Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 12: *This Title has been stolen*

[Inactive Account]

"Thought so." Tanair reached down and held Tessa's head in her hands, removing Helenos' influence in an instant. "No-good ruffian's been infecting humans with her taint again..."

She stood up, twirling about to face the headmaster. "How now, spirit? Whither wander you? I live here," she explained, even though it barely answered the question. She'd been standing in the same spot for a few minutes now: flowers began to pop up.

"What did she do?" Arrin asked worriedly as Tanair let go of Tessa's head. "Tessa?!"

[Snike]

Eric

OOC: Out of earshot of everyone else.

"Milady," Eric said, crouching down to her eye level. "This is not court. You're allowed to cry, you know." Producing a handkerchief he had acquired at Damian's manor, he offered it to her. "If it makes any difference, the last words the queen spoke to me were to protect you, should I come upon you, Princess."

[Snowy_One]

"I mean... You're skin is darker than normal. Why is that?" asked the Headmaster. "Normal people have a whitesh-tan look. Why are you so... dark?"

---

Many miles away

It had been a boring day for Helenos. With the Headmaster spooked and her sleeper agent in place, she was in a unique position of dominance over the party. Not only did she have a bearing on them, but the headmaster was out of her place of power! The tome didn't matter to her one bit. Water smater. What mattered was that the one nexus that could resist her was in a position where she could easily win. A popular saying when she had been a babe was 'make it so that every path leads to victory' and she had done just that. With her sleeper, she could assault at any time. With the headmaster out of power, even if she somehow failed, TISME wouldn't know, and the HM was one of the few who could even feasibly visit the goddess. Not that it mattered, but alerted deities had a nasty habit of intervention. If her sleeper somehow failed, the group was growing stronger, so she could bring more of her might down on them. If they ever got into trouble, she could even activate it early to spare them and their delicious weapons! All paths lead to victory indeed!

Then, whilst in her human form upon a island beach, she decided to stretch herself out to soak up the rays until the group was in a better position.

"Thought so"

The voice rang clear inside Helenos's head as she lay upon the sandy beach, her clothes lying under her in a makeshift bed. With a bolt, the woman sat upright. Was it possible? After all these years and all this time? Could she be alive? A second later, the dark dragon received the confirmation she needed in the form of her sleeper suddenly going silent. A worried look crossed her face. No longer did all the paths lead to victory. Another player was in the game.

[Balcerzak]

The woman had reached down, and taken Tessa's head into her hand, palms covering her ears, and fingers reaching up toward her chin. She'd made mention of something vaguely disconcerting, and Tessa echoed the worrisome remark curiously "Infected...?"

She had no idea what was meant by that, but apparently the dark-skinned woman had satisfied herself, lowering Tessa's head back to its previous position, and moving to other matters. The troubadour couldn't sense anything different about herself, but clearly something must have changed...?

"Calm down, Arrin," she hushed the mage who had suddenly gotten excitable. "I'm fine. I don't even know that she did anything. She didn't really answer the questions either though..."

Pushing herself up on her elbows, then into a sitting position, Tessa looked around. The grass where she was laying looked distinctly more vibrant than it had before, and... was that a flower? Was this woman pushing up daisies?

Curious, she tentatively reached out to touch the woman's foot.

[the_whistler]

Walking past them, the dragon in the form of a tall woman leapt up the stairs, returning to the surface. "So this dragon might even confront Helenos herself, if we're lucky," Heinz mused. A extra large meat shield that can attack too, all for free he thought wryly. Seeing as there seemed to be nothing else to do now, Heinz followed the dragon up the stairs.

In an unknown town far far away from the dragon graveyard:

The merchant had finally arrived back in town after days of traveling. Selling some of his wares and buying new goods to sell at inflated prices later on, overall the man was pleased with how well his business was going. Creating ties with the underworld was difficult and problematic at times, but it always paid off, like this time. He had included the scroll the knife wielding mercenary had given him in the package to be sent off to the grey eyed man, along with a recipt including a 25% fee surcharge for protection of the scroll. The merchant leaned back comfortably. Double charging people for item protection is one of the best ways to earn money, he thought, smiling happily.

Reading the scroll, the grey eyed man smiled thinly. "So he's managed to join their group? Not bad for a simple mercenary." Jotting down a note, he called another man into the room.

"Gather up a few expendable men to track down the Crimson Weapon group. According to this report, they were in Halton heading along the northeast route. This group is disorganized and consists of about twenty people or so. Your orders are to fight to kill, and capture the wielders if possible. Make sure you kill as many as you can," the grey eyed man instructed.

The other man was hooded and cloaked; nothing of his face could be seen in the dim light besides the long scar that cut across the right side of his chin. He nodded, understanding the intent behind the cold, pale eyes that stared back at him. "I'll start hiring once I'm in Halton," turning his back and heading towards the door. Pausing slightly, he asked, "What about the spy, should anything be done about him?"

