Antagonist's Anarchy: Desolation in the Daylight - Chapter II (Open)

[shamrock_uk]

Detheriel

In his temporarily cowed state it looked safe to leave the bandit alone with Telryn, so Detheriel ran quickly back through the woods to the campsite to retrieve the rope from his pack.

Returning swiftly he passed the rope to Telryn, almost asking whether he needed assistance. He bit the question back however, reminding himself that the large man was probably capable of tying up three bandits at once without breaking into a sweat.

He now turned himself to the grisly task of looting the dead. He reached the first body and paused, hesitating to touch the horribly incinerated flesh of the bandit. His face a mask of revulsion, he rolled the bandit over onto his back with the toe of his boot.

The purse of the first one appeared to have been on his belt - the furious heat was such that the cheap copper appeared to have been melted; sculpted by the dreadful flames that consumed the carrier. His garments had mostly been burnt completely away, thankfully saving him from having to search inside pockets.

Reaching down, he prised the dagger from a nearly skeletal hand and threw both it and the sword into a pile beside the fire. His companion was a little less badly burnt and his equipment quickly joined the pile also.

As he moved over towards the final fallen bandit, his eye was caught by the flash of sunlight on a blade. Bending down, he saw that the sword this one carried was unlike the others - the blade, whilst much used, still displayed an ornate engraving running down the length of it.

Gripping the shaft, he lifted the sword from the dirt, taking a firmer grasp when he found it heavier than expected. He took an experimental swing with it, the weight almost pulling him off balance.

Hefting it once more, he decided to take it with him. There would be time for him to learn how to use it on the road ahead and it would seem prudent to have another weapon, especially seeing as this group attracted trouble quite naturally!

He reached down and retrieved the scabbard, attaching it to his belt and then proceded to investigate the corpse further. As the sword suggested, this one was clearly the leader and obviously not the type to do his own fighting for himself. Detheriel pulled a note from the body and broke the wax seal but could not decipher the cryptic contents inside.

Placing the rest of the possessions in the pile, Detheriel returned to Zakaria's body in order to undertake the task he had been delaying. Wincing in sympathy at the burns visible on exposed skin, he quickly went about his gruesome task.

The throwing knives and coin joined the pile, although the pendant and rings gave him pause. In the end, he left the rings on Zakaria's burnt fingers, but decided to take the medallion on the offchance it could be delivered to an associate.

One final item remained - Zakaria's blade lay at his side. Cautiously reaching out a hand to seize it, Detheriel recoiled at a sudden flash of pain, whipping his hand back as a whiff of burnt flesh passed his nostrils. Frowning, he drew his own dagger and cut into Zakaria's robe and wrapped the cut material around the handle. He then carefully lifted the sword and carried it over to Isokla.

"It is done" he announced brusquely. I've piled the posessions by the fire, with the exception of the mage's blade. I'll leave that for you to deal with" he said, dropping it to the grass beside her.

He then produced the note he had found. "This was on the body of one of them, although it makes no sense to me. What do you think?"

[Ivelliis]

Telryn

Detheriel ran off with haste, leaving Telryn relatively alone with the bandit.
"Didn't take too well to the lady threatening to cut your "bits" off, did you?" He said with a malicious grin. Lowering his voice slightly, he muttered "I wouldn't put it passed her either..."

As Detheriel returned Telryn grabbed the rope from him. His time in the guard had taught him many skills useful for when dealing with uncooperative people, and this was no exception. Tying up the bandit as well as he could (flipping him over so he was lying face-down on the ground) Telryn asked "Comfy?"
A grumble was all he got in return, so the ropes were pulled tighter with a wince of pain for the man.
"Ahh, better," Telryn said with a smile.

The bandits arms were tied behind his back, giving no room for movement. Should the bandit even get a sharp object in his hand, it would be fairly difficult to cut through, even more so going unnoticed.

I don't claim to know much about rope-tying, so if I've missed anything out then please let me know. His feet are not tied so we can take him with us *cackles*

[shamrock_uk]

Nivram and Detheriel.

Nivram turned to address Eruwin, but his thoughts wandered away elsewhere, to Zakaria’s strange death. Nivram had not particularly liked the man, but he had still tried to save his life, and he was sure that his spell had succeeded, he had felt the hole through which Zakaria’s life force was slowly seeping away close. Nivram was almost certain that only external intervention could have taken Zakaria’s life after he had cast his spell.

