Part 6>>>The Shadow of Love (an LoF adventure)

[Larry_OHF]

Nanashi:
A brief tale that has already come to pass.


The time in the game was about 60 seconds before the tower collapsed at Castle Lesismoore. Larry and his big friend had escaped into a portal of Shadow that the stranger had conjured somehow and rather unexpectantly.

She could taste the impending danger in the air. She looked about and it was not difficult to locate the overly large duchess hiding in the room as best she could from this predator that was searching for the mouse that had just escaped. She decided that she'd interrogate this duchess and see what she knew.

About then is when she felt the first tremor of the imending doom. She looked at the duchess for an explanation, her fear nearly boiling in her throat. The duchess seemed to be as concerned at the moving of the tower as she was. Her cat instincts were now screaming inside of her, and she ran over to the window and looked out, then gasped aloud as the tower began to fall, the ground rushing to meet them with lightning speed.

"Master save me!!!!"



A doorway opened, even as the room started falling apart. She wasted no time, and leaped into the portal.

When she got to the other side, she stood up, but then was knocked back on her face. The large woman who had been the duchess of Lesismoore had followed her through.

"How dare you! I shall feed you to the Master's pets!"

That won't be necessary, my dear."

"Master! I...I have failed to kill Silverfall, for he escaped by means of a portal with a man that I did not recognize. This woman...she is the duchess of Lesismoore. She helped him escape from me."

"That's not true! I...hey...where am I anyway? And who are you?"

"I am the Moderator on this forum, and the Master of Shadows. I have many other names, but that should not concern you now. What to do with you is what you should be worried about. I mean...how many uninvited guests are going to just drop in on me before I lose my patience? I mean, really!"

The duchess now realized who she was in the presence of, and she fell to her face on the floor, weeping and not wanting to imagine what was next for her.

"Nanashi, take her to the dungeons for now. I'll decide soon enough her fate. Right now, I have more urgent business."

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Joseph

“And what makes you so sure,” he smiles as he turns to Larry, “of the identity of your ‘regular self’?” He does not bother with waiting for an answer for the question is rhetorical. Turning to the newcomer whose face is still but vaguely apparent within the folds of her hood, he continues, a tone of friendly humor in his words, “Identities, of course, are curious things and were the self but a matter of outward form, I’d despair of the possibility of knowing one whose face I cannot see.” At these words the cadences of his speech shift easily into quite another pattern, one less formal but equally good humored and every bit as natural as the previous, “But looks ain’t everything. Hell, the eye can be the worst liar there is. The ears too,” he winks and once more his speech shifts becoming meditative in character. “And what then are we left with when perception misleads and expectations disappoint? Nothing perhaps other than the simple contentment that whether a face be hidden or a face be revealed our chances for knowledge remain approximately the same.” He sighs in resignation. Suddenly his features brighten and placing a hand on Larry’s shoulder he speaks again, a note of admiration in his voice, “Of course, we can always take comfort in the fact that there are those who do indeed at the very least know their own true selves and who shall – could we dare assume otherwise? – to their own selves be very, very true.” His eyes turn to the warrior as he says these final words.

Stepping away from Larry his voice settles back into its more familiar pattern, but a pattern no more natural than any of the others. “The point of that harangue, other than being a badly belabored manner of greeting the lady...... I’m just a guy named Joe, by the way .....” He nods in her direction, “.... is merely to belabor the obvious fact that ......” here he turns to Larry, “you had a look in your eyes that said you just might be about to trust whatever I tell you, and believe me I can spin one helluva story, and if the stakes of the things you’re caught up in out here are as high as I think they are, you might want to step back and make sure that’s something you want to do.”

He stops speaking for a moment and then abruptly continues, “O! and while you’re doing that, maybe you can explain to me why it is that I can’t find any trace of that ham-fisted presence that keeps disrupting anything to do with shadows. Guys like that – it is a guy, right? - just don’t pack up and disappear. And, yes, I think I can help with tracking down the blade, assuming you guys know this IronWorks place well enough to make sense out what I can show you.”

He looks once more in the direction of the woman and nods. “It’s Senora, right?”

[ 06-01-2005, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]

[Salinye]

Senora

Senora, ever the silent observer, tilted her head to look at Joseph from within the protective folds of her cloak as he addressed her. “Yes, you are correct, I am called Senora.” She had listened to the men’s conversation all morning. Before they awoke, she thought she might have a decision as to depart rather than keep their company. However, this mornings’ conversation had piqued her curiosity. She found that people chose their words for a multitude of reasons. Some talked to sound intelligent. Many used their gift of speech to try to persuade others to their way of thinking, or at the very least to do things they wished them to. Some talked to escape the thoughts that silence brought to their mind. Regardless of the reasoning, most people rarely spoke out of a pure desire to express their true thoughts or opinions. All too often she found people’s hearts to be unaligned with their words. People use speech to paint a picture of themselves for others and often the self-portraits aren’t true to life.

