Private Tales Hanging by a thread

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Did this count as a fall from grace?

Dianaimh wasn't so sure. She was suspended about five foot off the ground, dangling from a snare wrapped tightly around her ankle. One moment she'd been tramping down the forest path, the next she was violently flipped on her head and hoisted skyward. At least the swinging was slowing. That and the fact her heavy travelling garb hadn't landed down about her ears, sparing her one humiliation.

"Useless" she muttered, keeping her gaze focused on her mule. The beast had bellowed in surprise at her sudden flight but had quickly adjusted, moving to graze on some grass growing by the path side. There was little love lost between them but it had carried her gear this far. She tensed her stomach muscles and tried to curl her body upwards. The pain and effort were too much so she flopped back down. She screwed her eyes shut to stop the wave of nausea as she swung in the air again.

Steeling herself, she did her best to keep her voice calm. "Are you going to come out then?" she called in Common, "I'm hardly going anywhere". Fucking bandits.

Wren Kingsley

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Boredom. The mother of creativity. Or, something like that..

It had been at least three hours since she'd set her traps, and Wren lay hugged by the roots of a nearby oak, her legs elevated against it's bark so that she could stare up at it's skeletal boughs and heaven-bound branches, watching the thousand green hues whispering in the wind. Calm, gentle, utterly relaxing and yet.. incredibly fucking boring. Even the art of carving heads out of apples had it's limits of entertainment and she'd been destroying her latest creation by putting it to it's intended purpose and slicing off pieces of the fruit to eat from the blade of her dagger.

She paused mid-slice at the bray of a mule and she sat up to listen, her head peeking over the briar with an open-mouthed grin in delight to have some damned excitement finally. Wren got up and stretched before sauntering slowly from her shelter, still slicing at her apple as she observed the dangling woman with mute curiosity for a moment whilst she chewed. Finally, she spoke.

"Good afternoon." she bid the woman with a tone of conceit, her head tilting and a bemused grin fighting it's way through the stoic expression she attempted to hone. She winced at her, pulling a breath to hiss inward through her teeth, but her concern was quite obviously feigned.. "Bit of a situation, hm?..". Wren nodded slowly, repeating her own words under her breath as she studied the woman for a moment before taking a theatrical step back and turning on her heels to approach the useless mule to have a rummage through her belongings for anything of value.

Wren didn't look like your usual bandit. She was exceptionally well kempt and presented, her clothes finely tailored for her frame in fabrics and leathers not generally afforded by thieves. Unless of course they were particularly good ones, which she was. She certainly aimed high. But it was not only her clothes and fine weapons that betrayed her noble origins, she simply carried herself that way.

Mossy green eyes moved between the woman and her belongings, a wariness in them despite the stranger's predicament.. "If you wouldn't mind, throwing down any valuables and weapons, please." she asked as politely as though she were asking a merchant for their goods. Manners cost nothing after all, or so someone had told her once.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh was starting to develop a headache from hanging upside down. She saw a figure emerge from the trees, strutting without a care in the world. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of food, the bandit seemed to regard the woman dangling from a snare as if it was the most ordinary sight in the world.

"Afternoon" Dianaimh responded in a voice just as courtly though slightly strained in her efforts to not scream at her. Her jaw dropped in outrage as the woman turned on her heel and started rooting through her mule's saddlebags.

Out came her bedroll and waterskins. Next a change of sturdy travelling clothes. A fine silk dress though it looked worn and used. A collection of parchments, grimoires, and tomes. A mix of ingredients and potion making materials.

Her eyebrow arched at the question. "Do I look like I have any valuables or weapons?" she asked, her voice a bit sharper this time. Bandits, worse than children. "Now if you wouldn't mind, get me down from here and I won't have to do anything unpleasant".

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren sheathed her blade and sunk her teeth into the apple to hold it in her mouth, freeing up both hands for the looting. Only, there really wasn't much in the way of valuable commodities. A shrug was given without looking up as the woman directed a question back at her.. Each item was tossed into a pile by the side of the road and she gave a disgruntled huff when she found the bags empty. After completing her bite of the apple, she fed the rest of it to the mule, and bent to pick up one of the grimoires to flick through with intrigue as she took deliberately slow and casual strides back onto the road.

She shrugged without looking up, answering the woman's earlier question now that she was apple free and had swallowed what piece of it she'd been chewing. A lady didn't speak with her mouth full, after all..
"Mh.. Looks are in most respects, deceiving. Thieves don't generally dress like they're particularly well off.." her brow arched and she chuckled at her own humour. The threat was met with a purse of her lips and a wrinkling of her nose.. "I wouldn't do anything unpleasant in your position, love. It'll end up a real mess." she mumbled, her hilarity tugging at the corner of her mouth for a brief moment as her eyes wandered over the pages..

