Private Tales Scorched Earth

[Raigryn Vayd]

Aretta and Maellarn were both at the entrance to the caves. He walked towards them, grim determination in his gaze.

"Did you know?" he asked Maellarn, before they could even address him.

"Would I have left him alive til the moon?" she countered. He could not defeat that logic, but had to ask the question.

"Where is it now?" he asked.

"Looking for a way out. It has killed three. It wounded another," Maellarn replied. She didn't need to explain to him that the wounded would not be surviving the night, whether they succumbed to their wounds or were put down by an Idemni blade.

"We have people stationed at known entrances to the caves," said Aretta. "Enough here but..."

"So you can protect the town, but if it finds a way out then it will escape. And tell people where Indretar is. I will go inside and deal with it," he stated, looking down at Fife.

"I will come with you, Brindle is already in there with his section," Aretta replied. She didn't have a hint of fear on her expression but he could feel it coming off her in waves.

 

[Fife]

She followed him to the mouth of the caves where Maellarn and Aretta were already waiting. By comparison to the trio in front of her, Fife had no business being here. Yet here she was. She looked nervously up at Raigryn.

There was no deceiving him on the matter. The haze of Misery was as obvious on her as it was Aretta. But just like the other woman, she kept it well in check.

I am coming, she told him, gestures precise. Fife couldn't do anything with the emotions running high here, but he could. She had healthy reserves of the Aspects she already knew; she would do her best to stay out of the way, but two mages were better than one.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"Whistle if you see anything that moves. Run if I say run," he said seriously. "And hope that if it does go badly you can outrun me," he added with a wink.

People had died today, but Raigryn had been in many wars. In the worst situations you held on to what you had: comrades in arms an your sense of humour. Food, water and the best boots you could take from the dead as well.

All this time he had wondered what was in the caves and now he didn't want to go inside. There were twenty or more idemni arranged around these entrances. They parted for Raigryn, Aretta and Fife.

"Try and put a bolt in its chest. At the least you'll blow out a lung. Reload if you can, if not drop the crossbow and draw your sword. These things are tough to kill but ignore the stories. They die to being struck with enough steel."

 

[Fife]

Her eyes didn't leave his, and she responded with only curt nods. She did huff and shake her head at his attempt at humor, smiling in spite of herself. An attempt to lighten the spirit on very serious instruction. She was glad for it; even tempered, the suggestion of leaving him made her lungs twist like a rag.

Good thing you are slow. There was a tightness to her brow and a look in her eye that asked for it not to come to that, however.

She had nothing more to say on the matter, and he wasn't trying to make her stay behind. Middle ground, no matter how rocky.

The Idemni parted for the three of them, and Raigryn offered his last advice. Fife drew one last breath to steady herself and quiet her mind, and nodded. She was as ready as she was ever going to be. As it were, this was more preparation than he'd ever given her before throwing her into the fray. What did that say about this, then? To think, that this time she jumped in willingly.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

I hear nothing, he signed. There was just enough flickering torchlight to see each other's signals. He could smell blood already.

It was immediately apparent how much of Warren this place was. Narrow natural tunnels through the porous rocks. They had fixed railings to the walls in certain points, with heavy rope strung between them.

Aretta control your disdain for a crossbow, he signed. He had caught her looking at the weapon in Fife's hands.

A short sword is the last weapon you would fight these with.

To no one's surprise he had not been short a hand symbol for werewolf.

 

[Fife]

She might have initially felt out of place walking in behind Aretta and Raigryn, but her mind quickly sorted out its priorities. The caves were sprawling, pockets of shadow that flickered in the light of torches.

There were so many tunnels, twisting away in some passages that were too narrow for even her to fit through, others Raigryn could have walked into without hindrance. It was all Fife could do to take her eyes away from them to look at his hands when he signed.

It was almost eerily quiet, and the fine hairs on her body were standing on end. She couldn't even hear Brindle and the others yet, much less the werewolf they were looking for.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

They weren't warned by a howl or a distant noise. It came sharp and violent. Fife would perhaps relate it to the sound of stray dogs fighting over scraps, snarling and vicious. Not a warning, but rage.

There was a human voice. At least, it was briefly a human voice before it became a cry of anguish.

Don't run

Raigryn turned, choosing a direction as the sound fell silent. That could not have been far. They were too late for whoever that had been and rushing in would only lead to death. As the next chamber up there was no sign of the werewolf. Only its victim.

 

[Fife]

There was silence, only the sound of their careful footfalls, until there wasn't. Fife really, really disliked dogs. The sound coming from one of the tunnels made her skin crawl, summoned up half a dozen bad memories of gnashing teeth and close scrapes.

Raigryn led the way, and Fife peered around him and Aretta as they came upon what had previously been a person. She swallowed thickly. A cold sweat was already dampening the collar of her shirt and she didn't think it was possible to hold onto the bow any tighter than she was at present.

