Private Tales The Past Returns

[Calliope]

A muscle twitched in Calliope's jaw as he gave her an answer she both did not expect, and had not wanted. What she wanted was to feel what his power felt like, and soon her brow furrowed at him in petulance.

"As jubilant as that makes me.." she replied, her tone dripping in sarcasm.. "I'm still unhappy that you refuse to share." she huffed. Still, what he offered was likely the better option. He'd have a far better chance at stopping his father's madness than she would.

Sweeten the deal?.. She sighed and rested her chin atop her fist, staring at him with a face of sheer boredom. "Shock me."

 

[Tal]

"Sharing has never been my forte, Darling." Tal reminded her, though he was sure there was absolutely no need of it.

A brief smile flickered over his face as she showed her intrigue.

With her help he might actually be able to pull all of this off. Provided at least that he could tell the right lie. "There is a man, he is quite the sorcerer. He is able to see truth of people.

Vora, one of the three men who ran the Syndicate. "Quite the useful talent, back home."

He also happened to be Tal's boss. And the man who held one of the last pieces that he needed to unlock the bindings on his magic. The Underboss couldn't touch him, not for a myriad of reasons. Not the least being his magic. Calliope though? She'd make the perfect pawn to slip between them.

"I can give him to you." Tal offered with a smile.

 

[Calliope]

"I am nobody's 'Darling'." she sneered, pointing a sharpened fingernail at him. "And if you're intent on journeying with me then I suggest you learn now to keep your pet names and terrible humour to yourself."

Her furrowed brow eased slightly, though her eyes of crushed ruby remained narrowed on him suspiciously.

"Give him to me?" she asked, the temptation of powerful blood enough to make her curious. "I thought you weren't the sharing type.." she murmured rhetorically and sat back, her arms folding.

"Explain."

 

[Tal]

Tal's smile flickered for a moment around his cigar. "Oh I'm sorry Calli, didn't realize you'd become so sensitive in the last five years. I'll keep the names to myself."

He gave her an 'innocent' smile. "Promise."

Slowly he continued to walk that tight rope. Prodding, poking. Always seeking some sort of reaction. It was how he had always been. Whether in the streets or the Grand Gala of the Three Kings. That was Tal. Always trying to get a rise.

"We can see the truth in blood." A gift all Tyrians had.

They could read the truth of people through the crimson in their veins. Seeing their past, their future, who they were. A skill that many of them cultivated. A gift which Calliope's own magic evolved from. A gift which she now far surpassed. Magic she held which had been little more than rumor, fairy-tales, and stories.

One he still couldn't quite believe she possessed.

If Tal's father knew, it was no wonder that he wanted her dead. Magic like that was dangerous, especially when in the hands of a political foe.

"This man can see it at all times. No blood. Just a glance, and a telling of a lie. That is all he needs." He finally continued. "I don't need him."

The Underboss explained. "I can't take his magic."

Tal explained, leaving out every other reason that her wanted Vora dead.

"But if you're not interested..." He shrugged, slightly.

 

[Calliope]

A muscle feathered in Calli's jaw and she let out a long sigh, trying to compose herself rather than rise to the bait. He had a way of getting under her skin, and she wasn't in the mood for his torment. She gave him a look as he stated the obvious, though as he went on, her brow furrowed.

Now that would be quite the gift..

"Ah." she raised a fingertip to him. "You have my attention." she admitted, settling her hand back onto the table to drum her fingernails against the wood.

"I suppose you'd rather we left questions on the matter aside. Such as who he is and why you're willing to 'give' him to me.." she shrugged. "So, where is he?" she asked instead, glancing around..

 

[Tal]

Tal smiled. "You know me so well."

There was a sweetness to his voice, a honey that perhaps was meant to ease the burden of her suffering. Or just drive the spike a little bit deeper to annoy her further.

"In the Shallows." He commented. "A few miles down the road and outside the city itself."

Nobody really thought of the Shallows as being part of Alliria itself. They were a slum. Where rabid dogs ran loose and the people were not much better. The Syndicate had thrived there over the last few years. In no small part thanks to Tal himself. "I can take you there."

Then leave her standing at the door to deal with Vora.

 

[Calliope]

Calliope's crimson gaze narrowed in scrutiny. All those innocent smiles and that silver tongue of his wouldn't be enough to convince her that he wasn't up to something.

"Taking me there isn't 'giving' him to me." she grumbled, having assumed that the man had been somehow in Tal's possession.

"You better not be playing any games with me, Tal." she huffed and stood. She hadn't had to call for Xander. The man had simply seemed to know that it was time to move and he appeared from the doorway to escort her, his dark eyes settling on Tal with a look of disdain.

"Get the horses."

 

[Tal]

Tal gave Xander and almost pleasant smile this time, though in his eyes that same disdain as always still lingered. "No games, Darling."

The word slipped from his mouth without thought. His cigar was plucked from his lips, ash scattered onto the floor of the tavern as he stood from his seat.

"He'll be defenseless." A smile touched his lips. "Promise."

