Twokinds ARCHIVE Forums

The young woman read aloud to herself, alone in a huge, white, throne room. Queen Xula looked to be about twenty, though in reality, was 200 years of age. Her elven ears were long and pointed, her eyes a beautiful shade of blue, and her pale blonde hair looked like silk softly swaying in the afternoon breeze. On her lap were hundreds of bills, waiting to be passed or vitoed. It was a hard job, one that required much consideration and patience. Suddenly, the door on the other side of the room swung open.
A tall human, who's body was covered entirely in dragon scale armour, entered the room and bowed. “M'lady, excuse the interuption, I know you are hard at work. I brought you a drink. Blueberry Cordial, your favourite.”, the man presented a clear wine glass, filled to the brim with thick, dark purple liquid. The Queen smiled appreciatively.
“Thank you, Comander Klyde. You really didn't have to.”
“It was my pleasure, Madam.”, Klyde walked over to the Queen's throne, and placed the cup in Xula's outstretched palm. The Queen drank it up immediatly, obviously dehydrated. When it was empty, she placed it on throne arm and nodded to Klyde.
“That was delicious, Klyde. A lot thicker than usual... but...”, she clutched her stomach.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I'm fine. I must've... gulped that down too fast, or something. I just feel a little strange.”, she shrugged it off and continued to read. Klyde bowed once more, and exited the room, through the same door he had entered. A woman was waiting for him outside, her jet black hair contrasted by her pale grey eyes. She was clad in rune, the armour of a high ranking soldier. “Did she drink it?”, asked the woman.
“Yes, Claudia, she drank all of it... In one gulp.”, they began to walk down a dark hallway, illuminated only by a few small, stain glass windows located on the right side. Soldiers of every race stood guard every twenty paces or so, so they made sure to whisper.
“Ah, good. This should only take a couple of days then.”
“Yes. And once it takes full effect, there'll be nothing to stop us from fixing this so-called 'Haven'.” Klyde stopped, and looked out a nearby window. It wasn't raining, though large, grey clouds floated ominously above Haven, as they had for the last week. The clouds stood high above, however, so much so that not even Haven's largest tower, the Mage training facility, could penetrate it.
“We have done well, Klyde. Master will surely reward us.”


Soless groaned, forced awake by the sun, and the nearby birds, calling out to one another through song. He sat up, and looked to his right. Sleeping were Terri and Lohti, on blankets that they had aquired in Mazo, a nearby Beast village. They were surrounded by thick forest, "Cielle Forest", as the Elves called it, and were lucky to have found this clearing the night prior. Making sure not to wake them, he stood upright and walked over to their make-shift fire. Throwing down a few sticks, and reigniting the fire with a pair of rocks, Soless began cooking some of the vittles he had packed in Mazo. It was some sort of meat, though Soless didn't bother checking what it was, before running off with it, leaving those in Mazo furious.
Ten minutes later, the meat was about done. Soless divided it up and placed it on three flat pieces of tree bark. “Hey, Lohti, Terri, wake up. Your meat's getting cold. Plus, we have to hurry, if we're going to get to Kairo within the week.”

"Zidian, must you leave so soon? You just returned home not even a week ago..!", cried a young, white haired girl, Celene. She was Zidian's assistant and caretaker of his home. She wore a dark blue dress made from a thick linen weave and adorned with similar markings of yellow like Zidian's coat.

"I'm sorry, Celene. I know I just returned, but I have to travel to a small outlying city near Haven to do some research on the region.", said Zidian over his shoulder as he drew the string to his rucksack, filled with books, cards, and other odds and ends.

"Just promise me you'll be safe, and for goodness sake, man. Take your glasses with you this time..!", exasperated Celene. It was typical of her to make a fuss when Zidian forgot his lenses. He had a habit of forgetting them and using a charm in order to modify his vision for a limited time for reading.

"Fine, fine. Did you, by chance find them?"

"Yes, here.", said Celene as she handed him his intricately framed glasses. The lenses were very small, thin for quick retrieval and storing. He slipped them in his coat pocket and lifted his rucksack over his shoulder.

"Well, take of things as usual for me, Celene. I'm off.", said Zidian with a flick of his hand as a wave. "Don't forget to say hi to--", started Celene as the front door clicked shut. "Ted...", she finished softly.

Zidian stepped out onto a cobble paved street way with young, thin oaks towering over the gabled roof tops of houses and shops. A vacant coach wagon lay awaiting the owner outside of a small garden. He began walking towards the edge of town, only half a block away to Ceille Forest where the streets met a heavily worn dirt road. To the distance, he could see a staggering column of thin smoke in the woods. Perhaps it was the village of Mazo? No, the village was to the opposite end of his village. It may be a band of travelers or perhaps a camp set by Mazo. Either way, the city was in that direction. He began to set off on the path.

