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RE: Dead-Moon Sky

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4/6/2022 12:09:35   
  Chewy905

Chromatic ArchKnight of RP


 Karen held her breath.

She didn’t mean to at first, but it quickly started to bother her. The pure emptiness of it all. The wild was supposed to be… well, wild. And yet there was still no life, no sound. Just tree after tree after tree stretching for hour after hour as her feet fell one after the other. So when the sound of her own breath started to grate on her weary mind, she simply stopped.

And, exhale.

As her long breath flowed out of her lungs and across her lips, the gentle gust of air made her aware of yet another oddity, yet another stillness. There was naught a single breeze to move the trees, to move the grass, to brush against her skin.

Yet, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the trees still moved.

Did they?

No, they didn’t. Her gaze locked on them, lingering for so long that she tripped over herself with her next steps and barely managed to catch herself from tumbling to the ground completely. But at least it left her certain; the trees were just as still as all else.

Karen shivered slightly, yet her form still held some of the warmth of Ember’s earlier blaze. “I don’t like this.” She whispered to no one in particular. “All this time in the woods and we’ve only ever found a single living thing. We lost someone to nothing in particular…”

The rest of her thoughts remained unspoken. The thought that they were invading somewhere. The thought that they should turn back, that at this point the risk outweighed any real gains. Voicing wouldn’t accomplish anything, she’d likely be told to turn back if she couldn’t stomach it. She took a deeper breath, and caught the new scent with it.

“Does anyone… smell venison?”

At Marietta’s question, Karen inhaled deeper, gathering the pleasant smokey scent of prepared meat. “Definitely.”

Her eyes scanned the cabin ahead, taking in the smoke from the chimney and the fire out front. As uninviting as the cabin itself seemed, there was someone in there. Karenn was sure of it.

She took a small step forward. “Anyone want to go and give it a knock? Perhaps they’re willing to share.”

She laughed lightly, but her own joke did nothing to calm her nerves. Nothing about this felt right, but it wouldn’t do to just ignore it, either.
Post #: 76
4/17/2022 21:50:09   
Apocalypse
Member

“But do try to contain yourself. We should not burn down the woods we were paid to investigate, no matter how much simpler it may be.”

“Of course,” Ember replied with a slight curtsy, a mask of meekness hiding the malice within. No one else managed to lift a finger to help Yondrin - or for that matter, even tried. Yet blame found its way to the tiefling. Should the tragedies continue unabated, Ember had no doubt which of the party’s members would be the first up on the chopping block.

The dancer raised her eyes back to Karen with all the innocence of a newborn babe. “I am not home in woods such as these - in the future, I shall be sure to restrain myself.” She smiled softly. And should the night come for you next, I shall be sure to ask it sweetly not to rend you inside out.

With a slight nod to Marietta’s command, the sorceress turned away from Karen and towards the burning tree. A gentle wave of her hand reduced the iridescent flames to ash and smoke. She made it seem effortless even as her upper arm cramped up from the exertion; no benefit from showing weakness in front of this crowd. Without any further words, Ember packed away her belongings, though her eyes never left the suffocating darkness surrounding them for long.




Above them the silver eye of the ceaseless watcher remained relentless in its observation.

They must have marched for hours, yet the night refused to budge in its cycle. All the while Ember made sure not to draw more attention to herself - nothing the others could use as ammunition against her. Occasionally she rubbed her cramped arm, but the dancer always made sure to give a timid look up to the sky when she did. If the party could hold any empathy for a dancer trapped in a forest of eternal night, she would be sure to extract every drop of it.

That being said, Ember her fainthearted facade rang truer than she would have liked.

Marietta looked over her shoulder at the motley crew. “Does anyone…smell venison?”

As if on cue, a savory scent drifted over Ember. She sniffed and gave a quick nod to affirm. Other lost travelers trying to weather out the night? Perhaps a noble’s caravan? Ember kept these conjectures to herself, not eager to invite any more ire from her companions. She was soon proved wrong as the source of the smell came into view. Before the party stood a log cabin, smoke billowing from its chimney and a haunch of meat cooking on a fire outside. Its windows and doors were either sealed or pulled shut, indicating none remained indoors. Ember stepped toward the haunch of venison, its meat nearly cooked to perfection. What would cause someone to abandon such a luxury?

Behind her, Karen gave a small laugh at her own joke. Helpful by accident, or just trying to keep yourself safe?

“Good idea,” Ember said as she stepped forward. “Only sign of life we’ve seen since the wolf - and a local may have more information about what has fallen upon these woods. At the very least, their absence may grant a clue.”

The dancer turned to Marietta and after getting her approval, approached the door. Catching the ranger knock an arrow from the corner of her eye, Ember stopped short. “I would suggest putting away the bow - threat of violence will only incur violence.” And I’m the one in harm’s way.

Turning back to the door, the tiefling knocked twice sharply. “Good evening! We do not wish to impose, but we are here on the orders of Baron Terex. We simply wish to gleam any insight you might have on the forest’s current circumstances. Might you come out so we can speak face to face?”

Ember waited for an answer, hoping whoever answered the door was more amicable to tieflings than the rest of the party.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 77
6/2/2022 18:25:23   
superjars
Member

The elf could barely feel anything around him, his magic dissipating until stillness surrounded him. Everything shrunk around him until all he could hear was his panicked breathing. In, out. In, out. His eyes widened, and he struggled to contain the fear that threatened to consume him, rendering him a gibbering fool.

"…Salindrel, Karen, you'll be watching our flanks again today..." dragged him out of himself as Marietta gave them orders and a timetable. The druid latched onto that command to yank him back from the brink, moving woodenly to collect his things, ignite his magic, and head into the trees of the group's right flank.

A task was what he needed, something to distract him from the horrors he could feel within the forest. Typically, he would have connected with the surrounding trees, but here he felt only death. Silence. Nothingness. But focusing on searching for threats gave him a purpose and grounded him in the group.

Salindrel reached out with his senses toward each of those who remained. Ember, who he had perhaps misjudged but could still barely read or understand. Marietta, whose position he did not envy, but for who he hoped he could be reliable. Karen, traveling at the opposite flank, a stalwart in her work, someone he could relate to, at least a little. And finally, Luca, who seemed as brutal and violent as any creature he had previously encountered, had features far removed from those he grew up with but were optimal for the mission.

And so, the large group that had left the city were now whittled down to this motley crew. He hoped their number would not reduce any further, as the forest felt more and more dangerous. This never-ending night seemed to have replaced the day in this forest, compounding with the other disturbing features it held.

