Open Chronicles The Lost Children

[Osbert]

Os gave Syb a nod as he made his way through the hole she’d just punched for them, unable to help the satisfied smile Shiloh’s remark had caused.

”The main path,” he said without hesitation, ”we’re conquerors, not common thieves.”

By the time they reached the entry lobby they found themselves facing a dozen kivren armed with silver tridents that glistened in the sunlight.

Osbert issues them a friendly face and a wink. ”Your boss. We need to speak with him,” his eyes half-shifted towards Shiloh, ”or her I suppose.”

He doubted the request would be met with the response they wanted but it was always easier to offer the carrot before the stick.

 

[Sybille]

The Kivren only stared, clearly confused by the gaggle of strangers that stood before them on the path. One stepped forward, about to open his mouth but before he could form a single sentence Sybille cut him off.

Her tone surprisingly strong. "Before you say no, let's make something clear."

Fingers came together in a suddenly swipe. The ground in front of the Kivren seemed to shift, and then melt into a puddle of super heated ooze. Flaring bright red and seeping heat into the air to an uncomfortable degree. Lava bursting forward in a small river that nearly splattered up from the ground.

"We're not asking." The usually shy girl reiterated.

It was a front of course, a mask.

Sybille had been taught early on that her magic was not for precision. If this turned into a fight she would have to keep to the physical, for her abilities would quickly lead to everything being on fire.

Best instead to avoid the fight all together, and from the weariness on the faces of the Kivren she could see that they weighed their options. A frown pulled at one of their lips, and then in grunted something in their native tongue. Tridents lowered, and Sybille gently swiped her hand. The magma fading in color and becoming solid once more.

The fish creature at the head pointed to them, and then spoke in a guttural gnarled voice.

"Follow."​

 

[Shiloh]

At this point in the mission, Shiloh seemed to calm down and reserve himself compared to the man that had walked through the burning district earlier.

His hand never left his wand, and while his smile also never left his face, it did not reach his eyes. He let Syb do the negotiations, that really wasn't his style.

In fact, as they faced off with the Kivren, Shiloh locked eyes with one of them. The look said everything, he hated them, but Shiloh's grin only widened as he mouthed the words to him

"Do it. Make my day."

He was sure the man's hand was about to twitch and get him and his friends killed, but sadly he remained still. Shiloh could only sigh as they followed behind. He shot a glance at Os and winked while whispering "Oh, a female kivren leader...You think I'm her type?"

Osha Osbert Sybille

 

[Osha]

Osha carefully stepped around the small fissure of lava that Sybille opened up. A dark brow raising between Shiloh and Osbert. Facing things head on was not typically her strength. She preferred moments of preparation - like in that alcove earlier. There was something she was able to do a few times but she hoped for all their sakes she wouldn't have to today.

So, she let the heavy hitters go first. Osbert. Sybille and Shiloh. She and Bes took up the rear. The group of kivren lead them up a massive, winding staircase with large windows that stretched from the floor to ceiling with views of the harbor beyond the hill and village they walked through to get here.

Outside was chaos. Smoke still curling in the close distance. Some were trying to help others on the street while others were just running to get away from things they couldn't see. After ascending, their small group was lead to a large set of ornate doors that looked as though they were made from thousands of bubbles.

But as the doors swung open, they were ushered into a room that made one feel as if they were beneath the sea itself. Dark blues and greens painted the walls and even the ceiling. The floor itself was water. Hard to tell how deep it was. Carving a path over the water and toward the opposite end of the room where a massive desk and chair sat with a female kivren were things that looked like floating lilypads.

Osha swallowed uneasily.

 

[Osbert]

"I don't believe you'll be her type even a little bit, friend." The whisper spoken back to Shiloh right as the kivren agreed to escort them inside. He couldn't understand their strange guttural language although he'd learned at the academy that it sounded entirely different underwater.

One book described it as a ballad of whistles that could transmit for miles. The air just made it a lot less feasible so the language sounded different. Or maybe it was different, he didn't much know or care.

