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Post by Tiz on May 22, 2016 11:00:51 GMT -6
The road had been long and difficult, but Tiz could finally recognize some familiar territory. He'd been walking for what had felt like weeks, but between his different campsites, had probably only been a couple days. Making the most of his journey, Tiz had left from the village he'd been staying in on the outskirts of Lycia taking the long, western route home. Venford had gone off in some other direction with his griffon, and Tiz had elected to walk back. He'd been given enough supplies by Aidrich to make it home just fine, but now that his legs hurt as much as they did, and since he didn't really know how to ride a horse, Tiz decided it was a stupid mistake to have not taken the offer to literally fly back on that giant bird. He sighed heavily, looking up as the sun began to set. Laus was close. Once he was back, he could handle getting his hair cut back to a normal, reasonable length, and he could also get his old clothes back. Maybe even a weapon-- that would sure be something. He laughed to himself, wondering if he could actually make it home to his apartment without getting into any trouble.
It was, of course, rare that Tiz ever got anywhere without at least a little trouble.
The weight of his travel was really starting to bear down on him, so Tiz took a few minutes and rested beneath a tree near him. He'd just passed Worde without any trouble from monsters, so surely he would be able to make it the rest of the way without any trouble. He'd also gone the whole way without seeing bandits, which was welcome, since he'd had enough of fighting for a while after the battle he'd been in with the wight and Venford. He sighed, wishing he'd had better goodbyes with Venford before simply coming home. But regardless of how he felt, he had lots of things to deal with. Aside from getting himself back in order, he'd been out of contact with everyone outside of the village for almost three months... His family hadn't seen him since his fatal encounter with Dak, and none of them knew that he'd killed the man before journeying off for some peace and quiet. Tiz was sure that because of that encounter, and because he'd almost lost himself killing his former friend and comrade, he would likely never be able to return to Ostia without completely breaking down. Fortunately, he now no longer had any reason to do so.
With sleepy green eyes, Tiz scanned the horizon. There was just enough light to see pretty well in the distance, and Tiz took some moments to admire how lovely the Lycian landscape was this time of year. It was warm, flowers and trees were going, and the small clumps of forests really added to the otherwise unassuming landscape. The birds were beginning to settle down, but still called out to one another as the sun set off in the distance. Tiz had forgotten how good it felt to sit down-- it had, in fact, been hours since he'd done so. He whistled a tune to himself and to the birds, then laughed a bit as he realized they would never call back to him.
Reaching into the bag around his back, Tiz pulled a journal out and a quill pen with a vial of ink he'd been carrying with him. He had largely used this journal to reflect on his travels, his relationship with the people he encountered, and his notes on Myscha. He'd recently been writing about his extended stay in the village with Aidrich, and how nice it had been to completely detach himself from the outside world. No fights, no wars, no militaries-- just lots of merriment and joy to be had by all. A good number of his pages had been filled with such happy notes. In an effort to bring these journeys to an end and return to life in a more connected sense, Tiz happily hummed a simple tune aloud and began to write, still seated beneath the tree that was keeping him shaded from the last rays of the sun.
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Post by Charlotte on May 22, 2016 19:33:10 GMT -6
A dissatisfied sigh escaped the blond operative as she trudged forward on the Northwest Road. The woman drew her emerald-green cloak close as an early-evening breeze blew past. Charlotte almost couldn’t believe it, but she desperately wanted to stay in Laus, despite the summons she’d received from her spymaster to meet in northern Worde. She’d sent the man a message about the horrors that had occurred at Castle Laus, and despite her insistence that pulling out of Laus for any amount of time right now could hurt business, here she was, on the road to meet him.
Every bone and muscle in her body told her to turn back, but considering she still needed to work with the Inquisitional Intelligence until she was certain her debt was repaid to Saturos for saving her from Bishop Aurellian, Charlotte trudged onward. The one good thing that had come of the whole past week, though, had been her alignment to Marquess Laus and his wife. After coordinating their escape from Castle Laus with Audric and Ulai’s help, Charlotte had been invited by the Revelins for a private audience as a personal show of gratitude, accompanied with an open invitation to Laus’ court. Months of connecting and attending the right events finally had her so very close to being one of the Marquess’ courtiers.
As soon as she was done in Worde, Charlotte would be at court for Marquess Laus, arguably the most influential leader in Lycia at the present time. Not too bad for an orphan from the Isles, Charlotte thought with a grin.
But that didn’t change the fact that she was currently making her way up the road by foot, still desiring to turn back. Usually she’d be traveling by cart or by wagon, but considering the lockdown in the capital, Charlotte had to sneak out on foot. She’d spent the last hour or so hoping that a cart would somehow pass the blockade and she could negotiate a ride, but of course it was wishful thinking. The road remained eerily empty, and Charlotte pushed forward. Traveling alone like this was a risk, of course, but she needed to get to her meeting place and back as soon as possible.
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Post by Tiz on May 22, 2016 20:33:04 GMT -6
The sky had finally been painted a nice deep blue, and dusk had fallen. It was Tiz's favorite time of day, and the time he most preferred being outside. Strange it was, because there wasn't much you could do once night was on its way here. But it was quite beautiful, especially under a sky with wispy clouds. And because there was still plenty of light to see, there was no inhibition. Tiz clasped his journal shut, sheathing as well the quill and the ink. He'd been able to write more pages than he thought he'd have time for, but his free time had allowed him to reflect in any and every way he could've thought. His time in the village, the festivals, the constant fires and celebrations, meeting Venford, dealing with a wight, rescuing Aidrich, all of these things had given him plenty of fuel for writing. And since he'd started keeping his journal, he'd felt infinitely more at ease about having killed Dak. Or at least, dealing with Dak most of the way, then allowing his father to finish the man off.