The Elven druid stopped short as they approached the clearing, taking in the first scents he could remember since they broke camp: burning wood, venison, and maybe something more he couldn't place. As the group approached the door, Salindrel headed towards the back, prepared to phase through the back wall if anything happened with Ember in the front.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 78
8/23/2022 11:50:55   
Kooroo
Member

Luca nodded in affirmation, repeating his earlier gesture, and then went over to what remained of their former leader. It was hard to see with only the moon as his only light,, but Luca squinted anyway, straining to make out any details.

Even so, all he could see was a pile of tatters. Hard to believe that this had once been a full-grown orc, though at the same time, this wasn’t his first encounter with such magic.
In Those previous cases, there’d been some tell or evidence of what had caused the victim’s death.
It'd also required a bit more investigation to determine what had caused the poor soul's disintegration, but given the chance, Luca had doubts on whether he would be able to unearth anything. Arcana had always been his sister's forte. His own knowledge was limited to some simple—and practical—Runework, of which his workmanship could be seen on his axe.

Luca bent down to pick up the box, shaking it off as he straightened up. It was light; light enough to almost be mistaken as empty, if not for a faint rattle. Perhaps the same as a small apple.

That was odd, though. Nothing else on the orc’s person had survived; flaking away just as he had. Had Yondrin dropped it before he’d perished? Or was there something else that had saved it?

His lips twitched slightly as he turned the box over.

It didn't sit right with him that they were just leaving with all these questions hanging above them. One of their team was down, taken by an unknown force, and they were moving on, with the assumption that whatever had slain the Yondrin was isolated only to this area.

Still, it wasn't as though their decision was completely unwarranted. The orc's death had been an especially unpleasant one. It was understandable that some of their number would be spooked.

Did they even have someone that could investigate? It wasn't as though any of them were Inquisitors or even Spellbreakers. The closest they had was the Hellspawn, whose expertise lay in speaking and arson.

He breathed out from his nose and made for the well, only spot something from the corner of his eye. A spear, winking at him under the moonlight, laying where Yondrin had dropped it.

Luca paused for a moment, then set aside his axe. He walked over and picked the spear up, testing its heft. It was a simple weapon; primitive, built for game, and not foes.

Similar to its former master.

He moved over next to where its owner lay and planted it on the ground, spearhead first, aligning towards the night sky. Luca gripped it firmly, one hand on its haft. And then, with a mighty shove, the hired arm forced it straight down, into the earth.

It was only when the spear was firmly in the ground that he exhaled, releasing the breath he’d been unknowingly holding. Not much of a send-off or memorial, but it was the least he could do. Well, aside from completing their assignment.

Luca dusted his hands and nodded once, then hefted his great axe on to his shoulder before setting off after his companions.






The first words among the group in what must have been hours roused his attention. Luca shifted his gaze over to their new leader, the corner of his eyebrow peaking.

… Venison?

He sniffed and squinted, looking further up the trail they were walking. There was indeed the smell of flame-cooked meat in the air; not unpleasant or unwelcome, but certainly surprising. Some part of him had not expected to come across anyone else in this unnaturally silent forest. Perhaps more petrified creatures, arcane death traps, or inexplicable oddities, but a happy camper was not on the list.

Luca looked up, following the plume of smoke down to the cabin it emanated from.

Hm, so not a camper then. Perhaps a resident of this awry, empty forest?

He felt his hand tense and grip the great axe harder, just as the tiefling took the initiative and strode forth to the cabin’s door.

A rather bold action, considering it could be anything behind that door. It probably would’ve been better if Luca himself had been the one to head-up and knock, considering he was the only one properly armoured. But Ember wasn’t exactly defenceless herself.

He took a deep breath in and held it for a moment, then released it, forcing himself to relax. The head of his weapon landed with a muffled thump as Luca planted it down, resting both gauntlets atop its shaft. His slate eyes shifted briefly across to Salindrel, tracing the elf ranger’s movements through the trees and to the far-side of the cabin.

So one at the front and another from the back. A surprising display of synergy, considering their cohort’s short time together.

The man-at-arms swept his gaze back to the cabin door and waited, his pose and expression affectedly casual, despite the tension he felt.
AQW Epic  Post #: 79
9/1/2022 23:43:41   
Kellehendros
Eternal Wanderer


 Marietta flinched at Ember’s rebuke, but kept her arrow on the bowstring all the same. The tiefling had never seen her shoot; and yes, it was pride to say so, but this wasn’t a range at which Marietta was going to miss. Besides, anyone - anything - openly living in the forest at this point had to be dangerous enough to survive whatever was vanishing every other thing that had formerly called the Piege Forest home. In the event that whatever was behind that door proved hostile, the arrow would do everyone more good nocked and ready than waiting in its quiver. And if Ember was right... the half-elf would find a way to make it up to her later.

The door drew slowly open - punctuated by the faint creak of her bow - and disclosed the cabin's occupant: a woman draped in the folds of an off-white hooded robe. Her hands - spread before her in demonstration that she was unarmed - were swathed in bandages that vanished up under wide sleeves. Upon the stranger's face was a tarnished golden mask; its visage a snarling tiger, complete with extended muzzle and bared fangs. The only outward sign of life from the figure was the rise and fall of her chest, and the inhuman eyes that peered from her mask. Marietta met the gaze of those amber, cat-pupiled eyes and-

She was falling through red-hued twilight. Something whip-cracked across her face in a flare of pain as she flailed in the murk for the half-glimpsed structures whistling by on her descent. Her heart thundered in her throat, hope flaring as her fingers found purchase. She jarred forward and slammed into a hard, curved surface. The impact was stunning, blasting the breath from her, stealing the pained cry that tried to slip out. Something in her left wrist gave with a greenstick snap and then she was sliding, clawing, falling once more. She spun uselessly in the crimson dark; up became down and left became right and her vision was stars and her cosmos was pain and-

Marietta jolted back, arrow clattering from her nerveless fingers as she struggled to get a breath into her lungs. The half-elf pressed her bandaged left wrist - throbbing once again - to her stomach, struggling to speak. “W-What was… What did you..?”

But the masked woman was looking at Ember now, eyes a sharp counterpoint to the soft soprano of her tone. “Harolight, good, good. The Baron, I fear will be disappointed to-” She trailed off suddenly, stepping lightly by the dancer and glancing swiftly side to side, unnatural gaze raking over the others.

“No,” the word was low, hesitant, but the masked woman’s voice grew stronger as she searched the clearing. “Where is the orc?” She looked to Marietta swiftly, and then Karen. “This is wrong. He’s supposed to be with you.” Her eyes flicked to Luca and she stepped forward again. “And the elf. Tell me that you haven’t lost them both.”

