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 Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:08 am
Ah, a masquerade! Kale was rather pleased with his decision to venture into Anathel. He was a little hesitant at first, hearing rumors about warriors killing themselves or eachother, or some terrible king. He didn't regret it, for it was his first night in the town, and Kale had already found himself joining in a masquerade! Kale loved those. He loved the magic and the mystery of it all. To him, a mask was a powerful symbol. He found the sights exciting, the sounds cheerful, the food delightful, and the whole concept of mystery very erotic.
As the late afternoon sky began to darken into a velvety black with the coinlike moon rising high in the sky, people excitedly raised tents and curtains, canopies and banners. Kale looked down at himself; even for a masquerade, Kale's strange clothing would surely make himself look out of place. He wanted to fit in, especially on his first night in Anathel. He found a small empty tent and snuck into it. It was time to put his magic to work.
Kale began by taking off his beret, followed by his scarf, his pink ribbon, and then his shirt. Pulling off his pants and shoes, he held them in a small bundle in his hands. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate, but the cool night air and the draft from the curtain slit made him shiver as his skin reacted to the temperature change.
He focused harder now, imagining the clothes in his mind. Altering the reality before him, the clothes in his hand began to change. His tunic turned into a fancy dress shirt, and his scarf attached to it to create frills. His pants turned dark and the leather strap sheathing his gagger turned into a belt. The pink ribbon stayed as it was. Putting on his new dress clothes, Kale was almost ready for the masquerade. He kept the beret in his hands and closed his eyes again. Imagining a mask, the beret turned into a white mask that covered the right side of the face. Kale didn't want to hide the pink ribbon, that would be disrespectful to who he wore it in honor of. He once again tied the ribbon aruond his arm. As a finished touch, Kale ran his fingers through his hair, the magic slicking it back in a styled fashion.
When Kale was pleased with his appearance,
he stepped out of the tent as a completely different person, ready to enjoy whatever the night held in store.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:33 pm
On most days, this would be about the time of the evening when Kirien would be sitting down at home with a hot drink and a novel, but this evening she wouldn't have dreamed of staying home. The little bookshop had been left shuttered and locked, and its proprietor was out enjoying the festival. She'd even put on a necklace for the occasion; it was four hundred years old, and worked in silver and gems so skillfully that the flowers on it seemed to be blooming on their own, but that wasn't important at all next to its chief merit - it matched her mask perfectly.
It was really rather nice to see everyone having a good time for once, she reflected as she weaved in and out of the figures of a dance in one of the larger tents. The step was a complicated one, sending the lines of dancers skipping, twirling and crossing over crazily, but Kirien moved through it as easily as taking a stroll down the street. There had been too much discontent lately, and the people of the city had been getting progressively crankier and more nervous. Maybe that was the reason for the festival? Kirien didn't know, but it seemed to be cheering people up well enough.
She looked around approvingly at the celebrating citizens as the dance ended. Those who weren't staying to dance to the next tune were making their way over to a nearby tavern, and Kirien followed along with them. Perching on a stool next to a young man in a black mask, she peeked over her own mask (green, with silk flowers and leaves) to order a drink from the bartender.
"Lovely evening for a festival," she remarked to her neighbor, who seemed to be here for the celebrations himself.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:18 pm
Sa'avant cackled with glee at the womans remark. She was an elf, and given such was quite beautiful. He eyed her curiously, unused to the friendly behavior. "Indeed it is," he remarked with another smaller chuckle. He eyed her necklace through the glowing eyelets of his mask. One advantage to his mask was that it was impossible to tell what direction he was looking--the joys of illusions.
"Why spend it inside the tavern with all the joyous goings-on outside?" he asked quizzically. "With all the dancing and the wonderful wares for sale, it's a shame to be spending it on a stool," he said, seeming to punctuate the bit about things for sale. He reached into his pouch and pulled out two large, golden coins to hand to the barkeep; well more than enough to pay for his own drink and the elf's and then some. With the revenue he would be collecting tonight, he could spare some for a pretty face.
