FA+
Shop
902
Views
Views
3
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 994 x 1280
File Size 200.1 kB
Report this content
★
More from ScissorsRunner
Listed in Folders
Next: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18999210/
Previous: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18997785/
All Episodes: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....ning-511011415
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
Aliranne stood quietly in front of the door in the thriving city of Thoradin. Her hand rested over the rope connected to the bell, which was in use to warn the house inhabitants about the presence of possible guests at the front door. She sighed, glancing backwards towards her companions. She crossed her eyes with Kon’s a few times, feeling once again the pain she had felt a few days before when he hit her in her face. In that precise moment, the memories of what happened till then, starting from when they had left the cave of the well, began to linger in her mind like an insistent hammering.
***
It was raining. The droplets of water resembled the tears she had shed the day before as she watched the corpse of her loved Faraj catching fire, burning and transforming to ash on the funerary pyre. But now her eyes and spirit were dry, if not for the rain who had stained her cheeks and clothes. She was sitting on one of the round tables inside the tavern “The Secret Garden”. Diametrical opposite stood Kon es Kaz and Saphanael. Ruru had left to run through the street, enjoying the rainy weather.
She looked down over the surface of the table. On it were laid five wooden plates containing breakfast for just as many people. Her eyes stopped over the fifth bowl and a painful clutch closed over her stomach. She averted her eyes, returning to gaze over the elf and the armored minotaur.
“Is there something you wanted to tell us?” Asked Kon es Kaz, arms crossed, voice cold.
She stood in silence for a moment. Her sight came to Saphanael in search for aid, but the gaze of the elf gave her none. Eventually, she sighed, starting to talk.
“I have to ask you both… if you’re going to let me travel with you.”
Another silence followed her words, before the voice of the elf came to break it.
“I am sworn to protect you and make sure that you make the right choices.” He shifted a bit in his seat, checking the handle of his elven sword. “I will not abandon you for I cannot. And I’m here to protect your party too: I will not let it lose another member.”
Aliranne nodded, encouraged by his words. She looked away only to meet the unforgiving eyes of the minotaur and her spirit sank again. Kon es Kaz shrugged lightly, his armor rattling as every little metal chain moved along with his muscles.
“I agree with Saphanael, we cannot lose another member.” He pointed at his horns, mimicking antlers. “After all, Brimelle was not the first to abandon us.”
Aliranne nodded once again, but her heart ached. She shivered lightly, as she was still unsure if she was worth enough for them to waste their time on. As she was lost in those thoughts, Ruru entered the tavern: he was soaked head to toe but a newly found Thorbardin emblem shined pinned over his coat.
“Hullo! It stopped raining, so I got bored and came back! What were you talking about? Is there some breakfast left for me?”
“Suit yourself.” Saphanael passed him one of the untouched plates.
As the Kender started eating eagerly, hungry from all the frolicking in the mud, using his fingers to get the food from his plate to his mouth, Kon es Kaz kept staring at Aliranne.
“Isn’t there something you want to ask the Kender?” the minotaur asked, waiting.
Aliranne sighed once again, her gaze landing over Ruru.
“Ruru..” she murmured. “In light of the recent events… I was wondering if you were ok with me staying in the party, following the journey we have made till now.”
The Kender stopped eating. He raised his head, looking at the mage, questioning her with his eyes.
“I don’t see why you would leave this party in the first place! It is a good party! We’re all having the time of our lives!” He smiled innocently.
“But..” she replied, “…it is me the reason why Brimelle is dead! Had I come in sooner, inside the room maybe I could have.. I could…”
She could not longer go on with her sentence, but when she felt she was almost being overwhelmed by her emotions, the voice of her little companion came to creep in some light inside the darkness that obfuscated her thoughts.
“You know? I don’t think any of us could have done something for that. After all, it was the succubus’s fault! Not yours, not Kon es Kaz’s, not Saphanael’s nor mine! She wasn’t the first to..uhm, well.. leave us, and she will not be the last, most probably, if we continue this way. It’s pretty simple: bad things happen. And those bad things happen to us so they do not happen to somebody else.”
Those words gave the mage a newly found strength inside her being. She smiled a little.
“So you’re saying that we should sacrifice what we hold dear for the best of all Krynn? Hmm..” She stared off in the distance. “Maybe we already did.”
***
So still she stood lost in her thoughts, that she almost forgot of being in front of the door of the house. She shook her head, briefly recapping what was left to remember: how they decided to reach Thoradin to warn the father and fiancé of Brimelle of her death, how they travelled to the dwarven city without obsactles on the way, how they found the house where the two centaurs resided thanks to the guide of Ruru.
And now there she was, her hand over the bell rope and her heart in her throat. With the strength she had in her body, she swung the rope, making the bell ring, and waited for the residents to open the door. The wooden surface opened slightly a few moments later.