Marietta rocked back, out of the stranger’s path as the masked woman stormed toward the firepit and took up a frantic back-and-forth trek from the campfire to the corner of her hut and back again. The forester cast a confused glance Ember’s way and stooped, retrieving her arrow. She straightened and glared at the stranger, gritting her teeth as pain radiated up her wrist. "Who are you, and how do you know us?"

“Ranger,” the masked woman rejoined, "that is a long story." She slumped to a seat on the stump of an old tree not far from the campfire, staring into its popping flames. "Very long." The stranger took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “There is a pot of water inside, if you would make tea.” For a moment she paused and then, almost as an apology, added, “please.”

Marietta stared at the stranger before peering around the clearing and then up at the full disk of the moon overhead. Unfortunately, the inspection yielded no insights into their bizarre circumstances, and at length the half-elf sighed in exasperation, “As long as it means answers.” She turned toward the cabin, giving Ember a last cautioning glance before heading inside.

The masked woman laughed ruefully, motioning the others closer. “Aye, well, you have questions. I have answers, of a sort. Come, eat, and at least tell me that you have the Pathfinder’s box.”
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 80
9/10/2022 20:56:02   
superjars
Member

Landing softly on the leaf-strewn loam at the back of the cabin, the elf moved cautiously up to the wooden wall, pausing to listen, preparing himself to dip into the grey world and pass through the wall. He held his breath, waiting for a signal from the others: a battle cry, a shout of alarm, any indication that a fight was breaking out.

The door opened. He could hear the wood creaking on its hinge, the faint scuffle of sound as it ran along the ground, the collectively held breath as those in the front would be waiting to see what was revealed and would signal if it was friend or foe.

Salindrel waited.

The silence impacted him as it always did, his mind drifting back to the teachings of his master, his thoughts escaping back into the past, to the actions that had led him to this place—his missteps with Ember, the shared watch with Karen, the awkwardness with most of the others. And now, poised to attack some unknown assailant, he wondered if most of that strangeness could have just been avoided. Perhaps if he was further along in his training. Or maybe if his master had been allowed to accompany him on this mission.

It hadn’t been either of their choices for Salindrel to come to the forest on his own. He knew Immeral had gone to the elders, told them that his pupil was not ready, and begged for them to let him accompany his student for one last mission. And yet, they had been steadfast in their refusal, knowing that the elf would never be able to step out of the shadow of his master if he was not sent on missions himself.

An exclamation from Marieta snapped Salindrel back to reality and he prepared to slip through realms to enter the cabin, but a voice responding to the group caused him to stop and listen. The accent, though easily understood, was not one he was familiar with. It was not an accent he had heard from the surrounding area.

“And the elf. Tell me that you haven’t lost them both.”

He froze at these words. How could this woman have known that there was an elf in the group? And how had she known about the Baron? These questions and many others rose unbidden into his mind and caused him to stay where he was, thinking it was better to keep their foe somewhat in the dark as to who was still around. If things turned in the wrong direction, he could surprise this one and attack with an arrow from the shadows.

Until then, he supposed he should wait. And listen.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 81
9/29/2022 21:45:29   
Apocalypse
Member

The door creaked open, and a twitch in Ember’s left index finger betrayed her calm facade. Countless times before she had set out to charm a stranger, but to do so in a forest bearing no familiarity with an individual of unknown temperament at an hour not of her choosing? A warm smile may still dress Ember’s face when the ax came crashing down.

So when the figure stepped out and showed no immediate signs of aggression, the tiefling fought to let out a sigh of relief. Relief short-lived as she scrutinized the cabin’s inhabitant. Faded white robes draped her form, bandages covered her arms, and a tiger’s mask hid her face. Ember could make out none of her features, save for the cat-like pupils deep within the-

A flashing red light drowned out Emily’s reflection, save for the bright blue irises set into the polished steel. The faint click-click-click of her bouncing heel could scarcely be heard between the blaring of that infernal two-tone alarm. Emily bit the corner of her lip as the floor number lights flit on for an eternity before shifting to the next.

It must be a test. Emily raised a hand to her temple and closed her eyes as the pounding in her head threatened to split her skull. Upper management must be tracking response times and adherence to evacuation procedures during a crisis. That must be it. She winced as the blasting alarm only amplified the hammering of her migraine. Figures the suits upstairs would spoil such a day just to fill out some inconsequential forms measuring-

The entire elevator shuddered.

Emily gasped as the sudden force sent her stumbling back. Her elbow smashed into the back wall, searing white-hot pain flaring out from the point of impact. Bracing in the corner, Emily took sharp breaths as the slight tilt of the elevator aggravated. The main lights blinked out, leaving Emily swallowed in darkness in-between the flashes of red. She took a hesitant step toward the doors, and the entire floor jolted in response. Emily froze, inviting disaster if she moved but ensuring doom if she did not….

Ember blinked.

No flickering of crimson aura engulfed her, only the gentle touch of torchlight. The steel trap was gone, replaced by the trees and open air of the night’s forest.. Ember stole a glance at her exposed hand, ensuring that it remained of coal and ash, not the pale flesh of that counterpart within her vision. A counterpart bearing the surname-

“Harolight.”

Tiger Mask prattled on, but Ember found herself deaf to her words. No one, no one knew her by that name. It had been buried along with her family. Ember’s senses returned to her as Tiger Mask whisked past her, addressing the group at large. A group with whom the stranger was far too intimate. The tiefling’s mind raced to bridge all the gaps laid out by Tiger Mask’s scattered explanation. Had she also been sent by the baron? Surely not, for what benefit served Baron Terex by not informing the venturing party of the contact? But she could not not be sent by the baron, for how else could she be aware of each and every one of the party’s members, even those who had failed to make it here?

Ember shivered. Something sinister was afoot.

“Dearest stranger,” said the Cinder Witch as she stepped forward, amber eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Before we share our story, might we have your name? You hold us at a disadvantage there, and with our plight a bit of trust would go a long way to put our nerves at ease.”

The dancer smiled softly, and while her extended hand promised comradery it held within its grasp the violence of her flame.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 82
10/16/2022 16:35:57   
  Chewy905

Chromatic ArchKnight of RP


 The door opened agonizingly slowly, but still opened nonetheless. Even with the signs of life within the cabin, Karen had been worried that it would simply have been another abandoned site, another ghostly trick of these lifeless woods. A woman in a hooded robe revealed herself, empty hands spread in a show of good-faith. And yet… that was it.

Ember had given such a cordial greeting, yet also the kind that would usually bring but a call from behind a closed door, or a request to confirm their own identities. Out here in these lonely woods, would such a friendly, familiar gesture really be someone’s first response to strangers at their door?

