The room was taut. A cloud of moisture drifted over a lumpy pile on the soaked floor. A thick slow moving liquid rolled down the cracks on the floor from this strange pile to Lia's foot. She crouched down and brushed her finger tip across the substance, inspecting what it was. By the instant that she discovered it was blood, the room exploded with intense, crackling energy. Lia fell back and shielded her face from the searing light with her hand. When the energy level settled back down, she peeked her eyes back open. Her throat caught. Her lips trembled. Her eyes widened to their fullest extent. Hyde was lifting the pile….that pile, which she now saw as her older brother Therius, beaten and marred almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Hyde had him, with a bloody katara that he'd jabbed completely through Therius's abdomen, lifted up to his limp knees. The horrified Ixifar could see that the weapon was enchanted with shock-magic as little sparks of lighting continued to chase around her brother's body and caused him to shake and twitch in time. Normally, there'd be some level of peace knowing that her brother was beyond the reach of any more torture…but no. She could tell Hyde was using his twisted necrotic arts to keep her brother alive. Just barely. Just enough to be completely consumed in his agony. Even now, Lia could she the small jerks of his rib cage gasping for bloody breath. Lia shot back up to her feet, and screamed with her whole being. Though she could hear herself loud and clear, the sound didn't seem to reach the other two in the room. Hyde, with a grimacing smile, ripped the electrified blade from Therius's body, letting the human fall to the floor with a gurgled grunt. The cruel headmaster then, even if it was just for the briefest of moments, glanced over at Lia with a vindictive smirk before calling for his healers to deal with "this pathetic pile of flesh and bones". Infuriated the Ixifar charged at her former master with deadly intent. However, she could never quiet reach him. Over and over she tried. Jumping, swiping, leaping, clawing, screaming. Nothing.
Lia eventually slumped to her knees in exhaustion, and even still her blood boiled. She'd somehow followed Hyde to his private quarters, a place she was still trying to forget. The Nox headmaster carried on like normal, and took a seat at his dark wood desk. It was stacked high with various tomes, scrolls, maps, and tools of dark sorcery. He took a moment to strewn over his texts then sighed with a strangely contented smile. His haunting eyes flicked over to the panting Lia. "I hope you enjoyed the show, m'dear, sweet, birdie." He erupted into laughter.
Lia jolted up, wide-awake and completely soaked in her own sweat. Hyde's laughter still lingered on her ears, and she could still feel the charged energy from the blade which pierced her brother. She trembled as she wiped the sweat away from her eyes and glanced over to Desiderio's resting body. The two of them had left some weeks before to search the shard that she currently called home for traces of her brother, or Noxian Elite which might be after them. They'd come up with no evidence of either and turned their focus to training and perhaps a way off whatever shard of Orn this was. Though, the day before they'd found a familiar trail. One that it seemed no matter which direction they went or how far they walked they came back to. They both agreed that it was pointless to struggle avoiding the town of adventurers any longer. It would seem Jastrey was calling them back to her.
With a deep breath, the Ixifar silently slipped away from her friend, and with the early dawn light to her back searched for the creek that ran near by. Here she splashed her face and took a long sip of the cool clear water. Glancing toward the rising sun, a painful realization hit her. That was more than a simple dream. Hyde may know where they were, and even if he didn't, he definitely had her brother. The images of her brother so marred and torn brought the sharp sting of tears to her eyes. She fought to keep them at bay, but to no avail. They pour down until they stirred up deep-seeded moaning from her gut. Lia sank to her knees and curled up. There she remained and wept.
Lia squeezed her eyes tightly in an attempt to force out as many tears as she could. After a moment, she brushed her face dry and caught her breath. She looked up at her friend and nodded solumnly. "This time was worse....I...I don't think it was a dream." She explained quietly. With a bit of effort, the Ixifar got to her feet. A few persistant tears slipped down her red face, to which she hasitly wipped them away. Looking eyes with Des, she felt it prudent to convey what she now believed to be true.
"I think Hyde knows where we are...and..." She cut off, as images of her sibbling were rehashed in her mind's eye. More tears made their way down her skin, though they steadily became angrier. "He has Ther." She spat out with a certain note of angiush on her voice.
"He has Ther," echoed in his ear and everything went dark for a second in his eyes. The angori needs to catch hold of a tree to stay standing. A feeling of nausea at the thought of what it means to have the body of a close friend at the mercy of a defiling necromancer like Hyde, sent memories back to his own experiences of being under that magic. Scratching the back of his neck, words are uttered with no sound.
Des clears his throat, "I don't think we should be out this far alone then... Despite having to be the foot, the running joke of my peers, I feel like we may have to go back to the village." He washes his face in the water and washes up a bit of dirt off his body. "If they come for us, it would be dumb, cocky, to think we can fend them off on our own... even if he doesn't really know we are here, we can't take that chance. We need friends... or at least allies."
