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| [Graded]~The Underground~; [Snow arc part 2] | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 27 2015, 05:08 AM (850 Views) | |
| 梟 Inara Serra | Nov 27 2015, 05:08 AM Post #1 |
Honesty without tact is cruelty.
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"Come out Daughter of the Snow. It is time to meet your King..." "Godsdamn it." The voice was riding on the mist, the speaker hidden by the thick fog which now roiled around the three who still stood on the knoll. The fence which had marked the boundaries of their safe haven was corroding before their eyes, though the barrier still held firm. Magic of the deep places of the world was stronger than the Fae gave it credit for being. The frustration of he who controlled the mists was great as he noted how his machinations weren't working to their full power. "I've already met King Stephan! Thanks anyway!" Snow couldn't help herself. She should, by rights, have been merely submissive to his demands. This was what she had sought, after all; a meeting with the sidhé. Not this way though. Not without it being on her own time, on her own terms. Stubborn and strong willed as always, she couldn't simply go without some form of a fight. "Not some mortal asshat sitting on a throne in your overworld. The one and only immortal King of the Tuatha. He has sent me here, and I have orders. Bring you back, however I can, even if I have to break your legs first." Snow laughed. "And how useful would I be to your king with two broken legs?" There was a feral snarl, and a figure appeared at the gate of the little fence. He wasn't easily made out, as the mists swirled around him to better hide him. Merely a lantern in the sudden darkness, a chill to the bones, and a set of sharp teeth in an angry mouth. He smiled. And how would you like to learn how it feels to have your legs broken, and then healed, only to be broken again? We are not immune to the ways of torture. And to be honest, I think I would enjoy sucking the life from you slowly." Snow knew him then, as suddenly his story appeared in her mind. His name was harder to say than she had expected, as if her tongue had turned to honey in her mouth, and wished nothing more than to stick. "I know you. I could say your name, if you like." Her mother had taught her all of them, long long ago. He stilled nearly instantly. "You could." He seemed surprised by this fact, more than anything. And it wasn't a question, not even remotely. "But I am not your enemy. Merely interested in how hard a girl will fight to regain her twin." Snow closed her mouth like a trap. It was her entire reason for being here, but she couldn't help but wonder if this was merely bait. Either to get her to leave the safety of the knoll, or for some other nefarious purpose. "You have her?" There was a sound of negation from the being on the other side. "I am afraid I no longer work for the Seelie court." There was a moment of long silence as this sank in. That meant...That meant...The benevolent Queen and her court of light had taken her sister. And it also meant... She spoke low and fast. "What the hell would the Unseelie King want with me?" The grey man chuckled. "Won't you come find out? I would prefer not to do this the hard way." Snow turned in place, looking st both Ranth and Artorius. "And my companions?" A sort of slow silence again. "While we are not thrilled that you brought them along, no harm will come to them by any who serve the Unseelie King." It seemed there was little choice, so she began to gather her things. "I am ready, if both of you are. Do not forget what I said. No bargains. No matter what." She made sure to look both of them in the eye. It wasn't as if they had much choice in the end. They would had to have found them anyway. Still, she hesitated. Nothing her was ever as it seemed, and no bargain came without price, nor any help. |
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| 栄 Fafnir Rakesh | Nov 28 2015, 02:55 AM Post #2 |
Sarcasm. Because beating the shit out of people is illegal.
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Several hours and half a dozen cigarettes- that Ranth had seen Artorius consume- later and the sun had finally risen to greet them, signaling that morning had come. But the sun wasn't the only thing that seemed to have found them, as a great booming voice called to them from beyond the white picket fence. A fence, which Ranth now realised was literally melting before his very eyes. Looking beyond the fence, the obvious culprit of this rather violent destruction of property in the form of a grey cloaked figure wielding a cylindrical light in one hand which seemed to push the surrounding mist aside almost out of respect... or fear. As the exchange of niceties between Snow and this unnamed speaker who had come to fetch her continued, Ranth was still trying to piece together as much as he could of this place and its people and this conversation was rapidly throwing new tidbits into the mix. For starters, this place had a king and if there was any doubt up to that point that the people in charge here thought Snow was important, that was instantly dispelled as she was given her summons by name. She wasn't an existence that came here by accident or part of some vague prophecy. They had been expecting her and her alone. In fact, the very notion that her presence along with anyone else- much less two people- suggested that although powerful and wise, they were not infallible. That meant they could be surprised, they could make mistakes. They could be manipulated. As to the difficulty of such a thing, well that was an entirely different matter as possibility never did have much to say about probability. But all this was still filed away in the back of his head. All of it could useful, even- or perhaps especially- the things that seemed irrelevant now. "Don't make bargains, don't drink the food, don't eat the water", Ranth sighed like a child whose mother had just told him the same thing five times when he'd gotten it on the first. He couldn't honestly say that he had the best feeling about this man cloaked in gray being their guide or escort or whatever, but he himself had said the night before that they would have to seek out whoever had Snow's sister eventually. He just hadn't expected it to be the fucking King. "If he's anything like the King's back home then e probably has dozens of people who 'don't serve", he said quietly to his companions, "but it's not like we weren't going to go find Rose anyway. It's just going to be slightly more complicated taking her back from the King... inside his palace... probably with a host of guards.." |
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| 竜 Mazohyst | Nov 29 2015, 06:11 AM Post #3 |
Stay the course.
