| Hunting Trouble - MOVED; Berzerkers, Demons & Blood | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 19 2014, 03:00 AM (32 Views) | |
| Valia | Sep 19 2014, 03:00 AM Post #1 |
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Deaths Lady
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(09/18/14 17:23:09 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Fields-] Is working on one of the farms scattered around the fields that surround Sulport on its West and Eastern sides. says to ALL: I had spent the day wondering aimlessly within the thicket of tall grass. Even now, I crouched low, my weight balanced as I moved near silently through the tall blades. All this time had not been spent without a greater purpose. I was learning to move silently within the grass. Watching the placing of my footing and the way I shifted my body through the grass as to not leave an obvious trail of broken blades behind me. As the winds blowed over the land, the tall blades would rustle, the sound like a whisper. It was that sound I used to my advantage, hiding the brush of grass against me as I continued forward. Obsisdian wisps of hair clung to my face, painted delicately the line of my neck as that skin glistened lightly. The darkness of all my hair was fixed in small, intricate braids that bound its length back from my face. I was focused, concentrating on the sounds around me. I exhaled lowly, learning the timing that I could comfortably hold my breath and listen without over exerting myself. The tunic of green blended well within the grass and offered some camoflauge. A strap of tawny hide hung diagonal across my body, the satchel itself sat snug against the flare of my hip. The belly of the satchel was filled with the various things I had collected over the day. Brown leathers bled into the knee-high boots of dark leather, sturdy and protective but the soft soles allowed for quiet steps if one was so inclined. The prettiest blade I'd ever had laid eyes upon was sheathed and hidden just below the mouth of my right boot, out of sight and out of mind. I stooped low in the grass, and as I listened, I closed my eyes to block out all other distractions. The leather thong of the necklace was looped around my neck, the pendant hung low swaying gentley in the breeze. I caught the pendant in my palm, curling fingers around it to hold it still. In stillness I could find the silence. Calm claimed me, the sounds of my lungs drawing air grew quiet, as did the thunderous noise of my heart, beating like a dark thing trapped in the cage of my ribs. These things faded slowly, until I could hear everything surrounding me. That was my focus, my purpose. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the peasants, tending to the fields. I could almost feel their tools breaking free the soil, like a distant echo in the ground beneath my feet. And in the grass, there was movement. I could hear the rustle of the grass, the pattern of something pittering slowly about, picking its way. I tilted my head towards the source of the sound and began to slowly inch my way towards it. I remained low in the grass, using my hand to guide the blades from my path ever so slowly. Eyes of pale jade searching the dancing blades ahead for a glimpse of what it could be. Whatever it was, it was completely unaware that I was there. A devious smile claimed the curve of my lips as I moved towards it. It was my hope to see it, before it saw me. (09/18/14 17:35:16 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Fields-] Is working on one of the farms scattered around the fields that surround Sulport on its West and Eastern sides. says to ALL: Secreted among the tall grass, I shifted silently among the blades. It had taken me nearly all day to feel its embrace....a predators grace. It was a far cry from perfect, but I was eager to learn and far better than when I had first trampled through the grass. I was content that my "footprint" was shrinking. Time would only see it vanish altogether. I would be more mindful of my footing in the days to come. I crouched low, moving with the bend of the grass to circle around that sound I was tracking. I wanted to be more downwind of it, hiding my scent in the play of the breeze would be easier, I thought. I paused then as silence fell over that small area of grass. Had I been heard? Had I made some small sound that had given me away. I could hear nothing. Excitement got the better of me, the beating of my heart roared in my ears refusing to be silenced. I reached forward and parted the grass just in time to be greeted by dark eyes and the loud, startling call of the vosk gull. I hadn't expected it to be there and as its beak parted with that bleak cry, I screamed jerking backwards so that I fell over. My scream startled what had been an entire flock of gulls, bedded in the grass hunting insects. Their shrieks likely covered my own scream, the sound piercing. It was no wonder the rencers immitated that sound, it was frightening if you did not know what it was. Or came upon them unsuspecting. The grass was suddenly alive with movement. The sharp snapping of wings as the gulls beat at one another and the moving blades of grass in