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| Ghosts of Weavers Past | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 12 2009, 12:55 PM (657 Views) | |
| Zeth | Nov 10 2009, 07:21 PM Post #16 |
 
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"Yeah, about ye high, black hair, comes down to here..." Conner indicated with his hands Aldrich's general description as he made his way to the outskirts of the marketplace. The fat, hairy man in the stall next to the woman he was talking to poked his head out to speak to Conner. "Aye, you mean Alexei? 'E wuz 'ere 'bout an hour 'go!" Conner sighed and shook his head, "No, he answers to Aldrich. Has a cough he hangs on to, kinda light-brownish eyes...?" The man just shook his head and went back to tending his sundry wares. Conner looked to the woman who acted similarly. Conner was about to walk away before the man stopped himself with a mighty pulling up of his drawers which somehow, for him, looked thoughtful. "'Ey boy!" Conner stopped to look at the grungy merchant, "Yeah?" "You might try asking down ah Yohawn's place--'e's the last one in the market in that durection. Got hisself a buggy he likes ridin' round the place. Likes talkin' tuh kooks and strangers too. Mighta seen yur fella." Conner nodded and gave a small salute of two fingers to the man as he spun on a heel in the direction indicated, "Thanks, I think I will!" |
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| dinowoman | Nov 13 2009, 08:01 PM Post #17 |
Living Fossil
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Aldrich grunted as he deposited the heavy crate on the ground behind the stall. As he straightened up, Johann was already introducing his son. "Peter, this gentleman 'ere is Aldrich. Met 'im while I was up on the hills. Aldrich, this is Peter. He's a good lad." "Pleased ta meet ya," Peter said chirpily, and held out a hand. Aldrich gripped it firmly in his own and rasped, "Likewise," from behind his scarf. After issuing various instructions about the contents of the of the newly-arrived containers, Johann turned towards his vehicle once more. "Would ya be willing again?" He looked hopefully at Aldrich. "I guess so," Aldrich replied in a tone that stopped just this side of grudging. "It's not like I'm in a rush to get anywhere in particular. I'm probably just as likely to get information about my people here as anywhere else. I'll ask around the market once you've finished taking advantage of my good nature." Johann shot him a worried look, but the sparkle in Aldrich's eyes reassured him that his temporary colleague wasn't as disgruntled as he was making out. "You should ask Peter. He keeps 'is eyes an' ears open." As they returned with the second load, Johann told his son about Aldrich's missing friends. "Yeah," Aldrich added. "I'm looking for a young girl, a bit gawky, freckles, spiky blonde hair, jeans and a green jacket. And a thin guy, very pale. Dark brown coat. Looks a bit old-fashioned. And also a short, blond guy. Looks about 25, wears a blindfold. Got black..." "You don't mean him, do you ya?" Peter interrupted, staring across the market square. Aldrich followed his gaze. From behind a gaggle of people clustered around one of the stalls, about 100 metres away, a young man in black fatigues, a black vest, and a very obvious black blindfold, emerged. Despite apparently being unable to see, he appeared to be stepping out confidently. "Peter," Aldrich exclaimed, "You've just become my best friend! Thanks for the help. Both of you." Then, with a slight wave of acknowledgement and a clearing of the throat, Aldrich strode out between the stalls. |
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| Zeth | Nov 18 2009, 10:56 PM Post #18 |
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The man was lean, almost disturbingly so, with sunken features and an unhealthy pallour about him. The first thing that came to Ivan's mind to describe him was "death warmed over." A cliched description maybe, but quite accurate. Ivan couldn't take him for the living dead though. He knew the living dead. He'd been there. But those wings, the tattered wings weren't a mark of the living dead, not any kind Ivan knew at any rate. And the man's bearing was...not quite right. All these thoughts held up rather feebly under any outside scrutiny; he could be a vampire. Ivan had only just seen him, fact-wise, he couldn't make any call. But these impressions and feelings came from Shark, whose keen instincts were still relaying to Ivan as the apparition growled at the man. And Shark definitely would have known if a vampire had entered the room. The packed courtroom somehow--totally beyond Ivan's comprehension--managed to compress further, allowing the man a nice aisle down the center, which was being secured by two armed men at his sides and another behind him. The man himself apparently had no fear of danger