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Barsoom Tales II: Romance, Revolution and BLOODY REVENGE!!! -- COMPLETE
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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 4090496" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>Frying Pan, Fire: 16</strong></p><p></p><p>"That was anticlimactic."</p><p></p><p>Isaac looked over at Elena. The two Saijadani stood in the entry hall of a large country mansion, ready to fight whatever defenders the del Orofin family might have placed here, only to find the place empty.</p><p></p><p>Isaac stuffed one of his pistols back into his belt, still looking around cautiously.</p><p></p><p>"Let's just see what we find."</p><p></p><p>They edged forward, their boots silent in the thick carpet of the hall. Isaac stopped as something squished beneath his tread. He looked down.</p><p></p><p>"I think that's blood."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, there's a couple of bodies over here. del Orofin soldiers, it looks like. I don't know what got to them, but these don't look like sword cuts."</p><p></p><p>Isaac joined Elena and they poked at the dead men.</p><p></p><p>"Holy. Those look like. Claw marks. Or bites. Or something."</p><p></p><p>"Something big."</p><p></p><p>Above a great chandelier and curving staircase told of wealth and elegance.</p><p></p><p>Elena gestured to the staircase.</p><p></p><p>"Upstairs? Think maybe they kept her in some locked guest room?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac shrugged.</p><p></p><p>"If that de Maynard bitch was even telling the truth about this place."</p><p></p><p>They made their way up the wide stairs. The house was silent around them, only the wind outside telling them that anything was moving in the world.</p><p></p><p>At the second floor they halted, peering down gloomy corridors. Many doors provided nothing but mute opportunity.</p><p></p><p>"I guess we start opening doors."</p><p></p><p>Twenty minutes they were back at the stairs, the hallways behind them full of open doors.</p><p></p><p>"Okay, so maybe the basement."</p><p></p><p>"Maybe we're being made fools of."</p><p></p><p>Isaac glowered further and the pair made their way downstairs, passing through several salons and the kitchen before finding a servant's hall from which a narrow stairway descended. They paused.</p><p></p><p>"That's quite a stink. I hope that's not, you know. Your mom."</p><p></p><p>"Thanks, Elena. Very sensitive."</p><p></p><p>They peered into darkness. Elena left her friend standing there for a few minutes, and returned with a lamp. Together they descended, stairs creaking beneath them.</p><p></p><p>The basement beneath the house seemed a single large room, supported by many pillars with ancient stone arches crossing between them. The air hung dank and thick with the stench of rot and decay. Piles of misshapen forms lay heaped up around many of the pillars. Elena leaned towards the nearest one and jerked back.</p><p></p><p>"Those are bones. Human bones. And. Flesh, too."</p><p></p><p>"What the hell? What happened here?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac peered into the shadows beyond where their lamp cast its glow. A regular set of lines and shapes hinted at some structure.</p><p></p><p>"Is that a cage?"</p><p></p><p>Picking their way carefully among the bodies and the noisome pools of fluid, they approached the six-foot-high object. It was indeed a cage, big enough for a man, with its door hanging open and twisted, the hinges nearly torn off.</p><p></p><p>Another body lay here with one arm reaching in through the bars of the cage. That arm was torn and flayed, and the man's head had been torn completely off.</p><p></p><p>"This door. It looks like..."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah. From the inside."</p><p></p><p>"Do you think one of these bodies is maybe..?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac stood very still. He drew a breath and looked around at the scattered bones and rotting entrails.</p><p></p><p>"I don't know what to think. But. It seems likely."</p><p></p><p>He took his cigar out of his mouth and flung it to the floor.</p><p></p><p>"Fine. I thought she was dead for the last year, now I know she's dead. Fine. Let's go."</p><p></p><p>"But, what happened here? Should we investigate maybe? Some kind of creature must have escaped, or something."</p><p></p><p>"Hell with that. Let the del Orofin clean up their own f**king mess."</p><p></p><p>Isaac stomped back to the stairs. Elena watched her friend, his agony so plain in his stiff posture, and she followed him in silence.