Dreadlords The Lost Ones

[Edric]

Before Edric could answer Drastus that powerful sweep of life came closer. Instantly every muscle in his body tensed, his jaw set, and with a swift liquid smooth motion Edric pulled himself away from Ralene and landed on the ground beneath them.

He quickly caught Ral as she sagged from the saddle, settling her down onto the ground and looking up at Drastus. "Keep her safe."

Edric said as he stepped towards the approaching figure. His eyes set hard, the odd snake like pupils flickering up and down the fae's form. It spoke, hands raising, a prayer of for peace falling from it's tongue in a stuttered plea. A frown flickered over the Initiates face, fingers tightening as his reserve desperately clawed towards the creatures font of life.

He took in a steadying breath, deciphering the strangers words. A brief glance shot over his shoulders, looking to Ral.

She was sick, probably dying, but they didn't know this man, thing. A lifetime of abuse, of torture and training screamed at Edric with distrust. There were no friendships in the Academy, not really, but Ralene was close. The two of them had shared trials, tribulations, and more than one tumble in a bed. He wasn't about to hand her over to a stranger walking out of the woods.

"Who are you?" Edric demanded, standing between Veithir and Ralene. Ready to lash out, his magic coiled like a spring. "Why would you care what happens to her?"

No one did anything out of the goodness of their heart.

No one.

 

[Samantha Black]

In a heap on the ground where Edric had placed her, Ral struggled to remain sitting up. Black ochre stained her mouth and the taste of it was enough to make her sick all over again. She keeled over, another surge of bile rising from her gut and spilling onto the ground. The stench of imminent death clung to the Initiate, though not quite so pungently as it did to the mammoth. As the bile passed she tried to look over to where Edric had moved, and the creature standing beyond him but her eyes simply couldn't focus.

Ralene Banick had rolled a 3 and was quickly breaking down to her last legs on this world.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would nod at Edric's order and crouched beside Ralene, ready to defend her if the need arose.

Edric Ralene Davi Veithir

 

[Veithir]

"I ssshare a pact with the girl," Veithir hissed at the young man. Verdant eyes flicked to look past his shoulder, focusing on the young woman in question. "Consssider my concccern an obligation."

The fae's gaze returned to meet Edric's.

"Isss your curiosssity sssated? Hand her to me, now. Time isss of the esssenccce."

 

[Edric]

The man's words, no, the creatures words echoed within his ears. He listened to them, that odd serpentine tone. Fingers tightened, and he realized that the entitlement within him rankled something at his core. It reminded him of the Proctors, the Nobles back home.

Always thinking they knew better, always acting stronger and like they were the only solution. He glanced down at Ralene for a brief moment, the sorry state she was in. His heart seemed to beat in his chest, and then he answered. "No."

His magic whirled as he spoke.

"Tell me who the fuck you are. Give me something more than words." The Initiate demanded. "Or I'm going to rip every little essence of life from your body and feed it into her."

The thing standing in front of him was like a city of life. A font of power that Edric could only have dreamed of.

He had absolutely no idea if he could follow through on his threat, but Ralene was one of the closest things he had to a friend in this world. There was no way in five hells he was going to leave her fate to a stranger, not one like this.

Not when he had his own solution.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast had his place beside Ralene, his body opening up its connection to Rupert as the Undead Protector stepped beside him. He had no doubt that Edric could handle this threat, but he loved being froggy.

The guy hissed.. like a snake. And Drast tried his hardest to look at the ears to see if it was some creepy snake-elf. No luck. Then it came to him. Fae. Those totally fake things that Chasmine would go on and on about when he went to get his medication from her.

From what he remembered of the tales, Fae stole children.. and this Fae wanted Ralene. There was no way some juiced up elf was going to get her.

Veithir Edric

 

[Veithir]

Veithir was reminded of the weight of his paired daggers sheathed over the small of his back from the man-child's threat. How quickly he would make corpses of these witless creatures were he on the Hunt. Veithir's full-body markings began to glow to quell the rising animosity within himself.

"I am Veithir," he answered calmly and raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, "Perhapsss you have heard ssstoriesss of Faeriesss?"