Every time Tiz was forced to think about it, though, his mood fell considerably. He was normally a pretty happy guy, but when he thought about Dak and his family, and the role Tiz had played in all of their lives, it depressed him. Every single one of them lie dead now, in no small part due to Tiz's actions. If he hadn't been in Ostia, if he had acted better, if he'd made a better decision, if he'd been able to talk to Dak afterwards, things might have been different. Tiz ran a hand through his long mane of hair, frustrated, trying to push the thoughts out. He always thought he was over it until something else happened. He bit his lip. If he'd been able to talk Dak down, at least his life might've been spared. But here he was now, that entire line deceased because of him.
But strangely, Tiz was done beating himself up over it. He was now just sad at the loss of life. It was a tragic thing that had happened to a good family, a family Tiz had grown close to in his time in the military. A year ago, when he'd met Myscha and battled Dak, he never would've imagined that three months ago he would end the man's life. It seemed too far off, too impossible.
"Ah well. Time to go..." He breathed quietly, aloud to himself to reassure himself that he was still present in the real world. Lately, Tiz had had a bad habit of letting himself daydream and wander off into new territory that probably wasn't good for him. What he needed most was a haircut, a change of clothes into something less tribal, and a nice, long sleep, where he could sleep in and forget about all of his worries.
Tiz made himself stand, brushing off the light cloth poncho he'd been wearing the past few months. He'd forgone his sleeveless coat when the village had inducted him, and had replaced it with something more colorful and fitting of the culture he lived with. It was a nice parting gift, too. He smiled, thinking about his time there. It had been so fun. And now it was time to go. Laus couldn't have been that much farther away, and if he hurried he could surely get there before midnight.
After walking for what felt like hours but was likely only thirty minutes, Tiz got wary. He saw a cloaked figure in the distance, hard to make out, but easy to read as a living, moving thing. It traveled alone, whatever it was, which was neither a good sign or a bad sign-- but whatever it was, it was approaching. Alone. He couldn't see any weapons on it, but he also didn't have any on him... And unfortunately, his experiences had forced him to be on edge just about all the time. His usual lightheartedness was lost after leaving the village. He stopped on the road, waiting with sweaty palms to see what was going to happen.
And then, once the distance closed, he saw the blue in her eyes and his own green eyes shot open with anxiety, surprise, and excitement. He felt the bottom of his spine tingle, shooting a bolt of cold electricity up his spine and into his neck. His stomach flipped more times than he could count, and then his gaze became quizzical, making sure the figure he saw was what he thought it was. He didn't even say her name.
Tiz started to reach a hand out, but stopped, and laid it back at his side. He was confused and shocked, but nonetheless, the bright, goofy, teeth-revealing smile returned to his face. It was as if all the worries he'd just been focused on had disappeared again. "It's... you." He said, his voice cavalier and happy, like that of a child full of joy. "It's been, uh... Hey. Hey, Myscha."
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Post by Charlotte on May 23, 2016 7:39:41 GMT -6
As night darkened the world around her, Charlotte began to consider whether or not she would continue traveling or if she needed to stop in the next village she came across. While lodging wasn’t guaranteed in smaller towns, there was usually someone who was at least able to offer a roof over her head for the night, shelter from the elements, and a small bowl of whatever porridge or oatmeal they made for their own family. While she didn’t rely on hospitality, it was nice when it was offered.
Still moving forward, the blonde operative couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous as she continued on, not entirely sure of how safe these roads really were. While highway robberies and the like still occured, the monsters that were plaguing this part of Lyica usually convinced most men to simply extort people a bit closer to home. It was riskier since there was more chance of being caught by the town guard, but better to be in jail for a time than be dead.
Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat for a moment, her mind suddenly shifting to the horrors she’d seen in Castle Laus. The terrors of the siege were still raw and fresh on her mind, and while she could barely control when she thought of the sick things she’d seen that day. There were many nightmares she’d lived, but that had been the most nightmarish of all. Even now, she could still hear the taunts of the undead noble, chasing her and echoing just in the back of her mind. It was enough to make her turn and make sure she wasn’t being followed.
The hardest thing about the past days, though, had been her coping with just how many people she’d known that had been lost in the siege. Charlotte had no qualms with mortality or the like; while it wasn’t usually her bringing an end to lives around her, it was simply a part of life, and one that she’d encountered on multiple occasions. But something about the amount of lives lost that day had struck her to her core. Her decimated ledger weighed heavy in her pocket, so much so that for the first time in a long while she felt… helpless. Tired. Alone.
Consumed by her thoughts, Charlotte had barely noticed the male figure that had appeared on the path in front of her. Of course, she noticed after a moment, and almost instantly she stopped, trying to make and size up the figure down the road. He wasn’t as far away as she’d have liked, which ruled out stepping off to the side until the man passed. As he grew nearer, the blonde slipped her iron dager from beneath her cloak, her hand gripping the hilt hard as she continued forward. It wasn’t until she was merely a few steps in front of him that she realized the man recognized her.
At first, though, she didn’t recognize him - and who could blame her? His hair was long and unkempt, and a coat of brilliant color and design graced his person. Charlotte would have likely passed the man without a second thought if she hadn’t seen the look in his eyes when he’d recognized her, if she hadn’t heard the familiar voice call out the false name that stung like no other lie she’d told in her life.
Tizato Ciel. It seemed fate couldn’t keep the two of them from bumping into one another at the most interesting of times; fate was a fickle thing, after all.
Charlotte didn’t know how to react at first, stopping dead in her spot as she lowered her hood and looked at the man with troubled eyes. Her guarded nature fiercely demanded she keep her distance, keep moving, stick to the plan, but the loneliness that had grown inside her was begging for the comfort of someone familiar. She was not weak, that was for certain, but even the strong sometimes required the shoulder of another to keep them moving forward.
