Private Tales The Mountains Ahead

[Kasim Areth]

"We're expensive." Kasim answered quietly.

For a moment he thought about the fact that he'd never really explained to Aviana how his work really...worked. Sure they had discussed it a bit in the past, and he had revealed his entire life to her, but his time as a court bard had seemed unimportant compared to his real identity.

Frowning for a moment he looked around, signalling to the innkeeper who was busy at the bar.

"Most places like this can't afford musicians." He explained. "They're generally hired out by nobles and Kings."

Playing an instrument was not an easy skill to learn, and thus fetched a good price. "Sometimes taverns will have serving girls who can sing, but an actual bard? That's a rare pleasure even in a place like this."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

It had never occurred to Aviana that bards might be expensive -- much to her chagrin. She'd grown up in the courts. Musicians, singers, jesters, and entertainers had been commonplace in Dragonfall Keep.

Her cheeks colored slightly at the realization, suddenly feeling entirely out of place -- like she was an imposter. Which, to be fair, she was.

So much of this world and the way of life outside of the Minarisan court was foreign to her. She was learning, but each time she felt that she was starting to reach an understanding something new would come up. To her, it was like trying to read a book that had fallen apart and the pages had scattered across the room. Each time she thought she had things in order, she'd find another page and had to scramble to fit the pieces back together again. The information was all there, she just needed to process all of it. Just like putting the book back together, it would take time.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, nodding a little to Kasim's words.

"So, I'm to replace the serving girl then?" She quipped.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim smirked.

”No no.” He told her. ”Not you Princess.”

Though the idea of her in a serving girls outfit was rather tempting. ”Just a song or two.”

The Jester assured her.

He waited around for a moment more as the Innkeeper attended to his business, then watched as the two men left him. Kasim gestured to Aviana afterward and approached the man, his expression almost gleeful. In a weird way he has missed this, simple haggling, talking over business.

It was easy. His wheelhouse.

Ten minutes after he’d left Aviana Kasim returned to her side, a smile on his face and a few coins already in his hand. He slowly let them fall into his other palm, then closed his fist and made them disappear. ”We have a room.”

He told her with a smirk.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Mmm... you do have a way with words, your majesty." She teased him right back to the jester, smirking up at him as he palmed the coins in front of her.

"Did you want to put our things down in the room before you start working? Or just set up now and get this show on the road, so to speak?" She asked him, sweeping her pale gaze over the room as she tried to find a place for them to settle in for the night.

There was an open table in a corner next to the hearth, and she realized that the bench in front of the fire was still clear. Perhaps it was left there specifically for any performers that might have happened into the establishment.

"Over there looks like a good spot." She said quietly, touching his elbow and nodding towards the open table.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"We'll put our things away." He glanced out the window. "Maybe take a brief nap."

There was light out yet, and that meant there was still time to get rest.

It was important to remember that they had been traveling for weeks on end now. If they were to give their best performance a little bit of rest would be necessary, if not outright needed.

"They won't have a crowd until after dark." Kasim said as he motioned for Avian to follow him into the back of the Inn.

As he had predicted the inside of the place was about as nice as you could find in a rundown village like this. Their room was furnished with carved wood furniture, a large mirror, wash basin, and bed big enough for three of them. A quiet whistle left Kasim as he looked on the room. "Nice."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

The room that inn had given them was quaint by Aviana's standards, but it was still charming. A small smile flickered over her features as she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She swept her eyes over the furnishings, then moved to set her bag down on the desk that was tucked away in the corner. It was a strange thing to be alone with Kasim without having to worry about the dragonling and what he was doing.

Her fingers trailed over the wooden surface of the desk then she turned around to face the jester with a broader smile.

"You always do so well." She purred in an amused tone.

"It's been a long day, we still have some time before you'll need to go back out and work. Why don't we get some rest?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Rest, huh?" He mused for a second.

His eyes wandered to Aviana, and then around the small room. The place really was rather quaint. An illusion really, something that was meant to make you feel like you weren't really where you were. Kasim understood the need for it. Rich Merchants and the like craving luxury even all the way out here.

Sitting himself on the bed the Jester reclined himself slightly, leaning on his elbows and glancing at the woman he loved with a smile upon his face.

"I suppose that's a good idea." Kasim said with a smile. "Never know what the night will bring."