"What are you then? Some sort of witch?.." she asked, a slender brow arching and her head tilting so that her ear was pressed to her shoulder, trying to get a better look at her given she was the wrong way up.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

What ignoramus picked up something obviously magical and started leafing through it? She was lucky Dianaimh wasn't the type to put fire wards on her belongings or it'd be one crispy bandit by now. She was more pissed off that she had the gall to root through them like she wasn't even there.

"Mutton dressed like lamb" was her retort. She might be well spoken but ladies didn't lie in wait to waylay unsuspecting travellers. Her lips pursed and she flashed her teeth in frustration. "You're lucky girl that turning you into a frog is so terribly cliched" she warned.

A slight hiss at the word. "Hardly" was the response given in a tone that threatened to turn into a shriek. "I'm a sorceress"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

“Mutto-...” Wren bit on the word swallowed it, grimacing at the bitter taste it left in her mouth. “There’s really no need to be throwing insults. Or making threats.” she slammed the book shut and narrowed her gaze.

"Sorceress, hm?.." Wren's lips pursed as she slowly nodded and twisted in consideration. "What sort of a sorceress gets herself strung up like a kipper and can't find a way to get down?.." her head tilted the other way this time, her emerald gaze sparkling with mischief.

"I mean." her arms folded with a shrug and she rocked back and forth on her heels.. "If you really need my help, I'll help you. You haven't once asked me nicely." she sighed and shot the woman a sickly sweet smile.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's teeth were bared in an unfriendly smile. If she'd been an animal then she'd be trying to bite out Wren's throat right now. "What sort of young lady spends her time unchaperoned in the woods waiting to waylay innocent travellers?" she shot back.

The gall of this child. "Oh help me will you?" she said sarcastically. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Please, get me down from here"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's lips twitched as she fought a grin. She couldn't deny that she was rather enjoying the woman's frustration, but she sighed deeply and rolled her eyes as though she'd just spoiled her hard-won fun. "The sort of young lady who needs no chaperone. And what makes you think all travellers are innocent?.." her brow quirked as she turned on her heels to return to the tree she'd been laying beneath.

"Since you asked so nicely." Wren murmured. Now, she could grin. She flipped a blade in her hand and ran it through a length of rope that would, rather unceremoniously, release the woman from her suspension.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Well this one-"

Any other thoughts were cut off when Wren released her. Dianaimh went into freefall, clattering to the ground with a loud squeal. The sound startled the mule who scooted forward a few feet before going back to chewing on some grass.

It was an angry sorceress who came spluttering to her feet, coughing and trying to brush dirt off already worn travelling clothes. "How dare you!" she snapped, pointing a shaky finger at the smirking thief. Her other hand snapped fingers and a flame appeared in the palm.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

She had to bite down a little too hard on her lip to suppress her laugh, but there was no denying her grin. Her jaw ached too much to try and hide it, and a chuckle rose from her chest which she tried to disguise as a quiet cough.

The sight of the flame however caused her to tense, and the smile slowly melted into a grimace of annoyance.. "How dare I what? Let you down?! You can't have it both ways, Princess!". Wren's brow knit irritably and she let out a defiant huff as she stared the woman down.

It was subtle, but the breeze picked up a little, whipping around Wren and playing with a few stray tresses of Raven hair before settling again, and everything was a little more still than it had been before. "I'd be careful about picking a fight, witch." she warned, her jaw clenching and a thumb idly tracing back and forth over her fingertips.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh would have been the first to admit that she didn't have the greatest nose for magic. She had talents in other fields so the change in the air went by her. "How dare you bloody well string me up like a pheasant!" she snapped, thoroughly riled up now.

Normally conjuring up a flame would have caused most peasants to run for it. The bandit just seemed annoyed at the sight of it. "Pick a fight? You're the one who accosted me!" she said, taking a step towards her belongings. The wind caused a lock of hair to drop over her face and she brushed it aside irritably.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

She'd have been lying if she said the woman's little cantrip hadn't made her anxious, but any sign of it was well enough buried underneath her stoic expression and general smug demeanour. She couldn't deny her curiosity either, it was the only thing stopping her from cautiously retreating right away.

"Don't be so dramatic I hardly accosted you." Wren's eyes rolled, and her tone lilted with a lie. "You stepped into a deer trap is all, if anything your damn commotion has cost me any chance of catching myself a decent meal for the night." her arms folded over her chest and she huffed, her toe tapping on the ground as her lips pursed in thought.

