Private Tales Without Relent

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
(Part 1 to this story can be found here)

A vexed mind when lacking solutions seeks distractions. Distractions which render sleep swift as near exhaustion rushes all governance to recovery from such toil to escape rumination. To escape the languid moments of doing nothing about what mattered, and instead, doing much about what might not. But such was still within duty's domain, and thus, did Valborast proceed with his earnest regime to occupy his waking days and nights, justified and self insistent, sleep denied as agitation only yielded to exhaustion after much application of his efforts.

Normally, matters of cerebral importance might occupy the Crimson Knight. But such pursuits quickly frustrated, the quill did not move quick enough, did not flood the mind with the immediate and pressing moment. There of course was a further step into the mind, that of the art of the arcane, of weaving the shadow, yet such pursuits were further steps within his own cognition. What was needed a total shunt of the present condition and thoughts abounding it, Valborast surmised.

He considered the product of the vine, how it might afford him some relief. Buying three bottles, he placed them down upon drawing table in his quarters. Ran his fingers across the texture of the label on a moonless night, of the marks of quality that spoke plain enough of the product. Reaching for corkscrew with grumblings in his throat as he weighed the liquid in drops of time borrowed from himself, he saw himself in the low candlelight, reflected upon the glass.

Yet the notion of drowning what proud visage met his withering gaze when he looked at his own reflection, of deepening the dark rings under his eyes, of making himself heavy in dullness, to become easy pickings for those who might find him wanting, such did not suit. Such was not acceptable. Heavy was the bottle replaced upon his bedside table, glass set aside, rejected.

Such bottles collected dust in his absence. In this moment, another decision as quick as his purchase of wine was seized upon. Affixing gear to pursue what minor purpose could be gleaned from task board and rumour, further irritation at himself affixing to his maladies as he marched away from rest or recuperation.

Three weeks passed as each task connected by virtue of need to place feet in front of the other and weapon to the tasks. Tasks minor, trivial, squirely in places. Alone.

Well, alone as Valborast allowed himself to be. The shining silver blade was drawn on many occasion in the dead of night as brigand felt shock swift and eyes flared before the end. Too quickly it was over, before the next task beckoned, for there was still locomotion in his mind, thinking to be done with pacing to the next quarry.

A mind driven to ignore itself can demand much of the body.

For three weeks did Valborast scarcely sleep, alone, in the field, under tree often with paltry attempts to secure his own safety. His ears still heard the world as he deemed it to conspire against him, rare was the true absence of his wit to hate his moments.

When threat animal did reveal itself, it bore fang and much snarling from the night, and being no stranger to such things, Valborast became more monstrous than the wolf that might lunge, and bid it to embrace timidity into the dark that bore it. Such things were minor indulgences. The true moment of hedonistic dominance was when threat humanoid did skulk out of dark with dagger drawn. Valborast employed much patience then, luring, beckoning with vulnerability, before his own appetites to distracting combat were employed. The shock of steel of parry performed, of darkness swathing beyond itself, of terror in the brigand who swore to confide themselves to a better life as they were outmatched and toyed with...before being released. Mercy was within his vocabulary, for knightly behaviour was still his byword, even if his attitude was far from.

The wolf was allowed safe passage home, and so too was the wayward opportunist, bettered for the lesson that might have been the last.

But while the mind may compel the body to great feats of endurance beyond the common task, pain is the reminder that rest is demanded of all those that live under nature's rule.

Valborast's feet were well worn and ached from his marches from place to place, his eyes did sting in dark as well as daylight, a sure sign of true rest being required. In the daylight did he understand that this course of action was spent, else the next time rest be sought, he would enter the dullness of sleep, and fall to brigand, wolf or worse.

It had been twenty one days since he trekked out to meet what tasks he made his business. He stared at his own reflection in sparkling waters of a stream that he knew ran in the direction of home. Looked at the weapon at his hip that he had not spoken to in all this time, silence being understood between them.