He had no idea how right he was.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

The pale-haired half elf smiled back at Kasim as she made her way across the room to take a seat on the bed next to him. Given the small town they were in, she was surprised by how soft the mattress was beneath her weight. The material was even thick enough to keep the bothersome sharp ends of the feathers from poking her.

She took a deep breath and then laid down on her back, clasping her hands together over her belly as she gazed up at the ceiling overhead.

For now, everything was quiet and calm. She knew that they should enjoy the moment while they could. There was no telling how long they had until something went wrong.

Her head turned slightly to the side so that she could look up at the jester, a hand reached out to him and fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"I'm all ears if you have a better idea." She teased.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Well I might have an i-" As he spoke Kasim felt an odd prickle run down the edge of his spine.

The feeling seemed to spread, pulling across his nerves, and then shooting out from the center of his back and rushing across every vein in his body. It was a pulse that seemed to tighten his skin, the odd blackness that came from his families magic suddenly showing beneath his flesh.

Involuntarily his eyes seemed to bulge for a second, the blood vessels within them turning to the same deep abyss.

Yet just as soon as it had come, the sensation and appearance was gone. They were replaced by a violent involuntary shiver, as though he had been dunked into a bucket of water.

"Something's coming." Kasim was breathless, his fingers tight. "Grab your sword."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana watched helplessly as Kasim succumbed to whatever it was that had spread through his body -- the now familiar sight of the darkness that traced across his skin where his veins were visible, the blackness swallowing his beautiful golden gaze. Before she could even reach out to him, however, the episode had passed.

She blinked at him when he told her to grab her sword, but she quickly recovered and moved to gather her weapon. The jester had experienced something close to premonition before, and she didn't doubt him when he said that something was about to happen.

"Are you okay?" She asked, holding the hilt of her blade in a loose grip as she approached the bed once more.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim scrambled himself up and off the bed, grabbing his own sword.

The weapon was longer than Aviana's blade, not made well for fighting inside. He growled a moment, keeping the weapon sheathed and glancing towards the window. "I'm fine. It's the blo-"

He was about to finish when there was a loud slam against the door. The bolt that kept the door shut bent for a moment, then bounced back before there was suddenly another hard slam. A frown touched Kasim's lips, and then he quickly drew his sword.

Without much hesitation Kasim threw the blade into the air.

The rune upon the blade lit up for a brief moment, then the blade thrust forward and stabbed through the door. There was a loud yell, then a thud as the blade embedded itself against the wood of the door.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana scowled fiercely when she heard the slam against the door, positioning herself in a defensive stance with her sword at the ready. Vivid flashbacks of the werewolf attack came to mind, chilling her blood and she felt the color drain from her face. Was every Mainland village plagued with the beasts? It was an irrational line of thinking, but it was what came naturally to her at that moment.

As Kasim hurled the blade towards the door, Aviana quickly moved towards the window on the opposite side of the room and wrenched it open. The iron hinges scraped loudly in protest, half rusted shut from the sea salt that was constantly in the air.

"I can see a way down, c'mon." She hissed back to the Jester as she started to crawl through the small opening.

 

[Kasim Areth]

With a single motion Kasim slid a thumb over a small mark upon his palm.

The blade of the sword flashed for just a brief moment, then suddenly lurched from the door and flew back into his palm. The rune that he had carved into the steel was glowing still, bright blue light flashing across Kasim's face as he turned and saw Aviana crawling through the window.

A frown settled on his face for a brief moment, his gaze flicking back towards the door.

Through the small gap his sword had made Kasim saw motion, two or three men at least. A scowl pulled at his lips, and in three steps he quickly followed behind Aviana. "Hurry."

He told her quickly, moving through the window itself and landing in the alleyway outside.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana waited just long enough for Kasim to land on the cobblestoned path before she turned to rush down the back alley towards the main road. Her pulse was pounding in her ears and her breath clenched in her throat, making it difficult for her to stay calm. One of the only things that kept the panic at bay was knowing Kasim was with her and that she wasn't trapped in the pitch black labyrinth of the Old Roads.

She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, knuckles losing their color from the fierce grasp. She didn't want to kill anyone else. Each time she'd been forced to cut someone down, it had weighed heavily on her conscience. How much more death could she take?

Her vivid blue eyes sought out Kasim's gold.