Os stuck close to Syb while ensuring their new pal was keeping up. Last thing they needed was any of the four of 'em suffering from an injury, or worse. Once they arrived in the beautiful room his heart sank a tad as he realized the kivren's leader was female. God. Please don't let Shiloh get us all killed.

It's not like he could even charm the pants off of her, as evidenced by her pink mermaid-like tail that was draped over the desk and flipped against the surface of the water.

"Houmans, what do you want?" Her voice had been more sophisticated than the guards at the front, nearly without an accent aside from her pronunciation of 'human'.

"To cut a deal." He'd worn his insignia from Vel Anir today. Even among these fish people so far from the academy they knew exactly what it meant. Osbert puffed out his chest to ensure it was fully visible.

"Pwah," the woman spat, "we don't deal with Deadlords."

A wide, friendly, smile overtook his face. "You should hear our offer first. I thought Syzemore was a city of trade and progress?"

Her eyes narrowed, she sat down the papers she was reading, truly paying attention for the first time since they'd entered. "Speak."

There was really only one way to play this. From the second they'd stepped into the room with a floor made primarily of water he'd been painting trails of oxygen around the dozen kivren behind him and the four honor guards that flanked their leader, making certain that none of the trails got anywhere close to the woman herself. The limiting factor of his magic had always been how long it took to set up, luckily he'd found himself very, very, good at talking.

"We run your operation. And your district. We pay you a fair wage," a fair wage that was mostly just fair to the Dreadlords, "and in exchange we don't kill every kivren in the city."

 

[Sybille]

Very carefully, she stopped herself just short of where the water in the room was. Avoiding even coming into contact with it and settling on a dry little stone that was positioned within the midst of the room. Clearly uncomfortable with the giant pool.

Sybille let Osbert do the negotiations, as she usually did, though found that this time they were lacking in their usual charisma. Probably because it wasn't much needed. Her eyes flickered over the Kivren surrounding them, preparing herself just like she was sure the others were doing.

The Kivren narrowed her eyes as Osbert offered his 'bargain', for a moment simple silence hang in the air.

Then the woman broke out into a laugh. Her voice sounded guttural, broken as though she were drowning. Yet her laugh caused a furor among her men, and quickly all of them were at least chuckling, the sound like bubbling waves against the seashore.

"Oh that's funny." The Woman said, slithering forward. "I know what you are, but you ain't got shit to do here."

Her fingers flickered up towards a necklace in her hand. "You ain't killing shit."

A burst of light ruptured from the amulet within her palm and suddenly the water in the room began to move. It shifted and drew together, coalescing into five massive humanoid forms, all with eight tendril like appendages. "OS!"

Sybille shouted incensed.

"Nobody said anything about water!" The annoyance in her voice was clear, and the Kivren woman began to laugh.

 

[Shiloh]

Shiloh stepped into the room and immediately broke into a grin. The leader was female...just maybe- No, focus Shiloh. You can hit on the fish later after this was done.

His eyes scanned the strange office as he lightly stepped into the water. He could tell from the woman's eyes that this wasn't going to end how Os hoped for. She was a fighter.

The next series of events were not entirely unexpected, and Shiloh was annoyed at the clear lack of respect they were being shown...maybe they needed a reminder.

Shiloh's wand whipped out never raising above his waist, a quickdraw that had been perfect after years of work. The arcane bolt that shot out slammed into the kivren directly next to the leader and sent them to the ground dead. Before anyone got another chance to react, the wand was holstered back at his waist.

"Sure you want to do this ma'am. Os don't play favorites like I do."

Osha Osbert Sybille

 

[Osha]

Why was the redhead blaming Os for the water? Osha couldn't spare enough time to wrap her mind around it.

Osha blinked as Shiloh made his move and quickly whispered beneath her breath as the kivren's spirit flickered to 'life' above its suddenly dead body. Only she and Bes could see it. But its ghostly form turned suddenly toward one of its fellow guards. Who started getting long-bleeding scrapes on its torso.