The grey eyed man thought for a second. "Attack all of them, if he survives you can pay him part of the sum," taking out a small bag of gold from his coat and tossing it at the man. After the man left, the grey eyed man opened the scroll and reread the contents again. "Let the games begin," he said with a sneer.

OOC: Anyone can talk to Heinz if they want, the enemies will be statted once I PM them and if Snowy approves.

[Dark Sage]

He shook his head, attempting to clear it. He was still kind of groggy but otherwise fine. Well, except for the belly wound.

"Hey Esphyr? Are you ready to bandage my stomach?"

[Psych]

Berry gave two slow knocks on the door. "Madame...we've returned. And we picked up your favorite Jerdonian chocolates and Septimus fruits....."

[Snowy_One]

"Sure." said Esphyr, roll of bandages in hand. The newcomer, though interesting, was not the focus of the mercenary at the moment. "Would you like to go some place secluded, or are you fine baring your chest to all the men here?" she asked, a giggle in her voice at a mockery of his earlier question.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte took the hankerchief and then buried herself in Eric's now accessible shoulder. She threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly, allowing herself to cry.

[Dark Sage]

"What's wrong with my chest expos- ah. Ah ha," he chuckled, realizing what she meant about before.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Dark Sage

[Inactive Account]

"Why are you all over pale and green and wings?" Tanair countered. "I just am. You were born your way, Tanair was born hers." She spun around, tangled hair flying out behind, stretching out her senses to find the nearest concentration of taint. "Helenos is off... that way, isn't she?" she said, pointing to the two most concentrated spots, both in opposing directions. She looked down at her crossed arms. "...Drat," she remarked. She skipped over to where most of the horses stood: they stared, alert, but not about to run. "You can't tell," she stated matter-of-factly, and spun off towards the wyverns.

Standing between Kiev and Krinkov, she put a hand on each wyvern's muzzle. "Silly little cousins, do you remember where Helenos was?" she asked them.

OOC: Either the wyverns understand her and she understands whatever they squawk, or she's crazy. I don't quite care either way; Phoenix, you decide something.

[Snowy_One]

Esphyr gave him a slight shove on the shoulder, a tad friendly, to show the jest in the comment. Then, she reached down on Alf, grabbing the hem of his shirt to lift it up. "You sure you don't want privacy now?" she asked one last time before lifting it up. A second later, a sharp intake of breath came from Esphyr. "This is nasty. The flesh is inflamed. You have an infection, but I'm not sure if it's minor or serious. I may be able to handle a minor with some simple clearing, but if it's serious."

"So you can point in two opposing directions, either of which she might be at?" asked the headmaster. "At that rate, I might as well try to see her mana network; not that I can mind you. Too far away."

[Phoenix]

OOC: Time to do more funny :3

Everyone

Irina: She's talking to the wyverns?

Kiev hearing Helenos mentioned was reminded of the scar on his hide. He nearly trembled, but thought back to the last time he saw the dragon. He kept picturing the swamp in Elyisima. That was all he could remember. He yalped it out to the dragon hoping she would understand. Krinkov gave the dragon a blank stare. She looked human, but smelled more like him. What the hell was this person? Perhaps Kiev mistook Katie for this creature? Not sure what to make of her, he waited to see what she would do with her hand which was placed on a spot he didn't much care for. Anyone else would be missing their hand but she wasn't just another being and he could tell.

[Dark Sage]

"I'll be fine here. It's not like we're going to do anything bad. And if you can't heal the infection, maybe we can ask for a bit of help from the headmaster or something."

[Snowy_One]

"The headmaster is part wind spirit. She probably can't do squat about healing." said Esphyr. "Either way, this doesn't look too bad, but it's going to hurt when I touch it." she said before reaching out and flicking the inflamed flesh.

[Dark Sage]

He gritted his teeth and inhaled, preparing himself for the pain.

[Inactive Account]

"Thank you, dear," Tanair told Kiev after the young wyvern gave her a hint. She leaned her forehead against his for a moment, then nodded to Krinkov. Turning to Tessa, she added, "They're just my feet, nothing special." She twirled around to face north, the way to Elyisima. "If anyone sees my idiot little sister, tell her Tanair told her to behave and is sore displeased," she informed the group before breaking into a galloping run across the countryside, hair and skirt flying behind her. Only the group's dumbfounded expressions and the trail of extra greenery gave evidence to the fact that she'd been there at all.

"...Was that a dragon?!" Arrin breathed in wonderment as Tanair disappeared into the distance.

Kelas was staring too, dropping the arrow from her bowstring. "...Tani-zin?!" she murmured after the dragon.

[Psych]

Berry moved closer to Helenos in her bed. She made sure to keep her distance, but took a step forward.

"Madame......mistress? Are you sleeping? We returned and we brought a gift...but we have some bad news...."

