Fate? Destiny? or just bad timing?
WiltedFlower - May 31, 2006
A portal shimmers open within the tavern. A soaking wet form
falls from it to the floor. The head hits the stone floor first
with a resounding crack. A deep voice is heard from the portal.
"Know your place little girl." The portal then winks out of
existance.
The form on the floor starts to stir. It's wearing a ripped and
torn robe of the Burning Blade. A single undead hand uncurls from
under the body. Two fingers are obviously mangled beyond use. The
hand pushes against floor trying to raise the body from the
floor. The shoulder rises from the floor and the head rises. With
only one eye working, it's defiance is evident. With teeth
missing and a fractured jaw, Wiltedflower speaks a single word,
"ne'fer."
[Lupen]
Lupen happened to be in the very same tavern, one he was fairly
active in. It's no secret that he did not drink in excess, but he
did have an ale from time to time. When he is not killing or
training, he's reading in this very tavern. Lupen held a copy of
The Necronomicon in his left hand, quickly scanning the pages,
and a bottle of distilled and sour ale in his right.
The distictive crack had caught his attention, Lupen slowly put
down the drink, bookmarked the page, and rose from his seat.
"So," he began, "dear sister... It seems you have... Angered
forced beyond your power or knowledge." He rolled his shoulders
as he stood inches from the young Forsaken's face. Lupen did not
kneel down and aid the Warlock-In-Training, he did not hand her a
bandage, he stood directly by her and said, "You will not get
help or sympathy from me, explain yourself" Lupen nudged
Wiltedflower's body with his right foot, and rolled her over to
have her eyes meeting his.
He knelt down so close to her beaten face, that she could taste
the dark and sour air he breathed... Lupen repeated, "Explain
yourself, now."
[Lascivious]
Lascivious sat quietly at her table mulling over her drink. She
wondered if she could really taste it. She wondered many things.
Like was the sunset really the color she saw? Or just some faded
memory of previous sunsets? She had never drank when she was
living, so she had no memory of how mead should be flavored. Was
it's taste all her head?
She could see Lupen at another table, but he was lost over some
tome so she left him undisturbed. A sudden cracking echoed
through the air and out of habit her hand found the hilt of her
sword leaning on the table beside her.
She saw the beaten and bruised child. She heard the words Lupen
spoke to her. At first she thought about striking the warlock for
his words. Too many memories were conjured up by them. But
instead she relaxed and set the sword down. He was right. She was
made stronger by her trials. The girl would be made stronger.
Still...
"Lupen. Let the girl be. She shall recover herself or the Dark
Lady will return her to where she came."
[Lupen]
Lupen eyed Lascivious with a tad bit of scorn and stood straight
up once again. He adjusted his robes slightly and sighed, "So be
it, but show her no aid, she will be forced to learn the ways of
the Fel Mage herself... Like many of my kind did." Lupen cracked
his fingers and eyed the fallen Forsaken.
[Syreena]
Syreena was sitting against the wall, the worg pup's head in her
lap as he napped. Her hand stopped gently stroking his head as
she heard the sound of Wilted hitting the floor and the strange
voice. Memories of her own surfaced as she regarded the beaten
girl, and she slid her leg out from under the pup.
She watched Lupen curiously. She never knew what to think of the
warlock. He let her call him "Lu Lu" and gave her crunchy snacks
whenever she asked for them, but at the same time, she often saw
him as very threatening.
Even as she heard Lascivious's words, she began slinking towards
the younger warlock with a bandage in her hand. She knelt down
beside Wilted, and ignoring Lupen's orders to offer no aid to the
girl, she gently reached for Wilted's mangled hand with her
bandage ready.
"Lu Lu is grumpy," she said quietly to Wilted. "But we helped him
too before, when he was stolen by demons."
[Lupen]
Lupen felt another mood swing pulse through his veins as he
watched the rogue aid the weakened Forsaken. He raised his hand
to strike Syreena atop the head, but stopped short and lowered
his hand. He said nothing and eyed Syreena nodding.
[Warneshi]
Warneshi exited the basement, a bag of soul gems in his hand, his
contact had been most generous with this shipment. Warneshi had
been buying rare souls in gems from a twilight agent who dealt in
that sort of thing for sometime now. He enjoyed the taste of some
of the rarer souls. He opened his bag and was examining one of
the gems that held the soul of a core hound; he would save that
for last; when he heard a loud crack in the main room. Warneshi
tied up the bag and made his way there, finding Lupen standing
over another corpse.
Warneshi watched the scene for a bit, and smiled when Lupen
mentioned that the younger corpse would have to help herself.
Warneshi stalked up quietly behind the Warlock and when Syreena
was bandaging Wiltedflower, he whispered into Lupens ear.
"Warneshi rememberss a time when another corpsse cried out for
the same help."
[Lupen]
Lupen eyed Warneshi, still pulsing with anger from Syreena's
actions. "Do you now? The past is simply what it suggests... My
condition did not only affect me, but perhaps dictated the fate
of these worlds. Don't believe that a small crack on the head to
this, "Wiltedflower" will decide what The Old Ones do with us..."