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A voice emerged from the banks of fog, breaking the eerie silence that the dense condensation created. With but a thought, the fence that protected them from the outside world came apart, spreading and dispersing like hapless particles of dust scattering in the wind. Artorius immediately noticed Snow's defensiveness, but before he could move to place a hand on the hilt of a blade he realized it was already there by instinct. But what use was a blade against a thing that could kill him with a mere thought? Artorius stood in silence as he let Snow do the talking. This was her world, he was only visiting in it, and even if he saw fit to crack wise or speak derisively to the beings who antagonized them, Artorius was wise enough to know that it was best if he held his tongue behind his teeth, at least for the moment. Soon, the speaker emerged from the roils of fog and mist. Though, it felt like an erroneous statement to make, as he very much seemed to be the fog and mist. It stuck with him like glue, flowing around him in a whirling tide, subsiding only around the lantern he held that pierced through the veil of endless grey. There was clarity in his voice, though he spoke with derision, but it was equal parts curiosity and playfulness. A strange being, a trickster Artorius surmised. One which could not be trusted, but whom they had no choice but to cooperate with. Artorius held his tongue until the man in gray left and Snow turned towards Ranth and himself. "I'm the last person you need to tell that," Artorius said to Snow, mocking himself with an amusingly derisive tone. Ever since he had found the Cintamani Stone, Artorius was vehemently against bargains of virtually any sort. He'd once been given the opportunity to wish for nearly anything when he'd been in the Sanzibar, courtesy of an all-power genie. After experiencing even a moment of all-consuming power in the North Pole though, he had quickly turned it down. He'd seen what it does to people first hand, so immediately Artorius knew that making bargains with things that were stronger or greater than himself was nothing more than foolish and dangerous. "I've made enough of them to last a lifetime." |
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| 梟 Inara Serra | Nov 30 2015, 12:49 PM Post #4 |
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Honesty without tact is cruelty.
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Snow nodded at each of her companions in turn. "And we stick together okay?" She meant that. The little beings inside her tent had made sure to remind her that 3 was a sacred number here, and she would not forget. Though before they left the gate, she made sure to explain a couple of things. "The one who waits on us is the Grey Man. He controls the mists here, as I'm sure you've noted. It is said that his hands have small suckers on them, like an octopus, but they leech years away from your life." The veracity of this was hard to tell. So far though, the old tales were serving her well. She might as well keep giving out what information she had at hand. She swallowed hard as she finished gathering her gear and contemplated the Unseelie King. "The...King...He is... Different. There are two courts here, if you will. Two kingdoms almost. The Seelie court, which we saw ride by in all its glory, is the court of Light. The Unseelie court, is the court of Darkness. They are meant as a balance to one another, above all else." Snow sighed and tried to think of words to describe the being they were soon to meet, assuming all went well. "He is as close to a fair being as you will ever find in these lands. But..." Her voice trailed away. Even for her, he was a being of mystery to some extent. He was, the tales said, huge. In the folds of his dark wings lay universes awaiting their turn to blossom. "He is still one of the Fae." she finished rather lamely. Now they approached the gate, and the Feár Liath awaited them. She opened it slowly, her eyes on the strange lantern he carried. "We are ready." It was as good as she was as much of an answer as she would be able to give. Now, as they stepped through the boundary, she could feel her stomach hurting again, as though knotted in that way that it did when her intuition knew beforehand that something awful was going to happen. Their guide remained mostly hidden, save for the light of his lantern. The mists themselves were elsewise all encompassing. "Bit of friendly advice, stay within the circle the latern casts. My mists are always hungry, and they make no nevermind of friend or foe if I'm not paying attention." Snow could hear the snear in his voice, and it irritated her. "What does the King want with me?" She repeated her earlier question, not knowing if she would even receive an answer. "Just to offer his help in your quest lass." That sounded entirely too easy. They began moving as Snow scoffed. "Help from your kind is never free." The grey man scoffed as well. "And it's rarely free from your kind. When was the last time you saved a village out of pure altruism, taking nothing in return? I thought so." Silence had followed his question, and now Snow was further irritated. He had a point. She wasn't fond of losing arguments though. |
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| 栄 Fafnir Rakesh | Nov 30 2015, 02:36 PM Post #5 |
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Sarcasm. Because beating the shit out of people is illegal.
