The Gatekeeper — Legacy Forums

Re: The Gatekeeper

#41

A great many things flashed through Kali’s mind. Memories, all bad … horrific was perhaps a better word. The church … the light … an evil that could not be evil because it belonged to that light … a good that could not be good because it belonged in darkness. She masked the turmoil within her, her eyes becoming fathomless pools that seemed to glow in the dim light. The razor sharp focus of Sarminglion reaching for her telepathically snapped her back to the here and now. The cold within him grew deeper with her distress … she could feel his temper testing the leash of his control.

She took a careful breath, absently twisting the cup atop the table. “Do they know which warlock?” she asked very softly. “Specifically beguiled by me, or by some nameless, faceless warlock?”

Were she not already fair as a winter’s dream she would have gone deathly pale at the merest suggestion that the church, and therefore a relative she’d rather not see again, knew how to find her.

Re: The Gatekeeper

#42

Dolgin looked at his friend with a questioning glance. The Church has spies everywhere. I did nae tell the Questioners your name. I assume however, they know of ye in particular." A cold glint came into his eye as his thoughts progressed, "Have ye been threatened?"

There were two people that Dolgin would kill anyone to protect, priestly vows or not, and they were both in this tavern...

Re: The Gatekeeper

#43

Sarminglion shifted atop the roof of the tavern … something in the air had him on edge. Something more than the scent of blood, than the remnants of a binding spell gone awry – he stretched his ebon wings to their full span, restless. He could feel Kali’s spikes of fear and they only served to sharpen his temper, the cold within him beginning to chill the air around him. He did, in fact, remember the state she had been in when he’d taken her from the church. He did remember what those wretched humans had done to his pet. A natural warlock … one that had summoned demons as playmates as a mere toddler. Summoned, not bound – she had intrigued them, the darkness in her singing to them in ways mortals never had before. She forged a link between the worlds with her very existence.

Turning away from his dark reverie, he turned his focus to the tavern and what was going on within, using his bond with Kali to listen to the conversation she was having with the only priest she’d ever called friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kali laughed softly. “Threatened? No, not recently my darling Dolgin. It doesn’t mean that the church won’t decide to purge the world of yet another warlock just for giggles. It does fascinate me, though, the hypocrisy of hiring warlocks to do their dirty work. I imagine it then give the church ample justification to purge that particular sect when they are done using them.”

She didn’t mention that she’s spent the majority of the last few months away from prying eyes to avoid being threatened at all. Something had been bothering her, just outside her sense, just enough to make her wary of people in general. Something that had kept her in dark seclusion with only her demons for company – better her demons than her relatives. It would seem that something had touched Dolgin. She feared, greatly, that the Archbishop was using her dwarven friend to flush her out. But. He was a friend, one of very few true friends, and she wouldn’t leave him to deal with Benedict’s brand of cruelty alone.

“What do you plan to do?”

Re: The Gatekeeper

#44

Aithne and Cullen stepped out of the Shadow, into the darkest hours of the night, before dawn has started to make itself known, onto the road far out of sight of the town. The world looked so peaceful in the starlight. Nightbirds sent out their calls and a firefly sparked here and there. How deceptive. As she stood in the darkness, rubbing Cullen's ears, she tried once again to form a coherent pattern out of the shards she had: the attack on Shandriel, the hideous spellform and it's evil result, even Cai's surprise visit. She knew they must all fit together somehow, but for now she had to accept she simply had too few pieces for the puzzle to have a shape.

She spoke softly to Cullen, reminding him that many people were made nervous by extremely large creatures with very sharp teeth and claws, no matter how sweet and well-mannered the creatures were. Cullen looked at her with his great golden eyes full of sympathy for such ignorant people. At the same time his form began to shrink, his claws withdrew into his small, soft paws and his fangs no longer were visible. Aithne picked up her golden cat and tucked him into the Bag.

A short walk brought them to the doors of the Gryphon's Roost. Aithne looked around. Something felt wrong. There was a shape on the roof. No...more a hint, a thought of a shape. Even her trained eyes could not bring it into focus, but there was a something there that felt vaguely of demons. Strange it didn't feel more threatening.

She entered the inn. Stepping from the night into the inn Aithne was blinded for an instant. The interior of the inn was a patchwork of dark recesses and bright flame-lit islands and her eyes were not yet adjusted. Even in her semi-blindness she could see red-glowing swirls of demon-energy surrounding one shape. Again, so strange. Demon-energy, but the shape was no demon. Again she felt no threat. As her eyes became adjusted she discovered the not-a-demon was at the table with Dolgin in one of the darker areas. She also noted with a smile that the not-a-demon was quite beautiful. Dolgin had interesting friends. There were other threads in the air that suggested he might also have some interesting enemies.

"Cullen", she whispered, "I believe this is going to be a very educational journey." She smiled and began to make her way to Dolgin. No one who watched her noticed the cat head poking out of the Bag, or that two of the runes on the front of the Bag had unaccountably taken on the appearance of two deep green eyes, or even that Aithne appeared to have two shadows.

Re: The Gatekeeper

#45

Almost no one noticed the two shadows following Aithne. Rayne gasped as Fu stood stock still, hackles raised. The dog, that was much more than a mere dog, sprinted across the street in a blur of motion.

"Fu!" If the dog heard his companion he showed no sign. Instead of slowing he leapt at the stout oak door of the Gyphon, crashing through the wooden planks like kindling. Startled tavern patrons recoiled from the explosion of wood. The growling canine flew through the air toward Aithne. A gold luminosity shone from it's eyes with the brightness of a torch.

