Vodok
"Yeah.
Do 'at. Now 'at she's outta our way. Le''s go ta Kazordoon 'n' drink." the short dwarf said.
Red Un
"Yeah,
I grabbed the Key before I buried her. Next stop will be the cold fields of the
Ice Islands, but first we will need some good rest. To Kazordoon!"
Red Un started walking north.
Meanwhile, somewhere completely else...
"Master, they have the key."
"I see. Very well, soon they will be going to the city of dwarves. Make
sure they never leave it."
"Yes master..."
Vodok
"Yay!!
Kazordoon Kazordoon Karordoon doon doon!" the dwarf sang happily.
The dwarf took up his last pieces of rotten fishes and started to eat them.
Then he looked in his backpack for some water, but couldn’t find any. "Eh...
Any'un o' you go' any wa'er?" the short dwarf asked the rest of the
group.
Red Un
"Hmm,
no, but..."
Red Un stopped and shovelled through his backpack.
"Ah, half a bottle of beer. 'Ere Vodok, take a sip."
Vodok
"Yay!!"
the short dwarf
yelled and drained the bottle. "Aaah..." the short dwarf said.
"Hicks!" the short dwarf said while accidentally turning left
when he was going to turn right.
Red Un
Red Un
looked at the empty bottle.
"Dammit, I only said a sip. Oh well..."
He threw it away and kept walking.
Roku
Yarit
Roku was
quick to catch up, his gaze dared not looking back nor towards his hands, hands
stained with blood. He was silent and nervous; his hands shook as he tried to
bury them in his robes. I guess I’ll never truly understand the Patryns... I
don’t suppose I ever could. But I’ll be damned if I die in this godforsaken
place! And the Dwarfs, still don’t even question me. They trust me. All except
the woman. She’s no ones fool, I’ll give her that, but sooner or later her eyes
will lose their grasp on me. Then I can conduct with these Mensch as I see fit.
Red Un
After many
long and warm hours, the party finally reached the end of the desert. Red Un
was dripping with sweat, but true to dwarven nature, he didn't even stop to
wipe it out of his face.
"Okay people, we're goin' to Kazordoon to get some rest and a couple 'o
beers before we set our sigh for the Ice Islands..."
Pheonix
-As Rhia
followed Red Un she thought about Kelia. She could not believe she had helped
kill someone. Someone she should have helped. She frowned.
-"May Dadga forgive me." she thought to herself.
-"Uh?" she said hearing the sorcerer's thoughts. "Be
careful what you think, Roku. Remember you do not have your amulet protecting
your mind anymore." she said to his mind. "I will never trust
you if you keep making mistakes like that... Now tell me why is it you are
here? Or at least think it."
Red Un
As they
came closer to the bridge, Red Un thought he saw a commotion on the bridge. It
almost looked like a fight. He looked closely. Then he shrugged.
"Naaah..."
Roku
Yarit
Roku did
nothing but follow the Dwarf silently, keeping an eye on what he could. The
thought of a cold beer after suffering the Desert did please him but not a
thoroughly as he would have hoped.
I seek the Library, Rhiannon. Nothing more, nothing less. The Mensch are a
crucial part of finding it. That is all.
"Truth be told, Un, I do not know if I have the magic to indulge in
another battle if that is what you are thinking. I have gone long without rest
and that last spell exhausted my resources."
Red Un
As they got
closer to the bridge, Red Uns face hardened.
"That probably won't be necessary..."
On the bridge laid the bodies of two dwarven guards. There were usually just
soldiers there. Red Un started to run. He reached the dying dwarves.
"What happened here?"
One dwarf coughed.
"D...de...the...dark...star..."
Red Un noticed a mark on one of the dwarves arms.
"Oh no..."
Before the others had reached the bridge, he had thrown the bodies into the
river. No evidence of the battle was left.
"Right people, to Kazordoon we go!"
Vodok
"Yay!!