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if it seemed like Ranth was suddenly taking this whole situation more seriously now than he had the day before, it was because he was. However it wasn't because of any particular revelation that Snow's explanation triggered. It wasn't the threat of losing years of his life at a mere touch or at being lured into a bargain that would see him turned into a slave at the beck and call of whatever Fae creature the deal had been struck with. No, it was what Ranth saw in those mists that surrounded the so aptly titled Grey Man that caused a shiver to run down his spine and his throat to suddenly feel dry and raspy. For what he saw wasn't magic like he was used to seeing. It was something else entirely, something not of this word and his vision swam with steadily increasing severity the longer he tried to peer into them without blinking. In simple terms, he couldn't fathom whatever power that the mists were made of. All he got instead was a feeling of dread and despair that turned his blood to ice in his veins and caused his heart to beat furiously in his chest like that of a trapped rabbit. He was afraid, he realised with wide eyed surprise as he hesitated in the moment before stepping from the relative safety of the Fomoire's barrier and into the circle of light cast by the Grey Man's lantern. As they began to walk in the wake of their escort, Ranth quickly began to feel sick at the sight of the mist through his archive analysis and so opted to deactivate it in favour of the same dull grey that the other two would have already become accustomed to with their permanently mundane view of the world. He didn't speak of what he'd seen because he simply didn't have the words or the knowledge to do so, instead he simply held his tongue and waited with impatient eagerness for their release from these mists. Nothing could be as off-putting as this, surely. As they walked, they could see nothing of their surroundings and besides some banter between Snow and the Grey Man not much else was said aloud. But although they had only been walking a short time, Ranth couldn't help but feel that they were crossing more distance with each step than they had any right to. It was just a feeling that was impossible to quantify or explain, much less prove given the unchanging terrain beneath their feet and the thick mist that hid everything beyond them from view, but it left Ranth with the suspicion that they wouldn't have to walk very far at all until they met with this Unseelie King. So with nothing else to do except stew over his own thoughts, he pondered the politics of this plane. He was sure that even a realm with beings as wise and powerful as the Fae had them and in fact he wondered if that simply made the game that all politicians play that much harder... that much more fierce... that much more merciless than the games that they played in the world above. It certainly didn't seem like the court of either the Seelie or the Unseelie would be a place for humans to play a part. But then again, sometimes even pawns could be queens in the right hands. |
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| 竜 Mazohyst | Dec 2 2015, 01:42 AM Post #6 |
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Stay the course.
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Artorius listened to Snow speak as she explained the nature of the ruling powers of this land. The Seelie court, who reigned in light and splendor, and the Unseelie court, in all its darkness and mystery. The divide between these two powers gave this land a somewhat more humanizing and relatable characteristic. Even in a world such as this, where power far exceeds that which a normal human can ever hope and dream to achieve, unity was but a mere pipedream. As he walked through the curtain of fog that surrounded him, Artorius couldn't help but think further of it. Two sides that could never live in harmony with one another, was that really balance? In Artorius' mind, the lines between good and evil, light and dark were blurred. He lived in a reality that was grayer than the smoke he breathed, where balance was just a temporary break between the chaos, nothing more. Often, all it took was a mere trifle, a foreign element in the mix to ignite the waiting powder kegs. Artorius hoped they wouldn't be that spark. Nonetheless, the very fact that Snow was sought by the Unseelie King was something of great suspicion in Artorius' eyes. It was obvious that he wanted something from her. In this world, like their very own, information didn't come cheap. It was a trade for a trade. That was one of the first things Artorius had said to Snow when they had met in that forest all those months ago. Nonetheless, he chose not to believe that humans weren't incapable of things like altruism. If he did, then what hope was there in his own future? Cutthroat trades and bargains would be the end of him; they very nearly had been, already. |
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| 梟 Inara Serra | Dec 2 2015, 05:02 AM Post #7 |
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Honesty without tact is cruelty.
