Private Tales The Shadows of Destiny

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Nasir

The Fallen
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Uncharted Epressa

The small fallen fortress was cast with a dozen shadows as men and women moved around the bonfire that had been built within the courtyard.

Rubble and rock were strewn about the open space, only one building still remaining of the once Keep. Nasir and his bandits had not taken this place, not in any siege anyway. They'd come across it some time ago and decided it made for better living than the jungles that normally surrounded him. He had no idea who had destroyed these walls, though it wouldn't have taken much.

They were only of human quality.

He glanced around himself, lips thinning slightly as he peered down at his fellows. The Bandits were simple folk, men and women who'd had nowhere else to go. They had presented him an opportunity, a small bit of protection in a world rabid with a lust for violence.

Plus, they were fun, much like his newest recruit.

After all his years of wandering it was difficult to find fun, and while he respected few of the men down in the courtyard below he thought that perhaps their new companion was something different.

At least he hoped.

The wilds had not been as successful as he'd hoped, and his patience here was growing thin. The cost of his glamour was beginning to itch, and he knew that soon things would have to change. He watched as Illos, or Silver Tongue as the boys called him, wandered over to the new recruit. His hand touched her shoulder, offering a bowl of soup and saying something even Nasir's ears couldn't hear.

He frowned, remembering a thought he'd had regarding the boy. Have to watch him.

His head shook, and slowly he made his way down to the courtyard below.
 
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Keyleth was seated at the edge of the firelight, perched on a shattered mason stone that was covered in a thin carpet of moss. She stared blankly down at the ground between her feet, with her long hair falling into her face, allowing her to avoid making eye contact with any of the bandits that passed by.

The clothes she wore belonged to someone else. They itched and were of poor craftsmanship. Her armor was lost, abandoned. Along with her weapons and shield. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she scoffed at herself. What kind of shieldmaiden lost her shield?

She'd failed to protect both herself and The Mainlander, her beloved, and now she was here. Any hope of returning to Minaris with reinforcements was dashed, along with the chance of finding her daughter. If she couldn't stop these bandits, what hope did she have of restoring her home?

It was over.

A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump. She grimaced at the reaction, she'd never been one to flinch before... It was Illos. He offered her a bowl of steaming soup, murmuring that she should eat something in a low voice.

Reluctantly, she accepted the small bowl and let it rest in her lap. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, but she couldn't bring herself to eat. She hadn't eaten in days.

Her eyes dropped to the meal she held, frowning at her dark reflection in the surface of the soup. Thren might have survived the injuries he'd sustained in the battle... there was a chance he was still alive. The bandits promised to let him live if she agreed to come with them, there hadn't been another choice. It was the only way she could have saved his life in that scenario. She'd already been overwhelmed in the fight, dying in combat would have only ensured her Kalyr's death.

She gave a faint nod to Illos, but she didn't utter a word in response. Her thoughts were her own, she could at least keep those.
 
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The bandits milled about quiet by the fire light. Some of them spoke to each other, told jokes, laughed, a few even sang songs.

It was an odd contrast to what one might have expected from a gang of ruthless killers and murderers who would happily turn the knife on you if you made a wrong move. Yet everyone needed comrades, especially humans.

That was something he'd noticed early on.

Walking down the steps Nasir quickly moved among the men he had recruited, a few looking up and offering him nods while others even called out to him.

"Captain."

"Where we going next Captain?"

"More recruits, eh?"

Nasir simply offered small smiles and nods, offering no real answer to anyone. The guise of his glamour still hung about him, and to the other bandits he appeared as one of them; a normal man. He wondered what they would have done had they known the truth.

Eventually he wandered over to Keyleth, crouching down besides him with an odd sort of grace. "Not as bad as you thought it would be, or worse?"

He asked.
 
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The warrior queen grimaced as the captain came to crouch at her side. She wanted nothing to do with the man, and she certainly felt no compulsion to speak to him.

Not a single word was uttered while she finished the bowl of soup she'd been given by Illos. It bought her a moment of peace to collect her thoughts and pretend she was somewhere else.

"Worse now that you're speaking to me." She muttered, setting the small bowl down on the stone next to her.

"Why do you care?"
 
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He chuckled, such reactions were not uncommon among those whom he recruited. They all came around eventually, but progress was slow with most of them.

"I care deeply." He looked around the campfire. Some of the others were watching them now, waiting for him to speak. There was an odd worship in their eyes, as if they hung from his every word.

It was not a sight he was unfamiliar with. Humans were so...weak. They needed something to believe in, and for these bandits it was him.

"You are my charge." Nasir offered. "I promised you safety, and you have it here."

He gestured to the other bandits. "Is that so difficult to grasp?"
 
