Lore: Searching the City

[Soran Nightblade]

Original Thread started by Nightmare on April 22nd, 2005

Nightmare:

At the city of Aroes, while training in his room, Nightmare recieved a letter from the Queen telling him that there where spies, disguised as peasents and merchants hiding in the village of Ishtass. The letter told him to personally go and not only find out if the report's where true but to kill any of the spies as well.

After gathering a few supplies he put his armour on and left immediatly. When he finally arrived he had a squire get him a room in the inn while he went to search for the spies.

As he was walking down an aleyway he heard a voice behind him say "You won't find them here. They've already gone." He turned around to see who it was speaking to him but found there was no one there. Again from behind him a voice said "There are however creatures here wich would seek to kill you."

He tried to find the person speaking to him but could not. He then gave up the search seeing there was a dead end and left the alley. As he was leaving he saw someone lurking in the shadow's. When Nightmare looked at the figure it fled. Nightmare began to follow immediatley.

Emora:

How interesting! Grace thought with soft giggle. Her eyes drifted to the figures and she noticed she had been spotted. So sad, she was truly interested in the conversation. She covered her mouth, snikering and turned, running down the other end of the alley to get away.

When she thought she was clear she began to skip the rest of the way, the busy street up a head. Her white wavy hair bouncing behind her.

"Really!" she said and leaned against the wall with a smile. "I have had too much to drink tonight. Oh, mother thank you!"

If her mother would have never been so mean she wouldn't have ran away and she wouldn't have come to this wonderful place!

Nightmare:

As he got closer Nightmare realized that the person he was chasing was female. 'I will never chach up to her with this armour on.' He thought 'I had better fly.' When the girl had gotten a good distance away from him, he spread out his wing's and began flying above the roof tops.

Nightmare waited a few minutes until the girl had stopped before landing. As soon as the girl leaned against the wall he landed in front of her and drew his sword. Pointing directly at her he said "I want to know who you are."

Emora:

Grace looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Her almost white eyes regarded him for a second. "Well, aren't you a cute boy trying to play soldier! But, since you asked... I am called Grace Willows. Since we're doing introductions. Who might you be?" She gave him a wink and a flash of her pretty smile. He looked younger than herself, but he was the one holding the sword.

Nightmare:

Keeping his sword raised and ignoring Grace's answer he asked her a second question.

"Are you the one who was speaking to me in the alley?"

He expected her to say no but felt like asking anyway. Before she answred he placed his sword back in it's sheath seeing that she was unarmed.

Emora:

"I'm afriad not," she said and stood up straight with a flash of a smile. "But, if you would like me to talk to you lets go have a few drinks?" So what if he was young looking. They boy was going to drink some day, might as well start of early and on the right foot!

"I don't even know you dude, but you sound like a cool kid," she said and placed a hand on her hip. "So! People seek to distroy you? Well, I seek distroy things, but not you. Sorry to disappoint you, maybe if you get on my bad side. But, I like ya." She blew a kiss and turned to walk away.

Her dress billowed around her as she stepped into the street. Many of the Ishtass looked at her as if she were a bug. However, earlier she had proven to a few of them she was a very dangerous bug.

Nightmare:

As Grace walked away he could her the man's voice again. This time he was using telepathy.

"You should follower her. The spies are dead, but there are much worse creatures in this city. Follow her and you will know what I mean."

Without replying Nightamare began to walk behind her. Before cathing up he whispered "Looks like I'll have a little fun after all."

Emora:

Grace twirlled in the middle of the street with her arms out and her head back, a smile on her face. She turned and noticed the boy following her. "Would you like a drink, my friend?" she asked with a smile. "I know how you can get a drink without paying!"

Tilted her head downwards, her white wavy hair spilling in front of her face as she looked down at her skirt for a second. She fixed it so the slit was a bit wider than usual and she made sure her top was right. She ruffled her hair and she turned towards a bar, which was rare to have in the Ishtassy Village.

Nightmare:

Instead of answering Grace Nightmare said nothing. He simply followed her into the bar. As he looked around he could see it was smaller than the ones in Arken and there where very few people. "Looks like my men where right about this place." He said as he entered.

Emora:

Grace went to the bar and took a seat. "Two whiskies," she said with a smile and the bar tender looked at her for a moment. She crossed her legs high on the stool, the skirts slit revealing her long legs with her thigh high boots. "Please?" she asked, leaning forward with innocent looking eyes. "I'm so thirsty..." A sly smile came to her lips and the bartender looked her over, swallowed hard, and pulled out two mugs and pored the liquid into it.

"Come, my friend!" she said and motioned for him to join her.

Nightmare:

Nightmare scanned the bar for a few more seconds before sitting down. When he did he took a drink then put it back down before whispering "This taste's almost as bad as this bar looks. Oh well, it's better then nothing." Then drank a bit more before looking at Grace. As he did he was about to ask a question when a scream came from behind them. He looked back and as he did he saw one of the spies he had been searching for. The spy was covered in blood, it was a miracle he had made it inside. Nightmare drew his sword and walked up to the spy and put the blade to his throat.