He eyed her necklace again, it was certain to be worth a coin or two. It was a shame her attention was on him or he may have attempted to take it. The silver shown in the light from the candles, taunting Sa'avant's thieving fingers. Sighing he looked out the window to the streets. It wasn't yet dark enough to practice his craft, but a good fifteen minutes would put the sun behind the city's outter walls.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:19 pm
Aria entered the tavern, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the brightness. It seemed she wasn't the only person in the city wanting a drink that night. The tavern was full from one end to the other. Packed with strange creatures and fantastical faces. Aria felt the last of the tension leave her shoulders. There was nothing to mark her as unusual in this place. In fact, her leopard mask could very nearly be considered plain compared to some of the others that surrounded her. Flashing an unaccustomed grin beneath her mask, Aria made her way, her step light, toward the bar.
Once Aria arrived at the bar, she settled in to wait for the bartender to notice her. It could be a long wait. The bar was packed, every stool taken, the spaces in between filled with bodies. Aria found herself wedged between a very large man with, of all things, the face of a hummingbird and a woman with a lovely green mask, decorated with flowers and leaves.
Knowing her wait would most likely be a long one, Aria turned from the bar to watch the celebration around her. On a small stage was a performing troupe. Aria enjoyed their acrobatic antics for a moment. Then the musician changed tunes and the acrobats began moving to a different song. The beat was slow and rhythmic, the tune, played on a pipe whose pitch was high and unearthly. The grin slipped from Aria's face, her good mood instantly evaporating. She quickly turned back to the bar closing her eyes against the flood of memories the pounding rhythm brought. Her hand went, without conscious thought, to the dagger at her side. She gripped the hilt hard enough to cramp her hand, the words engraved into the hilt digging into her palm, and prayed the bartender came soon.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:46 pm
"I've just come from dancing," said Kirien with a smile. "As entertaining as it is, there comes a time when one needs to stop for a drink." She tapped her fingers on the bar in time to the music, still wearing an expression of serene good humor. It was really too long since she'd made time to leave the shop and see other parts of the city. "It's about time there were some joyous goings-on, don't you think?" she added. "Everyone in the city has been too gloomy lately..."
She looked off into space for a moment, seeming to think as the next song started.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:33 am
Having just enjoyed the last dance before sunset, Kale wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. It was getting rather hot inside the tent. He maneuvered his way through the vrowd, finally stepped out through the slits of the tent into the night air. He had expected it to be significantly cooler and refreshing, though it was only slightly less heavy and humid than the air inside.
Sighing and feeling a tad dizzy, Kale made his way to a tavern that everyone seemed to be gathered around, almost as populated as the dancing tents themselves. He stepped in, immediately greeted by a wave of hot, musty air and the sickening smell of alcohol. He rolled his eyes, not understanding how people could stay in a dingy tavern like this.
The seats all seemed to be filled, and despite the number of people in the room, Kale seemed to be the only one out of place, standing. Even the barmaids carrying their drinks took a seat with the customers. Not wanting to feel singled out, he anxiously waited for a man to leave his seat and immediately took it. The man wouldn't be too pleased when he returned, but Kale didn't really care. He turned around on the barstool, facing the bartender who was too busy serving drinks to give him any attention. No matter, he didn't really like drinking anyway. Kale simply sat there, glancing around the room, eavesdropping on the conversation a man and a woman were having next to him.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:28 pm
As a traveler, Lyra Fritz didn't get the news very often. And now, she realized she had come into the town during a large event. The slender woman and her brown horse Hoshi walked the crowded streets, watching with amazement. People all around her had only one thing in common. They all had masks. And she knew she stuck out like a sore thumb since she was maskless. One hand holding the reins to Hoshi, the other was allowed to mess with the bottom of her shirt. Her sweater had been tied around her waist since she had gone farther South and the heat was apparent.
"Hoshi, it seems like one big party," she whispered to her loving companion. The redhead kept walking, the horse at her side and partly leading the human on. If the horse had let her lead, they would have been stuck for hours. "Yeah.. We've got to keep going.." They had just barely gotten in too. Something about bandits drove her away from her first target. So, now she was here and slightly wishing she wasn't. "I feel so different right now," she muttered with a sad sigh before stopping. "Here's the stables Hoshi, I'll set you up in here after finding the stablemaster."
As if magic, said stablemaster appeared in front of her. "May I help you?"
"I was wondering how much it would be to keep Hoshi in here."
The price wasn't as high as she had first thought it would be. The place looked rich. She opened one of the many pouches on her waist, all in front of her, and withdrew the amount of money plus a few more.
"Thank you," she said kindly, handing the money over. No word was said about the other cents as he led the maskless traveler to the stable and helped her put Hoshi in there. The horse was brushed down and given food and water and Lyra was on her way.