Nivram glanced at Eruwin, who seemed to be awaiting a reply.

“I helped because…” his voiced trailed off as he glanced at Detheriel. “I’m sorry, we’ll have to talk later, I have to take care of something now.”

A faint throbbing feeling in his shoulder was the only thing, which reminded Nivram of his wound now, and the dressing on it was clean, but he knew that contrary to magic, simple bandages could easily be reopened, so Nivram would have to watch what he did.

Detheriel was just showing Isokla a note, when Nivram addressed him.

“Could we have a word, Detheriel?” he asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

Detheriel cast a small questioning glance towards Nivram at his tone of voice, but acquiesced to his request without a word.

As he drew alongside his wounded companion, he got straight to the point and questioned him. "You have more of that drink on you, don't you? After your little brush with the fates you've decided to come clean? Is that it?"


“No...well yes of course, but that is not what I wanted to talk about.”
Nivram put a hand on Detheriel’s shoulder and drew him away from the group and most importantly away from Isokla.

A colorful bird spread its wings in a nearby tree, just waking from its slumber.

“I think we have a problem, Detheriel. If you help me, I promise to get rid of all of the booze.”


Detheriel laughed out loud at that one, startling the freshly awoken bird into flight, then quickly lowered the volume with a hand in front of his mouth. He even had the grace to look a little sheepish at the noise he had just caused.

Still, his eyes twinkled with merriment at his next words:

"My dear Nivram, your head must still be muddled from your fight if you thought for one moment I wouldn't be taking that drink from you anyway!"

"I won't risk a knife in my back to satisfy your vices," he continued more seriously.

"Now, you may as well spit it out" he asserted, briskly. "I'm not the sort of man to be bribed and I make no promises of aid. Yet I fancy that you'll want words with me all the same" he guessed.



“Did you see how Zakaria died?” Nivram asked.



"I didn't witness it, although at a pinch I'd say he let one of his blasted spells get out of control."

"That's the problem with these wizardly folk you know" he remarked, wagging an authoritative finger in the air. "They forget how unnatural it all is and mark my words, but isn't it the death of them all?"



Nivram looked behind him with suspicion playing in his eyes, as though he feared that someone could overhear what he was going to say, but no one was near, and he breathed an audible sigh of relief.

A slight easterly wind picked up rustling the leaves on the trees and helping drain out any sound of what Nivram said.

“I have to tell you something about his death. But I’ll have to start by revealing a secret about myself. During my travels and a short spell of studying I picked up quite a bit of knowledge about healing magic, and while I don’t consider myself a master, I am quite adept at using this type of magic. I am trusting you more than I have trusted anyone else of this group so far, and I ask you not to tell the others about this little secret. I prefer telling them myself should the time and conditions be right.”

Nivram paused, checking for listeners once again.

“For one thing, it is useful when I need to rapidly sober up, but it is also useful when wounds need healing. Now, you know that me and Zakaria weren’t exactly close to each other, to some it might have even seemed that we were mortal enemies, but still that does not mean that I would have simply let him die. When I collapsed next to his body, it was not because of my own wounds, but because of the energy it had taken to stabilize him, and some energy needed to conceal what I had been doing. I am certain that my spell had worked, yet still Zakaria lies dead, not fifty yards from here.”

Nivram let Detheriel think for a moment, then got to his conclusion.

“Isokla was the only other person next to Zakaria at that time. I fear there may be much more to this young lady than what we have so far observed…”


Detheriel grinned at that, falling back on his ever-present levity, as he digested the shocking news.
"I fear you have been somewhat slow on the uptake my friend, if this only crosses your mind now!"

Some might think it odd and even inappropriate that he took amusement at times like these. For Detheriel however this was not disrespect but simply how he coped with the darker parts of life. He had spent more than his fair share of time in relative isolation and had learnt to take comfort from this side of himself. It spoke to him when he was most in need of support and many a long cold night had been spent in intricate conversation with it, chasing his thoughts endlessly, much like a dog might chase its own shadow.