“Who is it?” Came the voice from the inside.
Looking closely at the narrow opening, Aliranne could see the figure of a man, way taller than a normal human, with blonde hair and green eyes staring at her. She swallowed before answering insecure.
“We’re the adventurers travelling with Brimelle.”
The centaur opened the door a little bit more, observing the group standing in front of his house.
“Ah, yes, the Kender had told me that you would have come, sooner or later. Now, where is mine daughter?”
His eyes searched eagerly through the group, with a calm expression on his face. Aliranne felt an aura of uneasiness falling over herself, imbuing all of her being.
“That’s what I wanted to talk about…” She murmured.
The visage of the centaur twisted immediately into an expression of fear and worry, but he covered it with a severe gaze soon enough. He turned around, opening the door completely.
“Come inside.”
The member of the party started to walk towards the door.
“The mage only.” Came the sharp voice of the centaur from the inside.
Aliranne looked back at the others, worriedly. They nodded and stopped in their pace. The white robe sighed heavily taking the last steps and passing the threshold. Inside, she closed the door behind her back and glanced around the ambient, scanning her backgrounds: the main room was scantly furnished with just a small table and a few ornamental plants scattered around the corners of the apartment. Another centaur of darker skin and light blue eyes was standing near the entrance of another room, waiting nervously. The other centaur, which now Aliranne could see sported a snow white coat similar to Brimelle’s, neared the brown coated one, whispering a few words in his direction. The brown centaur stiffened but seemed to remain calm. Eventually, Brimelle’s father turned around, staring at the mage.
“So, what do thou have to say about my daughter?” He uttered tense.
“She…”
“She was not with you, that I can guess. Where is she.” The centaur insisted.
Aliranne felt the floor crumble under her feet as she had to answer.
“She… didn’t make it.” An awkward lull followed her words, but she worked hard to regain what was left of her momentum. “She died in one of our last battles, as she fought with all of her forces. She died of an honorable death…”
The two centaurs stared at her for a few moments, then, out of the blue, the white one grabbed her from her collar and raised her up to her face. He breathed heavily from his nose, righteously enraged, as his hand tightened around the cloth of her robe. Aliranne found it difficult to breathe, but she didn’t complain for it surely wasn’t the right moment to do so.
“The Kender told me that you would have protected her…” the centaur hissed between his teeth.
“I-I’m… sorry… we did… all we could…” she croaked.
Not satisfied by her answer, the white coat threw the white robe against the wall with all of his strength, enraged. The breath was kicked out of her lungs as her spine collided with the cold smooth rock, before she then landed down on the floor, unable to move for a few seconds. The sound of the impact could be heard from the outside, but the others didn’t dare to enter. Aliranne shivered, her muscles aching as she tried to slowly get back up on her feet. Once she reached an erected posture, the white centaur yelled at her with all of his might.
“She should not have died, you should have protected her better! You scullion, you rampallian, you fustilarian!! She was all I had left and now you made this happen! I curse you, I curse you ALL!! In the name of Zeboim, may your day end in TERROR and may your children and the children of your children DIE in the same horrific manner in which my poor daughter had! May they suffer the torment she had suffered as you let her breathe her last breath!! May our path never cross again in peaceful manner… Leave me alone AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
Aliranne proceeded slowly towards the door, eyeing carefully the two centaurs.
“NOW!!” Brimelle’s father shouted with anger in his voice.
The mage did not wait for him to repeat it twice: she walked as fast as she could towards the door and returned outside where the others were waiting for her. She closed the door quickly behind her, taking in a deep breath of relief. The other adventurers were staring at her: they had heard everything, of course, there were no window panes in the houses of dwarven making.
“I get it that they didn’t take it well.” Murmured Saphanael still looking at the door.
“Not at all…” Replied Aliranne, massaging her aching back. “But somebody had to tell them.”
The elf nodded.
“I suppose.”
The group, now reunited, started walking down the stairs which had led them to the centaurs’ house, directing themselves towards the centre of the city.
“What are we going to do now?” Asked Kon es Kaz, looking at the others with questioning eyes.
“I don’t know.” Answered Aliranne, turning her head to face him. “I guess we will have to go on with our journey and hope that nothing bad happens from now on.”
“This reminds me,” came Saphanael. “you haven’t quite explained to me what we’re trying to achieve here.”
“Well, we were trying to find information in the various libraries to help us in our fight.” Nodded the mage.
The elf cocked his head on the right a little, looking at her as they were still descending the stairs.
“Yeah, but information about what, precisel- HEY!”
The elf fell backwards on the stairs, hit by something or someone not taller than Ruru. He saw various vegetables dropping from a large sack and a flask of water emptying over the flight of stairs.
