24 Descending Air, Realm Year 768
As I write, it is after midnight. The air is cool on my skin, but the coldest point of winter is long past, so I am not uncomfortable. Larian lies sleeping once again, and I will rejoin him when I have finished my task here.
Where did I leave off?
Oh yes, Nexus. We arrived in port on 19 Descending Air for resupply and such. This was not long after meeting the mysterious woman on the sea. Then we met with Guild representatives to assure them we weren't here to interfere. Illystra went to go beat up some people in the arena, I think. I believe Perius went to the local constabulatorianationism and, near as I can tell, basically told them to give him an unsolved crime to investigate.
Thus, we met with Sesus Lisori, a mortal Dynast who had recently had an odd ring-bracelet piece stolen from her. As it was not obviously valuable and many of her more valuable-looking items were untouched, it was clear that the thief knew what they were after. Mysterious!
Perius suggested (in his ever-so lovable way) that I convince one of the Guild members to help us. What am I, bait for low-life scum? I was so embarrassed! (>_<)
But he did have a point … nobody can resist my charms for long! Ha! (^_~)
Anyway, the guy eventually came back and told us some stuff about the bracelet, where some of the other stolen items were sold, etc. Perius was suspicious (is he ever not?) and somehow learned that the man had been forced not to reveal some other things he knew.
There was this knife made of black glassy material and bone… I only saw it after the fact, but someone threw it at Illystra, I believe. Grr!
So, we decided to go into the sewers for some reason (probably Perius's idea, but I don't really remember now)… (^_^’) There was all sorts of stumbling about behavior, and it turned out that we had actually entered a set of catacombs. We recovered a paper written by the architect of some tomb. Possibly even one of the Tombs of the Anathema in Nexus. And there were apparently people down there when we were exploring! We found another of those knives, but never found the owner, because…
… suddenly, Perius (after dragging us all down there) announces that he no longer cares about solving this mystery after all, and that he was leaving. And so he did. No, that didn't look strange at all, why do you ask? (¬_¬)
The others went back to the inn they were staying at. I went back to the ship. Apparently, in the middle of the night, Nyax sent a messenger to everyone at the inn and told them to get back to the ship because he was leaving for Seven Willows in five minutes. Of course, the ship going up and down on the waves isn't enough to wake me up … we were already well down the river by the time I got up.
Well, whatever. I never cared much for Nexus anyway.
Yesterday, we spotted an encampment on the banks of the river, as if an entire town had been forced into the wilderness. Nyax decided to stop there, acting on some hunch, I assume. It turned out to be refugees from Seven Willows. Lucky!
We met up with the leader of the refugees, who was skittish of us at first. Apparently, she she had had an encounter with a different group of Dragon-blooded after her people fled Seven Willows, possibly an official Wyld Hunt, wherein the refugees' food and other supplies were taken to replenish the Exalt's stores. Obviously the straits of the Dynasts must have been dire indeed to prevent such transcendent ilk from drawing on their decades-honed survival skills, thus placing them in the … unfortunate … position of having to deprive displaced farmers and homeless peasants of their meager scraps in the midst of winter… I can't personally concieve of such a circumstance, nor how one might cope with the resulting stain to one's honor, but then, I guess that's why I'm not in the official Wyld Hunt…
But enough about actions that stain one's honor…
We encountered an Anathema yesterday as well, or so the others said. He had beautiful white skin and was dressed in somewhat morbid looking garb … the quality of the cloth looked excellent, and the outfit seemed well constructed. I'm sure the quality of the bone was equally high. Anyway, he rode up to our camp on his black horse and said his name was Lone Drum Requiem for Blooded Blade. He was here to look for his “sister” and thought she might be with Nyax for some reason. Around this time, there was a storm brewing on the horizon, clearly no natural phenomenon (coming as it did toward the winds).
As he appeared to have information on this storm, Illystra allowed him into our camp to talk under truce, so long as he went unarmed. He abided by these terms. He told us that the storm was the doing of the Deathlord in Seven Willows, because she thought we had the stolen item from Nexus, which was a key to a key, or some such. In other words, we probably should've stuck around Nexus, since the stolen item seems to be related to dragging this moon out of the Underworld. Before he could tell us much else, however, Perius and Ilyra suddenly attacked.
