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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1474761" data-attributes="member: 15043">Nervousness... Worrying, and Poor TeleportationTess looked on in worry, as Siabrey’s flurid, determined pacing continued.  The fighter’s eyes were circled in red from lack of sleep, and her face wore a thin, haggard gaze.  The same quick, nervous step, the same nervous twitch echoed through the room of the manor that had been her hallmark for the previous two days.  Two days since Lucius had last written.After riding back from the summer manor further north, the party had been greeted by Aeron.  The wizard had not so politely informed them that the teleporter would need another day until it was fully ready, and of course, Siabrey had reacted quite negatively.“Siabrey, hon,” Tess started.  She hasn’t slept in this whole time!  “You need sleep,” Tess walked up to her.  “Aeron says the teleporter will be online tommorrow morning, bright and early.  Calm... please.  You’re starting to worry us.”“Worry!” her eyes flamed as she spun around to face Tess.  Her nervous walk impeded, her energy now exploded into a snarl.  “I worry you! I have no idea what’s going on, where Lucius is, if he’s dead…”  Siabrey’s eyes glowed frightening, nearly feral, before she sighed.  “Please, leave me alone!”“Siabrey...” Tess said softly as the fighter shrugged her off and resumed pacing.  The bard lowered her head, and wandered over towards the large book, which still lay open.  In the upper corner of the blank page, the paper was burned, and curled upwards in black abberation.  Tess had watched as Siabrey and broken into tears at seeing the paper curl, and then leap for hope when the small section stopped its movement.  Now, her friend was slipping back into the monotonous squalor of fear and terror.“I know something happened to him,” Tess heard Siabrey’s worried whisper begin yet again.  “He’s hurt.  He wouldn’t leave me sitting here in the dark like this.  He’d write!”  Siabrey’s face twisted.  Her eyes had long since shed all the tears they had.She’s going to go insane soon if no word is recieved, Tess thought, watching her friend wring her hands and keep pacing.  “Siabrey... at the least... sit here, in front of the book.  You’ve been walking for hours, you must be tired,” Tess invited softly, pulling the chair out.  She’s been up for over thirty hours straight by this point.... if she doesn’t sleep soon, she’s going to fall apart...Siabrey’s eyes flared at Tess’ suggestion, but the bard could see slight indecision in the fighter’s eyes.“C’mon,” Tess offered.  “You’ll still be able to check the book... and I won’t be as worried about you.  Please?”There was a huff from the fighter, as it became apparent she made up her mind.  With a grunt of thanks, Siabrey slid into the chair, and stared at the empty book.“If the teleporter isn’t fixed by the end of the day tomorrow,” her voice hissed, “I’m riding down there.  You know that Tess,” she looked up at her friend.  Tess nodded understandingly, running a hand soothingly up and down Siabrey’s back, trying to get her to relax... and hopefully collapse into sleep.“I’ll ride beside you, Siabrey,” Tess whispered.  Relax, friend... you need to rest.“You would?” Siabrey looked up at Tess with genuine thanks in her eyes.  “Thank you.” She smiled for a brief moment, before her face returned to stone and she began gazing once again at the empty pages of the book.  After a few moments, Tess hummed a slight tune, pleasing to the ear... hoping some magical sleep might do her friend good.At first, there was no reaction, and then Tess watched as Siabrey’s head nodded lower and lower, rocking back and forth as her body desperately tried to catch itself, while wanting the fall into the dreamy abyss.  Finally, after a minute or so, the fight was over, as Siabrey rested her head softly on the empty page.“Rest well, friend,” Tess said quietly, rising back up to leave the room.  “You’ll need it... and pray that while you sleep, a response comes.”“Luke,” Siabrey purred quietly, nuzzling her head into the chest of her love.  She heard his voice, quiet and loving, whisper his desires, his love for her in her ear before nibbling on it.  She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him.Before the crash.The crash, the shattering roar, the people dashing about their two intertwined forms.  The swords dancing in the air, the bodies falling all around... and then the spider.The retriever, that the party had seen before the Hextor adventure was back, and charging straight towards them.  Siabrey rose to her feet, unclothed but clutching her katana.  She swung, with all the force in her body, but her blade seemed to pass through it, and one of the retriver’s claws then came down with immense force, stabbing Lucius through the chest with a black rose......and Siabrey jumped in her chair, a cold, heavy sweat coating her body.  Luke! her mind and body screamed, as she flashed looks around frantically, seeing only a rather empty, plain stone room about her.  