Letting them take the fore, Fife began to cast her eyes back to the tunnel behind them. This place was a labyrinth, and she catalogued the path they had taken. Right turn.

She had prided herself for never having been lost in Elbion, even when running through new streets from guards after hopping the wall. Hopefully they didn't have need of that here, but she was too cautious not to prepare for that regardless.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"Free. Way out."

Raigryn stopped abruptly at the snarl. He turned sharply and held his sword up, chest height. At the least then if something leapt for him it would skewer itself.

It was a shadow. Nearly eight feet in height, tall and lanky. It didn't step into the light. He could barely feel it's sense of raw anger and fear. Twisted through its own transformation. An accidental shield against the insight of the Empath.

"Wish that I had the time to understand your situation, but I stand with them," Raigryn replied. Did it know he wasn't idemni? Or perhaps it had asked this question of each of its victims.

Shoot, he signed.

 

[Fife]

The words, spoken from the throat of something not quite human, broke the careful silence they had maintained as they made their way deeper into the warren. Her eyes had chased shadows in even tight corners, unsure of what they even sought but trusting nothing.

The answer loomed in the shadows. It must have been twice her height and she was glad for the veil of darkness. Even though her mind reminded her she would, without a doubt, be seeing it all too soon.

She echoed Raigryn's sentiment, wishing she could have had the time to understand the muted, swirling tinges of fear in its warped mind. However, whatever hesitation she had was voided when Raigryn's hand moved. Fife had to trust his judgement, and she couldn't let this person put this place at risk.

Her eyes never left the target as she raised her bow with practiced familiarity. She only took a moment to aim before squeezing the trigger and letting the bolt fly. It flew true, striking the werewolf square in the chest. Well away from heart and lungs, but enough to hurt.

All the more reason for her to step back and let the professionals begin while she reloaded.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

It didn't matter how large you were, a crossbow bolt from such a short distance went deep. The werewolf reached for the wound on instinct and only made it worse. Only a few inches of the quarrel were left protruding from its chest but it yanked at it and opened the wound up.

Aretta moved quickly. Raigryn moved even faster. All this time he had been restoring more of his aspects and he carried more power than he had done for many months.

The werewolf focused on him, raking the air with its great claws and forcing him to halt his charge.

Aretta darted in closer, her sword drawing a line of blood above the beast's hip. It gashed at Raigryn, kicking out behind itself and catching Aretta's shoulder. It barely caught her, but sent her spinning to the ground.

 

[Fife]

Fife danced back, light on the balls of her feet. In normal circumstances she might have worried about the tunnels behind her. Knowing there was only one of these things, however, allowed her to focus on the fore, paranoia doused by the frightening reality right in front of her.

Her hand automatically reached for the cranequin, but she didn't have the seconds she needed to load. Nor did she dare the stupidity of adding her body to the fray. Things were happening quickly and the price of a mistake here meant death for her or one of two people she generally did not want to die.

It was a momentary impasse which her mind swiftly answered. She had magic.

Keeping her eyes on the fight in the shadows, Fife held the bow steady with her feet and grabbed the string with both hands. She knew Fury well, an old friend whose hand she had held time and time again. It had shoved, kicked, and pulled her out of trouble, but this time she didn't just ask for herself.

The touch of crimson was more than anger, but single-minded determination, stubbornness, and frustration. It was the color of living.

It was still a struggle for Fife to pull the string back and push the pin to set it, but it only took the same time she might have normally spent setting the cranequin. She knew there had to be a physical consequence of too much Empathy, but she learned best by bad experiences. The touch of the Aspect burning through her helped cleanse her mind of fear and doubt, replaced by false bravado.

But being ready didn't mean she had the window to use it. It was difficult to tell what was Raigryn and what was werewolf. Aretta was down; of that, at least, she was certain.

A moment longer. She waited for a window when she was absolutely positive she wouldn't risk hitting either Raigryn or Aretta. When she did, there was the satisfying snap of the bow firing in her hands. It hit, but only just barely, catching the werewolf in the thigh. Not her intent, but perhaps an annoyance.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

It howled in rage, the bolt driving deep. The tip digging into bone.

Aretta was down, but not out. She was caught off balance and took a few seconds to work out which way was up. The darkness and flickering lights did not help.

Raigryn kept backing away slowly. He kept his shoulder close to the line between Fife and the werewolf. She needed a line of sight, but he needed to be able to smoothly move between it and her.

He was slow and careful. He used the reach of his weapon to keep the space between them. Every time it swung with his claws he threatened to lop off an arm. Yet he also couldn't close and swing for its body without being torn apart.

"You're aware enough to surrender," Raigryn hissed. There was more going on here than he understood. "Fife load again."

