Red had grown used to the small apartment above the museum, she didn’t require that much space beyond what she used for her art, and the light there had always been good. Stepping into the grandiose estate that was part of holding the Old Temple Barony felt... wrong somehow. A man had rushed up to her on entry and she had been so sure he’d been ready to throw her out she thrust the ring at him quickly and shouted. “I won it fair and square.” Looking a bit abashed as her voice echoed throughout the large open space that was the main temple.
“I know, Baroness. I am Derek, I am the current head of household, you may replace me if you wish but I think you will find me an asset, along with the other current staff. We are trained, professional and familiar with the grounds.” He was a non-descript kind of fellow. Perhaps an inch shy of six feet, a slender build that moved with the grace of a fighter, maybe a pugilist in his spare time? His dark hair was trimmed short and he sported no facial hair, his accent was crisp and reminded her of Romania for some reason.
Red ran her hands down the front of her clothes, over the t-shirt and jeans and realized that she felt completely underdressed. “Oh. Yeah, I mean, of course. I don’t want to displace you. I don’t know how long I’ll be in this place.” A ghost of a smile crossed her lips and Derek seemed to relax some. “And you can call me Red, no need to be so formal.”
“I will let the others know, Baroness. Shall I send Kate to draw you a bath? It was a long night of battle for you, or so I have been told” He managed not to wrinkle his nose but Red supposed she probably wasn’t smelling like roses after five hours of fighting.
“Draw me a bath? Can she paint as well?” Delivered straight enough that it caused Derek’s expression to change to one of complete confusion. Seeing the growing distress there she added. “That was a joke, Derek. Tough crowd. A bath would be nice, please.”
He nodded grateful to be let off the hook and indicated that he was about to start moving. “Please follow me, I will take you to your quarters. Tomorrow we can discuss anything you want brought in, dietary requirements and if we should prepare the Squires quarters.”
“Great, sounds like a plan.” This wouldn’t be bad. It was big, Red thought, but big was supposed to be a good thing in a house, would be a better party area than her wee apartment, right? A bath, some sleep and then she’d explore some more. In the fresh light of day maybe the experience would feel more like reality than the half-dreamlike state she was in tonight. “Maybe in a good plan.”
Old Gods listen in Old Temples(Part 1)
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Red urThorne
- Adventurer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:06 am
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Red urThorne
- Adventurer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:06 am
Kate waited nervously for the new Lady of the house to arrive in the prepared chambers. It was always like this when there was a new holder of the Barony. Sometimes they changed hands in a matter of days and, as such, it was difficult to invest much in any of them. But Kate enjoyed her job and some of the women that had been quite interesting characters, it made for colorful letters home.
The woman that was shown in by Derek was tall, an adjective that Kate determined was probably the first, second and last one that struck a person on seeing the new Baroness. She would make sure not to mention it as she knew that people of a height grew weary of others asking them how tall or other such silly queries that they'd never ask a person of a more average height.
She stepped forward to present herself, and Derek motioned in her direction. "And here is Kate, as promised. She is here to assist you as you settle in and provide you with the normal services of a ladies maid."
The Baroness nodded a bit in a manner that said she'd no idea what the "normal services of a ladies maid" encompassed. Kate stepped forward again. "We'll be fine from here, Derek, you can leave now. I'm bettin' that the Baroness is longing for the hot bath you likely offered when she entered." She fell in beside the Baroness and in a loud whisper continued. "You'll need excuse him, he is always a bit mother-henish the first few days a new Baroness in residence."
The woman beside her gave her an odd smile, it was like an after image of one that had once been on those lips. It wasn't unfriendly, it just felt like she was performing the expected action of a smile but had forgotten what a real one felt like. "A bath would be great, maybe some milk and cookies if you could scrounge some up?"
Kate smiled up at the Baroness. "Absolutely, did you want some help getting out of those clothes? I didnae see any personal items arrive yet. We have some clothes from previous Baronesses that we can use while we wait on those and I can have your current ones cleaned by morning."
"Right. Clothes and stuff. I suppose I'll need to bring some of them here. I can handle the getting into the bath by myself, thanks. Through there?" The Baroness pointed toward the correct direction and so Kate nodded.
