Fantasy Dark Omens (Main)

[Enkerzed]

Epiphany Kharmin Lekiel SilverFeathers

So it's not just me, Dunan thought as he listened to Marie-Louise speak. Before the Magician's time spell, he had been capable of so much more than simply being able to pass through objects. He had to be, not being as experienced a fighter as the others. Though what he lacked in experience, he more than made up for in the sheer array of abilities at his disposal. Abilities that were hard earned through many years of desperate practice and painstaking efforts. All that progress, all that power... all gone now.

The finality of it all was beginning to set in and as Dunan approached the humble wooden door of the Last Stop tavern, he began to feel as vulnerable as he once did in his youth. As he did at this very moment in fact, at this point time before everything had gone to rack and ruin. All of a sudden, he was no longer a mighty Champion of Gaia from the future. No, he was back to being that meek, callow boy who mucked stables all day and kept to himself, shunning the eyes of strangers for fear of the day they might learn of his Trickster blood. A fear so great that it ruled the entirety of his life. Enough to suffocate.

​

Then at that very moment, as though triggered by the merest thought of his childhood, a dam began to crack and break in Dunan's mind, and all the memories he thought he had left far in the past came rushing back in a torrent.

"Hey, does anyone... ahem, does anyone else...?" he struggled to say as it suddenly became more and more difficult to breathe. The dim headache he had been feeling was worsening too, only much more sharply and swiftly. Seconds felt like hours as it intensified into a roaring migraine, hammering away at his skull again and again until it became so painful that it was simply too much to bear and his vision blurred into red obscurity.

"Drink's on me. Least I can do," were the last words he heard before collapsing right at the door of the tavern.

At first, there was darkness. No light, no sound, but most importantly no pain. It was as though he were asleep. But then...

A pointed finger. A face curled up in disdain. The howling and hooting of a frenzied mob. His father standing behind him, gripping his shoulders so tightly that it hurt as they watched a man hang. A thief. A Trickster. Body swinging at the end of a rope.

The memories flashed through Dunan's mind like a searing brand and he cried out loud in agony as the migraine washed into his head again, seemingly picking up where it had left off. Only this time, he could not control his arms or legs, or any other part of his body. He could only watch and listen as he heard himself scream, "Get out of my head!"

And with that, he stood up and ran away from the tavern. Away from the others, past the fountain and on and on until he was all the way back at the stable. By that point, the migraine had eventually subsided and he could feel himself breathing more calmly again.

Was this what it was like for my younger self? Dunan thought as he considered how terrifying it must have been to have someone else possess his body while still being completely aware. But I'm not someone else, I'm still you. Or me? Huh, this is actually trickier than I thought.

While he was grappling with the philosophical conundrum of self between two different points of time, he noticed himself returning the dagger he had taken earlier and thought, Hey wait, we might need that.

"Shut up!" he, or rather his younger self replied. "I'm not a thief and I thought I told you to get out of my head!"

Realizing that the boy was responding to his thoughts, Dunan continued, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, but we need to get back and-

"I said SHUT UP!"

A moment of tense silence passed and once again, Dunan recalled the Magician's warning; the meaning of it in sharper relief now more than ever. Trying not to think in words, lest he upset his past self again, he hoped it would not be this bad for the others and that they would be able to find him, as he apparently could not go back to them. He had after all just lost control of his body.

 

[xrakkax]

Foot traffic picked up quickly once Julian had gotten to the main road. Dirt gave way to the wide cobblestone set down by hand ages ago. Carriages could fit comfortably; two abreast. Most traveled on foot. He watched children holding the hands of their elders. A dog barked after his master. Men off the side of the road haggled over the damage one of them did to the other’s wheel, probably in some light collision. Leaves whirled up in the breeze, getting caught in the hair of some young maiden. Julian had shed tears for his family. Now he spared a few for his town; whole, unblemished by horror. A few, because not everyone was missed.