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The woman scoffed at his defensive response, shaking her head. Clearly, it was quite a difficult concept to believe. She reluctantly turned her eyes from the fire to look at the man crouched down next to her. His features might have been handsome, if she hadn't hated him to his very essence.

"It is when it's a blatant lie. I don't want your protection. And there's more to happiness than the illusion of safety." She growled to him, keeping her voice low.

Mouthing off to their beloved captain likely wouldn't earn her any brownie points with the bandits that filled the camp. Not that she particularly cared. If she was armed, and given the opportunity, she would probably slaughter a good handful of them before they could put her down.

The idea played out in her mind, eyeing the weapons that were strapped to each individual's hip. It wouldn't be too terribly difficult for her to get her hands on one.

But then what would she do?

She was stranded here in the middle of the jungle on the continent. No friends, no contacts, no guards to rely on. Her gaze flicked briefly to Larik who lay on the ground at her other side. She at least had the hound.

The Mainlander was still alive, she should try to return the beast to his master -- even if he didn't want anything to do with her.

Getting herself killed wasn't an option, not yet. No matter how badly she yearned for death now.
 
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Nasir chuckled at her words. "I suppose that's true."

The bandits were still watching them, but most were only half paying attention. Most had seen this sort of thing before, the way the Captain spoke to New recruits and got them to come around. It was almost like a spell, some of them claimed.

He'd heard those whispers of course, talk about him being some sort of spellbinder. The fools weren't exactly wrong. Nasir had learned magics from the old ways of his people. None though pertained to the twisting and breaking of the mind. Such things were of the Gods, and the divines had never interested him much.

Just the opposite in fact.

No, all he did was speak. It was enough for most. Humans were sheep, prey that were simply looking for a predator to follow. It was almost sad really, how much these people already looked to him. None of them had any idea of what he really was.

"You would know that better than most." Nasir commented. "The safety of your illusion was shattered by some petty bandits."

Bright blue eyes flickered to the fires. "Did you really think you would survive out here? Make through the Wilds without anything happening? That you would get everything you wanted?"
 
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The elven queen turned her sharp gaze to the captain, finally looking the man in the eye. There was something not quite right with the man, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself, or his strange demeanor that practically exuded Old. Not in the human sense of the word; no human would be able to sense the subtleties of it... but Keyleth recognized Old Magic when she saw it.

Just because she recognized the presence of it, didn't mean that she could see it though.

Her lips pursed slightly.

She wanted to call him out on being something far more than a petty bandit, but she held her tongue for now. Her years at Leonell's court had taught her when to hold onto a suspicion or secret until the time suited her best to reveal it.

A bitter laugh escaped her throat at the bandit captain's words. He might want to pretend that he could relate to her, that he understood, but he had no idea who she was or the type of life she'd led up until he forced himself into it. She leaned closer to him, eyes narrowed but a sharp smile on her lips. It looked more akin to a snarl than a grin.

"Do not speak to me as if you know me or my thoughts. It is clear that you're ignorant of both. There was never the illusion of safety with my Kalyr. We both knew the dangers, but at least he wasn't stupid or vapid enough to make pretty little claims that he could protect me from them." She said in a low, but even voice.

"Men are all the same with your pathetic attempts to exert dominance on the world around you. But do go on with your insipid gloating. I'm sure you had something else you wanted to blither on about."
 
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"Dominance?" He mused, chuckling to himself. "I suppose that is true."

Maybe he had become among humanity for too long. Maybe the small glimpses of joy he had tried to claw out for himself were too much like the very people that he so despised. Her words clung to his mind for a brief second as he mulled upon them.

He looked around the camp.

Briefly the thought of slaughtering them all shot through his mind. The idea was...appealing, but base. Just as everything else had been for the last few months. Memories of his exile crept up, and he scowled slightly.

Perhaps he had lost sight of things. Though, Keyleth was wrong. None of this was about dominance, not for himself. No. This had been about fun. For him, that was all they were, all any of them were. A source of joy to take at his whim. He saw them at little more than playthings.

A way of finding joy in a world where he had lost the thing he truly wanted. The bleakness, his people called it. A detachment of the self. Nasir had always regarded humans as less, and it had only been worse as of late.

His lips pursed, and slowly he continued."But you misunderstand. I wasn't offering you my protection."
 
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A faintly derisive smirk tugged at the corner of Keyleth's mouth, but she gave no other verbal remark to the man. If he wished to continue on with this conversation, he could do so entirely one-sided. She saw no reason or incentive for her to be cordial to anyone here in the camp. The threat of physical harm to her beloved was gone, and she didn't much care what happened to herself anymore.

Her gaze returned to the dancing flames of the fire, the muscles at the corner of her jaw flexing.

He was toying with her, and she wanted no part of his game.
 
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Nasir waited to see if she would act further, and when nothing came he simply offered her a smile and then shrugged.

