Fantasy The Sundering Star

[TheLoyalAcorn]

The fact Verena was a former urchin herself had little to no impact on the kids. They were much too young and distrustful to comprehend life past 4 sunderings, or thay the life of an urchin didn't end in a dealing gone wrong. All they knew was some measure of respect should be given but how much or how little was a whole new subject to be tackled.

The urchins immediately accepted the deal knowing a missed job opportunity could be the difference of surviving a week or dying by morning.

"Fine we accept! But you better teach us something cool!" The fat boy gurgled out. The words came out more like a fish flapping on land, and it was barely understandable for any who heard. Vastum had a look of disgust on his face before it was forced in a charming smile already holding his hand out for his share.

"We don't have to do any... special favors right? His smile wavered for a second all the urchins stared at Verena preparing mentally for the potentially shameful or dangerous task they would need to complete.

 

[Verena]

“Learn by observation. It may save your skins in a tight spot someday.”, Verena explained simply, untied the coin satchel and emptied its contents into Vastum’s open hand. “I will be jumping the wall closest to the slums at around midnight. All stores are closed by then, people are asleep and the guards bored. All I need of you is to lead them away from that wall, even for a minute. If you can get inside afterward, then good, we can get this show on the run. If not, then our deal is done.” With that, she rose from the ground, patted herself off a bit and headed for the desired wall, sticking to the thickest shadows and keeping low to the ground. She wanted to be able to observe it and the guards’ movements.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

The urchins were left behind with Stella and Vastum on one side and the other urchins on the other arguing who got how much. Their plans yet to be decided upon and camaraderie a feather in the wind.

Meanwhile, at the Southern gate. The guard was much the same as when Verena first saw it. As per Legionary doctrine, three watchmen sat in front of the gate to inspect anything or anyone that came in. The head watchman would determine who came in and out. While one would be tempted to bribe them, only a handful of legions were known to accept such bribes. Many of them were infamous in their retaliation at such corruption. The gate had two iron gates one behind the other to trap any invading force.

The walls shorter than what it should be only a daunting 10 meters. The walls seemed to be made of local rocks. A shockingly bad design flaw was found with some parts of the wall bulging out creating natural hand holds. Climbing without a rope would take longer, but it was possible and stealthier than relying on a legionary's laziness or ones speed. The wall held additional towers where two men at all times sat looking out over the city.

Verena knew, if this city followed the typical Legionary doctrine, there was 2 beds I'm each tower with 4 men in these towers for 3 days. Each guard sitting a short 8 hour shift. Anyone found on the wall without a Legionary writ would of course be executed without any jury.

A barracks usually sat behind the gates with at least 50 soldiers. They could reinforce the towers within 15 minutes in the worst of times and 10 minutes in the best. Townshed was perfectly open to infiltration if one was willing to take the risk.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Time flew by as Verena gathered information. Soon enough, three small figures hurried in the dark. The leader of the trio slipped into the spit and swallow when he knew all would be revelry of joy. Slipping past those adults who greeted him in nods and such, he filled a buck of coals before he slipped back out none paying him any mind.

He returned to his two friends as they slipped into the alleyways and made their way to their target. The local orphanage that was run by Dominus Septum. With grins on their faces they went to the back of the orphanage where the Dominus Septum lived and silently dumped the coals on a pile of discarded clothes waiting for wash day. The three snuck back out content on a job well done.

Meanwhile, the legionaries saw a flame erupt spreading across houses an hour later. The flames fed by the plentiful fuel of the slums. The legion was roused and soon everyone was out to douse the fire aside from the three guards at the gate, a reduced tower guard most who watched the flames from afar and a small squad at the barracks in case this was a lure.

 

[Felis]

As Marguerite watched the exchange at the beach from afar, she relaxed a little. The way it looked, the Serpents had apparently come by to trade supplies with the dwarfs, and they knew each other well enough. That meant she didn't need to worry about her and Calista's situation for the moment. But at the same time, what was she supposed to make of that connection? Just what kind of organization were the Serpents? From what Marguerite had seen since Tyros, she wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to have a hand in or outright run most businesses (legal or not) that existed in Savos, and she wasn't sure yet whether that was a good thing.