“Watch where you walk!” Came a nasal a squeaky voice, the one of a child. “You made me drop everything!”
Blinking a few times, Saphanael found out that who had come to an impact with the elf was a small human kid, most probably a twelve year old, with blonde medium hair and light blue eyes, who was bringing food and beverages up to the stairs. The kid was now bent over the sack, checking its content and trying to gather what he could from what had come out and was still reachable on the stairs. Saphanael stood up, dusting his pants from the dirt, proceeding then to help the little kid with his task of gathering.
“Thanks.” Uttered the child in a pout. “But you still made me drop all of the water.”
He pointed at the leather flask which was still pouring its content over the stairs. Saphanael sighed, knelt down and picked up the flask. With his free hand, he refilled it, using the water from his persona one. Then, he offered the full and secured leather container to the kid along with a silver coin.
“Pardon me. I hope this will suffice.”
The small human child snatched flask and money from the elf’s hands.
“Yeah, yeah… thanks..” He remarked in a snarky comment, sprinting up the stairs, leaving the group of adventurers to talk with each other.
The four returned to descend the stairs, carefully avoiding the wet floor caused by the spilled water of the flask. They could still hear the sound of the kid’s footfalls even when they were almost at the last ten steps. Considering what had happened, Saphanael spoke.
“…such impoliteness.” He muttered disappointed.
“What were you expecting?” Asked Kon. “Kids these days are as polite as an army of draconians.”
“And we also lost Ruru.” Said the mage, looking around and not finding a single trace of the Kender.
“Still, this made us lose our discourse!” He continued, turning towards Aliranne. “So, what kind of information are we trying to find in this cit-YYY!!”
This time, Saphanael was hit from behind and the voice of the kid rose up once again to fill the air.
“Ok, I’ll admit it, this time it’s my fault.” The kid stood up, not even offering a hand to the elf he had just made fall face first onto the stairs. “But you should be more careful! What are you doing on these stairs anyway? You planning on going to live here? It’s the second time I bump into you!”
The child ran off once again, not even waiting for an answer. The adventurers watched his figure disappear between the various alleyways of the city before even starting to talk again.
“Ok, as I was trying to ask...what are the information we are looking for?”
“Information about Chaos.” Answered Aliranne. “And about the profetesse, which we believe being Mina, and the Herald. We have no idea of what to do about that and we couldn’t find anything about it on the various books we have found till now.”
“And how do you count on proceeding?” Saphanael kept asking.
“For now, we’re checking every single library we come across, but none have been of help..” The mage admitted saddened.
“Then what can we do?” The elf insisted.
“Maybe we could travel to Ambeon and look inside the library there. After all, my brother is the general of the troops, in there.”
Saphanael stiffened,
“You’re saying that your brother led the attack to Silvanost?”
“Yes. After all, we saved you from the Knights of Neraka, didn’t we?”
Saphanael did not answer and Aliranne took his place.
“Wouldn’t it be too much difficult? I mean, should we have a plan for it?”
Kon looked around, making sure that he wasn’t heard by nobody.
“Let’s go inside the nearest tavern and then we can talk about it.” He murmured quietly.
The group nodded, proceeding towards the nearest Inn, oblivious of the fact that another pair of ears had already eavesdropped on their conversation.
Once they had reached the Inn and had paid their stay, the group went to one of the rooms they had booked. All of them aside the Kender, of course. They almost stood in religious silence, trying to not raise any suspect over them, and only spoke to one another when they were sure of the complete security of the room.
“My plan is to bring all of you to Sargasanti as my… slaves, sort of. This way, you’ll be able to walk through the city undisturbed and look for the information we need in the library.” Nodded Kon, convinced.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Said Aliranne. “Anyone could do anything to us, we would be vulnerable.”
“We have honor, Aliranne.” Kon replied. “If anyone hits one of the slaves of someone else has to respond with their same life.”
“Still I’m not really sure…” continued the mage.
“Not to say that me and Ruru would be the most discriminated..” Saphanael intervened. “We would be better off waiting for you two in the forest.”
“But the forest was cut down by the minotaurs!” Continued Aliranne. “And there are troops patrolling what is left of the trees near the city and mines… it’s impossible to come near it.”
“We’ll find a way.” Kon remained resolute.
“I surely hope so! We have little to no choice..” The mage murmured, nearing the window of the room.
From that same window popped up the head of the Kender.
“Oh, hi!”
Aliranne, startled, almost fell backwards.
“Ruru!” She yelled. “Where have you been!?”
“Oh, well, you know, “ he entered the room from that same window he had just climbed. “Wandering here and there… but I did listen to the first parts of the conversation!”
“Good, so we just need to fill you in about what Kon has proposed.” Aliranne nodded.