Straightening himself he caught a reflection of his face in one of the blades being sharpened nearby. The firelight seemed to serve to accent his feature, the light highlighting his human visage. A scowl pulled at his lips and an unbelievable loathing set in.

He hated this form. "Rest well!"

Nasir's voice boomed inside of the small fortress. Every head turned towards him, every single one of them. Bandits stopped doing whatever they were doing, all focus falling to their leader.

"Tomorrow we head east." He called to them. "Towards the Great Dwarven Holds."

He needed to get back, and the Spine would be where he started.

The bandits all nodded, a few of them even looking excited. Murmurs began to run through them, talk of Dwarven plunder and riches that could be had. Nasir watched them for a time, and then turned to leave Keyleth by the fire.
 
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The shattered queen averted her eyes from the group of bandits, and then pushed herself onto her feet. Part of her wondered what they would do if she just walked straight out of camp. Was she a prisoner? A captive? Or did they just consider her a new recruit? She didn't know and she didn't much care what their current opinion of her was.

For now, they could see her out of the jungle and then she could try to strike out on her own. After losing the mainlander, her only thought was of finding her daughter. So much had already been taken from her throughout the course of her life.

Perhaps it was time she do something for herself, for a change.

Larik stood with her, the hound limping along after her as she went to find a place to lay down. She needed to conserve her energy and her strength. The time with this band of brutes was going to be harsh and unforgiving.

As she curled up on a bed roll with the hound at her side, all she could do was pray to the Old Ones that the two people she loved in this world were still alive.
 
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It was three days later that the bandits would find themselves standing on a cliffside looking down at a bustling town.

They were still well within the Ixchel Wilds, but Nasir had lead them through the thick jungles and out on a path that seemingly only he had known. Eventually they'd reached the coastline, and there they'd followed along a dangerous cliff until they reached the point.

There had been whispers among the bandits for most of the days that The Captain had no idea where he was going, but those words were always quickly silenced. "Kerak'Alke."

Nasir stated plainly, glancing around himself.

He noted those standing near him, spotting Keyleth hanging around just a few feet back. She had stuck to herself mostly, though some of the others had reached out to her more than once. Even some of the other women.

He wondered if curiosity would overtake her now.

"Once a dwarven port, one of the few. Now teeming with only men." Nasir said the words with a small amount of disgust.

The town itself looked like it only held a few dozen houses, though if one peered over the cliff they would notice an entire other city built into the rock itself. One that now lay empty.
 
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Seeing the coast again lifted Keyleth's spirits considerably. She could almost feel the connection to the water from here. The scent of the ocean breeze as it toyed with the ends of her hair actually caused her to smile for the first time since she'd been brought into the gang of bandits. It was fleeting and faint, but it was there nevertheless.

Her hand reached out to touch Larik's head.

Perhaps there would be someone here who'd heard rumors of her daughter's travels. It was an incredibly slim chance, but the potential was there ... Depending on where Aviana made landfall.

Her eyes flicked briefly to the leader when he spoke. She always got the impression he was watching her, gauging her reactions.

It made her loathe him all the more.

"Mmm." She made a small sound of acknowledgement, but said nothing else.

She was not a part of this crew and she wanted to keep it that way. No matter how many times one of them tried to reach out to her.
 
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"Do we take it?"

Nasir turned to the one who spoke, a smile quirking at the words. He sometimes forgot just how blood thirsty these ones were. Most of them had lead lives that were the envy of no one. They were beaten down, broken. Treated like dogs.

It had bent them into something else. No one had ever treated them with any respect, and thus they had none for anyone else.

Nasir had taken advantage of that fact, using their own insecurities to bring himself loyalty. It had been amusingly easy. Humans were short sighted, not understanding that they could dig themselves out of anything if they merely tried. "Not yet."

The Captain said with a wave.

"I'll venture into the city first." He told them. "See what defenses they hold. Then I will signal all of you."

The bandits nodded, apparently used to this sort of thing.

Dismounting from his horse Nasir stepped towards Keyleth, motioning to her. "Come."

Was all he said as he walked by her.
 
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"Me?" She asked, glancing around at the rest of the bandit party in front of her.

Suspicion immediately flared to life in the back of her mind. Why would he want her to go with him? Her weight shifted somewhat and then her gaze settled on Nazir's back.

At first, her gut reaction was to stand her ground and refuse to budge from that spot. She was not at his beck and call, or a trained hound that followed on command. However... chances of escape were higher if it was just the two of them.

And it would afford her to opportunity to interact with the citizens of the city below.

Swallowing her pride, Keyleth turned to trudge down the hill after Nazir.

"Fine."
 
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The Captain did not smile, but made a quick flicker of motion to his hands to some of the other bandits.

There were curt nods, and then they quickly turned and rushed off towards the surrounding cliffsides. They would wait there until the signal was given. Nasir had trained them well over the passed year, though he suspected this would all come to an end soon.

