Within the Walls [Solo]

[Rorugir]

16th Fall 511 A.V. Day had come too fast for Rorugir's liking. Syna's rays burst into his restful sleep too early, ending a black dreamless sleep in one abrupt moment. The oh-so-precious hours lost in tranquil slumber seemed too few, too pale; and yet, the new day had come, and so Rorugir forced himself to arise, to face the new day. He knew he had much to do. When he left the Shooting Star Inn, Rorugir squinted slightly as the sun blasted his eyes. Never before had the sun seemed so close, so present; in the stony halls of Sultros, Rorugir had barely seen the sun, if at all. The thought of living with it for most of his waking hours was a new concept to him, though Rorugir appreciated the fact that most of the excitment took place during the night; if he ever did want to go out and celebrate, at least it would be in the cool and soothing embrace of darkness. As he began his walk down the street, Rorugir found his eyes inexplicably drawn to the makeup of the city around him. The night before, when Rorugir had arrived, he had been full of drowsiness and weary from a long day's travel; the sights had been imprinted blurry in his memory, their bright colors dimmed and extraordinary features dulled. But now! Now, Rorugir could see Lhavit in it's full glory. The Skyglass makeup of the buildings shimmered in Syna's light, their vibrant and extraordinarily beautiful features assaulting his eyes in a barrage of color and light. The people were dressed in clothing unfamilar to him, who had thus far only seen the clothes worn within his home city and a few different styles worn by hunters and travelers Rorugir had encountered on the road. While there had been plenty difference between the clothing he had seen thus far, bright and dark colors, fine and crude stitchery, it was like nothing he saw here, in Lhavit. It was completely alien to him, just like the rest of the city. And the people who wore them. In Sultros, all men and women were of the Isurian race. There was little deviation besides that of the coloring of the arms; but here, difference was plentiful and abundant. Humans formed the mass majority of the city, he saw, but even among them their was plenty of variety. Hair, skin, eyes...all different. All so strange to Rorugir. Rorugir staggered down the road, feeling slightly overwhelmed. He hoped that as he became more familar with the city, that feeling would go away; it would not be good to walk around feeling half-drunk all of the time. And trying to find a job and/or a tutor while in such a state...that would be intriguing, to say the least. Rorugir found himself at a street corner, in unfamilar surroundings. He glanced back and saw the Shooting Star Inn a ways down the road. The owner of that place had given his basic directions to the city, but seemingly not about the immediate surroundings. He had no idea which way to go to find the Cosmos Center, or any of the other landmarks the inn proprietor had told him about. He stopped for a moment to pause and find out where he was.

[Rorugir]

OoCConverted into Solo Thread.

"Nice try, but you're coming with me." The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, malevolent and sinister. It made Rorugir stiffen, the content of the sentence setting warning bells off in his head. His hand instinctively clutched the handle of his axe, even as his head turned to find the source of the voice. It took him a moment to realize the voice came from the alleyway beside him, and, furthermore, it wasn't directed at him. A few steps into the dingy alleyway, three men, all human as well as well-built, stood huddled around something. They were positioned in just so that whatever it was, it couldn't get out, and nor could anyone on the outside could come in. Rorugir, walking on wary feet, approached the group. An ominous feeling in his stomach told him that whatever these men were doing, it wasn't anything good, and that he was about to become involved in it. A squeak escaped from the huddle, and one of the men laughed. "Cat got your tongue? Just don't put up a fight, and I promise nothing will happen to you." The same voice spoke, coming from one of the men, dressed in cracked leather, who was closest to Rorugir. The speaker shifted position, and for the briefest moment, Rorugir could see what they were huddled around; a young woman. Rorugir's eyebrows met in the middle as a terrible anger surged within him. These men...what they were doing...no, he couldn't allow it. A sudden movement came from within the huddle, along with a curse from one of the men. They all suddenly moved in closer, evidently struggling to contain the girl. "Stop struggling! You petching little-" The man in leather said, beginning to curse, only to be interrupted by the impact of Rorugir's fist to the back of his head. Such a thing tends to shut up people. The man fell forward, knocking into one of his two companions and bowling him over. The third man, who had been holding the intended victim, released and approached Rorugir with a cry- only to be felled by an elbow to the gut. This was further helped by a fist to the back of the head, which, although rather small in size and damage, knocked him over and sent him sprawling over his companions, all without Rorugir having to do a thing. The Isur's eyes looked up, and saw his unexpected helper- the girl. Dressed in a plain tunic and with a fierce face caught between black locks, the girl stared at Rorugir, open-mouthed with shock. "Run!" Rorugir shouted, jumping forward to grab the girl by the arm and jerking her away. The hand of one of the men, clutched at where the girl's leg had only been a second before, meeting only empty air. Rorugir had just enough time to glimpse his face, amber eyes filled with hate, before he turned and ran. Rorugir and the woman had scarcely made it out of the alleyway before the Isur heard the sounds of three men chasing after them begin behind them. Rorugir cursed and began running faster, pulling the girl along with him. Rorugir wasn't sure how fast he ran, or to where he did. The light had changed, darkened, by the time he stopped. During the run, his vision was filled with snatches of people, buildings, and skyglass, all seen for but a moment before being replaced by other images, new sights that entered and speedily exited his vision. The process was interrupted by a cry torn from the figure he was dragging along. "They aren't following us anymore! Stop!" The voice of the girl, strangely accented, finally lured Rorugir into submission. Stopping, he fell to his haunches, breathing heavily. This wasn't what he had been expecting to do today... "Thank...thank you for what you did back there." The girl's voice made Rorugir look up, up at her face. For the first time since the whirlwind of events that had happened in the alleyway, he got his first good look at her. She was tall and willowy, with a slender frame. Black hair fell unbound around her face, which was flushed from all the running. Her face was fine-boned and delicate, with a pair of luscious black eyes intently locked on Rorugir. "Um...No problem." Rorugir managed. "I'm, I'm Rorugir." The girl gave a smile, though sadness dwelled in her eyes. A strange melancholia held around her figure, as though she was not entirely sure she was happy for Rorugir's help in the alley. She offered one small hand, helping Rorugir to stand up. For a second, her neck was exposed as she leaned forward, and for a second Rorugir thought he saw some sort of collar on her neck; and then, her hair fell into place once more and he couldn't see whatever it was that hung around her neck. "I'm Lina." the girl said softly.