Karen studied the woman’s masked face, tracing the detailed lines of the tiger’s visage before her eyes met the woman’s.

The alarm blared in her ears, bolstering her as she took the steps two at a time to rush to the lower levels. It took much, much longer than she would have liked, but using the elevator in such an emergency would have only brought more dangers and greater delays.

She froze as she stepped down on the landing to the research division.

A body. One of the researchers, based on the lab coat, positioned as if he was trying to flee. And yet… he seemed physically unharmed. She stepped up to the door and grabbed the bar. If it was a break-in, she would be able to enter with more force, but if this was some more unnatural emergency… caution would have to do.

She pushed against the bar.

Karen’s hand gripped tight to her sword, almost falling forwards as her body pushed against a door that wasn’t there. Her ears rang with the dying sounds of a formless bell as she shook herself from a daze and stared at the woman once more. Her eyes locked on the stranger’s orange irises and found… nothing.

“Harolight.” The woman said, addressing the tiefling. “Good, good. The Baron, I fear will be disappointed to-”

Karen raised an eyebrow, trying to focus her mind on the stranger’s words rather than the fading vision of whatever she had just seen. The woman knew the Baron? Did the Baron know the woman? Surely he would have said something of someone n in the woods, even if only as a safe place for the party to rest. She noticed a small shiver from her companion as the stranger continued on in a panic on their missing orc and elf.

Karen took a single step forwards, grip tightening even harder on her sword. An invitation to tea from a stranger that knew who they were, in the middle of woods that was driving beasts to madness and unraveling men where they stood? The thought was preposterous. She glanced through the door behind the stranger, hoping to find something incriminating, some reason to avoid this odd hospitality and either be on their way or use more force for faster answers. She saw only what seemed to be a small bedroom and a kitchen.

She brought a hand to her face with a sigh, pushing down her irritation and lighting her grip on her sword as Marietta accepted the woman’s offer and Ember requested her name. It wouldn’t do to be overly suspicious, nor overly aggressive.

If this woman truly was dangerous, it was likely the party was already ensnared in her trap.
Post #: 83
12/29/2022 0:20:48   
Kooroo
Member

It seemed like an age before the door finally opened.

But open it did, eventually, and without the sudden rush and explosion of violence some part of him had been anticipating. His body was still relaxed, arms and legs unmoving, nor even shifting slightly as the door creaked inwards. Perhaps it had taken notice of some hidden hints and cues around them while his mind had not. Or maybe he had subconsciously formed some confidence in their group’s supposed combat prowess.

Both of which weren’t exactly likely, he mused, tightening his grip on the axe’s haft.

There, a figure energed, empty hands wrapped in gauze, hooded robe shrouding an ornate, golden mask. Thin, slitted golden-eyes stared back at him from the eyeholes, further enhancing Luca's xenophobia. At least they hadn’t—

He spun as he fell, twisting just as he crunched into the stairwell wall, letting out a sharp hiss as something in his collar snapped. Luca waved away Carver’s stuttered apologies with his good arm, and nodded towards the next flight of stairs, urging him to keep going.

Gritting his teeth, he started forward and stumbled, his hand tenderly probing where he’d felt the bone go. Yep, that had been his clavicle. And to think that earlier, he’d been upset about leaving his lunch and travel pass at home. At lesat he’d kept his wits about him.

Granted, it would have been far worse if he’d struck the wall face-first. No doubt that Luca’d be lying on the floor with a busted nose and out cold, in the best-case scenario. And he didn’t—

Luca hissed, exhaling as he snapped back to reality. He leant heavily on the greataxe, feeling the earth give slightly under his weight, waiting for everything to steady. The ache in his collar throbbed sharply once and then vanished, disappearing as quickly as the vision.

The hired arm glanced around, watching as the half-elf mumbled something, while Karen slumped slightly, before turning his gaze to their new acquaintance, who was still talking, without seemingly a care.

Not the best show of hospitality, but it most likely confirmed that they—no, she—wasn’t an enemy. Nor had she said she was a friend, but it looked like Luca could keep the axe lowered for—

And then suddenly, the woman was rushing forward, towards the firepit. Luca almost made to draw the axe, but shut down the thought before his body could transition the command into motion. He watched as their host paced up and down, back and forth between the firepit and her home, before slowing to a stop and then settling down by the fire.

It was Marietta that asked the most obvious and necessary questions, before heading into the cabin to get the water for tea. While a cup of tea sounded lovely, Luca was a tad reluctant to drink whatever brew their acquaintance was offering. Perhaps after some of the proffered ‘of a sort’ answers that she had, he might be a bit more—

Oh?

Raising an eyebrow, the hired hand straightened up, raising the box for the woman to see. “It was one of the few things on him that didn’t wither away with him. It’s important then, I take it?”
AQW Epic  Post #: 84
7/23/2023 14:33:53   
Kellehendros
Eternal Wanderer


 Marietta entered the rude cabin, ducking under a bundle of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling. The dwelling wasn’t much to speak of - a small sleeping space and a slightly larger room that no doubt served as kitchen, dining, and general use. The ranger was tempted to take a moment and search the shack, but discarded the notion almost immediately. Whoever the stranger was, she seemed to know the group - or know of them. She had been expecting them; it was unlikely there was anything worth the effort of ransacking the place to find.

That left tea to deal with, and Marietta turned her gaze toward the miniature kitchen wedged into a corner of the cabin: a stack of wood, a few small pots hanging above a sturdy stove, a low cabinet whose top served as a cutting board. A glance inside yielded the teapot - there had been a basin by the door she could fill it from - and… The ranger rose slowly, drawing out a mahogany box and setting it on the top of the cabinet. Her fingers touched lightly on the spreading boughs of an oak tree incised onto its cover, and Marietta bit her lip. She could almost hear the sound still, the fateful crash as Kala knocked the box off the counter and it cracked on the corner of their stove. The half-elf shook her head. “No…” But she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out, opening the damaged lid, and revealing a set of sturdy metal canisters labeled in her own hand.

The cover clapped shut with a sharp crack, and Marietta’s hand closed tightly around the sheath of the shamshir belted at her waist. “Just a couple of weeks. I’ll be back before you know it, Etta.” A jaunt over to Pinewatch, to see a carpenter about fixing the lid. Leather creaked as Marietta’s grip on the scabbard tightened, her knuckles crackling white with strain. Once Kala had made her mind up, the forester had never found a way to persuade her otherwise about anything.

