Private Tales Bringing Back What Was Lost

[Amos]

Aberresai Savannah - Deep In the Wildlands
Amos sat underneath the expanse of a tall canvas tent, a blissful reprieve from the ever pressing sun above.

They had been at the ruin for nearly a week now, allowing the Guardsmen who had come with them to begin the excavations. They were sure that the right location had been found, but digging through so much sand and rock had taken a surprising amount of time. Amos had suggested using some of his crystals to simply blow through the debris, but the others had quickly ruled that out.

It was likely they would be needed for other tasks, and in truth...they weren't sure if the blast would damage whatever it was lay beneath the rock. It was of course, a good point, but Amos had not considered it until someone else had brought it up. His work did not often deal with the past, and in truth he wasn't entirely sure why he was here at all.

House Luana had requested he tag along, the ruin beneath the sands apparently having something of interest that he might be of help with.

Just what that might be still escaped him however, and thus for the past week the sickly scientists had simply toiled away at his own minor projects as the others continued to excavate.

He had wanted to help of course, but given his...condition, it was all rather for naught. Holding a shovel made him look practically a fool, and it was obvious he was better off simply working on his own things. Once they actually managed to get into the ruin things would be different, there some of his inventions would actually come in handy.

The one consolation he had in all this, was the making of a new friend. "I suppose we should be glad they built this city next to an oasis."

Amos commented quietly.

"I think this would be even more dreadful without the fresh water." He said, taking another long swig from his flask.

 

[Zephyrine]

No one seemed to trust Zephyrine when she said she could repair any part of the ruins that became ruined further in their excavations, so much so that her eagerness to help ended up with her being relegated to helping the scientist. She was not one to argue, not when she was brought up to listen to her superiors.

But the young scientist had been full of enlightening topics and plentiful conversation that put the young Initiate at ease.

"Is it me or is it even hotter than it was an hour ago?" She had shed her jacket and rolled up the sleeves to her shirt, but even then it did not cool her down. Sweat coated her back, having helped the guardsmen remove some of the rocks, and now took sweet reprieve under the shade.

Never had she experienced a heat like this, that clung to the earth and settled there at the ground.

Zephyrine fashioned a paper fan in one hand, tired of using her own hand to wave warm air to her face. At the first wave of her made fan, she groaned. "Kress, that is nice." In the other hand, an identical fan was made from her magic, and she offered it to Amos. "So... remind me again that thing you were talking about just before?" Science was something new to Zephyrine, but her willingness to learn and grasp prevailed above all else.

It wasn't the first time the Initiate had asked for a repeat, nor would it be the last.

Amos Erren Serris

 

[Erren Serris]

Wary eyes peered at the expedition site from afar, baggy and sleepless eyes made even heavier under the unforgiving blanket of heat pouring from the overhead midday sun. Erren knew that whatever his superiors suspected was hidden here must have been of great import, for them to bypass the Department of Acquisitions and come directly to his sad little excuse of an office stuffed beneath the College.

He didn't know he'd been beaten here, seemingly by several parties. Serris stood at a safe distance, boots slowly settling in the sand as he counted the number of souls already working the ruins carefully. It was with some discomfort that he noted several uniforms with a rather foreboding logo printed on them.

Dreadlords. Affiliates of them, at the very least.

Whatever lurked beneath the earth here was no longer the most threatening presence he had to deal with. The Anirian agents were ruthless, and Erren wanted no part of them if he could possibly avoid it. Alas, it appeared he could not. Returning empty-handed was not an option, not if he wished to have a home to return to-- The Foard were looking for any excuse to oust him from employment to a permanent end.

He would not give them their excuse today.

Gripping tightly the handle of his suitcase and straightening his tie, Erren stepped forward towards the campsite surrounding the ruins. His original plan of simply entering the site on his own and doing what he did best was no longer applicable due to the Anirian presence here; he'd have to negotiate permission if he wanted to avoid a conflict.

The tents themselves seemed quite unoccupied at this time of day, with most of the workers already set about their tasks or at the nearby oasis gathering water to keep themselves going. The few that did roam about paid little mind to him, not that he would complain. Still, he needed to find somebody who could authorize him to at least survey the area. Moving to one tent he could hear faint voices from, Serris reached out and carefully lifted the fold.

A face on the other side brought surprise to his own.

"Ser Amos?"