Her still waking eyes blinked, and her heart gradually began to slow down, as she began to take in reality. Her tired brain began to separate itself from fantasy, and she realized her Luke wasn’t with her...’Twas only a dream... only a dream... She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly.  Blinking hard, she saw sunlight streaming into the room, something she didn’t remember when she sat down.I must have slept a long time, she thought, as the noise of a bird singing outside carried through a window. The noise immediately made her think of Elenya... which drew her mind to the battle, which caused her to snap her attention to the book below her... and the words that now filled the previously empty page.  Her heart leapt momentarily for joy.”My Friends” the letter began, and immediately Siabrey’s elation fell back to earth.  It was decidedly not Lucius’ handwriting... more like Xanadu’s.”This is Xanadu writing today instead of Lucius.  He is busy recovering after the battle.  I know this may disturb you, but I feel you have the right to know; Lucius was wounded in battle... badly...”Oh god! No! Siabrey’s mind quailed, and her eyes, recharged after rest, began to spill out tears anew, as she gave a little shriek.  Horrible images ran through her head of him torn apart, mutiliated, shredded...Through her tear stricken eyes, she forced herself to continue reading, and discovered that Luke had been wounded when he had killed a balor... the creature exploding right next to him when it went through its death throes.  He was flung nearly one hundred feet, and badly burned and slashed as parts of the creature’s shattered blade sliced through his body.  As each description reached her eyes, she shuddered more and more.The door to the room lurched open, as a tired looking Shaun stumbled in.  He looked once at Siabrey, before stumbling over, grabbing her shoulder tensely.“Siabrey.. I... I’m...” he started before he managed to sputter out a phrase.“He’s wounded... badly,” she sniffed, as her mind began to reform and regain control of itself.  Others were present.  They needed her to keep her head on straight.  Luke needed her head to be on straight.  She continued to read, as she wiped the tears from her eyes and choked down her sniffles of fear...“Fetch Grumki,” she said quietly, but with more power than an army of dragons, “we ride.”“Um.. Siabrey?  Tess just went to check on the teleporter room... supposedly it should be up any minute...”“We can’t wait any longer!” she snarled at him, rising from her chair and dashing over to begin to grab her gear.  “We ride... Aeron is taking too fricking long!  Lucius needs Grumki’s healing, he needs me, NOW!”“If we wait two minutes, and its up and working, we could shave precious time... maybe weeks, from our travel!” Shaun snapped back, exasperated.  I too want to see Elenya... and I don’t know how she came out of the battle!  “Do you even know where he is, to start looking?”Siabrey froze.  I don’t she thought hurriedly, dashing back to the table where the book lay, and finishing her reading.”Alexander has ordered all the armies to gather in Illyant... which is where we are at right now.  Luke’s plan destroyed the mongrel army, however,  Zoe’s troops ran into the Countess’ main force, and we lost fully half of those soldiers...”“He’s in Illyant,” Siabrey said hurriedly, loading things into her backpack as she continued to scan.  Illyant... halfway between Irulas and Kulloden...  As she finished her packing, she started to turn away from the book, but something compelled her to scan the last few lines of the letter.Shaun was surprised and perplexed by the suddenly yelp and slight grin that jumped across Siabrey’s face.  She’d been down, hurt and frightened so much by Luke’s situation, he couldn’t imagine what had made her jump almost for joy.“What the heck happened?” Shaun leaned over to read for himself, but her second leap of joy knocked him back.“Zoe’s dead!” Siabrey screamed.“What!?” Shaun’s mouth fell to the floor, and Siabrey hurriedly pointed him towards the relevant part of the letter.”Empress Zoe rather foolishly tried to lead from the front, it seems.  A balor tore her in two.  Emperor Alexander has ordered...”The jumps and cheers of the two drowned out the creak of the door opening as Tess, bleary eyed from lack of sleep, came into the room.“What’s all of this cheering about?  How did you guys guess the teleporter is working again?”After rather hurriedly packing, the party piled downstairs.  Sincere goodbyes were said to Iranami, while Aeron was greeted with curt nods, and a brief thank you from Tess.  The wizard cautioned that there was a chance the teleporter could malfunction in sending them to Irulas, Siabrey would have none of it.  As the magical device activated and the world swirled, all four were used to it, and none of them felt even nauseous.  As the world slowly unwound itself around them, however, instead of the warm, lighted interior of the Imperial palace, they found themselves facing the green, leafy interior of a forest... again.</blockquote>

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