In an instant, she made her decision, which while out of character for Myscha was understandable after all Charlotte had been through in the past days. Sheathing her iron blade beneath her cloak, Charlotte dashed to the man with outstretched arms, her arms slipping under his as she enveloped him in an embrace he likely would not expect from the usually guarded woman.
“Tiz. Never in a thousand years did I think I’d see you here,” the blonde sighed into his shoulder as her head lay on it.
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Post by Tiz on May 23, 2016 9:15:44 GMT -6
As soon as he'd recognized her, Tiz's guard fell completely. As she ran towards him, he broke out into a light laugh, not taking the situation quite as seriously as he might've expected to when he thought about meeting Myscha again. But that was just the thing-- Tiz reveled in joy, in happy circumstance, regardless of how strange the situation may have been. As soon as Myscha threw her arms around him, he did the same, keeping one around her shoulders to make sure she stayed close while the other rested on the small of her back. She was as soft and as warm as he'd remembered, and it was almost intoxicating to be where he was at that moment.
This was strange indeed. The wealth of emotions that the young Sacaen hadn't experienced in about a year came flooding back with vigor and powerful presence. The night they'd met, that evening they'd spent together in his apartment, the Santaruz border encounter where everything had gone to hell, their encounter afterwards when she'd told him not to get involved, the night they'd spent in the church before she'd disappeared... Everything familiar, joyful, romantic, painful, and confusing flooded back into his being. As he held her, he at first declined to speak. It was enough for him to just experience this joy like he hadn't in so long. Uncharacteristic of Tiz, he wondered how in the world he had found her out here, on the road, relatively in the middle of nowhere. Although, just like he'd hinted at before, he did always know that no matter how many times she denied it, fate, the chance mistress, would reunite them, regardless of how long it took. And here they were, in the middle of the road. Tiz smiled again, unsure how to react to all of this. Fate was a funny thing. But he'd been right all along-- here he was, here she was. At this moment, little else mattered.
He spoke softly, but his voice was still full of mirth. "You always seem to think you'll never see me again, Myscha. But I'm a little harder to get rid of than that." He nervously lifted a hand up and into her hair, slowly scratching her head affectionately. This was also a revitalization of sentiment-- it had been too long, but his muscle memory remembered. It felt strangely right, even in spite of strange circumstances. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, go back to Laus, and rest easy with this woman at his side. Time had done nothing to diminish his feelings; it had only put them on the back burner until he'd forgotten they were there. And now here they were.
He laughed again before speaking. "Sorry I look like such a mess. I guess that's what happens when you decide go away for a long time. I turn into this." Tiz pulled the blond woman away from him, but kept her gripped by the shoulders gently. The look in her eye seemed less than joyful, so he finally addressed the situation that he'd been ignoring. "Naturally I'm thrilled to see you. I, uh..." He blushed. "Um, what are you doing out here?"
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Post by Charlotte on May 24, 2016 20:52:30 GMT -6
For those few moments while Tiz and Charlotte embraced again for the first time in nearly a year, nothing else seemed to matter. Charlotte didn’t need any assurances of how she felt for him or he for her, didn’t feel the need to keep her distance. The closeness and comfort of someone familiar to her made her feel calm, secure, safe... maybe even happy - though that was something she wasn’t sure she’d ever purely felt. But for now, with Tiz’s arms around her, her head resting in his shoulder - it was enough.
A few quiet moments passed after Tiz quipped at her, of course eliciting a small chuckle from the tired woman. She simply let the silence continue around them, for once allowing herself to become totally unaware of her surroundings. Truly, it was unlike the operative - she never seemed to be off duty, never seemed to take a moment to simply relax, live in the moment. But after the siege, after all that had transpired since she and this strange man had parted ways... she could allow herself a few moments.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Charlotte smiled, shaking her head as she looked over Tiz’s new ‘look.’ “I do like the jacket, though...” Who was this woman that was speaking for Charlotte? The last time the blonde and Tiz had gone their separate ways, she could barely look at the man, with her parting actions more for his benefit than hers. She’d had mixed feelings to deal with, sure, but much of what she struggled with was always around her work and her want to keep others from being sucked into it. It was something she’d previously seen as a downside to her job, but now it was simply something that went along with it.
Now, though, in the familiar embrace, something else seemed to build in her very core, something she wasn’t familiar with. Was it the fear of losing someone else she’d grown to know, and who had grown to know her as well? Was that fear pushing her to cling to Tiz, figuratively one of the last people in Laus who might know who she really was - even if he didn’t think he did quite yet?
Too much to think about and tackle for the moment, Charlotte told herself as she gave her head a quick shake, clearing her throat as Tiz asked where she was headed. “I, ah, was on my way to meet someone.” She gave a half-smile; she couldn’t really say more without giving more detail about her whole arrangement with the Inquisitional Intelligence. “To be frank, I’m a bit surprised to see you traveling into the capital. The whole city’s on lockdown after the disaster at the Yuletide Ball; early curfews are in effect, no one can get in or out. Had to sneak out after curfew, hence my traveling alone.”
Pausing for a moment, Charlotte sighed as she looked back down the darkened road in the direction of the city, though she couldn’t see it in the distance any longer. “With everything happening, though, it’s nice to see a friendly face. Even unexpected.”
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Post by Tiz on May 24, 2016 21:20:04 GMT -6
Tiz let out a hearty laugh, then scratched the back of his head, half-embarrassed that he'd elected to wear the village garb outside of the village. It was, to be fair, easy to travel in, despite the fact that he clearly stuck out like a sore thumb. The colorful poncho was enough to make him a dead giveaway, as if anyone was concerned with that small and incredibly peaceful village in the north. As he thought more about it, he thought perhaps he could take Myscha there. He was sure she would love it, and as he thought about it, a broad smile unwittingly found itself across his face. His bright green eyes gleamed with happiness as she spoke, totally enthralled with the idea of taking her back to meet Aidrich and all the others, and to spend night after night celebrating, feasting, and gathering just for the fun of it all. How great it had been to just get away from the world that existed outside. One of war, strife, anger, destruction, and deceit. It was a paradise untouched by these evil things.
