Fable - Ask Urorak Sands Caravan Crossing [Raziel - Kade]

[Fieravene]

The Urorak Sands Caravan route was not one to be taken lightly or unprepared. The crossing stemmed from the bustling city of Annuakat, drawing north to Ragash over a vast, open landscape of rolling dunes that carried on for days on end. So easy to be devoured by the desert was it that many of those who ventured there never returned. If the heat did not get to you first, the sandstorms, beasts, or desert pirates would.

Fieravene's answer to this? Bring her own heat, beasts, storms, and pirates. Thus she did.

To the desert brigands she raised them the Terra'terre Pirates. With Sha Loxa Visl at the helm and her crew of fierce fighters, Fiera had no doubt that they would travel safely through any clan territory they crossed. To the heat she balanced with Mages of water, to the storms she hired a legion of Sky Elves from Rih who flew upon the backs of canyon creebaks, and to the beasts she challenged with Raziel who needed something to do to keep him from distracting her.

They set off just after midday, catching the sun in its descent to take advantage of the coming cooler hours. Kade Anvar had been assigned the duty of leading the horses that pulled a large wagon within which stood a tree as tall as a knight, its roots bound and boxed, its height tethered on all sides, and its branches gently clattering together as they swayed to the motion of the cart.

Fieravene rode alongside the caravan, making her rounds as it traversed away from the worn paths leading into the city of Annuakat and out into the softer sands.

"There you are," she intoned to the boy as her steed, a horse as black as a starless night with queer, glassy eyes, pulled up beside his cart, "Keeper of the Tree is not a title to sniff at. You're moving up in the world, poppet." The elf smiled down at him pleasantly enough, "How many times have you made this crossing?"

 

[Kade Anvar]

Kade didn't think that there would be a caravan until he actually arrived.

His whole encounter with the dark elf (not knowing her name, he had just begun to think of her as "The Executioner," because...well...it was seeming less and less like a joke) had something of a dreamlike quality to it. Right? It was started off as something he totally wasn't expecting, was completely out of line with his normal life experience, it happened relatively fast, and then, at the very end, she up and vanished on him. How useful would that be though, if he could master a skill like that? Not just sleight of hand, but sleight of body, disappearing into a crowd or alongside some buildings, and whoever it was you were near never even sees your back.

Anyway, so the caravan was there when and where the Executioner said it would be. Kade had thought it was going to be incredibly awkward, just showing up there and saying that a dark elf said he could come along. Oh well what's her name? I don't know. What do you mean you don't know? Listen, I stole some pistachios from her and then she bought me a bowl of lamb chops. Get the hell out of here, kid.

But it didn't go like that. The first man he'd talked to seemed to know that he was coming, and it wasn't long before he caught sight of The Executioner herself.

So here he was now. Keeper of the Tree. What was the Tree, then, someone might ask. Well, that's a good question, because Kade was the someone in question who might be doing that asking. At some point. Right now, he was just glad to have a nice secure trip home to Ragash. He had some small souvenirs from Annuakat in his satchel--what he could afford, anyway. A couple of nice bead bracelets for his sister Aisha, and colored wood carving of the stars in the summer sky for Tahir.

Kade walked with the reins in his left hand, the familiar feel of sand beneath his sandals.

He looked up to the Executioner. She seemed to be a good mood. "Just the one time, coming from the opposite direction. I'm an apprentice for a master alchemist, and he sends me out to far-flung places every now and again to fetch rare ingredients and reagents, but, heh, funnily enough I guess, this was the first time I ever visited Annuakat. And it wasn't even at his behest."

Kade glanced back at the Tree, sitting pretty and secured in its own special wagon. Then back to the Executioner. "Is that where this Tree is going? To an alchemist or something?"

Fieravene Raziel

 

[Raziel]

Raziel hadn't the faintest interest in whatever this Tree might be. Unless it turned out to be worth a great deal of coin and then his pointed ears might perk up at its mention in future.

His last venture had not gone well. It had seemed a great jape to try and sell illusionary gold back to the dwarves of the spine. He had thoroughly underestimated their affinity for gold and resistance to magical tricks.

And so the tiefling was off to fertile ground - in a sense of the word. The arid deserts were home to warlords and city states constantly jostling for power, even under this new emperor Fiera had told him about. There would be murder and intrigue and hopefully some wine too. His favourite things.

