Open Chronicles Broken Things and Broken Castles

[Naghi]

Epressa - East of the Spine

"Bah." Naghi wrenched his axe free of the forktail's neck, the blade sizzling as the heat boiled some of the creature's blood. It let out a pathetic cry, twisted wings flapping until he placed his boot on it's face and let the blade of his axe fall back into the cut. The blade swept clean through this time, cutting off the monsters head and sending it's body into spasm.

The half-giant frowned down at the monster, then slowly pulled his axe back and wiped the blade on the creatures own scaly flesh. Some of it stayed, but that didn't matter.

He spat on the monster, shaking his head.

Forktails were nasty little things. Dragon cousins with twin tails, each of them containing a poison barb that could leave a grown man paralyzed and in agony for days on end. This one had made it's nest in the same broken castle that Naghi had selected as his place of rest.

It was an unfortunate selection, and in the end he'd had no choice but to dispatch the damned thing.

There was a tinge of regret in the act.

In his youth he'd attempted to train these creatures, though his father had always discouraged such practices. His head shook slightly, and eyes eventually wandering away from the monster and up towards the fallen slope of the castle above. He wondered what had drawn the monster to this place, why it had chosen here instead of the nearby mountains.

Forktails were known to roost among magic, could there be something more here?

Naghi shook his head. It didn't matter in the end. He was here only for the night, tomorrow he would resume his march eastward to catch up with his fathers army.

He didn't even consider that there might be more than one forktail.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira let out a petrified scream as the dragon-looking thing snapped at her feet. She scrambled away, heart racing erratically as she took a good look at the terrifying creature.

A forktail.

Damn it, Zafira muttered, mind clambering to figure out what to do.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

The creature's jaws widened once again and she could see teeth as large as a pocket knife, spaced apart with saliva dripping down its purple-hued gums.

She wasn't even supposed to be here. She was supposed to be at home, reading a book, maybe flirting with the boy who passed the mail out on her streets. She definitely should not be dealing with terrifying creatures that weren't even supposed to be in these parts.

She didn't know much about the creatures. She remembered skimming the book on legendary creatures, never finding interest in them until now.

She definitely needed to reread that book when she got back home. If she got back home.

The forktail clawed at her cloak, and Zafira pulled back, reaching inside of it for a sleeping potion she had concurred just the night before. It wasn't fully ready yet - the elderflower the only thing needed to complete it. That meant it was not as potent as it could be. Nonetheless, Zafira's green eyes flashed as her mouth moved, speaking the foreign tongue. Green and amber wisps flew from her fingertips, and she sent the ball of energy against the forktail. It was just enough distraction for her to throw the bottle straight in the mouth of the terrifying creature.

She pushed herself back, hand on a rock and flung it at the forktail for good measure before grabbing her satchel and making her escape.

Zafira let out a breath of relief as she rested against what seemed like an old castle. Looking up at the night sky, Zafira sighed. It hadn't been a good idea to travel so late at night. She should have stayed in the tavern instead of trying to make it home so fast.

 

[Naghi]

Naghi had taken his place inside of the castle, or rather, as much as he could get inside.

Most of the structure he'd found was completely and entirely unstable. A single wrong step would send the thing tumbling to the ground. There was no wonder as to why it had been abandoned, and in fact the Half-Giant could spot signs of a siege.

Still, the shelter would do well enough, even if there was a plague of Fork-tails still lingering on the mountain top.

He had dragged some of the creature he'd slaughtered further into the castle itself, using it's blood and some of the gore to create a ring around his encampment. His hope was that the smell of their kins death would keep any other beasts at bay.

A fire had been built for that same purpose, and now some of the creatures meat was raosting over it.

The scene was an oddly peaceful one, if brutal, and it was what ZafiraJade would find as she moved deeper into the Keep.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira took another deep, collected breath before slowly moving to enter the eerie castle. Vines with thorns lined the surface of the cracked stones, crumbles of rocks and other material cracking beneath her feet. A heavy wind pushed itself against Zafira's thick hood, dropping it to reveal her thick, tumble of silky hair. Her fingers traced the stone, wary of every step.

She really, totally should have stayed at the tavern.

No point complaining now. It's not like she could turn back time. Zafira's ears pricked as she heard the sound of fire crackling, and the soft shuffling of another person. She stiffened, pushing herself back against the wall. Now here was the important question: friend or foe?

Zafira's eyes traced a pattern of blood, a circle that left her both nauseous and entirely perplexed. She stole a better look at the stranger, only to see him cooking one of the forktails she had hopefully killed, a thoughtful, almost mournful expression on his face.

"I hadn't expected to find anyone else dining this fine castle tonight," she said, her voice floating over the silence, her presence finally being known.

 

[Naghi]

Naghi slowly turned his head at the person that had spoken.

Their presence had not gone entirely unnoticed before, but the Half-Giant found it difficult to care about any one person too much. There were few threats to him in this world that could fell him instantly, or so he believed anyway.

Even when the woman emerged and spoke, his glowing red eyes only hovered upon her for a mere moment before they slowly turned away.

"There are few other spots suitable." The landscape around the keep was barren, or close to it anyway. A few fields of tall grass, a forest, and that was really it. Shelter was few and far in between. Likely a result of the creators of this keep.

Line of sight was important in battle.

His gaze fell back onto the spit sitting across the fire, his massive hand reaching out to slowly turn it over once.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Her eyes landed on the forktail roasting over the fire and slowly, Zafira crept over to the half-giant. He didn't seem like the type to waste his time on words. Not that Zafira minded. Silence was exactly what she needed at the moment, her energy to charm and engage run completely low because of the day she had.