The stench of Gary Figman hit Julian’s nose like a punch to the face. A few others cupped their noses, turning their heads to see who let the pigs out of the sty. Would that he could pen in the boorish man who came tumbling out of a tavern. Purple nosed, tattered coattails, and stray straws that always seemed to poke out from his shoes were defining characteristics of Gary’s appearance. Julian’s horse grunted in displeasure. He pat his horse's neck, “You said it.”

“Ju-Ju-Bee!” Gary called out, unnecessarily loud. The nickname coming from his mouth put a bad taste on Julian’s tongue. If he had been his younger self, he’d have thrashed the guy.

Swallowing his temper, Julian urged his steed forward. The stallion went into a trot. Whatever the raggedy man shouted thereafter, he didn’t know, and somehow that bothered him. Julian blinked, shaking away the nagging at the back of his head telling him to add black and blue to that purple of his.

No, he had business. And soon. If memory served, there would be three or four more brawls in the back alleys of Gloverton left. The winner's names were, thankfully, not the kind he’d forget. Grimfist, Hellshand, and Slamslugger. Silly, yes, but Julian once enjoyed the thrill of the unpredictable fights. Some sod had pitched a challenge to all three. He won against two. Julian had to see it!

Skye had been placed in his cage. Julian buttoned the fitted coverlet over the wire container. The quilted cover had been a gift from Nelwen. Then he tied his horse loosely to a pole and walked down a block, took a turn, and slipped through a cascade of canvas hiding an entrance between bales of hay. A riot of enthusiastic cheers met Julians ears. His heart beat with the thrumming of fists and the stamping of feet. Julain made a bee-line for the betting window. Two men with weapons at their hips stood on either side.

Julian looked up at the board. There were only three names he had concern for, and to his delight, all three names were uncrossed. Just in time! He slapped down his bid, “Fifty on Hellshand.” He grinned. Without question, they wrote up his ticket. Julian had come here too often to be refused.

The crowds of men were the difficult part. Julian inched towards the pit’s edge. The ‘alley’ had been how you got in. Three towering buildings sectioned off this chunk of land from the sight of the street. A long time ago, no one knew when, someone had meant to build a tower. They got as far as the hole for the foundation before they stopped. No one knew why they didn’t finish. Some say it was all a ruse to prep this place for fights. Some say the man who had been digging died. Whatever the reason, a giant hole was all anyone needed, and it was here to use.

A burly man with arms as thick as Julian’s legs put together stood between him and the view he wanted of the pit. Try as he might, Julian found it difficult to back up so he could come around someplace else. Asking for permission was out of the question. No one asked here. In fact, it was a kind of unspoken rule that you could become an involuntary pit-fighter if you happened to get into a row. They’d likely toss him and this man in the pit if Julian made a fuss.

Bending low, Julian peeked through the gap made by the man who waved his arm up and out, the ticket in his hand fluttering in the breeze. Julian capped his nose. He forgot just how smelly this place could get. Had he been as stinky? And so unknowingly? Julian chuckled, thinking back about his old Master, who had brought him up in the ways of the Champions.

“Jules, I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d say your stank could be the weapon we need for victory. GET WASHED!”

Oh yes, Julian would miss that old hoot. But perhaps this time around he would be alive. Living out his life without the worry of monsters. Julian didn’t know too much, but, he could see the man sitting quietly on a porch, drinking some Gaia-forsaken mystery liquor, with the kind of scowl you couldn’t tell if he meant to make designs on your life, or if he was lost in thought.


[Might: 10/10;]

@Enkerzed

 

[Enkerzed]

Epiphany Kharmin Lekiel SilverFeathers Severinus

After Dunan's abrupt departure from the Last Stop tavern, the door swung open as a portly man stepped out and cried, "'Ere, what's all this commotion about?"

He had a balding pate and a clearly well groomed walrus mustache of thick brown hair with slightly curled tips. From the stained leather apron over his white linen shirt and the rag hanging loosely from his belt, as well as his rather domineering tone and posture, it was clear he was the owner of the tavern and he was none too pleased to find a rag tag group of strangers causing a fuss outside of his establishment. Spotting a guardswoman, Solandis, among them, the innkeeper's scowl vanished from his face as he quickly added, "Is - is there some kind of trouble? I had no part of it if there is."