She needed a mask.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 5:30 pm
"Yes... well, there seems to be reason enough for the recent gloom. I know little of what happens outside the walls of the city, but rumor speaks of things much less than pleasant." Rumor certainly said it, and it was a common topic throughout the tavern when men sat and drank after a long day at work.
"Your necklace, it is quite beautiful." He wasn't accustomed to small talk, but it certainly seemed to be passing the time. Peering out the window once more he noted he could leave any time now to be about his business.
People were coming and going quickly now, and he was sure he could get a few coins even on his way out of the tavern. Sa'avant stood and bent low to speak to the woman, "I am going to return to the festivities outside. I hope you enjoy yourself tonight and throughout the remainder of the week." With that he slipped into the growing crowd, pinching a coin from the purse of a man as he moved through the crowd and pressing it into his own pouch.
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:04 pm
"....u Ma'am?" Aria opened her eyes, Disoriented, she looked at the bartender, a red haze obscuring her vision. She shook her head and spoke, her voice horse and strained. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"What can I get you Ma'am?" the man repeated without missing a beat.
Aria blinked at the bartender and gave herself a small shake. The haze was gone, replaced by an all too familiar sick feeling in her stomach. "Get me? Oh....a pint of Ale please."
Aria felt a dull, aching pain in her hand. She glanced down and saw that she was gripping the hilt of her dagger. She didn't remember taking hold of it. She stared at her hand in horror. She was wearing the gloves she had bought from the vendor, but she knew what she would see if she pulled them off. Without looking, she knew her hand would be marked with the design on the hilt. The strange words impressed so deeply that she could almost have read them, if she had known the language. The marks would take hours to fade, and the pain in her hand would last even longer, days perhaps. Aria grabbed a hold of the edge of the bar, steadying herself as a wave of nausea swept over her. "Oh, dear spirits, Not again."
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:17 am
Hazy, indefinably shadows passed Ylin at rapid intervals, making her wish she had opted for a blindfold. Cities always unnerved her, there were so many people! Despite her lack of sight, the young woman had been determined to join in the festivities, and was as excited as she was nervous. Mithras’s firm grip on her shoulder calmed her considerably, but her stomach was still turning in uncomfortably cartwheels. “Where are we now, Mithras?” she asked, loud enough for her companion to hear her.
His soft voice came close to her ear, describing in detail what he saw around her. The part drow was her eyes, she often told herself, and he had such a way with words, too…
She listened and allowed herself to be directed through the streets, listening to the merriment around her. She looked little out of place, having donned a high-waisted gown of white embroidered with flowers and such in her favourite colours of lavender. Ribbons, placed by Mithras’s skilled hands, flowed in her dark hair, left out for the occasion. A mask reminisce of a white swan covered her face, and she seemed a stark contrast to her friend.
Mithras had opted for plain garments of black highlighted with gold, and had gone for a small mask much like an owl. Though Ylin couldn’t see him, she was sure that he looked magnificent.
“Mithras, my throat is dry. Is there a tavern near?”
“I see one up ahead,” Mithras replied, taking her gently by the arm and leading her towards it. It was not, perhaps, as crowded as the other taverns and bars along the rest of the street, but he still shadowed his charge, glaring at anyone who came too close to her.
Sitting within close proximity to the bar, Ylin waited patiently as Mithras went to order. “A tankard of mead for me and a spiced wine for the lady,” he said, holding up the purse of gold to prove to the barkeep he wasn’t just some thieving drow. Prejudice seemed to fester everywhere these days.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:32 am
Aria suddenly spun around to survey the tavern. All appeared normal. The patrons stood or sat, laughing, singing, quarreling. The serving girls moved through the crowd, smiling good naturedly and dodging whenever one of the revelers got a little too friendly. There was no sign that anyone had taken notice of her. More importantly, there was no sign that she had taken notice of anyone. She whispered a prayer of thanks to the spirits that no one had been hurt...this time.
As she turned back to the bar she caught sight of a man wearing an owl mask and her heart stopped. Unlike her own mask, this man's mask didn't cover his entire features. White hair. Dark, almost ebony skin. It could only mean one thing.....Drow. Her heart started beating again, although this time it raced. A thousand thoughts flew through her head. Who was he? What was he doing above ground? Was he there for her?
The absurdity of that last thought finally snapped Aria out of her panic. Of course he wasn't there for her. The Underdark was a big place, he had probably never even heard of her city. And even if, by some stretch of coincidence, he was from her city....well, as far as they were concerned she was five years dead. Food for some nameless demon.