It had been three weeks when the ranger went looking. Maretta let out a breath that was nearly a growl, and turned back toward the door, reaching down and gripping the sword’s hilt with her free hand. She had never found Kala, or her horse, or the damned box that had sent her down the timber hauler’s road. Four weeks after Kala had left, Marietta found a patch of churned earth, a smear of blood, and the shamshir that had once hung from Kala’s hip. Steel hissed as blade and scabbard parted ways. It was past time for answers.


The masked woman turned her gaze from the fire to Ember, and then to the proffered hand. For a long moment she stared, and then reached out to return the gesture with a firm grip. “Who I am matters much less than what I am, but you may call me Muuka for now.”

Before she could continue, Luca’s words drew her slit-pupiled gaze. Muuka released Ember’s hand and sighed softly. “Important, yes. Vital, even.” She turned the spitted haunch, her odd eyes focused on the soldier - and the box he had recovered from Yondrin’s remains. “There is something inside, something that will allow you to pass through the,” Muuka’s voice shifted, her tone careful, as if the next words were known by rote, “the aegis security matrix.” She laughed tiredly, shaking her head and turning toward the fire. “I don’t know what that is. Only that it has killed you several times.”

Muuka’s eyes closed for a moment, and she exhaled a long, slow breath. Behind the expressionless mask her tone held the driest trace of amusement as she tilted her head slightly in Ember’s direction, acknowledging her skepticism. “Give you a reason to trust… I could tell you all that I have never offered you violence before, and that you have not always returned my courtesy. But why should you believe that?” Her slit-pupiled gaze roved the clearing, and she shrugged, pointing to Luca and his burden. “You brought what you need with you. At best I am an oracle. I peer through smoke at an image reflected in a cracked mirror.” She stood, and walked across the clearing to retrieve a chunk of wood for the fire before returning to her seat. “It would be… comforting if you believed me. But I have no doubt most of you think me insane. While other things change, that mostly does not.

“But I can’t leave until this is finished.” She hunched forward as though the words were pain and sickness, fingers bunching into the fabric that covered her arms. Muuka’s eyes squeezed closed as she gripped tightly, holding herself together, or clawing for a glimpse of her mirror. “Inside the container is… access. You have to open it, but you cannot. Not here, not now. There’s a… a station, a gate into Pinewatch. It opens the gate, and the gate opens the box. What’s in there will let you through the security matrix.” Muuka let out a slow, focused breath, prising her fingers loose one by one and straightening.

Her hands flexed slowly in and out of fists, and she reached up to give the haunch another turn. “Before you reach Pinewatch, one of the Moonstruck will try to kill you.” She trailed off for a moment, gaze tilted up toward the treetops and the silent moon. “Marietta knew her… a long time ago.” Muuka sighed, her voice falling, “Within the gravity of the Dead Moon, things come undone.” Her gaze went from Ember to Luca, to Karen. “Will that satisfy you? Because in a moment Marietta is going to come through that door and try to kill me. And as little as it may matter to you, I would prefer not to go through that again.”
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 85
3/26/2024 20:09:44   
  Chewy905

Chromatic ArchKnight of RP


 Muuka.

An odd name, but no odder than any other, when it came to strange women in dark woods. Karen swept another glance through the house door whilst Muuka spoke riddles with Ember. Nothing changed, not that anything would. It was just a cabin. Just a cabin.

“-only that it has killed you several times.”

Karen shook free from her stupor. What?

“I could tell you all that I have never offered you violence before, and that you have not always returned my courtesy. But why should you believe that?”

There was tiredness to the woman’s voice. A boredom. The type that slipped from a waiter’s lips, when they announced for the umpteenth time that the tavern was closing. Practiced. Rehearsed. Performed. Hold; she was talking still. “-I have no doubt most of you think me insane. While other things change, that mostly does not.”

Karen took a single, hasty step forwards, sweeping through her options in her mind. One: Muuka was insane. What then? If insanity was dangerous, Muuka was outnumbered. Strange magics could certainly do a number on the group, but the quarters were tight and Karen, at least, was fast. Which left two: Muuka was right. The woman in a cabin in the woods speaking as if she knew them all and had performed this scene countless times was right. Well what then? How many times HAD Karen been fast? How many times had Muuka been faster? Who would prevail here?

And would it just lead back to this exact moment?

Ugh. Karen could feel the headache coming on. Overthinking these things wasn’t her style. She just wanted to move. To pick friend or foe and go straight to either enjoying a cup of tea or drawing her blade free. Muuka spoke still, rambling on about a matrix and security and access in as many perplexing ways as she could. Open it, don’t open it, go to the station or the gate and try not to die on the way.

An itch in her brain. A little blur in her vision that she couldn’t get rid of. Something was different. Wrong. Right. Now.

“Within the gravity of the Dead Moon, things come undone.”

It was driving her crazy. If something was wrong, then she had to have a way to make it right. But this itch wouldn’t go away by sitting here and listening to a self-proclaimed oracle ramble on.

“-in a moment Marietta is going to come through that door and try to kill me.”

Action.

It didn’t matter if Muuka was insane or right. If she was an oracle or a witch. She had shown them nothing but ambivalence, and killing her would either bring them back to this moment, or give them a body in the woods to dispose of and even less direction on their goal. So Karen moved. Her blade slid from its sheath in time with another from beyond the doorway, and Karen leapt past Muuka, placing herself between the woman and her apparent assailant.

“Marietta.” The huntress's voice was low, inviting. Her legs bounced with anticipation and annoyance at how much time it had been since the party had known something, anything about where they were actually supposed to be going. She yearned to move, even if just for a moment, even if that opportunity was just to disarm an ally before she made a mystery unsolvable.

“Whatever you found in there, I’m sure it can be discussed without blades in our hands.”

Marietta stopped in the hut’s entryway. Karen tried to lock eyes with her, tried to search her face for any sign that Karen had been heard or acknowledged. There was nothing there; the elf’s gaze was firmly locked past her and on the woman she protected. When Marietta finally spoke, ice crept from her throat. “She has no right to what I found in there. None. Get out of my way, Karen. This isn’t your business.”

Karen began to reply, but was cut off by the mysterious “oracle” behind her “She gave it to me.”

“She what?” The ranger’s voice snapped across the clearing; she stepped forward, blade shaking in her fist. Karen mirrored her, raising her own weapon carefully, trying to dissuade action rather than provoke it.

“Kala,” Marietta snarled. “Kala has been dead for two years.”

Post #: 86
1/12/2025 6:34:09   
Kooroo
Member

Just when everything had taken another turn for the strange, the situation managed to raise itself to yet another level. Barely a few words later and Luca was questioning his understanding of Standard Common.

‘Aegis security matrix’.