from the front judging from his confidant stride and condescending glances about the courtroom. The judge stood as well, cementing the fact that the man, the vamp, the angel, whatever he was, was in fact a higher rank. But if these people and the judge were such xenophobs, why were they acknowledging this creature? "Your Eminence!" the judge managed to blurt out, "To what do we owe the pleasure of your joining us today?" The man approached the bar and passed through the gate casually, not answering the query immediately. Instead, he strolled over to the witness stand to examine both Ivan and "Mr. Skysport" before turning his head to the judge. "Dear judge, you won't tell me it's a crime to be interested in my patrons, will you? Our fine system of law should be proud! Though perhaps you've become a bit overzealous? I didn't know you'd started trying them in mass." The judge smiled nervously but gratefully, almost in a mood that could be described as giddy. "Well your Eminence, the smaller there interrupted the proceedings so he could help his friend illegally. Not that he should have been here in the first place. Two counts of wrongdoing evident at once, they're obviously connected and court's already in session. We saw no reason to waste the time of the jury." The winged man nodded once as he took a parting glance at Ivan and walked back to the center of the courtroom area not taken by the gallery. "Well enough. Were you about to execute the verdict?" "Yes, your Eminence. They are both to be shot." His Eminence shook his head and gave a look of slight dismay, "Tsk, too quick I'm afraid. As I said, our system of law is doing its job marvelously--however, it doesn't seem to be deterrent enough. We'll have this execution in a manner more familiar to the old population in the western districts. Perhaps then they'll comprehend why they should remain where they are." He gestured to the bailiff and his deputies, who had been keeping a wary eye on the entranced gallery during the exchange. "Put them both in binds and have them readied to move. My own men will do so once they are ready." Next he turned to the gallery and raised his voice, "Ladies and gentlemen! Two animals have run amok through your home! In the old world, they hung animals to drain. I see no reason not to do likewise to these two animals." There was much uproar from the crowd at these comments, but Ivan missed it, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of rage coming through Shark, who had taken less than kindly to the animal comments. Before Ivan could do anything, he felt himself pushed to the side, and his muscles and flesh rippled as Shark lunged through him in the direction of the winged-death, the demon. It was fascinating how in the next moment, less than a second really, the demon seemed to move out of the way of the lightning quick attack, leaving Shark slamming into the floor beyond and the deputies and demon guards piling onto him. Shark screamed, not used to being outmaneuvered. The guards were quick about beating him, as the gallery pushed back through the exit. When the scuffle ended, Shark was pinned down to the floor chest down, with at least 4 knees wedged firmly in his back and his head pulled back by his hair so his huge black eyes could glare at his tormentor, who stood looking down with a puzzled amusement at this latest development. "And bailiff," the demon crouched down to look into Shark's enormous pupils, "bring this one's effects." ----- A tap on the shoulder brought Conner spinning around to look Aldrich in the face, and he stepped back in surprise. "God Aldrich," Conner looked about the market for any signs of Ivan or Wolf with Aldrich, but didn't see anyone else, "how do you do that?" |
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| dinowoman | Nov 22 2009, 06:08 PM Post #19 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially. "A magician never reveals his methods," he quipped. Then, more seriously, "I guess it's too much to hope that you've got Wolfie and Ivan with you?" Automatically, his eyes scanned the nearby heads in the crowd as he spoke, seeking out a familiar face or a characteristic hairstyle. As he had half expected, there was no sign of them. |
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| Teenage Mage | Nov 23 2009, 10:08 PM Post #20 |
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner's heart sank. "I was hoping you had," he said. "I...well, I lost Wolf." He explained about the incident in the marketplace. Aldrich listened with a serious face, digging his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. "I had to get out of the marketplace quick after that," he finished. "And I haven't seen hide nor hair of Ivan and his ghostie since we left-I don't even know if he made it through to this...place. Only thing I know is, she mentioned slavers." Waiting for Aldrich's deliberation, he smiled at Peter, who was trying to hide his blatant staring. Spooked, the boy ducked down below the stall, and Conner turned back to Aldrich. "Well, boss?" |