She sat on a log across the half-giant, hugging her knees lightly as she watched him turn the creature over the fire. The fire crackled heavily against it and if Zafira closed her eyes, she could imagine herself at home, a warm cup of chocolate singing her fingertips, and the sweet voice of her friend Celeste filling the air.

"The Fork-tail aren't supposed to be here," she finally said, half to herself and half to her silent company. He hadn't exactly seemed hostile by her presence and Zafira found no point in looking for another spot when this one was big enough for the both of them to rest in. Maybe she could offer to watch a shift if he trusted her for it. She had a feeling the half-giant didn't care enough about her to view her as a threat or to serve as a threat to her. Still, she wasn't dumb enough to keep her guard down.

 

[Naghi]

Naghi reached over and grabbed some of the meat from the spit, pulling it close and taking a large chomp out of the haunch.

It was an almost comical display, the half-giant chewing on his food for a brief moment before he looked over towards the woman and offered her a shrug. "Yet they are here."

What else was there to say.

"And so are you." He narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" He questioned. "Not many wander these barren lands."

Not many who wanted to live, anyway.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira tilted her head to the side, watching the half-giant eat almost violently. She knew they lived very different lives than say, mortals or witches - hardened by life in a way that she doubted other creatures worried about.

Still, it surprised her that the half-giant could care less about the creatures being here. Questions and concerns automatically had filled Zafira at the thought of them, but this half-giant.....

"Yet you're here as well," Zafira said smoothly. If the half-giant wanted to be vague, she could be just as obscure. "I'm Zafira,"

 

[Naghi]

He smiled slightly, a rare expression for him, and a short one now. "I only pass through."

Naghi mused.

"This place holds no value." Not anymore at least. Perhaps years ago it would have been a good outpost or even a place to station a garrison, but now the amount of effort to restore it would be greater than simply creating a new fort.

His head shook. Thoughts like that were best left to strategist. That was not why he was here, not why he was moving through these lands.

"I am Naghi." His voice turned guttural at the mention of his name, the pronounciation a harsh one.

 

[ZafiraJade]

"Naghi," Zafira repeated, sounding out the pronunciation as if she were testing how it felt on the tongue.

"Sad, isn't it? It looks as though it once was stunning," Zafira said, peering at the crumbling walls around her. She could just vaguely make out the remnants of careful stonework, maybe an intricate design that was washed away. From years or from destruction - it was hard to tell.

"Me too. I needed to get a few herbs found only in these parts. As you can tell, my journey ended up being a bit more...difficult," it was the only way Zafira could describe her circumstance. Not that she was unused to trying conditions.

 

[Naghi]

Herbs, how delightfully ordinary.

Naghi knew little of the herbs. The Blightlands were extraordinarily barren, and he doubted that he could have mastered such arts even if her tried. A rumble ran through his chest as he considered, his head shaking.

"You are a healer?" A witch of some sort surely.

The use of herbs was not unheard of in ordinary folk, but most did not go traveling in specific search of them. No, she had to be something more.

At least he assumed.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira was surprised by Naghi's interest. She would have assumed that the half-giant would find the task completely mundane. All she had heard about his kind was laced with an aura of mystery and magic that was far too rough to make tangible.

She let out a soft chuckle at Naghi's guess. "My father was a healer. His teachings fell onto me. I am more of a student," It was hard to explain to people that she was fascinated by human medicines. Combining magical elements with mundane ones was something so rarely heard of that some people had straight-up scoffed at the idea of it. Nonetheless, she'd seen the effects of it aid more people than what she had expected.

"Where were you headed?"

 

[Faelin K'Abveirin]

From the darkest corners of this place slithered a small elf of inconsequential nature. One moment he was but a mind mist and another his whole form revealed.

Stranded on this place by one means or another, he hoped to wait out sometime before moving on in relative safety.
For how long he eavesdropped on the duo was unclear, but whether he wanted or not, his keen ears would listen regardless. Better make himself known at least.
He stepped into the clear, but silently, his face rather void of any expression.

 

[Naghi]

There was an opportunity here, if played right. "The West."

It was a rather vague answer.

They were on the eastern side of the continent, meaning that they were about as far away from the rest of the West as possible. He could be headed to Elbion or Amol-Kalit, though the latter was unlikely for him.

At least until his brother calmed things.

"Towards the wars." He continued. "I march t-"

Naghi suddenly cut himself off as he heard the crunch of gravel beneath small feet. His head instantly whirled, his massive body stretching to see what was walking towards them.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Towards the war? Zafira marveled at the thought. She imagined what it'd be like to so wholeheartedly believe in a cause, so much so that someone would give their lives up for it. She thought of her hometown, Elbion. While it was lovely, it was laced with far too many bitter memories for her to give her life up for it. Even Alliria, she wouldn't die for. She wouldn't mind helping of course - aiding people with her medicine and doctoral skills, giving them potions that would provide them extraordinary strength.

Just as Zafira leaned forward to listen to him more intently, he suddenly broke off, his head whirling towards the corner of the cave. She turned with him to see an elf show himself, his expression entirely blank.

"Look at that, another person. Welcome to the party," Zafira grinned, amused by their luck. One would think no one would show up at a place like this, much less three people.

 

[Faelin K'Abveirin]

"Mmm, Yess. Quite a party." The dark elf rose a brow, his voice monotone. He patted off her sleeve, stepping slightly closer towards them.
His posture stiff and tense.

 

[Naghi]

Naghi stared at the newcomer, his lips sealed as he studied them.

There was no recognition on his features. This person was utterly knew, though the features were more familiar than he could openly admit to. His eyes focused for a brief moment, the orange glow fading to soft slits for a moment.

"Yes." The Half Giant agreed with amusement.

Briefly he wondered if he would now have to slaughter the both of them. If word spread of his travel things could become...difficult.

"What brings you here?" Naghi asked pointedly.