Lia watched her friend's reaction and her own anger and despair at the notion turned in her stomach. She clenched her fists tightly to keep herself from punching the closest tree or even the ground. At hearing Des clear his throat, she returned his attention to him. Lia nodded. "Yeah...it's the only real chance we got if we want to come out from all of this on top. And...I think I'm gonna pick up some new training."
She walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming out here with me though. I know you care about Ther too, but you didn't have to search with me. Know that I appreciate your company and help." After this, she walked back towards their makeshift camp to collect her things. With the sun slowly rising into the big blue above, it was time to head back into town.
"Are you kidding? You're the most important person in my life right now, you come first. And Therius, is the closest to a brother as I've had thus far. There is no way I'd let you go about this alone. You don't have to keep thinking that way, you know?"
He gets dressed and quickly packs his things. Then kicks some leaves on the ground across the camp area to make it harder to trace.
"I think we should make completely sure that if the Noxian Elite were sent that they don't have an easy time tracking us. We don't want to put everyone else in danger when we return."
This brought a small smirk to Lia's face. Despite -everything- it was an amazing feeling to know Des always had her back. She nodded to his suggestion and helped him in removing all trace of their camp. After finishing with this, she paused to think for a moment resting her hand on her chin. "We should probably walk back along the trail either single file or me on your back...at least hide our numbers a bit. What do you think?"
"Of course... like those hunters, the vampire hunters did. It's a good idea." Des takes another moment to think as well, "But then again, they could still track assuming one of us is along. It's only two of us so we still wouldn't want that..." Then he hears the sound of the creek again.
"If we travel within the stream, we won't leave visible tracks... but then again it's no telling what we could catch from the water. Wasn't there a lake somewhere around here?"
Lia thinkings about his suggestions, her hand still up near her chin. "It's worth a shot, though that's hoping that it leads to the lake. It would at least loose our scent for a while." She adjusts the small pack of her belongings on her shoulder and started walking back over to the creek.
They walked for a while, and found that the creek did meander right into the lake on the outskirts of town. They swam quickly across the vast body of water towards the shore. Lia had to work a bit harder to keep up with her larger friend. Though they made it to the sands within another handful of minutes.
Lia dragged herself out and laid with back on the moist sand. With her eyes closed she grabbed at the tiny granuals...and for the first time in years she almost felt like she was back home. It was an odd feeling after all that had happened, and left her feeling a bit surreal and strangely nostilgic. She started to laugh rather ironically at herself. "This is probably the closest I'll ever get now..."
Des wrings out his clothing and takes a moment to let himself dry in the sun. Then looks down to Lia. And a slight smile spreads across his face. He sits down beside her and rests his body. He leans back, and his hand finds part of a branch that looks like it was broken off. And for some reason it looks familiar to him.
"Thats weird... anyway. We don't have much longer till we get back. Maybe we can rest here. It was a big lake..."
Lia only nodded. "I could lay here all day for all I care. Heh...Also, I'm not real sure what kind of welcome to expect back, ya know?" She said, all with keeping her eyes closed and letting her skin dry off in the early morning sun. "Plus, might be strange to show back up soaking wet after being gone for what, a mestrun? No maybe more like 4 mests at this point. Heh." Her eyes finally pealed open and she looked over to her friend, "May as well take the time to dry off, yeah?"
It was right about then that the dark figure of Akon seemed to appear right behind the two. She had been walking towards them for a while, but her steps were silent, and her movements muffled. She walked right past them to the shore, hood drawn up, and voice low as it spoke with her back now towards them as she knelt beside the water's edge. "Or some may just be thankful to see you still alive."
Her voice was back to its usual monotony as she lifted some of the water from the lake's edge to her face. She washed away some of the sweat and soot for the day, taking a deep breath as a few drips fell from the water that remained on her face.
"Yeah, it's been a minute. Hopefully I've gotten strong enough in my absense to finally take down Naki and earn my name ba..."
Slightly startled, Des sits up and tries to identify the dark, silent figure with a squint.
"...Akon? Akon! ...wait, what are you. What do you mean thankful I'm alive, did something happen while we were gone?"
Lia just about jumped out of her skin upon hearing Miss Nivarian's familar voice ring out and seeing her appear out of the blue. She sat upright rather abruptly while Des questioned their unusual ally. The Ixifar's mood quickly shifted back towards the more tense state she'd been in for a while, as she remembered the promise the Lady Nivarian had made to help free them from their magic bonds to Hyde. Her eyes were focused on the uordeq's dark figure as she listened for her reply.
"Something always happens in this town, Desiderio." Said the woman in her bland tones. "Doesn't mean you can't take the moment you've been given and relax. Do not let my presence unsettle you, Miss Saxum."