 He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| dinowoman | Nov 28 2009, 09:36 AM Post #21 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich ignored Peter's antics behind the stall he had just left and stood motionless, hands still firmly thrust in pockets and absentmindedly fingering their various contents, while he considered their next move. It was possible that this "Inquisitor" person was just another victim of the collision of worlds, who had used the situation to his advantage and risen to power, but his gut feeling told him there was more to it than that. He needed to take a look at the man for himself as soon as possible. But right now the order of business was to find his missing 'Weavers. As he stood musing, a word drifted to his ears from the general hubbub of the crowd. Someone had just said "Inquisitor". He immediately focused his attention in that direction and listened intently. It was hard to make out anything distinctly but a few words and phrases came over clearly enough: "Yes ....... big ruckus ... courtroom ........... just came ..... trial .... interrupted .............. man in a brown ................. fight ... Inquisitor .............. who'd dare do? .............................. both ... execution..." Aldrich's mind went into overdrive. Clearly there had been a trial and the Inquisitor was involved in some way. That much was interesting if they were going to be looking for the Inquisitor any time soon. But what really grabbed his attention were two phrases: "man in a brown" and "who'd dare do?" From what he'd gleaned about the Inquisitor, both from Johann and from Conner's report, the entire population was in awe of him. If someone in the courtroom had done something untoward in the Inquisitor's presence, it was most likely an outsider. The person in brown, perhaps? A brown coat? Ivan? Or, more likely, Shark? Whoever it was, it sounded like they were going to be executed... "Conner," he rasped, a note of determination in his voice, "I think a visit to the courthouse is in order!" And then, slightly less authoritatively, "Any idea where it is?" |
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| Teenage Mage | Dec 8 2009, 01:12 PM Post #22 |
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner tugged on the back of his blindfold. " 'Fraid not," he said. "Perhaps your young friend here knows?" Peter poked his head back up over the top of the stall as both men turned to look at him. "I can lead you to the courthouse," he said, "but I ain't going in, not to the execution grounds either. I don't wanna watch no people get killed. Not...again." He looked down at his hands, avoiding meeting Aldrich's eyes. Conner leaned over and put a comforting arm around the boy's shoulders. "We won't make you go in," he said. "And if we have our way, no one's going to get hung on the grounds today. Just take us to it, and then you can forget all about us." Like everyone always does, he thought. Peter looked as though he were considering for a moment. Then he stood up, shaking off Conner's arm. "Right, well, c'mon then," he said, smiling weakly. "We'd better get going if you're looking to stop it in time." The boy bounded out of the stall and the two Weavers hastened to follow him as he lead the way to the courthouse and the growing crowd of hateful lynchers. |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| Zeth | Jan 3 2010, 04:00 PM Post #23 |
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Trudging, trudging, trudging, Trudging, TRUDGING! Don't these people know how to do anything faster than a snail?! I don't even know where we're going and I could have been there and back hours ago! Stupid chains and guns! CHAINS and GUNS! We only got here a little over an hour ago. How could you have been there and back hours ago? I could have! Shark growled menacingly at a one of the helmeted guards tugging at the chain leading to his shackled wrists as he continued his internal monologue with Ivan. I could have gone there running fast and then made it all the way back before they'd even left the courtroom. The COURTROOM! They had been walking in the middle of the mob that had at one point been the courtroom attendance for nearly half an hour now, though it seemed longer. When they had set out, people coming and going as they passed what may have been homes or places of employment, the crowd had been raucous, loud, jeering and arguing. As they kept onwards, to the edge of the more urbanised part of town, the mob had sullied out, until now they made hardly any sound at all besides the rattling of metal against metal or wood, or the pad of feet on pavement and cement and grass. The whole thing had developed a very real feeling of a funeral procession. All