"I should hope not," a woman's voice rang out from the street, cutting through the air like sharpened steel. Stepping forward with hands raised at her sides, Lourayley continued as cobblestones cracked and broke away from the ground to hover around her, "On charges of using magic with intent to cause harm, you, outsider, and your accomplice Marie-Louise are wanted for questioning. Surrender peacefully now while you have the chance."

Without a doubt, the two women matched the description in the report, although nothing was mentioned about a third and this one - a blonde haired girl wearing a grey cloak over a green tunic with a mask hanging from her belt - Lourayley eyed with suspicion. Accomplice or innocent bystander? Only the next few moments would tell, but her presence had been noted nonetheless.

As for the fourth among the group, a soldier with a golden bow, Lourayley was surprised but called out to her directly nonetheless as soon as she noticed her, "Guardswoman, to me. I shall need some assistance."

After that, the innkeeper slammed the door shut as he scurried back inside of his tavern, although several onlookers peeked their heads out from second storey windows or paused on the street at what they thought to be a safe enough distance to watch. It was not everyday they could see a royal mage in action and much to Lourayley's chagrin, more were approaching to see what all the fuss was about. The sooner this was resolved the better.

Lourayley used Rock Barrage. Mana is now 9/10.​

 

[Lekiel]

"Dunan!" The blonde hissed a warning when she saw the rogue suddenly keel over and collapse when they were mere yards away from the tavern door. She reflexively reached out for him but was too late and the younger man ended up dropping ungainly like a sack of potatoes.

"By Gaia, whatever happened?" She threw that question to no-one in particular, wondering if something had gone awry with the Magician's spell when they were sent back. Reaching down, she dragged him to prop against one of the wooden pillars that held the awning open by the side of the tavern. Solandis was no fragile waif and even without calling on her strength, moving the unconscious Dunan around wasn't too big a deal; especially at the current age of adolescence, he appeared to be. Steadying his head, she quickly checked for any hard knocks to the dome but found none. She fretted about his condition for a moment, aware that the others had taken notice but were perhaps just as clueless as to what had happened. If it weren't still early in the day, she might've presumed a heat stroke. But Dunan obviously didn't seem the kind to be wilted by mere temperature so it had to be something else.

"Stay with him. I'm going to check if the tavern has any free rooms-" She had not left the rogue's side by more than a few steps before he'd suddenly come to, screaming something about his head and promptly bolted off into the increasingly busy street. It happened so abruptly and unexpectedly that the warrior was left stupefied unable to react before he'd already gone out of sight. The only indication she had of where he'd rushed off was several onlookers staring off in a particular direction.

"What--"

"'Ere, what's all this commotion about?"

"--is going on here...?" She'd been poised to run after the wayward rogue and would've if his utterly bizarre behaviour had not blindsided her. As it was now, the tavern keeper had responded to the commotion and was now scowling at the lot of them.

"Greetings, good sir..-" She began causing the innkeeper to take notice of her. His scowl vanished immediately, becoming almost apologetic.

"Is - is there some kind of trouble? I had no part of it if there is." He blurted.

"No... don't worry. It's-- Fine." Solandis stumbled over her words, cursing herself inwardly. She was always so sure of herself, but the sudden turn of events had completely caught her off guard.

Damn it Dunan... you better have a good explanation for this. As if they weren't already off to a terrible start, an imperious voice called out to them from the corner of the street. Such a governessy tone was immediately recognizable to the former guardswoman and she knew before even turning around that they had found themselves in a boiling pot of stew. A royal mage.

The cogs of her mind whirred. There was still some distance between herself and the rest of the group. With any luck, she could make it seem as if she weren't aware of what was going on. Turning around, she kept her face impassive as the mage announced her charges, seemingly directed towards Marie-Louise and Aymeline. Apparently whatever had happened that resulted in Marie's new facial prints hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Guardswoman, to me. I shall need some assistance." Sure enough, the royal mage had caught sight of her.