Terri, being such a heavy sleeper, did not stir when Soless called Lohti. However, he woke up easily, generally 'sleeping with one eye open', as some called it. He in turn began to wake Terri and pack what belongings they had and did not need at the immediate moment. Afterward the two joined Soless-- whom they preferred to call Silvertounge -- at the campfire.

Yawning, Terri was the first of the two to speak:
"Do you really think Kairo's so far away?" She looked toward her brother, who hadn't traveled much more than she had, but he was still more experianced nonetheless.

"I think that a week's good travel won't really happen if we're in a forest. Thick undergrowth's hard to move through." He said, chowing down on his food and looking around with the same usual hunted expression on his face.

"So it'll take even longer?" Terri goraned as she began eating, although she was a bit more sophisticated in dining manners than her brother, she had eaten fast nevertheless.

"...Good cooking, Silvertounge. What kind of meat is this?" Lohti said, after finishing his food and either cleaning or disposing of the untensils he had used.

Silvertongue looked at them and struggled for words. "...Not sure. Could be chicken, and who knows, could be human.", he was joking, though it was possible, considering where the food had been acquired. "Either way, it's actually pretty good. And thanks, I am a pretty good cook, aren't I?" He stood up and grabbed his nap-sack, which he had packed the night prior. Silvertongue was wearing very basic, plain clothes: black pants and an old shirt. He placed the strap of his sword holster around his torso, and looked around.
Suddenly, he became alert and focused. Looking eastward, he noticed a lone traveler walking along a nearby dirt path. He had pointy ears; an elf. Soless motioned to Terri and Lohti, who had already finished eating, to hide. "An elf is coming this way. No doubt he'll check out our camp site, the smokes pretty thick." Soless jumped behind a nearby tree. "Listen, Terri, hide to the right of the path, Lohti, to the left. Once he enters this clearing, I'll jump out and block his way, you two block both sides and the back.", he readied his blade. "Remember, we don't want to hurt him, only scare him into giving us his loot."

Lohti and Terri nodded, signalling that they understood, and with the stealth that comes with their kind, took their positions easily and silently.

Zidian began down a low slope through the trees and briar the path cut through. He could clearly see a meadow just past the last thicket, a small, dying fire along the edge of the forest. Random supplies were set in a disorderly fashion, half packed. He could faintly smell the scent of cooked meat. Perhaps deer or some such in the area.

A faint feeling of notion came to him that something was amiss. As if being watched. As well, a camp with no one in it and a freshly cooked meal didn't seem right. Perhaps the camp was a snare for an unwary traveler. Taking eye of the moment, he began to walk through the path cautiously. "Just the day I decide not to travel with a knife or something.", said Zidian as he swore under his breath.

The best he could make due with was his crafting chisel and hammer. He reached into his rucksack and drew out a long handled mallet with a squared head made from fine cypress and compressed iron. Adorned on it were small, burned in engravings of runes and markings. The faces were barely dented which was unusual for iron hammers and as much work as Zidian put into it. The handle was about 2 feet long, giving him some range with the odd tool.

He tightened the draw strings to his rucksack to be sure thieves wouldn't seize it from behind him, allowing him time to wallop some hapless sod across the head. He stepped just out past the trees into the rim of the meadow.

I shrugged, trying to get my armour to fit better. One of the shoulder plates had been knocked loose and I had yet to fix it. I looked at myself in the mirror. Now I'm not a proud man, but I like the way I was looking today. The black outline of the grey armour stood out jsut enough. The stirps of metal sewn into the leather tunic were suitibly battered. Overall I was and looked a battle tested veteran.

I went down to the kitchen. As I expected Dargax had already eaten and went to the forge. I smiled faintly and got some coffee and bread. As I ate I reflected on how I had gotten assigned here. The Elven captain who had commanded the last foray out into the forest had been a fool. I hadn't said such to his face, but when he gave a stupid order I ignored it. The uneventful trip cost him nothing save his pride. Still he had assigned me here to guard the capital. It was a worthless post. No-one would rise against the city until they had conquered other areas first. None the less i would do my duty to the utmost of my skill.

I left the table, and picked up my glaive. The adamantium head had yet to show a single sign of wear and tear. The dark wood was staind with blood, sweat, and singed by flames. With this extension of myself in hand I made my way to the main gate.

