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Barsoom Tales II: Romance, Revolution and BLOODY REVENGE!!! -- COMPLETE
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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 3937169" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>Frying Pan, Fire: 5</strong></p><p></p><p>"I have received some distressing news. I hope it is not true."</p><p></p><p>Etienne cleared his throat, looking worriedly between Zuleika and Blood Sister Torokan.</p><p></p><p>"If this is about..."</p><p></p><p>"It is not."</p><p></p><p>"Oh. Okay."</p><p></p><p>Torokan gestured.</p><p></p><p>"Please, have a seat."</p><p></p><p>It did not occur to Arrafin that being invited to sit in her own home was strange. She sat on the edge of the sofa.</p><p></p><p>All of them were still recovering from the battle so recently fought, panting and covered in dust, sweat and blood. Isaac sank to the floor, leaning back with a groan to prop himself against the wall.</p><p></p><p>Torokan remained standing. Her severe crimson robe made her look perfectly cylindrical. It looked very uncomfortable to Elena, but she had to admit there was a certain grace to the ensemble. She leaned back on the sofa next to Arrafin and sniffed.</p><p></p><p>"So, what's this news?"</p><p></p><p>Torokan looked around at them all.</p><p></p><p>"I have a report from Tellal that you people were seen talking with a certain vampire. One that appears to be a tall Tianese woman."</p><p></p><p>Isaac frowned.</p><p></p><p>"Tianese? What's that? Only vampire we know looks Lohanese."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin shook her head.</p><p></p><p>"And that Kishak one. Don't forget her."</p><p></p><p>"Right, Mara. And is Shang a vampire?"</p><p></p><p>Etienne leaned against the doorframe, cocky and smug.</p><p></p><p>"Nah. Shang's just some old guy. That Madame Yuek bitch is a vampire. She's all... hard. And stuff."</p><p></p><p>Torokan rolled her eyes.</p><p></p><p>"Please. I refer to... did you say Madame Yuek?"</p><p></p><p>"Yeah. That's the name she gave us, anyway."</p><p></p><p>"I see. We haven't heard of her name before. You people are the first to meet her and tell the tale. And she does not give her name to her victims."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin frowned.</p><p></p><p>"Waitaminute. If nobody's ever lived, how do you even know she exists?"</p><p></p><p>"First, there are ways to get answers from those who no longer live. Second, well, there are stories."</p><p></p><p>"Stories."</p><p></p><p>"Stories."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin crossed her arms and looked skeptical.</p><p></p><p>"Okay, tell us a story."</p><p></p><p>Torokan bowed.</p><p></p><p>"Sixty years ago, the Nahanese court began to hear rumours of a ghost haunting a forest in a distant province. The tales said it appeared as a woman, pale and feral, that ran from anyone who approached it. Corpses of wild animals were found, terribly disembowelled and their hearts taken. Trappers complained that their livelihood was imperiled.</p><p></p><p>"It was not until farm animals began dying that the governor of the province acted. He sent a message to the Silk Court informing the Emperor that a detachment of soldiers had been dispatched to find and deal with the ghost, or whatever it was.</p><p></p><p>"No further word came. No traffic descended from the mountain passes. A year passed without word. The Emperor sent an army up to see what had happened.</p><p></p><p>"They found desolation. A vast wasteland. What had once been a thriving forest valley with farms and towns was now a desert of ash, as though a great fire had consumed the entire district. Hundreds of square miles were devastated. There was not a single living thing in the province."</p><p></p><p>Torokan turned to Arrafin.</p><p></p><p>"You are familiar with the effect of Shadow's touch on living things, yes? How it turns them to ash? Imagine an entity capable of summouning enough Shadow to exterminate everything for leagues upon leagues."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin, eyes wide with horror, nodded. Torokan sighed.</p><p></p><p>"It can only have been one thing: the Demon Goddess."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, that's encouraging."</p><p></p><p>Torokan paid no attention to Isaac's snarl.</p><p></p><p>"The Demon Goddess ruled the nation of Tianguo for a hundred years, subjecting the people of that once-proud nation to such horrors that if I describe them you will not believe me. Her reign was literally hell on earth.</p><p></p><p>"My order believed she had been destroyed. It cost us greatly to do so. But if this is she, risen..."</p><p></p><p>Elena stretched out.</p><p></p><p>"Great. So what, we have to choose between she and Matai Shang? Some choice."</p><p></p><p>"Shang is a sorcerer and a very powerful one. But the Demon Goddess is the most potent entity upon Barsoom. Her power eclipses that of the god-sorcerers of long ago."</p><p></p><p>Torokan swallowed, shaking.</p><p></p><p>"You must understand. She possesses the power to destroy all life on Barsoom. She can reduce the entire world to a cinder, merely by wishing it to be so. She must be destroyed."