• View
• Edit
• History
• Print

< Talks Through Doors | Sol Invictus Logs | Red Lily Manse >

---

• Zahara inspects the round, flat, tomato and cheese items on the table in front of her, with various exotic toppings, "So, what was it you called this... delicacy... Birds?"
• Birds munches on hers. "Moon cakes."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "After Luna's pockmarked face."

<Kai> "We have them sometimes in Nexus."

• Zahara picks up a slice and tries it tentatively, "Ow! I think I just burned the roof of my mouth on this molten cheese.." she frowns slightly... "But they ARE good.."
• Cerin picks up the slice and samples it. "Mmm...It is good."
• Cerin frowns softly, and pushes back from the table. "I'm just going to go and check on something I heard, it won't take long. Please, don't wait."
• Kai watches him curiously as he leaves, then happily returns to her meal.
• Zahara nods, and tries another bite

Some time passes, and Cerin has still not returned. The meal passes on, when Kai fells a slight feeling prickling on the hairs of the back of her neck. So does Zahara. Birds feels nothing.

• Zahara turns, feeling that something is out of place, her fork serving to deflect the deadly attack aimed at her shoulderblades as she reflexively summons her Arsenal
• Birds dives into the punch bowl with a battlecry, gripped by some mad premonition.
• Kai upsets her chair as she spins around, drawing Daybreaker a fraction of a second too late.

Birds and Zahara feel a burst of concern and suprise through the unity from Cerin. That is cut short.

Behind you, strange blurred shapes are visible, they are all holding whisper thin blades of a purple metal. They glint coldly.

<Zahara> "Cerin!" Zahara's expression darkens. It is one thing to attack HER. Another to attack HIM. Her weapons seem to quiver with rage, and she draws her daiklave, seeking out her enemies.

• Birds squeezes juice out of her hair as she draws Reborn Ecstatic Plume with her other hand. Ew, juicy sword.
• Kai 's eyes glitter with anger as she moves toward the nearest shape. Daybreaker flits like a rabbit's shadow towards the assailant's throat.

The blur of the assasin flickers as it tries to evade Kai's cut. Blood spurts from a wound its chest. Across from Zahara, the knife glows with purple energy as it slices once more.

• Kai smiles.

<Though her weapons are swift, the strange knife is quicker, cutting through the space between Zahara, cutting her even through True Love.

• Zahara snarls, eyes flashing even as blood sprays from her wounds, replacing the liquid in the empty punch bowl
• Birds smiles at the others. "Nice work." She steps between Zahara and her assailant and stabs.

The blur staggers backwards, blood flowing from a series of deep cuts!

From across the table the assassin cuts the air 4 times in a complex pattern, the essence about her shattering to reveal a lithe form clad in purple, a single blade laid diagonally over a diamond blazing on her forehead. Birds starts to move in evasion.

Birds feels her grace cut from her by the blows, even as they cut her flesh.

There is a flicker and a purple blur as the concealment around the assassin facing Kai shatters. Suddenly the man is on the other side of the room, and Kai feels a cut at her side.

<Kai> As she feels motion by her side, Kai channels her will into Daybreaker. Shining black and gold, it moves without effort to her defense, and as it hits the assassin's weapon, the dagger flichers and loses its shine.

The dagger falls to the floor

• Zahara flings the fork at the Assassin's eyes, shortly followed by the seemingly heat-seeking weapons of Fire and Ice, as the War Bell peals above her, making the very walls shiver.

The assasin is cut to peices by Zahara's fury!

Both the other assassins scream as the sound ruptures organs throughout their bodies.

<Zahara> "YOU DARE ENTER MY HOME?" She growls, advancing toward the next closest, "You could not POSSIBLY think you would win. I will turn you to dust, and send the ashes back to your masters."

Over in the corner, the man that Kai disarmed flares and makes a slashing gesture, a two dimensional strip of purple essence appearing in his hands, just before he vanishes.

He appears behind Zahara, the strip embedded in her body.