Kazordoon Kazordoon kazordoon doon doon!" the short dwarf sang merrily as he followed the
leader. "Outta runes tar... need te' refresh me supplies..." the
short dwarf said as he walked along.
Red Un
"You'll
have plenty of time to do that in Kazzy."
Red Un wondered if this was such a good idea. If the Dark Star were after them,
it would be dumb of him to involve these innocents. Oh right, some of these can
hear me think. Better think of something else... I hope Jimbin has loads of
beer, 'cause I'm thirsty.
Pheonix
"Strange,
Roku. I don't know if you are to be trusted yet, your mind perceives you as a
heartless monster. Yet your heart… Have you lost someone, Roku? A love maybe?”
Roku
Yarit
Roku
stopped, his eyes widened. A twisting pain in his heart prevented him from
drawing a breath. He shook his head violently shaking off her words as if she
had never put them in his mind.
"Vodok, do you have to keep singing? You’re not especially good at
it."
His footsteps shadowed Red Un. His hands folded at the small of his back. His
blonde hair, wrapped into a single thick strand behind his head, swayed about
in the subtle breeze. With a grin he spoke to Rhia without turning around to
even look at her. "So how does it feel to take another life?"
Pheonix
-Rhia
smiled... Roku was obviously trying to fluster her. She should only turn the
tables, she shall let this one slip.
-"Roku, Do you really think this is the first time I have taken a life? It
is the first one in so long..."
-Rhia changed the subject. "There is something bothering you deep down,
that makes you act like this heartless person. What is the matter, are you
afraid of being hurt again?"
Red Un
The gang
had reached the towering...towers, hidden behind tall trees and shrubbery. Red
Un thought it was unusually silent. Usually there would be dwarven guards up
there, talking to each other, singing and drinking sometimes. Oh well, they
must have had a party after P'Faard was defeated and were probably just getting
out of their beds.
Red Un led the others to the stairs, leading down into the torch-lit caverns
that were Kazordoon.
"Right people, those who want can join me at the Pub for a couple 'o
beers. If you have other matters to attend to, we'll meet at the towers
tomorrow."
Roku
Yarit
Roku
smirked a bit, giving Rhia a shrug as the only reply then he chose to ignore
her, following Un until they passed between the towers.
"You go on ahead. I’ve got things I need to attend to." Breaking away
from the group without another word, he folded his arms across his chest and
leaned against one of the towers, his eyes closed.
Vodok
The short
dwarf, who had taken a lot of offence when Roku pointed out he was bad at
singing had a plan for revenge. He took out a lyre as silently as he could,
sneaked up to Roku, who was leaning against the tower with his eyes closed. "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!"
the short dwarf yelled with all his might and ran off against the
pub.
Red Un
Red Un
shrugged his shoulders and walked after Vodok towards the pub. Vodok was
obviously a total jerk, but at least he didn't seem to have any dark, evil
secrets...
None in the group noticed when a dark-robed man sneaked out of the shadows and
followed Red Un...
Pheonix
-Rhia
decided to go to the lake at the top the dwarf mountain. It was peaceful up
there. She sighed.
"Dadga... I am at a loss with Roku? Should I trust him? I fear he is a lot
stronger than he lets on. The thing that I fear the most is how well he knows
my Nature very well." She thought back to her life when she was just a
girl... the day she left home, the day she had met Rhita Gwar... The day her
parents were murdered.
Vodok
The short
dwarf got to the bar. "Gimme beer now."
Roku
Yarit
Normally
Roku would have struck the dwarf down but he could not hear him. His soul and
mind had left his body, searching over the lands. The path he travelled was a
blur but he knew his destination well. Books all around him. Books that date
back to the beginning of time. He could not reach out and open the pages but
was only teased with what lay inside...
Red Un
Red Un
entered the pub as Jimbin reluctantly filled a mug for Vodok.
"'Ello Jimbin! When you've served that guy, gimme one too."
Jimbin looked at Red Un as he handed over the mug to Vodok.
"You look worried. Somethin' on your mind?"