"Did you see who it was?" She hissed, ducking around a corner in hopes of losing their pursuers before clambered out the window after them.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"No." Kasim said shaking his head vigorously, his hand slipping over the length of his blade to wipe away some of the blood so that it did not leave a trail.

He had caught flashes of black clothing, a hood, but not much more than that. Whoever they were he guessed they weren't exactly well trained, otherwise they would have made less noise in trying to get into their room. Still, they had the numbers, that much was clear.

A frown touched his face.

"We need to get up to the cave." Kasim glanced back towards the way they had come. "Quickly."

Kasim had no idea if this was connected to Aviana, but he knew it couldn't have been his family. They were too far from his fathers reach, too far for anyone to come for them for weeks yet.

The first priority had to be the draon.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

She bit her bottom lip and gave a single nod, though she had to come briefly to a stop to get her bearings. This was not a township she was familiar with, for obvious reasons, and it took her a moment to recall which direction would be the best way to reach the cave -- it didn't help that the afternoon light was quickly fading.

There wasn't time to return to the stables to fetch their mounts. They would have to make the trek on foot... and hope that their attackers didn't stop to grab a horse themselves.

She paused at the end of the alley and glanced along the road that stretched between them and the next line of buildings. When she didn't immediately see any signs of trouble, she started to dart across the road.

What she failed to notice was the archer who scampered silently across the rooftops through the long shadows cast in the twilight.

Her back was to him as she bolted into the open, and she never saw him draw the arrow back.

All she heard was a soft thump of the string's release, the whisper of air behind her.

It was that faint sound that spared her spine being severed. She turned her head to look over her shoulder as she heard the noise, which caused her to rotate her torso ever so slightly. So instead of embedding itself at the base of her neck, the arrow impacted the back of her shoulder.

Blinding spots blossomed in her vision from the pain and she staggered in the street, dropping to one knee on the cobblestone.

Keep moving.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim turned almost as soon as she fell, eyes bulging, locking on the piece of wood sticking from her shoulder. "Aviana!"

His words echoed more than he would have liked, but in the moment he didn't care.

The blood mage twisted, spotting the man atop the building. A thumb brushed over the small symbol on his palm, and the rune upon his blade erupted in a glowing bright light. In an instant the blade seemed to jump, and then lurch towards the silhouette atop the roof.

Shock kept him rooted, the assassin clearly not expecting a sword to suddenly fly towards him.

Before he could move the blade impaled through his chest, driving itself to the hilt.

Kasim didn't give it a second thought, scrambling over towards Aviana quickly and rushing to pick her up and off the dirty cobblestone street. "Aviana."

His voice shivered.

"Deep breaths." He told her quickly. "Focus."

If she went into shock this would be far more difficult.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Shockingly, Aviana was still coherent as Kasim gathered her in his arms to lift her up. She was in considerable pain, but the true shock of the injury hadn't set in just yet.

With each breath she took, she ran a quick check of herself to see if she noticed any hitch in her breathing. So far as she could tell, her lung was intact.

"I think I'm okay..." She said softly, repeating herself in a soft voice. "I'm okay."

While she was far from unscathed, her cloak and shoulderblade had taken the brunt of the impact. She could feel the stone arrow tip embedded in the muscle, grating painfully against the bone with every movement that was made. It was agonizing enough to cause bile to rise in her throat, but she wouldn't immediately die from the wound.

A strange pulse thrummed through her body, heat racing through her veins, and she recognized the connection with Kiovec and the magic that came with it.

He'd felt her pain. She could sense him reaching out to her.

"We need to... keep moving." She growled through grit teeth, clutching at Kasim's bicep. "Put me down... and take the arrow out... we need to get away from the village."

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Can't take it out." Kasim said simply.

He was no doctor, but his father had ensured he knew how to treat most wounds. It had been part of survival training, of ensuring that his sons would be able to keep themselves going even in the darkest of moments.

Kasim had never enjoyed it, though his brother had made a fun game out of it.

"You'll bleed." He frowned. "Probably go into shock."

Unless they cauterized it, something they didn't have the tools for at the moment. His lips thinned and he glanced upward, fingers drawing over her skin for a moment. "You'll have to deal with the pain, just for a little bit."

Then they could properly address it.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Each step Kasim took caused a jolt of torment to lurch through Aviana's back, making it difficult for her to even breathe due to the pain. When she tried to inhale, it caused the arrowhead to move and stutter along her shoulderblade beneath the skin and cut deeper into the muscle.