Three words that he was familiar with individually, but he had no idea what they were supposed to mean together. An incantation, perhaps. Or maybe a name for a very unfortunate child?

The hired axe was just about to inquire further, when their host—one none too suspicious Muuka—laughed wearily and answered him, before he’d even opened his mouth.

A telepath, then? Unlikely. There were many different types of telepathy, but there would usually be some signs of mental intrusion; and not one of their party had acted as such.

Or an oracle, perhaps, as she so aptly suggested.

Title or station aside, there was almost certainly some arcana at work. The archaic and less trustful part of him was tempted to propose that they interrogate their host at length as to how she knew all of this, but that was too heavy handed—not to mention rude—in his opinion.

Luca was also well aware that ‘how’ she knew all of this wasn’t what they should be focusing on.

There was no denying that what Muuka had said was more or less correct. The robed woman also gave the impression that she knew far more than what she had revealed thus far, and seemed to be at odds with what information would allow their team to believe her.

Was she trustworthy? It was hard to say. Whilst she hadn’t done anything that suggested she meant them harm, it would be overly naive of them to take everything she said as gospel.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to hear the woman out. Whether they believed her words or not was something they could discuss and decide upon in due time.

Of course, if a certain forest ranger coming back in from the kitchen decided to silence Muuka instead of serving everyone tea, well… par for the course. Considering their leader had been shredded via unknown causes right in front of them, it’d be morbidly amusing for the next-in-charge to dig them in deeper by murdering their only lead.

That… could be a problem.

Luca shifted his gaze upwards and away from their host, briefly catching Karen’s eye. He then redirected it to the doorway that the half-elf Ranger had vanished through earlier and was now reemerging from, her blade drawn and a less-than-friendly expression on her face.

Fortunately for their host, it seemed that both he and Ms. Lane weren’t quite ready to throw her to the proverbial wolves quite yet.

Before he could stand and address their leader, Karen leapt forward to intercept her and attempted to talk her down. Seeing that Ranger Fevosa wasn’t quite prepared to go through Ms. Lane to get to Muuka—yet—Luca grabbed his axe, then positioned himself directly between his colleagues and their host. At least that way, should she somehow give Karen the slip, she’d have one more obstacle to deal with. At best, Karen got her to put the sword away, but in the worst case scenario, Luca would need to use his axe again.

Hopefully just the flat side of it.

The man-at-arms hadn’t the slightest idea what Salindrel or Ember thought of this whole affair—Luca wasn’t even sure if the other ranger was aware of this little disagreement—but he was hopeful that both of them would be a touch more reasonable than Marietta. Or failing that, at least less immediately violent.

Although he was a bit worried about their own thoughts on their host, the former general kept his eyes on Marietta’s face and hands.

“Whilst I can’t speak directly on behalf of my colleague, I think it’s fair to presume that both she and I don’t wish you any harm for the moment.” Luca said, glancing backwards momentarily towards the masked woman. “However, I’d humbly suggest that you’d better have a good explanation for the good Ranger Drevosa here.”
AQW Epic  Post #: 87
3/5/2025 20:21:33   
Kellehendros
Eternal Wanderer


 Marietta’s grip tightened on the hilt of her dead lover’s sword. The shamshir’s tip described short, sharp circles - but the sellsword didn’t move, did not so much as flinch. Coward. Gritting her teeth and letting out a strangled snarl, the half-elf stepped back and lowered the weapon. “Once and always.” Fighting Karen - and Luca - to reach Muuka wouldn’t end with Marietta getting what she wanted, even if she managed to win. Instead, she gave the two a disgusted look and spat a curse. “Of course you side with her.”

Living in Keken hadn’t exposed Marietta to an abundance of people willing to lend a hand to a half-breed. And really, why should it be different elsewhere? She retreated another pace, looking between the two. Live through this first. You can settle debts with the witch later. “Have it your way then.”

Muuka watched the exchange - the confrontation - expression unreadable behind the beaten gold mask hiding her visage. “The Company woke it up.” The oracle started to look up, toward the distant moon, but checked herself with an effort of will. “I’m sure that they didn’t know what it was when they started, but it didn’t take long for someone in Pinewatch to see the possibility.”

“For a seer with a cracked mirror,” Marietta cut in sharply, “you certainly sound like someone who was there.” She glanced at Ember, looking for support, but the tiefling was still and silent as a statue, staring up at the full moon. “I’m sure Yondrin would have recognized you.”

“It was greed, I think.” Muuka seemed to ignore Marietta’s jab. “Greed and envy are good motivators but poor restraints.” Before the ranger could interject again, the masked woman pressed on. “And I have been there, in a way. I’ve seen the apparatus, the cogs and gears that drive this hunger, in dreams and memories.”

“You’re just talking around-” Marietta bit the words off with a shake of her head before turning sharply on one heel. “We’re not getting anywhere like this.” She slammed the shamshir back into its sheath and squinted up at the sky for a moment to take her bearings. “I’m leaving.” The half-elf called the rest over her shoulder, heading back toward the timber hauler’s road and Pinewatch. “We still have an assignment to complete. Come with me or stay and trade riddles with the tiger-witch, it makes no difference to me at this point.”

Muuka folded her hands in front of herself calmly, watching the forester unlimber her bow and stalk away. The seer glanced at Luca and Karen. “If she makes it through the Fold once, she often makes it back, but never the same.” One bandaged hand motioned vaguely in the direction Marietta was moving. “That’s what they called it initially. The Fold. It is,” Muuka hesitated for a moment, searching for a word, “a sort of confluence. A place of meeting, one that might be at the heart of the problem itself, or just one of its byproducts. I only wish I’d had the chance to…”

She trailed off, voice falling to a whisper. “She was late to our meeting, and after the dream I had to look.” Muuka pressed her hands together, gave herself a shake to shed the memories. “The Moon’s pull grows stronger. Take heed: until you reach the heart, any branch that seems to offer a way out is only Death in disguise.”


A deep, leviathan breath rippled over her skin and stirred wisps of hair that had slipped free from her braid; they played lightly across her skin and drew a smile to her lips. But a cough wracked-tore-writhed through her parched throat and her bloodshot eyes creaked open slowly, unfocused.

Perhaps eyes weren’t the only way to look.

There was something true in that, but she had to see to… to serve. Her hand twitched, rose from where it had rested for a day-span-aeon and then paused; the woman at the other end of the appendage tilted the hand, gazed at it in the moonlight - was it hers? Hadn’t it belonged once to someone..? There was a callus there, no… calluses. Calluses and absences, what an interesting idea. And the fingers wanted to curl-grip-hold. That seemed important too, a braid of hairs dark and light tied about a finger, a kohl-marker tracing slow under her eye, a box stashed in the crux of a limb.