The young man finally cleared his throat, glancing up and down the woman in front of him, noticing that her garb was, unlike his, incredibly unassuming, and he found part of himself wishing he'd been able to see her like he had on their first night. Trying not to blush, he finally answered her. "Oh, this old thing? They only give it to the very best warrior in the village, you know. I had to wrestle a bear with an arm tied around my back. Not too bad, though-- not my first bear wrestling match." He laughed again, sort of awkwardly amused at his own joke, then as the woman talked, he nodded, but beckoned her to follow him back to the tree where he'd been resting. He felt no sense in maintaining this meeting in the road; after all, he didn't want it to just be a pass by on the street. They had a year to catch up on, after all. When he got to the tree, Tiz leaned back on it, declining to sit since he'd been doing so for quite some time before Myscha arrived.
"Visiting someone." Tiz repeated. It wasn't incredulous, and he did believe her, but as usual, she seemed guarded. He had come to be okay with it, though he wished at some point she might just be frank with him. Nothing to be gained by hiding things, after all. He was going to address this, and then his head peaked up and his eyes widened. The city was on lockdown? The capital-- what had happened at the capital? He hadn't been gone that long... had he? His green eyes stayed fixed on Myscha, curious and eager to know what in the world had gone on. "Nobody in or out, huh?" Tiz asked, his face still wide with surprise. "Guess I'm, uh, not going home..." He laughed nervously. "You should sit. It's been too long, Myscha..." His voice trailed off, and Tiz, for a moment, lost himself, looking down and furrowing his brow. What was he going to say? What was the right thing to say? All of a sudden, the importance of this moment really hit him. He had found Myscha! By mere chance. He was with her, right now. He didn't have to think about seeing her again-- she was right here. And Tiz was losing his words.
"Er, if you have time, I guess." He scratched the back of his head and looked away into the horizon, biting his lip as he wracked his brain for the right words. Where were they? He shook his head gently, wondering what was wrong with him. He figured it best to address that which she was saying. That seemed right. "It is always nice." He smiled at her, the genuine wide curve of his lips being the first of its kind in months. "Especially when it's yours. In my humble, honest, lowly opinion, my dear madame, it's been quite too long." He joked, laughing a bit again. He folded his arms. "What happened in the capital, anyway?"
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Post by Charlotte on May 25, 2016 0:44:01 GMT -6
Charlotte followed when Tiz motioned for them to move off to the side of the road, all while an amused laugh came forth from the usually stone-faced woman. She certainly wasn’t as stoic as some men or women she’d met, but she also wasn’t usually one to laugh at so many jokes, especially when she wasn’t being paid to do so. But just like most other things about the night, it was something different and refreshing. She certainly couldn’t be this free with herself usually, but around her funny friend, she was starting to feel less of a reason to keep her full guard up.
But of course, just as she felt like she was opening up, Charlotte gave one of her usual cryptic answers and pushed the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go. Current Laus events were safe, they were common knowledge to those in this part of the world, and they were something easy to share while maintaining the majority of her privacy. Charlotte was only a small part of the bustling world, so it wasn’t hard to show her part in it while avoiding anything about her profession, which was most of what she did. Some days, she wouldn’t have minded revealing what kind of work she did, but that would have been a selfish decision. So many people had her on their sh*t lists, Charlotte would just be dragging someone else into her problems, and that definitely wasn’t her modus operandi.
The operative shrugged as he commented about not making it home, ready to comment about making it out herself before Tiz urged her to sit with him. While she had business to attend to, Charlotte also had no real personal urgency to rush off to her meeting with Van, not one that couldn’t take a little while to rest and talk. She’d barely slept since the siege on Castle Laus; that very morning she had stood in the city square as the heralds read out the names of the dead in remembrance. Thinking about how many names had been crossed out in her ledger put a knot in her stomach, and made her realize how much harder she’d need to work to regain her former status and familiarity with the nobles of Laus and Lycia. It wasn’t impossible, now considering her direct connection to the Marquess, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy. Navigating through a long list of politically-charged noblemen with their own agendas never was easy, anyway.
“I can make time,” Charlotte said simply, and in an instant she lowered herself to the ground, her cloak billowing out beneath her and spreading around her with her traveling skirts as she sat. While she often preferred tighter, less bulky clothing, a dress made her more unassuming (for some reason, men tended to underestimate women in dresses and skirts), not to mention helped her hide an array of weaponry and tools in and beneath the folds of her skirts. She smiled as he too commented on how nice it was to see her, an unusual pleasantry to have in her line of work. Then again, she wasn’t working right now, so it wasn’t all that strange if she was being frank.
As soon as he asked about what had happened at the capital, though, Charlotte could not hide a frown, nor could she hide the anxiety that still plagued her from that night. “Marquess Revelin hosted a ball, no doubt to try and provide some distraction from everything else that’s been going on in Lycia.” Such a bold and open invitation to those in and around Laus was surely a way to start establishing himself as the potential Margrave as well, which paired surprisingly well with his current efforts to combat the monster threat from Ostia’s fall with his call to arms of every able-bodied man. He was positioning himself well, which was all the more reason to align to him.
“But somehow,” Charlotte continued, breaking her gaze from Tiz while looking down at her hands that sat folded neatly in her lap, “somehow monsters infiltrated the celebration, and it was like no one had expected it - Castle Laus just seemed impenetrable, I suppose." It was a moot point now, but it seemed poor planning on the Castle's part to have allowed something like this to happen. Then again, how could they have possible known this could happen?