“What did he propose?” The Kender asked looking at minotaur.
“About going to Sargas- I mean, Silvanost with him as his slaves.”
“That doesn’t quite sound right..” Ruru pondered. “It’s quite risky… like walking down in the main hall of this inn…”
The group eyed the Kender with an eyebrow raised.
“Why would that be risky?” Saphanael asked.
“Oh, right, that’s what I came to tell you!” Ruru jumped around the room, pointing at the door. “Four hooded dwarves entered the room and when they did everyone else left this building. I think they were armed…”
The other adventurers exchanged worried looks.
“Are you sure about that?” Asked the minotaur.
“Completely!” Ruru almost shouted, hand over his heart. “I’ll go down right now to check on the situation! Who knows, maybe I’m wrong!”
Without waiting for the answer of his fellow companions, Ruru exited the room and directed himself towards the main hall. The others remained inside the room, staring at one another.
“So what now?” Asked Kon es Kaz.
“I can’t hear anything, not even the voices of the usual customers…” Saphanael twitched his ears. “…maybe the Kender is right.”
“Only one way to know for sure.” Aliranne started chanting a spell and one moment later they were all connected by a mind connection.
“I’ll go down the stairs while invisible and I will communicate to you the situation thanks to this mental bond” The mage explained.
“Sounds like a plan.” Saphanael reached the door and held it open for the white robe. “Good luck and be safe.”
Aliranne nodded before casting an invisibility spell over herself. The group could not see her anymore, but they knew that she had gone down the stairs into the main and only hall of the dwarven inn. After a few moments, the voice of Aliranne came to them through the magic connection.
- Ruru was right. I can see two dwarves under the stairs and the Kender is behind them. Another one is under a table and all of them have their weapons at the ready. I cannot find the fourth, but I guess that he must be not too far from where I stand.-
Inside the room, Saphanael and Kon es Kaz exchanged a nod. As the elf still held open the door, the armored minotaur came out nearing the stair, followed by the magus. As soon as the warrior reached the first step, a quarrel was shot from behind some barrels on the far left of the room. Said quarrel flew through the air. missing him by two inches and getting stuck into the wall on his left.
- I think I’ve found where the fourth dwarf is. – The voice of Kon es Kaz came out sarcastic.
The minotaur unsheathed his sword and Saphanel did the same. The elf the proceeded in jumping down from the stairs, trying to land over one of the round tables of the Inn, failing and thus falling face first on the floor. One of the dwarves hidden under the stairs then proceeded to attack him, but Ruru was quicker than him and hit him with his rapier. The dwarf hidden behind the barrels recharges his crossbow and was ready to attack the minotaur once again, was it not for an arrow coming from behind the counter, arrow which pierced through the attacker’s clothes and wounded his side.
“Nice landing, idiotic elf! Try to be more careful!” A familiar nasal voice came from where the arrow was shot.
Looking in that direction, the four adventurers saw the kid they had bumped in on the stairs. He was using a bow that was way too big for his stature, but he seemed to be utilizing it at the best of its capabilities. As the group stared at him, each member incredulous, the appearance of the kid changed under their eyes: the shape of the kid started to get bigger and bigger. The face began to sport a muzzle, on the back a pair of wings appeared followed by a tail and his whole body was now covered in argentous scales: the little boy was in fact a Sivak.
The group could spare too much time over the strange appearance of the draconic for the dwarves were still armed and ready to attack. Ruru, Saphanael and Kon es Kaz took care of the two under the stairs while the scaly “friend” defeated the one hidden behind the barrels thanks to his bow. Aliranne, using her magic, was able to encase the one hidden behind the table in a grip of shadow tentacles and, in the end, not one dwarf was left alive.
Still a bit shaken from what had happened, the four, now five, looked around the corpses, wondering what had caused that sudden and strange attack. Aliranne decided that she wanted more answers to her questions and thus she inspected the body of one of the assailants. What she found left her speechless.
“Uhm, guys? I think you should see this…” She murmured as she raised in front of her a parchment with the writing “WANTED” and a rough drawing of the face of each party member, aside Brimelle, printed over it.
“It’s five-hundred steel coins for each of us…” The mage whispered almost to herself. “… where do they find the money?!”
In the meanwhile the rest of the party had gathered around her, looking intensely at the parchment.
“Oh no…” Murmured Ruru. “…it’s signed Chrysantium…”
“Why, do you know this guy?” Aliranne asked.
“Of course I do! And you do too since you spoke with him not even four hours ago!” The Kender replied. “Chrysantium is Brimelle’s father!”