His scream filled the chambers, its strange clicking in the air. Osha didn't speak Kivren but panic and fear was common across any language. Osha so focused on the spirit, didn't see one of the humanoid watery figures rush toward her, one of its watery limbs lashing out toward her ankles. The others were rushing toward the others as well.

Bes barked.

 

[Osbert]

To give the kivren a bit of credit, a bunch of swirling masses of men with anarchnid water tentacles wasn’t what he anticipated facing off against in this room.

There was no telling if they had to break that woman’s amulet, kill the woman, or if they were doomed to fight five human-spider water summons regardless of the next action they took. The only thing that Osbert was certain of, however, was that his oxygen trails could at least handle the group of non-water elementals which held tridents.

”There’s really only two ways this can go.”

Os held the flint-and-steel object in his hand, finger flickering over the trigger. ”But this is a mighty fine counter-offer.” Eyes narrowed, lips tugged at the corners of his cheeks.

”I don’t give a fuck if you maintain your independence. So long as we get what’s owed to us,” as he finished speaking his finger moved rapidly on the odd device in his hand.

A simple spark flicked up, then died. That was alright, it happened from time-to-time, he tried to activate the object again only for the same spark to fizzle up and die again. Then a third, fourth, and fifth time.

Sixth time was the lucky one as a flame erupted from the flint collapsing upon the steel wool object. The oxygen-enriched air carried the line of flame around the room, burning the flesh of any kivren guard that failed to react quickly enough. Blocking off the potential advance of anyone getting between the four Dreadlords and the kivren leader.

The only thing standing between them were the odd elementals with eight appendages.

”Only two ways this can go,” he re-iterated, hoping his allies had something up their sleeves to deal with the odd creatures the fishy leader had created.

 

[Sybille]

Quick chaos erupted as Shiloh threw an arcane bolt, one of the Kivren falling dead. Another beginning to scream as scratches appeared deep within it's flesh. The remainder panicking, and then suddenly catching alight as Osbert's magic finally burst out and carried through the room.

Flesh catching fire, and scales turning black as the fish men half moved away from the fire.

Sybille watched it all happen, taking in each action within the span of a heartbeat. She then watched as the strange elementals rolled forward, their spider like arms flickering. Her eyes darted down, noting the water, the way her friends were standing.

None of them within the pool.

Within a second she dropped down.

Her hands plunged into the water, and in an instant heat drove through it's entirety. Bubbling almost instantly as a wave of magma poured from Sybille, turning the very ground into a sheet of super heated magma. Almost instantly a wash of steam burst from the water. Disrupting the elementals as they suddenly found the source of their essence turned into a mist that filled the room.

In just few seconds, the water which had covered the floor was gone. The room now filled with a thick steam, feeling like a sauna that someone had turned up to the highest temperature. ”Sorry.”

Sybille said through the dense fog.

 

[Shiloh]

Maybe Shiloh had been a little too hasty. Putting a hole through a member of the other negotiating party could not be a good thing. Thankfully, those worries were washed away as he watched his friends begin the process of killing the others. Yes, it was good to have friends.

Shiloh largely ignored the water creatures, leaving those to Sybille and the others. Without vital organs or nerves, it was unlikely that Shiloh would be of much use against them...but the leader. He could help with that.

His wands once again burst from his holsters as he rapidly fired arcane shots at the amulet in the woman's hand. First, he would break the amulet. If that did not work then he would kill the leader. It seemed such a waste to kill a pretty face, even if she was a fish person.

"Thanks, Syb. I'll get the amulet."

Sybille Osha Osbert

 

[Osha]

There was a lot of clicking going on. And for a moment, Bes' eyes were trained on Osbert. But then fire. Screams and burning flesh in the air. She felt a watery-tentacle slick around one of her ankles too late. Then a tug and she was pulled to the ground toward the pool of water.

Bes pounced only to fly through a thick cloud of steam where the creature used to stand as water.

Osha could feel her thick, dark wavy hair begin to puff out with the heat and moisture.