"But it was so very strange,” Charlotte paused, her hands nervously fiddling as she recalled the night. “Every monster I’ve seen and every one I’ve heard of, they don’t speak, they aren’t intelligent - well, the undead anyways,” she added - there were “intelligent” beasts, so to speak, but those raised from the ruins of Ostia certainly were fueled by some dark magic as opposed to something of their own will.
“But those... things coordinated a siege on the ball, took orders... and their... leaders,” Charlotte spoke incredulously, as if she didn’t really understand what she was trying to convey. “They weren’t people like us, but like them, if that makes any sense. They rotted and stunk of week, month old flesh, but they thought and spoke like you and I.” Shaking her head, Charlotte recalled the taunts of the undead noble as they had chased her, Audric, Ulai, and the marquess through the back halls of Castle Laus; the very thought again made her feel sick, and she closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.
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Post by Tiz on May 25, 2016 5:42:16 GMT -6
As the woman spoke, Tiz broke his gaze from her once she broke hers from his. Incredibly affected by this, Tiz's brow also furrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak, yet nothing came. He tried to shake his head, processing the information, but nothing was working. All of that had happened in the time span since he'd left to deal with Dak? It hadn't been any longer than maybe four months since that had happened, at best, and he supposed since he hadn't made up with his parents that they had no reason to tell him... And, since they didn't live in Laus, it likely wasn't any concern of theirs. All they knew was that Tiz was also not home where he should have been, so he could only guess how worried they might have been. And all the things he would have to tell Arno... He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to make it home. But if Laus's doors were closed and he really couldn't get back to his apartment, he could always go see his parents. Hah, Tiz thought, laughing internally, that seemed unlikely in any case.
Tiz reached up and slowly stroked his chin with a hand, unsure of what to say or how to say it. Again. "I see." He finally said, slowly, and unsure of what exactly he saw by saying that. It just seemed fitting-- what other words could console a woman so clearly affected by this tragedy? And whatever it was that she had been doing in all the time he hadn't seen her, it was certain that she was in the know. She wasn't like him-- she seemed to always know what was going on, even if she didn't know why it happened. Eyes curious, he moved his head back to Myscha, studying her as she sat. Here was a woman conflicted by her interests-- her work, which she'd kept entirely secret, and this side of her that was very clearly emotionally responsive to tragedy, almost as if her line of work didn't afford her the opportunity to grieve, and now was her time to do so. She seemed to be processing it in much the same way he would, with uncertainty and disbelief. It was strange, he thought, watching a woman struggle to retell the events of something she'd been present for. Tiz sighed sadly, his expression weakening. It was truly a lot to bear. The loss of life was never something to be taken lightly, and he knew that, even when he'd had to take them before.
"Myscha, I..." He shook his head again, pursing his lips. "I'm sorry. I had no idea all of this was going on, I.... wish I could've done something. I know--" he thought about their night in the church before she'd disappeared, about the news of something dreadful she'd never told him. It couldn't have been this, but was it something similar? "--I know there isn't much my words can do for the lives that were lost, but... I'm just sorry. Sometimes there is little else to say, I think. Monsters... Now they're in the capital city. I guess my mom was right. There's nowhere safe anymore, at least not in this area. Myscha, I'm sorry." A long period of silence followed as Tiz started to fumble over his words.
"I fought in Ostia." Tiz said plainly, as if beginning a story he didn't intend on finishing. "And I never saw anything like you're describing. Part of me is honestly glad I wasn't there, but if I had known you were there I might have--" He stopped dead in his tracks, leaning up off the tree. The Sacaen wheeled around, eyes alert and wild, scanning the treeline behind him.
He'd heard movement in a bush coming from the collection of trees directly behind where they stood. His vision in the dark was good, but not great, and he couldn't much make out any movement around him. His gaze narrowed, trying to focus. He parted his feet, reached for his weapon, then sighed as he remember that, just like when he was in the village in the north, he didn't have it. It was in Laus. Where he couldn't get it. Locked down tight in the room he might not see for a while. This was excellent. He sighed angrily, still scanning. He glanced to Myscha quickly, who he'd guessed very likely had heard the same thing.
"Back there, maybe twenty meters. Rustling in the bushes. I just... can't see anything..."
Another rustle came, and Tiz took some steps forward, eager to investigate, but bit his lip. It could be a traveler watching them, but it also could've been anything else. An animal, even, though Tiz's adventures throughout his 25 years of living seemed to point to something much more dangerous than an animal minding its own business. But he couldn't be sure.
He looked over at Myscha again. "Do you see anything?"
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Post by Charlotte on May 25, 2016 13:09:07 GMT -6
Charlotte listened quietly as Tiz apologized for her troubles, thought it was something she never understood the reason for. Most people were just trying to be nice, but Charlotte always felt the niceties were wasted on something like that. Usually she’d even brush the apology off, make it known that she thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but she was too tired for that now. Not to mention, she didn’t want to simply brush off the man’s concern so callously. While it was usually frustrating, knowing that someone cared about her well-being was comforting.
It was strange to hear the man mention his mother in conversation. Rarely, if ever, did family come up with anyone in her line of work. Not to mention, considering Charlotte had never known her parents, it was easy to forget that the people around her had those ties. She’d stopped harboring ill will long ago towards those who had been fortunate enough to retain that sort of normalcy in her life; if anything, that sort of structure would hold her back, keep her from fully committing to her work. It was one of the many reasons she didn’t feel like she could let her or Tiz get any semblance of truly close. She needed to stay sharp, and harboring feelings like that would cloud her judgement.
The operative heard the rustling just as Tiz had, turning her head to see if she could locate the source or type of sound they’d just heard. Her body tensed, and her instinct was to jump to her feet and flee, but considering she’d sat down, any movement she made to stand would draw attention over to the both of them. She looked at Tiz’s person to see if he was armed, but it seemed he’d left his sword somewhere that was not here. Great.
