Welcome Guest
[Log In]
[Register]
|
|
| Welcome to Aronia. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Into the Oourze | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 18 2006, 02:51 AM (284 Views) | |
| LadySabre | Mar 18 2006, 02:51 AM Post #1 |
|
Elder
![]()
|
Kael was antsy. It'd been awhile since he'd seen any sort of action outside of the training Sabre made sure to give him at least once or twice a month. She pulled back on his reins lightly to stop him, though she knew he didn't actually need her physical directions. They were connected through their hearts and minds and could easily understand each other's thoughts and feelings. Her violet eyes scanned the surrounding woods. Something was amiss here. Lifting her nose so that she could sniff the air, her nostrils flared at the stench of death. A howl went up to her left. One of the wolves had found something. Breaking the line, Sabre directed Kael in the direction of the wolf who'd howled. The large, black steed galloped with ease through the brush. He leapt over bushes the size of Shetland ponies so that Sabre's legs would not get thrashed through them. Sabre's head ducked down, along with her body, on multiple occasions as they flew beneath low branches. When they reached the wolf who'd shot up the alarm, Sabre looked carefully at what he'd found. A corpse... From the looks of it, the person had been male. Good God, what had happened to him, though?! Dropping to the ground with ease, Sabre gripped Althea instinctively. She'd dealt with her fair share of undead, so she kept up her guard. Crouching beside the corpse, her eyes widened. She'd seen this man before. He'd been in her shop not two days ago! But what had he bought? A few feet away, she found her answer. An urn. There had been nothing special about that particular urn, but judging by the odd scent of the area and the young man's dead body, she guessed it had held a special purpose for this man. Returning to Kael, she snatched a small pouch from the saddlebag and then quickly made her way back to the corpse. She stared down intently at the corpse. No signs of life... or afterlife. She'd rather be safe than sorry, though, so she opened the pouch and began to sprinkle the salt onto the corpse. Tying the purse closed again, she crouched once more to inspect the wounds he'd been dealt. A few cuts and bruises on his arms where his robes had been rolled up to his elbows. He'd been a mage, of course, so she wondered what kind of spell he'd cast that would do this. Usually if a spell backfired, it did exactly that - fired back at the caster, usually with flames or an explosion. His robes weren't singed in the least. Instead, there was a huge, gaping hole in his stomach, as if he'd been impaled. His throat was all sorts of messed up as well, signs of major strangulation. Whoever had attacked him was much stronger than she, in her normal, un-magicked self, and even more powerful than the wolves. Furrowing her brow, she slipped his signet ring from his right ring finger and stood. What could he have been impaled on? And who had done this to his neck? Obviously there had been someone else here in the woods, or there would have been no signs of having been strangled. Narrowing her eyes, Sabre looked around the forest. She wasn't a tracker, but it wasn't hard to tell that whoever had done this had taken their leave in the direction of the City. "You. Come here." The wolf who'd found the man obeyed quickly, awaiting orders. "Take two wolves with you back to the castle. Find the Queen. Inform her that there's a murderer within the City's walls. And be quick about it." Two wolves joined the first as he picked up the corpse carefully. Something fell from his pocket as he was lifted and Sabre picked it up. It was the receipt from her shop regarding the urn he'd bought. Rolling the small parchment up, she pocketed it and moved to the urn. Clicking her tongue on the back of her teeth, she waited a moment for Kael to make his way over to her. Removing a box from the saddlebag, she emptied the health kit's contents into a different pocket of the saddlebag and placed the urn in the box. She kept the salt purse on her hip instead of replacing it in the saddlebag. Pulling herself up into the saddle, she grabbed the horn and let her body move with his as he began walking again. "Let's move on!" she called out and the line started up again, moving forward through the woods. She doubted they would find the High Priest out here, but she couldn't quit just because of her instincts. They'd never betrayed her, but she had to continue with her duty, even if it was somewhat meaningless. Something up ahead caught her eye. She'd lost sight of the wolves on either side of her somehow and she growled quietly beneath her breath. A small wave of fear crashed up against the surface of her brain, but she quickly pushed it back down inside of her. She was Angel Sabre Wolfe Galweigh - she feared nothing and no one. Others feared her, not the other way around! Kicking Kael's sides, she spurred him forward at a slow gallop. "Hyah!" Cracking the reins, she urged him faster as they broke out of the woods, into a small clearing. A