"You're not heading for Oban, are you? If you are, I should warn you that they don't take too kindly to witch--Sorry, Sorceresses.." her hands lifted to wave in the air with another roll of her eyes as though describing some all powerful and mystical being. "Whatever you are. Unless you have a dick between your legs, I'd advise against using tricks like that." she waved a hand dismissively and rested it on her hip with a single shrug.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Well if we're going to split hairs-" Dianaimh began, she certainly hadn't heard anyone bar herself use the word accosted in a while "Who the damn well bloody puts a deer trap in the middle of the road?!". Her gaze took in the younger woman with a snort, "An evening without eating mightn't be the worst thing"

Her eyes narrowed. "I might well be. What is to you?" Her hand closed in on the flame and she let it drop. A mild shudder at the coarse language the other used, "I can assure you I most certainly do not. And what do you mean, they have a ban on mages in the city?"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's jaw fell open and she looked down at herself with an incredulous laugh under her breath.. "Well, now that's just rude." she lifted her gaze under a furrowed brow. Emerald eyes wandered over the woman in obvious scrutiny, she could only imagine how the nobles of the city would look at her, and she had a mind to just leave her to it. But, she really hated the nobles of the city..

"Not a ban, no.." she straightened up, lifting her chin as she brushed off the offence she'd taken to the female's insinuation that she didn't need a meal. Her arms folded across her chest and she shifted her weight, poised with confidence and an obvious rebellious attitude.

"It's a sort of a 'women should be seen and not heard' , sort of place. Particularly when it comes to weilding magic. Magic is for men, and those who aren't gifted with it don't look kindly upon women who'd openly rub their faces in it. They all want it, just as they all want coin and status and pretty fucking hats." her eyes rolled and she kicked at the dirt.

"Look I apologise for stringing you up, but in truth you should be thanking me. If you wandered in flaunting your little tricks" she waved her hand in the air and wriggled her fingers.."Then you'd end up strung up in a far more unpleasant way. So, you're welcome." she smiled and set one foot behind her, spreading her arms as she bent forward in a theatrical bow.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's facial expression tightened and she twitched slightly. She could be forgiven but she had one too many memories of being driven out of villages and towns or skipping out before the torches came. It wasn't much better at regional courts once the besiegers broke through the outer walls. When things went wrong, there was always a scapegoat.

"Well that's just ridiculous, the gift manifests itself in women more often!" she protested "And regardless, I'm a foreigner, not bound by some archaic law they have!"

Her smile was more teeth than anything else. "Oh the pleasure is all mine. So tell me, hanging is what they do to female mages?"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

"Aye, love. I'm aware.." Wren answered bluntly as the woman felt the need to educate her. Wren and her sisters had gifts of their own, apparently inherited from their mother's side, and they'd been absolutely forbidden from using it when it had been encouraged in male children to hone the gifts. Woe for her poor father, that their mother never gave him any sons.

She folded her arms across her chest and her shoulders rose and fell in a nonchalant shrug.. "Not necessarily. Not unless you offend the right people with it." she chuckled and her lips curled deviously before she dropped her gaze to kick at the dirt with a dramatic sigh.. "But go, do your tricks, I hope it all works out splendidly." she looked up with a smile and tilted her head.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's teeth grated again at being called 'love'. The amateur theatrics were getting tiring as well. "Oh thank you for the well wishes" she said, striding towards her mule and her belongings. She began to stuff items back in the saddlebags before turning around with a frown.

"Right, whatever it is you lifted young miss, I want it back right now"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren had turned on her heels to leave when the woman clicked. She huffed and her head fell back before she spun back around on her heels and her lips twisted as she considered her. "Fine.." she grumbled quietly, reaching behind her back and producing the smallest of her grimoires. She didn't enjoy being caught, that much was obvious..not that it happened often. But the woman was no normal poor, unsuspecting traveller, and she'd rather avoid being quite literally burned.

She stepped up to the woman, offering the most innocent of smiles as she held the book out toward her. It seemed they'd gotten off on the wrong foot, so to speak. Oh well, it wasn't like she was likely to see the witch again anyway.

"Do take care of yourself.. Dangerous people on these roads." she smirked and sauntered off down the road.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh snatched the grimoire back with indecent haste. She looked to make sure it wasn't damaged before shooting the bandit a glare. "Don't sulk" she warned with a pointed finger. "An eternity would be too soon before we bump into each other again".

She made sure to keep looking over her shoulder until the other woman was out of sight. She trusted her as far as she could throw her and didn't want to have an arrow or knife to the back. The diversion had probably cost her a half hour of marching so she'd still some way to go.

Oban wasn't anything special to a woman who'd seen the towers of Vel Anir or the sprawling metropolis of Alliria but she could see how it'd impress some redneck from the backwoods. She was just looking forward to a bed that wasn't the forest floor and a bath that wasn't icy river water.

