09-15-2010, 08:31 AM
Encounter
Spoiler:
A heavy brown cloak draped Lyia Duskvenom's shoulders, the hood attached to it covering her bowed head as she stood in the darkened room.
Candles lit the square chamber all along its walls, a small rise to the end of it, opposite the door where a black-robed man stood, facing her, in a cloak and hood of his own. His size and build would hint to being human. He cleared his throat to speak.
"I see you've decided to take Us up on Our offer."
A silvery eye peered out from beneath the brown hood, burning a sharp gaze towards the man.
"You made me an offer I could not refuse."
The man chuckled. "Yes. Yes, We did. We did not expect your coming this soon, however. Tell Us, what is it you think to accomplish with this simulacrum of punctuality?"
"Very little. Just proving time is important. Timing moreso." answered the Kaldorei girl's voice across the dimly lit air.
"We see this. Are you ready? Your first task is at hand."
"I was born ready."
"...Cocky, are we?... This will serve as a test, young blade. In Elwynn, in the Sunderholm Manor, you shall find a man named Tobias. He is a Warlock, pieced together by magics most foul. The gist of the matter stands towards the fact that We could not prove his involvement in the Fel arts. As such, it comes down to..." the man trailed off, waving a hand suggestively.
"I understand, but know this: I've lived my life for twenty of yours, Human. I am not amused by your patronising attitude, no matter who you are. What should I do, and what should it look like?"
The man chuckled once more across the space between them. He raised a hand, palm out towards the elf. "Hush. Lay to rest any who stand in your path, but place no pointers neither to you, nor to Us."
"You have the word of the Liar."
"...Good."
The Kaldorei turned, creeping towards the doorway soundlessly.
"...And Liar?..." came the man's voice.
She looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"If you are caught, We deny any association with you. We never met. We do not know you. Today you spent your time elsewhere."
She looked forwards once more and exited the small building, out into the rain. She headed Northwards, until she reached Elwynn.
Candles lit the square chamber all along its walls, a small rise to the end of it, opposite the door where a black-robed man stood, facing her, in a cloak and hood of his own. His size and build would hint to being human. He cleared his throat to speak.
"I see you've decided to take Us up on Our offer."
A silvery eye peered out from beneath the brown hood, burning a sharp gaze towards the man.
"You made me an offer I could not refuse."
The man chuckled. "Yes. Yes, We did. We did not expect your coming this soon, however. Tell Us, what is it you think to accomplish with this simulacrum of punctuality?"
"Very little. Just proving time is important. Timing moreso." answered the Kaldorei girl's voice across the dimly lit air.
"We see this. Are you ready? Your first task is at hand."
"I was born ready."
"...Cocky, are we?... This will serve as a test, young blade. In Elwynn, in the Sunderholm Manor, you shall find a man named Tobias. He is a Warlock, pieced together by magics most foul. The gist of the matter stands towards the fact that We could not prove his involvement in the Fel arts. As such, it comes down to..." the man trailed off, waving a hand suggestively.
"I understand, but know this: I've lived my life for twenty of yours, Human. I am not amused by your patronising attitude, no matter who you are. What should I do, and what should it look like?"
The man chuckled once more across the space between them. He raised a hand, palm out towards the elf. "Hush. Lay to rest any who stand in your path, but place no pointers neither to you, nor to Us."
"You have the word of the Liar."
"...Good."
The Kaldorei turned, creeping towards the doorway soundlessly.
"...And Liar?..." came the man's voice.
She looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"If you are caught, We deny any association with you. We never met. We do not know you. Today you spent your time elsewhere."
She looked forwards once more and exited the small building, out into the rain. She headed Northwards, until she reached Elwynn.
The First Task
Spoiler:
A storm was brewing. Lightning cracked the blackened skies, a lone Night Elven woman rapelling down the inner wall of a massive-looking estate.
The rope she used slid, humming through her gloved hands, rain pelting her from above, and making visibility next to nonexistent for the guards posted atop the walls.