cave just tall enough for a horse and rider to get through was all that occupied this area. Kael slowed quickly until he stopped a few feet from the entrance of the cave. While he chomped anxiously on his bit, Sabre looked around, but she still couldn't see the wolves. Grumbling mentally, she clicked and Kael moved forward at a walk again, into the cave. Her Darkvision kicked in immediately, her pupils completely taking over her eyes so that they were solely black, just like her flesh and that of Kael. Together, the dark pair ventured forth, traveling below the ground. This was where she was from. She'd lived below the surface of the world for many years of her life with her Uncle, Jaraxle. They, with the help of Kael, had caused much havoc in the realm of the Underdark, with Jaraxle hiring himself out as an assassin and Sabre working in the field of espionage for each and every house, or house member, who would pay her. A small, high-pitched laugh brought Sabre out of her nostalgic state. Glaring forward, she noticed something as small as the laugh and tried to focus on it. It was moving quick, flying through the air, its laugh almost histerical. It looked to be carrying something almost half its size. Spurring Kael forward, as she got closer, she noticed that it was a rock with a glowing symbol on it that the laughing creature carried in its tiny arms. Her hand reached out, grasping the fist-sized rock firmly between her fingers and she pulled it, and the imp towards her. It squealed, this noise even higher pitched than it's already piercing laugh and Sabre cringed. Batting the imp away, she then examined the stone better. It was magical, that was for sure. Continuing forward, her eyes looked up as Kael stopped immediately. Before them was an area full of the rocks with glowing symbols. Dropping to the ground, Sabre wove her way around through the stones, noting the areas where symbols glowed very, very faintly in the ground. She saw an area like this with the symbol on the rock in her hand and realized that it must go there. Sure enough, when she placed it back where it belonged, the stone began to glow brighter, like the ones around her. Kael whinnied and Sabre turned just in time to avoid being smacked in the face by a rock. A feral growl rose up into her throat as her violet orbs locked onto an imp a few feet away who was flitting towards the ground to pick up another rock. Rolling her eyes, Sabre returned her gaze to the glowing stones. A satisfied smirk graced her lips as she heard the resounding "thunk" of Kael's sharp hooves connecting with the side of the imp's small head. She saw the creature go flying past her, not of its own volition, and crash into a rock wall. It stopped abruptly and then slumped down to the cold, stone floor. "Any other takers?" Sabre called out, a cocky grin on her ebony face. The last time she'd fought, Jaraxle had been with her, fighting just as hard at her side. With or without him, she could take on whatever foe emerged from the shadowed darkness fifty feet away. Moving back to Kael, Sabre hopped into the saddle, unsheathing Althea and Virote in one swift movement. Her knees hugged Kael's sides as she braced herself for the attack. A shrill scream came at her from the darkness, quickly followed by another... and another. A horde of at least twenty imps just like the one Kael had killed moments ago were now flying towards her. Althea crackled threateningly at the little enemies as Virote let loose with a small jet of fire in the imps' direction. Sabre heard a few squeal in pain and spurred Kael forward with a yell. Her swords clashed violently with the oncoming tide of demons, their sharpened edges slicing through the foes' vulnerable flesh. The imps wore no armor, or clothing of any kind for that matter, and carried no weapons. Their attacks were fierce, but Sabre's were fiercer. Althea and Virote flew through the air, meeting each of the imps' attacks with their own, protecting their weilder. Kael bucked, his back feet flying out to crack two imps square in the chest. His teeth chomped down on the leg of another imp and he shook his maned neck, finally letting the fretful thing go, watching it soar into another two of its comrades with his fiery eyes. The enemy's number was quickly dwindling. Sabre's adrenaline was finally pumping and she laughed as Virote connected with one imp's neck, his flames spitting out at another. Lighting flashed across the room to hit an imp going for Sabre's back as Althea's edge sliced through the midsection of another. In mere seconds the fight was over. A single bead of sweat trickled down from Sabre's temple, but she paid no heed to it. There was something else coming closer to her position. Glaring forward, she welcomed the new threat with gladness. She smirked, waiting patiently for the new enemy to show its face. Her pitch black eyes widened at what she saw. A small band of wolves stepped forward. Her anger flared, but she willed herself to keep where she was so that she could examine these fiends. They looked identical to the wereguards of Ombra di Notta. Sabre's entire body shook with anger, but still, she remained in place, waiting and