Perhaps, Valborast thought, that the remnant of me within Riven understands what I contend with.

He threw a hand across the waters to dispel the visage. He wet his hands and ran them across his face, seeking some refreshment from his condition, and gave dark sneer as he did proclaim to the waters a derisive word as his own reflection returned to him, his weapon resplendent, nestled within the scabbard, handle awaiting but a quiet word and the barely touch to communicate.

Instead he spoke aloud, hands free from it, a growl of dismissal.

“Solipsism.”

He would have laughed at himself had he not thought it a disgusting insult to himself. Instead he tore his vision from the water and looked back to the direction of the Monastery.

“Perhaps wine. And a bed,” he admitted.

Three weeks in the field without a drop, and exhaustion seating within his bones, convinced him of that course at least. And so he moved, figure of crimson, skulking with furrowed brow and eyes that stung, even as daylight yielded the darkness.

The Monastery was a sight of some small solace. Wordlessly he did move to his quarters, to snatch at glass and wine, dust removed by swift cantrip, before moving away from his own place of rest. He did not wish to yield to that rest yet, almost spiting the sense of relief that he felt at the sight of furniture. Not until the last possible moment would he submit to that place that he knew was to be of nightmares. And worse, when such visions of whatever lurked in his subconscious had their fill, when exhaustion was bled from his body, listlessness would replace it as wakefulness was endured again.

A few more hours. Give me that.

The night had scarcely begun, darkness in it's infancy, yet sunlight diminished from sight.

Sword still at his belt, he skulked. Fingers went to eyes to soothe as his feet did find the place he sought without thinking. A small distance from the library, a small wall to which he perched upon slowly. Shoulders tense from labours of living in the wilds, for what hygiene could be afforded by cantrip did not provide the body relief from being taut and on guard as deep warmth might, he set a glass upon the stone. He had brought two bottles, as if to communicate his willingness to complete the task to himself and anyone else who might bother him as he looked out from the wall.

A mind driven to ignore itself can demand much of the body.

He began to pour, as he felt the sensation of relief give him a small measure of solace. Three weeks to earn such a thing.

“All to be cast away tomorrow,” Valborast muttered to himself, eyes set out to the clouded sky that hid a half crescent moon that hinted it's askew smile at the one known to underground fanged circles as Valborast the Voracious, as he did drink deep of excellent wine.
 
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Petra hadn't been avoiding Syr Valborast, per say, but she definitely fucking wasn't going out of her way to say hello to him in the morning, that was for sure.

Although it wasn't as if Valborast hadn't kept himself scarce around the Monastery regardless. Skulking through the shadows and muttering to himself with darkening circles beneath his eyes.

There was zero doubt that it was a result of their last interaction; it had been bitter and scathing, but Petra regretted nothing she had said to him. And she would not apologize for the actions of her dragon. He saw a threat, and he had eliminated it. Simple as that. And Petra truly believed the Valen Wilds were better for it.

Yet still, there was an inkling of guilt that gnawed at her whenever she was alone these last few weeks. Norvyk could only do so much to assuage her turmoil, as he himself found the whole concept of shame and guilt to be pointless and wasteful. Emotions that weren't worth any dragon's time. And he had plenty to say on the matter of hers. Especially since he could feel them so poignantly through their bond. The whole thing had made him positively cantankerous and his mood a terror to be around.

So instead of being out flying on her usual evening patrol of the skies, Norvyk went out on his own and Petra sought solace in the confines of the library in an attempt to find an interesting novel to lose herself in for the night.

Lost in the magic-lit tomes that filled each shelf end to end. The Dawnling curled the two books she had found tighter to her chest and trailed her fingers down the spines of the books as she walked languidly down the aisleway, inhaling the smell of ink and parchment, lost in thought.

She felt foolish for it, but one of the books she had already found was one she thought might help her with the very issue that had started this whole mess—vampires.

