Darmus By Night

[Firesprite]

Lissa, The Barmaid

OOC: sorry I havn't been here.. had probs with Lit. Ravenloft, please email me when you have the time? thx.

IC:
Awakening drowsily Lissa moaned and lifted her hand to forehead. With a wince she realised her shoulders were marked, wounded from the wild night of passion she spent with the aggressive Cervantes.

Prising her eyes open against the sharp light of dawn she discovered she was no longer in the bed of the Tavern, she had come to in a small alley. Taking stock of herself she rose, her nakedness startling as she tried to recall how she came to be here. The only possession remaining to her the charm against pregnancy in her navel. She dimly recalled a necklace that Cervantes had draped about her neck before he left, and at the moment its clasps joined, her desire to follow him died as if it had never been.

Sneaking along the alleyway she tried to puzzle out what had happened. She recalled enjoying every minute of his rough bestial lovemaking, the desire to follow where he led and the knowledge that he could make her rich with her spying. Why had she suddenly chosen to feign sleep and let him leave her like that? how had she ended up naked in the dirty alley?

Suddenly she realized, the necklace had its own charm. The charm to prevent a liason with a girl from becoming the stalkings of a jilted woman, a charm to convince a woman that all was right, and while she wore it, that she was anybodys woman.

Prodding and prying at her hazy memories of yesterday she recalled rising late from her bed, and walking naked down the stairs from the upper rooms to the common room below.
Rough and ready cart drivers and folk passing through town having a morning ale all looked astonished at the sight of her decent. The rest of the day mercifully dimmed to a series of flashes, smells, tastes that convinced her she had been used by these men, all the men at once and some men alone. It was only when one man, being altogether too rough ripped the necklace from her neck, startling her to her full senses and she ran from the common room and away.

Peering into a yard Lissa spied some homespun woolens hanging out to dry. Sneaking in and stealing them was an easy job for someone as skilled as she.
Decently attired again Lissa returned to the Tavern, to fetch her horse, claim her wage and follow after Cervantes.
Anger rose within her as she found that the very man she was looking for had stolen her black horse, Raven, and the owner of the tavern claimed to know her not.
Returning to the stables she inspected the horses currently housed there.. picking a stallion that seemed hardy and well trained she unearthed her savings from the hayloft, saddled the stallion and was gone before any noticed.

Throughout the day she travelled, seeing traces of the small parties passage, identifying her own horses prints in the soft dirt, seeing where another had joined the party, and all the while, trying to decide how to approach them again.

The wounds on her shoulders seemed to burn unlike anything she felt before, but she worried not, as she knew as others didn't what was already in her blood.
She knew she was the Spirit of the Night, and her true name, KyLissa, struck from the records of her far-away kingdom when it became known that the magics of the beasts of the night flowed in her veins.

 

[Ravenloft]

Cervantes:

"Oh.. Oh no... Orion... Its been.. So sooo long... You look awful!" Cervantes said with a smirk. He sniffed the air and seemed to tence suddenly. He craned his head over his shoulder. "Shit..." He grumbled under his breath then turned back toward Orion. "So..." He clapped the lad roughly on the back. "How you been ye lil shit?"

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Standing there, looking as if she should have an illuminated "?" above her head, Thorne watched Cervantes. She really was starting to wonder if giving the money back and running was such a bad option. She decided that she was going to have a little talk with Vladimer and Cervantes the next time they were in private, and she would use the truth spell if it took that much to get a straight answer.

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer Elsworth


Valdimer barely gave Orion a glance as he hopped down from the tree. Pulling the cloak tight against himself, he hopped back on his horse. "Willace...ah-hem, we really should get moving. It will be dark soon, and I dont want to lose CERVANTES trail." Val said, aggitation coming from his voice. Looking to Thorne, then Rocky and Kiahra, he dug his heels hard into his horse, and took off toward the forest......