Amos Zephyrine

 

[Amos]

Amos nodded his head at Zeph’s words, having found himself in quick agreement of what she'd said.

The two of them had formed a quick connection once sidelined in the project. He was a sickly and rather useless lump, and it seemed the elder Dreadlords sent to oversee the excavations had not really wanted to make any use of her remarkable gifts. A foolish thing, truly, by Amos’ estimations, but he was used to larger egos boxing out good ideas.

He's experienced it himself more than once at the University.

Despite their relegation, Amos had found he'd quite enjoyed spending time with the Initiate. She was sharp and willing to listen to him prattle on about subjects most found droll and boring. Sometimes she even asked him to repeat himself! Something that almost never happened. ”Ah! Yes, the theory of Magical ‘Circuits’.”

Amos said quite chirpily, apparently forgetting about the heat as the excitement gripped him. His voice picking up speed, the illness that usually wracked his lungs seeming to lessen here in the dry heat.

”My invention you see stores magic. Each Gem holding a certain amount of power wound through impossibly small structures within the crystals of the gem.” Amos said, smiling as he lost himself in the words. Not noticing the familiar face striding towards the tents. ”I believe, though I have no proof, that a similar structure must exist within those capable of magic, or perhaps all life, and this ‘circuitry’ is what allows the use of magic in the first place.”

He had no proof, yet, but it was an idea he was working through. ”Dreadlord's, such as yourself, have greater capacity and thus greater talents with magic. If these circuits follow the same rules as muscles, then ex-”

Before he could finish, a voice cut him off. Amos almost immediately turned, his face a mixture of concern and confusion then twisting to immediate elation.

”Professor!” The young scientist exclaimed. ”What is Kress' name are you doing out here?!”

Amos explained in shock.

 

[Zephyrine]

Zephyrine nodded her head along with his words, this time getting a better understanding of what he spoke of earlier... or perhaps he was speaking at a slower speed this time. Before she could pipe up with some comments or questions, the flap leading outside opened, and a blistering heat could be felt before the cloth closed and blocked the harsh sun. Her hand reflexively moved as she studied the male, but as son as both stranger and Amos recognised one another, she dropped her alertness and relaxed her hand.

She had been told she need not carry weapons on her, but Zephyrine did not think to make it known she could create one with just one thought.

"Professor?" She repeated Amos' greeting, brows furrowed and unfamiliarity with the position or stranger. So many new things she was learning on this trip away from the Academy...

Erren Serris Amos

 

[Erren Serris]

"I could ask quite the same of you!" Serris chuckled as he invited himself into the tent, ducking under the flap and offering a polite nod to the red-headed stranger accompanying him. "But then I think we can both figure a reason why the other is here if we take more than a moment to think about it." Erren knew well of Amos' fascination with the unsolved and unseen, and he'd told the young man of his own profession when last they'd met.

The truth, morbid as it was, was that Erren hadn't been certain that the bright-minded boy would still be alive. It seemed that whatever disease that ailed him was not so fast moving that he noticed any change from before. That was a silver lining, at least.

"If this was supposed to be a private party," The ex-Maester turned his head to look out of the tent as a few excavation workers rose up from the ruins to take a break. "Then somebody got big-headed and started bragging to Elbion about their invite. Incredible how quickly news travels, no?" Serris himself didn't dare ask where The Foard got half of their information. It was a bygone conclusion that he wouldn't like the answer, not that they'd give it to him.

When Erren turned his head back to the pair, this time his eyes fell upon the woman. She was young, Amos' age? No, somewhat younger. He gave her a tilt of his head and friendly smile as he locked his hands together as his midsection, only barely showing discomfort at the term both she and Amos had used.

"Former professor. Errin Serris, at your service." A slight bow punctuated his words. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure, Miss...?"

Zephyrine Amos

 

[Amos]

Amos let out a laugh at Erren’s comment of the site being a ‘private party'. A jovial and pure sound that was quickly ruined as it turned into a wracking cough. His lungs aching as he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and shook his head. Taking a long dragging breath as he filled his lungs with oxygen once more. ”I think any hope of privacy was lost when the university got involved.”

The young scientist commented with a shake of his head as he gathered himself together.

Though Vel Zaphris was home to many respected professors and men of science, it was also filled with utter glory hounds. Men and women both who would burn down whole villages just to see their own name up in lights somewhere.