He knew that for a fact. Vora made sure to cultivate truths, real truths around himself. The gift he had was powerful, and he'd used it to make sure that no one would bring him harm. No one that knew where he lived anyway.

The Crime Boss was so paranoid that he moved around daily, only ever letting certain people know.

Tal, luckily, was one of those people. Yet he had sworn an oath, a truthful one, one he had very carefully worded. The Underboss had promised that Vora would come to no harm by his hand or anyone he controlled. And he most certainly did not control Calliope.

Before long the two Tyrians and Xander made their way from the city into the Shallows. Beautiful limestone buildings turning into ramshackle houses that looked like they were about to topple. The cobbled streets turned to muck, and the people smelled as though they hadn't bathed in weeks.

 

[Calliope]

Tal's pet names appeared to irk Xander even more than they did her, but Calli only shook her head at her companion as she drew up her black hood and followed behind Tal. She had known him for long enough not to suspect him of leading her into some horrible trap, but then she had never expected his father to want her dead either. She hadn't expected their home to start falling apart at the seams.

Calli explained everything to Xander on the way there. He hadn't liked the idea, but as always he could put up little fight with her and he vowed to keep her safe irrespective of the situation. If she wanted the man's blood, she'd have it, one way or another.

When they came to a stop, Calli's nose wrinkled as she peered out at the dismal little homes on stilts that occupied only a small part of the swampy district.

She looked to Tal expectantly. "Are we here? Or will we require a sludge boat?.." she asked disdainfully.

 

[Tal]

"You're too used to palaces and manors, Calli." Tal admonished with a shake of his head and a tsk of his tongue.

He'd never much liked the gilded cage they'd grown up in. Even back in Tyre he had never been too fond of staying home. From a young age he had constantly sneaked out, ran the streets. It had been his real home, how he'd learned to survive.

Much to the chagrin of his father. "This is where th-"

Tal's jaw snapped shut as they turned the corner and came upon what appeared to be little less than a ramshackle little hut.

The building itself looked as though it were about to collapse in on it's own weight. It's roof was half slanted, it's walls covered in moss and vines, and the two front facing windows had been painted over with some sort of black tar.

He took half a step back, lingering just around the corner.

"That's the house." Tal said, suddenly sounding far more serious than he had before. "He's in there."

 

[Calliope]

Xander eyed Tal with even more suspicion than usual. It was clear the man was hiding something, but Calli dismissed it for the sake of her own greed and curiosity as she strode up to the house and rapped her knuckles on the door, uncertain if the man would dane to answer. Xander stood close, sending a glare back toward the corner where Tal stood before readying himself to act.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Calli asked in a soft, polite tone, for people were far more willing to open their doors when they knew a woman stood on the other side.

 

[Tal]

"EHSTER?" A voice called out from behind the door.

It sounded old, decrepit almost.

"Ehster is that you?" Beyond the door Calli would hear shuffling feet. The sound of old soles being dragged over older woman. "You weren't supposed to come till next week."

The old man's voice argued. "Don't need food and we're not movin' till then!"

A rattle of the door, and Calli would hear the slide of a piece of wood. A slot opening up in the door through which she would see a set of strange, white eyes peering directly at her.

 

[Calliope]

Calli shot a wary glance back toward the corner as she heard the shuffling and arguing from inside. She whipped her head back as the door rattled, and her crimson eyes met the milky whites of the old man behind it.

There was clearly no point in lying to him, given his alleged talents. Instead se smiled warmly. "Hello. My name is Calliope, and this is my friend Xander. Are you the sorcerer they say can see the truth of things?" she asked, her tone soft and quiet.

 

[Tal]

Pale white eyes narrowed as they peered at Caliope, an unseen face scrunching in suspicion as he watched her.

"I ain't no circus performer!" The old man shouted through the door.

Had she known who this man was, had Tal told her of this reputation, she would have stood in utter disbelief. Vora was a crime lord. A man who in his prime had ordered the deaths of dozens, cut the throats of his enemies, and sold some of the most dangerous drugs in the worlds.

The pale and shriveled form behind the door was a shadow of that, or seemed to be. "What do you want?"

He demanded.

"Ehster supposed to deliver my food." Vora grumbled. "Don't hav etime for no one else."

A hiss escaped his throat as his eyes darted to the former Slave. "You or your Xadmer."

 

[Calliope]

"Oh, no no, of course not.." her head shook, trying to be as polite as she possibly could and yet being both unused to anyone raising their voice at her and being particularly pissed off by it. Her throat cleared and her smile softened.

"I will of course, offer payment for your services." she said, hoping that would at least pique his attention before he dismissed them entirely. She glanced once more over her shoulder and returned her crimson eyes to his whites.

"I seek the truth of a man that I believe isn't being truthful with me. I believe you might know him.. His name is Tal, and he has hair red like mine.." her head tilted.

 

[Tal]

"I don't need any pay-" The words were interrupted by Calliope's revelation.

Almost instantly she would see the expression in the old man's eyes changed.

It was like a mask suddenly slipped away. The man turned from tottering old fool to something entirely different. A wolfish, predatory look came into his gaze, his eyes flickering over Calliope and then over to Xander. "He stays outside."