that was missing was a dirge. Though Ivan, from his back-seat sort of view, could imagine that elf guy singing one from the mournful look on his face. He really had a wide range of emotions that fellow. But that judgement was based on only a brief glimpse that he'd gleaned from Shark's keen eyes, which Shark kept darting between the guards tugging on him, the closer crowd, and the demon-man. The demon, for his part, still returned the looks with his own of curiosity and amusement, as if he were some scientist who had just gotten permission to dissect some strange new creature, and now waited only for the animal to reach the lab, where the scalpel waited. Ivan decided to try and calm Shark a bit, perhaps make him more ready to do something smart rather than vengeful should a chance at escape appear. Where do you figure they're taking us, Shark? Somewhere open. Shark turned his head forward, looking straight ahead between what heads he could with his arched down neck and hunter's posture, not helped by the lean added by his hands shackled behind his back. Smell the air? It's laced with hardwood sap. SAP! It's not very easy to get enough sap from a hardwood tree to smell on the air here. In a CITY! At least, thought Ivan, not as easy as it is with softwoods, pines. That means somewhere close has had a lot of trees cut down recently. That makes it easy to run! And hard to hide. Not if there's still uncut parts of forest around. But we don't NEED to HIDE! True to the first part. But yes, definitely to the second. Shark, you're disturbingly outnumbered. They have automatic weapons. Shark didn't answer, just further furrowed his brow and cast a hateful glare at the guard who continued to tug at his wrists. The group had always been in what looked like suburbia, but had been walking through residential area in the past view minutes. Sparse trees lined the streets sporadically, but showed no signs of being cut. But gradually the houses thinned, and the trees thickened only slightly, until the road was mostly empty aside from the odd house, business, or church. And then they reached the cemetery. Oh...those are gallows aren't they... |
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| dinowoman | Jan 4 2010, 12:44 PM Post #24 |
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Living Fossil
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It took only a few minutes to reach the courthouse from the market place. It took even less time, having arrived, to ascertain from a bystander that the court proceedings had long since finished and the "guilty parties" - two of them: an elf and his strange-looking, brown-coated accomplice - had been led off to the execution grounds. Peter looked thoughtful, but also a little anxious. "The execution grounds're right on the edge o' town. Usually takes 'em a while to walk the prisoners there, what with bein' shackled an' all that. We we might be able ta make it if we run all the way. They'll need a bit o' time to get things sorted once they get there. But I...." He trailed off. Aldrich's eyes softened. "I know. You don't wanna go in. You just point us in the right direction, then you're free to go." "Ok," Peter said, gratefully. "It's this way." He set off at a remarkably brisk run. Aldrich took off after him, keeping pace easily. Despite his confident demeanour, inwardly he was worried about Ivan. He lamented the fact that he was forced to rely on Peter for guidance: he could have travelled so much faster alone, and the sooner he could find Ivan, the more time he'd have to work out a plan to save him. Nevertheless, his anxiety was far outweighed by his absolute determination that no harm would come to the junior 'Weaver. After only ten minutes or so, they reached a long, straight road that seemed to be heading out of town, and there, up ahead, was a crowd of people . Peter looked back over his shoulder at Aldrich as he pointed and panted, "That's them! An’ they’ve just reached the cemetery." "Good lad," Aldrich wheezed. He was fit, but physical exertion in this dusty town was doing his respiratory tract no favours at all. "We can take it from here. You head on back." Peter nodded gratefully, slowed his pace, and then turned back. Aldrich turned to Conner beside him. "Time for a ride, my boy!" With that, he grabbed his colleague in a bear-hug, lifted off the ground, and vanished in a blur. He knew there was a slight risk of some magic-sensitive person seeing this, but in the circumstances, he was satisfied with the odds. In no time at all he had reached rear of the crowd surrounding the prisoners, and set Conner down. Gradually they wormed their way closer and closer to the two shackled individuals. Aldrich could see Shark quite clearly now between the heads in front of him. He was chained to a guard by the wrists, and several other guards kept a close eye on him, but his legs weren't chained. He'd be