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>The Blood Council Sanctuary in Salejo sat in the middle of the city's busy commercial district, an unassuming walled compound with a a single gate.</p><p></p><p>Inside, graceful buildings arranged across a gravel yard sat in a quiet that seemed miles away from the bustling streets outside.</p><p></p><p>Etienne sat uncomfortable on the floor of a small, featureless room. Sunlight slanted in through narrow latticework. He looked up as the door slid open and Kimiko Torokan entered.</p><p></p><p>"Etienne."</p><p></p><p>She knelt before him and bowed.</p><p></p><p>"Blood Sister. It's, uh, good to see you."</p><p></p><p>Her enigmatic face warmed with an enigmatic smile.</p><p></p><p>"There's no need to be anxious, Etienne. Please. I'm not jealous about Zuleika."</p><p></p><p>"You knew?"</p><p></p><p>The smile broadened.</p><p></p><p>"I assume you have something to discuss other than your romantic infidelities?"</p><p></p><p>"No."</p><p></p><p>The smile disappeared. Torokan raised her eyebrows. Etienne stared down at the floor.</p><p></p><p>"That is, I don't really have anything to discuss. I just wanted to see you, Kimiko."</p><p></p><p>"You... I see."</p><p></p><p>Torokan sat in stillness for a few heartbeats. She reached out and touched Etienne's arm.</p><p></p><p>"Are we still on the same side, Etienne? Are you still with us?"</p><p></p><p>"What side is our side?"</p><p></p><p>"She is dangerous. She is not to be trusted."</p><p></p><p>"Are you?"</p><p></p><p>They stared at each other. Distant rumbles and voices came through the lattice windows. At last Torokan spoke.</p><p></p><p>"You didn't come here for this conversation, did you?"</p><p></p><p>"No."</p><p></p><p>"Come here."</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Arrafin and Nevid sat side-by-side, frowning intently at a faded page of crabbed handwriting. Arrafin pointed.</p><p></p><p>"That's 'Dannockshire', right?"</p><p></p><p>"I think so. That's where Madame Yuek's castle was."</p><p></p><p>"That's where we found Kaley."</p><p></p><p>"I think we have to go back. Whoever these Tuthean Tarn are, that seems to be where they hold their court."</p><p></p><p>"Do you want to ask her or should I?"</p><p></p><p>Nevid turned around in his chair to address Kaley. The Shaeric girl brightened at the attention.</p><p></p><p>"Hello, lad. I like ye."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Kaley. I like you, too. Can I ask you a question?"</p><p></p><p>She nodded.</p><p></p><p>"What do you think about going back to Castle Dannockshire? Do you remember that place?"</p><p></p><p>"It was long ago I went up to the castle, it was. So long ago I went up there."</p><p></p><p>"Is that where you met the King?"</p><p></p><p>"Aye. And her. His Queen. Rhiaellian. She did no like me."</p><p></p><p>"Okay, thanks. We were thinking of going back there and asking them to free you. What do you think about that?"</p><p></p><p>Kaley stared at Nevid, motionless for long breaths. Then she smiled.</p><p></p><p>"I like ye."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin grinned.</p><p></p><p>"She is consistent, I have to give her that."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 4090496, member: 812"] [b]Frying Pan, Fire: 16[/b] "That was anticlimactic." Isaac looked over at Elena. The two Saijadani stood in the entry hall of a large country mansion, ready to fight whatever defenders the del Orofin family might have placed here, only to find the place empty. Isaac stuffed one of his pistols back into his belt, still looking around cautiously. "Let's just see what we find." They edged forward, their boots silent in the thick carpet of the hall. Isaac stopped as something squished beneath his tread. He looked down. "I think that's blood." "Yeah, there's a couple of bodies over here. del Orofin soldiers, it looks like. I don't know what got to them, but these don't look like sword cuts." Isaac joined Elena and they poked at the dead men. "Holy. Those look like. Claw marks. Or bites. Or something." "Something big." Above a great chandelier and curving staircase told of wealth and elegance. Elena gestured to the staircase. "Upstairs? Think maybe they kept her in some locked guest room?" Isaac shrugged. "If that de Maynard bitch was even telling the truth about this place." They made their way up the wide stairs. The house was silent around them, only the wind outside telling them that anything was moving in the world. At the second floor they halted, peering down gloomy corridors. Many doors provided nothing but mute opportunity. "I guess we start opening doors." Twenty minutes they were back at the stairs, the hallways behind them full of open doors. "Okay, so maybe the