[Snowy_One]

With a gentle hand, Esphyr slowly brought the cloth around Alf's chest. After completing a single loop, she started to carefully remove the scab to try and clean the wound. That would be painful as dried blood was peeled away from the hot flesh.

---

A nuisance. The three sisters, none of which Helenos cared for, had failed a mission. Despite the sudden shock of her sisters return and the disruption of her sunbathing, the dark dragon was more than smart enough to keep her temperament in check. "My dears." she started, keeping her voice cool and even as she turned to them. "You have a gift for me? Tell me of it. You know there is no such thing as bad news as well. No such thing, not when my hand is in play. So tell me, what gift and information do you bring?"

[Psych]

"We-we brought you your favorite dishes back! And we actually had quite an easy time. We got rid of about half the group and were this close to nabbing the mages. One was already unconscious in fact! Only a few more skeletons.....But anyway back to the point. We had everything under control when that idiot Shanice and his two girlfriends showed up. He was about to take the wind tome, when that headmaster tried to attack us. We tried to help him, but he just warped away! He didn't even help us fight! He'll pay madame! But trust me! Next time that headmaster won't be with them, and we will finish them off."

[Dark Sage]

"Ow. Ow. Ooh." He tried to stay as still as possible while Esphyr was doing this or it would hurt even more.

"Thanks for doing (ow) this Esphyr."

[Snowy_One]

"You idiot trollups! She will be with them! She better be with them!" hissed Helenos. She raised her hand as if to strike Berry, but chose to with-hold her wrath. "Tell me Berry, have you ever played chess before? Every piece has it's value and place. From the lowly pawn to the mighty queen. Every piece is needed. It's best to end the game with as many pieces as possible, but it is also foolish to let your opponent keep valuable pieces. Sometimes, for the good of the team, a piece must be sacrificed. Even if it's just to stop a lowly pawn. Why? Because when a pawn gets through, it can turn into a queen." she said coyly, turning to look out over the water, her feet kneading the discarded brassier from her sunbathing. "So tell me Berry, what mistake did you make? Was it in failing to bring me weapons... or was it... maybe... LETTING A GODDESS DAMNED PAWN THROUGH?!" shouted Helenos, whirling around. In her hand was a pile of sand which she hurled at the shadow siren in rage.

"My sister is awake! She's awake and you were sitting right on top of her during your little fight! If you had scouted your terrain, you might have found her and tried to lure them away from her! Instead, you let them through! The headmaster is a worthless bishop in the game. She's powerful on her black squares, but weak when we're mainly on white! If she shifts, if she returns to her place of power, then she can bring in Kaileen or will seek out the Goddess herself! When that happens, people will realize what I have done to bind their deity and we all risk losing!"

Taking a sigh, she stepped back. "But you have value; more than you know. Here's what you will do. Give them time to rest, time to recuperate, time for the distance between my sister and them to grow. Then attack them again. I don't care if you capture one or not, though that may be wise. As soon as they attack, retreat and leave obvious clues as to your path... Your path away from Kaileen and TISME. Fight, fade, lure. Keep it up for as long as possible. Oh... And no more large-scale military actions. You almost destroyed my prize with those skeletons and spiders. Understand Merry? There are some cool coconut coolers for you three to sip somewhere on this island, likely in need of stealing. Enjoy yourselves for a time, then do as I command."

---

"Don't mention it." said Esphyr, removing some more of the scab carefully to clean out some dirt as she wrapped the bandages down. "We're both mercs, it makes sense. Preserve your allies. Sides, us mercs need to stick together always. It's a simple fact of life. You and me, we're co-workers. Farmers on the same field. And... And I've... Whoa... I never thought I would be so friendly. I've changed a lot these two weeks it seems."

[Dark Sage]

"Well I slipped up a bit with my own secrets, though it's been kept hush hush," he said glancing at Reika.

"So anyway, tell me about yourself (ouch). Where are you from?"

[Snowy_One]

OOC: Sorry. I'm sleepy and going to bed after this post.

IC: "There's not much to tell." started Esphyr. "I was born in Ilyphina and at age eight... My parents and I relocated to Vaorin, a ruined nation just outside Elyisima. At age twelve I took up my first job, and have kept at it ever since. At first I didn't take merc jobs. Worked doing odds and ends until I was fifteen. At that time, my body was at its limit and couldn't take all the backbreaking work I was doing. I collapsed in the streets. When I woke up, I became a merc, grudgingly. I even made a minor name for myself. The Crimson Serph."

Edited July 12, 2010 by Snowy_One

[Dark Sage]

OOC: Isn't it called Vaoris?

"Huh. You're from Vaorin? That's where I was born. Well, I lived in the mountains for 10 years before moving down and I had no money, no family, and nobody would hire me, so, well, I had to get a bit dirty to survive."

Edited July 12, 2010 by Dark Sage