There was a silver flash, faster than the human eye could follow sparks flew and Fu crashed to the tavern floor heavily. He rolled and leapt at a shadow that danced on the edge of vision. Misty and insubstantial, Xeo faded to Shadow. The small muscular dog passed thru, crashing into a table leg and upending the contents. Xeo solidified and swung the silver blur towards Fu. The dog stood up on hind legs to evade and, amazingly ran towards Xeo swinging his front paws like a man would his fists.

One of the onlookers promptly poured his beer on the floor and vowed never to touch alcohol again.

Re: The Gatekeeper

#46

The score or so of onlookers in the tavern were rapt by the dazzling and mysterious display by the two diminutive combatants. Dolgin nearly lost himself as well, with nearly disastrous results.

The dwarf threw the entire bulk of his stocky frame at Kali, knocking her backwards out of her chair with a snap of breaking wooden legs. The two landed on the floor in a heap as Rayne, standing silhouetted in the tavern doorway, leveled his crossbow for a second shot. The first one had passed through the cowl of Kali's cloak as she had been violently thrown to the floor by Dolgin's tackle, scant inches from her head.

The priest's hammer spun into his hand seemingly of its own volition. He rose it as the second quarrel streaked from from Rayne's crossbow. Instead of finding it's target, Kali's head, it was blocked by the hammer, sending forth an arc of electrical energy that ran the length of the hammer and into Dolgin.

After some very unpriestly oaths, Dolgin uttered a prayer and kissed the head of the hammer. Then he hurled it at the demon hunter from his position on the floor. The hammer hummed towards Rayne and struck him in the chest with the sound of thunder. The impact knocked Rayne backwards out of the tavern and across the road where he struck the wall about five feet off the ground breaking mortar and cracking bricks.

When the dust settled Rayne, amazingly slowly stood and drew two long swords. He tilted his neck until his neck cracked and slowly began walking back towards the tavern, smile on his face. This might just be more of a challenge than he thought...

Re: The Gatekeeper

#47

The gate opened without warning, close to the ceiling of the room, instantly filling the room with water. The door burst outward off its hinges and the two windows crashed outward. Salko fell to the center of the room flopping like a landed fish, spitting out water and gasping for air. The bed and other furnishings in the room were instantly saturated and the roar of water turned into the whoosh of water quickly leaving the room.
Salko retched; violently, vomiting dirty water onto the already soaked floor. He staggered to his feet, eyes wild, heart racing.
No sign of Heckler.
With his heart starting to slow from a wild gallop to it’s normal canter he looked about beginning to wonder where he had ended up…

Re: The Gatekeeper

#48

So quickly did the eruption take place that Aithne was not yet halfway into the room, her eyes still not fully adjusted, when chaos broke out. She stopped. Confused, she swirled around, squinting her eyes to better make sense of the blurs fighting behind her. Strengthened by the eyes of the Bag, she was just beginning to discern a dimly familiar shape when a movement in the Bag made her aware that the situation was about to become more complicated.

"Don't you dare!", she whispered, pushing a frantic Cullen deeper into the Bag. "For the love of the Lady, BEHAVE." Hard as it might be to draw more attention to their little group, a full sized, armor plated Cullin just might be able to do it. Xeo's silver form shone clear for an instant. She might have known! She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming, knowing the futility of attempting to stop Xeo one he had engaged battle. Xeo! Why was he even here.? Oh, Cai had some answers to give.

Looking past the small combatants, she caught sight of the figure at the door. At first no more that a dark shape against a dark ground, he was suddenly wreathed in filaments of power. Blinding bright patterns. New patterns... unknown to Aithne... with a power that almost knocked he to the floor. Who was he? Who was he here for? Why was she so certain that he hunted no random prey? Where in this chaos was his focus?

She wrapped her cape tight around herself and vanished into Shadow. No eyes noticed. All were watching the dog and his almost unseen partner. She slowed her time so those around her moved as though in water. The figure at the door raised a bow. Her eyes traced the path his bolt must take. He was going to fire at Dolgin! No. Not him. The beautiful not-a-demon. This man was a demon hunter. But she was not a demon.

Even with time slowed, things moved too fast. The arrow was on it's way. She saw Dolgin throw himself at his companion, block the bolt, crash to the floor and throw his hammer. She saw the hunter carried out of the inn by the force of Dolgin's hammer, but felt no sense of relief. Cullen still struggled to join the mayhem. Xeo was still there somewhere and could be counted on to do the unexpected. Dolgin was unarmed, his friend still on the floor. Aithne moved invisibly toward the members of her party. Her back tingled with the touch of invisible tendrils. She looked over her shoulder, only to see the hunter returning to the inn.

"Xeo!", she whispered urgently, "Come help me!" Hoping that for once Xeo might do as she asked, Aithne rushed toward Dolgin.

Re: The Gatekeeper

#49

Talvaenir was speaking to him immediately whispering warnings that were nearly drowned out in the psychic scream let forth by Zaxas as soon as he touched its black hilt. Rayne's mind was buffeted by the energies of the two swords as they rushed into his body. Swirling and clashing the sought to both devour each other and control his mind and bend it to their will. Inwardly he fought a pitched battle for control while outwardly he strode resolutely toward the tavern, a sheen of sweat on his brow the only evidence of his clandestine struggle. The eldritch energy spilled out of his eyes in a frightening display. Talvaenir pulled his attention up....up...up

Energy flared from the sword as a thousand shards of ice descended upon Rayne in a blur. Zaxas was enraged and shadow erupted that was a match for Talvaenir's light. The razor shards of ice hurled by the demon were turned aside for the most part but enough got through to slice the demon hunter's clothing and open long cuts on his face. The wind from Sarminglion's wings pushed light and shadow away as he reached for Rayne's swords with black claws as his barbed tail darted in overhead...