A look at Nivram's face however reminded him that this was not the time for such behaviour and he forced himself to present a suitably grave appearance for the older man. He needs support, not your idiocy he reminded himself sharply.

He rested a hand on the other man's shoulder.
"Worry not" he reassured Nivram, "for I shall take your secret to the grave if needs be." He couldn't help but warm to the man at the selfless way he had attempted to save the life of Zakaria. It can't have been easy he thought to himself.

"What you say about Isokla is troublesome...you're certain of this?" At Nivram's earnest face, he raised a hand to stave off any comment.

"Yes..yes, of course you are."

He thought for another moment.

"The question now is what you would do about it? We have, after all, harboured at least one killer in our midst before. I cannot speak with authority, but I have never felt threatened by Isokla, despite the unknown in her."

He looked pointedly at Nivram. "You wish to confront her?" he asked.

"Even kill her?" he couldn't resist adding with a slight twitch of the mouth.

"These are all questions that must be answered before I shall decide on a course of action."

[ 06-15-2006, 07:17 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

[Legolas]

Ydalon

After all the shouts and commotion, Ydalon felt little need to do any serious interrogation. The Lords had read the stars, and spied out a great upheaval. They would make a bid for power when the opportunity arrived, and trained a force to support them. It was only sensible they did so away from the capital, where the true law was enforced by true soldiers.
They were rebels, but well-organised and covered not simply by a shroud of justice, but one of destiny. They displayed their brutality wherever they went, and captured the imagination of hundreds.
It was a clever approach, he had to admit. Still, it was hardly anything new, and this bandit would have nothing to tell them of their earthly rulers.

The boy approached Telryn.

"I think we'd better gag him and bring him to the city. It's not all that far."

[shamrock_uk]

Nivram and Detheriel

Emotions played across Nivram's face as ripples dance on the surface of the sea in a heavy storm. Indecision, uncertainty and even fear were visible on his face, for once Nivram shed his mask, letting his emotions show as he was lost deep in thought, unable to come to a decision.

"There are arguments for both options," he started, falling silent as he mulled over what he was going to say.

Having joined their makeshift group deeply wounded, Isokla had remained a mystery to Nivram ever since. The only one who had seemed to manage to get close to her was the young Ydalon, who had surprisingly become the leader of the band. Not much could be known about what might be happening in Isokla's mind, and Nivram had trouble reading her, even though he was more than adept at interpreting emotions.

"I honestly don't know what would be the better solution, Detheriel. Confronting her might bring a solution, while watching her for some time and putting off doing something about this might help us learn more about why she had acted in the way she did. I must admit that I fear confronting Isokla. I fear the unknown, and to me she has so far remained an unknown to a much greater extent than the others in this group."

"What do you think of all this?" Nivram asked, after another lengthy pause.

Detheriel thought for a moment, rubbing his face with a calloused hand. Eventually he spoke:

"I think we need to consider this carefully. Let us assume the worst for a moment - that she knows of your secret and is aware of your suspicions. Let us further assume that she is in fact a woman of evil character. The risk you take at remaining silent is that she will act to eliminate the only witness."

"Furthermore, even assuming her innocence, by not confronting her you shall forever be wondering at her allegiance."

His face contorted into an annoyed scowl as he tugged at his beard.

"You must tread with care however. Emotions are easily roused at these kinds of accusations; enemies are made and former friends can come to blows."

He gave his beard a particularly ferocious tug.

"This cannot be allowed to occur" he said, looking Nivram directly in the eyes. "To that end I would suggest drawing her to one side when you raise this. Keep this between ourselves and the odds are good that this will be settled without bloodshed."

With that, he spat angrily on the ground.

"The Gods know that there has been enough of that for one day."

Seeing Detheriel tug at his beard made Nivram remember his own facial hair, which was slowly becoming more than a stubble and was matted with dirt and dried blood from lord knows who. It was quite probably going to be quite some time until he would have a chance of cutting it.

"Would you be willing to come with me when I talk to her? I'm not normally a man to admit to fear, but somehow I don't fancy facing Isokla alone"

Detheriel pursed his lips for a moment, not really surprised by the request but nevertheless not particularly looking forward to the task at hand.

"If that is what you wish, I shall support your enquiries" he informed Nivram, placing a deliberate limit on his extent of his assistance.