He was a boring man, never one to rise at verbal barbs or mockery.

"My bond with the girl isss one forged from promissse and powerful magick. I give my word, you crawling thing, no harm ssshall befall her. But you mussst turn her over to me."

Veithir's hands slowly fell to his side and he cut through Edric's massive frame with a steely gaze.

"Ssshould you tarry, and ssshe diesss of your folly, I ssshall brook you no quarter. I would ssset upon you a great reckoning. On that, too, you have my word."

 

[Edric]

Edric had not heard stories of Faeries.

He'd never heard many stories at all, and never cared to. His mother had told him about Anirius, about the old ways of his people, never Fae things from the beyond. The Proctors had not been much better, using only tales of death and decay to urge him into what he was now.

The Initiate didn't know, couldn't have known what this thing was. All he noticed was the subtle glow of markings on it's flesh, the power that flickered beneath it's skin. Fingers tightened as he tempered the Reserve. Doing his level best not to lash out, not to simply seize at the creatures magic and tear away at it's very life.

Eyes closed.

He remembered the mission.

Why they were here. What had gotten them to this place. Eyes flickered open, and he glanced back at Ralene. One of his companions. One of the few who could come close to understanding him. He saw the state she was in, how she was.

He couldn't help her, not now, but neither would he just hand her over.

"Wherever she goes, I go." He stated simply. "Heal her if you can."

The Initiate contended. "But I won't let her out of my sight."

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Well, that was just convenient. Ralene had a per Faerie bonded to her, in a moment where she couldn't confirm nor deny. Convenient indeed, for this child napping predator.

The predator issued a threat, and the ethereal glow from Ruperts eyes deepened. He was hungry for the soul of a Fae. The voice in Drast's head grew steadily louder, the hunger grew stronger.

Edric's voice would cut through it all. A reasonable offer on the surface, a stupid one at the heart. Give the Fae two kids.

"Why can't you just heal her here?" He would ask. "If you're her only hope, we can't trust a stranger to take her somewhere else and return her. Nor can I trust you to return the two of them." He could only imagine Davi-doos confusion at returning to half the party. Especially if they had to complete the mission down two psychos.

Veithir Edric

 

[Veithir]

"I can only take one other through the Ley," he said to Edric, shaking his head, "You mussst ssstay."

Veithir, generally speaking, was a man of boundless patience. Though, in regards to Ralene, especially given her state, he found himself short of it. And it had been thoroughly tested from the moment he stepped out of the forest. With the necromancer's uninvited input, the púca snapped.

"And what manner of misssbegotten wretch are you? Ssstill your flapping jowlsss!" he snapped at Drastus, "Your trussst isss of little import to me. Trussst that I would sssever your meager sssoul from that floundering ornament of mussscle you call a body if the girl diesss!"

Then, with malice behind his viper-like eyes, his attention returned to Edric, "I am no healer. But there are many among my people."

Veithir inhaled deep, and exhaled hard. The Hound drew one of his daggars from the small of his back and showed Edric the empty palm of his free hand.

"A deal, then. Writ in blood. You promissse the girl to me, and in return I ssshall nurssse her to good health. Upon her recovery, ssshe will be returned." He closed his free hand over the blade, "What sssay you?"

 

[Davi]

"Six pieces o' silver and I'm cuttin' me own throat," the horse seller concluded. Davi silently thumbed the coins he had in his pocket. There wasn't much. They hadn't really thought they would need much coin on the road for a day maybe two of travel. Now they would have to make it stretch over a week, maybe two with how Ral was.

"Fine," he muttered and handed the coins over. The horses were not the best but they would be quicker than nothing at all and it would mean they weren't sitting on a half decayed mammoth. Davi suppressed the memory with a shudder. Selecting his own steed - a dapple with fine legs and a thick neck - he swung himself up and tied off the other three. With any luck he could get back to the others and get them to the trail before it turned too faint with all the traffic of market day.

It took far less time to make it back than it had to walk into town but the site that met him...

Ral looked dead. There was some pointed eared snake man and the stench of Eric's rage made him gag.