able to run if he were set free. However, not only were the guards armed with automatic weapons, but there was also a very strange-looking winged individual who appeared to be watching Shark with great interest, and to whom, Aldrich suspected, the Riftweavers would be totally visible. Aldrich jabbed Conner in the ribs. “Over there,” he hissed. “Near Ivan - I mean Shark. Wings, armour. Is that the Inquisitor?” He could see the gallows standing on a hillock in the cemetery that they were just entering. He needed to work out a tactic, and quickly. That chain didn’t look like it’d break too easily. A bullet would take it out, but would also attract immediate attention (not to mention possibly also taking out one of the crowd in the process). And there’d be nowhere to run – too many people between Shark and freedom. And nowhere to hide if he did get clear. Would it be better to wait until he was taken to the gallows? They’d have to unshackle him before the hanging. It would be a simple matter for Aldrich to slice through the rope with his sword and, although the hill had been cleared of trees, there was forest immediately behind. Plenty of cover for an escape. But it would all have to be done in full view. They’d need a pretty major diversion to give him a chance to get away. And there was the complication of the elf. It was possible he actually was a criminal, but given the level of xenophobia in this place, Aldrich was willing to bet he’d been sentenced to death for some minor misdemeanour. Would his conscience let him rescue Ivan and Shark and leave the poor fellow to his fate? But was it possible to pull off two daring rescues at once? Aldrich absentmindedly stroked the pistol hidden under his coat as his gaze flitted between the two prisoners and the Inquisitor. Which one was being watched more closely? They could probably get up close without the guards noticing them, but the Inquisitor would be another matter. The elf was shuffling along forlornly, looking dejectedly at the ground. It seemed he was beneath the Inquisitor’s radar altogether. He made up his mind. “Conner, when they get to the base of the hill, we’ll split up. If I’m right, they’ll hold the crowd back at the bottom and take the prisoners up to the gallows, so we should get a clear shot without endangering the public. I think I can get close enough to the elf without being seen to shoot through his chain at point blank range. I’ll grab him and flee. The commotion that causes should give you a chance to use your sharp-shooting ability to free Shark without having to get too close. I’d rather the Inquisitor didn’t recognise you as the culprit, if at all possible. We’ll have to rely on Shark having the presence of mind to make a dash for it while chaos still reigns. No chance to speak to him beforehand; the Inquisitor’s got his eye on him. Once I’ve got the elf out of harm’s way, I’ll come back and help Shark. If you manage to stay unidentified, you’d best stay mingling with the crowd. If not, follow Shark.” Only a few moments later, the gaggle of humanity came to a halt. The two prisoners were dragged out from the centre to the front. Aldrich kept close behind the elf and his guard as he moved, and was aware of Conner moving away from him, before his view was blocked by the intervening bodies. He tried to allow him time to get into position, but he knew he couldn’t afford to wait too long: once the elf was dragged clear of the crowd he wouldn’t be close enough to guarantee a hit. It was now or never. He drew his pistol. No-one around him reacted. Good. They couldn’t see him. The guard was striding forward, pulling on the chain, but the prisoner was hanging back, only inches in front of Aldrich’s weapon. Slowly he raised the muzzle alongside the elf’s outstretched arm and aimed. The elf suddenly looked to the side and started. Of course. He would be magic-sensitive. He could see. Still, no time to explain. Aldrich pulled the trigger. There was a thunderous bang and the tinkle of metal links hitting the ground. Several people gasped. Someone screamed. Everyone turned towards the noise. But Aldrich and the elf were gone. From a treetop near the edge of the forest Aldrich surveyed the scene. Guards were rushing towards the spot where he had been only a second ago. Even the Inquisitor had turned and was stepping in that direction. Shark and his guard stood alone. Now, Conner. It’s your turn. |
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| Teenage Mage | Jan 4 2010, 06:48 PM Post #25 |