If only she knew more about this world! Marguerite was starting to pick up social cues from the interactions of the other survivors, but despite that, she still felt like she was blindly grasping for straws every time she had to speak up in conversation, afraid to say something that would give her cluelessness away. If she had to continue gathering bits and pieces on her own like this, she'd spend this three-year-long year doing nothing but trying to fit in. Right now, though, there was little she could do about it. It wasn't like she had a chance of finding a guidebook "Savos for Dimension Travelers: How to Survive Your First Sundering" or the like. Her best chance of asking direct questions without raising too many about herself had gone on a trip to Townshed. Waiting, watching and trying to slowly, slowly learn was what Marguerite would have to do until Morinia came back.

 

[Verena]

Verena saw the flames in the distance, some legionnaires rush off to douse them and knew that she wouldn’t get a better opportunity than this. She was just glad the rats had remained loyal. A few moments earlier, she had started to think they had taken her generous donation and ran off. Now, the serpent quickly crossed the distance to the wall, slipping on her two climbing claws while she did so and began her ascend. Because of the rough structure of the stones, climbing over was fairly easy. The hard part remained not being seen.

When Verena reached the wall walk, she hugged one of the towers and hid behind a merlon, looking up at the second tower. Only when the guardsman eventually looked the other way did she leave her cover and swiftly slip over the other side. If she was in a hurry, she would have leaped those few ten meters to the ground. This time, however, she moved slowly and quietly, with no sudden moves that attracted attention. Especially being so close to the barracks.

All that was left to do now is follow the smell of livestock and horse manure. Verena thought about stopping to acquire shoes and a bow for Marguerite but then decided against it. They would still travel to New Salieri after all. The serpent neither knew the girl’s size nor the strength of bow she could use. Horses were what she came here to get and horses were what she would get.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

The city was owned by the IX legion better known as the Revanent Legion. The tell tale signs were that on the other side of the wall was 10 or so meters where no building was allowed to be from the walls. The towers proudly displayed their trademark blood droplet with two swords crossed behind it. This legion was famous for its size and ferocity in hand to hand combat. Running and protecting a city? That directly contradicted what type of warfare they specialized in.

The sounds of horses were heard nearby. They were Legionary horses all abandoned by the Legion's charge to put out the fires showing their inexperience in garrison duties. The horses were unmarked and ripe for the taking.

 

[Verena]

Verena couldn’t believe her eyes seeing all those unguarded horses. The fires seemed to have created more of a commotion that she had initially thought. So without further delay, Verena got to work. She left the saddles upon seeing all the insignias but grabbed three bridles. As she passed the horses by in her hurry, she noted the ones that stuck out their heads towards her. The curious ones were usually the best ones in her book, certainly most energetic. In order to encourage their obedience and trust further, Verena also offered them a handful of oats, all the while slipping the bridles on.

When that was done, the serpent mounted one of them, rewarded it for staying calm with a pat on the neck and asked it to move forward, leading the other two by the reins. The only thing they needed to do now was go past a gate. Of course, even if passage was denied, those three beauties were way faster than any sleepy crossbowman could aim and shoot in the dark.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista looked to Emily, and sighed slightly. She didn’t really want to kill the animal, but she realized she had already agreed. She looked to Emily, and crossed her arms. “Is there any specific way I need to kill it? I don’t want to leave you with a host that has no head.” She said blankly.

She figured It wouldn’t be hard, but she still was hesitant about using something so close to black magic in general. To many bad memories. But this was Emily. She was nice, and wasn’t the general nuisance most ghosts were. Calista summoned a smile to her face, trying to keep her negative feelings to herself.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Vass noticed a rider approaching in the darkness. The figure almost impossible to identify more than a rider with two horses. "Ave, Rider!" Vass hailed her down. There was 5 Revanent Legionaries on duty. All dressed in full kit with swords, axes and shields at the ready. Vass kept his ax holstered by his side as he went to greet the rider and calmly ran his hands along the neck of the rider's horse. He dreamed of one day joining the legion's riders one day soon. "I see you're trying to leave the city. I must warn you the slums are aflame. I would highly recommend waiting until the flames are cold and the slums are cleared before venturing forth."