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
© ScissorsRunner
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
COMMISSIONS PRICE LIST: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....OPEN-324631805
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
--- Deviantart: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.com/
--- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrina.normani
--- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scabrosa
--- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KniraJackrabbit
Previous: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18997785/
All Episodes: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....ning-511011415
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
Aliranne stood quietly in front of the door in the thriving city of Thoradin. Her hand rested over the rope connected to the bell, which was in use to warn the house inhabitants about the presence of possible guests at the front door. She sighed, glancing backwards towards her companions. She crossed her eyes with Kon’s a few times, feeling once again the pain she had felt a few days before when he hit her in her face. In that precise moment, the memories of what happened till then, starting from when they had left the cave of the well, began to linger in her mind like an insistent hammering.
***
It was raining. The droplets of water resembled the tears she had shed the day before as she watched the corpse of her loved Faraj catching fire, burning and transforming to ash on the funerary pyre. But now her eyes and spirit were dry, if not for the rain who had stained her cheeks and clothes. She was sitting on one of the round tables inside the tavern “The Secret Garden”. Diametrical opposite stood Kon es Kaz and Saphanael. Ruru had left to run through the street, enjoying the rainy weather.
She looked down over the surface of the table. On it were laid five wooden plates containing breakfast for just as many people. Her eyes stopped over the fifth bowl and a painful clutch closed over her stomach. She averted her eyes, returning to gaze over the elf and the armored minotaur.
“Is there something you wanted to tell us?” Asked Kon es Kaz, arms crossed, voice cold.
She stood in silence for a moment. Her sight came to Saphanael in search for aid, but the gaze of the elf gave her none. Eventually, she sighed, starting to talk.
“I have to ask you both… if you’re going to let me travel with you.”
Another silence followed her words, before the voice of the elf came to break it.
“I am sworn to protect you and make sure that you make the right choices.” He shifted a bit in his seat, checking the handle of his elven sword. “I will not abandon you for I cannot. And I’m here to protect your party too: I will not let it lose another member.”
Aliranne nodded, encouraged by his words. She looked away only to meet the unforgiving eyes of the minotaur and her spirit sank again. Kon es Kaz shrugged lightly, his armor rattling as every little metal chain moved along with his muscles.
“I agree with Saphanael, we cannot lose another member.” He pointed at his horns, mimicking antlers. “After all, Brimelle was not the first to abandon us.”
Aliranne nodded once again, but her heart ached. She shivered lightly, as she was still unsure if she was worth enough for them to waste their time on. As she was lost in those thoughts, Ruru entered the tavern: he was soaked head to toe but a newly found Thorbardin emblem shined pinned over his coat.
“Hullo! It stopped raining, so I got bored and came back! What were you talking about? Is there some breakfast left for me?”
“Suit yourself.” Saphanael passed him one of the untouched plates.
As the Kender started eating eagerly, hungry from all the frolicking in the mud, using his fingers to get the food from his plate to his mouth, Kon es Kaz kept staring at Aliranne.
“Isn’t there something you want to ask the Kender?” the minotaur asked, waiting.
Aliranne sighed once again, her gaze landing over Ruru.
“Ruru..” she murmured. “In light of the recent events… I was wondering if you were ok with me staying in the party, following the journey we have made till now.”
The Kender stopped eating. He raised his head, looking at the mage, questioning her with his eyes.
“I don’t see why you would leave this party in the first place! It is a good party! We’re all having the time of our lives!” He smiled innocently.
“But..” she replied, “…it is me the reason why Brimelle is dead! Had I come in sooner, inside the room maybe I could have.. I could…”
She could not longer go on with her sentence, but when she felt she was almost being overwhelmed by her emotions, the voice of her little companion came to creep in some light inside the darkness that obfuscated her thoughts.
“You know? I don’t think any of us could have done something for that. After all, it was the succubus’s fault! Not yours, not Kon es Kaz’s, not Saphanael’s nor mine! She wasn’t the first to..uhm, well.. leave us, and she will not be the last, most probably, if we continue this way. It’s pretty simple: bad things happen. And those bad things happen to us so they do not happen to somebody else.”
Those words gave the mage a newly found strength inside her being. She smiled a little.
“So you’re saying that we should sacrifice what we hold dear for the best of all Krynn? Hmm..” She stared off in the distance. “Maybe we already did.”
***
So still she stood lost in her thoughts, that she almost forgot of being in front of the door of the house. She shook her head, briefly recapping what was left to remember: how they decided to reach Thoradin to warn the father and fiancé of Brimelle of her death, how they travelled to the dwarven city without obsactles on the way, how they found the house where the two centaurs resided thanks to the guide of Ruru.
And now there she was, her hand over the bell rope and her heart in her throat. With the strength she had in her body, she swung the rope, making the bell ring, and waited for the residents to open the door. The wooden surface opened slightly a few moments later.
“Who is it?” Came the voice from the inside.