Moving her hand silently through the folds of her dress, she unsheathed her iron dagger, holding it out by the blade and offering it to Tiz as she scanned the direction he was looking, trying to see what he was seeing. If it wasn’t so dark she might have been able to spot something, but as it was now it, she just couldn’t see much. It was impossible to not hear the rustling, though, and as Tiz stepped forward, Charlotte pushed as quietly as she could to her feet, watching as he moved towards the sound. Her hand again disappeared, this time into her cloak as she palmed one of her throwing knives, ready to make a move if anything ran for them or tried to attack.
Charlotte shook her head in response to his quiet question, her eyes only meeting his for a moment before focusing again on the woods. “No, but it’s close. We need to hide.” If it was something they could take down, Charlotte had no problem doing so, but they couldn’t risk being caught off guard. They needed to size up whatever was near to really see if it was something they could handle, or if they would be better staying back and waiting for it to pass.
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Post by Tiz on May 25, 2016 13:30:23 GMT -6
For once able to leave all of his other thoughts at his side, Tiz nodded as Myscha handed him the dagger. He could it, assessing its weight. Too light, too short... He favored light blades, but this one felt like paper, and he relied on range most of time, but with this, he had none. He allowed himself a moment to consider the fact that if this was all she had to defend herself with, she probably wasn't doing a very good job defending herself. Perhaps for her birthday, if he ever saw her again after this, he could get her a real weapon, something that could actually protect her should her life ever be in danger. For some reason, he got the feeling that her life was in danger more often than it wasn't, what with all the secrecy he'd been dealing with. He made a point to himself that if they didn't get killed in whatever it was that was about to happen, he would ask her, finally, what she really did, why he never saw her, and why she'd vanished after that night in the church for almost a year.
The thoughts of asking her about these things kept him too occupied to properly assess the situation, so he squinted, trying to maintain focus on the treeline. He dared not move, lest he put himself in an even more dangerous position. As Myscha spoke softly to him, he nodded carefully, but then reconsidered. If they both hid, what happened if whatever was back here made a beeline for the town? If it was something faster than the two of them, it could escape. If they hid, it could also get the upper hand on them, whatever it was. Tiz bit his lip, wanting to obey this woman and her careful judgment, but the intuitive side of him begged him to stay his ground in the event that something went bad.
Tiz carefully looked a few times between the woman who had declined to stand and the treeline behind them. If whoever was back there wanted to pick a fight, it was likely that he or she thought that there was only one opponent-- Myscha was still out of sight. That could be to their advantage, though as Tiz considered more, if they'd been watched for any longer than a few minutes, this person, or thing, or animal, or whatever, would know there were two. Because of the darkness, Tiz had little time to weigh his options or the possibilities that lay before him. He had to act, and he had to do so quickly. Finally having made up his mind, thinking back to the encounter at Santaruz where the two had disagreed on much the same terms, the young brown-headed man shook his head firmly. "No." He said decisively. "If we hide, whoever is back there could snipe us out of a tree, or from behind a bush, or... whatever...." He drew a slow, deep breath, keeping his voice down, trying to be as analytical as he could, though since he was so out of practice it was a little more difficult for him. "Also, we don't know that whatever this is wants to hurt us. But if it does, it could also threaten Laus. Sounds like they have enough problems."
He bit his lip again. Was he making the right choice? In a fight, one wrong move-- in battle or in strategy-- could get you killed. He knew that. He knew better than to be rash, but some part of him worried very greatly that this was not going to be fixed by hiding. It wasn't in Tiz's nature to hide. He never had-- even when it was the smarter thing to do. He looked back at Myscha, his eyes genuinely concerned. "If you need to hide, hide. It might give us an advantage. I just can't. I can't. Something could go wrong."
Tiz took a step forward, then heard the loud, mournful groan of something in the forest. It was loud enough to shake some of the leaves around him, and when he felt the reverberation, brought the dagger close to his chest, blade pointed out, ready for whatever was coming. In what seemed an uncharacteristic turn of events, the treeline broke as an abnormally large entombed came dashing at a high speed out of the woods. Its claws were outstretched, aimed right for Tiz, and its speed had been unpredicted-- Tiz was not ready to deflect an attack at that speed, and as such, sidestepped quickly to the left. But the entombed seemed too advanced to let its attack miss by a simple sidestep, and turned its arm on Tiz, slamming him into a nearby tree.
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Post by Charlotte on May 25, 2016 15:05:36 GMT -6
Charlotte scowled as Tiz insisted on staying out in plain sight, but it was likely just the man’s personality that drove the decision. While Charlotte was a woman of action, she was one of calculated action, while Tiz seemed to be more prone to diving into things head-first. It wasn’t always a bad decision, sure, but when they couldn’t even see what was approaching them, Charlotte couldn’t help but worry that they didn’t have all the information necessary to act with proper information.
Still gripping two of her throwing knives, the woman crouched as she slinked off to the side, hiding behind a nearby tree while still keeping a keen eye on the direction the noise had been coming from. She didn’t feel bad leaving Tiz in the line of fire, but that was moreso because the man had proven himself capable of holding his own in combat. While Charlotte had been training over the past months, she had no military experience, no true formal training as Tiz had. Charlotte served much better supporting from the sidelines than attacking head-on.
Watching carefully as Tiz stepped forward, her entire body shook as the long, melancholy roar sounded from where Tiz had been walking towards. Whatever they were facing, it wasn’t human, and it was larger than Charlotte had expected. But the blonde didn’t need to wait long for confirmation of what it was as the treeline in front of them was flung open like a set of leafy window shutters, revealing a charging beast that Charlotte had never seen the likes of before. It was large as she’d suspected, larger than either her or Tiz, but it was fast as well - faster than it should have been, as if it was propelled by dark magic. And it lunged directly at the colorful man, lifting him clear from the ground and pinning him to the trunk of one of the trees nearby.