“I find your conversation interesting.” She continued. “However, I must confess, my experience leads me to believe that most people are not true to themselves. In fact, I’d call such a person a diamond among coal. It is also my experience that you will listen more to my words if you know me without a face.” They couldn’t see, but she smiled kindly as she spoke. “But enough of lessons from my life.” She waved her hand dismissively, a casual motion appearing no less elegant than a priest blessing the summer’s infants. “Please, would you kindly tell me more about the shadows you speak of?”

[ 06-02-2005, 03:48 AM: Message edited by: Salinye ]

[TAOWolf]

KAYLISA

~torn………what do I do?~ She howls into the wind, a forlorn sound filled with pain and anger. She feels a stab in her heart, as one of her wolves is killed, no.. slaughtered, and she falls to her knees, blinded with the pain. Luckily, just as she falls, the banewolf directed at her, misses it’s mark and leaps past her.

She raises the staff into the air, slamming it back to the ground with such force, that the silver tip on the end shatters. A blinding white light explodes from the ground with a deafening sound of thunder and races towards her wolves, trying to protect them from the shadow of an abomination that looks so much like a wolf.

She falls onto her back, drawing the Spirit Sword, and begins to chant the first of three elemental spells, imploring the souls of the oak trees around the ring to come to her aid. She rises to one knee in a defensive position, as the bane that missed her prepares to leap again…

The wind in the grove suddenly becomes still, as a low moaning from deep in the earth is heard, growing louder. The oaks in the grove begin to sway back and forth as their limbs begin to whip left and right, evermore stronger, and the ground begins to explode in a shower of dirt and rocks as long buried roots, some as big around as a full grown knight lift out of the ground and wave wildly.

One massive oak turns it attention to the source attacking her wolves, as another slowly moves its roots along the ground, walking towards the bane set to attack her again. A third moves to the edge of the mire, and using two huge roots, begins to push the two trapped banes deeper into the mire.

[ 06-02-2005, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: TAOWolf ]

[Larry_OHF]

Larry Silverfall

If the riddles of the strange man were not enough to confuse Larry, the man began speaking about the Mage of Shadows, just before turning his attention on the newest member of this group, the mysterious lady who seemed to enjoy hiding behind her cloak, maybe for fear that she'd be considered hideous to look at, and did not want to embarrass herself infront of three guys. But just then, she brought up the Shadow topic too. There was no escape from it! Obviously, these two newcomers wanted to hear about the evil tyrant that had taken over these forums. It was just that Larry did not want to really talk about it. He had just made two new accomplices...and did not want to frighten them off. Somehow, however, his rescuer Morg was the only one that seemed to know without being told. That was also disturbing. Morg acted as though he knew Larry already...which could mean that Morg knew the man he once was...or the evil he had become.

All of these thoughts began to build in Larry's head, worried about how he'd explain all of this to those that did not know...and what would they judge him as? Would they see that he had become a new man? Would they feel as though he were still dangerous, although he no longer was the actual Mage in control these days?

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Joseph

He smiles at her question. “I could tell you all manner of things about shadow,” he says, “but such things would make a poor answer to your question, as I know shadow in a very different way than those of this place ........” He turns briefly to Larry, “IronWorks, right?” Speaking once more to the woman, “Here shadow would seem to be more than merely a thing for there is an aggressiveness about and there are those who seem to be schooled in the use of it.” He pauses and his expression changes as does the cadence of his speaking. “Not much of a school though – all power and force and angry attacking shapes and no real art about any of it. I met these guys because whoever it is that wants Larry’s head shook what must’ve been half the plane of shadow to get after him. Damn that was sloppy!” He punctuates his comment with a graceful sweeping of his arms and his voice settles once more into a more formal manner of speaking. “Until last night this power’s movement was still shaking the seams along which one might move between this apparent world of our perceptions and that other less apparent world of our misperception. Last night, however, the shaking not only stopped, but the fury within the power was likewise no longer apparent – and this is not the kind of power that does subtlety very well. In fact, other than being exceedingly powerful, it is not clear to me what it does well.” Whether Senora has heard these last words of his is unclear, however, as her attention has shifted elsewhere......

[Larry_OHF]

Larry Silverfall

The words angered Larry, as he heard Joseph mumbling about powers that he did not even understand and basically calling it useless! Why...those powers were the very ones that was going to bring his wife back from the dead when no other power on this website could do so...and Larry had sacrificed his own soul that he might learn the art and save his wife...

But what was Joseph talking about now? That he had once felt the Mage's presence in this game and now he don't? Of course the Mage was here...this was The Mage's Game!


[ 06-03-2005, 12:43 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Salinye]

Senora

“Until last night this power’s movement was still shaking the seams…”

Senora’s chest started to tighten as it began swelling with anxiety, an anxiety so intense it felt as if it walked the border of panic. The strong beat of her heart filled her ears drowning out the words Joseph had been speaking to her. For a brief moment she began to give in to the panic, clutching at her chest, her cloak parted revealing her attire-simple brown traveling breaches and a white shirt of some sort. The holy symbol of Kaelin’Dar hung down from her neck on a delicate looking chain. Searching through the panic, she was able to keep a hold of her mind enough to know that the panic she was feeling was not her own. She quickly wrapped her fingers around her talisman, the feel of it’s cool opal pressed into the palm of her hand a subconscious comfort.