The voice was still that of the old man's, but the inflection was gone.

The tottering old fool was gone. His words followed by the echoing of locks.

"Come inside." The old man said. "And we'll talk all about Talmanese."

 

[Calliope]

Calli's gaze narrowed at the sudden change in the man's demeanour, and she and Xander exchanged a glance, the latter's hand already on the blade at his hip.

"Not a chance in--" Xander's protest to the 'old man's' conditions were halted by Calli's hand as it came up to quiet him with reassurance.

"It's alright." she nodded to him. Was it? She highly doubted it, but curiosity was a devilish thing and this whole situation was just.. strange.

"Calli." Xander cautioned in protest.

"Just... Stay here." she asked calmly, and as the door opened she stepped inside..

 

[Tal]

The room that Calliope stepped into was not impressive by any sense of any definition.

It was quite literally a hovel. A stove sat in one corner of the room. A writing desk in another, and between them was a bed. The only thing that one could call remarkable was a strange statue that sat upon the desk, carved from an odd sort of stone and resembling a mask.

As the Princess stepped inside the old man was finally fully revealed.

He was in his sixties at least, but hardly the disheveled and broken thing he had presented himself as beyond the door. He stood upright, proud. Hair and beard colored with salt and pepper. A chuckle rasped from his throat as he stepped towards the stove where a kettle was already boiling. "So he's sent you to kill me, has he?"

Vora said. "I thought he'd send someone..."

He looked her up and down. "Bigger."

 

[Calliope]

"I don't intend on trying to kill you." she said with not a hint of a lie in her words as she looked around the little hovel curiously. "But yes, he sent me here.." she answered, her gaze catching on the carved statue on his desk.

Her arms folded as she returned her attention to the strange old man, her brow creasing in a frown. "So.. You said we'd talk. What is all of this about, exactly?" her head tilted. "What has he not told me?"

 

[Tal]

The old man scoffed. "Oh it's about the truth, my dear, as it always is."

Vora pulled the kettle from the stove top, his gaze flickering back towards Calliope. Those strange eyes flickered up and down her form again, and then he considered something.

"Talmanese is a very clever boy." He mused. "Very clever indeed."

There seemed to be admiration in his tone, mixed with loathing.

"When he came to me five years ago he already knew what I could do. Knew the limitations of his words to me. The oath he swore." A frown flickered over the old man's features. He looked to Calliope as he poured his water into a cup.

Suspicion seemed to wrack him, as if he expected something to happen at any moment. "Even then...I think he knew I had it..."

His head shook.

"What has he paid you?" The old man asked. "I'll triple it if you put an end to him."

 

[Calliope]

Calli's head tilted, her brow marred with confusion as she watched the man potter around in an apparent state of paranoia. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she let out a quiet huff at his offer.

"He hasn't paid me anything.. But, what oath?.. Knew you had what?" she asked in frustration.

 

[Tal]

The Old man seemed to rave. ”The Arcren!”

His voice was a shout now, loud enough for Xander to hear, loud enough even for Talmanese to hear around the corner. A slight cringe ran through the Underboss down the street, and he knew what was likely about to happen.

”That’s why he wanted you here!”[/colors] His shouts increased. ”HE WANTS IT! HE’LL KILL ME FOR IT!”

A wrinkled and gnarled old hand reached out for a blade on the countertop. ”Have to defend myself. Have to kill him. You. All of them.”

He hissed. ”I see the truth. I see it all. You know him. You know who he is. What he’ll do to get what he wants.”

The told man stepped forward.

”Kill him for me.” He demanded.

 

[Calliope]

"I don't know what he wants." Calliope answered sternly, her hands raised as the old man started losing his temper. " I know him and what he is, yes.." she admitted calmly with a nod.

"What I don't know is what the Arcren is.. He led me here because he knows what I want, but I never intended on killing you. I don't like to murder people for no reason, not when good deals can be arranged. Now, will you please explain to me what this thing is?.."

 

[Tal]

The way the man looked at her was nothing short of paranoid.

Calliope will have seen the look before. It was a mix of madness and complete suspicion. There was nothing that could be said to him, nothing that could be done to convince him of a thought that was already spinning in his mind. "No...no..."

He whispered.

"You'll tell him." The old man stepped towards her again, the knife flickering in his hand. "You may not kill me, but you're his creature...I can't let him have it...not after what he's done."

A wicked smile spread across his lips. "I don't have another chain."

Then the old man lunged at her.

 

[Calliope]

This wasn't going well. She could hear Xander calling her name outside before his fist beat against the rickety door, demanding to know what was going on. Calli glanced at the knife in his hand, her own hand shifting slowly to her lower back as the other hand still rose to try and calm him.

"I'm nobody's creature.. What has he done? What ch--" Calli's words died as he smiled at her that way. What the fuck had Tal sent her into!? She'd been in the process of drawing her dagger when the man rushed her. She fell, too slow to react and the blade clattered from her grip as she hit the floor, her hands reaching up to grip at him and keep his blade from her.

"Stop!!" she barked in panic. "Xander!"