Fable - Ask Sinister Tricks A Team

[Marcella]

"Oh. I like biscuits."

One second Lumen was offering her biscuits and in the middle of re-decorating and the next a full-force gale overtook everyone, sending Marcella directly to the floor.

She heard Houri shout and a whizz of arrows overhead. Instinctively she clutched her arms over her cranium to shield them from any loose debris, her mind entirely forgetting about the promise of biscuits.

Finally rising from her position on the floor and taking in the carnage around them Marcella voiced the first thing that popped into her head. "Why would he try to kill us?" She flushed red and then added, "oh, right, that's kind of his thing."

A finger pointed towards a passageway that the tilted painting had revealed. "Maybe someone should check out that hall?" It didn't make sense for Marcie to do it, if someone got hurt she could just heal them.

It wasn't that she was afraid she was just being very, very, smart.

 

[Lumen]

When Lumen had fallen, she'd gotten her circular shield out and used it to half cover herself and Marcie as the debris rained down on them. With a grunt, she stood, keeping the shield out instead of strapping it to her back. Tawny eyes locked with Houri's own and a quick, small nod to the older girl. The winds had been quick thinking.

Gaze shifted to the tunnel.

Teeth ground.

"Absolutely not. How many more traps would we be walking into if we went down there?"

 

[Houri]

"I think we've learnt enough from the hallways," Houri said flatly though the anger in her tone was not directed at the girl. As she picked herself up, after the glance and shared nod to Lumen, her eyes returned to inspecting the walls. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that the darts had all embedded themselves in paintings of Anirian's.

"It's a threat," she explained - again - for Marcella with all the patience she could muster with the voice of thunder shouting at her to bring the whole house down. "They know we're here and investigating them, and if I had to place money on it I would have said they know enough about Dreadlords for them to be Anirian," the idea of a traitor from their own made her blood boil. She might have had misgivings about the Revolution but Aniria held her undivided loyalty.

 

[Marcella]

”Oh.” A single word spoken as if she was completely out of her element.

And she was, quite obviously, completely out of her element.

If someone got hurt they called Marcie. If you need to cause immense pain to someone, you called Marcie. If you needed anything else the last person you called was Marcie. ”I guess it could be dangerous.”

Her jaw shifted open at Houri’s guess. ”An Anirian!?”

Why would an Anirian want to hurt them? And why were they so far north?

 

[Lumen]

A growing worry was in the pit of her stomach. If they'd run into this trap. How were the others faring? Lumen stepped forward. A careful step through the debris.

"I think we should try to find the others. Meet back up and debrief then go from there. Unless either of you have a better idea?"

She'd motion for them to exit the house. She'd go last to cover their disengagement.

 

[Houri]

Houri's eyes lingered on the other hallway and there was a pregnant silence after Lumen asked her question before Houri shook herself and nodded.

"Yes, we should go back to the inn. We were meant to check in soon anyway," the only clock in the room was broken but they had to have been here for close to an hour. By the time they reached the inn it would have been two or close to that since they saw the others. With one last glance towards the hallway she snagged a cupcake off the plate this time and made their way back to the broken in window.

The streets were still full of people as they made their way back to The Manticore's Claw out celebrating their new year. Paper lanterns were beginning to fill the air like a thousand fireflies and Houri found herself watching them bewitched. What a strange tradition and yet so beautiful.

 

[Marcella]

Alright, the inn sounds like a good idea." Did it? She certainly could use a nap, it had been a long day, but she half expected them to keep hunting for clues. Maybe she was simply the bravest of the trio.

That was alright, she wouldn't hold it against her two companions. Especially after they'd been so nice to her.

As they headed back to The Manticore's Claw she regretted that she hadn't followed Houri's lead and grabbed a snack but the lights of the city and the firecrackers being set off took her mind off that distraction quickly. Inside of the inn they found many of the same kinds of paper lanterns adorning the ceilings and the happy faces of various tourists, and residents who didn't wish to stumble home drunk, filling the tavern area.

