Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
The mention of an earthquake also piqued Tauer's curiosity. The demon prince had never known that Wistvale had changed so much in the past few years, never heard of an earthquake that brought in the ocean. That's pretty epic, even by this world's standards. He wondered if Nissa or Joff knew anything about it.
"Was it a natural occurrence or something more sinister?"
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely came to a halt. She glanced up and down the street. It was not a furtive glance, though it might have appeared so to the two people walking with her. Her voice was definitely lower than it had been just seconds before.
"...well... They say it was an earthquake. It is true that Wistvale is very close to a subduction zone. You know..."
Ely made a gesture with her hands where one of them overlapped the other.
"...where the earth's crust sort of butts up against another one? Well, this zone created the huge lake that used to be Wistvale's major source of water. Then the earthquake..."
Ely pantomimed with her hands, crashing her fingers together and then snapping them apart.
"...broke the land into bits all the way to the coast. And presto... the ocean came rolling in."
The Cathian girl glanced back up and down the street and lowered her voice until it was barely audible.
"But... some people say... that a young wizard, perhaps even younger than you, Sir..."
Ely swung her hand back and forth in Tauer's direction.
"...did what young wizards should never do or ever think of doing. He stole a powerful artifact from his master. How you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. He murdered his master while he lay sleeping. Then to hide his deed he attempted to bury the man beneath the earth with this new powerful weapon. But, in his haste to escape with his prize, and instead of shoveling the grave himself, for what self respecting wizard would bother with menial tasks... he picked the artifact up, and then called to the earth to bury the dead man instead. The earth listened, too. It came in a violent rush, tearing up the land in huge chunks into which the ocean followed..."
Ely took a breath.
"...the young wizard was never heard from again. But, people claim the artifact is buried somewhere along Wistvale's new coast line. Of course, I wouldn't go looking for it..."
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Dani was not surprised by the story, she had heard some like it in her time. Untrain youths getting hold of power too great for them to control. It always ended badly for the youth.
"Remind me to avoid the shoreline then." She said with a smile.
"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart."
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
It made for a good campfire story but the demon prince wasn't sure he believed it. It sounded very much like a cautionary tale for children. Except the murdering part, perhaps. That part probably shouldn't be told to the young.
But then the demonkin's thoughts turned to the artifact. What if it was real? I could be out there somewhere, waiting for someone to go and claim it. It sounded like a very powerful item to possess...But it was only a story, right?
"I certainly won't be looking for it."
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
She turned back around apparently deep in thought. Her easy chatter from earlier was gone and she said nothing more until stopping in front of a rather large brick building. It had faded red double doors decorated with healthy green wreaths. Ely gestured at the steps.
"The House of Galena".
The place was somewhat eerily quiet, too, with one of the double doors standing open.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Dani stood staring at the building, unsure of what to think. It was so different from the groves at home. So...unnatural... But perhaps it was what was needed to last in a town such as this. One could hardly expect the town to keep to the ways practiced in the wild. There was just not room for such here, she supposed.
She stepped forward, hesitant. The elders had sent her here to learn and she accepted it. But now that she was here, she found such a thought intimidating. What would they think of her? Her wild ways and lack of healing knowledge? Would they take her in as a child of the goddess, or would they turn her away?
"I...uh...May I enter?"
"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart."
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
Tauer looked up at the large stone building, rather impressed. So this is what a house of healing looked like. It was awfully quiet, which in a way made sense. The peace and tranquility helped with the healing process, no doubt, and it most likely allowed the miracle workers to better concentrate. The silence hardly fazed the demonkin though. His tower home had, up until recently, been a place of solitude.
"May I enter, too?"
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely frowned. She was getting a very bad vibe from the open door. It was unusual. In fact, Ely didn't think she had ever seen the door half opened. They sometimes opened both doors for a variety of reasons but just one?
"Oh. Galena doesn't require you to ask permission to enter. All are welcome. At any time."
She pushed the open door a little farther against the stone terrace then pitched her words loud enough to be heard inside.
"Davide? Lydia? It's Ely! I've brought a couple of people to visit..."
Her voice was echoed back to her from the cavernous room.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
Tauer followed the Cathian up the stone steps of the healing house. Being his first time here the demon prince noticed nothing wrong as Ely had. At the door, Tauer moved aside to let Dani enter the building first.
Dani caught the frown that crossed Ely's face and wondered as to its cause. And when she heard her call out, she could only assume that she had noticed something odd. Calling out like that was one thing, when entering someone's home or other private building, but a House of Galena that she had just said was free for any to come and go?
She brushed her hair back over her pointed ears and tried to push such thoughts away. Perhaps she was simply calling out in greeting to friends inside.
Still, her hand swept back low behind her to give a reassuring touch to her bow as she moved up the steps to the doorway and after a brief display of devotion, she entered.
"Galena, guide the hands of the Healers to aide in the comfort they provide."
"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart."
Whether within in earshot at the doorway or whether their eyes simply adjusted to the unusual gloom of the main hall, the three came upon an unexpected sight. Across the room, crouched in the corner, was Shen. He seemed quite busy and was muttering, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
That was strange, but as they realized that beyond him was someone laid out on the floor; it became alarming. His back was to them and he was huddled over whomever it was.
Ely, upon paying due attention; would recognize the colors and pattern upon the hem of the robe that adorned the person upon the floor. Those were Iona's robes.
Ely glanced at Dani caught for a moment by her words. It was only for a moment though, for her quick eyes had already picked out Shen from the gloomy environs of the building. Where were the lamps, the candles, the small torches that lit up the hallways on either side of the main room? A movement or a shadow brought her eyes down and Ely gave an audible gasp.
"Shen? What is going on? What are you doing? Is that... is that... Miss Iona?"
Ely said her name so faintly, afraid that if she spoke it any louder it would make the prone figure on the floor very real. The Cathian did not want it to be real. Miss Iona was fine and probably somewhere in one of the surgery rooms that was all. Ely had completely forgotten about Tauer and Dani at this point, she was much too worried to think of them or how confused they might be by the incident. Nevermind what they might think of Shen, who was a foreboding looking individual on the best of days.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
Once Tauer's eyes adjusted from the change of morning light to darkened room, the demon prince caught sight of the dark figure crouched in one corner, muttering something. Why weren't there any lit candles or torches in the room to make it easier to see? Something was definitely wrong here. As if to confirm his suspicions, Ely gasped and questioned the man who, Tauer could now make out, was hunched over a body.
Immediately, the demonkin's mind jumped to conclusions, the first of which was that this man in black was the assailant. Tauer went on the defensive, making sure to keep close to the two young women, just in case he was right. Even though Ely seemed to know this man - Shen, she had said - the silver-white haired prince knew not a thing, so he was feeling very cautious.