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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 3783502" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>Another Fine Mess: 11</strong></p><p></p><p>Only Etienne and Arrafin had not yet asked their questions. Arrafin was still reeling from Madame Yuek's sinister grin, so the half-Kishak stepped forward.</p><p></p><p>"Madame Yuek. My question is not very clever, I'm afraid, but I'm not much for strategy or grand schemes. Why are you helping us?"</p><p></p><p>An alabaster hand drooped to stroke the hair of the young girl by the throne. Isaac fumed with unformed anger as the girl sighed in pleasure and arced up to meet the petting hand like a dog enthralled with its master.</p><p></p><p>The vampire shrugged.</p><p></p><p>"We could make a lot pretty speeches about what a great lady we are, but why should we? You know something of what we are, but allow us to be perfectly clear. We are a monster. We devour the living."</p><p></p><p>Her dark eyes blazed with angry power as her voice echoed and grew heavy in the air around them.</p><p></p><p>"We make no apologies for this fact. We offer no justifications. But we promise you this: we will never lie to you.</p><p></p><p>"Why are we helping you? First, because we said we would. We keep our word. Second, because we believe you might be useful to us."</p><p></p><p>Isaac spat in righteous anger. Something about this smug creature sitting in glamour and perfection amongst the collapsed stones of this ruined castle infuriated him.</p><p></p><p>"So you're just using us?"</p><p></p><p>A perfectly etched eyebrow rose minutely.</p><p></p><p>"Of course. Aren't you just using us?"</p><p></p><p>"No."</p><p></p><p>"Well then, it seems the difference between us is immense."</p><p></p><p>"You got that right."</p><p></p><p>"We do not lie to ourself about our own motives."</p><p></p><p>As Isaac sputtered, Madame Yuek, smirking, turned back to Arrafin.</p><p></p><p>"Now, my dear. You have not yet asked us a question."</p><p></p><p>She spread her hands.</p><p></p><p>"You may ask anything of us, Arrafin. Anything at all."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin considered, her sharp mind racing. Before her sat unthinkable opportunity. An immortal being who had seen who knew how many thousands of years. A sorceress of unimaginable power. The most beautiful woman Arrafin had ever seen.</p><p></p><p>"First of all, spells. I have one new spell, but -- "</p><p></p><p>A gesture from Madame Yuek silenced the Naridic girl. Kani shuffled forward and dropped a set of scrolls on the dusty flagstones at Arrafin's feet. Arrafin frowned at the Lohanese girl's dramatic sulk, but forgot about that as Madame Yuek explained the gift.</p><p></p><p>"Upon these papers we have provided you with the formulae for a number of spells you may find useful. And, we dare to hope, not too dangerous."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin squatted and scrabbled up the scrolls, Gral teetering dangerously on her shoulder. The parchment rolls stuck awkwardly from her arms as she straightened up.</p><p></p><p>She stared at the beautiful creature smiling down from her throne. For long, long seconds she just stared. Madame Yuek seemed like some kind of bizarre eldritch queen, unearthly in her perfection. Like how some ancient stories described angels. Arrafin realised, with a shock, that this creature must have once been a woman.</p><p></p><p>"Who are you, Madame Yuek? Who did you use to be and how did you become this?"</p><p></p><p>The back wall of the throne room exploded.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>The staring between Arrafin and Madame Yuek unnerved Isaac greatly. The last thing he wanted to deal with was some sort of showdown between this immensely powerful witch-vampire-thing and a young girl he'd grown fond of. He was about to speak, to try and distract Arrafin from whatever unwise direction her thoughts were heading, when she spoke and then everything disappeared in a deafening blast of stone and flame.</p><p></p><p>The ground shook as massive blocks of granite crashed into the debris-strewn floor. Dust and chunks of rock blew into the air on all sides. Isaac fell to his knees, certain that the world had just come to a spectacular end.</p><p></p><p>More flashes of flame and distant shrieks brought his attention up again.</p><p></p><p>The back wall of the throne room had disappeared, leaving the entire hall open to the chill mountain air. Upon the dais now exposed to the elements a wild battle raged.</p><p></p><p>Madame Yuek stood with her arms outstretched, black fire pouring from her in rippling waves. Two of her guardians were gone, torn apart by some force Isaac could not imagine. The other two fought in a tremendous melee against a small host of black-clad figures who surrounded the most bizarre character Isaac had yet seen.