She loved apples. Lips twitched, formed about an idea that died unspoken. No, the tree wouldn’t take root. Her head lolled suddenly to one side and she blinked rapidly, feeling the tide across her skin. It only wanted for a little water.

Perhaps she would see her soon. It might be nice to say hello.

Reaching for the wooden rim of her barrow, she exhaled slowly and pulled-drew-prised herself forward from the shelter of a hollow tree. Citrus. There was an orchard. One boot snapped a brittle, fleshless rib. She was fairly certain it had belonged to a ranger once; not her ranger, but one of them. She couldn’t remember what had happened to the man. But he had been here with her in the true-light-shimmer and there had been singing, sweet singing.

Her too wide eyes, perfect silver coins, rose to stare at the moon far above, and her hand reached-grasped-sought through the empty air at her side. There was nothing there, where a... something should have been. Had her ranger taken it? She thought maybe she had seen that, or maybe she had dreamed it. There was comfort in that conclusion, but she couldn't focus on that, not now when she needed-

Her boot clattered against another leftover fragment of her last visitor and she reached out for it, closing her fingers about the worn, ragged leather of a hilt. The calluses on her hand told her this wasn't perfect, but it was better, closer. She straightened up and flourished-twirled-brandished the old and rust-chewed sword. The distant moon received a precise salute and she started forward again, humming a song like screaming.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 88
7/3/2025 11:08:04   
Kooroo
Member

A moment ticked past, in which no one spoke, nor moved.

It was a familiar sensation, this tension. He was no stranger to being at the forefront of a brewing conflict, though the scale and potential stakes had always been much greater.

That statement wasn’t by any means any attempt to downplay the importance of their mission. As a matter of fact, Luca wasn’t certain as to the fallout that could result from their failure here.

Another few names on the Baron’s missing persons list at the very least, but as to what else might follow, he couldn’t say. Probably even more names added afterwards, presuming that their disappearance resulted in the tried-yet-thus-far-unproven strategy of throwing more manpower at the issue.

Fortunately, it seemed that a—quite frankly—embarrassing death from treachery wasn’t on the books in the immediate future.

As the half-elf stowed her blade, the man-at-arms allowed himself to relax slightly and lowered his axe. Then, ignoring the ranger’s accusations, he turned his attention back to Muuka.

There wasn’t any harm in listening to their host’s tales, as unbelievable as they sounded. The only potential danger would be if they were to take her word as gospel and forgo all common sense in doing so.

The hired arm had to admit, however, that he still wasn’t too sure as to what he was listening to.

They woke it up? But what was it? An… ‘Aegis Defence Matrix’ or whatever?

Honestly, it didn’t make much sense.

Marietta interjected, accusing their host of being present at—or perhaps implying she was the cause of the… awakening? Which was a possible conclusion, perhaps, but not one he’d wager his coin on.

Their host continued again for a short time, before the ranger elf interrupted once again.

This time, however, Marietta cut her words short and then spun on her heel, taking her leave.

Luca frowned, his brow furrowing as Muuka spoke. Whilst the robed lady didn’t quite seem all there, he’d had hoped she’d at least see fit to explain herself to the… distressed ranger.

Fortunately for her and less so for him, Luca wasn’t in a position to admonish the self-proclaimed oracle for her roundabout story telling.

Nor did he have time to, if Muuka’s words held any truth.

He grimaced, then hefted his axe up onto his shoulder.
“Ms. Lane,” he asked, glancing at the other human of the group. “Your thoughts?”

Karen’s gaze stayed locked on Muuka, unflinching. “According to her we've already done this before, and if we fail I suspect we'll be doing it again.” She flicked her hand towards the ranger’s exit. “With that in mind, Seer, should we simply join Marietta in this "fold", and hope whatever happens to us when we get back doesn't force another fruitless encounter with you?”

The masked woman's head tilted down slightly, and for a moment Muuka considered her bandage wrapped hands. She spread them then, in an opening gesture that might have conveyed either indifference or weariness. "I remember every conversation we have ever had, Karen Lane, but I cannot make your choice for you. All that I can tell you is that we have never had this conversation.

"As to this encounter, the tree is known by the fruit it bears. I cannot tell you the end of this cycle. But to find the heart you must walk the Fold and set your gaze upon what lies ahead. Only the Moon waits above, and it holds no answers worth the price it extracts."

More riddles, though he hadn’t really expected anything otherwise. Wordplay aside, however, the intent was clear.

“I’ll leave her to you, Ms. Lane. Please excuse me,” Luca said, turning to the door and hefting his axe onto his shoulder. “I’ll do my best to bring her back, but failing that, you might want to conclude your business swiftly.”

The former general marched out of the hovel and glanced around, checking for any immediate danger. No obvious threats from what he could see; but then again, he wasn’t completely sure that the ranger didn’t count as one.

He strode after the half-elf, settling into a brisk walk before calling out to her when he was within five paces.

No reaction.

Luca doubted very much that the ranger had lost her hearing upon leaving the masked woman‘s abode, so it was more than likely that he was being ignored. Maybe Marietta assumed he would give up if she didn’t respond.

Or perhaps she thought he would try to have her turn back, or even detain her. Whilst he was certainly going to try the former, he was rather reluctant to attempt the latter. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, he mused, shifting the axe on his shoulder.

He slowed and fell into step aside her, watching as she shot a glance his way. So there was an acknowledgment, at least.

Luca counted seven paces, then another four on top of that before he decided to pose a question. “So, you have a plan, I presume?”

< Message edited by Kooroo -- 7/19/2025 12:53:58 >
AQW Epic  Post #: 89
11/26/2025 21:15:48   
Kellehendros
Eternal Wanderer


 Marietta had always felt safer when there was a plan.

Plans were stable. They created guardrails… managed expectations. Yes, sometimes they were inadequate - like the fiasco with the duskskulker last year - but the fault there lay with the planner, not the plan. Still, Marietta had believed it was better to have a plan than go without, and then Kala had blown into Keken and changed everything.

The comedy - and looking back it was funny - had begun when the ranger was stopped on her way out of the Baron’s Manor by a stranger’s hail.

“Well then, it’s about time.” The woman, perhaps a finger or two taller than Marietta, was standing amid a collection of bags and resting one hand on the hilt of the sword at her hip. “I’ve the address, so let’s be about it then.”