And he needn't even start on the stinky mammoth.

"What the fuck is going on?"

 

[Edric]

Edric was so wound up that he was all but ready to snap.

He could have killed this...thing in front of him. Consumed him and gotten utterly lost in the rage of it all. The offer was on the table, and he searched his mind for an answer. For what Ralene would want, for what was the right thing to do.

It was...it was all but impossible.

Then Davi appeared again.

His head snapped to the side, fingers flickering towards the steel on his hip when he suddenly saw the shapeshifter. A flicker of relief washed through him, his heart skipping a beat as a realization suddenly struck him.

He nor Drastus were exactly book learned, they were soldiers, warriors. Davi though? Davi spent more time in the library than both of them combined. "Davi."

Edric didn't offer any explanation, only a weary look towards Veithir.

"Do you know much about blood pacts?" There was a hint of urgency to his voice, pressure. He looked towards the creature again, a signal that he was at least open to the proposition that had been laid before them. "And how to make it...fair."

All he cared about was making Ralene safe. Getting her back.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

The snake-elf with pointier ears started speaking again, but a lot all at once and Drast just had to perk a brow. "Enunciate, Chief, ain't nobody understanding your lisp-having ass." He thought the Elf thing tried to threaten him but the s's were so unnecessarily dragged out, he couldn't get past them.

Rupert, wanted nothing more than to devour this creatures soul. And it was... a very dominating feeling. He almost wanted to give in, just because he was so tired of hearing the lisp. "I don't think Ralene would want to go with someone she didn't know. We'd be taking this creeps word that he had a bond with her." He would say to Edric.

Then Davi appeared, good ole Davi, just in time. Unfortunately for them, Chas wasn't here nor could he recall any such Fae related facts she most likely told him while they got high together. He just knew he didn't like snake-boy, so maybe dog-boy could at least make it so they had an actual chance at getting Ralene back.

Edric Veithir Ralene Davi

 

[Davi]

"How to make 'em fair?" Davi raised a brow before dismounting. His boots made a dull thud as they hit the ground and a small plume of dust rose up. These lands had not seen rain for some time which meant some could appear soon and wash away that scent. They didn't have time for blood oath lectures.

"Just make sure you state exactly what you want to give and what you want to get. Words are important," his eyes flickered from Edric to the pointed-eared-snake-man and back again with a brief, spare look to Ral and Drast. No matter what explanation he came up with it was nowhere near the truth.

"He can heal her?" he asked Edric with a curious glance over the being.

 

[Samantha Black]

Tick tock tick tock.

By this point of the squabble Ralene had fully slumped over into a sickly unconscious state. Her breathing was growing quite shallow.

 

[Veithir]

The huntsman's hand remained closed over the blade, awaiting the young man's response and ignoring the necromancer's verbal jabs. He was not one that readily dealt in pacts and deals, unlike many of his kin. There was no catch. No ulterior motives to bind Edric to an ill fate.

It was merely a final effort to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

 

[Edric]

Edric listened carefully to what Davi said, frowned. His eyes flickered over towards Ralene. A desperate flicker of his heart as he listened to what Drastus' said.

He couldn't help but agree with the other boy, but there was no healing Ralene and...and he would not let her die. Not in this place. Not in this way. Lips thinned, and slowly his hand drew back down onto his belt. With a jerk a blade wrenched free.

"A pact then." Edric said sternly.

"You take her." He agreed. "You heal her, and you return her otherwise unchanged. You bring her back exactly how she was before this happened to her."

The Initiate stared at the creature. "You do this on pledge of your soul and life to me."

If his intentions were true, then he would have no trouble agreeing.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Look how weak she is... slit her throat. Spare her the pain, the humiliation of this moment. Make her... eternal.

Rupert's voice echoed in his mind and he looked at Ralene. She was always a bitch to him, yet he had done all he could to keep her alive. She was a Banick, a rival of his House and would one less Banick really be that bad? It wouldn't, it would be a service to Aniria.

Then again, it was Ralene. A death would be a release and him having something to hold over her was fantastic. "Sorry Rupert, rain check it.. but, make a dog ear, we'll take her soul a different day." Drast thought internally.