"As you say, Baroness. I'll be back shortly with your milk and cookies. You want them now or after?"
"Now. Always now." Again giving that ghost of a smile.
Kate bobbed slightly and turned to get the order. When she returned, milk and cookies on a small silver tray, the Baroness was in the process of entering the bath. The first thing Kate noticed was the intricate tattoo that ran across the womans shoulders and down the length of her left side, a scrawl of dark blue patterns. It reminded Kate of the Celtic knotwork she'd seen back home but somehow with a darker cast to it.
The second were the two scars that ran the length of the woman's back, both started two inches below the top of her back and ran to about eight inches above the base of her spine. They appeared equidistant from her spine, one three inches to the left, one three inches to the right and about three inches thick the length of them. Kate couldn't imagine what caused those scars but they looked like brutal wounds, ones that should have killed the woman. Then again, people in Rhydin were difficult to kill...
Beyond those things were the expected bruises and gashes from the long night of dueling, some people didn't heal up in those strange rings and required a more practical means of recovery.
Kate cleared her throat softly and moved in. The Baroness, hearing her then, quickly sank into the tub before looking over at Kate. "Milk and cookies, the stuff of Gods."
Kate smiled warmly at the new Baroness. "A woman after m'own heart. Did you want me to send for the medic? He's a wonder at mending up duelers. And will there be anything else you require tonight, Baroness?" Said as she gathered up the pile of clothes left on the floor. "I managed to find a nightgown that should fit you and a set of clothes for tomorrow if you aren't of a mind to wear these again, though these will be ready for you soon after daybreak."
"This is perfect. Thank you Kate. You can call me Red. Never was one to stand on titles. No need for a medic, the wounds will heal." And there was something in her tone, beneath the fatigue, that spoke of a time when a title was all she'd been known by.
Kate shook off that feeling, she had been "blessed" with the sight and sometimes what she saw was vague and more often she saw things people preferred hidden and so she'd learned to not mention it. "As you say, Red. Not a difficult name to remember." Indeed, Red had hair to mark the on-the-head nickname. "Good evening. If you need anything just pull the rope by the bed."
Kate placed the milk and cookies on a small table that she pulled up to the bath and into easy reach for Red and then retreated. Her mind working out what the tattoos might be and what type of wound would cause those horrific scars. Life was full of mystery in this place, it would make for a good letter home at the least.
The woman that was shown in by Derek was tall, an adjective that Kate determined was probably the first, second and last one that struck a person on seeing the new Baroness. She would make sure not to mention it as she knew that people of a height grew weary of others asking them how tall or other such silly queries that they'd never ask a person of a more average height.
She stepped forward to present herself, and Derek motioned in her direction. "And here is Kate, as promised. She is here to assist you as you settle in and provide you with the normal services of a ladies maid."
The Baroness nodded a bit in a manner that said she'd no idea what the "normal services of a ladies maid" encompassed. Kate stepped forward again. "We'll be fine from here, Derek, you can leave now. I'm bettin' that the Baroness is longing for the hot bath you likely offered when she entered." She fell in beside the Baroness and in a loud whisper continued. "You'll need excuse him, he is always a bit mother-henish the first few days a new Baroness in residence."
The woman beside her gave her an odd smile, it was like an after image of one that had once been on those lips. It wasn't unfriendly, it just felt like she was performing the expected action of a smile but had forgotten what a real one felt like. "A bath would be great, maybe some milk and cookies if you could scrounge some up?"
Kate smiled up at the Baroness. "Absolutely, did you want some help getting out of those clothes? I didnae see any personal items arrive yet. We have some clothes from previous Baronesses that we can use while we wait on those and I can have your current ones cleaned by morning."
"Right. Clothes and stuff. I suppose I'll need to bring some of them here. I can handle the getting into the bath by myself, thanks. Through there?" The Baroness pointed toward the correct direction and so Kate nodded.
"As you say, Baroness. I'll be back shortly with your milk and cookies. You want them now or after?"
"Now. Always now." Again giving that ghost of a smile.
Kate bobbed slightly and turned to get the order. When she returned, milk and cookies on a small silver tray, the Baroness was in the process of entering the bath. The first thing Kate noticed was the intricate tattoo that ran across the womans shoulders and down the length of her left side, a scrawl of dark blue patterns. It reminded Kate of the Celtic knotwork she'd seen back home but somehow with a darker cast to it.