an attempt to escape. Their wings cut the air like blades, hissing as they lept into flight. Feathers danced among the blades of grass, falling from the startled birds. As I lay laughing in the grass at my own silliness. When finally I could breathe, I slithered among the blades of grass to collect the gift of feathers. Likely some fletcher of arrows would pay for them. (09/18/14 17:44:42 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Fields-] Is working on one of the farms scattered around the fields that surround Sulport on its West and Eastern sides. says to ALL: Carefully, I tucked the feathers into the satchel at my hip. I eased them in with the bits of rock, smooth stone and shells that I had collected among the stream. Unsure of what I would do with those, I only knew that I wanted them. An idea was slowly growing. If I could find all of the pieces. The feathers were a lucky find. I rose to my feet, standing fully then. I listened for the sound of the peasants to gauge my location and turned to my right, veering towards the Main gate of Sulport. And though I had no real reason too, I held onto that graceful stride that allowed me to move swift and quiet through the tall blades of grass. When at last, the blades bled away to the fields that lay on the verge of the peasant farms. When I knew I could be seen, I adjusted my gait. It was no less graceful, but somehow demure and commanding at once. My chin lifted with the prideful arrogance many were accustomed to seeing upon a true free woman. I lifted my hand, waving to some of the peasants that recognized me from some time ago. I could see the curiosity in their eyes as I passed, but none gave voice to the questions. Even as the distance grew I could feel their eyes upon my back as I trudged away. But it was nothing compared to the scrutiny of the guards that roved the gates as my desitation towards those very gates became less a question and more the answer. (09/18/14 17:59:53 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Gates-] At or on top of one of the two gates of Sulport. Situated to the West and to the East, both gates have a fully manned gatehouse and portcullis. Archers are watching you closely with notched arrows in their longbows says to ALL: Pale eyes of jade lifted, following the line of the porticulus. I could see the movement of guards along the wall as I approach. The gates were always open during the day, being a Merchant port, it was expected by most. People came and went, freely. So long as they were peaceful. I held no visible weapons and assumed by return to the gates would not likely be questioned. I stepped upon the road and joined the sporadic groupings that were entering. My gaze continued to wander, counting the guards and where they stood, the path of their gaze as they watched the lands. My attention jumped from face to face, gauging their awareness. I thought to see who was focused in their duty and who merely...watched. There was a distinct difference between being merely present and being aware. Most eyes went straight for the men arriving. I could understand the inspections for weapons, those displayed and any that might be hidden. Foreigners were questioned about the last city they visited, of news and the like, but too their purpose and expected time of departure was also noted in a ledger. It seemed, the officer in charge was keeping some kind of head count. It seemed peculiar but I did not question his motives, instead I listened, tucking everything I learned into the treasury of my mind. When at last it was my turn to enter, the guard looked at me questioningly when he realized I was alone. No entourage. No wagon. He did not know me. And why should he? I gifted him a kurt smile before declaring myself. "Valia of Sulport, a citizen to the fair city you are protecting. I must say, you do our fair city proud with your attention to details." My gaze dropped to the leather bound ledger held in his hands, the marking stick held ready to mark upon the parchment. When my gaze turned to the parchment, he pulled the ledger against him, cleaved to his chest secretively. My lips pressed together, speculation burned in pale eyes as I watched him. He grunted, waving me through the gates. I did not look back, but continued through the gates. I did note the eyes that followed my passing, the way I was watched as the guards along the wall passed a message from one to the other. It seemed that all eyes turned my way as the message flowed down the line. My eyes narrowed at the corners as the last man upon the wall turned to watch me. I paused long enough to throw my hand up in a wave, acknowledging him. His chin pulled in my direction rather gruffly, as if to tell me to move on. I did, but cast a warring glance of jade eyes back at him. I would not forget his face, like a larl born of man. His features sharp and chiseled, a beard like a mane of tawny reddish-brown. It was the fierceness in his gaze that planted a seed in my mind. Reminding of eyes of violent blue. And the desire to see them blurred out all other thoughts. (09/18/14 18:13:52 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Streets-] Along one of the many busy Streets where