He turned away and muttered, "The Tyrant will never let me live
that down..."
[Warneshi]
Warneshi smiled as he watched Lupen stalk off, he smiled on the
outside, but on the inside he sighed. Lupen was differant from
the time he had needed Warneshi's help, he was stronger, smarter;
he had come into his own as a warlock. Warneshi had always felt
the pangs of hunger call to him when near Lupen, the warlock was
skilled and whatever soul was left in his ragged corpse was
strong.
Warneshi looked down at Syreena and the younger undead.
"Make sure she iss well Syreena, one day that one will be as
strong as Lupen, and she will be jusst as big a blesssing to our
rankss as he isss."
[Syreena]
Syreena shrank back as Lupen raised his hand, wincing in
anticipation of getting struck. She wasn't surprised. Such was
the risk of disobedience. Luckily for the pup, the worg was still
sleeping and didn't notice that his mistress might be in danger.
Syreena was sure Lupen would kill him if he interfered to protect
her. But Lupen only nodded to her, so she moved closer to Wilted
again, getting ready to bandage her hand.
She paused though, when she realized Warneshi was there. She
allowed her gaze to slowly drift up to him as he and Lupen
exchanged words, then she nodded as the Tyrant spoke to her.
"Yes, sir."
[WiltedFlower]
Noticing the apparent menacing approach of Lupen's hand,
Wiltedflower coughes up seawater onto the floor. With an glare at
Lupen she raises her hand to stop the swing. "Tisn't your af'fair
Lupe'n".
"Fanks Syreena."
"I was Desolace gathering reagents for my Bloodrobe. Let me tell
you what happened."
Earlier that day:
"You know Barjuk? They never learn. I was on my way out and the
silly Burning Blade Summoner just had to pick a fight with me."
Wiltedflower says to her voidwalker. Barjuk just stands there
obediently looking at her. He never talks to her, they never do.
"You did good Barjuk," She scratches it's head. "You got him
before he even got close to me."
Her head suddenly throbs. Both hands got to her head in pain.
"Ugh, what the? Must be a big demon." The pain subsides and she
looks over to the north noting a hill in the way. She turns back
to Barjuk, "Wanna go take a look? Yeah, you do, let's go." She
winks at Barjuk and beckons him to follow.
She heads up the hill to the edge where she just peek over it.
"What the hell is he doing here?!" She can't seem out what he's
saying to the Burning Blade. She scans the area while thinking of
idea on what to do to improve that. She spots the corpse of the
Burning Blade just beat to death. She hurries down to it and
strips off the robe and puts it on. Blood drips from it's rips
and tears. The smell of an unbathed human wafts about her. "Sorry
Barjuk, you'll have to go. There are no voidwalkers around." She
then dismisses Barjuk.
She says to herself, "Right, walk in like you own the place." She
giggles. "Like that'll be hard."
She walks over the hill looking like she's running late for the
meeting. Few barely notice her approach as they are paying
attention to him.
“…continue in your efforts to expand into Desolace. The time will
come when you will be needed. Desolace will be the center of the
our Empire and it must be strong. When we strike at the leaders
there will be retaliation and I will not tolerant a repeat of our
history.”
The voice she has heard so many times echoes around the empty
hillside of the Mannoroc Coven. She stands enraptured by the
speech.
“With Neeru playing the patsy for the Warchief, my plan is coming
to fruition. The assassins are ready for Cairne. They are already
placed in Thunderbluff.”
Her head rises as the battle plan is told. Her jaw dropping that
someone she considered an ally would be so traitorous. Granted
the Forsaken’s allegiance is of convenience, but loyalty is still
loyalty.
“As for Sylvanas, “ He says as he surveys the crowd, “I’ve got
a…” He makes eye contact with her glowing eyes. “You fools!
There’s a spy in your midst! Get her!”
Eyes turn to her, and she sheepishly shrugs grinning like a fool.
“Bye!” and she flees like she stole something from a goblin that
caught her in the act. She races across the ground and up over
the hill. She decides to run for Shadowprey Village as she has no
where else to go.
As she crests the last hill leading to the road she spots a
mounted paladin only a distance away.
The paladin aware of her presence spins in his saddle and notes
the young warlock running at him. “What the?” Says the paladin as
he dismounts he steed. He’s unsure what to make of the warlock.
No pet out, no fear being cast. He readies his sword for the easy
kill. Then all of a sudden the demons in her wake crest the hill.
“By the light…” he says as he pops his bubble of divine
protection. He stares in shock as Wiltedflower runs past.
Wiltedflower nears the steed and casts her Demon Skin spell.
Although not needed as it is still on her, the intent, with its
shield and loud sound scares the horse and it to flees leaving
the paladin all alone. “Hopefully, that will slow them down.” She
says as continues to run. She glances over her shoulder and
notices the demons leaving the paladin alone. “Oh, sure, I get
the smarts following me.” She says with a disgruntled voice.
The paladin’s shield fades as he looks at the chaos following the
warlock. “Whew.” He says. Then a shadow encompasses him and he
turns to look up, craning his neck at the Demon in front of him.