[Rorugir]

It was nighttime by the time the duo found their way into the hole-in-a-wall bar. Night Block had come already, and the bar was well-lit and filled near capacity, each ready for a night of merriment and enjoyment. Barmaids filtered throughout the room, sidestepping plain wooden tables and jostling past men, glasses of ale and beer precariously stacked against their pale arms. Alcohol flowed freely, food came quickly, and happiness abounded. When the mismatched two entered the bar, their strangeness at first garnered them looks from the occupants, but before long all faces had been turned back to their drinks. There had been stranger things in Lhavit that a beautiful woman and a Isur, after all. Rorugir managed to shepherd Lina to a free table to the back of the bar. He signalled to one of the seats, muttering, "Wait here, I'll be back in a second." The girl obediently sat down. As Rorugir walked up to the bar and ordered them drinks, he couldn't help but sigh. He had hoped the adventure would be over after the little incident in the alley and subsequent chase. That seemed not to be the case. After the incident, Rorugir had walked away only to find himself being followed by the girl. Well, followed might be not the right word- it brings connotations of stealth with it, as if the girl tried to track him. Rather, she seemed quite aware that Rorugir knew about her presence, and followed him still. Isn't wasn't like she had been trying to catch up with him either - no, she always kept a few respectful steps between them, trailing him like some faithful dog. Finally, Rorugir had tried of the game and turned and addressed Lina. She seemed quite surprised that he actually turned around and talked to her, saying nothing at all. When he had made the suggestion of going to a bar, she'd only cocked her head and slowly nodded. And now he was roped in with this strange girl. Fantastic. Not that it isn't your fault, though, Rorugir thought. You're the one who had to go and save her. As soon as he thought that, he felt bad. He shouldn't be upset by the fact he'd saved a person's life. That was...that was...he had no words to describe it, but the Isur knew that such a thing was wrong. When he finally held two pitchers in his hands, Rorugir found his way back to the table. Like he'd expected, the girl was in the exact same position he'd left her. "Here you go," he said gruffly, sliding one of the drinks over to her. The girl looked at it with those dark eyes of her, leaning in closer. Tentatively, she picked it up between her frail little hands and took a sip. She coughed harshly, and Rorugir said, "Strong, eh? This establishment isn't exactly known for their craftmanship, as I found out last night." The girl nodded and turned her head away, putting a veil of hair between her and Rorugir. The Isur sighed. "Listen, Lina. If we're going to actually get acquainted, you need to respond to me. Honestly, this is a strange situation for me. I don't quite know what to make of you, and neither do you it seems. If we want to fix this problem, you need to talk." The girl looked back at Rorugir, surprised. "It's...just..." she said slowly, looking away from Rorugir's gaze, "...I'm not that used to talking to people." "Don't worry, I'm the same way-" "No. No, you're not." The girl looked up again, a strange ferocity in her eyes. "You've never been forced to not talk." Silence. The two simply looked at each other, the candle set into the wall beside them, casting flickering light over their faces. Then, Rorugir cleared his throat and hesitantly said,- "Were you a slave, then?" The girl seemed to want to say something cutting, but bit it back. "Yes." she said, instead. "And those men..." "Were my masters." The girl was starting to talk more and more now; she had the strange habit of gesturing as she talked, and her gestures increased in tempo as she kept talking. "They were going to take me to Alvadas, and then across the Suvan Sea. I tried to escape when he made a stop here. They cornered me in the alley. And-" -Here her voice broke- "And that is all." A clump seemed to be in Rorugir's throat. "I'm...I'm so sorry." The girl sighed. "Don't be, it's not your fault." she said, soft now. "You're the only one who has ever helped me out here. I tried to escape, once, before this. When the men dragged me away, screaming, the people on the street did nothing but watch." The girl's fists clenched. "If I could, I would fly away from here." Rorugir knew this wasn't the time to interrupt, but he couldn't help himself, asking, "Fly? But how-" "I'm Kelvic." she said hoarsely, and she pulled back her hair, exposing the collar Rorugir had briefly seen when they had first met. Fashioned out of simple metal, it hung tight around her neck, pinching the skin red. The only signs of how it might be removed was a lock on the front. "If I could," the woman said in a low voice, "I would fly away from this piece of shyke humans call home, and never come back."