It wasn't that she sought it out with the intent to do Valborast any harm, it was more like... she wanted to understand. To help. Just because she had seen the rise and fall of a century, did not mean she had nothing else to learn. And perhaps, much to chagrin, one of the latest lessons she would have to learn, was a degree of humility, even if she did not think the end result was the wrong one.

Sighing deeply, Petra decided that her haul for the evening was more than enough to tide her over.

Since it was already so late in the day, the archivist that often worked in the library was nowhere to be seen, so the dawnling quickly made her way to the logbook that was kept at the front with his desk and wrote down the books she borrowed, hesitating only briefly before also putting down the title of the romance she was borrowing.

Longing for the comfort of her bed, Petra quickly made her exit of the Monastery library, so intent on making it back to her quarters, that she almost missed the slumped form of a man perched atop a low wall just outside the library.

Her heart startled at the unexpected sight, but recovered and stopped in her tracks. The harsh planes of a stoic face made for scowling and the sharp lines of a starched high collar was all she needed to see before she recognized the very man she had been avoiding.

"Syr Valchek? Is that you? What... ever are you doing out here?" Her brow furrowed in concern.

Valborast Valchek
 
Valborast didn't react, except by twinge of his right eyebrow upwards, perhaps from sting of alcohol's touch, perhaps from the familiar voice making inquiry.

A sigh, shoulders heavy from toils. A deeper pull from glassware that did drain the vine's end product.

A heavy clunk, near enough to shatter the precious glass. Valborast dully looked at it for a moment, finger entangled about the stem. He gave a single note of acknowledgement, he himself unsure if he made such noise to Petra's question or the survival of the glass to his heavy hand.

He picked up the second glass and placed it away from himself in Petra's direction, as if setting snare in forest brush, eyes cast down at the glass. The stone wall received the glassware silently, seemingly more worthy of more careful handling than the other. Another moment, Valborast gaze remaining low, arcing as a scythe might through fields of grain. He regarded the bottle, and urged the bottle to babble it's contents into his own glass.

The bottle now half empty was placed beside the other glass.

He raised his glass to his lips and sipped, the temptation to draw another deep pull mitigated by how such behaviour might temper a following question, a question that might be raised against him in possible concern for the rate of his imbibing.

He spoke into his glass, eyes to the distance. Not once had he given glance in her direction. Yet the second glass remained set.

Deadpan the response.

"Counting sheep."

Three slow sips.

The glass left his lips, and was then cradled in both hands at his waist, the liquid set to swirling in slow swish as his stinging eyes did squint at the middle distance at nothings.

Petra Darthinian
 
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Drawing closer, Petra tried to hide the slight scrunch of her nose at the reek of wine that emanated from him. Sour and heavy, it was a desperate smell. One that coupled well with the apathetic defeat that seemed to be screaming from Valborast's normally iron-clad self-control.

Her lips quirked at his jest. Derisive, maybe. But his attempt at humor was hopeful at least.

Seeming to come to a decision, Petra sighed and squared her shoulders before taking a seat next to him on the wall, her books hanging from her claws as she set elbows upon knees and leaned forward to capture the other knight's attention.

"Then I suppose you don't mind if I take a drink with you while you bumble through your numbers?"

Valborast Valchek
 
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"Ah," Valborast said, becoming theatrical in his accompanying gesture, gaze averted yet hands making wide sweep of the air towards the glass, "There's much bumbling that's been, and yet to be done still, no doubt," Valborast did say, and made small sip of his glass, blinking, as if remembering how to be beside another in such a state.

Fie to the conventions, Valborast did think, these matters be uniquely marked as foul. Let my style of existence reflect as such for a little longer.

"A little pause between calamities please, that's all I ask," saying such towards the world and fate more than Petra herself.

Petra Darthinian
 
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Her jaw tightened from the sudden pang of guilt. From the weight of it all.

Silently, she placed her books upon the cobblestone and grabbed the empty goblet and poured herself a healthy amount from his bottle.