"Uhm...nothing a li'll beer won't fix."
Meanwhile, the robed man stopped outside the bar. No, he couldn't strike yet.
They had to all be in the same place...
Roku
Yarit
His eyes
opened...
Roku still could not read the books. A waste of time and energy. The only thing
he wanted to do now was rest, regain his strength for the travel ahead.
Standing up straight and carefully brushing down his robes, Roku began to walk
towards the stairs. He would gain access to the guard towers and rest at the
highest point, much more to his liking then being underground.
Red Un
Red Un
looked over at the entrance of the pub and thought he saw, just for a split
second, a piece of black cloth that moved away. He drank deeply from his mug.
"Naaw..."
Vodok
The short
dwarf was now extremely drunk and his mouth was over full. So he spat it out
all on Red Un and in his beer. "'e rain is comin' down... An' Im
gettin' we'..." the short dwarf began to sing. "I’M SO VERY
WE'!! WETTA THAN WA'ER!!!" The short dwarf continued.
Red Un
Not merry
songs, not beer, not even a fellow dwarf throwing up on him could make Red Un
feel any better. Was he becoming paranoid? Was that a true shadow he had seen?
Was he merely drunk?
Red Un’s mind traced far away trough the years. There he was, with that dead
girl in his arm, the robed men laughing mockingly at him.
"I just wanted knowledge..."
He woke up from his thoughts as Vodok surpassed the world-record in bad
proclamation of a dwarven drinking-song (a very impressive feat indeed!) and
emptied his beer mug.
Pheonix
-Rhia saw
some one out the corner of her eye. It was a man in a black robe.
-"What do you want? She said forcefully to his mind.
-A screech was sent back to hers. She screamed out loud in pain. So loud that
Possibly, All of the dwarf city could hear her.
Red Un
Red Un got
on his feet. That scream was definitely real. He ran to the door. Nobody there.
But...there was a black...line? Too drunk to realise an obvious trap, Red Un
followed the line.
The robed man smiled as he drew his sword. This telepath was just what he had
needed...
Roku
Yarit
Roku was
awoken from his rest. He knew it was Rhiannon who had cried out and that she
was most likely in danger but he was reluctant to even open his eyes. He moved
about to get comfortable again and sighed heavily, a little smirk growing on
his face as he crept back to sleep.
Who knows, maybe this could work out after all.
Pheonix
-Rhia's
scream got louder. The pain! She fell to her knees. Why was he doing this to
her?
"Get out of my head!" her mind yelled in all directions.
"GET OUT!"
Vodok
The short
dwarf was still very drunk and could hear the scream. "Wha' a singin'
voice!" the short dwarf cried out. Jimbin got a little annoyed of the
short dwarf who then continued to sing his song, so he took up a dwarven ring
from a drawer and forced it on Vodok's finger. Vodok became normal and tossed
25 gold coins to Jimbin. "Forra ring" he said and ran down to
the source of the sound. The closer the short dwarf came the higher the scream
became. He passed a robed figure who seemed to be concentrating on something. "'Ello."
The short dwarf yelled over the scream. The robed figure looked up and lost
concentration....
Red Un
The other
robed man followed Vodok.
Meanwhile, Red Un had followed the line up to the farms. The scream was
obviously coming from the lake on the top. He drew his sword and ran up the
stairs. There he saw the robed man and Rhia. The robed man grinned.
"Ah, the half-dwarf. But...where are your friends? This little party can't
get started unless you're all here."
Red Un walked closer.
"Damn ye, why can't you ever leave us alone!"
The robed man drew his sword.
"We would, if you would just stay away from the Library."
"Never!"
The two engaged in combat.
Meanwhile, the other robed man hesitated about getting closer to Vodok. The
smell was bad enough anyway...
Pheonix (postid 1125166)
-Rhia's
eyes began to glow. Now she was getting angry.
-"You... Have...no idea... Who you are messing with." She stood up.
The water on top of the lake began to bubble. She made a glass breaking yell
inside her mind. The man who had caused her the pain crumbled to the ground.