It would not be a good hairday.

Hand fell to rub at her backside as she tried to reorient herself in the thick plume of white mist.

”Sorry.”

"Thanks," she said quietly and sincerely to the whiteness even though she couldn't see any of them anymore. There were shouts behind them as a few of the guards tried to duck under the fire barrier Osbert had created. Bes attacked one at the ankles that managed to get through, its flesh bubbly and burning from the fire. Another just happened to trip on Osha, not seeing the girl prone of the floor.

"Ouch," Osha muttered.

 

[Osbert]

Shiloh’s blast sent the amulet flying, Sybille’s magic ended the summons, and Bes plus Osha were cleaning up the final two kivren (in their own way).

The kivren leader emitted several angry clicks and gurgled whistles which resulted in the remaining defenders lowering their weapons and relaxing their stature. In a rage-filled stare the leader addressed the four humans before her.

She’d clearly lost the display of strength and now she wanted to barter for her life through negotiations.

“So that’s it? You just waltz in and run a protection racket across the city? Do the children of Bel Anir even understand shipping lanes or how to manage a harbor?”

Osbert appeared completely bored as his arms crossed and he simply said, ”nope.”

“Then I hope you’re quick learners.”

”We’re famously hard-headed and bored by things like stewardship and uh, what’s that fancy M-word?” The oxygen-manipulator scratched at his head before taking on an exaggerated tone, ”mathematics! Yeah, we all hate that stuff.”

“Then why on ocean would we ever aid you? You can’t kill us, the city will collapse. You need us to run your harbor!”

”You’re going to give us ten percent of every coin you make,” a warm smile encompassed his entire face as he spoke, ”and it’s not going to bother you at all becau-“

Os was interrupted mid-sentence by the kivren’s leader. “Ten percent!? Are you insane? You’ll spare our lives only to bankrupt us!”

”We’re going to make so much fucking money together that you’ll forget you’re even paying us.”

Finally, the conversation slowed as the regal looking fish-woman appeared genuinely interested for once. If not a bit skeptical.

“Explain.”

”You’ve got bandits plaguing your roads, scaring merchants. Pirates seizing trade cogs because you’re too far south for the Allirian navy to care,” he turned and looked at his three comrades, ”how do Dreadlords deal with bandits and pirates?”

 

[Sybille]

A brief, unseen smile flickered towards her companions. The heavy fog in the room still obscuring her features.

Slowly it began to simmer down, drawing back as the natural coolness of the room faded. Though anyone wearing glasses would be cursing their lives.

Sybille slowly stood back up, her hands still cracked and glowing. Heat rising from her palms even as skin began to reform over the thin trails of magma which seemed to permeate her very flesh. "We burn them."

The answer came with a softness.

"And the price is fifteen." There was a thrill that shot through her at being so bold, but Sybille couldn't help it. "You saw what we could do in ten seconds."

The ordinarily nervous girl continued. "Imagine what we could do with ten weeks."

It sounded awfully just like the missions they had been sent on before. Quelling bandits, hunting down smugglers and pirates, but the difference was this time they would be working for themselves. Not some House that didn't give a shit about them.

Not the Republic. Themselves.

 

[Shiloh]

Shiloh stowed away his wand with a self-satisfied grin as he started walking around the chaos of the room. He was only partially paying attention to the conversation as he finally found the amulet that he had shot out of the leader's hand. Shiloh stashed that in his pocket. One could never have too many souvenirs.

He finally focused back in on the conversation and reminded her.

"No offense. You were running a great operation, but the rest of the city was so chaotic that you weren't really able to expand to your full potential. With us around, it won't matter that you are paying 15 because you will be making close to triple what you have been."

Holy shit! Did Shiloh actually listen? Did he have a brain? Where the hell had that come from?

Shiloh was not stupid, he just tended to work through things slower in his mind. However, he did pay attention. The city was run like a jungle. Half of the Kivren's income probably had to pay for security like them. What else could they use that on if they suddenly did not have to pay for so much security, and the city stabilized?