To herself she enjoyed the pleasant clinks of talons upon the glass, watching the ripples quiet and settle, unlike her emotions.

Pensively, she stated, "I'm not here to persecute you, Valborast." Avoiding his eyes, she swallowed a few mouthfuls of wine to buffer the crunchy atmosphere between them. "But I am here to listen if you need it." Somber draconian eyes finally sliding to her companion, that same thorned Olive Branch extended between them.
 
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Valborast allowed the genuine sentiment well meaning to flare up his cynicisms, but allowed such sensation to pass in favour of being malleable to the motion of conversation. This wasn't to be some great outpouring, Valborast thought, very much intending the internal pun, yet, if I wanted to be alone I would still be out there.

"Operations of loch impulsives," Valborast remarked off handishly, "Need, want, ought, should, could, must."

He gave a hum of satisfaction and cleared his voice of wine that cloyed the tongue.

"You have chosen need. I feel I ought speak. So I might, for the betterment of this sorry state of affairs. I could keep things to myself, but I would no doubt be reprimanded or noticed by superior title for my bottling."

A further venture past his own misgivings to the olive branch so extended. If it were to be clutched, it would be on his terms of slow shifting compromises, not complete comfortable and easy committal.

"I have thought on much of these sorry state of affairs. Regardless of whatever conclusions I can console myself with, like a bargaining beast...my sleep is beyond troubled and rest escapes me. Reshuffling of fresh fateful cards in shocked, fumbling hands. The deck is mighty and much has been gambled in my counting. New calculations slow, being so attached to old formula and proofs. New moves and bids to make. Yet the game, is rigged. Always has been."

Another pull. A grimace made to slake his thirst to show discontent of any kind than the flavour or frequency of the wine's touch.

"I just didn't realise how far the game might be turned against us."

Petra Darthinian
 
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Having resolved herself to this charged and crunchy exchange, Petra gently pried the bottle from Valborast's hands and poured herself a glass before handing it back to him.

Sighing, she sat down on the ground in front of him, balancing her forearms on bent knees, the picture of casual curiosity.

Quietly, she stared at him, noting the grief in his face that made his gaunt cheeks sharper and the sleepless bruises beneath his eyes haunting. Yet still, she could not find it in herself to feel guilt over her actions or that of her dragon.

Keeping that messenger alive had not been the only course of action they had to take. There were better solutions than suffering such an abomination to walk the earth. In this, she was resolute.

But that didn't mean she didn't regret the sorry state she now found Valborast. If anything, she was shocked to see such a break in his normally pretentious and iron clad countenance of propriety. This is how she knew this was real for him. How much it mattered to him. Petra herself had no children, but the thought of Norvyk being subjected to similar peril was beyond a level of devastation that she thought she could bear. And yet here was her fellow Knight, not bearing it well at all. At this rate he would drown himself along with his sorrows.

Petra scooted a foot forward and nudged Valborast's boot. "Hey." She began softly, "Come on. Enough of that. There's only so far that self-pity will get you, and if what I'm looking at now is its destination, it's a very sorry place to end up indeed." Her words were harsh, but her tone was kind. "What would Parshen think, hm?" The ghost of a deprecating smile curling her lips.

Valborast Valchek
 
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Nudged so in the boot, ribbed by mention of Parshen's opinion, Val did scoff lazy and languid, yet not his so familiar utterances of haughty derision. There some wry whimsy to the sound.

Val picked up the bottle, mostly spent to flood a marsh of sorrows, and span it in clockwise motion in the air for a moment, catching it with a heavy sound of empty space and sloshing depressant, a slap of palm. Whirl-thud. Whirl-slosh-thud.

"I think," Valborast said, tilting his head, eyes upon the bottle, "That Parshen thinks that your lightning isn't accurate on moving targets."

Eyes back to Petra, mixture of deadpan and slipping facade giving the mischief weight.