For now, he kept a keen eye on the horizon. At least it was a difficult place to mount an ambush. At least Darkell Barrelchest and his clan wouldn't chase him out here.

 

[Fieravene]

Apprentice to an Alchemist. Hmmmm. The dark elf's ears pricked and brows arched in intrigue. Alchemists were few and far between - good ones, anyway. Not a bad person to have in one's back pocket, so she put that tidbit of info away for later use.

"Goodness no," Fiera waved the idea away as if the boy had suggested she were bringing bread for beggars, "it's a gift for my wife. A very special tree. An exceptionally rare specimen - it may very well be the last of its kind." She leaned toward him from her saddle to allow those very heavy facts to settle squarely on his shoulders. Couldn't have them getting lost in translation or a cross breeze, "Do take very good care of it for me." A smile of poisoned honey drew across the elf's features, her red gaze keen on him for a moment longer before she righted herself in the saddle.

"And I should like to meet your Master when we reach Ragash. I will make it worth your while to make the arrangements. Is that amenable?"


Up ahead toward the front of the caravan, a rider peaked over the distant northern dunes moving at speed, a spray of sand lingering in his wake. Raziel rode nearby Sha Loxa Visl who sat astride her ambling raladon mount doing much the same as he was: keeping a weather eye on the horizon. The pair had become acquainted when Raziel joined Fieravene at port some months ago. As the Captain of the Terra'terre, she'd welcomed the tiefling for the price of his strong back aboard the ship. Nothing ever came free, but he'd traveled in luxury at Fiera's behest otherwise.

The gnoll issued a warning chuff at the rider's approach, her nearby gnoll guards on foot stepping forward to receive him. It was Roque, her speaker and right hand.

"A sandstorm," Roque announced, out of breath as he reined his horse up, "not but a quarter day ride ahead. It's massive - I've never seen such a storm like this. We need to reroute and find shelter."

 

[Kade Anvar]

Kade gave a nod of recognition when the dark elf said that the tree was a gift for her wife. So she did manage to find a gift for someone who had everything and needed nothing. Must of been a real headscratcher--even after the dark elf had disappeared, Kade had puzzled over what such a gift would even begin to look like. A tree, though. No, a special tree. Rare specimen, she said. Oh wow, last of its kind. What, was the dark elf's wife some kind of collector or something? On that note, who was her wife? Kade wouldn't dare say it aloud (until his flailing tongue got the better of him and spat it out anyway, heh, better hope that doesn't happen), but, uh, wouldn't it be kind of scary to be married to The Executioner? You know? Kade could only imagine. So how was your day? Just chopped off a few heads, pretty standard. And then you just feel that cold sweat.

Coincidentally, the same feeling Kade felt when The Executioner leaned in and told him, with keen emphasis, to take very good care of the tree.

"Absolutely. Count on me. Nobody but me, you, and your wife are gonna touch that tree."

Kade smiled a nervous smile back to her, the reins feeling a bit heavier in his grasp. He might as well defend the tree with his life, because, if he didn't, he, uh, wouldn't have a very bright future anyway, would he? End up as another head lopped off during the day. Pretty standard.

Kade caught a glimpse of a rider approaching the head of the caravan (where that tiefling with the wild grin was at), but The Executioner had a question. A question that was a surprise, for sure.

"Master Jalil? Yeah. Of course. That's amenable. I mean, how could I say no?" His face paled a little, and he felt the need to add, "That last part was kind of a joke. No, sorry, was a joke. Not kind of a joke. Was a joke."

He glanced back toward the head of the caravan. Were those...gnolls? Huh, first time seeing 'em. At least they weren't raiders, putting his commitment to safeguard the tree to the test so soon. They were parleying, the gnolls, the tiefling, some other caravan hands. He could hear them speaking, but couldn't quite make it out.

"What're they talking about up there?"

Fieravene Raziel

 

[Raziel]

Raziel despised dangers that he couldn't control. There was no reward without risk, but he didn't enjoy a flat roll of the dice with his own life.

In his view, most people confined their life to a little path that had been laid out for them. It was, he had decided, like the drainage channels dug out for crops. They dutifully followed their route from the bottom of the mud, blissfully unaware of other paths. They lived as farmers, fletchers, mothers in the same squalid abodes as every generation before them.