[Rorugir]

"Sometimes I feel the same way." Those few words surprised Lina. She looked up at Rorugir, who sat with a small smile on his face. The Isur's eyes were focused on the flame in front of him, but unfocused, as though his mind were elsewhere. "The world can be a shitty place sometime. It's nasty and it's ugly...No argument here. And it's unfair. Some people have great lives, while others have terrible ones. I would know: I used to have a great life." "But then I threw it away for a foolish dream. I left two caring parents and a life of happiness for some stupid wish. I ventured into the wilderness, were death and mutilation lay around every corner. Every night I used to curse myself for making such a idiotic decision. But, then, you know what?..." "I made my way here. I found myself in the Star of Kalea, the city of Lhavit! And I've seen and discovered things I never thought possible...and I've barely been here." Lina was utterly still now. When Rorugir looked up, he thought he saw a tear in her eye. For a second he paused; and then continued talking. "You'll get your Lhavit one day, Lina. One day, you'll find something that makes everything you've suffered worthwhile. One day...you'll get your freedom, Lina." Lina's hand suddenly spasmed, dancing across the rough surface of the table to grab Rorugir's arm. Rorugir tensed, his fingers digging into the table as he unconsciously reacted to Lina's move, but then, he relaxed. "Thank you." Lina said simply, and her arm retreated across the table. "Um...no problem." Rorugir said, retreating his arms to grip his torso. His eyes glanced away, and he frowned. "Morning's coming, and the bartender's looking at us. We'd better get going." He started to stand up, than paused. "Are you done?" Lina dabbed at her eyes and then smiled and stood up. "Yes." she said. "Yes, I think I am."

[Rorugir]

Rorugir couldn't help but smile. "That's...good. Yes, good. Alright, so let's go back and get you a place to sleep for a bit at the Solar Wind, and then" -here Rorugir dropped his voice, not wanting to be heard. He took a second to cast a surreptitious glance around the room, but none of the three others, from the bartender to the lone man in the corner, seemed to be listening- "We'll see if we can work on getting that thing removed in the morning." Rorugir's eyes flickered to Lina's collar, than back at her. She nodded, and together the pair left the bar for the cold solace of the night. A couple of minutes after they left, the man in the corner looked up. From underneath his hood, fierce amber eyes cut through the gloom of the bar like daggers. He hailed over one of the few remaining barmaids with a gesture, slipping her a few coins for the drink he'd barely touched. Then, silently, he left the bar. --- 17th Fall 511 A.V. Morning was approaching. Deep in the throes of their conversation, the pair that now walked the streets had not realized how late their tenure at the bar had gone, stretching into the next day, in fact, Already, Syna's rays struggled to light up the Misty Peaks, signalling the coming day. Lhavit's streets were rarely empty, but they came close at the time. Rorugir and Lina saw but a few others as they passed down the Lhavitian streets, the mist and darkness of the morning making it hard to see anything around them. Ahead, a faint trail of light produced by the torches kept them on their path, but beyond that, darkness enveloped them. Lina shivered, her pale hands coming up to clutch her naked arms. "I don't like this..." she murmured. Rorugir remembered saying something partway-consoling at that time, but a strange ominous dwelt within the pit of his stomach. Something - he didn't know what, or even if it existed at all - seemed to be watching them. Silence does more to heighten fear than anything else. Tension builds as the person in question waits for - and dreads - that which they appear to suddenly, unexpectedly, burst out of nowhere, leaving them jumpy to any noise whatsoever. Such was the case now. As the two walked down the street, the soft noises of a city waking up made them jump in fright, heads rotating to find the sound's source. They turned back uneasily, only partially reassured the sounds were of a distant quality. A footstep, clearly audible, sounded behind them, and Rorugir stopped outright. A hand clutching his arm nervously told him Lina had done the same. Their eyes connected, and Rorugir could see a scared, almost crazed look in the woman's eyes. "What..." Rorugir said slowly... The footstep came again, this time sounding as though it was right behind them. Lina gave a shriek like a wild animal, and, consumed by a bestial fear, ran off into the dark. Too late, Rorugir realized what was happening. Too late he realized what the noises were meant to do. "Lina, no!" he shouted, leaping after her. It was in vain. As he approached, three figures appeared out of the darkness in front of him. One was Lina; the other two were some of the men he had seen before, in the alley, their hands tight on Lina's struggling arms, looking thoroughly pleased by the success of their ambush. More footsteps sounded behind him, no longer singular, and the Isur turned around in time to see a man approach, stocky of build and dressed in cracked leather. From beneath his mop of unruly hair, amber eyes viewed Rorugir maliciously. "I thank you, my good sir, for delivering my property back to me." The man said in a eerily soft voice. "Now, be a good little Isur and run back to your mother before I have my men kill you."

