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 Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:04 pm
Aella rolled her eyes. Oh course, while they were all bickering about what to do next, Tarathiel went ahead to get all the action for himself. Typical. She sighed. Okay, if he was confident that he could handle it himself, then she'd stay back and let him have his fun. He was the one after all, who was looking for excitement in the first place. In case he took too long in there, and the stafs gave out, she'd stay and help hold back the corpses.
The Oracle, at this point was in a bad state. It was obvious that she was exausted, nearly dead. Her skin was as pale and blue tinted as the corpses in the ajoining room, her hair was matted with cold sweat and wall drippings, her nightdress damp and clinging to her like a sickening glove. Behind her, the cloaked man stood, boney hands on her arms, chin resting on her shoulder, watching those charcole smudges on the human skin stretched out on the wall. The little mirror on the opposit wall shot the beam of light, undying, into the back of her scull. Her eyes were still being held open by the metal hooks.
A chuckle, more apporpriate for the bedroom than this palce, rang out of his raspy throat. "Isn't it precious? She saw everything." He waved a hand to the screen. "From how you would get here, to how many steps you took to get here. Oh yes."
"Isn't it grand? I saw it all with her." He moved thos hands to her shoulders, squeezed them in an almost affectionate matter, the way one would stroke a loved pet. "I saw it all, I saw it all," he mocked like a child.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:15 pm
"At least one of us knew what I was going to do." Tarathiel said calmly, looking about the room, "So, you know what I am about to do don't you?" He smirked, "Am I a brilliant stratagist, or merely lucky?" He inquired to the skelatal man in rags.
"Besides, you don't need your Oracle. You know that half your army could crush the city alone, Malik could not hold your swarm back with his pitiful forces. I would not interfere too much, save to bring a few people away from your storm... But then again, when was the last time I was offered this kind of challenge..." The drow walked towards the hooded figure holding the precious seer.
"Can I have my friend back, or are you going to make me earn her?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:27 pm
The head inside the hood nodded. "Oh yes, oh yes. I know what your going to do." That laughter again. He was being quite calm about the whole thing. "I've prepared, oh yes."
He paused, watched carefully as Tarathiel came closer. "The city? I don't want the city." He grinned, and as he talked he seemed on the verge of laughter once again. "No no, the city will never do. Oh no. Never."
He spluttered, trying to hold in his mirth. "You'll interefere. You'll have to." He grew quite, talking more or less as if no one was there. "Drow are fighters, even in death. Much more usefull than these dead ones. So much more usefull, so much more efficiant. Soon, oh yes." His head snapped back up, comming to himself again.
"Challenge? Yes, oh yes. You'll find me somewhat difficult." His demeanor changed, he became spitful. "Earn her? You don't desever her, never will. I know, I've seen it." Filthy, filthy living people.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:47 pm
"Well, If I can't have her, then no one can." Tarathiel said as he continued to walk forward, slowly drawing a scimitar in one hand. "Do you believe that every thing we do is pre-determined? Do you think me too lowly as to not see that I can't possibly beat you in a battle, yet smart enough to realize that I can't leave her with you?" That wont work, he'd keep her anyway.
"So, no matter what I decide as my first move, you have already seen, and since you already know what I am going to say, you can know how to respond, and Since you knew that I was going to use Walls of Fire to stop your army, you also know that as we are speaking, my wizards are drafting a potion for me, one which will cause my body to move at an increased speed and agility... But since you know that, you also know that I now know that you know, I wont do that, but since I am a wreakless fellow, you know that I will because you have seen that I will but then again, its me." Tarathiel smiled, "The Chosen of Lloth." A title he was given by his fellow drow, as he sowed chaos just as readily as any other instrument of the god, yet, he never felt any connection to her.
"Llanowar underestimated my sanity, Sstrl did not know how to treat an unknown threat, but you have neither disadvantage, because you know the future, and since you are here, I am to assume that you know that I will lose, or ultimately lose, or you would not be so foolish as to let me near you. Then again, I am the foolish drow who waltzed into your room alone, and with little support."
"Undead drow, me? Why, never." Tarathiel blinked, and charged at the Hooded figure, after each step he shouted a name, and the beast that matched the lable appeared. Wulfgar the Winter Wolf, Harkle the Hippogriff, and Regis the Griffin.
The three monsters jumped at different angles, and the drow vered away from Meilikki and towards the side, a hand crossbow flung out and launched its missle towards the mirror. The arrow of impact would crack the device, should it not be protected.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:08 pm
"But someone will." He whispered. "Oh yes. The dead will. In the end, no matter how hard she tries, the dead will own her." A chuckled. "All we do? Don't be silly! All you do. The dead have no future! Otherwise, my precious little Meilikki wuld be able to see me. But she didn't. Didn't see me comming, didn't see the dead, beacuse time has stopped for me. No time, no future."