The Elf darted for the house, sprinting to an unnatural speed, pushing muscle, sinew and bone to the very edge of its potence. She noticed a small window, rectangular in shape, which led to a basement. Or so she presumed...
She leapt for it and stretched in mid-air, hitting the window feet-first just as thunder from a lightning strike rolled to muffle the sound of cracking glass.
She was in. Now came the hard part. She tip-toed to a nearby oil lamp, blowing it out and peered down the hallway. After a moment of listening and watching, she concluded the passage was unguarded and crept down it noiselessly. She reached a fork in her path, to her right a dimly-lit, but massive keg, and to her left a door.
She turned the knob on the door very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, yet found it locked. She slipped out of a glove a set of lockpicking tools and took but an instant to unlock what once was barred. She retried the doorknob and found the door creaking open. She winced to the sound.
It appeared that the passage she came in through was in disuse. Past the door she found another hallway, at the end of which being a relativelly bright light and the sound of piano playing. She frowned a bit, but moved forwards, finding little choice to do otherwise. She slipped a small mirror out of a pocket, and held it up to the corner at the end of the hallway, peering into it.
She saw a human woman in a white dress, playing comfortably on an ancient-looking grand piano. She frowned. Something seemed... just wrong... about her. She examined her form for the briefest moment and realised what that was.
The woman appeared perfect in all meaning of the word, as though her body were sculpted with an intentionally careful hand. A vision of perfection yet... unnatural in all aspects. Lyia's frown faded as the woman stopped playing and moved somewhere out of sight.
The Kaldorei listened to the footsteps tapping further and further away on a wooden floor then turned the corner into the room, only to find it empty. There were a few exits to it, but the Night Elf's gaze landed on the stairs. She started her ascent up them, seeking to move once more as stealthily as possible. She reached three doors at the very top of the stairs.
Lyia leaned down, peering through the keyhole of one of the doors, a mild thumping sound coming from behind it. She shook her head ever so slightly and stood back up straight, moving for the next door. She leaned and spied the room's insides through the same orifice, her eyes widening to the sight before her.
She saw inside a great many number of fellish symbols strewn across the walls, demonic sigils carved into the ceiling and floor, and realised the sense of wrongness came from the presence of Fel energies. She nodded to herself, moving for the last door, and peeked inside, only to find her mark.
A heavily scarred man, as though he had been shattered into a thousand pieces, and then put back together, white lines spiderwebbing his skin, sat in his study, reading from a book as heavy glasses weighed down his face, in a speck of candlelight.
The Kaldorei girl turned the knob on the door and entered, the well-oiled hinges turning without a sound as she herself sneaked forth noiselessly towards the unassuming man. She reached up, over her shoulder for the sword, wishing only to end this now.
Pain. Pain spread through the Night Elf's body for a very brief, but agonising moment, and she bit her lower lip to choke down a scream, drawing her sword and turning sharply, slashing at whatever lay behind her.
It just so happened that her movements were fast enough to behead the Succubus, which had produced the pain, the head falling down and splattering blood onto a white dress. A cough came.
The man at the table looked up to the Kaldorei and nodded. "So, this is my end, hmm?..."
The Night Elf did not answer. She simply turned for the Human and raised her sword, inhaling and preparing for the last blow of the night.
"...Not again-" the human's voice was cut short as the katana tore through him, splitting him asunder. Lyia yanked her sword out of the corpse and flicked it clean of blood, wiping it lastly on the man's clothes.
A knock on the door came. The Liar leapt through a window, exhaling rapidly as she fell, rolling once she hit the ground and sprinting off, to the angry shouts coming from the manor behind herself.
She reached the grappling hook she'd left behind and took hold of the rope, climbing it, before rappelling down the outside of the walls, using the last remnants of the now light rain to cover her tracks for her as she sped into the dark forest ahead.