The Demon’s hands, clenched into fists pull back to help draw a
large breath of air and then hunches over roaring into the
paladin’s face a mere few inches away. The sound is deafening.
The paladin turns several shades of white and then clutches at
his chest as if trying to grab his heart through his plate mail.
Then the paladin collapses to the ground dead. “Puss” grins the
Demon. The Demon then takes flight to catch the warlock.
The Demon lands right behind Wiltedflower and the ground shakes.
The ground shaking messes up her running strides. She trips and
hits the dirt and skids across the ground. She rolls over and
looks up just in time to see a foot come down. She rolls to the
side to avoid it, but doesn’t quite manage it completely. The
foot traps an arm.
“Who are you working for?!” He bellows.
All she does is defiantly glare up at him.
“Good, I get some fun!” With that he extends his leg backwards
and then kicks her while her arm is still pinned beneath his
other foot. A tendon snaps. A popping sounds as the arm is
dislocated. Then like ripping a leg off a chicken, the skin
stretches and then tears apart rather jaggedly leaving the arm
beneath the foot of the Demon. She’s launched rather low across
the ground as she flies with great speed. She skips once causing
her to flip end over end uncontrollably into a tree. The branches
rip and tear the robe she wears. Her knee hits a branch sideways
causing the knee to bend sideways under the branch. Then it’s
ripped back around and over the branch to follow the body as it
leaves the tree.
Like a rock being skipped across a lake she only skips three
times with the last being a monumental splash. Even though she is
undead and doesn’t require breathing, her previous life’s
instincts take over for survival. With one leg working and one
arm left, she kicks futilely at trying to surface. She holds a
breath she doesn’t have to, and slowly sinks. Then a hand reaches
for her. She looks over to see the Demon reaching for her. He
brings her to surface.
“Now then, dead one, who do you work for!?” He bellows.
“The Dark Lady!” she yells, “Who the bloody else to think I work
for you TRAITOR!!”
“Now, now, call me a traitor isn’t going to help your little
predicament.” He says with a gentle voice. “I’m always on the
winning side.”
Looking her over he realizes she’s too young to be a spy. “You
are no spy, but you can be. Especially to me.”
“Never!” she cries defiantly.
“Hmm, you held your breath as you going to drown. Perhaps a
little convincing is order.”
“No!” she screams as he plunges her under the water. Pure terror
claws at her heart. She’s never had water in her lungs before,
the terror was trying to seize her mind and she needed to think.
She reached into her pouch desperately searching for it. Her hand
locks on the stone and she struggles to control her mind to
concentrate on it. Finally it kicks in and she’s whisked from his
grasp to the inn.
[Warneshi]
Warneshi listens to the undeads story, but only half-heartedly.
He knew she had skill and some power, but she was still in
training. Warneshi let her finish before speaking.
"You are lucky to be with uss and not back in the ground corpsse,
perhapss next time practice more subtle infiltration techniquess,
or leave it to the roguess."
Warneshi smirked at the little undead before he re-adjusted the
blade on his back, made sure he still had his bag and left the
inn to return to his embassy.
[Pincus]
Quietly in the shadows, a pair of tainted red eyes inspects the
tavern.
He does not frequent them as often as the others, for they serve
no good purpose; exploiting the weaknesses of the flesh he so
abhors.
A bony hand reaches into the purple robes he wears, and produces
a book and quill.
"Note the insolence in this one," as he madly scribbles in the
book, speaking to the air, "like you, slave. However, unlike you,
she may be able to redeem herself... if she is willing to learn."
[WiltedFlower]
Wiltedflower looks over at Syreena and says, "The hard part isn't
getting me all fixed up, but rather, what to do about what I
know?"
Then to Pincus, "Learn what?"
[Syreena]
Syreena frowned looking over Wiltedflower's other injuries. The
young warlock needed a real healer, not just someone who could
wrap a bandage.
"I don't know," she answered. Then she glanced at Pincus,
wondering who he was talking to. One of his demons, she guessed.
"Maybe ask him. He's smart; he'll probably know what you should
do."
[Shogo]
Shogo walks into the Gallows End feeling whimsical over his
recent success with Jabiba and Chingaso in search of proof to
show there strengths. As he walks in though he notices the
mangled form of Wiltedflower and forgets about his ego.
As he comes brooding up to Wiltedflower he asks in a gentle tone,
"Wiltedflower what has happened to you? No, never mind that for
now. Let me take care of your mangled body first. I am by no
means the best healer but this should do the trick."
Shogo begins to chant to the fire and wind spirits in a slow and
brassy musical way. Wiltedflower's jaw flows back together, and a
new layer of dead skin is stretched over to resemble the other
side. Then he begins to work on the eye. Luckily her eye was only
bruised shut. He reaches down for the hand and realizes that the
trauma done there is well beyond his capacity, so he puts it into
a temporary stasis to prevent further damage until a more able
healer can fix her hand.
"There we are Wiltedflower, I was able to fix most of your
injuries. Unfortunately I couldn't bring you back to life." As
Shogo laughs at his own joke. "Seriously though, I have put your
hand into a stasis so that it can not be hurt any further until a
priest with some years on her or him can look at it."