 

[Fife]

She must have hit something, and it bought Aretta the time to get on her feet again. Not her best, but worthwhile nonetheless. Her heart was a rush in her ears, and yet she heard everything with staggering clarity.

When Raigryn told her to load again, she didn't hesitate. Any remaining fear rapidly abated with the second wash of Fury -- a brashness her rational mind knew was dangerous but one she wore like a cloak against the rain. There was a slight strain in her left shoulder, a soft warning that there was indeed a limit to what she could push herself to, but she wasn't at her limit yet. Her hands were steadier this time as she pulled back the bowstring and set the trigger. There was no tremble as she fit the bolt and took aim.

Fife wasn't sure if they were trying to reason and not kill it outright for the time being. Raigryn was fully capable of using his own magics to debilitate it, and yet hadn't. Perhaps because there was a person in there somewhere.

This time her shot was unerring. The snap of the bow was almost immediately followed by the denser, more solid sound of the bolt finding its target in the werewolf's shoulder.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn took a step closer, hoping to strike as it reached for its right shoulder with its left claw. It quickly stopped, swiping in the air right before Raigryn's face. He could kill it, but not without it tearing through him in return.

Its focus shifted from him. It swiped at Raigryn, but the tip of his sword cut deep into its forearm. It used the space it made to charge at Fife.

"Fife get down!" he screamed. He drew on his store of Desire, taking the were wolf's weight away. No purchase on the floor it launched through the air unable to change direction. It would strike the far wall, Aretta charging after it.

 

[Fife]

She knew that later, when the detriment of borrowed Aspects kicked in at full force, she was going to be far more upset than she felt at this moment. It was impossible not to feel the lurch of her heart at every swing the werewolf took at Raigryn, however. And when it turned toward her, she definitely felt the sharp spike of fear through the bright red sheen of her mind.

Fife dropped to the gritty cavern floor, a clatter of bow and cranequin and trusting absolutely. She felt the rush of air as it overshot. But she didn't dawdle; the moment it hit the wall, she scrambled to her feet to reestablished the space between it and herself and to get well out of Aretta's way.

Her hand was shaking a little again as she reached for the cranequin, a little more balance restored or, perhaps, a far greater rattle subdued in the lingering Fury. Either way, she was taking it in stride.

Her eyes departed from the werewolf to slide momentarily toward Raigryn. She was fine. Alive and unscathed, anyhow. The look was brief. Neither of them exactly had the luxury of time to linger on the other's close calls. There was work to do.

With that in mind and acknowledging the steady ache in her shoulder that meant she had likely pushed herself as far as she dared on Fury, Fife bit her lip and set to spanning her bow.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"Draw some Tranquility," he grunted at Fife as he advanced. A trick he had specifically told hee not to use. It might at least take her back from the brink.

He kept the bloodied tip of his sword forwards. Always centre line. Always between him and the monster.

Raigryn didn't draw anything. He settled his mind back into that centre of balance. Ready for what was to come.

Aretta danced around the beast, slicing as quickly as she could. Raigryn stepped in close, sword over his head. His blade met the wolf's arm above the elbow, not cutting deep but trying to hold it up.

 

[Fife]

She had come to recognize the rules more like warnings, a low fence along the bank of the river. There was grass on the other side one could walk on before reaching the water. For someone who couldn't swim, however, it meant treading on the downhill slope.

Fife drew carefully, knowing the risks. But Fury and Tranquility were old friends and she touched the stores of the quiet Aspect with a familiarity and delicacy she yet lacked with the others. The result was as immediate as a pail of water over a fire.

Except that Fury had been like blinders that were now lifted away. In the middle, she wasn't as steady and confident about watching Raigryn and Aretta square up with a werewolf. She was very much afraid of the creature that was the uncanny hybrid of man and dog -- her two least favorite things.

Her hands trembled as she unlatched the cranequin, set the bolt, and raised the bow to take aim. Her shoulder was not entirely the reason it was so unsteady.

A deep breath calmed her enough to be sure she wasn't going to hit anyone besides the werewolf. As her shot whizzed past it, however, her rate of success dropped rather significantly. The bolt clattered harmlessly against the stone wall as if to announce her failure more clearly. That, at least, made the indignant flair of her temper honestly hers.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

The werewolf turned its maw to follow the bolt sharply. Aretta continued to slice and hack at its other arm and shoulder. Its fur was now matted with blood, several bolts protruding from its body.

Raigryn braced, the edge of his sword digging into the beast's arm. It snapped and snarled at him. His boots gave an inch.

Aretta darted back, sword coming up over her head with the point towards her target. It was part of a form she had shown Fife many times. As she came back in the werewolf pivoted around Raigryn's sword. Its claws raked from low to high.

Aretta screamed. The leather she wore was parchment to the werewolf. Blood sprayed out as she went down. This time she stayed down.