searching for anything that broke these wolves apart from the ones of the city. There it was! She saw it finally as one moved ahead of his four comrades and raised his arms while he let out a loud roar. On each beasts' right arm, a patch of fur had been shaved off in the form of a crude X. That was not something the guards of Ombra di Notta had. Their fur was all allowed to remain on their bodies, and was, in fact supposed to stay. They were not allowed to form cliques or squads, but were encouraged to work with all of their guard partners equally to ensure the protection and safety of the city. "Let's dance," Sabre growled, spurring Kael forward again. She kept control and balance with her legs expertly. Their years of training together like this had paid off. The five wolves quickly moved to encircle the horse and rider, growling viciously from deep inside their throats. Their growl, Sabre noticed, was different from the wereguards' of Ombra di Notta. This growl was more gruff and less civilized, if that even made sense, which, somehow, it did. As soon as one wolf had found his way to the back of Kael, the steed bucked, kicking the beast square in the chest to send him flying back. He was far from done fighting, but that would take it down to 4 on 4 at least for the moment. Althea sang as she sliced through the air, the tip of her blade catching the second wolf in the shoulder as he tried to dodge the blow. Virote, on the other hand, wasted no time in singeing the creatures. Swinging both blades down towards her sides, Sabre squeezed her thighs together tightly so that Kael could rear up, his front hooves flying wildly and slashing one creature across the chest. As he came down, he did so on top of another wolf and promptly began stomping. Virote and Althea were back to swinging in under a second. The wolves on either side of Kael were attacked again, the swords becoming more and more vicious as their adrenaline began to rise like their master's. A grin was plastered on Sabre's face as she swung Virote low, cutting deep into the right side wolf's gut. Blood and entrails spilled out onto the floor as Virote swung again, beheading the creature. On Sabre's other side, Althea cut right to the chase, literally. The head of the left wolf fell from the dead body and rolled across the floor, its face still set in an ugly glare. Only two wolves remained already - the one in front whose maw was singed and chest bloodied from Kael's hooves, and the one in back who was finally returning after being kicked away. The wolf in back moved in forward, slinking slightly to the left as he tried to flank the horse again. 'Stupid beast,' Sabre thought to herself as Althea and Virote each rid themselves of the wolf blood coating their blades. They were both sheathed and then Sabre grabbed onto Kael's reins tightly, a grin on her lips still. 'Never try to flank this horse... twice.' Kael's eyes burned bright red as he reared up. His hooves crashed down on the wolf in front of him, who had been trying to scoot left some. Stomping down hard in front, he let his back legs fly high, missing the back wolf's head by inches... on purpose. As the wolf snarled and tried to jump at Kael's underside, the front of his back hooves came slamming down into the back of the wolf's skull. Sabre grit her teeth as Kael began bucking once again, his hooves stomping the life out of both grounded wolves. "Whoa, babe... Whoa..." Sabre murmured, her face leaned down close to Kael's ear. He stopped his ruthless attacks to the very much dead creatures only to be rewarded by Sabre's fingers running over his sleek flesh. Patting the side of his neck, she chuckled. "We killed 'em. The bastard imposters are dead. Damne! Imposters! How many you think are posing as actual city guards? Shit, we need to get out there... Gotta get 'em when they're not expecting it." Snarling, she rest her right hand on the side of Kael's neck and closed her eyes. She calmed down, urging her adrenaline to quiet itself. Reaching her mind out to one of the wolves, she examined his mind. There were no X's there. A wave of relief washed over her and she finally entered his mind. ~Wolves with X's in their fur are not true guards. Take them out swiftly and quietly. Don't let them communicate. The Queen is in danger!~ Opening her eyes, she stared forward at the darkness, glittering with the light from the glowing stones. She wanted to know what they were for... and more importantly, where the missing ones had been taken. A determined glare on her face, she kicked Kael's sides lightly to urge him onward. Her fingers rest lightly at Althea and Virote's hilts, her senses on high alert for any signs of possible danger. She had to get to the bottom of this mystery, and fast. |
|
Wash: I think they really captured his essence. Kaylee: He looks kinda mean. Wash: That's sorta what I meant. Simon: This must be what going mad feels like. Kaylee: Everywhere I go, his eyes keep followin' me... | |
![]() |
|
| LadySabre | Apr 6 2006, 09:45 AM Post #2 |
|
Elder
![]()
|