The second were the two scars that ran the length of the woman's back, both started two inches below the top of her back and ran to about eight inches above the base of her spine. They appeared equidistant from her spine, one three inches to the left, one three inches to the right and about three inches thick the length of them. Kate couldn't imagine what caused those scars but they looked like brutal wounds, ones that should have killed the woman. Then again, people in Rhydin were difficult to kill...
Beyond those things were the expected bruises and gashes from the long night of dueling, some people didn't heal up in those strange rings and required a more practical means of recovery.
Kate cleared her throat softly and moved in. The Baroness, hearing her then, quickly sank into the tub before looking over at Kate. "Milk and cookies, the stuff of Gods."
Kate smiled warmly at the new Baroness. "A woman after m'own heart. Did you want me to send for the medic? He's a wonder at mending up duelers. And will there be anything else you require tonight, Baroness?" Said as she gathered up the pile of clothes left on the floor. "I managed to find a nightgown that should fit you and a set of clothes for tomorrow if you aren't of a mind to wear these again, though these will be ready for you soon after daybreak."
"This is perfect. Thank you Kate. You can call me Red. Never was one to stand on titles. No need for a medic, the wounds will heal." And there was something in her tone, beneath the fatigue, that spoke of a time when a title was all she'd been known by.
Kate shook off that feeling, she had been "blessed" with the sight and sometimes what she saw was vague and more often she saw things people preferred hidden and so she'd learned to not mention it. "As you say, Red. Not a difficult name to remember." Indeed, Red had hair to mark the on-the-head nickname. "Good evening. If you need anything just pull the rope by the bed."
Kate placed the milk and cookies on a small table that she pulled up to the bath and into easy reach for Red and then retreated. Her mind working out what the tattoos might be and what type of wound would cause those horrific scars. Life was full of mystery in this place, it would make for a good letter home at the least.
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Red urThorne
- Adventurer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:06 am
The first few nights in the Old Temple were not restful for Red. Her dreams were haunted by images that slipped through her fingers with the light of day but left her feeling exhausted and ill-at-ease. She'd gone back to her small apartment above the museum in order to set herself right again but even there the dreams followed.
She'd wake in the early hours of morning, a fine sheen of sweat on her cool flesh that had nothing to do with the onset of higher temperatures. Faces drifted through her thoughts during the day that she'd not thought about in decades, and did not want to think about now. They were her past, a past she'd worked so very hard at leaving behind. Red had always known that one day she would have to face it again, but now did not seem the right time, nor did she think she had the stability to win out if it came to that.
There was a time in her life she should have taken on those ghosts, but it had slipped through her fingers like fine grains of sand, impossible to hold in any real amounts and leaving a layer of grit on her flesh that scraped and burned.
After her duel with Kheldar she'd stayed in the Annex for hours, the ancient bastard sword swinging through the air and moving through the combat forms she'd learned so many years ago. Had continued to do so until she could feel that slow ache build in her muscles that signaled that she was finally burning energy and might fall to an exhausted sleep.
Seeing Kheldar had unsettled her thoughts in a way she hadn't expected and one she didn't understand. Seeing him had brought to mind another age, but there was no real cause for it. Kheldar had always been a friendly face in the sports and no more. Perhaps it was that she kept everyone at arms length -- not a small distance for one of her size, and he was from a time in her history where she'd let someone get close?
It didn't matter, what mattered was that there was a chink in her armor when she finally fell to her bed that night. Red had gone back to Old Temple, feeling a sense of duty knowing that there were people waiting for her return. Her presence had begun to waken other waiting beings... and they used the chink in her armor to sneak into forbidden corners of her mind to pry out her secrets and shine a light on things she had kept hidden.
* * *
A familiar noise is what woke her from her sleep. The sound of metal on metal, followed by metal cutting through flesh was unmistakable. The difference between a slice that skimmed and parted the top layers of skin a wholly different beast than when an edged weapon drank deep and severed muscle and chipped bone.