The other Legionaries all muttered their agreement. Most of them looking bored at the idea of not getting involved in the relief efforts. "If you decided to leave may we ask why you are taking three horses and no goods, Master...?"

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Emily nodded as she tried to remember Hveti's words. "I think you need to slit its throats and say 'Ras al ğul narl un Cryptidus' Other than that I don't really know. I guess everything will just work out? Thank you so much! Calista"

 

[Verena]

“Yeah, all the commotion woke me up. Can see the smoke from here.”, Verena explained with a nod towards the smoke column. “Nah, I don’t think so.”, she denied waiting inside the town until things settled down, shaking her head. “If the slums are being raided, then Townshed might be next. Would rather get going before all hell breaks loose. Don’t worry, I’ll stay clear of the fires.” Verena stroked the mane of her mount while she spoke, combing it through with her fingers and adjusting her seat. “Serill. Simply want to keep my horses light on their feet, switch between them every couple of hours. Can’t really trust inns and their fresh horses these days. And what if one gets injured, breaks a leg? How am I supposed to make my deliveries then?”

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

"I get it, I get it us foot soldiers don't know shit." Vass threw his hands up in a placating manner before signaling his men to let Verena pass. "House Vrynn and Phosphex have already left. They said they were gathering near the last camp site. Best of luck messenger!" With a fist over the heart (the Legionary salute) Vass moved out of the way after slapping Verena's horse on the rump.

 

[Verena]

“To you too.” Verena returned the greeting but immediately had to hold onto the mane of her startled horse as to not slide off its furry back. She let the three gallop past the gate for a few more meters, then leaned back and lightly tugged on the reins to slow them down to a trot. “There, there, no galloping through the dark now, sweeties.”, she spoke to them calmingly and lead them away from the smoke and towards the forest path along the river. They would stop to rest in a few hours.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista winced, but forced herself to nod. She grabbed the creature and quickly slit its throat, before saying the words to enchant it. “Ras al ğul narl un Cryptidus” She said, loud but not yelling by any means. She didn’t like how they sounded. They sounded dark, and ominous more than helpful.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Verena's quick getaway was hardly noticed by the IX legion. The only hint of her leaving was a hazy memory by those on duty and three horses that were missing leaving more than a few legionaries on extra duty. Only three orphans and Sleyart were truly aware of the visit by the Serpent.

The trip back to the dwarves would be a two day trip. The effort slowed down by starting in the night, and the horses continuing to fight Verena and laze about and slow down. The horses being a bit slow as they had been on patrols the whole morning before they were "liberated".

The road was filled with other riders all trying to escape the town all with similar concerns due to the fire. Only a few followed the same direction as Verena no doubt following the river as the hunters, Verena encountered earlier, did.
_____________
As those words were put into existence by Calista, An oppressive darkness came and stole her vision. In her mind's eye she saw the bloody broken body of a young man in a field of wheat. Trails of eldrich energy whisper away in five directions. A single tendril of the eldrich energy pooled at the dead body leaving a portal.

With the same terrible words uttered corrupted and warped with Calista's own voice being heard. A clawed hand pierced the veil trying to widen the portal. A cry of insanity rang out leaving the local wild life to cry out and rip out their own ears to prevent hearing the daemon. The seeker found he couldn't enlarge the portal and its efforts ceased looking for another entrance into this reality. The last sight of the daemon was its flaming eyes and crown of bone before it disappeared.

Meanwhile, Emily was able to go into the creature and as she did the wound healed leaving a perfectly adorable chipmunk. When Emily tried to speak the only thing that came out were the squeaks and squeals one would expect from a chipmunk. Emily squeaked and ran up onto of Calista's head completely oblivious to the vision.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista’s eyes widened, and she watched the vision in horror. She covered her own ears, and shrieked in trying to drown out the awful noise. She felt her own voice being warped, and clasped one hand over her mouth to keep from saying anything else. She couldn’t see anything except the vision, and it horrified her. The creature trying to claw its way out into the world looked terrifying, with blood in its aura and insanity in its flaming eyes.

She subconsciously felt Emily run to the top of her head, but didn't do anything about it. She was a bit preoccupied with the vision of the daemon in her head.