 

[Firesprite]

KyLissa, Spirit of the Night

KyLissa, her thoughts marring her smooth face with a pensive frown rode onward.

With her beast magic she quested into the mind of her steed, conversing with it in images and thoughts. The task at hand was difficult, the horse a creature of the day, and almost all her attention was taken by establishing that tenuous contact.

Soon she had established the horses name, given him by his Sire and Dam. KyLissa was well pleased with this for FireHeart she saw was true to his name. He was battle-trained and passionate in his work. He would not give up, he would not run from trouble, and he would be true in his loyalty to her. His last master treated him poorly, using him often as a carthorse or lashing him brutally in the hunt.
KyLissa conveyed her nature to him so he wouldn't be startled if the change came upon her, and he accepted this as another part of her.

Withdrawing her conciousness from FireHeart's mind she quested it forth again, seeking Raven, her first mount.
Faintly brushing minds with her she knew there was still distance to travel, but she would reach the party soon. They were not moving at the moment.

Closer, she searched for anything that might hinder her journey and found the dying touch of an evil mind. Gleaning from the thoughts uppermost in his mind she discovered he was dying of sword wounds and bites on a bridge. His thought pattern locked in a loop of anger at his failed body, regret at his boldness for falling upon the party of travellers, and fear of the unknown.

KyLissa quested once more and found a lone wolf, gaunt from hunger, and directed it to the bridge, letting it know that there he would find sustenance, and to ensure that no living eyes would see her pass this way.

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Urging Talesin to a quick canter, Thorne caught up with Valdimer. She slowed the horse down a bit to keep in step with Val's own horse. "Mind telling me what in Hell's Realm is going on before I scream in confusion?" she asked him in a calm but fairly firm tone.

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer Elsworth


His gaze on the road, Val said to Thorne, "Well, this is what I gather. I think Cervantes and this fellow, the scarred one, know each other...not sure though. I dont like these little games he plays anymore than it appears you do. We need to cover as much ground as we can, for it will be dark soon." Val said, looking to Thorne from under the hood of his cloak.......

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Reguarding Valdimer from under her cloak, Thorne arched an eyebrow. "So why in the world do you two travel togther? Also, on the topic of questing, would you mind Leveling with me on what we are doing? I know there is a dragon who dislikes you, and I know the dragon has a stone you need, but as to the rest of it, I want answers, because going in blind puts me at risk when dealing with this dragon."

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer Elsworth


" Why do we travel together? Well, aside from his rudeness and severe impatience, me and Cervantes have been friends for quite some time." he said. Continuing, Val looked back to Thorne, "And as for the quest? The dragon that we are going after stole my stone....a bloodstone. What the stone does is it stores a vast amount of blood, keeping it fresh, and therefore making it so I dont have to feed, I can just drink from the stone. Without the stone, I cannot keep my hunger in check, and it begins to slowly take me over. If I'm away from the stone, and feed on live people, soon, I will become nothing more than an evil, vile creature of the night.......and I cannot allow that to happen." Val said, looking to Thorne for her reaction........

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Thorne listened, her face impassive as she thought on what Valdimer said. She then shrugged and and looked at him again. "So, you use it to stay as you are now? Why would that be something you would have to hide from me? And why does this dragon dislike you?" she asked. She had many other questions, but most of them would be considered rude, and she had a nasty habit of being too inquisative.

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer


"The dragon is a servant of the man who did this to me..." he said, anger forming in his voice. "That is why the dragon dislikes me...and why do I hide the knowledge of the stone from you? The least people that know of my weakness the better. That leaves less people I have to deal with when they attempt to use it agianst me." he said, his hands gripping on his reins a bit tighter. Relaxing slightly, he continued.." Please, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask, I'll answer the best I can.".......