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner aimed carefully, focusing all his mental sight on the shackles binding Shark's hands behind his back. It took a different kind of thinking to achieve that kind of precision. Everything else had to be taken out of consideration, removed from thought and sight. One shot. The bullet zoomed through the air, with Conner's sharp mental hand guiding it on its path. It struck the shackles dead on, shattering the metal around Shark's hands. The Inquisitor's head whipped round, staring at the surprised vampire as more screaming erupted from the crowd. Conner ducked back, trying to merge into the crowd. He was shoved about and almost fell into the dirt, but managed to hold his footing. No one seemed to be paying any special attention to him-all eyes were on the scene unfolding on the hill. |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| Zeth | Jan 5 2010, 05:15 PM Post #26 |
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Shark was dragged forwards up the hill, away from the cemetery and towards the wooden gallows. Behind the gallows a ways was the treeline, which wreathed the hill like hair on a mostly bald man's head--just around the edges. The gallows themselves were kinda morbidly fascinating to Ivan, like something straight from an old pirate book. Then again, maybe they were. Ivan thought furiously as Shark was marched up the wooden steps to one of the four nooses, noting that in fact, there wasn't any good way out. There wasn't even a bad way out. The entire walk up the cemetery hill and gallow steps had a bored looking talking loudly to the crowd, announcing accusations, verdicts, and so forth. Neither Shark nor Ivan paid that one any attention, the nearer voice of the demon man distracting them. The pale individual with the raggedy wings, still incredibly out of place, had had Ivan's effects brought to him as they had approached the cemetery and was commenting on them. "A cane, a bowie knife, a pocket watch..." 'His Eminence' opened the watch to look at the time, "A very nice watch." He then lowered his voice and looked at Shark, "These are too new for my world and too old for this one. Too old to be carried around here and there as you are so in fact doing." They reached the steps and paused for a moment, His Eminence lifting Ivan's cane to Shark's face and using it to direct the vampire's eyes to meet his own. "And you are a specimen I'm not familiar with. Similar to, perhaps, but not a species present in either of these worlds." He paused, probably for dramatic effect, "I will enjoy studying your corpse." And then waved them on as Shark gnashed his teeth at the demon man, who resumed fiddling with the watch. Shark was marched to the far noose, the elf beside him, and opened his mouth to scream some sort of profanities at the crowd when he stopped short, a scent on air catching his attention. Shark suddenly lowered his head and smiled devilishly. "Aldrich." What? Where? Look around! Shark ignored Ivan, instead staring forward at the audience with his maniacal smile and pointed teeth and straightening his posture, as if becoming the model executee. And then things blurred. Ivan/Shark heard a small gasp to their right, and then a single shot was fired. Shark glanced to his right but Ivan could see that the elf was no longer there. Shark! Move! If Aldrich is here and breaking us out you need to let me out! Shark ignored Ivan further and instead and pushed him farther back into their shared mind until he was just a whisper, and then fixed his gaze on the demon man, tensing up and readying to pounce. The demon man was looking at the spot where the elf had been, his mouth agape, when Shark gave a yelp of pain at a shot delivered to his shackles and then recovered before kicking at the nearest guard, causing a line of gunfire to spray wildly into the sky and then launching himself at the demon man, teeth bared and nails sharp and outstretched. He collided with the superior and the three went down as general chaos erupted about the cemetery, and people began running forwards, or away as the case might be, obscuring some of the other guards line of fire or sight. Ivan protested wildly, trying to get force his way in and make Shark run before one of the soldier-guards had a chance to fire, but it was pointless--he had no control at this point, and could only watch as Shark continually attempted to land blows on the demon man, but was blocked by their opponents amazing speed and strength, particularly for his apparent build. It was only when the demon finally retaliated with a well placed punch to the face that Ivan forced his way forwards into their consciousness and regained some control despite the pain. He rolled away from the demon half-phased between Shark and himself, grabbing the watch and cane that the demon had dropped and settled into a quick crouch. The demon jumped to his feet, still clutching Ivan's knife, and lunged for the exposed Ivan at the same time several of his armed cronies forced their way to his side. Ivan only just managed to yank the short, hidden, straight edged sword from it's cane sheath and block the slicing manoeuvre. Having done so, he slid to the side and ducked under the gallows, making use of his Shark-boosted speed to make a break for the trees before the bullet fire behind him could cut through his vest... |