the shops never seem to close and crowds never fade. says to ALL: My steps were like wildfire, eating up the distance like burning wood. Sulport was home and I knew her rhythym. Easily I weaved into the throng of people that littered the snaking streets that coiled towards the market. I turned, my path overting towards the Hall. But it was not my true destination, I realized as I passed the grandeur of the tall staircase that led up to those doors. Guards were stationed there and their beedy little eyes shifted over the people that climbed the stairs. I had not put much thought into where I was going but it seemed, my feet at least, knew the path and carried me silently over the cobbled stones of the street. I skirted the walk around the hall to find the alley that had once led to home. My gaze drew up that snaking corriodor of an alley that led to the gate of his compound. Such as it was, most of the light of day did not reach beyond that bend, casting the alley in cool shadows. I stood there a moment longer, watching that darkness for signs of movement. I could see nothing beyond the curve. All thoughts fell away as I stepped from the streets and into that alley. The threshold was like a barrier to sound and the city became nothing but background noise. (09/18/14 18:33:34 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Volstagg’s Compound-] A secluded Compound behind the Hall of Sulport. The compound itself is mostly hidden by two large warehouses. A guarded iron gate sits between them, leading into the bottle neck entrance of the compounds garden. The building is erected around the edge of the concrete garden on a square foundation, offering space and privacy to all within its walls. says to ALL: Time seemed to slow here, as if the cosmos itself had cast this place in a zone that was left untouched by everything. In the quiet of the alley, the stalking gait of a predator claimed my footing. My steps weren't just silent, there was not even the whisper of sound. No breath was drawn. I did not so much as blink. A wind caressed the wisps of hair around my face and yet, I could not feel it. As I came upon the last turn, my steps slowed and I approached that bend with extra caution. My chin lifted with the challenge I expected to encounter ahead. I knew not if the entrance to the compound would be guarded but that question was answered the moment I revealed myself. As I rounded the corner, that curtain of silence still held to me and the men that flanked the iron gate of the compound seemed completely unaware of me. I thought it to be a ploy of some kind, to draw me in. But they needed to plot, for I was determined to gain entrance. I was within five feet of them.....the berzerkers, they were called. Large, ominous men, who seemed to have been bred for war. They reminded me of him in a way but there was something missing from them. Fierce and powerful men...but not him. Disappointment cut into me, like the piercing of a blade into my windpipe. I masked that pain from my face, from my eyes....and gave them only anger. Pale eyes simmered translucent in the dim light and before I could utter a single word it one of the men who broke the silence. The tall one named Abysm muttered something low, his native tongue thick and unknown to me. It sounded like a curse, or perhaps a prayer. But the look on his face froze me in place, my feet rooted to the ground. I expected an altercation but instead, he ran. Cutting a circle around me so that he remained out of reach. As if he feared I would touch him. I held my ground, the only movement was that of my eyes as I tracked his movement around me. The heavy fall of his steps echoed off the stone walls around us. The other man moved and my eyes cut directly towards him. That pretty face turned towards him, wearing a pained mask of anger. I wondered if Abysm had run to rally the troops. But in that moment, I did not care. He would need them, if they thought to stop me. Thudric, held his station as that guard of the iron gate. His eyes had followed Abysm down the corridor but turned towards me in that last second. He towered over me. Broad shoulders so that he could have been a tree. I should have been frightened. A normal woman would have feared him. He didn't move as I turned to the gate and placed a hand upon the iron rail and pulled. Locked. The iron was rusted, leaving my fingers coated with flakes and grit. As if it had aged decades. I pulled my hand back and looked down at my skin, the flesh came away red with rust, like old blood it coated my fingers. I did not understand this. I did not look at him as I stared through the square grating of the gate. "Open it. Open the gate. Now." From his tunic he produced a key and thrust it into the lock. With effort, he turned it. But he made no move to open the gate for me. Instead, stood staring in silence. I bared my teeth at him in snarling smile, my tongue clicked against the back of my teeth as I jerked the gate open myself. It screamed a song of torment as it swung open. I released my hold and let it swing wide as I entered. (09/18/14 18:45:53 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Volstagg’s Compound-] A secluded Compound behind