</p><p></p><p>An immense mechanical array of clacking limbs, cables and claws now stood next to where the ruined chunks of Madame Yuek's throne lay. Isaac stood, amazed to see what appeared to be an elderly Lohanese man seated in the middle of this incredible contraption.</p><p></p><p>Flames of all colours roared across the dais, searing stone, tearing minions to gory shreds and thickening the air itself with foulness. Madame Yuek and this interloper hurled freaks of supernatural fury at each other. As Isaac watched, Madame Yuek's baroque robe unfolded itself, reaching out like a living thing with crimson tentacles.</p><p></p><p>More creatures poured into the room, some simply erupting from the floor, clawing through solid stone.</p><p></p><p>A hand grabbed Isaac's arm. He turned to find that Lohanese woman, Kani.</p><p></p><p>"You must leave now! All of you! She asked me to take you to safety! Come!"</p><p></p><p>She tried to drag Isaac. He saw Elena helping Arrafin, and Etienne getting to his feet further back in the room. Nevid was nowhere to be seen.</p><p></p><p>"Wait, wait. Where's Nevid?"</p><p></p><p>Elena whirled and pointed back where the battle continued to tear apart the room.</p><p></p><p>"He's gotten brave again."</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>They needed allies. The del Maraviez had nothing in this strange dreamlike world of sorcery. Nevid hated it, hated its irrationality and hated how it mocked his understanding of the world, but it existed. Sorcery was real. It was a world of its own.</p><p></p><p>And they needed allies in this world.</p><p></p><p>Nevid wasn't entirely sure what he was seeing. But he'd heard rumours Matai Shang was some sort of machine/man construct. And whoever this newcomer was, he was clearly an enemy of Madame Yuek.</p><p></p><p>Who at the least had kept her word to them. And not killed them.</p><p></p><p>Nevid was never quite sure what he was thinking at times like these. He hefted the staff in his hand. Nobody was paying any attention to him as he got to his feet at the base of the dais steps. Directly above him, wild sorcery exploded in violent waves around mechanical arms and legs.</p><p></p><p>He charged into the midst of those arms and legs. The elderly man sitting amongst them paid him no attention. Nevid raised his staff high over his head and, teetering in the midst of rattling mechanisms and concussing sorceries, brought the weapon down with all his strength.</p><p></p><p>The staff bounced back, nearly coming free from his hands with its unexpected reversal. The elderly man didn't appear to even know Nevid was there.</p><p></p><p>Unhappily Nevid tried again and again, bashing his weapon furiously against the old man, but some invisible field seemed to hold him back.</p><p></p><p>A heavy arm wrapped around him and dragged him backwards. Nevid struggled for a second but then Isaac howled in his ear.</p><p></p><p>"What do you think you're doing, Nevid? We have to go!"</p><p></p><p>"He's got some kind of magic protection."</p><p></p><p>"You think?"</p><p></p><p>Etienne and Elena had their weapons out and were duelling madly with a pair of Shang's black-clad minions. Arrafin pulled the trigger on her pistol and staggered backwards from the recoil.</p><p></p><p>Screams tore the air. The entire room shook and thick cracks began expanding across the floor. The world tilted, crazy and deafening. Elena saw Isaac coming with Nevid and grabbed Etienne.</p><p></p><p>"Let's go. This whole place is going to collapse!"</p><p></p><p>Still arcane explosions and shrieking walls of flame erupted behind them as they scrambled up the now-tilting floor. Etienne helped Isaac with Nevid as they rushed from the room. Isaac saw the massive black sword they'd brought begin to slid across the flagstones and snagged it with one hand.</p><p></p><p>The entire castle shook. A huge cloud of dust billowed out from the archway behind them. Kani rushed forward, but Elena caught her. The Lohanese woman shrieked incomprehensibly. For a second she sagged against Elena and then turned to face Arrafin. Her dark eyes blazed.</p><p></p><p>"She asked me to take you and your friends to safety. She wants you to be safe."</p><p></p><p>Etienne tried a wink. Her cranky countenance did not warm. Not even when she took the great sword from Isaac's hand.</p><p></p><p>"Where should I take you?"</p><p></p><p>Arrafin looked back at this woman's unreadable face.</p><p></p><p><em>We've torturing her since she was born.</em></p><p></p><p>"Al-Tizim? Can you take us to Al-Tizim?"</p><p></p><p>"First, take this. She wanted you to have it."</p><p></p><p>Kani held up a slender rod, no more than a handspan in length, made of some clear crystal.</p><p></p><p>"Break it, and she will come to you. Make sure you have good cause."