Aria took a deep breath and got herself under control. She thanked whatever gods there were that her mask and gloves covered all of her skin. He may not be an assassin sent from her city to track her down and finish what the rebels had started, but still it would be awkward, at the least, for the man to recognize her as another Drow.
She turned back to her Ale, but continued to watch the strange Drow out of the corner of her eye. She watched him with fear, curiosity....and a strange sort of longing. She hadn't seen another of her kind since she had fled the Underdark. And, while most of her memories of her people were less than pleasant, they were still her people and part of her longed for contact. But the largest part of her knew that revealing herself to this strange Drow would be the greatest of folly. So she forced herself to stop watching him, turned her attention back to her Ale and prayed he hadn't noticed her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:55 pm
Before Sa'avant could turn to leave, the lady next to the elf he had talked with spun around. All it took was a flicker of the candles and his eyes locked onto the gems embedded within its intricate design. Eyes, that's what they were. They stared, seeming to take in every bit of his soul, calling him forth. His eyes darted to the masked face of the woman. She was preoccupied it seemed, staring off at a table with newcomers. Now was the perfect chance, he stepped between the woman he was speaking to and the dagger's soon to be previous owner, keeping out of her sight and blocking off the sight of the elf, he reached below the woman's gloved arm, slowly gripping the spidery handle and sliding it ever so gently from its sheath.
His eyes scanned around to see if anyone was watching, but the barmaids kept most the drunken men at bay and the drinks had everyone else occupied. It was a simple grab and go, just a little farther and it would be his to take into the sea of bodies, to become lost amongst the crowd. What a pretty penny it would earn him, he thought as a grin crept across his mouth.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:25 pm
Aria felt a strange tickling sensation in the back of her mind, and her hand, with the marks of the dagger's hilt still impressed upon it, felt strangely warm. At the same time, she felt a much more familiar sensation, the brush of someone else's hand on the underside of her arm. She whipped her head around and came face to face with a young man, his eyes hidden behind a black mask. She glanced down and saw his hand wrapped around the hilt of her dagger. Without thinking, she grabbed the dagger, just below the man's hand. It was an awkward grip, with half of her hand on the blade. She leaned in closer to the youth, her face a mere inched from his own. Her eyes flashed emerald fire behind her mask, and the red haze returned, stronger this time. She gripped the dagger tighter, welcoming the pain as the blade bit into her hand through the thin leather of her gloves. When she spoke, her voice took on a strange, gutteral hiss. "You will remove your hand, or you will lose it, human."
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:59 pm
Sa'avant's eyes widened behind his mask. That wasn't part of the plan. Take the dagger, slip away unnoticed... not get caught and have to deal with some crazy woman... well, all women were crazy, but that wasn't the point.
Staring straight into her eyes he responded in an upbeat tone, "What, that hand? I never liked that hand anyways." He knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say, and the smirk that spread across his lips wasn't going to aid the situation any.
It was too late to stay unnoticed, so he might as well have his fun. "You see, it's always bursting into flames randomly," he stated and it did just that, burst into flames. In an obviously unconcerned tone he continued, "Oh my, there it goes again."
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:43 pm
Aria glanced down at the youth's hand and then looked back at him. She cocked one eyebrow in disdain and leaned in even closer, her face now less than an inch from his. When she spoke, her voice changed again, losing the guttural quality and taking on a snake-like sibilance. "Was that supposed to impress me, little human? Is that the extent of your "magic"? A parlor trick? I can show you magic. I can show you magic that would burn what little soul you have to a crisp."
The red haze intensified, until Aria saw the entire world through a sheet of blood red light. And then, something strange happened. Beneath her mask, her face...changed. The points of he ears became more pronounced, the soft edges of her features flattened and tightened, eyes sinking deeper into their sockets and cheekbones becoming razor sharp. And in the pupils of her eyes, a red glow flickered, becoming stronger by the moment until it danced in her eyes, a wild and inhuman light. If her mask were ripped off in that moment, what was standing there would not be a weary Half-Drow, but something altogether different. Something with no traces of humanity left in its alien face.
Aria gripped the dagger even tighter, oblivious as the blade cut through the leather, leaving a gash in her hand. With her other hand, she reached toward the youth before her, reached for the soft expanse of his throat "Would you like me to show you some magic, human?"
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