Edric was resigned to hand her over and make a deal, Davi was too, Ralene was a rag doll, and for now Rupert was satisfied. Drast would pick up Ralene in a bridal carry, and once Edric signed his pact, he would take Ralene to snake-boy. They were already losing precious time for their mission. They just had to hand her over and get going.

 

[Veithir]

A moment passed for the huntsman to process the terms laid forth by Edric. They were simple, as he'd expected. Veithir expressed compliance by swiftly dragging the edge of his dagger across his palm, and a river of red flowed freely into the dirt between them as he clenched his fist to draw out a generous amount of blood.

He waited for the boy to do the same and then turned to receive Ralene. Veithir received her from the tattooed fledgling with a stoic nod, and whether it was one of agreement, respect, or thanks, the meaning was open to the recipient's interpretation.

Immediately the huntsman felt a weakness assail him, piercing deep into his bones into his marrow. A faint pain, it would linger for as long as he held Ralene in his arms. His gaze flickered over her armor to inspect it. It was fine steel, possessing iron, but not enough to cripple the Fae. Only cause a mild nuisance.

Without tarrying a moment longer, Veithir turned away and dashed into the treeline he emerged from.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't know how to feel.

He could sense the magic that laid upon him. The bargain that he had made. Whether it was his blood, sated with a thousand souls, or that of the creature who had spilled his own he could not have said. It was a strange sort of feeling.

A compulsion he knew would be true. There was no escaping the bargain that had been made.

Either Ralene would be returned, or the monsters life would be his...whatever that meant.

Lips thinned for a brief moment, fingers tightening. A thousand thoughts swirled in his mind. Doubts weighing upon his shoulders. He looked over towards Davi, and a slight flicker of concern touched his face. "Did..."

Did he do the right thing?

His lips thinned, and then he shook his head.

"What did you find out?" There was a mission still, they had to see it through.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

The snake-elf had struck a deal with Eddie and now, was taking Ralene from Drast. He unloaded her and the pair would exchange a nod. He then stepped backwards and watched as Veithir ran off with one of their own. Sick or not, Banick or not, they were entrusting a Fae with the life of an Anirian. It went against every teaching.

He then turned to head back to Rupert and Wilbur, passing Edric, who's focus was on DaviDoo.

Did..

The words weren't meant for Drast, but he would answer all the same. "No." He then clambered up onto Wilbur. They just had to hope she was returned before the mission ended, or it would be one helluva debrief.

---

Davi | Ralene | Veithir | Edric

 

[Davi]

Davi had never seen Edric so lost. It was wildly believed the initiate was one of the strongest in their year group and on missions he was stalwart in his decisions. He'd never known him to question them. Not so much as he clearly was now anyway. The young lad offered a lopsided smile and a shrug; who really knew what was the right decision at the end of the day? Though he did shoot Drast a withering look.

"You did what you could," he murmured and passed the other lad the reins of one of the horses then swung back into his own saddle.

"I don't think riding a dead mammoth is going to do us any favours in terms of stealth," he pointed out loudly though he didn't look directly at the necromancer. "They were just leaving when I left. I believe I can pick up the scent in the town and we can follow from there. I didn't see the ambassador but his scent was all over them and fresh - he's not dead."

 

[Edric]

A frown flickered up towards Drastus for just a brief moment, but Edric pushed the self-doubt away. It wouldn't do him any good here, not now. There was still hope that everything could end up going well. Slim as it was anyway.

Edric turned to Davi as he spoke his piece.

Well that was something at least, a sliver of good news in the pile of shit he'd landed them in.

For now all they could do was focus on the mission. Get the Ambassador back and hope that Ralene would be delivered before they ventured back. It was no doubt a fools hope, an errand that they would likely fail as well. But what else could they do?

"Drast, meet us on the far side of town." Going through any village with the undead hulk would have sent up alarm fires. Davi was right about that. "We pick up the scent and then ride hard after them."

He frowned as he set himself upon the road. "We fall on them fast enough, we might be able to take them."