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| dinowoman | Jan 6 2010, 07:25 PM Post #27 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich watched intently as the drama unfolded beneath him. Conner had fulfilled his role perfectly, and it looked like he'd managed to stay hidden. But Shark..... "Bloody fool!" he muttered in exasperation. The vampire's speed and strength were great assets, but he was too impetuous, too driven by instinct and aggression. Ivan needed to get back in control, but Aldrich knew that wasn't easy for the lad when Shark was in this mood. He was reluctant to intervene too obviously, but at this rate he might be left with no other choice - that Inquisitor guy was proving to be a pretty formidable opponent. Then, when it seemed that all chance of escape had evaporated, Shark suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled. As he righted himself, Aldrich could see the subtle change - Ivan was back in control. He blocked an attack from the Inquisitor and then was off amid a hail of bullets. Fortunately, the crowd, many of whom began to panic when the gunfire started up, were making it difficult for the guards to aim, and it looked like much of the shooting was more a token effort than a serious attempt to hit the fleeing prisoner. Nevertheless, it looked like one or two bullets may have made contact. As Ivan hurled himself into the shadow of the nearest trees Aldrich swooped down, scooped him up, and deposited him alongside the elf high amongst the concealing branches of the leafy canopy. Far below, guards, and quite a few onlookers, surged into the forest in search of the fugitives. Aldrich was tempted to make a sarcastic comment about Shark's behaviour, but he looked at Ivan's expression and thought better of it. He fancied Ivan looked almost as shaken as the elf still did beside him. He tried to imagine what it must be like to share a body with another consciousness whom you couldn't always control. "Stay there and don't move," he growled to both his charges, as though he were a stern parent admonishing a couple of small children. "I'm going to check on Conner." Once more he rose into the air and drifted silently between the branches until he could peer out onto the chaos of the execution grounds. |
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| Zeth | Jan 9 2010, 10:49 AM Post #28 |
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Ivan felt a wave of gratefulness and relief as he felt Aldrich snatch him up from his fall. The fall itself had been inevitable, as Ivan was all too aware he'd received a bullet to the calf. He leaned against the trunk of what had to be the tallest tree in the area as Aldrich vanished again, realising he'd have to find a way to stop the bleeding. A few branches away, the elf looked at him curiously. Leaning forwards again, Ivan grunted as he pulled up his left pant leg. Luckily for them both, bloodlust for the ex-vampire duo had all but evaporated during Ivan's crossover. It's not as if consuming it was necessary for their survival anymore. Shark occasionally had an urge, but even he could ignore it. Also luckily, the through-and-through wound, though bleeding profusely, did not seem to have hit that one big artery in the calf--whatever it was called (Ivan, was not a doctor.). When he was being hauled to the cemetery the guards had located his other knife, so Ivan was forced to to use his cane-sword. Putting away his cherished pocket-watch, he pulled off his jacket, still wearing a matching sleeveless vest beneath it over his shirt, and sawed off a sleeve and a longer strip from the main stretch of fabric. Sheathing the cane-sword, he offered it to the elf. "Hold this?" The elf looked startled and haltingly took it. Ivan dipped his head timidly, "Don't mind the fangs. I don't bite anymore." Ivan folded the sleeve a couple times and then put it to the wound before tying it as tightly as possible with the longer strip of fabric, gritting his teeth. He wouldn't have screamed though, life before the Weavers had acclimated him enough with beatings and gashes. |
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| dinowoman | Jan 17 2010, 06:20 PM Post #29 |
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Living Fossil
