Lareth's castle

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ash just gave a small teasingly secretive smile, "Of a sort, you could say..." he said in answer to the question of his profession. But that was all he was going to say for the moment, knowing the inadequate answer would be as much of a tease as what he'd done earlier had been.

Then he adjusted his stance in the saddle and the stallion simply started moving, needing no kicks or other outward incentives for commands. But Ash kept the stallion at a basic canter for now as they both moved through the main gates, his body moving easily with the stallion's gait...

((Exit to the training fort))  

[Red Gypsy]

Devossy

Ash brought the others directly to Lareth's castle and sent a maid for Hal as he gently picked up Dancer and carried him into the parlor with Dev and the others following him, Desha still keeping one hand on his son's shoulder.

Dev, of course, followed even though his own injuries would need seeing to. He'd put on the jeans Snow had handed him at the castle without thinking about it, his focus partially torn between her and the condition of his best friend. But his focus was shifted as Ash laid Dancer on one of the couches and shooed the tiger over to his girlfriend, then basically ordered him to show her around the garden while they saw to Dancer.

The tiger knew the Incubus was right and moved to take Snow's hand in his before leading her from the parlor towards Lareth's garden, barely noticing the small cuts he'd gotten in the fight. But they'd heal easily on their own. His burns were what were still a bit worrisome and would take a bit longer to finish healing up.

Meanwhile, Hal moved into the parlor with another servant carrying his bag of supplies and shook his head slightly at the damage that had been done to Sebastet's godson but got to work without a word, doing his best to stitch and bandage the boy as best as he could.

It took hours, but he finally moved away from them all, giving Desha a long look before telling Ash to take the boy to one of the guest rooms and moving off on his own to take a breather. Hal wasn't as young as he used to be, after all.

That left Yamille and Desha alone as Ash carried Dancer off as instructed, the older immortal human dropping into a plush chair with a heavy sigh as he lowered his face into his hands, his silver hair still hiding most of him from view.  

[Red Gypsy]

Desha had accepted the drink and acknowledged Yamille's words but remained silent until she left him with his thoughts. He couldn't allow anyone else to know the truth. Not yet. He only hoped he could hold on a bit longer... With that thought, he faded from sight, his glass resting on the low table beside the chair...





Ilea walked into the building wearing nothing but the crimson leather she favored. She was unarmed and she carried a message for Lareth. She waited at the base of the stairs as she'd been told to do, ten guards surrounding her with weapons drawn as another went to tell Lareth she was here and had a message for him from Shale.

The fact that she'd come here without her new master spoke a great deal to the importance of her message.

She did nothing but drop to her knees with her hands in her lap as she waited. She would wait there as long as necessary. She had to deliver this message, knew it was fitting that it was her delivering it instead of Shale.

Plus, she could give Lareth a bit more important information that he would need. Decisions had to be made. She only hoped Shale would forgive her for doing this while he was in his healing sleep instead of waiting for him to come with her. But she knew it had to be done by her...  

[Haeo]

Red Gypsy

Shale traversed the distance between the Spire's Gate and the castle with long strides. Before, servants would ignore him and avoid his gaze out of distaste and uncertainty. This time, they made themselves scarce. He was angry and silent and full of power. But, they had seen people like that before. What truly frightened them was the way he carried it. There were no careless discharges of energy, no wild auras of wrath. There was only the certainty that all of the monstrous power he possessed would go exactly where he wanted it.

None stood in his way. Only one guard tried and he quickly backed away, murmuring apologies for the inconvenience. He entered the chamber where Ilea waited in silence, saying nothing. He neither approached nor addressed the guards. He did not speak to Ilea. But he did not conceal his presence from her. The openness of their union remained. He understood in part. He was worried. He was angry. He was prepared. But, he held onto his control and his respect for the person Ilea had become. Yet, there was the sense of a fighter poised to lunge. If this situation came to conflict with the King... it would be bad.  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

But it wasn't Lareth that moved down the stairs. It was quite possibly the oldest demon in existence, and the most trusted. Hal was moving slower than usual. He'd already begun allowing his 'assistant', meaning his replacement, to take care of the regular tasks. But this was one that he was going to handle personally.

He had a younger attendant with him, mainly to make sure he didn't tumble down the stairs. He came to a stop at the base of the stairs and waved the attendant away, "Oh go get a sandwich or something, Kam.... You're annoying me right now..." he said in a slightly irritated tone, the servant leaving with a tolerant smile.