He was different. He drew himself up out of the channel that had been dug for him. He climbed those walls and everything was laid bare for him, every option his to take. Fiera was like that, though what they did with their freedom differed somewhat. He enjoyed his chaos and carnage a little more than his luxuries. Apparently both were abundent in the wester lands.

"I hope you all might have an idea of where to find some?" Raziel asked. He looked about them for what might be considered shelter.

 

[Fieravene]

Amusement played the field of her expression at the boy's reply. Such a stout-hearted young fellow - a rare sort in these lands. Earnest and nervous to a fault. If he'd been but a bit older, a bit more long in the tooth, she would have enjoyed his trepidation and stammering about her in a far different way.

Alas, youth was wasted on the young, but she was growing a fondness for the pup.

"Marvelous," the elf returned, "you must tell me about him. Alchemy truly is a wonder of this world-" but her tall ears pricked at the sound of the forward caravan and the arriving rider. Fiera narrowed her eyes and strained to hear, but even her own elvish senses weren't enough at this distance.

"What are they talking about up there?"

"I'm not sure," Fiera glanced to the boy, bobbed her eyebrows at him in a manner that suggested intrigue, then kicked her horse into a bouncing canter to catch up with the front group.

"What is it?" she called ahead as she arrived in a spray of sand, riding up alongside Raziel

"Sandstorm - far too big for us to outrun or press through," Roque replied to her, "we must turn the caravan to shelter or we risk losing everything."

"I hope you all might have an idea of where to find some?"

Fiera looked down at the tiefling and swung her right leg over the back of her saddle in a sliding dismount off its side, "Let us take a look-" and produced the journeymap from her saddlebag. She folded it open, gesturing for Raziel to hold up the one side, and pointed to the route at near the bottom, "we're much too far outside of the city to turn back. There's nothing close by for at least a day's ride, in any direction."

A horn sounded in the distance to the east, in the air the shape of a creebak and its rider glided in through the gleam of the sun. It began circling high up in the sky, signaling with flashes of its colored wings.

Fiera peered quizzically, turning to a nearby Sky Elf who traveled on foot, "What are they saying?"

"They want us to follow," the elf replied while he watched, "they say ruins."

"That direction is over here," Fiera tapped her finger at the map, "if there are ruins then they are not marked, but that's our best bet. Take this darling," she handed the map to Raziel, "and stay with the young fellow back there with the tree. I'm going to ride ahead. Do try to be nice, I'm keeping him."

 

[Raziel]

Do try to be nice, I'm keeping him

"I will try to be nice," Raziel replied, shifting the emphasis so very easily with his wicked, underutilised, tongue.

He carefully folded the map and mounted up again. A sharp tug of the reins turned him towards the back of the caraven.

"You! Treeboy," he called out to Kade Anvar. Raziel didn't look as if he suited the caravan. He was the only tiefling in the party and by far the most finely dressed. He might have been wearing loosely fitting robes to protect against the heat, but there was subtle stitching that even matched the scabbard of the rapier that hung loose from his hip.

"There is a storm coming. Stay close to me. Fiera is looking for shelter."

His history with the dark elf might not have bought her politeness, but if the boy was dear to her then it would earn him protection.

 

[Kade Anvar]

So far everything was going good. The caravan was rolling along as it should, the weather (so far as Kade could see) was fine, and those gnolls who'd approached the head of the caravan really did just want to talk. Kade heard a distant horn and thought, briefly, that he had counted his blessings too soon, but looking to the east he saw in the air just the one mounted flyer in the sky, and his cheeks puffed as he let out a small, relieved breath. Rock and a hard place, right? In all honesty, he wasn't thrilled about defending this Tree (no matter how special it was) with his life, but, you know, if he didn't, he'd have to answer to The Executioner. Well, the thought of that inspired all sorts of noble inclinations to keep his word in defending the Tree.

You! Treeboy.

Kade glanced the tiefling's way as a small breeze rustled the frayed edges of his scarf. Wow. Kade still didn't know how he could stand wearing such a busy outfit in this desert heat. Maybe the red skin helped. Maybe he didn't even feel the heat.

Fiera. Oh. Was that The Executioner's name, then? Well act smooth. Act like you already knew it.

"A storm? That's no good."

He glanced back to the horses pulling the Tree wagon, their reins in his hands.

"Wherever that shelter is, let's get this tree in first. I don't know if Fiera told you, but she's awfully keen on seeing this tree unscathed through the journey."

