, and a wave of flame shot out, engulfing the beggar. The man screamed as he slowly burned. The stench of Ragpickers Square was overridden by the smell of burning flesh. Raaida inhaled deeply, the scent relaxing her. She exhaled, regaining control of herself and the situation, suppressing her memories. Stupid beggar. Raaida had half a mind to track down his daughter and kill her too. But then she sensed one of the people in the building approach the door. He slid open a view-hole.

"What in the Lady's name is going on out here?"

Just in time.

"Nothing important."

"Um..."

"I'd like to enter, if you don't mind."

"What's the password?"

"Don't know any password, but I do know the secret knock."

"We don't have a secret-"

Raaida dashed forwards, and kicked the metal door in while letting lose a fiery blast. The door was knocked off it's hinges, hitting the man behind it and falling down on him.

"Well you do know!"

She leaped forwards, stomping down on the door, before heating up the metal.

The man screamed and the metal door shook as he struggled beneath it. Raaida remained standing on it, until the struggles stopped with the mans death. She hopped off the door and casually walked up to several other thugs, swaying her hips seductively. They backed away as she approached, expressions of terror on their faces.

One of them got the courage to attack, and charged towards her with an axe. Raaida easily deflected the blow with her armguards, and then disarmed the weapon from him. Catching it, she then heated it up, engulfing the weapon in fire, and hacked off his arm. The man screamed as he clutched the cauterized stump. She laughed, and hacked off his other arm, before also taking off a leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. The man attempted to crawl away with his one remaining leg, screaming all the while, only for Raaida to slice off his last remaining leg, piece by piece. Shen then lifted up her foot, and brought it crushing down on the mans head, splattering blood and brains all over the floor.

She then turned back to the other thugs, who stood frozen in fear. She again sauntered over to them, drew close, and said. "BOO!"

The thugs screamed and fled. With them out of the way, she headed over to the other man in the warehouse, tossing the axe over her shoulder casually as she did so. He stood next to a large pile of treasure, and held what was obviously a magical sword, crackling with electricity.

"Stay away from me you psychotic bitch!"

"Aww... why such a cold reception? I've been nothing but a warm guest..."

She made a lazy gesture, as if adjusting her hair, and a wave of fire washed over the other thugs, burning them alive.

Leon backed away, then gave a brief cry when he touched a wall.

"W-what do you want?!"

"I came to collect something that was taken from me. And a fair bit of warning. I do not like being stolen from. Not one bit." Raaida's voice grew deeper. Her skin turned red, and her eyes became featureless pools of yellow, glowing with flame. Her hands lengthened into claws and a pair of horns grew from her head. Most startling of all was her hair, which transformed from it's red color into pure fire, streaking down her back.

She rushed forwards, grabbing leon by the collar of his shirt and hoisting him up into the wall.

"Care to help me in my quest?"

"It-it-it's right over there!" He indicated the treasure pile.

"Why thank you." Raaida tossed Leon into a corner, and a wall of flame sprang up, trapping him there. Raaida sifted through the pile of treasure, gold and platinum coins, glittering gemstones, priceless works of art and ancient relics. She gave a snarl of frustration, and then detonated the entire pile in a giant fireball. Shen then turned back to Leon and strode through the flames unharmed.

"It's not here."

"W-whats not there?"

"The Mineral Shard."

"The w-what?"

"A transparent light brown orb, with glittering spots on the inside. It was supposed to be here. What have you done with it?"

"I gave it to this woman! She was the one who hired me to steal from the caravan in the first place!"

"Who?"

"I don't know her name. She had red hair, and wore this big fancy dress, like she was some rich blood! She told me everything else in the caravan was mine, if I gave her that stone you was talking about! That's all I know! I swear!"

"Why thank you!" Raaida then turned away, thinking.

"So the fancy clothes implies she's some sort of noble. Though her interest in the Shard means she knows of their power, meaning some sort of mage?"

While Raaida thought aloud, her her features returned to the way they were before. However, her hand heated up, and Leon burst into flames screaming and writhing, but unable to escape her grip. Raaida continued with her musings, ignoring him. Leon's flesh blackened and flaked off, as the fire consumed his clothes, hair and body.

"This city has a nobles quarter (or as much as it can be called in this cesspit), right?" She turned back to her captive, who was now nothing more than a smouldering, shriveled corpse. "Oh right. Well, don't worry. I'll figure it out myself. You've been such a gracious host, I wouldn't want to impose on you any further!"

Raaida dropped Leon's corpse to the ground, and brushed some ashes off her hand before leaving.

"Don't worry! I'll let myself out!"

So, chapter 2 people. We get a look at one of our villians, and she's pretty dangerous if I do say so myself. Also, we get a hint of our plot. Also, just in case you didn't figure it out, this takes place after the events of Planescape Torment so Ignus isn't in the Smouldering Corpse Bar, and Pharod is dead. Torment won't have a huge impact on this story, those were just amusing shout-outs. Also, we'll get back to our main character in chapter 3! Tell me what you think so far, leave a review. OR BURNINATE!

~Dragonexx