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The mists moved around them in thick waves. Snow's skin and hair was soon saturated by the fog, as well as the clothes she wore. It was awkward, trying to walk quietly and simultaneously wipe the moisture away from her face. "Is there something you can do about the fact that water is running off of my nose?" The question was aimed at the cylindrical lantern which was the only indication of their guide. There was a soft chuckle from somewhere ahead. Snow was irritated, now more than ever. She never minded silence, but she disliked the mockery in every move this being had made thus far. "I will take that as a no. Then again, I could just step to the side here and be free of the mess you carry with you." She started that way, all annoyance and no forward thinking. It took two steps til one foot found only air beneath it. She tittered, and began to fall to who knew where. There was a quick break in the mist, enough to show her a glimpse of the valley below which would be her end. A hand grasped her arm, drawing her back. Though not, perhaps, one she would have expected. The grey man held her elbow, and for once she could see his face. Old and cracked like pottery, the hair on top pure white. His eyes were a flat black in his skull. The hand which grasped her did indeed have small suction cup like appendages, which popped one by one as he released her. "Might want to learn a bit of patience lass. I may have forever, but you do not. Keep to the path, keep behind me." Momentarily breathless, she simply nodded and got back into line. The mists thinned around her somewhat as she did. Artorius and Ranth would have seen the whole thing, including the face of the man they followed. Man being used exceptionally loosely in this case. Snow held her tongue for a good long while after that, following with mute obedience. Unfortunately, her blunder would have more far reaching consequences. The Féar Liath knew this, and quickened their pace. They were still more or less in enemy territory after all. "If you have questions, now would be the time." It was implied that he meant Snow, but it was an open invitation, and she was holding her tongue. A peek was all it took. A quick lighting of her face in the darkness which had thus far been her protection. "My lady! I think I have seen what you sought!" The scryer was excited. His vision in the water had been clouded for a full day, even though they knew she had entered at last. "Where?" The question was spoken with lazy nonchalance as the small man stood outside the gauzy tent. "She's in the west. Headed south. And with..Ah.. One of the traitors miss." There was a soft noise inside the tent as the Queen's lover whispered in her ear. After a few moments she emerged, sighing as though all this hassle over one girl was ridiculous. She did feel a little resentment. Her loved was far too interested in the girl for her liking, being a selfish and vain creature, she couldn't fathom why. "Which one?" There had been more traitors than she could count in the last century. Annoying, yes. But never a threat. "The grey one." A quick gesture of annoyance as the woman put two fingers to her nose, pinching the bridge as though she were getting a headache. He was one of the harder ones, but luckily not the hardest one. "Send the pookah. He will know what to do." And with that she returned to the tent, and the seer carried out her orders to the letter. |
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| 栄 Fafnir Rakesh | Dec 3 2015, 03:28 PM Post #8 |
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Sarcasm. Because beating the shit out of people is illegal.
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Questions? Ranth had plenty, but there were precious few he could afford to ask let he tip his hand or put this grey man and his ilk on guard. It had been made abundantly clear that these beings were older, wiser and more powerful than the mortals with whom they dealt but the were had also made it abundantly clear that they were aware of that fact and this meant that in the small gap between their superiority and their condescension for them there was a chink. A small chink that few could have any hope of exploiting to be sure, but it was a chink that Ranth fully intended to nurture whilst he pondered the questions he couldn't ask. So the question he did ask was one that their escort could well take to indicate fear that Ranth was doing his best to hide. Fear of what he didn't understand, fear of the unknown. Fear of the Grey Man's power. "This mist... what is it made of?" A simple question that offered the knowledge that Ranth could see enough of the mist's nature to know it was noteworthy, but also lacking enough in perception to be able to make any use of the information. In other words, Ranth was swimming in water that was far beyond his depth. But he had other questions too, these ones far less dangerous both to the asker at least. "What's immortality like? How long have you been wandering around doing... whatever it is you do when you're not escorting hapless mortal's like ourselves to meet your King?" It was a simple enough question and one that was born of Ranth's at times childlike curiosity. He hadn't often pondered what it would mean to be alive forever, but the few times that he had, certain problems began to present themselves. Would his body age? Would he be able to experience everything that life had to offer and if so, what would there be for him after that? He had pondered the prospect of going through endless cycles of meeting people, forming bonds with them and then watching them wither and die generation after generation. Would that wear on an ageless soul like waves upon a sandstone cliff? Here they had a being who had experienced at least enough to give him some insight into the life of an immortal and in the end, there was only one thing he truly wanted to know. "If you could choose to have a natural end, would you? Or does the very nature of being Unseelie make it a nonissue? " He paused slightly in this last sentence as he tried to reaffirm that he'd gotten the names- Seelie and Unseelie- correct in context. Unseelie was unchanging if he remembered correctly and they were going to meet the Unseelie King, which meant the Grey Man who served him had to be Unseelie as well... or maybe he'd gotten it all backward. He'd still yet to wrap his head around it completely. Oh well, looking like a complete fool had its merits too he supposed. |
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| 竜 Mazohyst | Dec 5 2015, 06:04 AM Post #9 |
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Stay the course.