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It didn’t take Aldrich long to locate Conner amongst the seething mass of humanity on the ground. He was in the centre of a large throng of people that was drifting slowly, and apparently aimlessly, in the direction of the trees. All around them, people were peeling off in all directions, almost like the sparks from some huge Catherine wheel. At the back of the crowd, many were making hastily for the exit, clearly still unnerved by the gunfire of a moment ago. Others were sweeping around the sides, keen for a better view of what was going on. At the front, the prisoners’ guards had already disappeared into the forest in search of the escapees, and now quite a few of the bolder members of the public were following suit. Aldrich was fairly confident that, so long as his two rescuees remained quiet and relatively still, they wouldn’t be spotted amongst the dense foliage, and the guards most probably wouldn’t even consider that their quarry might have headed upwards instead of away. Still, he didn’t want to leave them unattended for two long. Meanwhile, the Inquisitor was still standing on the hill. He appeared to be issuing orders to a cluster of men in suits, and they in turn were speaking into cell phones. He did not look happy. Satisfied that Conner was in no immediate danger and was doing nothing to draw attention to himself, Aldrich decided to head back. Conner would be reaching the forest’s edge in a few minutes if nothing changed. That should give him time to deal with a couple of matters before returning to meet him. Aldrich reached their “hideout” just in time to see Ivan finish tying a strip of fabric from his jacket around his leg. Blood was clearly visible, smeared down his calf and already soaking into the makeshift bandage. Aldrich’s eyes widened in alarm and concern. He rebuked himself inwardly for not paying more attention to the young ‘Weaver’s condition before he left him. He had thought Ivan’s fall had been from the jolt of a bullet against his armour, not one through his leg. “Let me see that!” he rasped as he alighted on the branch and dropped to his knees before Ivan. Almost unconsciously he adjusted his scarf, before reaching inside his coat and ferreting around in an internal pocket. A couple of seconds later his hand emerged, wrapped around a small vial. Quickly he pulled off the stopper and dribbled the contents over the centre of the bloodstain, front and back. “It’s a phlebotinum-based healing agent,” he explained quietly, trying not to cough for fear of alerting anyone down below. “It’ll soak through the cloth and seal the wound. Sit still while it does its work.” He laid a reassuring hand on Ivan’s shoulder and then floated past him to the elf. “And what’s your story? Someone take a dislike to your face? Figured the world’d be a better place without it? Or is there really some monster hiding inside that innocuous hide of yours, who’d better be handed straight back to that Inquisitor guy down there?” The elf’s expression contorted into one of utter terror. “N-no, Sir!” he whispered. “I-I did nothing wrong. I swear!” “Now, now. We don’t encourage swearing in polite company,” retorted Aldrich with a deadpan expression. The elf just looked confused. But no less scared. “Haven’t they discovered humour where you come from?” Aldrich added. The elf ignored the question and went on: “I was supposed to be in the Eastern District. I was making a delivery. I had authorisation – written authorisation. But they took it away when they arrested me so I couldn’t prove it. And someone was robbed, and they blamed it on me...” His voice cracked. He seemed close to tears. “Can you get to safety from here?” Aldrich asked, his tone businesslike now. The elf nodded. “The Western District begins just beyond the cemetery. They set up the execution grounds within site of our part of the city to act as a deterrent. I can disappear once I get there. The humans say all elves look the same.” “Then stay here till this ruckus dies down, then get yourself back home. At the risk of stereotyping, I’m gonna take a guess that you can handle yourself in the forest.” Once again the elf nodded. “Thank you, Sir.” He even managed a slight smile. “You too, Ivan,” Aldrich continued. “Stay here for now. You’re injured and you’re recognisable. You’re best out of the way until it’s quieter. I need to retrieve Conner.” With that he vanished. A moment later, he emerged from behind a tree and strode out amongst the scurrying people. |
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| Teenage Mage | Jan 17 2010, 06:27 PM Post #30 |
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner was almost trampled in the mad rush of the crowd. He struggled to keep his footing, straining his second sight to the limit to keep a clear view of where he was going. He felt the unmistakable presence of his friend and captain swooping overhead, apparently unspotted by anyone else. His comrades were headed for the trees. A wise decision. Conner pushed his way forward, trying to reach those trees himself. One misplaced foot, though, and he would be down on the ground with frightened shoes beating a tattoo into the back of his skull. He fervently hoped that Aldrich or someone would come back for him. It's so much fun to be a Weaver, he thought. |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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6:24 AM Jul 29