Something had changed.

He was not quite sure what, but he could feel it within the tides of magic. Walking to his horse Nasir pulled his sword free of the saddle, grabbing the rucksack as well.

Within just a few moments Keyleth and Nasir found themselves walking down a cliff road, each step having to be carefully taken to avoid falling. "Don't let your hopes rise."

The hidden Drow commented bluntly as they walked.
 
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Keyleth followed along down the trail, wearing clothes the didn't quite fit properly. At least, not as well as her tailored armor had. One of the few perks that came from being forced into a Royal marriage... At least her armor had been superb.

Her fingers idly traced over the tattoo on her midriff, which was hidden away beneath her tunic. For a brief moment, her thoughts meandered back to her Mainlander, her Kalyr. She missed the man, desperately so. In their short time together, she'd come to implicitly trust and depend on him.

He'd seen and treated her as an equal, respected her, treasured her... And these men had taken that from her. She looked down over the side of the cliff path they were traversing and briefly entertained the idea of throwing herself down the mountain.

"Not sure they could get any lower." She muttered in return, frowning.
 
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"A mistake many make." Nasir said outloud, frowning for a brief second as he realized he probably should not have commented on the words.

Humans sometimes had good hearing, but it was inevitably never as good as his own. That was something that marked him apart naturally from the companions he'd chosen. Most never questioned it, and perhaps that was why he hadn't taken a second thought.

Lips thinned, but before Keyleth could question he kept speaking.

"You are from an Island, yes?" Nasir asked, remembering what she had called her companion on the road. "Which one?"

There were many off the coast.
 
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Her eyes narrowed at the back of Nasir's head. She was already convinced there was something off about him, and his remark had only been another addition to the pile of suspicion.

"Don't pretend to be interested." She countered curtly, turning her gaze back towards the city.

"My homeland is irrelevant. What do you want?" She asked instead, clearly thinking that there was some sort of angle he was trying to play. He wanted something from her, but she wasn't sure what it was yet.
 
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"I am a man of the world." Describing himself in such a way was oddly painful.

Nasir was far more than any man, far more than any man could hope to be. Yet the illusion was still there, and it would have to remain until he could properly sever his ties. "Of course I care."

He said plainly.

"I've seen more of this world than most could ever dream of. The peaks of the Spine, the reaches of the Spear, even Cerak At'Thul." He remembered that vile city, the corruption that had taken place there and the mirror of his Kin who ruled over it.

The thought made him want to spit. "I, like the others, am simply trying to find my place."

Though unlike the others, Nasir already knew where that place was.
 
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Keyleth found her desire shifting. No longer did she fantasize about throwing herself down the mountain side; but now she considered shoving Nasir. It would have been a struggle, one that could potentially end in her hurtling down the rockface anyways... but it was a nice thought to conjure up during their journey towards the city. One of them dashed against the ground below.

"How sad for you all, but I already know mine." She replied coldly.

Her eyes turned back towards her... what was he, exactly? Her captor?

"You want something more. You are hardly a 'man of the world' as you claim to be. It clings to you like a stench." She said flatly.
 
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"I do." He admitted with a frown.

Centuries.

That was what he had spent upon this world. He did not even know what his home looked like, anymore. Did not even know if what he wanted was even there. That thought alone caused a spike of anger to filter to his core, but he did not allow it to show.

His lips thinned as he half turned to Keyleth. "I suspect that desire is not so far from your own."

Nasir said the words as the road they walked upon leveled out. Ahead of them lay the scant village, to their left lay the dwarven ruins encapsulated within the cliffs.

"These people will be kind to you." Nasir predicted. "Don't fall for it, they will betray that kindness in the end."
 
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Keyleth swept her eyes over the village, a small frown on her lips.

"Funny, coming from you." She responded bitterly, shaking her head.

The bandit leader was up to something, likely trying to scout out the village to get a feel for their defenses; but she wasn't sure if there was more at play here. Why would he have brought her along for this otherwise?

Her frown deepened.

What was Nasir's plan? He didn't think like most humans, and he certainly didn't carry himself like a run-of-the-mill bandit.
 
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Almost as soon as they stepped into the town square people began to pay attention to them.

A woman poked her head up, several men looked up from their work to gaze at the strangers, and even some children came running up around them. None of them dressed richly, though a few noticeably carried golden rings upon their fingers.

"Can we help ye?"​

The woman asked as Nasir and Keyleth came to a stop. "Yes, we've been traveling for a long time...we could use an Inn."

The woman stared quietly for a moment, giving them both an appraising look.

Nasir watched her in turn, noting the silver around her neck and the fine sapphired that adorned a ring upon her finger.

"Over there. Roger will take care of you."​

Nasir nodded his thanks, motioning for Keyleth to move.
 
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