Normally it was a simple matter to earn some coin. You got set up in a square, did a few charms or cantrips, amused the peasantry, even offered a few cures. Dianaimh's failure to adhere to Wren's warning meant that she lasted about twenty minutes before city guards accompanied by a mage seized her and her belongings.

She was still protesting when she had a witch's bridle mounted on her head, preventing her from talking. Chained in cold iron, she was dragged to the nearest gaol and tossed into a cell that had less amenities than a stable.

Still trying to process all that happened in her first hour in Oban, Dianaimh was reluctant to admit that perhaps the bandit had been right.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

"Leave it on. Let her sleep it off." a leather-faced guard snapped his fingers at the younger apprentice who'd rather gently set Wren's limp body down in the corner of the dank cell. He'd been about to remove the hood from her face, the black fabric sticky and slick with blood from an oozing head wound. Her ankles were bound, and her wrists were tied at her back, and so she lay rather awkwardly without any signs of life other than the very subtle lift and fall of each shallow breath that were barely even breaths at all.

"Shall I get a medic, Sir? She took a pretty hard knock.." the younger man looked at his superior with concern that slowly melted away owed to the incredulity and minor disgust on the other man's face. He didn't need to use words to tell the apprentice what he thought about his pandering, but he did step out of the cell to return with a bucket of frigid water, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the young lad as he unceremoniously poured the pail over the unconscious woman's head, and she instantly jolted awake.

The gasp she'd taken in flooded her lungs and she tried to cough it back out, resulting in the same effect. Wren sputtered, gagged and let out a gargled scream behind the hood, trying to roll away but a large boot pressed her into the floor and she could no nothing but suffer the torture until the bucket was empty. When it finally was, the bucket was tossed aside and the weight was lifted from her chest, leaving her to throw up the water she'd swallowed and drag a few lungfuls of air back into her starving lungs.

Leather face glared down at the young guard, and his lesson was learned. They weren't guests, they were prisoners. If they died, they died. They both stepped out and locked the cell behind them, leaving Wren to come to the horrific realisation of where she was.

"Wait!" she coughed, and rolled herself onto her side, throwing up a little more water.. "W-wait!!" she screamed after them as she heard the clunk of the lock and the retreating footsteps. Her words fell on deaf ears. "No! No no no no!!."

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

A muffled "nngggg" reached her ears. There was a familiar figure in the back corner of the cell who'd watched the whole display with a mixture of fascination and disgust. The bandit was doing her best to batter the cell door down but Dianaimh didn't want the guards coming back to give them another kicking.

She rose and irritably caught the other woman's shoulder. Unable to speak with the brank on, she shook her head and tapped the iron on the door with a wince.

Her nose twitched from the water she'd brought up. Dianaimh knew she'd have won no prizes for cleanliness but the other woman stank. "Ahhh sppppreh gnnn"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren stopped kicking at the cell door as someone grabbed her shoulder and she looked up at the woman, blinking the black spots away that threatened to take over her vision. She fought back another wave of dizzy nausea as she tried to focus. Slowly the kaleidoscope of distorted features merged into a single face and Wren's brow knit with recognition.

"You..." Wren frowned with recognition and she winced at the pain in her head, a deep wound on her brow leaking another few drops of blood at the movement. "Fuck." she growled and rolled onto her back. Each breath she dragged in was wheezed and shuddered with panic and her skin had paled a few shades whiter than it's usual alabaster. She couldn't breathe, and her words tumble out in a whispered catatonic gibberish as her bound feet kicked out against the door again and again.

"Can't breathe..Can't..be in here.." her head shook and tears spilled freely from her eyes. She screamed, a sound of frustration and fear, kicking the door so hard that her bones rattled. "FUCKING LET ME OUT!!". Her eyes squeezed shut, holding down the wave of nausea that churned in her stomach as she sobbed and coughed.

"Let me out let me..out let me out..l-let me out. Please let me out. Please please please..please.."

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh jumped a little as the woman whirled to look at her, blinking in confusion before her brain connected the dots. She frowned as she recognised her before swearing and screwing her eyes shut, blood trickling down her forehead.

She edged away a little from the bound bandit as she seemed to seizure again, hyperventilating and mumbling her words so fast that they ran into one another. Wren started screaming then, kicking at the door and bawling her eyes out. The witch could just watch in horrified fascination while she alternated between begging to be released or screaming, punctuating it all with brutal kicks to the iron.

A couple of minutes in and it became apparent that Wren wasn't going to be stopping any time soon. Dianaimh braced herself and tried to gently touch her shoulders. "Nmmph nnn dddt" she tried, trying to make soothing sounds. She closed her eyes as Wren delivered three solid kicks to the door in a row before squeezing her shoulders. "Stttp plllllssssh"