 

[PmTick]

Orion snarled at Cervantes, "I've been kinda dead, if you recall you left me here with a sword lodged into my chest up to the hilt, not more than 10 years ago. I guess for a deceased person I'm doing pretty good though." Orion started coughing, Cervantes cringed as worms flew from the walking dead's mouth. "Gross ain't it? Just think, if you lived up to your part of the bargin and gave me my share of the treasure we hunted, you woulnd't be in this perdiciment now. So give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now, or at least delay you long enough to be caught by whoever is chasing you?"

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Arching an eyebrow at Valdimer, Thorne nearly smiled before replying. "Thanks, I do have a few more questions, starting with how in the world do you think that I could even try to take on you?" With that question, she motioned to the fact that if they were standing, she would barely come up to his chest, and the fact that she was small in figure to boot. "As to the rest, What happened to you? What is your history?"

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer


"Magic does have it's affect on people you know." Val said, giving her a wink in response to her first question. "And as for my history? Isn't that usually left for a campfire and rosted pheasent?" he said, laughing slightly. Pulling on his reins and stopping his horse, he continued, " Hmmm, let me see here, born in Browning, have an older brother...he does the same thing I do. Been adventuring, or a mercenary for almost 15 years now....fought in the Armor Clad war.......lost alot of good friends in that......have traveled practicly all over this planet....seen alot of things....." he said, trailing off a bit in rememberance.......

 

[Firesprite]

KyLissa, Spirit of the Night

KyLissa, urging FireHeart to a canter narrowed the distance between her and her quarry quickly.

Feeling her trusted mare's mind stronger now, she knew that within minutes she would be upon them. She certainly did not want to startle this group as the carnage at the bridge proved, so using all of her Skill and slowing FireHeart back to a walk, she bent the shadows around herself and FireHeart, hiding their presance from the eyes of day creatures and, more importantly, from the humans.
FireHeart, knowing of her caution, walked carefully, trying to avoid snapping sticks and low branches in an effort to approach silently.
KyLissa would wait untill night fell before letting herself be known to them. Untill then, she settled herself to listen to the threads of the conversations of Thorne and Vladimer and the Undead Orion and Cervantes.

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Letting a soft sigh escape, Thorne muttered to herself "Why must people always think that I would use my magic to harm?" before listening to Valdimer, watching as the memories played over his face and voice.

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer



Blinking out of his thoughts, he raised his head, hearing Thorne's words. "You do have an aggresive spell in that book of your's, don't you? I understand protection, but have you never used it against anyone? Or thing for that matter?" he said, pulling his horse just a bit closer to Thorne.....

 

[Rockingham]

Rocky sneezed.
He wiped his nose, feeling the tickle all the way in the back of his mouth. It wasn't a good tickle though. The donkey muttered a god bless you.
"Thank you," he said, sitting on his back and watching the squirrel work. The creature was fast, jumping and throwing and spinning and twirling, it was like watching one of those acrobat persons when a cirus group comes along. He always loved how they could do all those things.
He couldn't. He was just Rocky, a slightly overweight stupid person who could talk to the animals. He wasn't sad about it though, he was very proud of who he was.
The sack was nearly filled. Acorns stared back up at him, as more dropped down. Rocky motioned up to the squirrel.
"That is more than enough Thomas. Come on down, I think we need to go now."
He had seen the girl and Vladdy leave a while ago, and it seemed as if Cervie and his new friend were about to do the same. Rocky felt the squirrel's paws on his shoulder, and motioned for the ass to move next to donkey.
Rocky looked at the two with a look of simple happiness.
"Why hello, my name's Rockingham, but you can call me Rocky. I'm Cervie's cabin boy, but he doesn't have a cabin anymore, so I'm just his boy I suppose."
Staring off into space for a moment, as if to thoroughly examine what he had just said. Shaking his head, he looked at them both with a smile on his face.
"Cervie, the others have already gone ahead. I've got some food, maybe for a snack or something later," he held up the huge sack filled with acorns, "Are we going to go... or not?"
He had just felt a strange oddness in the air, as if something was wrong. He looked at the strange man across from Cervie. The poor thing, he looked hurt. Rocky wanted to help him, he didn't though.
Cervie had that look on his face that said "you're not supposed to help this one."
So, Rocky didn't. He just sat on his ass, right next to Cervie... looking unevenly at what was going on.