-"I will not be used as a tool to lure people here to kill." The man
looked up at her and started laughing. Rhia was taken back.
"Why do you laugh?" She demanded.
Roku
Yarit
Roku
chuckled as he stood up, cracking his neck loudly. He stretched and yawned but
other then that remained silent. He looked down from the tower, he could see
many things but none interested him.
Closing his eyes, Roku folded his arms at the small of his back and simply
leapt of the building, his robes fluttering around him as he fell to the
ground.
He hit the ground hard, falling right through, then he hit solid ground again.
He did not know how many floors down he was but it was getting loud and he was
where he now wanted to be.
He relaxed, as did his magic, and opened his eyes. He tapped Vodok on the shoulder
and leaned down to be eye level with him. "We have other places to be,
Dwarf. Tell me where Un went." His eyes moved to the hooded figure then
back to Vodok. Shoving the Dwarf aside he stood in front of the black robed
figure. "I care not for whatever the black star or whatever you are called
has in mind so tell me where I can find the Half Dwar-" His speech was cut
short went he was forced backwards, hitting the wall hard. His magic was not
prepared to protect his body from physical harm so Roku was dazed, groaning a
bit. The star shaped scar from the Patryns arrow burned a bit as he got to his
feet. "So be it..." He raised his right hand, thumb folded across his
palm. He brought forth his magic. Its energy flowing around him and gave him
strength. He focused that energy into his hands, the torches in the hallway
providing the raw element for his spell. The energies began to take shape. It
became visible as fire, stray flames venturing away from his palm but never
escaping it. The spell was strong. His rest did him well.
The robed figure held up a hand and the flames became erratic, leaving his
grasp and flying in several different directions, scorching the stone hallways.
Roku actually lost his balance, blinded by the flames, and stumbled backwards before
regaining his composure. "Uh..."
Red Un
"I
laugh because you are a fool! Your petty think-magic can't defeat me!"
The expression froze. Behind him, Red Un smiled and drew out his sword from the
back of the robed man.
"Well, that wasn't 'ard..."
The robed man laughed again.
"My...sacrifice...shall...destroy you!"
And then he exploded. But Red Un had already started running at the word
"sacrifice" and was just hit by the gigantic shockwave that showed
him into the air.
"Wow...I can see all of Kazordoon from 'ere..."
Lady
Rhiannon Datwood
-Rhia just
stood there. Lucky for her she was part phoenix. Therefore fire could not hurt
her. "How funny he thought I use magic..." She said sarcastically.
She was so enraged! He dare use her as a lure for the others!
"Red Un!! Who are these people!"
Red Un
"I
can't talk right now, I'm occupied with falling from a great height. Hope I
land in the lake..."
He did.
It was hot. Very hot. But he was a dwarf, and they are used to bathe in lava.
As he got up, he looked into the water of the lake, at his own image.
"What the...I'M CLEAN! DAMN 'EM!"
He sighed. Then he noticed Rhias questioning face.
"Oh uhm...I mean, damn IT! Uhm...yeah."
He thought for a moment. These guys never came alone.
"Can't explain right now. Vodok is probably in trouble!"
He ran down the stairs...
Vodok
The robed
figure was still following Vodok and the short dwarf was aware of it too. The
short dwarf turned around slowly and started to walk past the robed figure.
Just when Vodok was going to pass the robed figure step in the way for the
dwarf. "Er... Nice weather, ain'' it?" the short dwarf asked.
The robed figure looked at the short dwarf in a very weird sort of way. "Bye"
the short dwarf said as he ran against the depot where he had his runes. "Stop
there." the robed figure said in a cold voice. "Um... No"
the short dwarf said. "Utani Gran Hur." And the short dwarf ran. "STOP!"
The figure yelled. He drew up a paralyze rune and shot at the short dwarf.