</p><p></p><p>The Blood Sister recovered her poise. She smiled.</p><p></p><p>"Now. You folks have a sword, I believe, that has proven efficacious against vampires?"</p><p></p><p>There was an uncomfortable silence. Elena lowered her face to her hands and groaned.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, I knew we'd regret that move."</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Kishak soldiers in the street. Ranks of them, kicking down doors and dragging hapless civilians into the streets.</p><p></p><p>An uncharacteristic anger darkened Arrafin's delicate face. She'd hidden with her friends in a cellar and the soldiers, after destroying nearly everything in her house, had moved on.</p><p></p><p>Outside, still screaming and angry shouting. The seven (now that Kaley had re-appeared) friends gathered in a room full of shattered furniture and considered each other.</p><p></p><p>Elena shrugged.</p><p></p><p>"I still think we should go get that Farouk guy. Can we figure out how to find him?"</p><p></p><p>Nevid coughed and replied.</p><p></p><p>"I think I know which block it is. In the fountain. Arrafin, do you think you could use that spell of yours to break the block open? I think he's inside the block, somehow."</p><p></p><p>"Sure. Sure."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika put a hand on Arrafin's shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin. You can't do anything for your father right now. I know how you feel, but you can't help him."</p><p></p><p>"I know that!"</p><p></p><p>Arrafin shook off Zuleika's touch and stomped across the room. Just ahead of the Kishak soldiers had come the news, shouted by panic-stricken citizens.</p><p></p><p>The Khadisan's army annihilated a few miles south of Al-Tizim. Kishak legions triumphant, backed up with gunpowder and sorcery. And now Al-Tizim bled in a massive purge as Kishak soldiers took out months of frustration and anger.</p><p></p><p>No word of Arrafin's father, who had ridden with the Khadisan.</p><p></p><p>"I know. I just. Maybe I can see him. Wait. Wait here. I want to see him."</p><p></p><p>She rushed out of the room, down the hall to the springhouse. She'd grown up here. In this house. Her father. Her brother.</p><p></p><p>Arrafin reached out and Shadow's darkness swirled into being around her, but she couldn't focus and lost the spell, only just able to release the deadly energy without killing herself. Heedless of the risk, she tried again, and then again, each time a wider circle of black tendrils growing around her. The circle expanded beyond the edges of the room she knelt in.</p><p></p><p>Next door, two children stopped breathing. A man collapsed, half his body turned to ash.</p><p></p><p>Arrafin cast her spell. The water in the springhouse shivered, then cleared. The Naridic girl gasped and ran from the room.</p><p></p><p>Isaac caught her before she could throw herself into the street.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin, no. What happened? What is it?"</p><p></p><p>Zuleika cursed and turned away. Elena spared her an angry glance and joined Isaac with Arrafin.</p><p></p><p>The slender girl couldn't speak. She shook her head, sobbing.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, no."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika slammed a fist into the wall, then jumped back as a woman screamed from just next door. She and Etienne looked at each other, nodded and ran out the back of the house.</p><p></p><p>Isaac and Elena guided Arrafin to what remained of the sofa.</p><p></p><p>"It's okay, sweetie. It'll be okay."</p><p></p><p>Nevid remained standing where he was, trying to ignore everything. Especially Kaley, who stood staring at him.</p><p></p><p>"Do you want some water? It'll be okay, Arrafin."</p><p></p><p>"No, it damn well won't."</p><p></p><p>Isaac looked up at Zuleika's angry tone. She and Etienne had returned and glared down at Arrafin.</p><p></p><p>"You did that, didn't you?"</p><p></p><p>The younger girl frowned, confused.</p><p></p><p>"Did what? What do you mean?"</p><p></p><p>"It was that sorcery of yours."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika pointed next door as she shouted.</p><p></p><p>"You killed them! Children! You killed them with that stupid spell of yours."</p><p></p><p>"What?"</p><p></p><p>Everyone turned to Arrafin, horrified.</p><p></p><p>"No. What are you talking about? I didn't kill anyone. I wouldn't."</p><p></p><p>"That black stuff you use for those spells of yours. I've seen what it does to people. It went right through the wall of the house."</p><p></p><p>"What? No."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin shook her head.</p><p></p><p>"There were children hiding there, Arrafin. You killed them."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, god. No. No."</p><p></p><p>Then Elena was grabbing Arrafin and shaking her.</p><p></p><p>"What did you do? What did you do?"</p><p></p><p>The Naridic girl tore herself free.</p><p></p><p>"Nothing! I didn't do anything. I just. I wanted to see my father. And he's dead. They stuck him up on a tree. Nailed him up there. He. No. Leave me alone!"