It was actually pretty simple when you thought about it.

Osbert Osha Sybille

 

[Osha]

The Kiven that had tripped over her, lay prone on the ground as the feelings of the burns finally settled in and the adrenaline began to wear off. The other one had its throat ripped out by Bes.

"Good girl," Osha muttered and gave the dog's blood-spattered head a quick pat as she pushed herself back to her feet. A clear of her throat. Eerie-gaze turned on the female kivren leader. She disagreed with Os on the subject of maths but chose not to voice it.

Instead.

"And we get to live in this estate." Voice was nearly as quiet as Sybille's but it didn't broker for argument. A quick glance to the others, eyes flickering uncertainly to them. "That's the deal."

 

[Osbert]

Osbert’s heart swelled as he listened to Syb requesting an extra five percent, as Shi explained the logic of it all better than he did, and even as the new girl made an additional demand about securing them an office location that doubled as a living arrangement.

It was almost like they didn’t even need him. And only bolstered what he originally believed the “grand plan” to be.

”Yeah, what they said,” a smirk shining through his expression. ”As I mentioned, I’m awful at maths.”

A twitch seemed to take on the kivren across from them as she folded her arms, one over the other, and stared menacingly at the group of men and women before her.

“Fine. We have a guest suite that can become your permanent home.”

---

A group of kivren guards led the quartet to a large room with couches, a desk, and a singular bed. Before they’d departed Os had shared their names with the woman running the docks and she’d informed them her name was Nerissa.

It was good to be acquainted with your new partner. It was the only thing he could think of as Osbert collapsed into the large couch in the center of the room they entered as the guards left.

”Over there,” he pointed with a finger, ”we get a beer keg installed for Shiloh,” his finger moved along the wall to another random location, ”right there we get one of those couches that he Banicks had for Sybille, you loved those, right?”

Then he motioned with his chin towards the center of the room, ”and a large plush bed for Bes.”

He wasn’t truthfully aware of whatever it was Osha might want so he glossed over it for now.

”So, here’s how I see things going,” he began with a placid look on his face, ”we split part of the earnings equally amongst the four of us, give the clubhouse a cut, and any future decision we take we vote on. Four ways.”

He wasn’t meant to be their leader. None of them were supposed to have a leader ever again. Not Osbert, not the clubhouse, not any of it. Whatever they decided to do next would depend on the four of them agreeing.

Though he absolutely had an idea of what they should do next.

 

[Sybille]

"It's called a chaise lounge." Sybille corrected Osbert.

She really had loved those couches, they were so cozy.

Slowly walking around the large room Sybille began to run her fingers over the things inside. Most of it was of very good quality, though one could tell it had been ordered by people who usually lived in the ocean. The reliefs and carvings were all rather...watery.

It would definitely have to be changed.

She listened as Osbert talked, proposing the cut they would hold to. Her gaze flickered first to him, them to Shiloh, and then finally to Osha. Her lips thinned for a brief moment, and then slowly she tilted her head in a nod. "Four ways."

Sybille agreed quietly.

 

[Shiloh]

Shiloh grinned when the deal was accepted, and then went right back to his own inner thoughts. The whole business thing wasn't really his deal. He came out of his own contemplation long enough to remember Nerissa's name before they left and then followed the guards to their new room.

He would have at least tried to pay attention to the plans that the others had for this place, but then Os completely sidetracked him at the mention of a keg. A keg did sound nice...or maybe even multiple kegs. Shiloh nodded in agreement to himself before he noticed the others agreeing to something.

"Right, four kegs...I mean ways."

Osbert Sybille Osha

 

[Osha]

Bes promptly trotted around the room. Tail wagging in the shared company. Nose to the ground sniffing everything. Osha felt tired. And sore. Pale eyes met Sybille's. A teeny, hesitant nod to the other girl.

"Bes prefers piles of news pamphlets but she would like a big bone."