 

[Verena]

Verena could feel the three horses wanting to rest. They carried their heads low, breathed heavily and oftentimes slowed down to a walk, even with their light rider and no gear. So when the first rays of sunshine appeared on the horizon, Verena stopped and let them and herself rest, eat and drink. The serpent took the time to wash her entire gear of the now crusty old blood and dirt and change into her usual outfit. She also adjusted her four-legged companions’ bridles, cutting off the painful metal bits and attaching the reins to the lowest leather strap. When she was back in the saddle a few hours later, she seemed to be riding whole different animals.

When, on the second day, she finally spotted the cliffs and the still overturned empty jar of pickled fish, she even let the three gallop the rest of the way, stopping just by the hut. From her high vantage point, Verena easily saw the ships flying her people’s colors, as well as one of her own speaking to Gunther. Having nothing to ask of the fellow serpents, Verena dismounted and entered the hut, leaving the horses to graze outside. She immediately spotted Marguerite looking out the window at the exchange and noted the absence of Calista. “I see you're doing quite alright. Trust Calista is out and about, not buried behind the hut?”

Felis

 

[Felis]

"Good to see you, too," Marguerite slightly raised an eyebrow at the lack of a greeting, but that didn't hide her relief at Morinia's return. It hadn't been a full week yet, but Marguerite had begun to worry a little what Calista and her would do it Morinia hadn't come back. "Calista has recovered a lot, and she went for a walk... a while ago, not too long, though, but I'm not used to keeping track of time without a clock. Did everything go well? I thought I heard horses outside." She pointed at the ship through the window. "And do you happen to know who they are? They seem to have come to trade with the dwarfs."

 

[Verena]

“I’m here now so yeah, you could say everything went well. Those were indeed our horses you were hearing. Now that Calista isn’t here, you’ll be able to pick yours. Choose a name for him too. Mine’s the black and white one, named him Midnight. They’re good boys, strong too.”, Verena explained, then headed back for the door, all the while nibbling on some of the provisions inside the hut. She hadn't exactly eaten for quite a while now. “Isn’t it obvious who they are? You know, the flag with the snake, from Tyros?", she explained with her mouth full. "They’re my people, you don’t need to hide from them. Looks like they are coming from New Salieri though so we won’t be getting on that ship.” Not that Verena wanted to be on any ship after their latest shipwreck. "So what did you do while I was gone? Trained a bit with those throwing knives?"

 

[Felis]

"Alright," Marguerite said, unsure whether to be happy at the prospect of riding or apprehensive. Her experience with horses amounted to sitting on a pony led around the enclosure at a fair for about half an hour once as a child. Well, she had a passage of Xenophon's On Horsemanship in an exam, too. As long as the horse wasn't too keen on unseating her, though, she figured it would prove better than walking the whole distance on her still unshod feet... "Oh, by the way, were you able you find any shoes for me?" Marguerite asked as she followed Morinia outside.

"Well, even I could see that much," she grumbled. The snake insignia had been distinct enough even for Marguerite's outsider eyes. "I meant more specifically, as in, what... branch, you could say, or how come they are trading in what's a remote location to my knowledge. I don't really know much about your organization aside from that it seems fairly... varied."

The horses were still grazing right next to the hut, and Marguerite dared to hope that if they didn't wander off the minute one turned one's back to them, they might accept an inexperienced rider as well. Aside from the black one with the prominent white markings on the legs, there was a second black one and a ruddy brown one. What was the name for that horse colour again? Searching for the word, the French term came to Marguerite before the English one did and she concluded she might as well take that as a decision aid both for which horse to pick and what to name him. She didn't know enough about animals for a more informed choice, anyway.

"I think I'll take the chestnut one. He'll be Alezan," she told Morinia with a small smile, which turned wry as she addressed the next topic. "I did try to practice a bit, but I got as far as you'd expect someone with no experience and no instructor to get in under a week. I think I can hit something with the knives about as well as with a... stone or whatever, but whether I hit it blade first..." She shrugged. "Well, maybe you can give me some pointers later. How fast do I need to improve given the state of the roads?" The joke was halfhearted and didn't quite cover up all of Marguerite's unease. She was trying to adapt to Savos, but the thought that having to fight for her life wasn't a hypothetical situation only wasn't something she could get used to that easily.