Looking closely at the narrow opening, Aliranne could see the figure of a man, way taller than a normal human, with blonde hair and green eyes staring at her. She swallowed before answering insecure.
“We’re the adventurers travelling with Brimelle.”
The centaur opened the door a little bit more, observing the group standing in front of his house.
“Ah, yes, the Kender had told me that you would have come, sooner or later. Now, where is mine daughter?”
His eyes searched eagerly through the group, with a calm expression on his face. Aliranne felt an aura of uneasiness falling over herself, imbuing all of her being.
“That’s what I wanted to talk about…” She murmured.
The visage of the centaur twisted immediately into an expression of fear and worry, but he covered it with a severe gaze soon enough. He turned around, opening the door completely.
“Come inside.”
The member of the party started to walk towards the door.
“The mage only.” Came the sharp voice of the centaur from the inside.
Aliranne looked back at the others, worriedly. They nodded and stopped in their pace. The white robe sighed heavily taking the last steps and passing the threshold. Inside, she closed the door behind her back and glanced around the ambient, scanning her backgrounds: the main room was scantly furnished with just a small table and a few ornamental plants scattered around the corners of the apartment. Another centaur of darker skin and light blue eyes was standing near the entrance of another room, waiting nervously. The other centaur, which now Aliranne could see sported a snow white coat similar to Brimelle’s, neared the brown coated one, whispering a few words in his direction. The brown centaur stiffened but seemed to remain calm. Eventually, Brimelle’s father turned around, staring at the mage.
“So, what do thou have to say about my daughter?” He uttered tense.
“She…”
“She was not with you, that I can guess. Where is she.” The centaur insisted.
Aliranne felt the floor crumble under her feet as she had to answer.
“She… didn’t make it.” An awkward lull followed her words, but she worked hard to regain what was left of her momentum. “She died in one of our last battles, as she fought with all of her forces. She died of an honorable death…”
The two centaurs stared at her for a few moments, then, out of the blue, the white one grabbed her from her collar and raised her up to her face. He breathed heavily from his nose, righteously enraged, as his hand tightened around the cloth of her robe. Aliranne found it difficult to breathe, but she didn’t complain for it surely wasn’t the right moment to do so.
“The Kender told me that you would have protected her…” the centaur hissed between his teeth.
“I-I’m… sorry… we did… all we could…” she croaked.
Not satisfied by her answer, the white coat threw the white robe against the wall with all of his strength, enraged. The breath was kicked out of her lungs as her spine collided with the cold smooth rock, before she then landed down on the floor, unable to move for a few seconds. The sound of the impact could be heard from the outside, but the others didn’t dare to enter. Aliranne shivered, her muscles aching as she tried to slowly get back up on her feet. Once she reached an erected posture, the white centaur yelled at her with all of his might.
“She should not have died, you should have protected her better! You scullion, you rampallian, you fustilarian!! She was all I had left and now you made this happen! I curse you, I curse you ALL!! In the name of Zeboim, may your day end in TERROR and may your children and the children of your children DIE in the same horrific manner in which my poor daughter had! May they suffer the torment she had suffered as you let her breathe her last breath!! May our path never cross again in peaceful manner… Leave me alone AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
Aliranne proceeded slowly towards the door, eyeing carefully the two centaurs.
“NOW!!” Brimelle’s father shouted with anger in his voice.
The mage did not wait for him to repeat it twice: she walked as fast as she could towards the door and returned outside where the others were waiting for her. She closed the door quickly behind her, taking in a deep breath of relief. The other adventurers were staring at her: they had heard everything, of course, there were no window panes in the houses of dwarven making.
“I get it that they didn’t take it well.” Murmured Saphanael still looking at the door.
“Not at all…” Replied Aliranne, massaging her aching back. “But somebody had to tell them.”
The elf nodded.
“I suppose.”
The group, now reunited, started walking down the stairs which had led them to the centaurs’ house, directing themselves towards the centre of the city.
“What are we going to do now?” Asked Kon es Kaz, looking at the others with questioning eyes.
“I don’t know.” Answered Aliranne, turning her head to face him. “I guess we will have to go on with our journey and hope that nothing bad happens from now on.”
“This reminds me,” came Saphanael. “you haven’t quite explained to me what we’re trying to achieve here.”
“Well, we were trying to find information in the various libraries to help us in our fight.” Nodded the mage.
The elf cocked his head on the right a little, looking at her as they were still descending the stairs.
“Yeah, but information about what, precisel- HEY!”
The elf fell backwards on the stairs, hit by something or someone not taller than Ruru. He saw various vegetables dropping from a large sack and a flask of water emptying over the flight of stairs.
“Watch where you walk!” Came a nasal a squeaky voice, the one of a child. “You made me drop everything!”