She leapt from her bed, which vanished without note the moment she vacated it and sword in hand she swung around in an arc, her eyes scanning the battlefield desperately trying to get her bearings.
The dead surrounded her position, a mound of bodies that were three deep in some places and all mutilated by sword-inflicted wounds. Her bastard sword was dripping blood, sheets of it flowed down the length of the ancient blade and down onto her hands, already sticky and painted crimson.
The battlecry reached her from a distance, it rolled over the hills like thunder and she felt her blood run cold with recognition. He'd found her again. It was not fear that she felt, that emotion had never been a part of her makeup, but she knew that she could not face him here, not now after days of constant battle.
Retreat, that was her best option. She chose a direction away from the source of the battlecry. Those men that stood in her path attempted to fall back, to escape the death that marched at them with grim purpose. If they moved quickly enough she did not pursue, but her strides were far faster than that of a normal man, and she left a trail of the dead from that spot to the edge of the battlefield. Just as she breached its edge a darkness reached up from the earth to consume the world and wrap it in nothingness, to wrap her in nothingness and set her adrift.
* * *
She woke with a scream of rage on her lips and the sound of that battlecry echoing outward, sending a signal to those that knew how to listen... and to those that knew whose ears would pay for the words. Sleep would not come again that night, for with the growing certainty that her time apart from her past was drawing to an end...any hope of solace in slumber was kept at bay.
She'd wake in the early hours of morning, a fine sheen of sweat on her cool flesh that had nothing to do with the onset of higher temperatures. Faces drifted through her thoughts during the day that she'd not thought about in decades, and did not want to think about now. They were her past, a past she'd worked so very hard at leaving behind. Red had always known that one day she would have to face it again, but now did not seem the right time, nor did she think she had the stability to win out if it came to that.
There was a time in her life she should have taken on those ghosts, but it had slipped through her fingers like fine grains of sand, impossible to hold in any real amounts and leaving a layer of grit on her flesh that scraped and burned.
After her duel with Kheldar she'd stayed in the Annex for hours, the ancient bastard sword swinging through the air and moving through the combat forms she'd learned so many years ago. Had continued to do so until she could feel that slow ache build in her muscles that signaled that she was finally burning energy and might fall to an exhausted sleep.
Seeing Kheldar had unsettled her thoughts in a way she hadn't expected and one she didn't understand. Seeing him had brought to mind another age, but there was no real cause for it. Kheldar had always been a friendly face in the sports and no more. Perhaps it was that she kept everyone at arms length -- not a small distance for one of her size, and he was from a time in her history where she'd let someone get close?
It didn't matter, what mattered was that there was a chink in her armor when she finally fell to her bed that night. Red had gone back to Old Temple, feeling a sense of duty knowing that there were people waiting for her return. Her presence had begun to waken other waiting beings... and they used the chink in her armor to sneak into forbidden corners of her mind to pry out her secrets and shine a light on things she had kept hidden.
* * *
A familiar noise is what woke her from her sleep. The sound of metal on metal, followed by metal cutting through flesh was unmistakable. The difference between a slice that skimmed and parted the top layers of skin a wholly different beast than when an edged weapon drank deep and severed muscle and chipped bone.
She leapt from her bed, which vanished without note the moment she vacated it and sword in hand she swung around in an arc, her eyes scanning the battlefield desperately trying to get her bearings.
The dead surrounded her position, a mound of bodies that were three deep in some places and all mutilated by sword-inflicted wounds. Her bastard sword was dripping blood, sheets of it flowed down the length of the ancient blade and down onto her hands, already sticky and painted crimson.
The battlecry reached her from a distance, it rolled over the hills like thunder and she felt her blood run cold with recognition. He'd found her again. It was not fear that she felt, that emotion had never been a part of her makeup, but she knew that she could not face him here, not now after days of constant battle.
Retreat, that was her best option. She chose a direction away from the source of the battlecry. Those men that stood in her path attempted to fall back, to escape the death that marched at them with grim purpose. If they moved quickly enough she did not pursue, but her strides were far faster than that of a normal man, and she left a trail of the dead from that spot to the edge of the battlefield. Just as she breached its edge a darkness reached up from the earth to consume the world and wrap it in nothingness, to wrap her in nothingness and set her adrift.