Fieravene Raziel

 

[Raziel]

"No good. Yes that's about the rub of it. I hope those horses are fairly fresh as the caravan is turning and we might need to move," Raziel replied. There were times when it was exceptionally hard not to roll his eyes.

Raziel looked behind them at the wagon. He was not entirely sure why they were dragging a tree across the empty wastes. If Fiera hadn't told him it was either because she didn't think he would be interested or that she was afraid he would be interested and decide to do something that interfered with her plans.

"Let me be clear on the matter. Should a sandstorm be rolling in that will flay the flesh from my bones I will get myself into cover first, then the horses and then - only because in this heat I am not in the mood for a pissed off Fiera - you and then if there is plenty of time I might consider helping to haul this overgrown weed into shelter. Clear?"

 

[Fieravene]

"Oh shit."

Fiera and her black horse sat atop a high dune overlooking the remnants of what appeared to be a lone temple entrance out in the middle of the desert. Said ruins had, for much of history, been blanketed to the very top of its weathered spires, and then some. Her eyes tracked the brief glimmer of a creebak and its rider sailing overhead and heard the horns to the north of the rest of the sky elf flock. The storm was moving in and she felt the gentle eddies of breeze pick up.

Blessings and curses. Why was her life always blessings and curses and not just blessings.

Swearing to herself, Fi pulled a length of black linen from a saddlebag and wrapped it hurridly over her shoulders, before making a head and face covering with it. She reeled her horse back round and kicked it off into a run back across the sands to the caravan.

"There's a temple ruin that leads to an underground chamber," the dark elf called to Loxa at the front of the group, "take everyone inside, go no further than necessary."

The Sha nodded in response and signaled to the others to follow. Roque began calling out orders and heading them up the same route Fieravene had just taken.

Fi ushered her mount back down the line of wagons, riders, and walkers, calling out orders to follow the new route to safety and to move quickly. "Kade get those ponies moving!" she yelled at the boy as she blitzed by him and Raziel in a shower of sand.

 

[Kade Anvar]

"Is that...what I think it is?"

Just as they were cresting a high dune, Kade could see it. See it. Like an enormous thunderhead cloud of sand itself, made small only by distance. Distance, of course, that the sandstorm could cover much, much faster than the caravan or the flyers above, or, heh, probably anything with a heartbeat on Arethil. Kade had never been caught out in the open during a sandstorm, but even within the safe enclosures of his home and the city of Ragash itself, the desert storms were something to respect.

Would it flay the flesh from their bones? Kade didn't know. But he knew one thing. The tiefling had made himself clear on what he was going to do, the order of operations you could say, but he also had said he wasn't in the mood for a pissed off Fiera. That made two of them. Weren't they friends, though, the tiefling and Fiera? Didn't she tell him how important this tree was? Or was he in a position to not really care? Oops, your special tree got chafed to death by the desert, gotcha good, Fi, ah. And then she retorts, I'm gonna get you good next time. Extra special. If you wake up without horns, just know it was me, love.

Or something like that.

Speaking of, Fiera went racing by, yelling specifically at Kade with a particular emphasis. Ah damn. Ah shit. What a time to be Keeper of the Tree. Nothing ever goes right when you need it to. This tree gets blasted by all that furious sand, there wasn't going to be any pistachios or cuts of lamb involved with what Fiera would do with him.

"Already in motion!" Kade called back, trying at least to exude the confidence he had in more familiar situations.

Kade turned and jumped up onto the front rail of the wagon and sat down--sure would've been nice if there was a proper driver's platform, yet this would have to do, even if his butt would hate him for it later. Reins in hand, he suffered a hesitant moment.

"Okay...okay, alright," he said to himself. "How'd this go again?" He'd never really ridden or driven a horse before. Leading them was easy, anybody could do that. Ah. Think back. Remember watching other riders and drivers, whatever they did.

Kade gave the reins a hard flick, and the horses got to trotting faster. He rocked back from the sudden acceleration, almost tumbling into the bed of the wagon with the tree, but recovered.

"Hey!" he called to the tiefling. "Hey, where are we going? Should I just follow the gnolls' lead?"

Raziel Fieravene

 

[Raziel]

"Is that...what I think it is?"

"Yes it is. Unless you are a complete door licker, it is definitely what you think it is."