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin reached out very carefully and took the rod from Kani's fingers.</p><p></p><p>"Al-Tizim. Take my hands."</p><p></p><p>Etienne pushed forward to take the young woman's right hand. Nevid came with him, then Elena and then Arrafin and finally Isaac, taking Kani's left hand. The Lohanese woman sneered at them all.</p><p></p><p>As the roaring fury of Shadow erupted around them, Arrafin thought about that sneer and some of the girl's earlier behaviour.</p><p></p><p><em>Kani is a dear girl, but you mustn't think her rational.</em></p><p></p><p>Screaming blackness enveloped them all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 3783502, member: 812"] [b]Another Fine Mess: 11[/b] Only Etienne and Arrafin had not yet asked their questions. Arrafin was still reeling from Madame Yuek's sinister grin, so the half-Kishak stepped forward. "Madame Yuek. My question is not very clever, I'm afraid, but I'm not much for strategy or grand schemes. Why are you helping us?" An alabaster hand drooped to stroke the hair of the young girl by the throne. Isaac fumed with unformed anger as the girl sighed in pleasure and arced up to meet the petting hand like a dog enthralled with its master. The vampire shrugged. "We could make a lot pretty speeches about what a great lady we are, but why should we? You know something of what we are, but allow us to be perfectly clear. We are a monster. We devour the living." Her dark eyes blazed with angry power as her voice echoed and grew heavy in the air around them. "We make no apologies for this fact. We offer no justifications. But we promise you this: we will never lie to you. "Why are we helping you? First, because we said we would. We keep our word. Second, because we believe you might be useful to us." Isaac spat in righteous anger. Something about this smug creature sitting in glamour and perfection amongst the collapsed stones of this ruined castle infuriated him. "So you're just using us?" A perfectly etched eyebrow rose minutely. "Of course. Aren't you just using us?" "No." "Well then, it seems the difference between us is immense." "You got that right." "We do not lie to ourself about our own motives." As Isaac sputtered, Madame Yuek, smirking, turned back to Arrafin. "Now, my dear. You have not yet asked us a question." She spread her hands. "You may ask anything of us, Arrafin. Anything at all." Arrafin considered, her sharp mind racing. Before her sat unthinkable opportunity. An immortal being who had seen who knew how many thousands of years. A sorceress of unimaginable power. The most beautiful woman Arrafin had ever seen. "First of all, spells. I have one new spell, but -- " A gesture from Madame Yuek silenced the Naridic girl. Kani shuffled forward and dropped a set of scrolls on the dusty flagstones at Arrafin's feet. Arrafin frowned at the Lohanese girl's dramatic sulk, but forgot about that as Madame Yuek explained the gift. "Upon these papers we have provided you with the formulae for a number of spells you may find useful. And, we dare to hope, not too dangerous." Arrafin squatted and scrabbled up the scrolls, Gral teetering dangerously on her shoulder. The parchment rolls stuck awkwardly from her arms as she straightened up. She stared at the beautiful creature smiling down from her throne. For long, long seconds she just stared. Madame Yuek seemed like some kind of bizarre eldritch queen, unearthly in her perfection. Like how some ancient stories described angels. Arrafin realised, with a shock, that this creature must have once been a woman. "Who are you, Madame Yuek? Who did you use to be and how did you become this?" The back wall of the throne room exploded. ***** The staring between Arrafin and Madame Yuek unnerved Isaac greatly. The last thing he wanted to deal with was some sort of showdown between this immensely powerful witch-vampire-thing and a young girl he'd grown fond of. He was about to speak, to try and distract Arrafin from whatever unwise direction her thoughts were heading, when she spoke and then everything disappeared in a deafening blast of stone and flame. The ground shook as massive blocks of granite crashed into the debris-strewn floor. Dust and chunks of rock blew into the air on all sides. Isaac fell to his knees, certain that the world had just come to a spectacular end. More flashes of flame and distant shrieks brought his attention up again. The back wall of the throne room had disappeared, leaving the entire hall open to the chill mountain air. Upon the dais now exposed to the elements a wild battle raged. Madame Yuek stood with her arms outstretched, black fire pouring from her in rippling waves. Two of her guardians were gone, torn apart by some force Isaac could not imagine. The other two fought in a tremendous melee against a small host of black-clad figures who surrounded the most bizarre character Isaac had yet seen. An immense