A pattern that Erren was all too familiar with, given his own place of origin.

”Forgive my rudeness.” Amos said, glancing between his companions. ”I should have began with introductions.”

His mother would have been abhorred. ”This is Zephyrine Caddel, an Initiate of the Academy.”

Amos continued with a smile. ”The two of us have been rather…sidelined during events he-”

Before he could properly finish, the ground beneath all of their feat suddenly began to quake. The earth shaking as a tremendous roar of breaking stone and falling earth called out. The sand beneath their feet slowly beginning to slip, and then turning to a river. Quickly becoming a tidal wave as a massive sinkhole formed beneath their feet.

 

[Zephyrine]

She wished she could stand and properly greet the former professor, but any other movement than fanning herself to cool her face did not sound all that appealing to her. Zephyrine smiled politely, nodding to him as Amos made introductions on her part, but there was barely any time for anymore words to be exchanged as the sands beneath them shifted.

Zephyrine only heard about the dangers in the sand briefly before embarking on this mission, but the distant and resounding boom of stone falling and earth collapsing clued her enough that something was seconds away from putting them in danger. Ignoring the heat, the Initiate conjured a chain tethered to sheer magic that anchored to the air above them. She had been learning ways to manipulate her magic, to bend it to her will and make it happen. Chain in hand, she moved towards Amos and held him. Urged him to hold onto her as her eyes moved to the one called Erren.

"Grab the chain!" And it slithered towards him, within reach.

What may keep them from falling into the opening in the earth did not keep them entirely out of harm's way. The tent moved, slowly being swallowed in the current of the shifting sands.

Erren Serris Amos

 

[Erren Serris]

"An Initiate of the Academy."

Yes, he'd been afraid of that.

Erren was able to stop the apprehension from showing on his face, both towards Zephyrine's title and the troubling cough that tore from Amos's lungs. So, he hadn't improved much after all.

Regarding the young lady with all the warmth and welcome that he had shown to Amos, his stomach did churn a tad as he confronted the fact he'd now associated with the Dreadlords while on assignment, which would lead to hours of paperwork when he returned home, not to mention scrutiny and interrogation.

"A pleasure, Miss Caddel."

Allies though Elbion and Anir technically were, their relationship was a notoriously tenebrous one. Neither truly trusted the other, and that was evident in many of the interactions the two cities had. It had only gotten worse a few years ago, when a group of Initiates had been sent to visit the Elbion College as a show of goodwill and had wound up stealing a cart full of books and starting a bloody bar fight in the slums.

Amos sought to continue but was interrupted by a loud rumbling that filled the tent, and the entirety of the campsite. Serris knew what was happening almost immediately, but there was little to be done to avoid the shifting ground beneath their feet, the very earth itself opening its dire maw to consume them into the blackest of depths.

The mage stumbled back, loosing his footing and falling onto his backside, sending the case he'd been carrying out of his hand and into the growing sinkhole that he now began to slide into. "Damnit!" He spat, attempting to turn himself and find something sturdy to grab onto. Caddel's magical chain dangled above him, but it was just out of reach; he could only extend his hand for a moment without totally losing his grip and falling into the abyss below.

A miracle is what he needed right now. No, not even a miracle. Just a little luck.

That, he could muster.

Erren placed his palm against the shifting ground under him and muttered a quick incantation. A shift in the odds, a nudge of the fates, and he would have his window... There, with a loud crash of earth, the ground briefly surged a few inches upwards as it opened, giving him a fraction of a second to leap up and grasp the chain. Barely.

Amos Zephyrine

 

[Amos]

Amos fingers grasped for the chain with all his might. Scrambling like a kitten falling down a tree, the young scientist moving faster than he ever had in his life. Desperate to save himself, desperate not to fall into the darkness which lay below.

He latched onto the ethereal steel with as much force as he could muster. "What the heck!"

The scientist 'swore' as his meager arms clutched onto the rope Zeph had conjured for him. His body already beginning to strain and struggle as he hung there in place. His breath caught slightly, his chest ceasing it's rise and fall as he felt the wasting of his illness creep into his very bones.

"I-" A cough wracked his throat.

"I don't think I ca-" Another wracking cough, and his two companions would see Amos begin to sleep. "I don't think I can hang on."

Every muscle in his arms screamed, his hands cramped. The struggle of holding even his own meager weight pulling him down towards the Abyss. "I-I'm sorry."