Raziel looked up at the haze growing on the horizon and felt a flutter of fear. He also felt a little excitement. A break in the mundanity of the excursion. Life wasn't worth living unless you occasionally faced up to your mortality.

He wondered if Fiera would let him try and kill her again. Would his terror be quite as fresh a second time?

No, he silently chastised himself. Now was not the time for such effortlessly distracting thoughts.

"Make haste for whichever gnolls are making the most noise!" Raziel called to the boy. Already the wind was picking up. The storm was close enough that he could see streams carrying detritus through the air, like tendrils reaching out to them from the belly of the beast.

 

[Fieravene]

Kade had very little time to figure out the mechanics of driving a cart before the ponies seemed to catch wind of the mounting charge toward the ruin in the caravan ahead. They took off under the snap of his reins, trying to catch up with the other wagons and riders ahead of them.

Fiera drove the caravan from the back, summoning the elemental Mages to form a buffer line against the encroaching storm. Even they paled as they watched the massive, dark cloud as high as any mountain and as wide as they could turn their heads devour the horizon to the north.

The Ruins

​

They didn't have much time for sightseeing, and so a ruin that many would have marveled at and remarked that they'd never seen before (not even on previous desert crossings) went unremarked in the chaotic run for shelter and safety. The main entrance was large enough that even though half of it was blocked by piles of sand and fallen debris, the wagons and carts could still fit through. An inner chamber greeted them, dark and quiet from many long, long centuries of sleep. As the outside winds picked up, howling in a mighty gale, the last few stragglers of the caravan filed in.

Fieravene brought up the very back, hunkered low over her black steed and shielding both herself and the horse's face from sand burn with her headwrap.

Torches flared to life within the amassed peoples, an unhushed murmuring running free among the numbers.

"Gods-" Fiera nearly fell from her horse as it shook itself free, a cloud of sand billowing from its figure. The dark elf dropped gracelessly to her bottom on a pile of sand as she dismounted and stayed there, catching her breath.

"Are we all ... accounted for? Where is the tree?"

 

[Kade Anvar]

Whichever gnolls were making the most noise! Right! For once, that was surprisingly easy. Because the gnolls were shouting and yipping impressively loudly to one another, coordinating, and also the horses seemed to have gotten briefed on the plan too. They just took off! Kade would have loved to take credit for steering them so, have a nice luxurious bath in beginner's luck and call it all skill, my man, but even he couldn't do that.

Nope. His heart was racing far too hard for that. How in the world could something so massive be moving so fast?? Every time Kade hazarded a glance toward the sandstorm it seemed to grow ever closer. The wind was picking up considerably, whipping the short strands of hair and his scarf about, and already tiny beads of sand, the vanguard of the storm, were beginning to pelt his face.

By the end of it, as the structure of the ruins ahead overshadowed them, it seemed like everybody was either running or their horses were full-on galloping to get inside. Mostly because by then the storm was overshadowing them too.

"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! EASY, EASY. You're supposed to know one of those two words, right??"

The horses pulling the tree's wagon slowed and stopped inside the grand inner chamber, less because of Kade's drive and more because they ran out of room to run. But. You know what. Kade'll take credit for this little bit anyway. See that? All skill, my man.

Alright. Take a breath. Enjoy the sweet, non-sandy air of victory.

Kade then jumped off from the driver's platform. Placed one hand on his hip and set the other to scratching the side of his head as he regarded the tree. Well. It looked fine. That meant it was fine--so hopeful optimism would have him believe. But it never hurt to get a second opinion.

He glanced around for the tiefling. Caught sight of him. He waved him down. "Hey!" Hot sands, was it awkward not knowing someone's name. What was he supposed to do, call him 'red guy'? "Hey, over here!"

Kade waited for him, then gestured with his head up toward the tree on the cart. "Looks alright to you, doesn't it? I'm no tree scholar, but it looks alright to me."

A little sand never hurt anybody. Funny timing for the thought, but he needed it to be true in this particular case.

Raziel Fieravene

 

[Raziel]

"I'm not convinced that a tree being wheeled through the desert is going to survive but right now...it is still a tree."

Raziel was brushing the last of the sand from his clothing. Looking after himself, he had rushed out of the open ahead of the cart.

He was glad the boy was still alive. It saved him from a stern talking to from Fiera.

"Tree is here!" Raziel shouted out to Fiera. "But how much water have we got? I'm not letting the tree drink before me."