Kael's ears pricked up at the sound of something echoing from farther down the tunnel. It was just water dripping. By now, they were probably at least getting close to being beneath the city. Perhaps it was just a well that was dripping. Sabre scowled. If this cave was directly under the city, there had to be a passage leading directly up to it. But where?... "Yah!" Sabre hissed quietly, kicking Kael's sides to get him to pick up his speed. She was being careless right now, but she didn't quite care at the moment. If there was a secret passage from here into the city, that was most likely how the imposter wereguards slipped in under the radar. How long had this place been here? And did the Queen know about it? Or the priestess? Maybe it was one of Nexus' hiding places. If so, and if he really had turned on the city, how many of his wereguards had already infiltrated the Ombra di Notta defense system? As Kael raced down the tunnel at a medium canter, his amazing darkvision allowing him to travel so fast, these thoughts raced through Sabre's head. The biggest question floating at the front of her brain, however, was 'Why?'. Something moved ahead, but Kael kept charging forward. Sabre grinned maliciously, her usually violet eyes glowing a bright crimson. Her form remained that of a young Drow, but inside, she was in demon form. As she and Kael continued their run through the tunnel, Sabre let out a laugh. The sound was rather evil, but happy, mixed with the sounds of a crackling fire. Holding one hand up, she gathered energy into herself, centered at her raised palm. The light emitting from the energy lit up the wolves and imps' hiding places. Narrowing her eyes, she finally let the energy go, directed ahead of her. It flew forward, this ball of energy, lighting up the tunnel around it. As it began to fade around fifty feet ahead, Sabre grinned. She and Kael were passing through the section of tunnel where the wolves and imps were... or rather, where they had been. They were still there, alright, but every last one of them was a mangled corpse, sprawled out on the ground. Sabre heard the blood splattering beneath Kael's hooves as they continued through and smiled, sucking in a deep breath through her nose to inhale the smell of battle. It was invigorating. Her adrenaline pumped and she looked around, hoping to see the one who usually helped her to spill the blood. He was nowhere near, though. He was back at Wolfspire, of course, with... her. Sabre's face twisted into an ugly snarl of hate. Swords and antiques were her love, her pride, her joy in life... but so was he. And that sword had taken him away from her. He was still alive and well, but she'd twisted and tainted his mind so that he was no longer the man she loved. Or rather, she was no longer the woman he loved. All because of that damn sword. One day, Sabre promised... one day. For this day, however, more blood would be spilt and it was all Soulburner's fault! Opening her mouth again, Sabre yelled, the sound coming out that of a large, roaring fire. All but her physical form had shifted to that of her demonic self. Her hand raised again, this time, absorbing the energy Virote began sending up to her. A loud bark sounded from ahead and she grinned. They were retreating... but it was of no use. Releasing Virote's energy mixed with her own, the fireball flew forward, eliminating everything in its path until it hit a low-hanging stalagtite. She immediately noticed her spell stopping shorter than it should have and she opened her eyes wider. There hadn't been any rock formations since a few feet into the cave. This was a defensive position. Kael slowed, having realized the same thing. The scent of burnt flesh and fur entered Sabre's nostrils as she scanned the darkness. At least four stalagmites, three on one side, one on the other. She frowned - she was hoping this would have been more of a threat. But alas, she was disappointed. No worries - these wolves and imps would do nicely for her to take out her jealous rage on. After them, perhaps she would be able to find their master and get some answers out of him. Hopping from Kael's back, she unbuckled her sword belt and slung it over the horn of the saddle. She stepped forward, into the middle of the room and began murmuring a few words under her breath. Power surged through her body as her strength increased greatly. Her eyes flew open and she grinned as her physical form finally shifted. Large, bat-like wings erupted from her shoulders; her supple leather boots disappeared, as did her armour and clothing. In its place, her midnight blue and silver dress reappeared on her body, the silver sash tied loosely around her hip. Althea and Virote were not hanging from it this time, though, but an average looking dagger was. "Care to dance?" One imp cried out, quickly followed by more small battle cries. The wolves were smart enough to stay hidden for now, Sabre noticed. Perhaps they thought if the imps could distract her enough, they would have time to pounce and catch her by surprise. Like she would ever let that happen... She laughed again, turning to face the oncoming imps. Moving to the balls of her feet, she charged the single stalagmite. Her hands reached out, her fist slamming into the jaw of one of the two wolves there with the power of a semi-truck. With