At the word bone, Bes' midnights ears perked forward before she busied herself with sniffing under the bed. Osha made sure to sit as far away from Osbert on the couch as she could. Which was hard since he took up the middle. Osha craned her neck looking around. "Is this big enough for all of us? There's um - only one bed. And I'm not sure any of you want to share a room with me when I sleep."

There was often screaming involved and other things.

 

[Osbert]

"A chaise lounge, right, and a non-stop supply of bones," he took the large black dog in with a smirk upon his lips.

Leaning back and places both arms behind his head he took in the room and considered the last thing Osha asked. The trio who arrived in Syzemore together had slept in the wilderness, simply being indoors made this accommodation more than enough for them. Hell, once they got the chaise lounge for Syb they'd only need to put one person on the floor.

Os pressed his lips together and contemplated before speaking further but then just came right out with it. "It'll do for now, but we'll all have our own rooms pretty soon." He'd been speaking honestly, they'd vote on any further plans, but the fact remained that they didn't just need to dispatch of bandits and pirates. "I'm thinking at least one of the other groups of Dreadlords isn't going to have the same luck we did taking this district."

Meaning, if they figured out who failed they could swoop in and be the only group of Dreadlords controlling two of the districts of Syzemore.

 

[Sybille]

Sybille would not be sharing a room with anyone. That much she had decided when she'd first left Vel Anir. She was done with a life of discomfort and scratchy blankets. They had left to reclaim the breadth of wealth they had attained for only a span of a second.

"I'll do for a meeting room." She corrected Osbert, looking rather like she wasn't going to have an argument about it.

"The fish people can give us a few more." Though that would probably lead to an argument. "Or we lean on someone they know."

She had not come to this city to share a room with Shiloh. "There's probably a tavern, or something we can do something with that has more space."

Maybe a warehouse.

The clubhouse was all well and good too, and they would have another district, but if they really wanted to take roots they would need something that was theirs. Not shared.

 

[Shiloh]

Shiloh sighed as he fell into the single bed in the room. The others were already talking about other places they needed to go or places they needed to get, but he just wanted a nice mid-day nap.

"Agreed, we find tavern rooms for Osha and Os, and Sybille and I can stay here." He offered with a chuckle but quickly prepared to dodge if any magma was thrown at him.

He always enjoyed poking fun at the other two. Osha was not to that level of familiarity yet, but maybe in the future.

The idea of flexing on the other Dreadlords and taking their shit was appealing, though.

Sybille Osbert Osha

 

[Osha]

Osha turned to give a firm nod of agreement to Sybille. It seemed the two girls had similar views. At least when it came to space. Sharing space had never bothered her brother either and for a moment, she felt a sharp, rawness within her chest. Followed by a flash of anger.

Pale fingers clutched her knees more tightly.

A withering look to Shiloh at his next comment. And for a moment it looked as if she'd reach inside him and pluck out his spirit. Bes came over and placed her dark head on Osha's knee, looking up at her silently.

Pale eyes went back to Osbert. "Will they come after us if we do? I'm not sure how much we can trust Aramis."

 

[Osbert]

"Alright, first order of business is finding a proper home here in the kivren district," by the end of the day they'd give a whole new meaning to the phrase, "window shopping." Os cleared his throat and looked towards Syb, ignoring Shiloh's comment entirely. "Looks like we have our afternoon planned."

Finding a semi-permanent home made sense, he supposed, even if he could make due with the office space they'd just been provided.

Next he turned his attention towards Osha. "Maybe, but probably not. See, after we find a space to sleep tonight," he glanced towards Sybille for an approving nod before looking back at Osha, "then we can figure out which group of Dreadlords failed. If we capture that district instead we negotiate with Aramis." Aramis and at least some of the others were reasonable enough and a negotiated truce woudl prevent an all-out war in Syzmore.

At least, that was how he thought it should go down. "I'm open to other ideas though. After we find a place to put our feet up, of course." There was no denying that, at some point, they'd have to fight someone from Vel Anir. In all likelihood every group of Dreadlords who succeeded in capturing territory was thinking the same way Osbert was.