 

[Fieravene]

The tree, for all intents and purposes, had looked like hell from the very start. If nothing else, the thing looked to have been dead and devoid of life for perhaps ten years at least. Probably longer.

"Don't-" ACHOO! Fiera sneezed a cloud of sand from her hair and haplessly waved away Raziel's concerned from where she sat, "don't worry your tight scarlet behind over water." And with some effort and a bit more patting of her leather gear she was on her feet and relatively sand-free, "It doesn't need water."

She gave her horse a solid pat on the ass and stepped away to join the others at the tree, "Captain? How are we looking?"

The large gnoll grumbled from where she stood alongside her own massive, unusual steed.

"All accounted for, Lady Fi," Roque announced as he made his way in from the howling of the storm beyond the entrance, "except for our friends in the sky. They took off further east last I saw."

"Probably flying around the storm if they can," Fi remarked before looking around, "well we're not going anywhere until it passes. Have everyone secure their goods and check their supplies. Fix what needs to be fixed. Mend what needs mended."

"Consider it handled, m'lady," Roque bowed himself away.

"You two," the elf turned a disgusted, tooth-baring smile at Kade and Raziel and motioned for them to follow, "come with me, if you please. We have something fun to do."

 

[Kade Anvar]

How'd the saying go? If it's good enough for a tiefling, it's good enough for me. Okay, that wasn't actually a saying, but it was one Kade made up right this moment because it helped assuage his concerns about the tree. Since the welfare of the tree and the welfare of his own person were inextricably linked at present, yeah, Kade had no qualms inventing sayings to boost his confidence. Whatever it took to make sure that tree got gifted safe and sound to Fiera's wife.

Water, though. Redman brought up a good point. There was a plan for that, right?

...there was a plan for that, right?

Fiera came over. Looking rough--she had to have been at the tail end of the caravan, one of the last ones into the shelter of the ruins, catching a good pelting from the sandstorm. She sneezed.

"Six bless you!" Kade said. Was it true? That your soul might leave your body and one of the Three might seize it if nobody said that? Kade didn't know. But mom always glowered at him when he was younger and failed to say it, so he said it.

And the plan was revealed. The tree didn't need water. Great. One less thing that might get Kade's hands chopped off. He wasn't about to go asking questions, that'd ruin the relief of the whole thing.

You two...come with me...We have something fun to do.

One side of Kade's mouth pulled longed. Well, the relief was good while it lasted.

This was quickly starting to become a habit. Kade turned to the tiefling, once more seeking his input. "So. When Fiera says fun, she does actually mean fun, right? Or is that just me and my wishful thinking?"

Nevertheless, he was prepared to follow.

Fieravene Raziel

 

[Raziel]

"We're in an empty cave in the middle of nowhere," Raziel replied to Kade. "Unless you're far more liberal than you seem I suspect she is being sarcastic." Raziel dropped to a whisper but knew she would be able to hear that.

"If it will bring you as much joy as wheeling a dead tree across the sand then I will of course attend you!" Raziel called after Fiera.

Raziel reminded himself that the lands out west were supposed to be filled with unrest, murder and war. The kind of place where he could truly be happy for a few years.

 

[Fieravene]

"Darling very few things in this world make me happier than when you attend me."

Fieravene didn't look back as she spoke, nabbing a torch from a cartman as she walked, her gaze dark and wondering at her current state of affairs. She lead the pair away from the caravan gathering and the growing campfires that split the temple's dark underbelly into dancing sections of gold. Into the back of the temple where light nor footfalls had visited in probable centuries.

"This is the Temple of Irith'el," the dark elf spoke as their distance from the murmur of the people grew, "and it's supposed to be dead."

It shouldn't have been here. Shouldn't have been visible by the sky elves. Shouldn't have so fortuitously offered sanctuary from a storm that swallowed cities. Something was amiss...

"But if we're lucky, it will work in our favor. Kade darling, come here-" she stopped at the mouth of a corridor cast in dark shadow, "I want you to take this torch and run ahead as far as you can." Fiera handed off the torch to the boy and shooshed him forward, "We'll be right behind you, Puppy."

 

[Kade Anvar]

"Oh. So this is the fun part," Kade said, accepting the torch. He'd barely any time to dwell on things, important things, like whether this was a good idea for his health or how one actually spelled Irith'el, before some extra encouragement in the form of a hand to his back shuttled him along.