</p><p></p><p>She rushed from the room and they could hear her footsteps racing upstairs. Elena started to follow but Isaac grabbed her.</p><p></p><p>"Let her go. Give her some time."</p><p></p><p>"She killed those children."</p><p></p><p>"It was an accident, Zuleika. You think she doesn't feel terrible about it?"</p><p></p><p>"She killed them."</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Arrafin threw herself down on the fragments of her old bed. The door to her bedroom had been knocked to pieces. She sobbed and cursed and beat her fist against the wall.</p><p></p><p>The strain of the last few days collapsed upon her and she fell asleep.</p><p></p><p>What woke her up she couldn't say. Nothing stirred in the house. She was alone in her room but she could hear Isaac snoring below.</p><p></p><p>Arrafin sat up.</p><p></p><p>Standing in the doorway she saw a tall figure in a simple black gown. Long dark hair falling to the floor in an gleaming ebony cascade. Black eyes staring at her. White white skin.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 3937169, member: 812"] [b]Frying Pan, Fire: 5[/b] "I have received some distressing news. I hope it is not true." Etienne cleared his throat, looking worriedly between Zuleika and Blood Sister Torokan. "If this is about..." "It is not." "Oh. Okay." Torokan gestured. "Please, have a seat." It did not occur to Arrafin that being invited to sit in her own home was strange. She sat on the edge of the sofa. All of them were still recovering from the battle so recently fought, panting and covered in dust, sweat and blood. Isaac sank to the floor, leaning back with a groan to prop himself against the wall. Torokan remained standing. Her severe crimson robe made her look perfectly cylindrical. It looked very uncomfortable to Elena, but she had to admit there was a certain grace to the ensemble. She leaned back on the sofa next to Arrafin and sniffed. "So, what's this news?" Torokan looked around at them all. "I have a report from Tellal that you people were seen talking with a certain vampire. One that appears to be a tall Tianese woman." Isaac frowned. "Tianese? What's that? Only vampire we know looks Lohanese." Arrafin shook her head. "And that Kishak one. Don't forget her." "Right, Mara. And is Shang a vampire?" Etienne leaned against the doorframe, cocky and smug. "Nah. Shang's just some old guy. That Madame Yuek bitch is a vampire. She's all... hard. And stuff." Torokan rolled her eyes. "Please. I refer to... did you say Madame Yuek?" "Yeah. That's the name she gave us, anyway." "I see. We haven't heard of her name before. You people are the first to meet her and tell the tale. And she does not give her name to her victims." Arrafin frowned. "Waitaminute. If nobody's ever lived, how do you even know she exists?" "First, there are ways to get answers from those who no longer live. Second, well, there are stories." "Stories." "Stories." Arrafin crossed her arms and looked skeptical. "Okay, tell us a story." Torokan bowed. "Sixty years ago, the Nahanese court began to hear rumours of a ghost haunting a forest in a distant province. The tales said it appeared as a woman, pale and feral, that ran from anyone who approached it. Corpses of wild animals were found, terribly disembowelled and their hearts taken. Trappers complained that their livelihood was imperiled. "It was not until farm animals began dying that the governor of the province acted. He sent a message to the Silk Court informing the Emperor that a detachment of soldiers had been dispatched to find and deal with the ghost, or whatever it was. "No further word came. No traffic descended from the mountain passes. A year passed without word. The Emperor sent an army up to see what had happened. "They found desolation. A vast wasteland. What had once been a thriving forest valley with farms and towns was now a desert of ash, as though a great fire had consumed the entire district. Hundreds of square miles were devastated. There was not a single living thing in the province." Torokan turned to Arrafin. "You are familiar with the effect of Shadow's touch on living things, yes? How it turns them to ash? Imagine an entity capable of summouning enough Shadow to exterminate everything for leagues upon leagues." Arrafin, eyes wide with horror, nodded. Torokan sighed. "It can only have been one thing: the Demon Goddess." "Oh, that's encouraging." Torokan paid no attention to Isaac's snarl. "The Demon Goddess ruled the nation of Tianguo for a hundred years, subjecting the people of that once-proud nation to such horrors that if I describe them you will not believe me. Her reign was literally hell on earth. "My order believed she had been destroyed. It cost us greatly to do so. But if this is she, risen..." Elena stretched out. "Great. So what, we have to choose between she and Matai Shang? Some choice." "Shang is a sorcerer and a very powerful one. But the Demon Goddess is the most potent entity upon Barsoom. Her power eclipses that of the god-sorcerers of long ago." Torokan swallowed, shaking. "You must understand. She possesses the power to destroy all