Blinking a few times, Saphanael found out that who had come to an impact with the elf was a small human kid, most probably a twelve year old, with blonde medium hair and light blue eyes, who was bringing food and beverages up to the stairs. The kid was now bent over the sack, checking its content and trying to gather what he could from what had come out and was still reachable on the stairs. Saphanael stood up, dusting his pants from the dirt, proceeding then to help the little kid with his task of gathering.
“Thanks.” Uttered the child in a pout. “But you still made me drop all of the water.”
He pointed at the leather flask which was still pouring its content over the stairs. Saphanael sighed, knelt down and picked up the flask. With his free hand, he refilled it, using the water from his persona one. Then, he offered the full and secured leather container to the kid along with a silver coin.
“Pardon me. I hope this will suffice.”
The small human child snatched flask and money from the elf’s hands.
“Yeah, yeah… thanks..” He remarked in a snarky comment, sprinting up the stairs, leaving the group of adventurers to talk with each other.
The four returned to descend the stairs, carefully avoiding the wet floor caused by the spilled water of the flask. They could still hear the sound of the kid’s footfalls even when they were almost at the last ten steps. Considering what had happened, Saphanael spoke.
“…such impoliteness.” He muttered disappointed.
“What were you expecting?” Asked Kon. “Kids these days are as polite as an army of draconians.”
“And we also lost Ruru.” Said the mage, looking around and not finding a single trace of the Kender.
“Still, this made us lose our discourse!” He continued, turning towards Aliranne. “So, what kind of information are we trying to find in this cit-YYY!!”
This time, Saphanael was hit from behind and the voice of the kid rose up once again to fill the air.
“Ok, I’ll admit it, this time it’s my fault.” The kid stood up, not even offering a hand to the elf he had just made fall face first onto the stairs. “But you should be more careful! What are you doing on these stairs anyway? You planning on going to live here? It’s the second time I bump into you!”
The child ran off once again, not even waiting for an answer. The adventurers watched his figure disappear between the various alleyways of the city before even starting to talk again.
“Ok, as I was trying to ask...what are the information we are looking for?”
“Information about Chaos.” Answered Aliranne. “And about the profetesse, which we believe being Mina, and the Herald. We have no idea of what to do about that and we couldn’t find anything about it on the various books we have found till now.”
“And how do you count on proceeding?” Saphanael kept asking.
“For now, we’re checking every single library we come across, but none have been of help..” The mage admitted saddened.
“Then what can we do?” The elf insisted.
“Maybe we could travel to Ambeon and look inside the library there. After all, my brother is the general of the troops, in there.”
Saphanael stiffened,
“You’re saying that your brother led the attack to Silvanost?”
“Yes. After all, we saved you from the Knights of Neraka, didn’t we?”
Saphanael did not answer and Aliranne took his place.
“Wouldn’t it be too much difficult? I mean, should we have a plan for it?”
Kon looked around, making sure that he wasn’t heard by nobody.
“Let’s go inside the nearest tavern and then we can talk about it.” He murmured quietly.
The group nodded, proceeding towards the nearest Inn, oblivious of the fact that another pair of ears had already eavesdropped on their conversation.
Once they had reached the Inn and had paid their stay, the group went to one of the rooms they had booked. All of them aside the Kender, of course. They almost stood in religious silence, trying to not raise any suspect over them, and only spoke to one another when they were sure of the complete security of the room.
“My plan is to bring all of you to Sargasanti as my… slaves, sort of. This way, you’ll be able to walk through the city undisturbed and look for the information we need in the library.” Nodded Kon, convinced.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Said Aliranne. “Anyone could do anything to us, we would be vulnerable.”
“We have honor, Aliranne.” Kon replied. “If anyone hits one of the slaves of someone else has to respond with their same life.”
“Still I’m not really sure…” continued the mage.
“Not to say that me and Ruru would be the most discriminated..” Saphanael intervened. “We would be better off waiting for you two in the forest.”
“But the forest was cut down by the minotaurs!” Continued Aliranne. “And there are troops patrolling what is left of the trees near the city and mines… it’s impossible to come near it.”
“We’ll find a way.” Kon remained resolute.
“I surely hope so! We have little to no choice..” The mage murmured, nearing the window of the room.
From that same window popped up the head of the Kender.
“Oh, hi!”
Aliranne, startled, almost fell backwards.
“Ruru!” She yelled. “Where have you been!?”
“Oh, well, you know, “ he entered the room from that same window he had just climbed. “Wandering here and there… but I did listen to the first parts of the conversation!”
“Good, so we just need to fill you in about what Kon has proposed.” Aliranne nodded.
“What did he propose?” The Kender asked looking at minotaur.
“About going to Sargas- I mean, Silvanost with him as his slaves.”