Kade clutched onto the torch with both hands, his knuckles white with effort. Kade was never really afraid of the dark, not like Aisha was. Darkness oftentimes was his friend. But here, Kade didn't have an irate shopkeeper or vengeful vendor hot on his heels. All he had were the wonderful things one's imagination cooked up when you could only see about ten feet in front of you. And for someone reason, every single one of these figments of the imagination: first, was monstrous; second, was ugly; third, absolutely loved to eat Puppies.

Geez, thanks, my own imagination, just go ahead and sprinkle some seasoning on me too.

"Right behind me," Kade echoed as he went carefully forward. "Don't get out of yelling range. Heh heh."

His laughter couldn't have sounded more nervous. Now he was wishing he had held onto that busted shortsword he'd purchased for the Tower of Tribulations--better than nothing. He just had to hope now that, with a moniker like "the Shadow Fiend," if anything was lurking in the dark it would be too afraid of Fiera to come slinking up for a Ragashan-flavored snack.

Kade forged ahead, a bubble of fire-light making way down the corridor.

Raziel Fieravene

 

[Raziel]

"Darling very few things in this world make me happier than when you attend me."

"Ah but with my parched lips, I fear I would need to quench my thirst before I attended you," Raziel replied. He looked around and listened to the explanation.

Ruins had never held his interest for long, not unless they held treasure. He preferred the messy, chaotic dance of living power struggles.

He watched the flame dancing as it descended into the darkness ahead of them. She had the boy well and truly trained for obedience.

"You think there might be traps down there?" he whispered. If he had feared such things he would have sent someone expendable on ahead.

 

[Fieravene]

"Nothing so cliche," Fiera waved him off. With the light of the torch fading, her own red eyes took on a heady glow, meeting those of flame above herself belonging to the tiefling. Ah, darkvision, such a useful attribute. She smirked into the darkness, a faint glint revealing her show of teeth as she reach out to take hold of the beast to halt his movements.

"Just give it a few moments..."

As Kade Anvar ran and ran, his footsteps echoing weirdly before and behind him, he'd feel the most curious of sensations beneath his feet. The tunnel tilted, dipped, and rose again, following several serpentine curves until up ahead he could spy two familiar figures standing in the darkness.

Another several yards and he'd come upon Fiera and Raziel from behind.

"Honestly, don't tell me you're afraid of a harmless dark tunnel," Fiera reached for the boy as if he'd been there the whole time and gave him an encouraging push forward, "hold your torch up high and go on, we're right behind you. Hurry now."

She waited until he conceded and took off again before turning a broadening grin at Raz.

 

[Kade Anvar]

Who built a tunnel like this? No, seriously, Kade really wanted to know. He didn't know anything about construction, not really, just little bits and pieces gleaned from Dad's work as a stonemason. But what he did know was that nobody built a hallway as if it were a stretch of rolling hills. Nobody. Okay, maybe some eccentric mages with a kooky tower and no inclination whatsoever to build a convenient corridor or staircase or doorway.

Aaaand...he just answered his own question, didn't he? Irith'el, whoever he was, was at the very least an eccentric mage--one more of the temple variety than tower. Alright. Got it.

Kade was coming up on something. Cautiously, he slowed down. Nervous.

It was...Fiera? And the tiefling? Kade scarcely had time to blink out his confusion before the former was urging him forward yet again. He stood there for a second, looking down the dark corridor and then back to the elf and her red friend.

Then a spark of apparent realization lit up his expression. "Ohhhhh. I see what you did. I don't know how you did it but you did it." He playfully waved a finger. "You can fool me once, though! Not twice, or you can call me sharp as a rock."

Kade started forward down the corridor again. The rules of magic were known worldwide, and even a street rat who barely knew what was happening outside of Ragash knew them. Wasn't teleportation...not allowed, or however it was phrased? They had some other trick then. Bet it was the tiefling. However they did it, they played a nice prank on him. Got him all worked up for nothing.

Now to get to the end of this eccentrically designed hallway and figure this place out.

Fieravene Raziel

 

[Raziel]

"You can fool me once, though! Not twice, or you can call me sharp as a rock."

Raziel frowned at the boy. He managed to look distinctly unimpressed at being accused of tricking the boy.

He hadn't, of course, but now he was going to enjoy the joke too.

"I believe she said hurry up," he said sharply, his tail giving an irritated flick.