Amos cried, his fingers slipping from the chain, drawing down as his entire body shook, and then fell. His grip failing him as he tumbled into the darkness of the ruins below.

 

[Zephyrine]

Despite her best efforts, Amos missed clinging onto her but held the chain. Zephyrine tried to grab hold onto him instead, but her magic flickered and caused the Initiate to cling to the magic made chain. She did not see the sickly one's hand slip, nor able to turn and reach for him as soon as he spoke up.

Instead, she watched with dread weighing at her stomach as Amos fell with the sand, swallowed by the darkness below them.

Her tawny eyes find Erren next, calculating her next move. It was not her duty to protect the scientist, but the past few days of working together made him grow on her, made her happy to learn from his mind that had studied things not heard of at the Academy. If he was injured, she could give him a slight fix.

"I'm going to find him." She said simply, decidedly. Before Erren could advise her against it, her hands let go of the chain she conjured with her own magic. Zephyrine sucked in a breath, allowing the sand to swallow her. The sand broke her fall, but still winded her upon impact. The copper haired Initiate looked around, trying to make out the darkened silhouette that may give away any sign of Amos.

If only she had Livia Quinnick's compass magic.

"Amos!"

 

[Erren Serris]

Erren's gift was that of shifting luck. He'd spent his entire academic career perfecting the art of tipping the scales in his favor, in beating the odds by inches. How defeating it was, to know that there was nothing he could do to spare Amos his fall.

He could do naught but close his eyes, and silently curse himself as he felt the rushing wind of the young man's body pass him by, careening down into the dark below. Serris prayed the sands would cushion his descent, would spare his already ailing body from further damage, but even if they did... the boy was in poor condition.

"I'm going to find him."

Serris opened his eyes, looking up at the young Initate. Her grip held firm, but her intent was as clear as crystal skies. A Dreadlord, risking her life for somebody without orders? Initially the idea shocked him, but... A smile crept over his lips. Erren gave a nod.

"Go, I shall follow quickly."

His work was not done, either, and he was older and more experienced than both of them. What kind of example would he be setting by abandoning them now? Just because his own life had been torn asunder did not mean Amos deserved the same fate, at the bottom of some pit.

Once Zephyrine had released her grip and sank into the sands below, Erren placed another charm of luck upon himself before doing the same, dropping into the shifting earth and sinking underneath before falling into the pit beneath. He did his utmost to keep his legs under him, and landed into a roll once he hit the ground, though an awkward one that offered a sharp pain in his knee.

"Kress be damned..." He seethed, resting on one knee and looking around the dim, dank surroundings he'd fallen into. "Ser Amos? Lady Caddel? Are you well?"

Amos
Zephyrine

 

[Amos]

Voices echoed in the darkness, calling out to him.

Amos' eyes flickered open, his head swimming as she shifted and looked around. His vision obscured by the opaque darkness of the cavern they had fallen into. A frown pulled at his lips as he heard Erren's voice echo a few seconds behind Zeph's. "I'm here!"

He called out into the abyss. Realizing that he could not even see the hand in front of his own face.

A thousand questions began to race through his mind as he began to pat his hand around himself, searching slowly for his cane. The sands below him shifting and pushing away until eventually he touched cobbled stone, finding his cane only a few seconds later.

"I think we might be..." As he spoke, Amos fumbled with the top of his cane, shifting the handle to reveal a hidden compartment inside. A metal click rang out in the darkness, and then suddenly a bright blue glow cast out from Amos' cane. "In the ruin."

The scientist finished as light filled the room, revealing not a cave, but a large hall. It's walls not carved, but built of ancient marble stone. Huge columns stretching up to hold the ceiling, save for one that had collapsed directly beneath where their tent had once been.

 

[Zephyrine]

Zephyrine relied on her hearing to find Amos in the darkness, but soon enough, her features were lit up in a cool toned hue, feet away from the scientist as relief showed on her expression. Her only source of entertainment out here, and the only one near her age, she was loathe to lose someone as smart and fascinating in conversation as he.

Her eyes scanned his person, looking for wounds or injury before taking in his movements. When satisfied he was truly unharmed and merely winded from the fall like herself and Serris, she moved her gaze to take in the room lit from the glow. Her magic hummed, causing her fingers to twitch, as if she were ready to recreate the pillar that had collapsed. "What is this place?"