the Hall of Sulport. The compound itself is mostly hidden by two large warehouses. A guarded iron gate sits between them, leading into the bottle neck entrance of the compounds garden. The building is erected around the edge of the concrete garden on a square foundation, offering space and privacy to all within its walls. says to ALL: I moved within the shadow of the arched entryway that I knew would open up onto the courtyard. In that brief darkness, the air was moist and cool, holding the faint scent of decay. The soft sole of the leather boots caressed the stones with silent steps. I embraced that darkness, I was but a shadow. Unreal. My heart was a wild thing, imprisoned in darkness too. It stuttered within me as adrenaline flooded my veins like fire. When I stepped from that dark corridor, it seemed as if I had stepped into a nightmare. A nightmare with eyes wide open. Gone was the pristine white of the stone courtyard. The slate of rock had aged, grown grey and weathered, caked in dust so that it appeared desolete. The bench had rotted away to only stumps. The trees and bushes, once lush and blooming with vibrant petals of sanguine were now naked. The skeletal remains of the garden stood in tribute to a memory that now seemed as if it never existed. As my gaze traveled over the interior of the courtyard, images and memories flashed within my mind. The soft glow of torch flickered the shadow of memories, a light that did not exist in this place, in this time. I crossed the courtyard to stand at its center. My eyes fixed on the pillar. Once, so long ago, I had been pinned to that column of stone and now...it sat in crumbles, the cementing dried and reduced to grit. It was as if someone had come and burned my memories, casting the ashes to the compound so that is was nothing more than tomb. A mausoleum to that which was. I could feel the grit of dirt in my teeth, in the glide of tongue over lips as it all sank in. (09/18/14 19:12:13 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Volstagg’s Compound-] A secluded Compound behind the Hall of Sulport. The compound itself is mostly hidden by two large warehouses. A guarded iron gate sits between them, leading into the bottle neck entrance of the compounds garden. The building is erected around the edge of the concrete garden on a square foundation, offering space and privacy to all within its walls. says to ALL: I stood in the open-air of the courtyard and felt suffocated. The need to escape tore through me. Instead of fleeing towards the gate, I ran toward the inviting darkness of the corridors I had once known well enough to find my own room. And it was instinct alone that carried me towards that place, so familiar, my sanctuary. Would it welcome me, the way it once had? My steps echoed down the empty corridors of the compound. Nothing stirred. There was no sound. There was nothing. A series of twists and turns found me bursting through a closed door. It was my room. Just as I left it. My things still scattered about. The furs twisted as if I had only just risen. And though everything was the same, it was all different. A thick layer of grit covered everything. Nothing had been touched. As if it had all sat....forgotten. Abandoned. The woman who had lived here....was gone. And as I looked over her things, I realized she wasn't expected to return.....ever. Like a geyser, anger roared through me. I hadn't thought to see this. Control was a thing that could not touch me as I sprang forward towards the table in the center of the room. I gripped its edge and hurled it over. The box and trinkets that decorated its surface scattered like brittle leaves across the dusty floor. A hurricane of flesh in motion as I ripped everything from its place. I could not stop. The furs were drawn from the sleeping couch, the pillows ripped so that feathers drifted lazily in the draft of movement. Because I could not stop moving. Gowns, robes, cloaks, drawn from the wardrobe were torn and shredded. The sound of fabric tearing satisfied something inside of me....it was the destruction. It had all come to ruin and there should be nothing left of it to remind me. My entire being shook with the rage that consumed. Feathers and dust plumed the air so that I choked on the heaving breaths as my lungs warred for air. I caught sight of a demon in the large mirror that sat above the dressing mirror. I must kill it, before it kills me. The thought slid through my mind like the sliver of a blade so thin and razor sharp it cut me in two. The chair was kicked aside, the rotted wood giving beneath the sharp force of my foot. That woman, stared back at me from the glass. She was beautiful in her anger. I did not know her. So pretty were those features. Pretty in the way that promised a dagger to the heart before a kiss to the lips. I seethed with hatred. And as I looked at her, I felt envious of that she had had and let slip through her fingers. Her delicate hand reached for me and when I thought our fingers would touch, separated by nothing but the glass, I gripped the edge of the mirror and jerked it from the wall. It fell heavily, shattering in shards atop the dressing table that sat beneath it. The floor