"In any case, how soon are we leaving? I can go look for Calista if it's today," she offered.

 

[Verena]

Verena shook her head at the mentioning of shoes. “Some of the shopkeepers were probably awoken by the commotion I had to cause to get the horses. I didn’t want to push my luck.” Once outside, she immediately went to the horses, feeding each a piece of old dry bread. “Varied we are and that’s all you need to know. Trust me, you already know too much.” The mere fact that they had seen and spoken to Good Lord Seth in person was plenty for one lifetime. As outsiders, they were lucky to be still alive.

“I had a feeling you’d go for that one and… Alezan? Sound magical. Hopefully, it will bring him luck.”, she said, scratching the neck of the chestnut before leaning her back lightly on Midnight. “Ah, that’s my fault. Completely forgot I had to show you how first. We’ll work on that until we get you that bow, no worries.”

The serpent gave Marguerite her most tortured look at the last question. “Unlike you two, I wasn’t on vacation on a sunny beach with two friendly butlers tending to my every need. I want to eat a proper meal and sleep a proper night. We’ll be off tomorrow morning. As for Calista, yeah, let’s go find her. Lead the way, princess.”

 

[Felis]

Marguerite shrugged. She was slowly getting used to not having shoes, as long as she didn't have to walk over rough terrain too much. Also, Morinia's "description" of her time in Townshed made Marguerite want to take her advice on the Serpents and not inquire too closely about what had happened. They had horses now, that was what mattered, wasn't it?

"It's fine," she said. "Well... I don't know about magical, but I hope so, too. Some more luck certainly couldn't hurt any of us." Though after that shipwreck, they probably weren't setting the bar too high with that wish, Marguerite thought. "And thanks in advance for the help." She decided not to repeat that she wasn't exactly a prodigy with at archery either - she figured that once she got used to shooting with whatever type of bow was common in Savos, the result would still be far better than whatever of knife-throwing Morinia could teach her in the same time.

"Fair enough," Marguerite couldn't help but grin at Morinia's exaggerated indignation, then headed for the forest that overlooked the beach. Calista had probably taken one of the trails that led into the woods from the beach itself. Marguerite hadn't been in the forest a lot, but from the times she had ventured it, she found it easy enough not to get lost as long as she kept to the trails. Of course, it might still take a while to find Calista if they ended up taking a different path or turn.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista was still crouched down. Though the vision had faded, she kept her eyes shut for a moment, tentatively opening them. She looked around, taking deep, labored breaths. She then felt Emily on top of her head, and gently raised her hand to pat her. “It.... it worked? Emily?” She asked, trying to calm herself down for a moment.

A million questions faced inside her head. What was that vision? What was that creature? How did it correlate to her? Should she know what it is? She brushed it aside, and stood. She spoke mostly to Emily, a faint (and slightly forced) smile on her face. “Let’s go back to camp. I’m sure you’ll want to see your friends, and mine will be looking for me.” She said.

She started walking back to the camp, taking the same way back and making sure she wasn’t lost. She figured Emily could lead her out even if she did get lost. Along the way, she heard the snapping of twigs from people walking, and looked around to see who it was. She saw Marguerite and ‘Morinia’ ahead of her and started waving to them. “Hey! There you are, Morinia. How was your little expedition.” She said, smiling a bit.

 

[Verena]

Verena followed Marguerite through the forest, not at all attempting to hide the fact that she was quite impressed by the girl’s ability to walk barefoot through tree branches, pine needles, and thorns. She must have spent quite some time exercising this skill. Ten years ago, Verena wouldn’t have had any problem with tough roads either. Now, she had to admit that her feet had grown quite soft once more – the luxury and curse of comfortable boots.

Calista’s call to them quickly snapped her back to reality. “Hey, Calista! I’m back so what do you think? How are you?”, she responded playfully. As they got closer, Verena was quick to spot the little rodent on top of their companion’s head and a childish smile immediately appeared on her face, triggered by her boundless love for animals. “Aww, what a cutie! But how on earth did you manage to tame a wild chipmunk so quickly?”