 

[Erren Serris]

By some miracle, neither of the others were harmed by the fall. He'd not been too worried about Zephyrine. Being an Initiate, she'd be quite capable and resilient. It was the ailing Amos that his concern had lied with. With the blue glow of the young man's staff, his fears were momentarily assuaged as he slowly rose back to his feet, trudging through the thick sands to the cobble landing where the scientist stood.

"A ruin indeed... but of what?" Serris found himself marvelling at the buried architecture illuminated by Amos' staff, the craftsmanship hardy enough to withstand the literal sands of time, holding up eons of desert above without collapse. Well, until nosy folk had decided to start poking around inside. "I've an inkling those who arranged this affair have some idea..."

This place had gone untouched for so long... why perform such an expidition now?

Content to let the young Dreadlord handle Amos, Erren stepped forward and retrieved a small circular device from his pocket, seemingly forged from gold. Flipping it open, Serris swept the compass-like gizmo in front of him, squinting at the unreadable dial on its face.

"Wherever we are, it's soaked in magical energy. Be mindful of what you touch..."

Zephyrine
Amos

 

[Amos]

Amos steadied himself at Zephyrine's side, offering her a small 'thank you' as he finally found his footing. Aches and pains dotted the whole of his body, the intensity double what it usually was. Though the fall had broken nothing, he knew that by end of the day his skin would be one big bruised patch.

The Fragility of his ailments was weighing on him, and there was little doubt things were getting worse. This fall hadn't helped with that. "I believe it was a city, once."

Although he was not much of a spy, Amos had managed to overhear a few conversations through their week in the ruins. None of it was on purpose of course, but in a Camp filled with young Guardsmen and confident Dreadlords people tended to ignore him.

More than once he had been shuffling around Camp and walked by a conversation that had clearly been meant to be private. His slight nature and slow way of moving leading to people either not noticing him, or deciding he was simply unimportant enough that he could be ignored.

"I overheard the Dreadlords talking one night." He explained as he began to hobble towards the northern part of the chamber. "The ruins extend in this direction towards the cliffs. Yeldrid believes that is where the city was founded."

Amos turned back towards his companions. "If we head there, we might be able to find an exit?"

He suggested to the others.

 

[Zephyrine]

Zephyrine hummed, wondering the same about an exit. She did not know if a simple creation of sorts would help them ascend towards the opening they had fallen through, but she knew poor Amos would be unable to support himself for an ascension. They were down here now, at least they could lay their gazes on this lost city.

"Here." She offered to help take some of Amos' weight and help him move. "I don't think a wheeling chair will be helpful down here." Or her mind just wasn't thinking of a solution fast enough to create something for her new acquaintance.

She looked over to Serris, offering a polite smile that she did not often use. "Well? You in for an adventure?"

 

[Erren Serris]

Erren felt his tongue click against the roof of his mouth in disapproval. Yes, it sounded just like the Dreadlords to poke about where they had no business being. To find the buried ruins of a city was fascinating, yes, but it should have been handled from the very beginning by scholars and experts. To have the brutish clubs of Vel Anir in the Dreadlords and Guards handling the excavation, it was a wonder everybody hadn't been sucked under the earth sooner.

"I don't like the idea of heading deeper, especially when we could just be nailing our own coffin with every step." The idea that the opposite end had an exit was purely conjecture on Amos' part, and while he would have preferred to explore their options towards ascending the put they'd just fallen down, he also knew that Amos' ailing body would likely break down before they had a chance. "But we've little choice. Perhaps we can glean more options along the way."

Even getting to the mountainside would be a tall task. Both Erren and Zephyrine had noted the pain in Amos' voice, and the pronounced stagger in his step. The Initiate moved to help support his weight, while Serris quickly retrieved a vial of familiar green liquid and quickly uncorked it, approaching the pair.

"Here, Amos. I've some of that elixir I gave to you previously. It will ease your suffering, for a time." Last time, he'd offered the young man a choice of wether to take the concoction or not. This time, he was strongly suggesting he do so. "I worry about you making it through these tunnels otherwise."

Regardless of Amos' choice, Erren turns his head towards Zephyrine.

"It's not out of the question that other sections collapsed as well. If we're lucky, we'll find more holes, possibly easier to finagle our way out of."

Amos Zephyrine