"At once." She complied without hesitation, playing her part as the unknowing guard. Drawing Trollsbane, she stepped over to Lourayley's side.

"Who did they attack? Did they kill someone?" She hissed a whisper towards the mage as she drew closer, keeping up the pretense while at the same time deliberating their options. Her eyes sought out her companions, but though she eyed them sternly she afforded a single blink when they caught her gaze. The message was clear. She'd go with what they decided. If they'd attacked, she was in a position to take out the mage cleanly with no blood spilt. The problem were the witnesses. They'd be on the run for sure.

On the other hand, this might be an opportunity to get them close to the castle, albeit in chains. But if that were the case, she was certain she could attempt to get them out and be none the wiser. It seemed plausible in thought, at least.

Might: 10/10
Harden: 10/10

 

[Epiphany]

Enkerzed Lekiel
The golden-eyed Wolf Eyes looked so damn young. And, at the moment, didn't look all that great. He looked even less great by the time they reached the Last Stop. Aymeline didn't know what to do about it so she figured he'd get over it, or not, but then he decidedly didn't get over it when he hit the ground. A bit nervous by the unexplained, the Witch of the West peered at him before flashing a smile at any bystanders who might be looking at the group.

"Don't worry about it, he's had a hard day." When Dunan promptly shouted 'Get out of my head', Aymeline's smile became strained. Seeing Solandis tending to Dunan, the Mage again addressed any witnesses looking too interested. "Breakups. Always hard to let go when you've been rejected, right?"

Of course, when the owner of the inn promptly stepped in, Aymeline grimaced and said "No commotion, just a friend who's not himself. We've all been there, right?" At least the presence of Solandis seemed to slow him up but it also attracted his attention and would make the group of them even more memorable than they already were. The last thing they needed was people remembering them.

And then Lourayley turned up.


Splinters of rock flayed the battered stone of Liotra's battlements as two waves of rock collided in a grinding cacophony of destruction. Aymeline threw herself from the walls to escape. A sudden, jolting blast of wind knocked her wide but she brought her own up just before hitting the grassy field bordering Liotra's walls. Tumbling, she came up on her feet with a ball of fire blooming to life in her hand.

Down came Lourayley, fire of her own already blazing forth. Aymeline dismissed her own nascent flame and instead threw her arm into the sky to demand a storm before throwing herself to the side in another tumble, just escaping the scorching jet of flame. The next flame vanished as the Witch of the West drew the growing moisture of the air and ground into a thin sheet of water, extinguishing it as it came. Clearly the Royal Mage hadn't seen that trick before, judging by her face, but clearly she wasn't surprised enough. When Aymeline flicked a hand skyward and brought down a lightning bolt, a levitated rock abruptly flew in its path and took the hit, shielding Lourayley from being fried on the spot.

"For your crimes against Liotra and against humanity itself, you're a dead woman either way," the Royal Mage said as both Magicians regathered their strength. "But if you surrender now, mercy may be shown to the Veriteri insurgents who've followed you here."

"Bitch, Liotra seized our lands and our herds, our livelihood, tried to turn us into slaves! The Free Peoples of Veriteri will never be chained by your kind again!"

Earth was always the Witch of the West's greatest element and at her command a giant assemblage of rock tore itself from the ground, drawing up in the shape of a tremendous warrior that lumbered forward. Lourayley sneered and-


"Fuck," Aymeline said, quietly but with great feeling.

A second later, she slowly raised her hands to show her lack of weapons but the angle of her arms and her quizzical expression suggested a surprised, not-going-to-give-you-trouble attitude. "H-hey now, you look fit to be tied for no good reason. I just got here today from the Veriteri Frontier, I'm a courier with a message for the King. Saw this woman being attacked, she's the victim, ma'am! Look at what they did to her! I tried to help her out but there were three of them, all of 'em bigger than my brothers and armed besides. We were just saying as much to that Guardswoman, actually."