"Tell me where the rest of your people are and I will ease your suffering." Almost laughing the man replied. "They are all dead, and the same creature that killed us, will burn this kingdom to the ground." When he had finished speaking Nightmare slit the man's throat. At that moment numerous screams where heard outside as almost half of the village began to burn. Inside the flames a mage cloaked in black was staring him in the eye's.

Emora:

Grace's mouth opened in a wow sort of way when she saw the knight slit the mans throat as more screams came from many places. She claped her hands together and ran outside to view the horror taking place. The great Ishtassy Village was a flame.

"How lovely!" she said and she spun around in circles, the wind began to blow feircly, stirring the flames to grow higher and higher.

Nightmare:

Even as the winds began to pick up and the flames grow stronger Nightmare could not turn his gaze from the man cloaked in black. As if in a trance, everything around him seemed to fade away. Although this took place in a matter of seconds it seemed like hours to him. Suddenly the flames ingulfed the man and he dissapeared. However, in his place two black creatures of unkown origin appeared out of nowhere. He was suddenly aware of all that was around him and he quickly turned towards Grace and said "What are doing you fool. You will kill everyone if you continue this." He did not know why but for some reason he could feel that she was the one creating the wind.

Emora:

Grace laughed, but stopped, trying to him as the last gust of wind wipped her hair to the side, hiding her face slightly. "I was only having a bit of fun!" she said over the roar of the fire. "But, if fire bothers you so bad..." She held a slender hand up and closed her fist quickly. The light from the fire died and with it the fire itself. "There, that better?"

Her pretty face had an amused smile on it as she approched him. "I found it quite funny to watch them run and scream. What beautiful music they make all at once." She gave a soft wink and her attention was drawn by the two creatures.

Nightmare:

As the fire died and the wind slowed Nightmare looked back at the creatures. They where no running towards both him and Grace. "Music" He thought. "Those are the people I should be protecting. Should I really let her get away with that?" But before he could make a decission the creature took it's first strike. He managed to block the attack with his sword and jumped out of the reach of it's second. Before the creature could attack his hand began to glow black and runes appeared on the blade of his sword. The creature charged towards him but before it could get close enough to strike Nightmare slammed the blade into the ground. The sword's blade smashed through the ground and sent a shockwave towards the creature cutting it strait down the middle.

Emora:

"Ooo..." Grace said and nodded to the move he made as she sat in mid air with her long legs crossed. "Very nice! Do you have any other tricks?"

She smiled at him, winking again like a playful school mate of his. "Do you know them?" she asked blowing a kiss towards one of the creatures. As soon as she did so he was consumed in fire. Her long white hair blew in the wind that stirred and not by her own making. She stared up at the stars for a moment and smiled. “Lovely night for a fight…” She hopped down from her seat of air and looked to the boy.

Nightmare:

After seeing both creatures where dead Nightmare sheathed his sword then looked at her and in reply to her first quistion he said "I have many more. None of which I dreamed I would ever use on Arken soil." In response to her second question he looked to the creature he had just killed and said "Never before have I encountered such creatures. What they are and where they are from is a mystery even to me." There must be somewhere I can go to find out about these creatures. Is there a library in this villiage?" As he was saying the last sentence he looked to Grace hoping she could help him.

Emora:

Grace looked at him as thousands of questions filled her mind. "I have no clue," she admitted, her eyes narrowing. "I'm sure you'd find a far better library in the citidel. I was hoping to go there for more training... Who are you again? Do you work for the Queen? Is she as beautiful as everyone says? I've heard she is the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Grace turned from him and looked the village over. "We could find a library I'm sure..." Her head turned towards him and she had a happy smile on her face, glad to have some company.

Nightmare:

Feeling a little uneasy Nightmare began to walk into the section of the villiage that was unharmed. He stopped after a few seconds and said "Names have no real meaning. But, if you must call me something. You may call me Nightmare, or any other name you can think of. Let's go. If there is a library in this villiage, let's hope it is on this side."

Emora:

Grace laughed and skipped to be in front of an Ishtassy shoulder. "Lets hope it was on this side... Excuse me sir!" she tapped the Ishtassy Soldier on the shoulder with her long finger nail. The seven foot tall soldier turned in a swift move and lifted Grace off the ground by her neck. She was so surprised she let out a yelp and then she just stared blankly.

"What?"

"I was looking for the library sir," she said and gave a look of fake innocence.

The Ishtass looked from her to Nightmare. Since the library probably had secrets to there ways it was no wonder to her when he replied, "The library is not open to outsiders," he spat and tossed her to the ground.

"How rude," Grace muttered under her breath and stood up dusting herself off. "That was very impolite..." she said and stared at his long flowing white mane, which instantly caught fire. It caused the soldier to go hysterical, and by the time h beat the fire out he was almost balled.