glittered like diamonds. As i looked down, I could still see her, trapped within those fragments, like pieces of a puzzle that could be born of flesh and blood. I could not risk that she might live, that she might escape. I walked across those broken pieces, grinding them to dust with the heel of my boots as I exited that room. There could only be one. And she could only be me. (09/18/14 19:39:57 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Volstagg’s Compound-] A secluded Compound behind the Hall of Sulport. The compound itself is mostly hidden by two large warehouses. A guarded iron gate sits between them, leading into the bottle neck entrance of the compounds garden. The building is erected around the edge of the concrete garden on a square foundation, offering space and privacy to all within its walls. says to ALL: The noise of my mind would not fall silent. I haunted the corridor of the compound until I felt I had regained some composure. My throat was dry and sore, unrealized screaming had claimed my voice. I laughed through the pain, the sound raw and gravelly. The diresome sound of that laugh echoed down the hall to announce me. I had wanted only to see Volstagg. And this...this was not what I had expected to find. The ache in my chest made me think someone had left their blade buried there. Memories whispered once more at the edge of my mind. Every where I turned, every where I looked, there was something to cut me to the bone. My steps took me back towards the stone archway that led to the gate. I had neither seen nor heard anyone all the while I was within the compound. I stepped into the darkness and paused there, lingering in the inbetween. My gaze cast towards the light, the gated entrance and slow were my steps towards it. I placed my hand upon that cold metal and pushed. But it did not budge. My hands gripped the metal rungs as I pressed my face to the opening. I could hear Thudric, breathing, just to my left. I turned my face towards, my eyes shifted to find him but he was just in the periphory of my vision. I hissed at him... "Open. This. Gate." My voice was low, venomous and threatening, holding the promise of a bloody death if he did not obey me. I shook the bars and though they groaned beneath the weight of it, the iron held. Thudric stepped from the shadows to cast a haunted gaze upon me. Eyes of sheer green reflected the light of darkness within their depths. Anger had flushed porcelain skin and the artful slope of cheeks was crimson, a shade softer than that of my lips. Adrenaline-laden blood surged through my veins as anger stirred within me once more. Bits of glass and mirror, shimmered upon the ivory of skin, glistened in the darkness of braided hair. The sounds within the compound had been inhuman, surely she could not have survived it. And yet I stood there, seething with anger. And not a single mote of blood. He took a step towards the gate, a feral gaze cast over me as if he was considering something... (09/18/14 19:56:14 ) [.Deaths Lady.] V A L I A |.MERCHANT OF SULPORT.| [-Volstagg’s Compound-] A secluded Compound behind the Hall of Sulport. The compound itself is mostly hidden by two large warehouses. A guarded iron gate sits between them, leading into the bottle neck entrance of the compounds garden. The building is erected around the edge of the concrete garden on a square foundation, offering space and privacy to all within its walls. says to ALL: Another step brought him closer, his gaze fixed upon something, staring down at it. Pressed against the bars, might have been considered provocative by some but it was not what drew his eyes. He stared at the pendant that hung about my neck. It was as if he'd forgotten about me entirely, once he laid eyes upon the tri-knot of triangles. When he reached for it, my hand lashed through the bars to grab his and jerk him forward. He was a large, heavy man. But he had grossly underestimated me. Angry. Desperate. He slammed into the gate, half-pulled half falling as his boot caught on a paver stone. His nose and forehead bounced down the iron bars with the weight of his crashing body. Blood sprayed across my face, painted down the front of my tunic. That large man layed crumpled outside the gate. Unmoving save for the breath that forced itself only by the body's natural instinct. I stretched my arm through the iron bars and piflered through his pockets, until at last I found the key. I snarled to myself as my fingers curled around it, claiming it as mine. I unlocked the gate, pushing the gate open far enough that I could squeeze through the opening. Had I been any large, I would have been trapped. I stooped down next to him to check his pulse, turning his head to the side to clear the way for oxygen. A nasty gash across the bridge of his nose, his eyes already blackened. He was not going to be happy when he woke up, but he would wake up. He should have opened the gate, I thought before taking his cloak. It was like a tent around me. But it would hide the blood as I drew the hood up. I ghosted down the alley and faded into the crowd. Anger curled it fiery hand around the pulsing of my heart. |
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