If she were any other person, she might have frozen at the sight of the terrifying creature. Certainly she wanted to, her mind yet again bringing her back to that terrible night in Castle Laus. But as much as she wanted to simply turn on her heel and leave Tiz to fend for himself, she couldn’t do it. She felt beholden to helping him, so the operative would do what little she could considering the circumstances.
The blonde resisted calling out to her companion, instead loosing the two throwing daggers from her hand directly towards the undead thing’s back. The same mournful roar ripped through the air as the daggers buried themselves in its back, but it wasn’t enough to draw its attention away from Tiz. Swearing under her breath, the blonde’s fingers twitched as she reached to the small of her back where Melancholia sat. She hadn’t unsheathed it since she’d killed her associate, Roland, with the thing, and while using it against this unholy threat didn’t seem wise, anything else she could use to try and take the thing down would end up incapacitating Tiz as well.
As soon as Charlotte wrapped her hands around the ornate hilt, it became warm to her touch, and as she revealed it from beneath her cloak, its amber gem was alight and blade was black as night. But she hardly had time to notice the blade’s acceptance of her before she lunged towards the monster, driving the blade deep into the back of its neck, her stomach twisting as it groaned low and loud. As soon as she pulled the blade from its neck, the undead beast released its hold on Tiz, its decayed claws swiping wide and fast towards Charlotte. She ducked under the first swipe but was caught by the backswing from the monster’s other arm, sending her flying backwards and landing hard on her back on the ground. She gasped as the wind was knocked from her but kept a fierce grip on her dagger.
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Post by Tiz on May 25, 2016 15:21:47 GMT -6
Immediately, Tiz reached out and grabbed the beast's massive arms to try and keep the pressure off of his body as it was held against the tree. Almost to no avail, as Tiz heard the trunk behind him to which he was being held begin to crack, and he shut his eyes to try to block out the pain. He grunted quietly, trying to find the strength to drive the beast off of him, but this was the price he paid for never paying attention to upper body strength. Being pinned like this put Tiz in a really bad position, especially considering the beast's formidable strength in its own right, and whatever dark magic was keeping this thing alive when it was more appropriate to be buried in the ground where it belonged.
Tiz was running out of breath, and it was happening fast. His vision faltered, flickering in and out, getting blurry, as he tried his best to maintain focus. Eyes forward, Tiz. Focus here. Look the thing in the eye. You can do this. His green eyes grew wild with fury as he forced them open, trying his damnedest to pry the thing's arms off of him. He let out a quiet growl as he pulled hard, gaining some ground, but then it was all reset as the beast exerted a push, forcing Tiz's arms to drop, letting go of the dagger. The trunk cracked under the pressure, about a fourth of the way through its entirety, and Tiz felt his vision go dark, though he could still make out noise. By this point, he wondered what Myscha had opted to do. Deciding not to fault her if she had run away, Tiz was ready to accept going unconscious until the beast finally let go of him with another roar. As it twisted away from him and he fell down the length of the cracked trunk coughing, he saw the small, slender blades embedded in the thing's skin. Despite the pain, Tiz smiled. She hadn't abandoned him after all.
Without any hesitation, Tiz picked the dagger back up and readjusted to its weight. He charged straight for the beast, diving low, rolling his body into a ball to roll across the ground, then leaped off with power and speed as he unfolded himself. It was then, however, that he noticed the beast's arm about to fly straight into Myscha. His body went cold and his eyes widened. "No!"
But the fell claws had made contact, sending Myscha backwards through the air a great distance until she landed on her back and did not immediately move. Tiz, having grown increasingly angry and impassioned by the increasing danger of the events, let out a yell as he dove towards the beast. He sliced once with the dagger, making contact, but hardly piercing the skin. He saw only drops of blood before the beast reacted. It came swinging around at him, using its previous momentum to aid in the swipe. It was fast, but Tiz reacted faster; he dodged low, bending his knees to drop his body low to the ground. He smiled again. He was getting the hang of it. He quickly spun around, sending the back of his leg into the beast's torso, making immediate contact. The beast staggered, but immediately shot its arm down to grab Tiz's leg and pick him up. With great power the monster threw Tiz towards a collection of trees, but the man was able to shift his weight in the air and, when he neared the tree, made sure that his feet made contact with it. When they connected, he kicked off the trunk and sent himself flying back at the beast, dagger at the ready. His miraculous speed sent him right to the giant creature, and he dug the short blade into its shoulder. Another grueling yell. Tiz hung on, wrapping his legs around the beast's midsection. He left the dagger in and twisted it, inciting another shout. The monster reached back and clocked Tiz right in the jaw, which staggered him, and Tiz let go with one hand.
Trying to regain balance and failing, the monster took the opportunity to grab Tiz by the waist from behind him and throw him hard into the ground, causing a great rumble and giving Tiz an almost blackout. Wracked with pain, he tried to roll over before being hit again.
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Post by Charlotte on May 25, 2016 18:12:30 GMT -6
While the fall likely wouldn’t have caused a seasoned warrior to falter, the operative stumbled as she tried to push herself back to her feet. Charlotte wished she hadn’t chosen to wear her travelling skirts now, but it was too late to change anything now. Melancholia still in her dominant hand, the woman pushed herself up, grabbing the remaining four throwing daggers from her cloak pocket and loosing it from around her neck. The green cloak fluttered to the ground behind her as she dashed towards the great beast, ducking beneath its flailing arms as she stabbed her dagger into the great beast again, though this time she drove it deep into its side, just as the great thing threw Tiz to the ground, which caused him to stop moving.
Flinging her head from side to side, Charlotte decided she couldn’t ignore the undead monster to check on her fallen comrade. Her focus square on the disgusting rot as it stared her down, Charlotte dashed to the side, throwing one of the four daggers she’d grabbed directly at its head. Unfortunately for her, the wounded beast still managed to avoid the flying blade while lunging at her, causing it to plunge itself into a nearby tree instead. But its wounds were slowing it, not as quick and nimble as it had been before. Just another blow or two should have done the trick.