With a glance back at her companions, Aymeline turned back and noticed Solandis trying to catch her eye. Noticing the other woman's drawn weapon and her incredibly strategic positioning, the Witch was sorely tempted to give her a nod but instead she went with a subtle shake of the head. "My new friend there's been through enough," she said slowly, still addressing Lourayley. "Surely the Guardswoman can help her to that tavern we were about to go in and get her statement, yeah? I'll go with you and answer any questions you and yours have, no problems at all. Just let me get my horse, she's right over there tied up to that fountain."

Back when Aymeline had been as young as she was again, she'd come to Liotra with a message from the Free Peoples of Veriteri and she'd come pissed. Now, she had a chance to play this a different way, with a different attitude, but damn if pretending to be innocent was easy around a woman who'd tried to kill her half a dozen times. At least this time she was innocent. Sort of.

And if she could get Lourayley to settle for her, it'd leave everyone else free to find out what the hell happened to Duran.


Rock Barrage: 10/10

 

[Kharmin]

Marie-Louise watched Duran as he ran away from them and the tavern. Who was in his head? she wondered. She hoped that whatever malady had struck him would spare her and the rest of their team; otherwise, their quest was doomed to failure before it had really started.

"Um, so what's with him?" She asked the others. "Anyone else have someone in their heads that we should know about?" The vain attempt at humor might have gone over better had Marie-Louise not been in her current state.

She shrugged and started toward the tavern door. It surprised her that the tavern owner, who appeared after Duran's outburst, would scold and accuse them so, but then Marie-Louise had to remind herself that she wasn't the heroic warrior of her future self. None of them were, so their presence surely held less awe or intimidation over the more common folk.

Marie-Louise was about to reply when Lourayley appeared. Her display of her talent, allowed by her standing as a royal mage, did little to impress Marie-Louise. She had seen far more ominous things during the war. She was hard-pressed to hold her tongue and watch her place.

Before she could speak, Amyline interceded. Bother, Marie-Louise thought to herself. She already owed the woman once. She really didn't want to add more tallies to that side of the ledger.

Solandis siding with Lourayley was a bit of a surprise to her, especially once her weapon was drawn. Marie-Louise still had the whelp's long-knife, but made no move toward it. She swept back her water-soaked hair, which seemed more of a dark, honey color due to its saturation, to reveal her visage and condition to the royal mage.

"I'm sorry," Marie-Louise said. "For what are we being questioned again? You know my name, so you must know something about me. If I had any magic talent, do you think I would have let five ruffians do this to me?"

"I have no qualms answering your questions, ma'am," she added. She motioned toward the floating stones and then Solandis' weapon. "There's no need for the display or the arms. I don't know how much help I can be, though. They ambushed me and beat me almost senseless. I'm not even sure that I could tell you who they were."


[Mana 10/10]

 

[Enkerzed]

Lekiel Epiphany Kharmin

Quickly wearying of the Veriterian's excuses, Lourayley was about to cut her off until the guardswoman whispered, "Who did they attack? Did they kill someone?"

"Near enough," the mage replied without turning her head, keeping her eyes and the floating cobblestones directed towards the outsider. For someone who claimed to be innocent, she was much too talkative for Lourayley's liking and after what she had seen in the alleyway, it was all too obvious that no ordinary people, much less two ordinary women, would have been capable of inflicting so much violence with a single blood stained brick without some form of power. With this in mind, Lourayley continued loudly as she addressed the outsider, pointedly ignoring her suggestion to enter the tavern, "You must think I am royally stupid. Why would you think I would let you get your horse, or anywhere near a horse? Not that you would be difficult to track, all I would have to do is follow the blood stains you left behind like you did in that alley. No, you have broken the law, that much is clear and willingly or not, you will come with me."