basement." "Maybe we're being made fools of." Isaac glowered further and the pair made their way downstairs, passing through several salons and the kitchen before finding a servant's hall from which a narrow stairway descended. They paused. "That's quite a stink. I hope that's not, you know. Your mom." "Thanks, Elena. Very sensitive." They peered into darkness. Elena left her friend standing there for a few minutes, and returned with a lamp. Together they descended, stairs creaking beneath them. The basement beneath the house seemed a single large room, supported by many pillars with ancient stone arches crossing between them. The air hung dank and thick with the stench of rot and decay. Piles of misshapen forms lay heaped up around many of the pillars. Elena leaned towards the nearest one and jerked back. "Those are bones. Human bones. And. Flesh, too." "What the hell? What happened here?" Isaac peered into the shadows beyond where their lamp cast its glow. A regular set of lines and shapes hinted at some structure. "Is that a cage?" Picking their way carefully among the bodies and the noisome pools of fluid, they approached the six-foot-high object. It was indeed a cage, big enough for a man, with its door hanging open and twisted, the hinges nearly torn off. Another body lay here with one arm reaching in through the bars of the cage. That arm was torn and flayed, and the man's head had been torn completely off. "This door. It looks like..." "Yeah. From the inside." "Do you think one of these bodies is maybe..?" Isaac stood very still. He drew a breath and looked around at the scattered bones and rotting entrails. "I don't know what to think. But. It seems likely." He took his cigar out of his mouth and flung it to the floor. "Fine. I thought she was dead for the last year, now I know she's dead. Fine. Let's go." "But, what happened here? Should we investigate maybe? Some kind of creature must have escaped, or something." "Hell with that. Let the del Orofin clean up their own f**king mess." Isaac stomped back to the stairs. Elena watched her friend, his agony so plain in his stiff posture, and she followed him in silence. ***** The Blood Council Sanctuary in Salejo sat in the middle of the city's busy commercial district, an unassuming walled compound with a a single gate. Inside, graceful buildings arranged across a gravel yard sat in a quiet that seemed miles away from the bustling streets outside. Etienne sat uncomfortable on the floor of a small, featureless room. Sunlight slanted in through narrow latticework. He looked up as the door slid open and Kimiko Torokan entered. "Etienne." She knelt before him and bowed. "Blood Sister. It's, uh, good to see you." Her enigmatic face warmed with an enigmatic smile. "There's no need to be anxious, Etienne. Please. I'm not jealous about Zuleika." "You knew?" The smile broadened. "I assume you have something to discuss other than your romantic infidelities?" "No." The smile disappeared. Torokan raised her eyebrows. Etienne stared down at the floor. "That is, I don't really have anything to discuss. I just wanted to see you, Kimiko." "You... I see." Torokan sat in stillness for a few heartbeats. She reached out and touched Etienne's arm. "Are we still on the same side, Etienne? Are you still with us?" "What side is our side?" "She is dangerous. She is not to be trusted." "Are you?" They stared at each other. Distant rumbles and voices came through the lattice windows. At last Torokan spoke. "You didn't come here for this conversation, did you?" "No." "Come here." ***** Arrafin and Nevid sat side-by-side, frowning intently at a faded page of crabbed handwriting. Arrafin pointed. "That's 'Dannockshire', right?" "I think so. That's where Madame Yuek's castle was." "That's where we found Kaley." "I think we have to go back. Whoever these Tuthean Tarn are, that seems to be where they hold their court." "Do you want to ask her or should I?" Nevid turned around in his chair to address Kaley. The Shaeric girl brightened at the attention. "Hello, lad. I like ye." "Thank you, Kaley. I like you, too. Can I ask you a question?" She nodded. "What do you think about going back to Castle Dannockshire? Do you remember that place?" "It was long ago I went up to the castle, it was. So long ago I went up there." "Is that where you met the King?" "Aye. And her. His Queen. Rhiaellian. She did no like me." "Okay, thanks. We were thinking of going back there and asking them to free you. What do you think about that?" Kaley stared at Nevid, motionless for long breaths. Then she smiled. "I like ye." Arrafin grinned. "She is consistent, I have to give her that." [/QUOTE]
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