 

[Lumen]

Lumen felt her stress levels rise as Houri proceeded to grab another murder-scene snack. As they got back into the night air and freed from the house, Lumen dug into her pack, taking out two parchment wrapped biscuits. She proceeded to hand one to Houri and one to Marcella.

"Here. Please be more cautious before eating food that might be poisoned. If you're hungry, just ask me. I always have back-ups."

For kriff's sake.

Lu's gaze immediately searched the other patrons of the Inn as they entered, looking for their fellow classmates. And trying to keep her worry from growing as she didn't immediately see them. "Uh, either of you see Zaire?"

She knew he was short but his personality made up for it and she fully expected him to be entertaining a family of orcs with his stories and special mushroom blend by now.

 

[Houri]

"Nope," Houri shrugged and without bothering to wait for the others meandered her way through the crowds in the inn to secure their little group a table. As they settled down she flagged down a waitress. "I'm sure they'll be along in a bit, they've had some training," though it was quite clear what she thought of a lot of the training the last year of the Academy had been giving out to its students. Zaire she had confidence in though. Kind of. At times he could be rather silly but Proctor D'Amore said such things were meant to be encouraged now, that being individuals made them stronger. Whatever that meant.

"What can I get for you, cupcakes?" the waitress smiled at the three girls.

"Whatever that guy is having," Houri nodded to the table two over and the pile of meat in front of one patron. The waitress glanced over with a raised brow.

"To share?"

"Nope!" Houri smiled brightly and leaned back so the other two could order.

 

[Marcella]

Marcella nibbled on the biscuit that Lumen produced for her but found that it did not taste as good at the special ham she'd eaten back at the murder scene. Perhaps Lumen had a good point about poisons or something but if poisoned food tasted that delectable then Marcella would gladly consume it.

"The others will find us," she said as she followed behind Houri, though she found it difficult to keep up with the slightly older girl who didn't seem bothered with whether or not the trio stayed close together.

Once the waitress came over the healer nodded at Houri's order and then felt a sense of shock as the server turned her attention towards Marcie.

"Um." She looked at both Houri and Lumen before regaining the gaze of the person taking orders. "I'll take a pint and some of the special ham please." She didn't normally drink but this seemed like a great way to impress her comrades and she really wanted more of that special ham.

"Special ham?"

"Yes. The very thin and tasty kind."

"Prosciutto? We don't hav-"

"Yes, that, please."

 

[Lumen]

Lumen offered the woman an apologetic look. Then shrugged. Wasn't her problem to figure out.

"Emmmm, and what will you be having dear?"

It was almost as if Lu could see the woman's silent prayer to whatever god she believed in that she would get a normal order from this one.

"I'll take the mixed greens with roasted chicken on top. A slice of the apple pie. And a tall glass of this..leemonaide."

The woman smiled as Lumen handed her back the menu. "It will be right up," she didn't make eye-contact with the strange proscuitto girl. Didn't correct Lumen on the pronunciation of lemonade. She only had one hour of work left and then she could get back to her husband to finish playing the game that had just been released from Gamers and Bots.

"Oh and can we get a basket of bread and butter for the table before the meals come out?" Lumen asked.

The woman nodded but was already heading full-speed away from their table.

Lumen leaned forward and looked to the other girls.

"Do you think he's watching us right now? The dollmaker?"

 

[Houri]

"No, I think he's probably out killing again," Houri said with the blunt honesty of a child raised in the Academy.

A different waitress appeared with their drinks and she tugged the odd drink called 'milkshake' towards her with a brilliant smile, looking to the world as though she hadn't just implied that their target was out killing children right this second. She took a big slurp through the straw and groaned in satisfaction. She'd missed sweet things in her time in the Asylum.

"They've probably got tabs on us though, it's clear they were expecting someone from Aniria to come after them."

 

[Marcella]

Marcella took a sip of the pint she ordered. It tasted like beer, like the beerly kind of beer. She wasn't a fan and truthfully she had no idea why anyone claimed to enjoy the stuff. "Yum, their beer is so good here."