Her forehead came to rest against the front of Kasim's shoulder, nestled gently beneath his jawline. She whimpered softly, trying to stay quiet as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her fingers clutched at the fabric of his tunic in an attempt to steady herself as much as possible as he carried her.

That pain was shared through the link she held with the dragon. She could sense the young beast's rage and strength, sentiments that were rather surprising coming from a creature the size of a large dog.

Then something strange happened.

Even though her eyes closed, she suddenly found herself looking down at the land. The sudden shift in perspective was so unexpected that she was nearly overwhelmed with instant vertigo. It took her a moment to come to the realization that she was looking through Kiovec's eyes -- the dragon had taken to flight.

She opened her eyes and inhaled sharply, causing another vicious stab of pain through her shoulder.

"K-kiovec's looking for us..." she stammered out, gritting her teeth together.

 

[Kasim Areth]

A frown touched the Jester's lips, his eyes narrowing for a brief second as he looked through the darkened alleyways of the village.

"We need to get to the forest." He knew that it sounded silly, but if a Dragon suddenly swooped down into the confines of this small down...all hell would break loose.

In this part of the world Dragon's were not something to be worshiped. They were not something to look up to or even aggrandize. Here they were hunters, killers. South of the Spine Dragon were seen as almost greater wolves. Hunting livestock and burning villages.

That was what Dragons were known for.

Not to mention the amount of money one would fetch if caught. "Come on."

He said as he suddenly broke out into a faster walk, carrying Aviana along as he made a b-line towards the forest.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

There was little Aviana could do, other than clutch her short sword to her chest, as Kasim carried her through the village streets. Her senses felt heightened in some inexplicable way, the magic thrumming through her body that tied her to the dragon. She could hear the men gaining on them from behind; their heavy breath, the slap of their boots thudding against the cobblestone, and another sound that took her a moment to place -- their heartbeats.

She was slowing Kasim down.

He wouldn't be able to outrun their pursuers if he kept carrying her.

"They'll catch us before we get there..." She murmured, tightening her grip on the fabric of his shirt. Her voice was laden with pain, teetering on the edge of trembling.

"Put me down and I can hide in an alley. You can lead them into the forest..."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim scowled, half coming to a stop.

She was right, he knew that she was. The Jester was strong, but he was hardly a trained soldier. Aviana didn't weigh much, but enough that they were slower than their pursuers. Moving like this they would be overtaken, and worse, they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight.

His lips thinned, head shook. "No."

There was no way he could leave her behind, not when they had no idea of the threat coming towards them. Besides that there was also the Dragon, it would come to her, not him. That meant it would fly straight into the village.

Glancing back the Jester frowned, gently setting Aviana down.

"Get as far as you can." He told her. "I'll hold them off."

It was the only play they had.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana looked up into Kasim's golden eyes and then back towards the forest tree line. Leaving him alone to fend for himself simply wasn't an option in her mind. She couldn't bring herself to abandon him so that she could try to make an escape. A hand reached out and gently clutched his forearm.

"No, I can't leave you." She protested, tugging on his arm for him to follow.

"Either we go together or you promise me that you run in a different direction, and we meet up at the cave." She said firmly.

The thought of splitting up caused her stomach to churn -- memories of the dwarven ruins filling her mind. They'd barely survived that encounter.

It was difficult to speak sternly with the arrow still embedded in her shoulder. The pain from the injury caused her voice to take on a pained whimper that was woven into her words. She hated herself for it, knowing that it would only push Kasim towards making a rash decision.

 

[Kasim Areth]

His fingers flickered over the hilt of his sword. "Go."

The Jester ignored her words, no, not ignored. He heard them, he thought about them, and in the end he knew it wouldn't work. They were being hunted, whether it was because of Aviana or him neither of them could know, but the greater chance was that they were after her.

After the woman he loved.

Kasim raised his other hand, gently grasping her for just a brief second and brushing his lips against her own.

"I'll catch up." As he stepped back his fingers gently brushed against the wound of her shoulder, blood pooling at his finger tips. A smile touched his lips, and then he reached beneath the hem of his tunic. His finger brushed against one of the scars on his body, and then Kasim began to fade.

An odd air surrounded him, his skin began to blur, his form seeming near ethereal.