“That doesn’t quite sound right..” Ruru pondered. “It’s quite risky… like walking down in the main hall of this inn…”
The group eyed the Kender with an eyebrow raised.
“Why would that be risky?” Saphanael asked.
“Oh, right, that’s what I came to tell you!” Ruru jumped around the room, pointing at the door. “Four hooded dwarves entered the room and when they did everyone else left this building. I think they were armed…”
The other adventurers exchanged worried looks.
“Are you sure about that?” Asked the minotaur.
“Completely!” Ruru almost shouted, hand over his heart. “I’ll go down right now to check on the situation! Who knows, maybe I’m wrong!”
Without waiting for the answer of his fellow companions, Ruru exited the room and directed himself towards the main hall. The others remained inside the room, staring at one another.
“So what now?” Asked Kon es Kaz.
“I can’t hear anything, not even the voices of the usual customers…” Saphanael twitched his ears. “…maybe the Kender is right.”
“Only one way to know for sure.” Aliranne started chanting a spell and one moment later they were all connected by a mind connection.
“I’ll go down the stairs while invisible and I will communicate to you the situation thanks to this mental bond” The mage explained.
“Sounds like a plan.” Saphanael reached the door and held it open for the white robe. “Good luck and be safe.”
Aliranne nodded before casting an invisibility spell over herself. The group could not see her anymore, but they knew that she had gone down the stairs into the main and only hall of the dwarven inn. After a few moments, the voice of Aliranne came to them through the magic connection.
- Ruru was right. I can see two dwarves under the stairs and the Kender is behind them. Another one is under a table and all of them have their weapons at the ready. I cannot find the fourth, but I guess that he must be not too far from where I stand.-
Inside the room, Saphanael and Kon es Kaz exchanged a nod. As the elf still held open the door, the armored minotaur came out nearing the stair, followed by the magus. As soon as the warrior reached the first step, a quarrel was shot from behind some barrels on the far left of the room. Said quarrel flew through the air. missing him by two inches and getting stuck into the wall on his left.
- I think I’ve found where the fourth dwarf is. – The voice of Kon es Kaz came out sarcastic.
The minotaur unsheathed his sword and Saphanel did the same. The elf the proceeded in jumping down from the stairs, trying to land over one of the round tables of the Inn, failing and thus falling face first on the floor. One of the dwarves hidden under the stairs then proceeded to attack him, but Ruru was quicker than him and hit him with his rapier. The dwarf hidden behind the barrels recharges his crossbow and was ready to attack the minotaur once again, was it not for an arrow coming from behind the counter, arrow which pierced through the attacker’s clothes and wounded his side.
“Nice landing, idiotic elf! Try to be more careful!” A familiar nasal voice came from where the arrow was shot.
Looking in that direction, the four adventurers saw the kid they had bumped in on the stairs. He was using a bow that was way too big for his stature, but he seemed to be utilizing it at the best of its capabilities. As the group stared at him, each member incredulous, the appearance of the kid changed under their eyes: the shape of the kid started to get bigger and bigger. The face began to sport a muzzle, on the back a pair of wings appeared followed by a tail and his whole body was now covered in argentous scales: the little boy was in fact a Sivak.
The group could spare too much time over the strange appearance of the draconic for the dwarves were still armed and ready to attack. Ruru, Saphanael and Kon es Kaz took care of the two under the stairs while the scaly “friend” defeated the one hidden behind the barrels thanks to his bow. Aliranne, using her magic, was able to encase the one hidden behind the table in a grip of shadow tentacles and, in the end, not one dwarf was left alive.
Still a bit shaken from what had happened, the four, now five, looked around the corpses, wondering what had caused that sudden and strange attack. Aliranne decided that she wanted more answers to her questions and thus she inspected the body of one of the assailants. What she found left her speechless.
“Uhm, guys? I think you should see this…” She murmured as she raised in front of her a parchment with the writing “WANTED” and a rough drawing of the face of each party member, aside Brimelle, printed over it.
“It’s five-hundred steel coins for each of us…” The mage whispered almost to herself. “… where do they find the money?!”
In the meanwhile the rest of the party had gathered around her, looking intensely at the parchment.
“Oh no…” Murmured Ruru. “…it’s signed Chrysantium…”
“Why, do you know this guy?” Aliranne asked.
“Of course I do! And you do too since you spoke with him not even four hours ago!” The Kender replied. “Chrysantium is Brimelle’s father!”
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
© ScissorsRunner
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
COMMISSIONS PRICE LIST: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....OPEN-324631805
━═☆═━━━━━━━━━━┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈┈ ┈
--- Deviantart: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.com/
--- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrina.normani
--- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scabrosa
--- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KniraJackrabbit
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 994 x 1280px
File Size 200.1 kB
Comments