The robed figure walked in a fast pace against the paralyzed dwarf. The figure
drew his sword and it came falling down at the short dwarf. The helmet saved
Vodok's head from being split into two. The dwarf was no longer paralyzed and
ran for his life. "HELP!!" The short dwarf yelled. Then an
oddly familiar voice yelled "I’LL SAVE YOU!" And then Vodivir
came down the stairs. "Oh. It’s you." Vodivir said in a
disappointed voice. Vodok continued to run, resisting the temptation to thump
Vodivir...
Roku
Yarit
Rokus eyes
went blue. He blinked, they were green. He blinked again, they were red. Blue,
Green, Red, Blue Green, Red...
The Sorcerer could see clouds form and lightning crack above them. The hole
being a considerable size. Rain began to pore through, soaking his robes while
the Robed man said and did nothing. Roku couldn’t even tell if he was watching
him or not. But it didn’t really matter now that he thought about it.
"Lightning Cracks...Fire Burns...Earth stays dormant...while clouds
still turn. Wind and Water...Ice and Air...Light and Dark...Together they
flare!" His robes started flailing about as a massive wind blew
through the hole above him and reached through every corridor and hallway. The
Torch fires blew brighter then ever, their colors going from red to white.
Lightning stuck the surface multiple times. The rain grew cold, so cold it
turned to snow and blanketed the land and Rokus shoulders. Roku reached his
hand out towards one of the white-lit torches and took a flame that hung in his
palm. Lightning stuck down from the skies and hit the flame, its electricity
coursing around the fires. Shards of ice were formed out of the snow and wind
and come together around the flame, its heat not reducing their size. The three
elements spiralled around each other in his hand. His eyes closed, his whispers
were drowned out by the howling of the still fierce winds. When his mutter
stopped and his eyes opened they no longer changed colors but stayed the blue
grey color they had been. The spell complete, he would only need to move a
finger and release it. What was making him hesitate...
Red Un
...Red Un’s
sword in his back perhaps? The robed man slumped together.
"RUN ROKU! RU..."
And the spell exploded.
Red Un had already started running but was again hit by a tremendous shockwave
that sent him flying down the corridor, going trough the wall at the end and
finally stopping a few meters inside the solid rock.
"Ow...that hurt..."
Roku
Yarit
Roku
smirked. The winds ceased to blow violently through the corridors, The clouds
dispersed, The snow began to melt, And the torch light extinguished...
The Sorcerer shook his head free of the bits of frozen water and stepped over
the body of the robed figure. Walking down the hallway, he stopped in front of
the gaping hole. "Next time stay out of it. Getting yourself killed won’t
help anyone." He didn’t wait to help the Dwarf up, he was capable of that
himself. He scaled the stairs until he reached the surface. The grass was wet
from the melted snow but the sun was shining and he could hear birds chirping.
"Rhia, Dead yet?" he asked casually as he looked around.
Red Un
Red Un
crawled out of the hole while mumbling something about how ungrateful some
people are.
"Well, that should be the end of that. Don't think there will come any
more 'ere..."
Vodok
The dwarf
that didn’t have the faintest idea of what was going on decided to pretend that
he didn’t see the robed figures. The short dwarf ran and ran and at last got to
depot. Ah yes... Let’s see what might be needed... Sudden deaths... Great
fireball... A few energy bombs... my backpack with random runes... My backpack
with random runes number two and three... the short dwarf thought while he
loaded his backpacks on himself. The short dwarf had a slight problem while
walking since all the new weight, but the short dwarf knew he'd need mana
fluids and blank runes. So the dwarf did great haste again and got to the rune
shop. "M'llo... Can I 'ave... <oof>... 'Is backpack is
'eavy." The short dwarf put down a few backpacks of runes. "There.