The wolf turned its yellow eyes to Raigryn. It was going to tear him in half and then rip through Fife.

He called on a burst of all eight aspects. A trick he hadn't shown her. Another one not in the training manuals that had been burned years ago. It was akin to being on that rightope and throwing on a weighted jacket. You were not pulled in any one direction, but if you started to slip you were coming down hard.

Tranquility kept his balanced as he was shoved backwards. Disgust tried to ease Aretta's suffering whilst Charity tried to save her life. Desire drew the werewolf to the ground as Avarice leapt upwards in a jade arc to hold its arm in place. Misery stole what luck the wolf possessed.

His sword went low. He spread his hands on the grip and met the monster's gaze. Joy and Fury combined and the blade came up in a flash. It struck the wolf below the ribs and didn't stop. The steak of silver became red as it contibued upwards, splitting the wolf's maw in two.

It only stopped when the tip of the sword struck rock. Raigryn had to dance away as it crumpled to the floor.

 

[Fife]

She wouldn't have the opportunity to redeem or repeat her missed shot. Aretta moved in, the werewolf pivoted, and slashed upward through her open stance. Her scream echoed off the cavern walls, tight and shrill. Just as quick as it came, so it went silent, and Aretta fell in the hollow echo of her own voice skittering down the labyrinthine halls.

Raigryn's response was immediate. Fife felt the sudden use of Empathy and saw its effects with a stricken awe. He cleaved the werewolf open from rib to snout like it was a grim art, the blood and gore dark as ink and glittering in the dim light.

She would have a lot of questions about that later, but the moment the beast crumpled all else was forgotten except the fear she held tight against her chest. She knew little about the gods, didn't even know if she believed in them. They hadn't ever saved her when she had invoked them in her own perils, but she still reached for something to be listening as she dropped her bow and ran to Aretta.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Aretta was gasping and hissing, clutching the rags across her chest. Its claws had sunk deep from her sternum to her neck. A few inches more and she would already be dead. Now she was in the balance.

"Shit," went Raigryn as he dropped to his knees. He pressed his hand to the place where her shirt was most soaked with blood.

"Fife if you run and get help could you remember your way back?" he asked.

Charity came in many forms, but it was never common. He applied it little by little. They needed help, but the magic bought them time.

 

[Fife]

Raigryn beat her to Aretta, but Fife was right on his heels. She was breathing, which was better than the alternative, and he knelt beside her to applied pressure. Fife hardly felt relieved, however. She wasn't shy of wounds, but there was a lot of blood.

He looked to her, asking if she could make her way back, and she only responded only with a curt nod before turning on her toes and sprinting down the passageway they had come. Raigryn had done the hard part, time for her to be useful.

She remembered the path, retraced it unerringly. A skill she couldn't quite thank Elbion for, but was nonetheless grateful for. As soon as the mouth of the caverns was visible, she gave a sharp whistle. They had surely heard her hurried steps, but an announcement to distinguish her from a potential werewolf was a safe course of action. While she recognized a few faces, her eyes still scanned for Maellarn as she approached.

Threat is dead. Aretta is wounded, she signed. Fife was breathing hard, but she was hardly worn. She pointed back the way she had come, ready to lead the way back.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"Could have done that...sooner..." Aretta hissed. When she tried to move Raigryn used his other hand to hold her firmly down.

"Needed the opening," he explained. After the burst of power, thrown out in all directions, he could not draw too deeply from his Charity. He had stemmed the bleeding as much as he could. Even if she survived they were greater risks now. Lycanthropy was a disease that could take a hold of the strongest and he had no magic against it.

"Glad to...oblige..."

"Shhh."

 

[Fife]

She lingered at the edge of the light, physically impatient and pacing her weight back and forth between her feet like an antsy horse. The Idemni, despite of their harsh, expressionless exteriors, were not wholly unfeeling. She could feel murmurs of emotion swirling around the crowd. Not much, but a lot by comparison.

Fife didn't have to wait long. The moment they broke from the crowd to follow her, she turned to lead the way. It was her third pass this way and she had no issue navigating the turns back to Aretta and Raigryn. They came around a bend into the Y where they had fought the werewolf and Fife stepped aside, letting the others go ahead of her.

Worry drew her features tight as she stayed back, hesitating on the line of wanting to be close but trying to keep out of their way. Her hands opened and closed at her side. She had done her part, but that didn't necessarily make her feel better about it.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn stepped up and back, giving space for the other idemni. Aretta wasn't going to die of her wounds. Not immediately. He had stemmed the flow of blood and she was breathing more evenly.

The idemni worked quickly to stich what they could, packing in herbs that would unfortunately do nothing to help. Idemni medicine was not as advanced as their sword making.

Raigryn stepped back, beside Fife. He placed a hand on her shoulder but said nothing. He wanted to say that everything would be well. He didn't know if they would be.