She dipped her hands into the waters, cleaning them gently, and wringing them together to get the soot and ash off her palms and fingers.
'Heh. Easier said than done, Lady.'? Lia thought to herself, but forced her worries down a tad for the moment. With a shift of her weight, the Ixifar lifted back up to her feet. Though her skin was mostly dried at this point, her wet clothes clung to her and sent fresh drops of water down her legs and stomach. This was enough to make her skin prickle with goosebumps in, what to her was, the cool air. She wrapped her arms across her chest to keep warm and took a couple steps to stand next to the crouched warlock.
"It's not your presence that unsettles me, Miss Nivarian. It's my current perdicament that unsettles me. I know now that my worst fears are probably all true. And I think I speak for both Des and I, I think we see now that we can't hope to succeed on our power. We need Jastrey's aid."
"We were attacked by a clan of Blood Drinkers." Akon's emotionless tone did take on a bit of darkness at mention of that. "They destryed the Healer's Den, poisioned the well, attacked our fields and breweries. They left a great many wounds in their wake, but not more than we delt them in return. Buildings can be rebuilt. What matters is that our townsfolk, for the most part, yet live."
"They have been delt with as best we can...for now."
Akon rose gently, straightening her shoulder out and responding resolutely. "Yes..." The word lingered in the air, the anger of the angori mixed with the weight of affirmation that so many of the assailants had died, by the hand of the town's folk as well as the woman before them.
"All of which remained in our town were slaughtered." She looked down, adjusting her dagger at her belt, as the pyre smoke still rose far off in the distance. "And burried appropriately."
Lia turned her gaze back towards Akon. Her smirk had faded away moments earlier. "Those bastards, eh?...Sorry to hear so much was damaged...." She trailed off and she followed Akon's gaze to the vague column of smoke rising in the distance. She recognized what it was and looked back at the warlock. "Are there any more of the cult that remain? If there are, I should -very- much like to aid in their permanent ending."
Lia gritted her teeth at the thought. Her own encounters with the strange humans were not all too pleasant. Though, she really didn't want to dwell on such things for the moment. "Well, like you said, we should take advantage of the moments we get to relax. That includes you, Miss Nivarian. You're welcome to sit with us if you wish."
Akon nods, seeming quite tired herself. She takes a seat with her back against a log, pulling her water flask from her hip and drinking from it. She closes her eyes against the rising sun's rays, tugging her hood a bit lower so that naught but her lips could be seen peeking out from under its black folds.
Somehow this contented Lia greatly. She sat down on the sand and took to taking her shoes off. She stretched her legs out to let her bare feet rest in the cool water that gently laped back and forth around them. Resting her weight back on her hands, Lia let her head sag back to face the sky above. She tried to simply enjoy the moment, but couldn't stop the growing feeling of guilt...guilt knowing that her brother...'No. Don't go there...Ther would be the last person in the world to begrudge you this. Enjoy it for him...'
It took all her focus to keep her face smooth of her inner turmoil. She could already feel a new wave of tears starting to well up from underneath her closed eyelids. Though, this time, Lia seemed to be able to hold them off.
Akon takes a deep breath and her shoulders seem to ease as well. One couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed under the shade of her hood, but she did seem at least resting. She let her water flask rest against her thigh, and leaned her head against the tree stump, ears still keen on any sounds to be heard, allowing the Ixifar to seemingly rest as well.
Meanwhile, Gaius is fluttering to and fro in the woods, picking through the plants, scrounging for whatever pieces of mana he can find. Satisfied with his current day's work, he gathers up his pouch, slings it over his back and flies off over the lake, back towards his home. As he crosses the lake, he looks down and notices three figures appearing to nap on the lake shore. He swoops down to hover just above the water, waves frantically and shouts, "Greetings friends!"
He flits quickly over next to Lia and pokes her a few times with his finger.
Lia had heard the fluttering of the fae's wings long before Gaius called over to them. She peeped her eye open just a bit at the excited monk and sighed a bit. She was shifting her weight so that she could wave back when he apparently zoomed over and took to poking her. The Ixifar flintched back and looked up at her energenic acquaintance. Despite being mildly annoyed by the random interuption, she appreciated the distraction from her troubled thoughts.
"Hey there Gaius. It's been a while."
Lia smirked a bit. The fairy-monk's joy was slightly infectious. "No not hurt. Des and I needed to take care of a couple of things is all. And yeah, I've heard. Blood drinkers again, huh? I had hoped they were a non-issue when I left." The Ixifar glances back at the resting uordeq. "Though, I've heard very otherwise...Glad to see you weathered pretty well."
"Oh! Okay! Well, I'm glad that you two are back safely. If you guys ever need help with something, be sure to let me know. I'm quite handy to have around, you know." Gaius chuckles to himself at his little joke.