Righ'. Gimme 40 runes with backpacks and a backpack of mana fluids.” As the
short dwarf put his backpacks back on, the dwarf in the rune shop got some mana
fluids and runes for the short dwarf. The rune shop dwarf chucked on the
backpack on Vodok. The short dwarf stood for a split second then fell to the
floor because of the weight. "'Elp... me..." the short dwarf
said under a few backpacks. The rune dwarf walked up to the short dwarf and
decided to look at Vodok under the heavy weight. Then he slowly put away a few
backpacks. The short dwarf stood up and threw out some objects he probably
wouldn’t need such as keys, lyres, and other stuff. The short dwarf couldn’t
walk very fast, but he could at least walk.
Red Un
As Red Un
started to walk towards Jimbin’s pub again, he noticed that two robed men was
going up the stairs to the depot.
"Aaaw nuts. Vodok is going to get into more trouble than he can
handle..."
Red Un followed the two as silently as he could...
Roku
Yarit
Roku
scratched his head a bit. "Maybe she was put out of here misery. But I’m
sure I would have heard something about it from the Dwarf." Shrugging, he
began to move down the stairs. We have stayed here long enough for the
Dwarfs to fill their bellies with Beer and that odd speaking one probably armed
himself to the teeth with Tibian Magic. Perhaps I should search for more of the
Black Star and figure out how that one was able to degrade my spell until it
became erratic.
He suddenly stopped and burst out laughing. Beside him was a cell that read Human
Heretic. "Now this brings back memories." He placed his hand on
the lock and opened the cell as the lock melted in his hand. "Ah Captain,
I see the Dwarfs have been treating you with uh...at least some decency. They
must take their steam ships pretty seriously."
"Master Yarit! Thank the gods you’ve found me," he fell to his knees
and sobbed into his robes.
Roku rolled his eyes and stood the captain up. "We are going to the Ice
Islands. Where is your ship?"
"You mean the one seized by the Dwarfs and now has an engine that’s full
of itself because of a certain half-dwarf named Red Un!"
"Yea that ship. Follow me, we’re going to go check on your ship. The
Krundar’s Pride right? Or something of the sorts." He walked down the
halls, trying to find his way to the harbor.
Pheonix
-"Red
Un let’s get to Vodok. Before he gets hurt." she said heading toward the
exit. She ran down the stairs.
Roku
Yarit
Roku was
challenged by several Dwarfs that protected the harbor but where cast aside
easily. For some he simply put them to sleep, for others he used a more
forceful method for their slumber. "Your crew is still aboard?"
"Yes, Master Yarit, they’re in the galley."
"Well prepare the ship for departure. I will be back shortly with the rest
of the people that will be travelling with us. I do not want to have to wait
when I return." He trudged off back down the hallway lined with
unconscious dwarves.
"Un? Vodok? Rhia?" he yelled the last one with the least amount of
enthusiasm possible. "Where the bloody hell are you people?"
Red Un
Red Un had
catched up with the robed man. But they were in the depot. He turned to Rhia
and whispered.
"We need to lure him outta 'ere. If he...explodes...here, loads 'o
innocents will be harmed...got any ideas?"
Pheonix
"Hmmm
maybe. Try to make him angry at you." She said to Red Un. "Then let
him chase you."
Roku
Yarit
"That’s
the best idea you can come up with?" Roku said as he came up behind them.
"You really haven’t been in many battles have you? Ugh...never mind let
me." He extended his right hand, blue glowing threads extending from his
fingertips. The reached out into the depot moving swiftly to wrap themselves
around the robed mans neck, legs, arms, and stomach. Pulling backwards the
robed man was thrown off his feet and slid across the floor on his back,
stopping to stare straight up at the Sorcerers smiling face.
Vodok
The short
dwarf was walking down to the depot. At last he got to the depot and saw Roku
using a strange sort of magic. "'Ello." The short dwarf said
to everyone there.
Red Un
"EVERYONE
GET DOWN!"
Red Un drew his sword and threw it at the robed man before he could react.
Against all odds, it hit. The robed man coughed.
"Damn ye...ye could have given up now....but now it's too late. Watch yer
backs in the future...fools..."
And then he exploded.
Red Un crawled out of the hole he had made in the opposite wall.
"Ow...that's the second time this day. I really need a beer..."