"Why you-"

Nightmare:

Nightmare stepped in front of Grace to stop her from killing the man then drew his sword and pointed it towards him saying "I am on a mission for Queen Shea. You will tell me where it is. If you do not. I can't promise I will be able to stop the girl again." As he waited for a reply he placed the sword to his side and moved out from in front of Grace.

"So what will it be?" He asked

Emora:

Grace looked at Nightmare and smiled as she stood up straight. The Ishtass bowed. "I am terribly sorry, if you would have only mentioned it was orders from the Queen I would have understood.... Follow me," he said and turned, pulling his hood over his head to hide the fact his long hair was almost gone. His teeth was gritted. If he had wanted to, he could have killed her.

He led them through the streets towards a large black building in the center of the village. It had large pillars and a tall staircase. "This is it..." He turned towards Nightmare. "Explain to the librarian what you need and he will find it for you..."

Nightmare:

As he intered the library he looked to Grace before speaking to the Librarian and said "Go around and look for any books you can find on extinct or ancient creatures and place them on that middle table." Then looking towards the Librarian he said "I want you to give me all of the books you have about ancient creatures. Just place them on the middle tabe. We will not be taking them with us so there is no need to check them out." When he had said this he went over to the bookshelf's and began to look on his own. After the libraian had brought to of them to the specified table he sat down and began to read them.

Emora:

Grace came walking towards the table with a mountain of books floating beside her and a couple in her arms. She placed them on the table in front of him and took a seat, propping up on her arms and staring at him. "So what are you looking for?" she asked, her voice ringing out in the silence of the library. "Trying to find out what the creatures were? If they were evil wouldn't they be working for Shea?" One of her eyebrows raised slightly.

Nightmare:

Nightmare put the book down and looked at Grace then said "I dought it. Actually I don't think we will find anything in these books about them. At least not in great detail. At first I thought they where sent by Queen Shea. But then I remembered the mage that was there before. I think he must have created them....Somehow. He may have used dark magic to do this. I have heard of stories about ancient warlocks attempting to do this. The only problem is they all failed. What if this mage succeded? Would it be possible for him to create even more powerful creatures?"

Emora:

Grace looked at him and leaned forward. "But, even more importantly! What was he doing? What is he after? And who is he? And why am I helping you?" She laughed and patted Nightmare on the shoulder. "This is all very interesting, my friend."

She opened a book and flipped through the pages. She saw many different pictures. One was a picture of a woman surrounded by fire. She was nude and her eyes were closed. She was in a position as if she were dancing in it. "How pretty!"

Nightmare:

Nightmare was reading one of the last books when he finaly found something. "I don't know if this is much but look here." He said placing the book on the table and turning it towards Grace. He then pointed to a picture of a black creature with four legs. It was exactly like the one's they had killed earlier. "It say's here that these creatures are created with black magic. According to this only one mage has ever succeded in creating them but he dissapeared after destroying an ancient city. The rest of the page is to faded to read."

Emora:

Grace looked from him to the book. "I still have no idea why we're even looking into this... Or why I'm helping you for that matter. But, like I said... I haven't got anything else to do... So you know him? He must be a very gifted fire mage... All that fire was simply beautiful."

Her bright almost white eyes looked at him and then back at the book. "What do we do now?" she asked as her attention returned to the picture of the woman in fire.

Nightmare:

Nightmare looked to Grace realizing she wasn't paying much attention and said. "Now that we know what to look for we can go to Arroes. The library there is much bigger. We should be able to find a lot of information there."

Emora:

Grace looked at him and smiled brightly. "We?! Your taking me along as well! Oh, how wonderful!" she put her hands together as the librarian looked at her with a finger over his lips and all she did was grin back at him. "How sweet!" She winked at him and closed the book up. While the librarian wasn't looking she slipped the book into her bag, looking back at Nightmare and smiling. "Its a spell book... I could learn from it... Shhh...."

Nightmare:

Nightmare stood up and walked out the door. Hoping the librarian would not notice she took the book. When they where safely out he turned to Grace and said "You know you can't go around stealing everything you want. I am supposed to be protecting these people from theives"

Emora:

"Don't worry, I only steal what I need," she said and looked at him before walking passed him. "Besides," she turned towards him and held out her arms. "Shea doesn't care about these people or whether there robbed! She loves death, demons, monsters, darkness.... Anything evil. These people could all die from a plague and all she would do is laugh and tell someone to clean up after it. Maybe not even clean up." She smiled at him. "Are you sure your working for the right Queen?"

"Sinead cares about her people. She protects them," she said and smiled cruly. "That's why I think Shea is the stronger Queen. She doesn't let a foolish weakness like caring get in her way!"

Nightmare:

"Your right, only I would be the one cleaning up." He said then turned in the direction of Arroes. "Besides I'm not realy doing this for her. It'l just makes a good excuse when she yells at me for being late."

Emora:

Grace went and met up with him. "Your pretty tought for a kid," she said with a grin. "You must have had a hard life, no?" she asked, her long white hair rustling in a gentle breeze that brought the smell of burt wood from the direction from which the fire had started.