her other hand, she grabbed the second wolf and turned again to face her little attackers. She twisted the wolf's neck quickly and easily before hefting him up and throwing him with the same power the other had received to the face. The dead wolf body crashed into the small swarm of imps, the power of the throw carrying the corpse and the imps flying and crashing into the cave wall. "Come on now... Doesn't anyone know the proper steps? Or shall I lead you all?..." There was no response, so Sabre charged another stalagmite. "Here... You put one foot out like this," her right foot flew out, roundhouse kicking a wolf in the temple. As it dropped, she turned to another. "And then you put your hands here..." She reached out, wrapping her hand around its throat before chokeslamming it. "No? Never seen it?" She sighed, exasperated and far too overly-dramatic. Looking back up, her eyes flashed and she grinned. "Guess I'll just have to kill you all the normal way." Her foot flew up again, smacking the third wolf behind the stalagmite in the chin and sending him tumbling back towards some others. She'd left him alive on purpose. The power still hummed through her body, but not for much longer. Perhaps another minute or so. She chuckled, wondering if she'd be able to finish the rest of the wolves before the spell faded. She said yes. Althea said no. Virote said yes. And Kael said yes. Grabbing up a large rock, she tossed it over at the next group of wolves. A crossbow bolt flew past her face, nicking her cheek. It stung slightly, but not enough to deter her. Rushing forward after the rock, she charged the group of wolves, her goal to kick ass and take names. Or maybe just kick ass. The three wolves she charged stood no chance against the agile and insanely strong Sabre. One managed to fumble at his sword belt before Sabre finished him off. Half a minute left for the spell and four wolves to go, not counting the one she'd let live. She charged them, not throwing anything to distract them beforehand. Her fist slammed into the face of the first one she came across, sending him back into another. A third had his crossbow out still and had just finished reloading. Grabbing the fourth wolf, she spun him so that he faced away from her, snapped his neck and shoved him forward. The crossbow bolt stuck deep into his chest and he slumped to the floor, dead twice over. The wolf who'd been shoved into by his comrade had his sword out now and was stepping over his dead partners. The crossbow wolf had abandoned his ranged weapon, for she was far too close for that to work now, so he'd also pulled out a shortsword. "Huh... Too bad you won't get a chance to use them," she laughed, carefully, but quickly brushing the blade of the first aside and kneeing him in the gut. Grabbing his wrist, she twisted it, letting the sword fall to the ground with a clatter as she used the lasts of the spell to send him flying head first into a wall. It was her versus one armed wolf now and her strength spell had fizzled. She chuckled. Althea won... as usual. ~Sabre, you've got a li- ~ ~I know. Just scare him to keep him quiet.~ She heard Althea and Virote crackle with energy. ~I said scare him, not kill him.~ ~Pain is scaring...~ Sabre rolled her eyes and dodged the lunge of the wolf she was facing and his blade. Closing her eyes, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it so that he was pointing the sword back at himself. Bringing her foot around, she kicked him hard in the back of the knee. As he dropped to his knees, she watched as he impaled himself. Sabre felt his blood dripping onto her hands as she held his steady. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she pulled her hands away and quickly wiped them off on the wolf's... more clean... fur. When she finally turned to see what Althea and Virote had done to that poor wolf she'd kept alive, she couldn't help but laugh. He was surrounded by a small whirlwind of electricity. Moving forward, she stood before the whimpering beast and shook her head. "Who do you work for?" A small growl and then another whimper as one small bolt of electricity hit him in the butt. "Who do you work for?" Still no response. "God dammit! These wolves can't even talk!" Fuming, she pulled the dagger out of her sheath. She saw the wolf's eyes widen before rolling back into his skull as the black steel dagger sliced across his throat. "Well, that was informative," she scowled. Wiping the dagger off on the wolf's fur, she shifted back down into her Drow form and, strapping the swords back around her belt, hopped into Kael's saddle and continued through the tunnel at a walk. There wouldn't be anymore little pit stops now - only answers. |
|
Wash: I think they really captured his essence. Kaylee: He looks kinda mean. Wash: That's sorta what I meant. Simon: This must be what going mad feels like. Kaylee: Everywhere I go, his eyes keep followin' me... | |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Endymion · Next Topic » |
| Theme: Zeta Original | Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
9:40 AM Jul 11
|
Infinite Results
Hosted for free by ZetaBoards · Privacy Policy








9:40 AM Jul 11