Obviously, seeming cool was far more important than ordering something she liked. Besides, they'd bring her some of the special ham soon.

"Maybe we could set a trap for the dollmaker," that was a very cool idea, she was really nailing this. "Like, make him think one of us is a sad lost kid and then we just bonk him on the head."

If worst came to worst she could make one of the other initiates cry to help sell the whole, "scared lost kid," thing.

 

[Zaire]

The inn door slammed open, causing some distant conversations to falter off into silence. Standing in the doorway was Zaire Glaive, his chest heaving as he did his best to catch his mess. His dress was a mess with long tears and slashes, and on his chest was a cut of crimson.

Someone shouted something and Zaire realized that perhaps this wasn’t the best entrance to make. If they were trying to be inconspicuous then he had completely ruined that. A hand that was already stained red went up to try and hide the cut on his chest, his bi-colored eyes looking amongst the tables in hopes that the others were there.

He found Houri quickly, hardly registering Lumen and Marcella until he took a few steps towards them. So it was as he had feared. A vague memory and a strong headache kept Zaire from thinking too much, at least more than he needed to. Despite the whisperings around him and someone offering him aid, he heard one man say that kids shouldn’t be out at night.

The doll maker. Shit, the doll maker had them, didn’t they?

He stood by the table. Cleared his throat and tried to act unbothered because, well, Houri was watching.

“I fucked up.”

 

[Lumen]

Lumen's eyes snapped to where a few of the patrons stared. Even with his short stature, it was hard to miss Zaire. He just had a presence about him. Usually a calming one. And Lumen appreciated his help on missions where a lot of big personalities tended to clash. It was almost as good as Maseno Luana's meditation lessons.

Not offering Marci a response, Lumen was on her feet in a second, going to Zaire's side and pulling out her own chair for him. "Here, sit down. What happened?"

She glanced around the bustling tavern.

"Can we get a medic?"

 

[Houri]

Houri was too busy staring at Marcella, wondering how such an initiate had lasted this long in the Academy, so she didn't notice Zaire straight away. It was only when a voice in the back of her mind pointed out most of the tavern had gone quiet that she dragged her eyes away from the odd girl to see what the fuss was about. Ahdvi instantly filled her mind.

This means battle, child! We will tear this Dollmaker down. Let him TREMBLE BEFORE THE SOUND OF THUNDER--

Houri tried to ignore it and the thumping of her heart. Instead she slid her milkshake across the table - even though she really really liked it.

"Isn't she a healer?" she nodded to Marci.

 

[Lumen]

A subtle shake of her head to Houri as her eyes bore into the storm girls.' Hand came up to one side of her mouth to hide the words from Marcella as she silently said with her lips to Houri:

'Yeah but it's Marci.'

 

[Houri]

Yeah that's fair.

Can't really argue with that logic.

Mm-hm.

Girl's not got all her senses in order has she, poor lamb.

She'd probably make the boy worse.

Houri gave a deep sigh and nodded in agreement with everyone.

 

[Marcella]

Marcella jumped up from her seat after Houri’s words were processed in her mind. She was completely oblivious to whatever was going on between Lumen and Houri.

””I can help!” She was born for moments like these.

Rushing over towards Zaire she held out a hand and looked down at the gashes on his poor body. It would only take a few seconds for her to fix him right up but presently Lumen stood between her and the boy who was injured.

””I’m a medic and a healer and I can help!” Although she really hoped that once Zaire was better he’d order his own food and not try to take any of her special ham.

 

[Zaire]

Zaire looked at Marcella, at her eagerness to help heal him. He glanced down at his chest and gingerly removed his hand from his wound. It could have been worse, they all knew as much. But couldn’t Marcella possibly make it worse?

In truth, Zaire didn’t hate Marci like plenty of other initiates did. He understood she was doing what she was told to do, and outside of the proctors telling her what to do, she had never meant him harm. The issue was, he had been punished by her hand before, and boy did it fucking hurt worse the second and third time than it did the first time.