After the elf took a few steps into the clearing, Silvertongue leapt out from behind the tree, and signaled for Lohti and Terri to do the same. He pointed his sword at the elf, but kept a few paces back, noticing the hammer in his right hand. "Terri, Lohti, be careful, he's armed. Stay ready, he may try to flee."

Gesturing at the man's pack, Soless' face remained stern. "No harm will come to you, if you just give us everything of value in that sack. You're outnumbered, don't do anything stupid.", suddenly, Silvertongue had an idea. It was crazy, but it could work. "I'm assuming you're headed for Kairo, correct? We could use somebody with a few Elven contacts down that way. Or we could steal everything you own and feed you to those two 'Beast warriors'", he winked discretely at Terri and Lohti, and looked again at the man, "So, what do you say?"

-------

The rookie guard ran up and down the castle halls, screaming hysterically. "Sage Tauros, Sage Tauros! Has anybody seen Sage Tauros?!", he smacked into a wall, his helmet falling to the ground, revealing a fox Beast of only 16 years. He clutched at his head, cursing under his breath.

"Yes, my child, what is it?", a calm old Elf appeared through a nearby doorway, reading a book. He had a pale grey beard, and half spectacles perched on his long nose.

"Sir, the Queen, she... she isn't well... Her eyes have gone sullen, and she speaks only simple, monotone phrases!", he got to his feet and placed the helmet onto his head, covering his large, orange ears and yellow eyes. The Sage closed his eyes, a look of great concern on the normally-calm magician's face.

"Oh my, this isn't good. No, this isn't good at all."

"Step aside, you simpleton! You wouldn't want me to take the offensive!", called Zidian as his watchers appeared before him. "Those weapons; crude and blunt. Did you bother to sharpen them when you woke up or just forget to and decide to plunder some lone traveler like I?"

Zidian could feel his blood boil at the sight of Soless. His time to get to the edge of Kairo was wearing thin along with his patience. "If you expect to get to Kairo with a knife at my back, you're sorely mistaken. You obviously have no clue as to who I am.", he said with a haughty tone. "I am the famed weapon's researcher, Zidian Domina. Now, who are you?", he asked, leaning forward at Soless, staring him dead in the eye with his head slightly tilted, his hammer in one hand ready.

Erano heard yelling. "Looks like my mission work will have to wait." He mumbled taking off toward the noise jumping up in a tree to watch what was happening. He saw one elf with a hammer in hand facing off against two beasts and a human. They obviously were about to fight. As a diplomat his duty should be to prevent this. "HEY! Don't fight! I'm sure we can settle this in a dignified manner!" Erano yelled then tumbled out of the tree branch and landed on his feet.

Soless looked at the elf with disdain. "I've never heard of you, famed weapons researcher. My name is Soless Silvertongue. I don't expect you to know who I am, nor do I care. " He stepped toward the elf and stared right back into his slanted eyes. "I see you aren't going to make this easy. Very well, ready your hammer, elf." Soless was about to make the first move, when a yell could be heard in the distance, followed be a light thumping noise; the sound something makes after landing from a fairly high distance. Soless looked toward Terri and Lohti. "Erm, could you guys check that out for me?"

Zidian watched the young man fall from the trees. He eased back a bit, feeling with this new individual, it lessened the intensity of the situation. He eased back from his stand-off position. "And who are you? I hope you know this guy thought it was a great idea to be a bandit. There's never good negotiating with a bandit...", said Zidian, still eying Soless carefully.

Lohti nodded to Terri, and she left to investigate.

Terri squinted. The foliage made it hard to discern anything solid, but the idiot had shouted and revealed his location, combined with her heightened hearing and smelling abilities, so this was no challenge for her. She pulled out her bow and expertly shot an arrow into the branch the young diplomat was sitting on, and quickly readied another, then proceded to warn him to either get down from the tree or she would shoot him, and not the tree.

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"I say we eat him.... the meat left me hungry." Lohti growled. What was scary wasn't the way he said it; it was he meant it. He hadn't eaten much lately, having given his food to his younger sister, an elven meal didn't sound half-bad.

Erano took off to back up his fellow elf. "Look I mean no harm. I only wish to mediate this arguement. You can take my money I was sent to bring to the beast village with if you let me and him go. However if you do not accept I may have to break a few of my oaths." He said making a show of preparing a spell of pure holy light.

Terri had followed him back at arrowpoint. She saw him readying the spell and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suicidal or just stupid? Do we look undead to you? Last I checked, since we're in the daylight, we're not. Besides, I'd shoot you before you could finish. Now, care to disarm your spell?"