mechanical array of clacking limbs, cables and claws now stood next to where the ruined chunks of Madame Yuek's throne lay. Isaac stood, amazed to see what appeared to be an elderly Lohanese man seated in the middle of this incredible contraption. Flames of all colours roared across the dais, searing stone, tearing minions to gory shreds and thickening the air itself with foulness. Madame Yuek and this interloper hurled freaks of supernatural fury at each other. As Isaac watched, Madame Yuek's baroque robe unfolded itself, reaching out like a living thing with crimson tentacles. More creatures poured into the room, some simply erupting from the floor, clawing through solid stone. A hand grabbed Isaac's arm. He turned to find that Lohanese woman, Kani. "You must leave now! All of you! She asked me to take you to safety! Come!" She tried to drag Isaac. He saw Elena helping Arrafin, and Etienne getting to his feet further back in the room. Nevid was nowhere to be seen. "Wait, wait. Where's Nevid?" Elena whirled and pointed back where the battle continued to tear apart the room. "He's gotten brave again." ***** They needed allies. The del Maraviez had nothing in this strange dreamlike world of sorcery. Nevid hated it, hated its irrationality and hated how it mocked his understanding of the world, but it existed. Sorcery was real. It was a world of its own. And they needed allies in this world. Nevid wasn't entirely sure what he was seeing. But he'd heard rumours Matai Shang was some sort of machine/man construct. And whoever this newcomer was, he was clearly an enemy of Madame Yuek. Who at the least had kept her word to them. And not killed them. Nevid was never quite sure what he was thinking at times like these. He hefted the staff in his hand. Nobody was paying any attention to him as he got to his feet at the base of the dais steps. Directly above him, wild sorcery exploded in violent waves around mechanical arms and legs. He charged into the midst of those arms and legs. The elderly man sitting amongst them paid him no attention. Nevid raised his staff high over his head and, teetering in the midst of rattling mechanisms and concussing sorceries, brought the weapon down with all his strength. The staff bounced back, nearly coming free from his hands with its unexpected reversal. The elderly man didn't appear to even know Nevid was there. Unhappily Nevid tried again and again, bashing his weapon furiously against the old man, but some invisible field seemed to hold him back. A heavy arm wrapped around him and dragged him backwards. Nevid struggled for a second but then Isaac howled in his ear. "What do you think you're doing, Nevid? We have to go!" "He's got some kind of magic protection." "You think?" Etienne and Elena had their weapons out and were duelling madly with a pair of Shang's black-clad minions. Arrafin pulled the trigger on her pistol and staggered backwards from the recoil. Screams tore the air. The entire room shook and thick cracks began expanding across the floor. The world tilted, crazy and deafening. Elena saw Isaac coming with Nevid and grabbed Etienne. "Let's go. This whole place is going to collapse!" Still arcane explosions and shrieking walls of flame erupted behind them as they scrambled up the now-tilting floor. Etienne helped Isaac with Nevid as they rushed from the room. Isaac saw the massive black sword they'd brought begin to slid across the flagstones and snagged it with one hand. The entire castle shook. A huge cloud of dust billowed out from the archway behind them. Kani rushed forward, but Elena caught her. The Lohanese woman shrieked incomprehensibly. For a second she sagged against Elena and then turned to face Arrafin. Her dark eyes blazed. "She asked me to take you and your friends to safety. She wants you to be safe." Etienne tried a wink. Her cranky countenance did not warm. Not even when she took the great sword from Isaac's hand. "Where should I take you?" Arrafin looked back at this woman's unreadable face. [i]We've torturing her since she was born.[/i] "Al-Tizim? Can you take us to Al-Tizim?" "First, take this. She wanted you to have it." Kani held up a slender rod, no more than a handspan in length, made of some clear crystal. "Break it, and she will come to you. Make sure you have good cause." Arrafin reached out very carefully and took the rod from Kani's fingers. "Al-Tizim. Take my hands." Etienne pushed forward to take the young woman's right hand. Nevid came with him, then Elena and then Arrafin and finally Isaac, taking Kani's left hand. The Lohanese woman sneered at them all. As the roaring fury of Shadow erupted around them, Arrafin thought about that sneer and some of the girl's earlier behaviour. [i]Kani is a dear girl, but you mustn't think her rational.[/i] Screaming blackness enveloped them all. [/QUOTE]
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