Now he focused his eyes on Shale then on Ilea before turning back to the Baron, "Baron Shale... We have a task for you that even you might find challenging... You're to go to Darkness Abounds, with your new servant, and take it over. The king wants one of his demons in charge there instead of another like the one you've just destroyed. Take over there, destroy what's left of his army, create one of your own that can be deployed at your king's need... Do this, and Gypsy has agreed to spare Ilea's life. She wasn't too pleased to hear of her survival, but holds no ill-will towards her now. As long as she remains yours..." he told him the orders he had to give simply.

Then he offered one of his kind smiles that everyone wanted to see from him, "Go, Young One... Take your girl and go... The message will be delivered..." he said in a kinder tone then turned to head back up the stairs but paused and turned his head to the side a bit, "It's good to see you fully restored, Baron Shale... For that alone, she may be able to garner a touch of gratitude from the king..." he added then made his slow way up the stairs.


Once he was gone, Ilea finally raised her eyes to look at Shale, fully able to feel his anger, though the rest confused her. She understood that he'd be angry with her for leaving as she had but feared that anger as she once had Goh's anger. But the difference was that she wasn't going to be running from Shale...

She didn't move because of the guards that still surrounded her, simply looked up at Shale with her fear and confusion showing in her dark eyes.  

[Haeo]

Red Gypsy

Shale felt a subtle sense of relief at the sight of the aged demon. He had not personally known Hal in any real sense but the reputation that the centuries had given him was known far and wide. The presence of an aid spoke volumes as to the importance that the experienced demon attributed to the orders he was delivering. The Baron paid close and respectful attention.

His anger diminished greatly by the time that Hal finished speaking. Only a dull simmer of wounded worry remained of the focused anger that he had held before. The kind smile actually managed to bring out one of Shale's own, a sight that Hal had certainly not seen before.

"I hear and obey the command of my Liege." He said with confidence and a brief bow. But his eyes and his recent victory left little doubt that he would be cautious. He chose not to verbally acknowledge the elder's final remark but slightly inclined his head in gratitude for the welcome news.

When Hal had withdrawn Shale let his gaze drift to meet first that of Ilea, then wander to those of the guards. He turned away as if to leave before suddenly stopping.

"Leave us." His voice was quiet but it was still a barked order and the guards made no delay in leaving. Then they were alone.

In an instant he was on her, both strength and power, pinning her to the wall with a passionate kiss. His power racing to touch every inch of her like gentle fingers while his hands were occupied with Ilea's hips. He hadn't even realized that he had lifted her off the floor by several inches. When he finally allowed their lips to slip apart, it was reluctantly.

"You worried me." He whispered into her neck, sighing against her skin. "Try not to do that again..." It was a request, almost a plea, but not an order. He understood enough to not forbid her such decisions.

"We need to get going before our scene becomes the talk of the castle." He said as he pulled back, unconsciously lowering her feet to the floor. Instead of worry or anger, his face held a smile now.

It would be a small matter to pull their mounts and a few golems from the Forge and bond the portal to his staff so that they could carry it with them. It wouldn't do to leave a portal sitting so close to the castle, even if he was in control of it. With a couple garrison golems to accompany them and the portal contained the journey would be a quiet one. Besides, he had no intention of announcing his arrival until he could secure the fortifications at the heart of Darkness Abounds. He knew enough about the region to know that it would not be possible to instantly cow such a wild local population, never mind eliminating all of the numerous soldiers and constructs that Goh left behind with a brute show of force. They would arrive in the darkest part of the night under careful stealth and concealment magic. Then the fun would begin.  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

Ilea had no idea what to expect as the guards were dismissed. So many things ran through her mind and all of them involved her getting hurt. But she was most certainly not expecting what actually happened.

One moment she was kneeling and expecting him to hit her or something of the sort and the next she was pinned against the wall with him kissing her. She couldn't stop a deep moan then gave a pleading whimper when she felt what had to be thousands of fingers moving over her in a way that heated her in seconds.

Then he stopped kissing her and said something she had to pay attention to. It took her a moment and she found herself very grateful for the wall behind her when he finally put her back on her feet since he had literally set her head to spinning. Thankfully, she did get the gist of what he'd whispered to her then the rest of what he said as he pulled away.

She gave a small nod and valiantly pushed herself from the wall to follow him. Her legs instantly tried to give out on her and she wound up back against the wall to take a breath so she could try again. The second time, she made it to walking beside him, though she was a bit unsteady.

"I can get us there easily... We'll come out in one of the basement rooms. It'll hold a full battalion of troops, so it'll hold us, the forge, our mounts, and any golems you want to bring..." she told him, her tone still a bit dazed as she tried to keep herself on her feet and moving in a straight line.

Of course, she was also hoping to wind up in a situation to finish what he'd started...  