• Zahara staggers as the strip appears from nowhere, adding extra sauce to the moon cakes. Mmmm moon cakes.
• Markuran appears in the doorframe, dripping blood from a heavy slice in his chest and belly. The blood stains Shining Vision and Marku's anima a burnished red gold. With a stone-shaking bellow of rage, the warlord throws himself into the man who struck at Zahara and wraps his arms around him. As Marku's anima flares higher the blood from his wounds hisses to steam and joins the soul of the assassin on its way to the next life.

There is another cutting gesture, and the man is no longer there. He reappears in the doorway, as marku's attacks blaze against nothing.

<Kai> "Slippery one." Kai hisses, as she darts toward him. She moves in close, close enough to feel his breath, as she moves to place Daybreaker between his ribs.

He slumps around the blade.

• Kai twists it.
• Zahara directs her weapons to the last of the assasins, aiming to cripple rather than kill, slamming a sword through each hand to stop him from manipulating essence with them, the chain and staff moving to entangle and grip his legs. "Now... now you will NOT die."

The assassin explodes in purple light, her weapon slicing outwards in a complex bloom of purple. 4 of the 5 weapons fall from the air, sliced in half by the razorfine blade. Before the sword pins her hand to the table.

She struggles trying to pull it free.

• Zahara steps forward, the bell hovering menacingly above her head. "Subdue her without lethal force, if you please."

<Zahara> "I have *PLANS* for this one."

• Birds nods briefly and whacks the assassin upside the head with the flat of Reborn Ecstatic Plume.

She slumps into unconciousness.

• Kraken is now known as Cerin

<Zahara> "Dinner here is never boring." She picks her way across the wreckage of table and chairs to inspect the unconscious Exalt-thing. "Looks like we just got a couple of free soul widgets."

• Markuran peers at the bodies, dead and unconcious. "Who are these..assassins.." Marku spits the word

<BirdsOfTrinity> "You could wait for that one to wake up and ask."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "She might not be in a chatting mood."

• Kai is rifling through the clothing and posessions of the body by the door.
• Birds sets to picking chips of ice and chunks of fruit out of her hair.

<Birds?> "Maybe we should retire early. I am not feeling so well."

<Zahara> "They are god-Exalts, from what I could tell. We will find out more shortly." She secures the unconscious body with silken scarves, then wrenches the sword from her hand.

<Zahara> "I'm sure she will feel like chatting soon. Marku, if you would bring her to the White Room for me?"

• Markuran nods and lifts the woman into one arm. The other hand wraps lightly around her throat, ready to deal with any trouble she might give if she awakens. "I could use one of your..bugs, Zahara."
• Zahara sends one of the sesseljae to him, "Did you see Cerin?"

<BirdsOfTrinity> "Can you feel him in the Unity?"

• Markuran shakes his head. "I didn't see him."
• Birds realises that she has been broadcasting a certain generalised distress and stops.
• Zahara shakes her head, looking slightly worried. "He was there, but got cut off suddenly. He must be unconscious somewhere."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "Drat."

• Zahara summons Tantamount to her, waiting impatiently for him to arrive. "I must find him."

<Markuran> "We need to secure this one first, Zahara. Cerin can take care of himself easily."

<Zahara> "Then why isn't he here?"

<Markuran> "He may be fighting. He wouldn't want you to let this one escape."

<Zahara> "This one is secure in the Bonds, and will be even more secure in the White Room in additional chains.

<Markuran> "Once we secure her, we can all find Cerin."

<Markuran> "Then come and help me seal her there."

<Kai> "Why don't two of us handle her, the others check on Cerin?"

<Zahara> "Fine, lock her up. Come." she heads off at a fast pace to the White Room, where she manipulates the locks, and tacks the exalt to the wall in a temporary fashion.

• Zahara then returns, to where Tanty awaits, inspecting the blood-filled room. "Tantamount, have you seen Cerin?"

Tantamount looks at Zahara quizzically.

<Zahara> "I need you to find him. He's gone."

• Tantamount turns around and moves to search.

A few moments later, Zahara hears Tantamount roar from elsewhere in the compound.