The rope she used slid, humming through her gloved hands, rain pelting her from above, and making visibility next to nonexistent for the guards posted atop the walls.
The Elf darted for the house, sprinting to an unnatural speed, pushing muscle, sinew and bone to the very edge of its potence. She noticed a small window, rectangular in shape, which led to a basement. Or so she presumed...
She leapt for it and stretched in mid-air, hitting the window feet-first just as thunder from a lightning strike rolled to muffle the sound of cracking glass.
She was in. Now came the hard part. She tip-toed to a nearby oil lamp, blowing it out and peered down the hallway. After a moment of listening and watching, she concluded the passage was unguarded and crept down it noiselessly. She reached a fork in her path, to her right a dimly-lit, but massive keg, and to her left a door.
She turned the knob on the door very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, yet found it locked. She slipped out of a glove a set of lockpicking tools and took but an instant to unlock what once was barred. She retried the doorknob and found the door creaking open. She winced to the sound.
It appeared that the passage she came in through was in disuse. Past the door she found another hallway, at the end of which being a relativelly bright light and the sound of piano playing. She frowned a bit, but moved forwards, finding little choice to do otherwise. She slipped a small mirror out of a pocket, and held it up to the corner at the end of the hallway, peering into it.
She saw a human woman in a white dress, playing comfortably on an ancient-looking grand piano. She frowned. Something seemed... just wrong... about her. She examined her form for the briefest moment and realised what that was.
The woman appeared perfect in all meaning of the word, as though her body were sculpted with an intentionally careful hand. A vision of perfection yet... unnatural in all aspects. Lyia's frown faded as the woman stopped playing and moved somewhere out of sight.
The Kaldorei listened to the footsteps tapping further and further away on a wooden floor then turned the corner into the room, only to find it empty. There were a few exits to it, but the Night Elf's gaze landed on the stairs. She started her ascent up them, seeking to move once more as stealthily as possible. She reached three doors at the very top of the stairs.
Lyia leaned down, peering through the keyhole of one of the doors, a mild thumping sound coming from behind it. She shook her head ever so slightly and stood back up straight, moving for the next door. She leaned and spied the room's insides through the same orifice, her eyes widening to the sight before her.
She saw inside a great many number of fellish symbols strewn across the walls, demonic sigils carved into the ceiling and floor, and realised the sense of wrongness came from the presence of Fel energies. She nodded to herself, moving for the last door, and peeked inside, only to find her mark.
A heavily scarred man, as though he had been shattered into a thousand pieces, and then put back together, white lines spiderwebbing his skin, sat in his study, reading from a book as heavy glasses weighed down his face, in a speck of candlelight.
The Kaldorei girl turned the knob on the door and entered, the well-oiled hinges turning without a sound as she herself sneaked forth noiselessly towards the unassuming man. She reached up, over her shoulder for the sword, wishing only to end this now.
Pain. Pain spread through the Night Elf's body for a very brief, but agonising moment, and she bit her lower lip to choke down a scream, drawing her sword and turning sharply, slashing at whatever lay behind her.
It just so happened that her movements were fast enough to behead the Succubus, which had produced the pain, the head falling down and splattering blood onto a white dress. A cough came.
The man at the table looked up to the Kaldorei and nodded. "So, this is my end, hmm?..."
The Night Elf did not answer. She simply turned for the Human and raised her sword, inhaling and preparing for the last blow of the night.
"...Not again-" the human's voice was cut short as the katana tore through him, splitting him asunder. Lyia yanked her sword out of the corpse and flicked it clean of blood, wiping it lastly on the man's clothes.
A knock on the door came. The Liar leapt through a window, exhaling rapidly as she fell, rolling once she hit the ground and sprinting off, to the angry shouts coming from the manor behind herself.
She reached the grappling hook she'd left behind and took hold of the rope, climbing it, before rappelling down the outside of the walls, using the last remnants of the now light rain to cover her tracks for her as she sped into the dark forest ahead.