life on Barsoom. She can reduce the entire world to a cinder, merely by wishing it to be so. She must be destroyed." The Blood Sister recovered her poise. She smiled. "Now. You folks have a sword, I believe, that has proven efficacious against vampires?" There was an uncomfortable silence. Elena lowered her face to her hands and groaned. "Oh, I knew we'd regret that move." ***** Kishak soldiers in the street. Ranks of them, kicking down doors and dragging hapless civilians into the streets. An uncharacteristic anger darkened Arrafin's delicate face. She'd hidden with her friends in a cellar and the soldiers, after destroying nearly everything in her house, had moved on. Outside, still screaming and angry shouting. The seven (now that Kaley had re-appeared) friends gathered in a room full of shattered furniture and considered each other. Elena shrugged. "I still think we should go get that Farouk guy. Can we figure out how to find him?" Nevid coughed and replied. "I think I know which block it is. In the fountain. Arrafin, do you think you could use that spell of yours to break the block open? I think he's inside the block, somehow." "Sure. Sure." Zuleika put a hand on Arrafin's shoulder. "Arrafin. You can't do anything for your father right now. I know how you feel, but you can't help him." "I know that!" Arrafin shook off Zuleika's touch and stomped across the room. Just ahead of the Kishak soldiers had come the news, shouted by panic-stricken citizens. The Khadisan's army annihilated a few miles south of Al-Tizim. Kishak legions triumphant, backed up with gunpowder and sorcery. And now Al-Tizim bled in a massive purge as Kishak soldiers took out months of frustration and anger. No word of Arrafin's father, who had ridden with the Khadisan. "I know. I just. Maybe I can see him. Wait. Wait here. I want to see him." She rushed out of the room, down the hall to the springhouse. She'd grown up here. In this house. Her father. Her brother. Arrafin reached out and Shadow's darkness swirled into being around her, but she couldn't focus and lost the spell, only just able to release the deadly energy without killing herself. Heedless of the risk, she tried again, and then again, each time a wider circle of black tendrils growing around her. The circle expanded beyond the edges of the room she knelt in. Next door, two children stopped breathing. A man collapsed, half his body turned to ash. Arrafin cast her spell. The water in the springhouse shivered, then cleared. The Naridic girl gasped and ran from the room. Isaac caught her before she could throw herself into the street. "Arrafin, no. What happened? What is it?" Zuleika cursed and turned away. Elena spared her an angry glance and joined Isaac with Arrafin. The slender girl couldn't speak. She shook her head, sobbing. "Oh, no." Zuleika slammed a fist into the wall, then jumped back as a woman screamed from just next door. She and Etienne looked at each other, nodded and ran out the back of the house. Isaac and Elena guided Arrafin to what remained of the sofa. "It's okay, sweetie. It'll be okay." Nevid remained standing where he was, trying to ignore everything. Especially Kaley, who stood staring at him. "Do you want some water? It'll be okay, Arrafin." "No, it damn well won't." Isaac looked up at Zuleika's angry tone. She and Etienne had returned and glared down at Arrafin. "You did that, didn't you?" The younger girl frowned, confused. "Did what? What do you mean?" "It was that sorcery of yours." Zuleika pointed next door as she shouted. "You killed them! Children! You killed them with that stupid spell of yours." "What?" Everyone turned to Arrafin, horrified. "No. What are you talking about? I didn't kill anyone. I wouldn't." "That black stuff you use for those spells of yours. I've seen what it does to people. It went right through the wall of the house." "What? No." Arrafin shook her head. "There were children hiding there, Arrafin. You killed them." "Oh, god. No. No." Then Elena was grabbing Arrafin and shaking her. "What did you do? What did you do?" The Naridic girl tore herself free. "Nothing! I didn't do anything. I just. I wanted to see my father. And he's dead. They stuck him up on a tree. Nailed him up there. He. No. Leave me alone!" She rushed from the room and they could hear her footsteps racing upstairs. Elena started to follow but Isaac grabbed her. "Let her go. Give her some time." "She killed those children." "It was an accident, Zuleika. You think she doesn't feel terrible about it?" "She killed them." ***** Arrafin threw herself down on the fragments of her old bed. The door to her bedroom had been knocked to pieces. She sobbed and cursed and beat her fist against the wall. The strain of the last few days collapsed upon her and she fell asleep. What woke her up she couldn't say. Nothing stirred in the house. She was alone in her room but she could hear Isaac snoring below. Arrafin sat up. Standing in the doorway she saw a tall figure in a simple black gown. Long dark hair falling to the floor in an gleaming ebony cascade. Black eyes staring at her. White white skin. "Arrafin." [/QUOTE]
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