Relaxing enough to allow her body to ride the waves of emotion that began cascading over her, she turned her head away from Joseph and found herself fixated immediately on the quiet and subtly brooding figure of Larry. Now that she had stopped fighting her gift, the emotions began pouring over her with more intensity; not only anxiety, but anger, guilt and pain. Somewhere in the mixture she felt something familiar to her, a feeling that didn’t have such a specific title. It reminded her of how she often felt when she feared people learning of her gift or worried how they would react once they saw her face. She knew the pain of keeping a secret close to her heart. Knew the fear of rejection or worse. She painfully empathized with him. Without realizing it she reached out her hand and gently squeezed his arm. He immediately stepped back out of her reach, a slightly frightened look crossing his face. She had taken him off guard.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

She didn’t hear his words she only felt his emotions. She didn’t know his thoughts, only understood how he felt. She wanted to weep for him-with him. It was then that she realized a new feeling crouching on the outskirts of the intense things she was already feeling, a shadow of darkness. She took a step back, her hand still held out in front of her where she had touched his arm. Darkness. Not even close to the evil she had felt the day before, but darkness none-the-less.

Her own thoughts and feelings began to work their way to the surface as his emotions began to withdraw from her. She felt a tear slide unseen down her cheek. “We all have something to hide, Larry.” She turned away from the group grateful the hood of her cloak had remained intact; she headed for the privacy of the tree line intending to find a few moments of alone time, the intense embarrassment she would feel within minutes barely starting to settle upon her.

[ 06-03-2005, 01:33 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Larry_OHF]

Larry Silverfall

This witch had done something to him...seen into his head or something...and she knew! She knew the secrets there and was going to tell everyone! He was a murderer and betrayer! He had killed so many good people when he took on the power of the Shadow. He had turned this entire forum into his playground and now because of him, a Monster had been borne straight from him that now had a life of its own. His fury gave birth to what was now the Shadow incarnate.

Larry began to get teary-eyed himself, and hated her for what she now knew of him. He bit back his fear of discovery now, and glared after her.

He screamed in her direction,

"I have nothing to hide! This whole forum knows who I used to be and what I did! I cannot hide from my past! My nightmares won't let me! You know nothing of the suffering I have endured and will continue to endure for the love of one who I have lost!"

He paused for a moment, as he thought it odd that the shadows of the trees around them all started dancing about, seemingly free from their binds.

Was that the Mage coming? Larry shut up and became fearful again...only a moment passed, and nothing happened except the shadows ceased in their dance. That must have been from him, then. He was now ashamed of what he had just said. Why had he blown up like that to the point of losing control?

He looked back to the hooded figure, not even knowing what countenence she bore at his startling upset.

"I...I am no longer a monster. I just want my life back the way it was before. I want Mistral Freelight Silverfall back in my arms. I cannot do this alone. I am too weak. The Mage has drained my life from me and left me as an empty shell of a Ranger.

Will you three please just help me get my wife back?"

[Cyril Darkcloud]

The Standing Stones

Mighty is the woman and grief lends sudden force to her power. Swift is her movement and great is her fury and the power of her prayer is augmented by the ancient sacredness of this place within the great megaliths. The trees of the grove move at her behest, uprooting themselves and moving to the defense of her wolves. Still the moaning of the earth continues as the woman gathers breath to chant yet another invocation. Despite such might, however, death still asserts its claims upon life. Even as the blinding light burst out from the impact of her stave upon the ground yet another of her pack dies soundlessly as jagged and broken teeth tear out its throat. Within the burning light the woman’s eyes see what living eyes should not as that wolf so brutally slain is simply swallowed by the ravening banewolf, and in being swallowed becomes a part of the one who consumes it.

A banewolf is this. Dead with the death of many, and among those many now are two of the woman’s and the markings of her pack now lend themselves to identify a death that hungers after the blood of the living. And this banewolf leaps outward in sudden fury and its bite is the bite of those the woman could not protect, and the pain of the bite is great and within the pain is the polluting touch of the grave, a touch now coursing through her veins. Her chanting stops and the invocation is lost. Numbness begins to seize her.

The earth itself shakes, then, within this grove as a rumbling within the Ley Lines signals that the shapeshifter has performed the ritual, and performed it well. Thrown off-balance, the wolf leaps past the woman and turns. A voice, soft and familiar rings out and calls the wolf. Indeed, the voice should be familiar to the woman for it is her own, only softer and colder. Laughter rings out as a shadowlike form tosses her braided hair in the wind. The Alpha sits quietly at her feet and this wolf which bears now the marks of the woman’s pack bounds toward her. “Do not despair, sister,” she laughs, “I only leave for a short time, but soon I will return and all that was yours will then be mine and you will no longer need worry that you cannot protect those that are in your care.”

Light flashes dim and blue and she is gone, and the surviving banewolves with her.

ooc: Two banewolves destroyed. One is still held up by the animated oak tree and could possibly be destroyed. But the damage, as they say, would seem to have been done.

[ 06-03-2005, 02:08 AM: Message edited by: Cyril Darkcloud ]