"Oh yes. The whole converstaion. You said those exact words," he pointed to the human skin. "Right there, all writen right there." Was he lying? Oh, he wouldnt even let his audience know that. No no, can't let them know that can we?
He laughed harder. "You will not be my undead drow, Taratheil. No no, someone else has plans for you. Plans plans, so many plans." What a pity, that he could not see if his plans would succeed or not. Pity pity.
And of course, the...expected...attack. The three animals charged through him like so much smoke, coliding with each other. The hooded man hummed a little tune, as if this was really of no great importance. There was a rumbling, and the wizards in the next room soon found themselves without the undead. They were just...gone. Ran away, disapeared, they didn't know. Dist and grim fell from the craks in teh ceiling, the whole place shook.
"Oh, so much to do, so much to do!" A cackle. The mirror shattered, as any barriar would have dulled it's beamand become usles sending tiny razor sharp shards into the air. They thunked into all three, Meilikki who was on her way to the floor, finally realsed, Tarathiel, still in throws of his attack, and the hooded man who just stood there.
Whirlwind stuck her head in the door, at least as much asshe could manage without fear of getting sliced off.
"The tunnles are comming down Tarathiel. Finish this and lets go!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:20 pm
The shards didn't bother Tarathiel, he was used to pain. Most of them bounced harmlessly off his armour. The drow tumbled and turned and managed to find his way to the fallen Seer, and swatted his scimitar across where the hooded figure had been mometns before. Placing one hand on Meilikki's body, Tarathiel began to shout for Warhammer when the minotaur started chanting.
His deep voice echoed off the walls, and into them. The sound was the Song of the Earht Mother, as source of many of her magics. The words calmed the earth around the party, but did not stop the ceiling in the room that Tarathiel was in. The drow pulled out a portable whole, and literally dropped Meilikki into it, and tied it across his belt. He would have to let her out before gating. With few swatts and a dashing cross slash, Tarathiel didn't even look where his foe was, he merely shruged and tumbeld away from that spot, the three animals followed.
The wizard merely raised a brow, "I should like to know why we are here?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:33 pm
The sword didn't touch him, although it sliced off a number of his robes and scarves. There had been no flesh to slice, nothing of substance for the drow's blade to dig into.
"Awe, what a pity." The ceiling caved in, none of hitting the hooded man of course, fell and brocke apart and sprayed dust, debris, and drippings over everytihng, everyone. "Clever little devices, cleaver little devices," he sang.
In the next room the walls grew hot, much like Tanundra in his elemental form. It was baking inside that little room, and difficult to breath with the amount of moister suddenly bellowing in gusts of steam.
"Flee, live ones. Go on!" He laughed again. "The dead will have you, soon enough!" He didn't bother going after them. The seeds had already been sown. Now he just had to wait for the sun to come out.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:39 pm
Out into the hallway, Tarathiel allowed Meilikki out of the hole gently. "Orko, Gate." Was all he said. Warhammer looked rather ill. "I hate the undead."
Within moments, a gate opened, and all of the party was forceed through by Warhammer, who decided anywhere was better than here. A few moments later, the group was expelled onto the planes north of the island city.
"That was certianly different." Orko breathed, "Next time, we bring a goblet of true sight."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:52 pm
"Oh, didn't want to stick around a play?"
Aella patted Warhammer's large shoulder. "I don't think I like them either, freind." Taratheil had laid the Oracle on the ground, pried the hooks out of her eyes. She looked....awefull. And Whirlwind couldn't help but thinking that it was a very unholy thing to do, especially to one like Meilikki. If she was anything like her mother at elast.
She knelt, not feeling right in having a man inspect her without her permission first. Her breathing was shallow and gritty, her throat full of dust and her chest unused to breathing once again. She felt the lymph nodes under the woman's jaw, felt the pulse at the base of her neck. Quick inspection found slight bruisings on her ribs, lacerartions on her legs and back from being dragged.
Aella shook her head. "She's malnorished, dehydrated, and she's sick from both those and the cold and damp. Taratheil, give me your cloack, or one of your wizard's cloaks. We should get the nightdress off her."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:59 pm
"We'll treat her at the palace- Well, or at my ship." Tarathiel snapped his fingers and waved them in the air, which brought him and several of the closest people to him back to the ship. Tarathiel picked the Oracle up, and looed about him. They were in the cabin which was good, but the drow wizards were there which was bad.