Marietta paused, frowned at the blonde-haired woman’s accent. She wasn’t from Hron; a factor from the capital, perhaps? “I’m sorry, Goodwoman, but-”

“Oh, there’s no reason to be sorry,” she replied breezily, hefting a pair of bags up before thrusting them out. Surprised, the forester reflexively accepted the load as the stranger continued on. “Though I’m afraid it’s Lady. Strictly speaking, Lady Kala, second daughter of the honorable Viscount Reeve, Sword-Brother of the King, Defender of Bregalum,” she blew out a breath and shook her head. “Talk about stultifying.” Kala’s green eyes practically danced as she added another bag to the collection in Marietta’s arms. “And as I said, you’ve nothing to be sorry for. Arthon said he would send a porter. I expected him to return with said porter - struck me as a bit of a stickler for details, the Goodman. But now that you’re here… Well, I’ve certainly no complaints. Shall we?”

Shifting the burden in her arms, the half-elf tried again. “I guess he can be, Lady Reeve, but I don't-”

Kala hoisted a bag herself and shook her head decisively. “No, most certainly not! Kala will do just fine for ‘sleepy Hron’, thank you.”

Marietta glanced around, but no help was forthcoming. Exasperated, she hurried after the noblewoman and tried again. “Lady- I mean, Kala, I’m not sure what-”

“You ask a lot of questions, for a porter,” Kala observed, fingers drumming along the hilt of her sword. “Not that I mind, of course. ‘An inquiring mind is a mark of character,’ or however father put it when he was admonishing me to pay more attention to my books and less to my horses.” They passed into the market, gathering stares the way new faces tended to in Hron. “Never could stand the books, preferred the practicals. Do you read, perchance?”

The half-elf did her best to keep up as Kala darted from point to point. “A little, yes. My mother taught me.”

Kala glanced over her shoulder. “Mm, a rare skill out here, I take it. Though on the subject of mothers, I realize I’ve been quite rude - mine would task me for it, no doubt. What was your name… porter?”

It was an opening, and the half-elf plunged into it, trying to ignore Kala’s grin. “Marietta. Marietta Drevosa, my Lady, that is, Kala. Forgive me, please, but I’m not a porter.”

The young noble peered at her, grinned, and then started to laugh. Marietta blinked at her, which only made Kala laugh harder, until the ranger dropped the bags one by one into a stack at the edge of the plaza and pivoted on one heel. Her plan to storm off was arrested by the pressure of a hand catching her wrist. “Wait, please.”

Marietta stopped - it was the please that did it. Why on earth would a Viscount’s daughter use that word with her?

Kala’s smile was different now, there was something tentative in it. “I knew,” she admitted, shrugging one shoulder elegantly. “I mean… look at you. A porter? Pigs would fly. But you’re the most interesting person I’ve seen since I got here, and I could still use the help. I’ll make you dinner to make it up to you. What do you say?”

A noble, cooking her dinner? Marietta looked from Kala, to the bags stacked around the two of them, to the calloused hand still gently holding her wrist. “I…” She had so many other things to do yet today, but the words that tumbled from her lips were: “I guess that’s alright.”

The radiant expression that blossomed across Kala’s face was delighted, infectious, and in that moment Marietta knew that she was in deep trouble.

Kala had never seemed to have a plan. Spontaneous market trips, surprise midnight swims, they all taught Marietta that maybe it wasn't so bad to just... do things. That didn’t change the fact that in times of trouble it was comforting to have a plan. Marietta scrubbed at her eyes, then reached up over her shoulder to draw an arrow, nocking it before finally looking at Luca. “Same plan we started with: Reach Pinewatch. Figure out what is happening. Stop it.” That wasn’t particularly detailed, and if they actually encountered Muuka’s “aegis security matrix” Marietta had no idea how they would deal with it. And you said I’d never learn to improvise, Kala.

Luca seemed to accept the answer, or else he kept his concerns to himself. Either way, the ranger kept walking, glancing up at the distant moon. They were still on the right track. Not that there were many turn-offs on the logging road, but things were certainly different than Marietta had expected-

There was a crackle at her feet, and the forester looked down at her boots. A bird - its skeletal remains anyway. Marietta sucked a sharp breath in through her teeth and stepped back, eyes darting back and forth. Dusksulker boneyard. But that... She frowned. That couldn't be right. There wasn’t a duskskulker lair anywhere near the Pinewatch road.

“These lapses of attention will do you in.” The voice was clear, distinct, and for a moment the half-elf could feel someone at her back, close enough that their breath stirred her hair. Despite that, her eyes were drawn up to the moon above them, and Marietta drew in a sharp breath. “Luca, it’s broken.”

That was one way to put it. There was a flaw, a crack, a ragged tear along the surface of the distant moon. "Broken, or broken-hearted?"

The bow and arrow clattered from Marietta's fingers and she wheeled around - back the way she and Luca had come from. A rising wind whistled through the hollows of skulls and rattled fingerbones from the piles, nearly covering the forester's choked voice. "K-Kala?"

“Oh come now, Mari, I know that it’s been… Well, it’s been a while." Kala's golden hair was string and straw now, the leather of her hauberk tattered and stained, but the rusted sword in her hand swept-flicked-whistled all the same as the gaunt noblewoman cut an elegant bow. "More than one while, mm?"

"But you... How did you... What happened?"

"Talk," Kala sighed. "So long, and you want to talk." Her eyes flitted-shifted-leapt to Luca. "And you, Forsythe? Blather, or bolero?"

Marietta stepped up next to him, casting Luca a momentary, confused look. "What are you talking about? Kala, this isn't like you-"

"You'd know. Wouldn't you, Etta?" Kala's smile was wide, feline. "Yes... I remember that one now. Etta, and Mari, and darling little lamb." For a moment her head tilted-angled-pivoted to the cracked moon above, and Kala shivered. "Did you plant the tree like I asked, after you took my sword?" The ranger's hand fell to the hilt at her waist, and Kala's grin turned feral. "I'd walk through death and eternity to close my hand on that grip. Dance with me, darlings. Help me remember the steps."

“Kala,” Marietta grimaced, drawing the shamshir from its sheath slowly. “Don’t do this, please.”

The noblewoman rolled her shoulders. “Please, pleas.” In her hand, the ancient sword quivered, and then the moonlight around Kala rippled. Her back arched, her eyes blazed, and Kala hissed through clenched teeth. “The blade, Marietta.”

Another hand, spectral and misty, tore free of her chest, followed a moment later by the other, and then a head and shoulders. It was Kala, a ghostly facsimile anyway, seething out of the skeletal noble before a second emerged in its wake. Kala sagged, sinking the pitted tip of her blade into the turf to support herself. “Either way, I’ll hold you again.” Her gaze flicked to Luca, and Kala’s smile grew. "And I'll give Aewyn your love, when I see her."

The spectres howled and surged forward, Kala hard on their heels.
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