"Courage my friend" he said with a weary grin. "For all her mystery and airs, she is still a slip of a girl."

Nivram sighed.

"I hope that you are right Detheriel, and we aren't stirring up something which was better left unstirred." Nivram forced a smile, as stirring reminded him of various alcoholic beverages. "Shall we confront her now?", he asked.

Detheriel nodded his head slowly. "Yes" he replied. "Lets get this over with.".

As the pair started walking back, Detheriel suddenly paused and placed a hand on Nivram's arm. "I think you know what I shall be wanting from you when this is done" he said pointedly.

Nivram stopped dead in his tracks, already dreading the moment, and the ensuing alcohol-less hours, possibly days, but he had promised Detheriel to do it, and he was not about to go back on his promise.

"I know that it is in my best interest that it is done, but it shall not be easy for me. You can search through the contents of my pack once I've given it up to see that I'm not hiding any more."

The taller man nodded briefly. "That's all I needed to hear" he said.

[Ivelliis]

Telryn

The giant of a man turned to the young boy as he spoke to him.

"If we gag him it will be hard for him to answer our questions," Telryn said, "Although it will reduce the noise made by his screams of pain should he not agree to talk."

Glancing slightly to see the bandits reaction, he looked down at the young boy once more.

Telryn didn't like being bloodthirsty, torture was not his thing, however with answers to the questions racing through his head so close, it was a chance he could not easily pass up.

[Legolas]

Ydalon

"I'm not really interested in him," he told Telryn. "He's just some farmhand brute or something. Knows nothing important, and I'm happy so long as he keeps quiet. If he's good, we can leave all the cruelties to my father's men."

The boy turned back to see how the others in the group were coping, then nodded in Eruwin's direction.

"I would like to hear his story."

[ 09-20-2006, 06:14 AM: Message edited by: Legolas ]

[Ivelliis]

Telryn

Telryn turned and look at the newcomer.

"Indeed he is a strange on...many questions can be asked in his direction..."

"Although perhaps not jump in straight away, he looks a bit rough...If he was hiding any secrets I doubt he'd tell us until we gain his trust. These days saving people from marauding bandits isn't enough"

[ 07-11-2006, 04:45 AM: Message edited by: Ivelliis ]

[lost prophet]

Eruwin

Eruwin glanced nervously at the huge man in front of him, he was fairly sure that under normal circumstances he could have taken on both him and the little boy without much trouble, however an arrow in the ribs didnt particlaly strike him as the ideal circumstance for such a course of action. These people had indeed saved his life and while at times he could be rather adept at bloodshed, he would much rather aviod it.

Grimacing he sat up as much as he could and spoke to the young boy who seemed to be in charge of the whole ordeal.

"I'm afraid my story, if that is what we shall be calling it; is not epic nor exciting in any way, but for the sake of manners, and the fact that it seems I am to be your "captive".." he paused and grimaced at the word " I suppose I should indulge you. My name is Eruwin, I once had more names than just that but decided to forsake them when I left my home and began my travels. For a time I wondered here and there until I finally decided to settle down for a while in the mountains far from here. It has been that way for a long time now, long enough for me to once again lust for the company of those who are a bit more responsive than the birds and the bees for whom I have recided with for quite a while now. Not long ago I decided that I should resume my travels.
Earlier this morning I was ambushed by these thugs," here he frowned in disgust " I have to admit it was my fault as I was lost in my own thoughts, from then on I have been on the run from them until just now when, almost spent I happened apon your compariot. And that, neighbour is my story ,"

[Ivelliis]

OOC: Noticed this way too far down, so consider this a useless bump post *wink*

Telryn

Looking at this Eruwin, and Ydalon, and back to Eruwin, Telryn frowned slightly.

"An interesting story...how some people can just live away from human interaction I don't know..."

"One thing I don't understand is why they'd chase you...you don't look like you hold any great value, and in my experience bandits and "thugs" are extremely lazy people. It seems like a lot of effort for such a..."

Trying to think of a suitable word was harder than Telryn thought.

"...worthless kill."

Telryn stuttered slightly, considering apologising for his not-so-friendly wording, but decided against it. If this Eruwin wanted to bite, he'd be making a mistake.