And the proctors had been cruel with it, playing games and laughing whenever Zaire braced himself for the pain but felt nothing to then only have her unleash all that pain through his senses again.

He swallowed hard and looked at Marci then at his hand covered in his own blood. This was a little cut, not a super serious deep gash, so how much could it hurt if she decided to…? He looked back at Marcella, remembering how she had named that stupid stuffed camel Geoffrey— Geoffrey of all names! Marcella was weird, but she wasn’t cruel.

“Yeah, could you, Marci?” Zaire said softly, already bracing himself just in case. “Then I could tell you all what happened.”

Lumen Houri Marcella

 

[Lumen]

Silently, Lumen stepped out from between Marci and Zaire, claiming Marci's seat at the table. Reaching over, she took Houri's milkshake in hand and took a quick sip, leaving behind a frosty-moustache as she placed it back in front of the storm girl.

Your. Fault.

 

[Houri]

Houri's eyes narrowed as Lumen took her milkshake.

Little thieving bit...

Frost inched across the table then suddenly stopped when the milkshake was returned. Houri's scowl didn't disappear though and she certainly didn't offer anyone else a sip! She pulled it close and folded her arms around it for further protection whilst waiting for Zaire's tale.

 

[Marcella]

Marcie placed a hand on Zaire and closed her eyes. Slowly removing the wounds he had suffered until she had absorbed all of his injuries and stored them into herself.

"Right as rain," she said, not really knowing what that phrase was supposed to mean just knowing she'd overheard others say it before. "But please, Zaire, don't eat any of my special ham."

The meal still hadn't arrived and Lumen had apparently gotten so desperate she was stealing Houri's milkshake.

 

[Zaire]

Zaire closed his eyes, flinching from the initial shock of his wound getting touched but he had to give props to Marcella. She was a strong healer, and in seconds, he felt better than he had when he had first entered Dornoch.

“Thanks— what special ham? Actually, never mind.” Zaire wasn’t sure on the curing process for meats, but that was besides the point. He looked at the girls, both his red and brown eye glancing between the three of them. They must’ve had an easier time that Zaire and the others had. Or maybe he just sucked at being a leader?

“Yeah, so, we went to this park. And then this like fog came and then when I woke up, it was just me. Delilah and Vasha were gone. So I’m pretty sure it was the doll-maker because, I mean, who else?” There was nothing else that Zaire found to be important to let the other initiates know. Delilah and Vasha were gone, the fog had been a weird piece of illusion magic, and now Zaire was here. Wait, but the whole ordeal with his injury.

“In that fog, I was getting chased by a pack of wild dogs. But when I woke up, I was in the park, and as I was sitting up right, something came out of nowhere. It was going past me but it got my chest here. It was sharp. I dunno what it was. It was like a blur.” He shrugged, cleared his throat, and looked up right as the waitress was coming with a round tray that had plenty of plates on it.

Zaire looked over at Lumen, begging.

“Can you order me something to drink?” He whispered to the blonde. “I can’t… it’s hard trying to order… food.” His social anxiety wouldn’t allow him to even speak to the waitress unless it was to say ‘sorry’ or ‘thank you.’

Lumen Houri Marcella

 

[Marcella]

Oh no. He was asking questions about her special ham. Then he tried to tell his very convenient little story about how he was the only survivor of his encounter with the dollmaker. And to make matters worse he had the audacity to ask Lumen to order him something.

Marcella was smart. Much smarter than people gave her credit for.

Zaire and his team had found some special ham, he'd killed Delilah and Vasha so that he could hoard the stuff for himself and now he was blaming it on the dollmaker. He wanted Lumen to order him more of the special ham, probably so there wouldn't be any left for Marcie to have seconds.

Kress, why did she offer to heal him before she learned of all this? Maybe Zaire had been the dollmaker all along!

"Lumen, please order him some of the noodles. I hear that's their specialty here." She wasn't going to let Zaire trick her friends.