Then Marie-Louise, quiet until now, spoke up and Lourayley paused to consider the girl's words as well as the state she was in. Upon closer inspection, she was a right mess and if she had indeed been the assailant as the report described then what would explain the long cut on her arm? Mollified, the royal mage responded, "Hm, well your injuries do appear to be defensive in nature. Perhaps there is something to your story after all."

Lowering her arms, the mage let the cobblestones fall onto the street with a clatter and returned her attention to the Veriterian with an outstretched hand. "If you are a courier as you say you are then you must have proof. Let me see this message of yours."


xrakkax

Elsewhere...



​

The crowd erupted into cheers as Hellshand drove his 'hell's hand' into the face of his opponent, sending him stumbling to the other side of the pit. A tower of brawn and a blacksmith by trade, Hellhand's right hook was a sight to behold and before the other man's eyes could stop spinning in their sockets, Hellshand closed the distance between them, raised his fist high as though lifting a hammer at his forge then brought it down with an almighty thwack, sending the poor bugger face first into the dirt. Another name crossed out on the board.

It took a while for the din of enthusiasm to die down, but when it finally did, the referee took the opportunity to call out, "Well I think we all saw that coming, but this one will be anyone's game. Next up we have the man o' the woods, you know him well... Slamslugger!"

The stout bearded woodsman, local favourite of the crowd, stepped into the pit and raised both arms into the air as he made his way to the centre, eliciting a fresh cheer all around. When he took his position, the referee called out the next fighter, "Up against the outsider... Grigor!"

"Hrmph, it's Grior," the old man muttered as he stood up from the porch, setting his drink aside. Where Slamslugger was stout and thick bellied like a barrel on legs, Grior was hard muscle all around and as tall as Hellshand. However, while the woodsman had been met by cheers, the grey-haired, blue-eyed stranger from who-knows-where was met almost entirely with boos and jeers. He was after all an outsider and no matter how well he had fought up until then, the crowd simply could not go against one of their own. It was just as well however, since it was not the crowd's approval Grior was after, but the money in their pockets.

Without pomp or the slightest bit of fuss, Grior stood opposite Slamslugger and took his stance as the referee said, "Tow the line, boys."

They faced off against each other, the woodsman affecting an intimidating glare while the outsider remained a picture of calm focus. The jeers continued.

"... Fight!"

And so the dance began.

Lourayley has not used any abilities in this post. Mana is now 10/10.​

 

[Epiphany]

Enkerzed
Aymeline had already taken a step towards her horse, so certain the mage would find retrieving Tanaya a reasonable request, when she drew up short. Then she just stared incredulously at Lourayley. You know, after all these years of fighting, I figured everyone was the asshole. But damn if this woman isn't convincing me that Liotra had it coming all over again.

"I don't think you're royally stupid, ma'am," Aymeline answered, striving valiantly to keep a calm tone. It wasn't a bad effort. She only sounded mildly annoyed instead of furious. "I think, or I guess I'm supposing since you never identified yourself, that you're an officer of the royal court, a representative of the King here and someone who upholds the law. Which means if you're going to arrest me, you should at least make sure you take my property with you. Beg your pardon if I don't trust the people who live here won't steal my horse from me while I'm politely answering your questions. You can blame the thugs who were beating my friend over there, three against one, for the poor impression I have of Liotra's citizens."

"Now, how about showing a Veriterian like me that you aren't all alike?" Once again, Aymeline turns her hands upwards, palms to the sky, in a harmless sort of way. But this time, her expression is less surprised and more just on the polite side of pissed.

Thankfully, Lourayley took a good look at Marie-Louise and came away a bit...well, maybe not quite civil but a little less 'swords first' in attitude. At the royal mage's demand, Aymeline gestured once more towards the fountain where her horse stood, likely drinking her fill of water. Tanaya bore saddlebags much like any distance rider might. "Left side, there's a pocket on the far side of the bag that has a leather tube in it. You can open it to see that it's paper, ma'am, but don't break the wax seal. It's from the regional administrator for the Frontier, sent directly to the King, after all."


Rock Barrage: 10/10