"Err, my cabin. She sees the future." He smiled, "Always a lovely trait for a new slave." The wizards chuckled. moments later, the rest of the party was once again on the ship. "Warhammer and Aella with me, everyone else, back to work."
The drow walked pasted the wizards and to the rear or the vessel, where a normal ship of this size would end, but of course, Tarathiel's did not. He opened a door and walked into a room that resembled a very classy luxery room, with a fireplace and a large bed. "I like to live a life of luxery on the high seas, Yarrr." He said with a chuckle as he brought Meillikki to the fire. "Look after her here, and I shall consolidate my forces to counter this growing evil." The drow walked out the door that should not exist, but did.
"He is quite demanding at times." Warhammer commented.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:11 pm
Aella shook her head. "He's concerend, and trying not to show it." She took a look at the room, and had to admire the good taste, and the fact tht he had a fireplace on a ship. A ship made f what. Of course.
She pulled up a sleep chair, and Warhammer helped her settle Meilikki into it. The nitghdress came off first, it sucked at the woman's skin like it had grown onto it. With a cloth and some warm awater, Whirlwind washed her as best she could, taking off the layers of grit, grim, and dust.
She sighed. Meilikki was pitifully skinny. She looked as if her stomach was feeding off her backbone. "Why would he do this? He must know she'd die soon, and then he'd be without his all seeing Oracle."
She pulled the sheets and balnkets right off Tarathiel's large bed, covered the Oracle up to her neck. The proceeded to clean the gunk out of the owman's eyes, the blood from the hooks, and whatever mess was in the woman's hair.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:17 pm
Warhammer allowed the woman to work her ways, but also added a prayer. The divinity of the Earth Mother tingled in the air, bring warmth and comfort to the mistreated Oracle.
Tarathiel walked into the cabin again, and sighed. "Well, at least its not a demi-god again... That was a real mess." He attempt at levity only made the drow wizards scowl. "If any of you so much as suggest that I go home-" He left the threat at that.
"Should we tell Jiscal?"
"No. But Tell Shield and Tames, I like them." Tarathiel replied to the question. "Perhaps we should bring Tames back, I would really miss the little guy."
"Your attachment to a kobold is surprising." Orko said half heartedly.
"Only because he is special amongst kobolds, a real beserker." Tarathiel jingled.
"Sir, whilest we were down in the abyss, we spoted something... Well, something spotted us."
"What?"
"High Elves."
"Really? Here?"
"We assume they are after you."
"That is reasonable."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:27 pm
She finished her work, had the Oracle all cleaned up and Warhammer saw to it that she was warm and comforted. They just had to wake the woman up, and while she certainly needed rest, she also needed food and water. SHe grabbed her staff, jingled the bells down the length of the Oracle's body.
The woman's eyes fluttered, but she did not open them. Perhaps she couldn't seeing as how they were swollen and bruised.
She groaned, and didn't want to wake up. She had been ina avery nice place...for a short time. Her voice, when she spoke,w as dry and colorless.
"Who's there?"
"A freind." And Mielikki did relax, hering the woman's voice and not the hooded man's rasp. "Stay quite for now. We;ll just get some food into your belly, some water down your gullet, and you can get back to sleep." And she did that. Although the meal was just bread and water, she'd get soemthing with more body into her when she had time to pre-pare something. Soon, the woman was abck to sleeping in front of the fire.
Aella walked out, a little spooked by tht door, and found Tarathiel. "She'll live, but it's going to be a long time before she's well again." She got some stares from the surrounding wizards. "Did I interupt?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:39 pm
She hit a fist on the table and stood, smoothed out a few wrinkles from her clothes, fluffed her hair a little over her ears again then drew in a breath and let it out slowly. Okay, she could do this. She was perfectly capable of doing this. After all, she wasn't scared of him, and gods knew he would yell about it. But no, she was going to do this...all she had to do was go ask him...or more correctly, tell him what she was going to do.
Taking another breath she tugged at her collar and stepped from the dining room, taking a few steps out and looking to Malik where he stood. She could handle this...right, yes she could. "Malik, can I talk to you. And perhaps have you listen without you first jumping to a 'no' answer?"
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:49 pm
"No, you can't have me listen. I'm not going to have you meeting with Gale in anyway shape or form without me present. End of discussion, Piper."
He looked at her and crossed his arms.
"Adn if you defy me on it, I'll personally see to it that you are locked in a room with no means of getting out. Terran Gale is not to be trusted, or met with, or bartered with. Simple as that. And the only way he is getting anywhere near you is with me present and even then if I so much as think he's hiding something I'll gut him."
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