* * *
She woke with a scream of rage on her lips and the sound of that battlecry echoing outward, sending a signal to those that knew how to listen... and to those that knew whose ears would pay for the words. Sleep would not come again that night, for with the growing certainty that her time apart from her past was drawing to an end...any hope of solace in slumber was kept at bay.
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Red urThorne
- Adventurer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:06 am
The wounds bled, a slow leak out of a dozen cuts that ran over bruised and battered flesh. The muscles in her forearm ached but that did not stop her from launching at her opponent again. She felt the edge of her dagger strike his armor and she flexed, driving the blade through the rough leathers to the flesh beneath. The man cried in surprise, his gray-green eyes going wide as he realized that she’d muscled her way through his armor as easily as others might go through paper. “What are you?” He rasped, his spittle flecked with blood.
“Does not matter. Fight on or surrender, it matters little to me.” Her voice sounded flat, even to her own ears. The lack of inflection put the man further off guard and he threw down his weapon as he shouted. “I yield!”
It was a disappointment for Red. This one had seemed promising, the physical pain had not yet outweighed the emotional numbness and this was her last fight for the evening. She would have to go home unsatisfied, or else pick a fight with somewhere someplace else. The other less legal fighting venues had already banned her from participating; one by one they had determined that she cost them more than she made. After the first night no one bet against her and she damaged the other fighters, even those with enhanced healing abilities suffered for days after they fought. It did not matter that she did not use the ancient bastard sword, all weapons in her hand became something more, something deadly and determined that left traces in a mans blood for days after they felt the bite of them.
She did a shoddy job of cleaning the worst of the blood up before heading out into the night. A part of her mind drifted back to her duel in the arena, and on how easily she slipped on that facade. Noah was nice to look at but he was not suitable, no, he seemed the sort that attached emotions to physical acts and that wouldn’t do.
And what of Tyr?
She would need do something about that too. Danger approached and as it got closer she felt all remnants of learned humanity falling away, stripping her down to what she’d been long ago and far away.
And if Rix returned?
Red’s forward motion halted. Where had that thought come from? Slowly she scanned the area, her feet having taken her to a secluded area in the glen that she did not recognize. There were no signs of the citys lights, the night was silent and not quite empty. “Show yourself.” Her voice rang out clear but there were many trees and who knew what else was nearby.
And if Rix returned?
“I would show him the greeting he deserves. Which is to say none at all. I could not care less for him, for any of them.” The coldness that cut the words left little doubt that she meant it.
Have you returned to us?
“I do not care for you either. Contacting me this way shows me that you are a coward. So which of my brothers are you?” The type of telepathy her kind shared did not give much to go on if the sender did not wish it so. There were images that implied the words or meanings but little else.
Return to us and live. Or die, it matters little to me.
There was a reply to be made but she knew it would not reach them, the presence was gone and she was alone once more. “I would damn you, but that was settled long ago. For you... for me. The worlds can burn.” Her words trailed off. She should be worried about her state of mind, but she could no longer bring herself to care even that much. Blood, more blood needed to be spilled and she would find a place or she’d make one. The night swallowed up her form as she moved, silent as a shadow and just as empty.
“Does not matter. Fight on or surrender, it matters little to me.” Her voice sounded flat, even to her own ears. The lack of inflection put the man further off guard and he threw down his weapon as he shouted. “I yield!”
It was a disappointment for Red. This one had seemed promising, the physical pain had not yet outweighed the emotional numbness and this was her last fight for the evening. She would have to go home unsatisfied, or else pick a fight with somewhere someplace else. The other less legal fighting venues had already banned her from participating; one by one they had determined that she cost them more than she made. After the first night no one bet against her and she damaged the other fighters, even those with enhanced healing abilities suffered for days after they fought. It did not matter that she did not use the ancient bastard sword, all weapons in her hand became something more, something deadly and determined that left traces in a mans blood for days after they felt the bite of them.
She did a shoddy job of cleaning the worst of the blood up before heading out into the night. A part of her mind drifted back to her duel in the arena, and on how easily she slipped on that facade. Noah was nice to look at but he was not suitable, no, he seemed the sort that attached emotions to physical acts and that wouldn’t do.
And what of Tyr?