• Zahara paces behind him, peering around to see if he missed anything.
• Zahara hurries her steps to catch up with hiim
• Markuran follows on Zahara's heels
• Kai , cleanig up the dining room of bodies, looks up.

Zahara and Markuran run down through a set of bendy hallways and up a flight of stairs, following Tanty's sounds. In one of the small tea gardens, they find quite a scene -- Cerin, slumped unconscious and bleeding across a table, while the corpses of three assassins cool about him, strewn in odd and elaborate poses about the room.

• Zahara rushes to cerin's side, preceeded by the three Sesseljae, who dive into his skin, clicking and whirring happily as they begin to knit his wounds

The sesseljae knit Cerin back into some basic semblance of life.

• Cerin comes too with a pained gasp, spitting out blood. He looks up at Zahara with a mixture of concern and relief. Then coughs up some more blood.
• Zahara neatly sidesteps the blood, then leans down and kisses his forehead. "I see Markuran was correct."

<Cerin> "..correct?" he winces out.

<Zahara> "He said you could take care of yourself." she gestures to the intricate assassins.

• Markuran crouches down beside Cerin, giving the man a clap on the shoulder. "You did better then even I. Only two fell before me. You will have great cause for pride from this battle, Cerin."
• Cerin grins a little "Just about. Everyone else" he flickers effortlessly aside from Marku's shoulder slap "alright?"

<Zahara> "So it seems. We saved one to talk to."

• Cerin nods "Kasima makes powerful Exalts it seems."

<Zahara> "Ahh, I should have recognized it sooner."

<Zahara> "We should destroy Kasima before more of these come for us."

<Cerin> "It will be hard. He is one of the leaders of the Red Lily."

<Zahara> "An even better reason to target him."

• Cerin nods.
• Birds opens her mouth, and closes it, and opens it again.

<BirdsOfTrinity> "Hm."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "No, never mind, we don't have the time."

<Markuran> "If he empowered these, he may be a worthy foe indeed...though vastly difficult to slay."

<Zahara> "time for what?"

<Birds?> "Monsters."

<Zahara> "Monsters?"

<BirdsOfTrinity> "You can make a monster grow in something, right, and when the time is right it tears its way free, loyal to you and knowing your wishes?"

• Cerin stands and with a lack of grace that probably none of the circle has seen, walks over to the assassins.

<Birds?> "I saw a spell for it in the library."

<Zahara> "Ah, the Spawning of Monsters... hmmm.. that WOULD be interesting. Although I believe it would take.. hmm. several months." she frowns slightly

<BirdsOfTrinity> "Therein lies the flaw in this plan."

<Markuran> "Are you well, Cerin?"

• Zahara nods consideringly

<Zahara> "Either way, it would be a good purpose for the assassin."

<Cerin> "They had charms that cut things that should not get cut. They cut away my grace, amongst other things."

<Zahara> "I felt that myself."

<Birds?> "You too."

<Zahara> "If only all of them were more like Bertrand, my life would be so much easier." she sighs

• Markuran nods slightly himself. "If not for my Charms, they would have weakened me so greatly I would not have been able to life a rhinocerous, much less an elephant."

<Cerin> "They cut the Unity from me too."

<Birds?> "That would put such a snag in your elephant-wrangling career."

<Zahara> "I DEFINITELY felt that. I was worried."

• Cerin nods emphatically "I didn't know if you were alive or dead.." he winces, then pushes the sesselje out.

<Zahara> "We must make sure there aren't any others we haven't come upon."

• Cerin nods once more "We need to do that, yes. Where is Kai?"
• Zahara accepts the buglike demons back as they crawl into her skin and settle inside. "She was right behind us, I thought." she looks
• Cerin walks his barely more graceful than a cat walk over to Zahara. "We should find her, then check the manse."

<Zahara> "Oh, She must have stayed behind to finish cleaning up. They made quite a mess of the dining room." she watches his akward movement with concern, "After we check the manse, you need to rest."

• Kai emerges from inside. "I'm not sure what you generally do with, uhm, bodies... So I kind of piled them up, out of the way. And I gathered the daggers." She presents them.
• Birds examines one.
• Zahara takes another

<Birds?> "You know, it's really interesting how each new Exalting god creates a new Magical Material.