"Pull," Valborast cried without moving a muscle, a heartbeat as a genuine amusement broke out upon thin lips. And then-

Whirl!

Thrown full force high into the air, wine spiralling inside as the bottle did spin, the target was whirling, barrelling away into the air, hollow whooshing as it did crescent, Valborast's eyebrows raising in expectation, a turn of the head as if to say, 'Well?'

Petra Darthinian
 
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The dragon rider barely had time to do more than look confused before a bottle was chucked overhead. On instinct, she lurched back and threw up one hand, pointing a talon at the arcing path of green glass.

Sizzling electricity snaked down her scales and shot out in a bolt towards the bottle.

She held her breath, sure it would hit, ready to claim victory.

And then her bolt failed to intersect, sailing past to hit the sconce against the opposite wall, snuffing the magelight and plunging the hallway into shadow at the same time that the bottle hit the floor and shattered.

It was quiet for a beat after the tinkering of broken glass scattered. It was only then that Petra realized her full goblet was now empty.

"Looks like I'm wearing most of my wine now." She made deliberate eye contact with Valborast in the dark. "You wouldn't happen to have more, eh?" And then she began to cackle, slapping her scaled hand against her thigh, completely unable to stop her giggling at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

Valborast Valchek
 
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"Assuredly so," Valborast said, reaching for a wineskin at the small of his back as if it were an arrow to notch. Unfastened the wineskin and began to pour for his mirthful company.

"You should wear red. Helps. Don't tell anyone, but with the amount of times people throw wine at me, well, it practically became a necessity," Valborast said, a faint smile remaining true at the thought of his wit causing such ejection of wine in his direction.

Goblet refilled, Valborast placed the wineskin on the wall.

"I'll tell Parshen he doesn't know what he's talking about then," Valborast said in complete deadpan, and drank deep as he gauged the response.

Petra Darthinian
 
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That startled a snorting cackle of laughter from her throat. A wide-eyed stare at Valborast left her blinking away her disbelief. "Do my ears deceive me or was that a proper joke?! You must have been hiding them in all those robes."

Laughing away her own joke, Petra stood lithely from the now wine drenched floor. Grabbing at the wineskin and repouring her emptied goblet before taking a seat next to Valborast. She took a heavy sip while she studied the mess they had made in the hallway. Letting the night settle back around them with a more comfortable air.

Their laughter hadn't completely dispersed the weight between them. But the tension was no longer so dense that she could take a knife to it. Again, that olive branch was extended as she muttered conspiratorially, "Shall we flip a coin to see who cleans it up then?"

Valborast Valchek
 
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Valborast wasn't quite sure how to take the comments except with a quietude that bordered on passe, the sense of cool bordering on the typical aloofness, yet not quite there, a wry smile supplanting that dourness that normally etched thin lips.

Another draw of the wine, a swirl, a hand fished in those robes to see the gamble met.

"Brooms be for witches and chimneysweeps," Valborast stated, and flipped the coin between knuckles and digits of the left hand, which repeated itself perfectly, the single coin becoming a multitude of shrapnel that did dance. A procession of moneys.

From knuckle rotations to cascading shimmering waterfall to the floor, it seemed as if time did ripple about itself. Once hitting the ground, the bronze coins did tremble, and sprout gangly legs and hands of ink smoke that did reach and amble forward.

Another sip as Valborast watched the loch driven coins go about their toils clumsily, rolling as best they could as terrain allowed, ambling the rest. When wine was met, the smoke did sup upon it, as glass was received, the coins did gain a skin of the stuff. Rolling and collecting, the small change did make small change. Each coin gathering the smashed fragments and blotting wine.

"Usually used for unlocking things, I've found they tidy up rather well. If I were to sell the spell, I'd either call it 'Loch for Locks and Tidy Sums'," Valborast said as if he were explaining a vineyard's quality of soil that did owe him bottle or hundred for rents as if it were the most rote thing to discuss.

Petra Darthinian
 
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