She would need do something about that too. Danger approached and as it got closer she felt all remnants of learned humanity falling away, stripping her down to what she’d been long ago and far away.
And if Rix returned?
Red’s forward motion halted. Where had that thought come from? Slowly she scanned the area, her feet having taken her to a secluded area in the glen that she did not recognize. There were no signs of the citys lights, the night was silent and not quite empty. “Show yourself.” Her voice rang out clear but there were many trees and who knew what else was nearby.
And if Rix returned?
“I would show him the greeting he deserves. Which is to say none at all. I could not care less for him, for any of them.” The coldness that cut the words left little doubt that she meant it.
Have you returned to us?
“I do not care for you either. Contacting me this way shows me that you are a coward. So which of my brothers are you?” The type of telepathy her kind shared did not give much to go on if the sender did not wish it so. There were images that implied the words or meanings but little else.
Return to us and live. Or die, it matters little to me.
There was a reply to be made but she knew it would not reach them, the presence was gone and she was alone once more. “I would damn you, but that was settled long ago. For you... for me. The worlds can burn.” Her words trailed off. She should be worried about her state of mind, but she could no longer bring herself to care even that much. Blood, more blood needed to be spilled and she would find a place or she’d make one. The night swallowed up her form as she moved, silent as a shadow and just as empty.
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Red urThorne
- Adventurer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:06 am
The emptiness inside her grew well beyond the boundaries of her soul, such as it was or as she imagined it. It echoed in her head and warped into words of bitterness and hatred that seared scars into the fragments of borrowed humanity.
The true scars on her back had started to itch of late. The flesh threatening to mend itself... again. How many times must she mutilate herself before the form stuck? She found no solace in anything she did, not even her art, which was full of blood when she put brush to canvas. The shadows seemed to reach for her as she passed and she saw betrayal in the eyes of those she hardly knew, and could not possibly know the truth of her and yet... her brothers were manipulative and sly, and could persuade others to do her harm.
"Red, will you be taking dinner in your quarters again?" Kate called in from the doorway, not daring to enter. When Kate looked at her these past few weeks Red would have sworn that the woman saw right through the facades to the truth. If she did and still remained she had far more fortitude than Red had credited.
Kate would remain at the door until Red answered, Red knew, but some perverse curiosity kept her silent as she watched the woman. Saw the nervous twitch of fingers as they clutched at the fabric of her skirts and the averting of eyes when the stare became too intense. "Yes, in here. If my squire comes along today have Rennard train with her, make sure he uses a reach weapon."
Kate ducked a curtsy as she muttered a quick acknowledgment and darted from the door. Red stared at the doorway for a long time, part of her mind still tried to drag her from the mire that she was drowning in... it simply wasn't strong enough anymore. Her brothers would come soon, it made little difference if this version of Red remained... that version would not, could not survive the fight that was coming... so it was for the best.
And the emptiness grew.
The true scars on her back had started to itch of late. The flesh threatening to mend itself... again. How many times must she mutilate herself before the form stuck? She found no solace in anything she did, not even her art, which was full of blood when she put brush to canvas. The shadows seemed to reach for her as she passed and she saw betrayal in the eyes of those she hardly knew, and could not possibly know the truth of her and yet... her brothers were manipulative and sly, and could persuade others to do her harm.
"Red, will you be taking dinner in your quarters again?" Kate called in from the doorway, not daring to enter. When Kate looked at her these past few weeks Red would have sworn that the woman saw right through the facades to the truth. If she did and still remained she had far more fortitude than Red had credited.
Kate would remain at the door until Red answered, Red knew, but some perverse curiosity kept her silent as she watched the woman. Saw the nervous twitch of fingers as they clutched at the fabric of her skirts and the averting of eyes when the stare became too intense. "Yes, in here. If my squire comes along today have Rennard train with her, make sure he uses a reach weapon."
Kate ducked a curtsy as she muttered a quick acknowledgment and darted from the door. Red stared at the doorway for a long time, part of her mind still tried to drag her from the mire that she was drowning in... it simply wasn't strong enough anymore. Her brothers would come soon, it made little difference if this version of Red remained... that version would not, could not survive the fight that was coming... so it was for the best.
And the emptiness grew.
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