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Artorius kept his tongue behind his teeth as they walked, but they soon reached a moment where the Grey Man paused and turned towards them, asking them if there was anything they wanted to know. He had a feeling that the man shrouded in mist wouldn't answer anything with clarity or straight-forwardness, though. Nonetheless, there were some interesting questions Artorius wanted to ask, but Ranth had asked several of them before Artorius could do so himself. The most important questions were the nature of immortality. Even though he now had a slice of that pie himself, coming to grips with what it meant was difficult to get his head around it. Artorius wouldn't die of old age, he would outlive everyone around him, and accepting that was one of the hardest things for him to do. He would see Snow and Ranth wither and die, Sachio and Relyk turn wrinkled and grey, even Riven would pass and fade until she became just a memory to him. The thought made Artorius shudder, but then he remembered he was actively trying to remove the curse he carried, along with all the burdens and gifts it came with. Until then, Artorius had to carry on, believe he could get through it, and never once think about choosing death. |
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| 梟 Inara Serra | Dec 5 2015, 07:10 AM Post #10 |
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Honesty without tact is cruelty.
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Snow was surprised that he even offered a Q&A session. She wondered just how much of a trap that might end up being though. The fae were notoriously tricksome. She might have warned against asking, but she had no time to do so. Ranth, curious as ever, decided to open his big mouth almost immediately. Snow sighed before simply sitting back, so to speak, and finding herself walking beside Artorius. She didn't try to move away from the clear path made by the grey man now. One near death experience was enough for this walk, thanks very much. Ahead, the immortal man kept walking. Even in the wake of Ranth's questions he remained silent for a long time. It could be speculated that he was more or less either refusing to answer or just being careful with his answers. Neither theory would be correct. He was musing on the way mortals worked. How many times had he heard these questions? How many centuries had he spent giving evasive answers, and trying to make this into some sort of quid pro quo game? More than he, or really anyone, could likely count. The same boring questions. Where are you from? Do you remember bluh? What's this like, what's that like. Always the same. Sure the boy displayed curiosity he would expect in one much younger of his kind. But it hardly mattered. No wonder the King got tired of stasis. With a sigh, he gave decently straight answers. "The mist is made of souls. Ones I've harvested personally, when someone tried to renig on a deal. I don't take kindly to those who don't hold up their end, and think themselves clever." There was a short pause as they mounted a steep hillside. Snow wished she could see the daylight. Or anything really. She hated the sense of unending twilight which this seemed to hold over her. "I have been alive for more centuries than I can count. There was no birth, not in the human sense. Fae can't make children in the traditional way without a human partner. If you catch my drift. I was born from the song of making to serve a Queen and King who were not bitter enemies. I made deals, I followed commands. I was a general in a war which drove older, less apt kinds from these shores. We were after dragons. But before human had words of their own." Was he tired? Maybe. Was he lonely? Always. There was an aching emptiness which came with living forever. Curiosity died. As did things like hope, faith, the commonplace preciousness with which mortals viewed all memories made. He had never loved, either his own kind or theirs. He had once simply been himself, and part of a court which was whole, and now he wasn't. "I wouldn't recommend trying to live forever to one of your kind. You would see all you love wither and die and wilt before you. Humans, it is your nature to become attached to others. To bond. You always think that if that bond is severed by death, you have lost it. You never see it as a form of creation. One thing dies, another takes its place. I suffer no such qualms." He waited another moment before answering the last bit he was he willing to answer. "I would not choose to end. You fail to realize this is my natural state boy. Death is natural for your kind, not mine. And I am a selfish creature. Living will always be more interesting than dying for me." It was about now that a sound came at them through the mist. The sound of hooves on land, and driving fast. At first the grey man merely stopped, and stared in simple curiosity. Before the sound came again he was on guard. The mist around them solidified into a sheild, making Snow draw her weapons almost at once. There was no time for a warning cry, as the sheild shattered like so much glass before them, so they had to sheild their eyes. Then the mist itself was gone, huddled around a dim figure in thr distance. Before them stood the grey man, eyes full of impotent anger as his bottom half was frozen in place. No amount of hacking at the thick ice would penetrate it. He looked like a porcelain doll close to cracking. Around them, the night sounds crept in, stunning Snow that they had been walking from dawn til dark. "Where is the mist?" It was missing utterly from them, having gone with whoever the rider had been. "After .. Him. Retrieve my lantern, return my power. Before dawn. Or I die. And your hopes with me." |
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