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Shaking her head, Thorne looked at Valdimer. "No, I never had the need to, I always found other solutions to the problems. The dragon that I dealt with along side my mentor fell to a powerful sleep spell, and then a spell that caused loss of memory. I don't like to hurt things, or people. Even Talesin here is treated gently." She looked at her horse fondly before turning back to Valdimer. "I know you might think it foolish, but I dislike violence, even if it is justified. I understand it, but I don't like it."

 

[Firesprite]

KyLissa

Moving as little as possible I feasted my eyes upon Cervantes, knowing that his lust was breathtaking and thorough in its actions. I wondered what would happen when I showed myself again.
Glancing at the other, Valdimir, I wondered if his lusts ran as hot.

I continued to wait, the sun almost touching the horizon now, and my power growing stronger in me as the light weakened.

 

[Valdimer]

Valdimer Elsworth


"Well, then I must say, you have a gentler soul than pretty much anyone I have incountered, hold on to that, it lacks in this world. Violence, unfortunalty, is very much a part of my life. .....It's pretty much all I've known." he paused, letting silence have it's turn for a moment. Staring off to the horizon, the sun was begining to set. He turned his attention back to Thorne, and stared at her for a moment. Letting the silence linger for a bit longer, Valdimer spoke. "So, what part of Darmus do you come from? I dont recall ever running into anyone with such a...well, let's say unique hairstyle." a warm smile forming on his lips......

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Feeling her lip twitch and finally giving in, Thorne smiled. "My hair? The style is just pins holding it together. If you mean the coloring, nobody is really sure how that happened. I'm actually from a small farming community that was east of Browning, a small horse ranch was home to me for my childhood. When my parents passed on, I didn't really have anything to do, I was a young, tiny child, who only had a knowledge of horses. My mentor stopped on his way through our town, there to pick up some extra work with minor spells, and found me riding with the heard that my family had bred. He hauled me down from the horse and asked me what the hell I was doing, and I was so scared that the natural talent lashed out at him." She shrugged, her voice staying deadpan ever since she started to speak of her history, as if telling something that she didn't like to think about. She would have rather ridden in silence, but Valdimer had answered her questions, so she owed him answers to these. "He took me under wing and trained me. He lives in Browning now, retired with a wife and baby on the way. That's who I was visiting before this quest found me."

 

[Ravenloft]

Cervantes:

"Yeah, I thought you looked kinda bad, even for a dead guy... So, mind telling me how you managed this undead state? It... *Snickering* suites you... God man, that was gross, don't expect to get the ladies with those worms hanging out o your mouth..." Cervantes joked. "My part of the bargain? Pft! You always were a clueless lad... Im a fucking theif, do you really think I would have let you keep any of the treasure? I mean come on... Give reality a try boy!" Cervantes poked at Orion's chest as he spoke. "Predicament? How's this for a predicament?" Cervantes said as he turned around and started walking toward Kiahra's hut. "And as far as being chased, she's more of a threat to YOU than to me lad, but you're welcome to court that disaster... I am sure Kiahra will feed even you for the night..."


Cervantes quickly caught up with throne and Valdimer as they made their way to Kiahra's hut, he flashed Thorne a lusty grin and licked his lips.

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thorne:

Arching an eyebrow, Thorne let her face go impassive as she looked at Cervantes. "Friend of yours? Or just another person who seems to hate you? You seem to gather quite a few of the latter."

 

[PmTick]

Orion was pissed now. He summoned the spirit of his fallen mare, MidKnight, and caught up to Cervantes. "Dare walk away from me!" Orion ripped his own left arm from his shoulder and launched it toward Cervantes. The appendage found Cervantes' neck and began to give him a mild choke, enough to change his mind without killing him.