But as she skirted around the monster, plunging her dagger into its neck again and delivering what should have been the killing blow, its groans of agony were joined by another blow. Or were those multiple, undulating moans? Charlotte whipped her head to and fro to see the treeline again split wildly in two, this time three more beasts that looked just like the one Tiz and she had been close to beating back emerged to help their likeness. Unlike the one that had just collapsed and was bleeding out over the forest ground, the three monsters that had appeared were in no poor form save for, well, being undead.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” The operative exclaimed, throwing her remaining two knives at the new arrivals before dashing over to where Tiz had rolled to dodge the monster’s weighty blows. Her free hand reaching down and grabbing the man’s collar, Charlotte pulled up as hard as she could, urging him back to his feet.
“I think now might be time for a plan B!” Charlotte shouted as she spun, slipping her hand into a pouch on her belt and pulling out a small, round pouch as she judged how far their new friends were from them. Of course, the three unscathed brutes were headed directly for them, only a stones throw and gaining ground so quickly. Every bone in her body screamed for her to hide, to try and get away, but if they had three more of these things on their tail it wouldn’t matter where they hid. The undead weren’t motivated by hunger, they didn’t need to sleep or rest, and grouped up they seemed to work together, to motivate and coordinate with one another, if that was even possible. Charlotte knew a whole hell of a lot, but she was still trying to understand these damn undead.
If they could even down one more of these things, it might be enough to let them put some distance between their attached and find a place to hide out and lose them. Her weapon hand still gripping Tiz’s collar with Melancholia’s blade dripping an almost black sludge on his jacket, Charlotte threw the small bag at the monster’s feet. As soon as the bag burst beneath them, a huge burst of wind threw the approaching undead back, taking their legs out from beneath them and giving Charlotte and Tiz just a moment to recollect themselves and go.
“Come on!” Charlotte urged him again. It was time to move, regardless of how either of them felt.
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Post by Tiz on May 25, 2016 18:46:11 GMT -6
Tiz felt like he was at sea with all the rocking his vision and body were doing. He felt woozy, like if he'd been hit with anything again, he'd sooner vomit than die. It was a strange feeling, to be physically thrown about, between trees, on the ground, or anywhere else for that matter. Tiz tried to regain himself, but was not at first able to stand on his own. After a few moments of trying in vain to collect himself and get back at the monster, he heard more, similar moans coming from deeper in the forest behind the duo. Though he didn't quite have the vision to really understand what was going on, he was piecing it together in his head. Were more of them coming, were more of them already here? What was going to happen if they couldn't escape? And if there were more, what if they headed for town? Neither Laus nor Worde were terribly far away, and while Worde was no stranger to monster problems, Laus had recently seen an outbreak. It was Tiz's home. He couldn't imagine Laus dealing with an entombed problem as they were trying to collect themselves from the recent event that Myscha had described.
Time stood still for a moment as Tiz reached up to hold his head. He'd have one hell of a headache when he really came to, that much was sure. He couldn't remember a time he'd been in this much pain since being in the military, and even then, those were stabs and cuts, not full body assaults where he'd been physically thrown against things. That was a different kind of pain; one he couldn't just push through and ignore with a little rush of adrenaline. This was the kind that sapped his adrenaline. He felt broken, and was, in his half-awake state, tempted to not stand. After all, if there was a horde of monsters headed this way, he doubted he'd really have time to escape... Perhaps it would be better to just fade out. Maybe he could play dead, maybe they wouldn't bother him. A smile, weak smile graced his face as he gently massaged his forehead.
Then everything snapped back into reality as he felt a hand yank on his collar and pull him up, forcing him to stand. Tiz discovered some newfound strength as his green eyes snapped open and he saw a collective group of entombed, totally unharmed, with the one the duo had been working on. He clenched his teeth, trying to stay standing, but realizing as Myscha was dragging him away that he couldn't break into a full sprint on his own just yet. That might take a few minutes. But as her words flooded his consciousness, the fact that they needed to go seemed like a reality. Perhaps she was right, and they should've stayed hidden all along. Maybe then they wouldn't have had to deal with this.
Weakly, Tiz looked over his shoulder at Myscha and began to speak. "Yeah, plan B. I mean... unless you want me to wrestle all of them to death. I guess I've had... worse assignments..." He shook his head to keep himself from going dark, and after a couple more feet, was able to pick himself up completely, but not until after he'd noticed Myscha's weapon and the strange material coming from it, landing on his clothes. Entombed blood? Or something else? Whatever it was, it was disgusting. He gently touched Myscha's hand, letting her know he could stand, and then he did so, but didn't immediately follow her. He took a few running steps, but then found himself stopped on the middle of street, watching as the collection of entombed were blown backwards. It was not, however, halting their advance. Tiz didn't budge, he only watched.
"What if..." He began to call out to Myscha loudly, through labored breaths. "What if they head into the city? The guard can't..." Another roar. Or maybe two or three, he wasn't sure. If they saw him again, they were sure to give chase. He knew he wouldn't last. But would Laus? "The guard can't handle this. We have to... Don't we have to warn them?"
He turned his head back around to look for Myscha, then back towards the entombed, still regaining some lost ground. They didn't seem to be headed for town... And even if they were, what could the two of them honestly do? Tiz didn't even have his sword, and he was tired and needed rest. They really did need to escape, it was only difficult because it was something Tiz wasn't used to. And if that group headed for Laus, Tiz would never forgive himself for trying to stop them.
"I..." He stammered, taking a few steps away from the road, towards Myscha, towards escape, but then faltered again. "I... I don't know what to do!" His voice was angry, determined, but clearly worried.
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