<Zahara> "I need to extract the soul cage from each of them, but after that they will be burned."

<alsoquin?> The daggers are purple, with an unusual sheen to them.

• Markuran looks most unhappy. "The bodies aren't important. They can be disposed of. But I think we should find how these came into the Labyrinth without our knowledge."
• Cerin takes one carefully. He frowns at it "I mentioned it..in the thesis I wrote..I think."

<Zahara> "It is, isn't it? I wonder if it will lose its magical properties when the God dies. We should find out."

<Cerin> "They Removed themselves from perception."

<Kai> "They were also carrying flower petals. And blank paper."

<Cerin> "Show them to me, please."

• Kai does.

<Markuran> "Blank, why carry blank paper?

<Markuran> "A message must be hidden on it. Blank paper is just silly."

• Cerin frowns and focuses on the petals and the paper, looking at them carefully, trying to ignore how slow and clumsy he feels
• Zahara places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently, and looking at the paper as well

<Zahara> "Hmmm. It was not always blank, it seems."

<Cerin> "No. Though what it contained.." he shrugs

<Zahara> "We shall have to ask the bearer." She straightens, and looks toward the cells. "Do you wish to join me in questioning our new guest?"

• Cerin nods "Yes..though if I am to help, they had best not be in the White Room."

<Zahara> "She is, for now. I did not wish her to escape."

<Markuran> "Even though I'm weaker then I should be, I can prevent her from doing harm even outside the Room. We can question her elsewhere."

<Zahara> "She has that strange teleporting ability. That is what I am concerned of. Regardless, the Bonds will function if I am there."

• Cerin has a slightly strange expression pass over his face at the mention of the Bonds. He nods though "To the white room then?"
• Zahara nods in return, noting his expression idly. Then she turns and leads the way to the prison
• Cerin walks by her side, evidently hating every step.
• Zahara slows her pace slightly for Cerin's benefit, yet they eventually reach the White Room. Once sealing the door of the outer Chamber, she releases the lock of the White Room, and steps inside.
• Cerin remains outside. He doesnt want to loose command of essence on top of this distressing grace.

The final assassin is there.

• Zahara seals the door behind her and anyone else who enters, then walks over to the prisoner. She sends a small electric charge through the Bonds, jolting her into alertness. Or further into a coma. whichever.

The prisoner awakes.

• Zahara causes the Bonds to encase the prisoner's entire body with a simple thought, rendering her blind and unable to move, except her mouth and nose. "You should be proud of yourself." she says softly, and her words echo in the assassin's ears. "You lived through what could only be described as an assassination attempt."

The assassin makes no obvious movement.

<Zahara> "Here is how this is going to work. You can answer truthfully, or you can lie. Would you like to find out what happens when you lie? Stubborn silence will get you the same reward, of course."

There is no response.

• Zahara floods the Bonds with the touch of fire, which seems to race over the victim's body, searing her skin from her bones. Yet, after an eternally long moment, it ends, and she is whole, although she can still feel echoes of the pain.

The assassin twitches and spasms, but does not say anything.

• Cerin knocks on the door.
• Zahara follows that sensation with one of pleasure, which she leaves on while she goes to answer the door. "Yes?"
• Cerin glances at the assassin "Is she speaking yet? If you can bring her out here, I will listen to the words she doesnt say.."

<Zahara> "I was going to give her a bit of time to think about her options."

• Cerin nods "As you wish."

<alsoquin?> The assassin remains resolutely silent.

• Markuran peers at her. "If she doesn't wish to speak, find something else to do with her."
• Zahara turns, at once ceasing all sensation, and covering her mouth and nose but for the smallest of holes. "Enjoy your rest, I shall return when it suits me." Once she finishes speaking she cuts off even the ability to hear sounds, and shuts the door to the White Room behind her.

<Zahara> "She will speak."

• Zahara smiles slightly. "In time."

---

Tags: (:tags God-Exalts, Kasima :)

< Talks Through Doors | Sol Invictus Logs | Red Lily Manse >