It was a brilliant tactic! Get a solitary foe to think we are trustworthy, remove his weapon, surround him with four or five Exalts and a dozen or more imperial troops, and then attempt to slaughter him. Such courage! I think those two would do even better in the official Wyld Hunt than in our little information gathering mission!
Sadly, it did not have the expected results. The pale man escaped.
Then I had to go to tend to an approaching Guild slaveship, who apparently thought that the refugees would be their next product. I suggested to the captain that neither interfering in an Imperial investigation nor sailing towards a clearly unnatural storm would bring them much profit.
(I don't think that Larian would have forgiven me if I'd let the slavers have their way. I get the sense that something about these refugees and our destination is important to him.)
We then proceeded to load up the refugees to evacuate them, because it was becoming clear that this storm was going to land right in their laps, and it soon became clear thanks to Illystra's kakui wings that the storm actually concealed an army of the undead. We also began making plans to fight.
Perius was suggesting orders for Larian to give for some reason, as if Larian were suddenly in command during this battle. (Despite the fact that Larian had a superior officer standing not five feet away.) No, that didn't look strange at all, either, why? (¬_¬)
Flame being the most likely weapon that would hurt the creatures heading our way, I suggested that we catch them in a crossfire … go around the main force and set a forest fire behind them to block their retreat (trees are dry and leafless right now), while the ships in the river pelted them with more fire.
Everybody sort of stared at me… I guess they thought I was going to suggest breeding them to (a more permanent) death or something.
Sigh. As if the undead are that cute… (9_9)
But that's what we wound up doing, more or less (the crossfire thing, not the breeding thing!)… and it worked! We inflicted severe losses on the enemy! Perius even helped out when I arrived in the midst of the foe by catapult! And then I fought my first Anathema (I assume that's what he was; he was dressed sort of like the first one. A lot more scruffy though, and someone should really teach him how to care for that linen. Nice hair, though) with Illystra's help.
There I was, facing down a charging Deathknight on a nightmare steed, his blade screaming… Cresting Wave held before me, its curves glittering in the light of the sun and flames… steam rising from my body as the flames at my back impinged on my anima; Illystra a glowing meteor, like the breath of the Fire Dragon from the heavens above…
Ooooooo SUGOI!
Ah, sorry. He also got away, though. (T_T)
OK, enough about the smelly army of doom. I skipped over something earlier because I didn't want to end this entry talking about beating up on the bodies of people who aren't people anymore. It happened back before the first pale-skinned man came to our camp…
Apparently, something about the refugees was bothering Larian. Illystra and I were chatting with him for a bit, then he went for a walk. Illystra went with him to talk, and I decided to keep an eye on them in case they were, um, suddenly attacked by, err, giant exalted ferrets. I've heard those are troublesome in this part of the world…
Anyway, eventually Illystra had relieved as much of his tension as she could by talking. So it was my turn… there are ways of speaking to the heart that might invoke the lips but do not require words. (*^_^*)
He made it clear that he's not really interested, outside the bed. “You know I'm using you, right?” is the first thing he asked me (thus, when Perius started playing at whatever he's doing, I put on my most sensual voice and sweetly whispered in his ear that I apparently wasn't the only one being used… the expression he gave was priceless.)
I'm a bit sad, actually. Maybe I'm not really a person to him. That's hardly unusual, but you'd think he'd be a bit different, given his situation. I know that he's not regarded as a prize match in the Realm. He's got an arranged marriage awaiting him to a cousin in the South, but he's not exactly enthusiastic about it.
Ah well. At least he's up front about it, which is more than most. And, well … let's just say that his larger-than-average height is not an isolated characteristic… (^_~)
Hm. It's nearly Years End. I guess we'll miss the usual festivities. Maybe we can have our own. Nani o kite ikou kana?
It's getting pretty late, though, and I'm sure that the next few days are going to be just as exciting. (Especially for Larian, heh, heh, heh. He'll have learned a thing or two by the time he gets around to whatshername…) I'd better get some sleep. Tsukarechatta. (-_-)
Ja ne…
Kakui - Cool
Sugoi - Awesome, amazing
Nani o kite ikou kana - What shall I wear?
Tsukarechatta - I'm tired