"But yes, the blooddrinkers. They uh... they're not very nice. We should probably do what we can to rid ourselves of their presence. They have our endless supply of alcohol! They took it! And they took Kirell too! Probably to drink his blood in an attempt to gain dragon powers or something..."
Gaius frowns a bit. "Hmmm... yeah. They took him before we all went to that ambush site. Part of the reason town left in such a hurry, I suspect. But the whole thing ended up being a trap, and we didn't even catch a glimpse of him. We talked to one of the Blooddrinkers for a while, but he just went on and on about how he wanted Thalenir to join them or something. At any rate, he pretty much promised us a visit from Bit himself if we didn't comply. And of course... we never comply with anything, so I expect a way to open itself up to us soon in the form of a personal visit from the Blooddrinker's leader. Honestly, I don't think any of us have any clue where they took Kirell, so we haven't launched an expidition yet." Gaius finishes talking, pauses for a moment, and then smiles brightly.
"But it'll be fine, I'm sure!"
"Tch...is that before or after he annoys them to death with that bloody book of his?" She mutters to herself in response. Lia stands up and dusts the sand from her legs and rump, and finishes by clapping her hands free of the tiny particles. "Well...From what I've seen of the bard, I'm sure he can handle himself well enough. Plus, the drinkers don't seem to make it normal practice to capture people. So I doubt they'd take him only to kill him. He's bound to be alive." Lia added in an attempt to be encouraging.
Gaius smiles. "Ha, yes. Tough fellow. I'm sure they only took him to do weird experiments on him and his blood, so yes, he's almost definitely alive for now."
Gaius hops up and flutters in the air in front of Lia. "Well, do let me know if there's anything I can help you guys with, but I've got some stuff to drop off at home real quick."
"Heh, alright. Good seeing you again." Lia smirks and waves goodbye to the fairy as he flutters off. She watches him disappear into the line of trees, her face carrying a note of solemn seriousness. Yeah, she..no both her and Des needed help. All that they could get. But Lia could see that her concerns were at least less pressing to the denizens of Jastrey, if not a lot smaller. She was just an Ixifar, made slave, made assassin. Certainly no one of consequence. She would do more than earn her keep around this town of adventurers, she would earn her right to ask their help.
Lia turned towards Akon and Desiderio. "You guys keep relaxing, but I think I'm gonna go ahead up into town myself." She started to pick up her damp pack and her checked her scimitar before sheathing it at her back.
Lia paused after Akon's mention of the ritual. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath to calm the swirl of nerves that it brought. Her eyes flicked over towards Des to see his reaction, then back to the warlock. She had to clench her hands to keep them from trembling. "I...I see...well, it seems like there are serious times over town. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to finish your preparations while things settle down..."
Akon slowly rises, still silent, but lethargic. "I'm not worried about the ritual itself..I'm worried of what will become of it. Particularly with Desiderio's situation." Akon let her water flask hang at her hip again as she stood. "Possession isn't a trifling matter, particularly when we do not know what is possessing him. But, I've been making the proper preparations needed to ensure the greatest chances of his freedom...and his survival." Akon began to walk with them back towards town. "And yours."
She waited for the Ixifar to walk along with her. "Besides, when is there not chaos and disaster in Jastrey? You should know by now such a pinicle of fate will always be an epicenter of tribulation."
Lia walking side-by-side with Akon, smirked a bit. "You almost make it sound like a good thing...such eloquant words for such a trouble-wrought town. But either way...I'd be lying if I said I didn't have concerns of what will result...but too...I..." She trailed off. The idea of going through the ritual Akon proposed, at first excited her with a glimmer of hope and freedom. Though, as the days wore on and she had more time to mull over what all it would entail, she was terrified. In her silence, Lia turned her head away from Akon to where her eyes watched the ground roll by as they walked.
Akon stopped and waited for Des, watching him quietly. "I shall do my best to ensure you both survive and with reasonable wellbeing." Replied the warlock, reading the Ixifarian woman's concerns in the tones of her voice, knowing Lia was on edge about the whole ordeal.
Des could barely sleep through the night, hearing Lia struggling within her dream. What were these dreams about? He could only assume the worst. But he still needed the rest so he remained still with his eyes closed, and ears and nose alert to their surroundings.
Then he drifted off, but what seemed like a second later his eyes shot open to the light of daybreak. Woken up by Lia as she was shaken awake. He still remained as he were, lain across his sleeping area, back towards her, and waited a while longer. It would probably make her feel worst to know that her restlessness was giving him a bit of trouble too.
He watches quietly as she sneaks off to find the creek. Then sits up and stretches his limbs and body before he hears the familiar sound of her trying to fight the emotions she is overcome by. To this he couldn't help it anymore, and started to walk toward her. He stops at a few steps away and very concerned, asks, "Still having those dreams again huh?"