[Haeo]

Red Gypsy

"Excellent." Shale said with a nod. "That will give us just the advantage we will need. Once we control the center of power and have broken any organized resistance we will be able to attend to the matter of the lawlessness of the area." He was pleased with his effect on Ilea but he was motivated to get their base of operations established before allowing further... distractions. Still, he did slow his gait slightly and take Ilea's arm in his both to steady her and to maintain some physical contact.

In truth, he was somewhat puzzled by his dreams. Vague as they were, they could prove to be helpful if he were correct in his understanding of them. They had seemed to be something of a map of sorts. And a portion of them matched Ilea's description of the basement holding chambers. The bond could be at work. Or it could be something else. Time would tell. There was one very odd thing that he noticed in them. A small but swift flicker of light. Just as he had rounded a corner it had flashed into a crack and disappeared, much like a startled rodent. But its light was far, far to strong to be natural. If his dreams were indeed about Goh's fortress... then it may be that something had managed to exist there without his permission. That was a troubling thought.

These musings kept him silent on the short walk through the gardens to the gate of the Forge. He remained preoccupied as he touched it with his staff, removing the portal with a flash of light even as he summoned their mounts, four labor golems, and several guardian golems from the force that he had placed to guard the Forge entrances. They looked like heavily armored knights but could move quite swiftly when it was called for. Most importantly, they could manifest a wide variety of weapons and wield them all with expert skill. They would be useful guarding the entrances of their new base.

But, the greatest thing he needed to bring was the portal itself. He drew it into his staff, sealed until placed again. Then, with their small party assembled, he softly broke his preoccupied silence. "At your ready, my dear."

((And with Ilea's reply we shall exit to the SubBasement in Darkness Abounds))  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

Gimme a sec and I'll post them showing up there.

Ilea was grateful for his steadying hand on the way back to the spire and for his distraction as he did what he needed to do with the portal and such. It gave her the chance to get herself steadied.

After that, she had to test her abilities with the shadows. Thankfully she did that one. Strange as it seemed to her, that ability had actually grown in power during her disuse of it. It could have something to do with Goh's death but she wasn't sure. Truthfully, Goh had been dampening her abilities and had even blocked some others to keep her dependent on him, which she'd never known about.

By the time Shale was ready, so was she. She got on her mount and nodded as her mount moved in close to his. Thankfully, it could be trusted to do what was needed while she did this. She closed her eyes and raised her hands to waist level, needing the extra focus due to the extra power and the large group.

The shadows moved up around them even in broad daylight, taking them into the depths of darkness where the deepest shadows lived. The seemed to hold them for a moment, then shifted them as she reached for the place she knew as home...  

[Wolfe Garm]

Into the fires of battle!

Red Gypsy

Wuflric Von Shadowfang

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The demon realm not a place you ever want to find yourself, well that is if you aren’t there to work, Wulfric stood there looking at the entrance of Lareth’s castle he couldn’t help but wonder how anyone here would have heard about him, but work was work and the message said there was a contract in place that would pay well, he shook his head as he walked towards the castle gate and pausing slightly to see a few demons looking at him with scrutiny his eyes narrowed slightly as they walked off and watched them for a moment before he continued. Eventually, he stopped by the main doors to the castle whistling in amazement at the sheer size of the doors. Sighing slightly, he raised his fist and slammed it on the door a few times before someone opened the door and just looked at him with uncertainty “what do you want human?” Wulfric growled slightly at being referred to as a human and replied “Human? I’m no human” the demon looked at him closely and spoke again “matters not what do you want?” Wulfric’s mood was sour at this point and replied: “I’m here about a contract” the demon nodded and let him in. Wulfric looked at the demon taking note of the fact that he looked like a guard and couldn’t help but wonder what the contract was. The demon looked at him and spoke up “wait here the steward will speak with you about that” Wulfric nodded and watched as the demon took off, Wulfric being somewhat curious at this point walked around while keeping close to the door since he wasn’t sure where the steward would be arriving from.

The main hall was rather large and well decorated, admittedly he was a bit amazed by it all, it seemed all so foreign to him since he had only ever been around humans, and they weren’t as extravagant about their décor as the demons seemed to be, admittedly even when he was still a noble his halls were not as extravagant as these, how times have certainly changed throughout the times. Eventually, he stopped looking around and found a pillar to lean up against and simply waited for this steward to show up.

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Unto the anvil of war!

 

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

What showed up was quite possibly the oldest demon in existence. Hal had served five generations of Lareth's family and was determined not to die until he'd at least held the sixth generation. He still managed the stairs but had to lean a hand on the shoulder of a younger demon to keep from falling down the stairs in the process.

Hal tottered up to Wulfric and looked into his eyes for a moment then waved a hand at his attendant, "Go wrap yourself around some lunch, Kameron. This young man and I have some business to attend to, then you can help me back upstairs," he said simply then put a hand on Wulfric's arm to keep himself steady on the way into the study.

Kameron gave a tender smile to the older demon and nodded in respect to Wulfric before he moved on his way to the kitchen.

Once in the study, Hal directed Wulfric to a desk against the far wall and took a seat in front of the fireplace, "The contract is on the desk. Lareth drew it up himself and I added in a few perks for the job. I do hope that you don't have a problem with assassinations. That particular young lady has been wreaking havoc here for a long time now and the king is anxious to finally be rid of her. Her death sentence is official, of course, duly signed by the entire Demonic High Council to ratify it. You're allowed anything from the royal armory that you want, as well as access to our healers and herbalists for anything else you need. You'll be paid half up front and half when the job is finished," he explained without looking at him.

He kept his blue eyes on the fire in the fireplace and let Wulfric look over the contract as well as the detailed drawing of Esabel and a full account of her crimes in the demon realm. The number of deaths attributed to her were insane, as was the female that had done them. The details of the deaths were horrific, even among demons. While they were a hedonistic and elemental lot, not even they would do what she'd done to those villages....

Lareth had finally had it with Esabel when she picked right back up where she'd left off. They had three more villages-worth of children to place in homes since their entire families had been... killed.... Yes, killed was the kindest thing to say about it.

The barons had finally approved Cynthia's pardon and Lareth had finally married her. The children were due soon and would grow up fast, as all demons did. Hal knew that he only had to hold on for a little bit longer...  

[Wolfe Garm]

Into the fires of battle!

Red Gypsy

Wuflric Von Shadowfang

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Wulfric showed little in the way of reaction to the information he saw, the pay was indeed good and what was offered undeniably appealing, though he found a lot of the perks to be useful he felt that they weren’t necessary especially since he was going after a target he felt he was already equipped to handle, after all, they made contact with him first so that shows that they already know what he’s capable of doing.

Finally Wulfric looked at the Steward and replied “there is no issue with the contract, I shouldn’t have any problems dealing with this prey, if anything this should make for an interesting hunt, so I’ll take the contract” he looked down and opened up a pouch and folded the paper up putting it into the pouch before he continued “I’ve yet to find any prey that has been able to stand up to me for long and I don’t expect this girl to do any better” Wulfric was very confident in his abilities to track and make problems disappear and this was no different than anything else he’s done. Before he stood up he continued “as for everything else you are offering, as tempting as they are I have no need for such things, I’ve already got what I need to put this problem down fast, all I need is information on where my prey was last seen and I’ll pick up the trail from there” if anything Wulfric’s mood improved, the pay was very good the target a potential challenge worth going after, and all in all was looking forward to the hunt ahead.

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Unto the anvil of war!

 

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Hal gave a simple nod of his head, still not looking at him just yet, "She likes the Forest of Sorrows and the villages that are near it. We've evacuated as many of them as we can but..." he stopped there, a bit overwhelmed at the level of damage that Esabel created every time she came to the realm.

He would have said more but his attendant rushed to the door and scanned the room until his eyes found Hal, "Hal, it's time!" he said simply.

Hal simply got to his feet and addressed the attendant, "Get the midwife and notify the king. Then meet me there with my bag," he said in a calm tone, though his urgency couldn't be hidden as he turned back to Wulfric, "Pardon me but I have to go. The queen is about to deliver," he said with a smile that lit his blue eyes with pure joy for the occasion.

Then he simply left the room the fast way: in a flash of flames. The attendant flashed Wulfric an eager smile, "You can't miss the Forest. It's about three miles north of here, give or take. I have no idea why it was named the Forest of Sorrows, though. Totally wrong for the place. You can borrow one of the horses from the stable or travel however you like," he explained then turned to leave.

But he paused and turned back, "Oh! And the guards should treat you better on your way out. The rude one was dismissed. Both the king and Hal have been very clear on how guests are to be treated; namely, with respect and courtesy. Have a good trip," he added then took off running up the main stairs.  

[Wolfe Garm]

Into the fires of battle!

Red Gypsy

Wuflric Von Shadowfang

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Wulfric was surprised by the suddenness in which everyone departed nor by the surprise that the lady of the castle was in labor, nothing he wanted to be around for especially since he had a job to do so he made his way out of the castle taking note of the fact that no one was around, perhaps this was more of a ordeal than he thought and simply left through the door and walked towards the gate he’d passed through earlier noticing that the guards were a bit more relaxed around him than before not that it matter any to him he was a white wolf after all and not everyone liked having one of them around.

Once he was through the gate he drew his crossbow making sure the clip that housed all the bolts was fully loaded before he started the long trek towards the forest of sorrow where he would hopefully find the scent of his prey so that his hunt could officially begin.

[Leaves area]

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Unto the anvil of war!