[Rorugir]

Three against one. Not good odds, not even for an Isur. Rorugir bit his lip as he looked around at the situation, perhaps hoping to hear one of the guards -Shinya, were they?- approaching. No such luck. The amber-eyed man walked closer to Rorugir, his pale skin flashing in the moonlight. "My dear boy..." he murmured. "Would you really want to try me and my men again? I assure you, we're much more prepared than last time." As if to emphasize the point, a fourth man appeared out of the darkness, a short sword in one hand, a tattoo inked on his neck. Four, now. Getting better and better. For a second, indecision appeared in the Isur's eyes, but then he turned and saw the image of Lina, captured within the two men's arms, and his face hardened. A hand dipped down beneath his tunic, and when it had appeared, a sharp axe lay in it's palm. A soft laugh. "So that's how it's going to be..." the man said wistfully. His voice hardened. "Kill him." The man with the tattoo jumped forward, sword raised. Rorugir, caught off-guard, had no time to react. He raised his hand in self-defense, but it wasn't the one that held the axe; instead, his unarmed left arm rose to protect himself from the blade. The man, clearly seeing this foolish move, bared his teeth in a victorious grin and struck all the more harder. From behind him, there was another soft laugh. Clang. The tattooed man froze as the sword bounced off the man's arm, falling back in shock. Rorugir smiled grimly as the light from the moon flickered off his Isurian arm, shining with a dark grey light. With his other hand, he sliced diagonally, and the man fell back, blood staining his dark cloak. The amber-eyed man snarled. A loud cry from behind made Rorugir turn, just in time to see Lina being thrown to the side, the two man drawing daggers. The first one approached, dagger aimed for Rorugir's throat; he caught the slim blade on his axe, deflecting it; a knee came up, catching the man in his abdomen. He hesitated for but a second as he recovered from the blow. The second was all Rorugir needed to remove the man's head from his body with one clean slice. A rustle of cloth to his left reminded Rorugir of the second man's presence, and he twisted, struggling to turn to face the man, but the dagger plunged, aimed for Rorugir's unguarded side. And then Lina had appeared out of nowhere; she collided with the man, and the dagger was hastily withdrawn as they fell in a tangled heap. The man separated himself from the maiden with a snarl, turning back to Rorugir with a single-minded intent. He got to his feet, only to be felled by Rorugir's boot, striking him with a terrible ferocity in the gut. He fell, and the axe followed. Silence. Rorugir, a distasteful expression on his face, extricated his axe from the remains of the man's head. He had hit the man's head with a bit more force than intended. "Lina?..." was the first words that came from his mouth. He twisted, looking for her; but he had forgotten the amber-eyed man. "This...is enough." The man panted. A dagger, claimed from one of his felled companions, glittered at Lina's neck, his other hand pulling back his hair. "As much as I would like to kill you," he snarled, "I don't have time for you. No, me and the girl are going to leave, and you - stop!" Rorugir had lurched forward, but he paused as he saw the man press the dagger closer to Lina's ivory neck. "As I saying," he continued grimly, "You will not do anything, unless you wish to see her killed." Rorugir turned, as though admitting defeat, and the man smiled, revealing a small, perfect set of teeth. "Good! Now, just back away, and...what are you doing?" The man suddenly noticed the Isur's strange movements. "Whatever it is, stop!" The man said, voice getting shrill. But Rorugir no longer heard him. All of his concentration was focused on the palm of his hands, in which a thick, clear gel was beginning to pool. Come on...just a bit longer... "I'm warning you! You have til the count of three until I cut her throat!" The pool convulsed, and changed; it began transmuting into a hard, brown, substance... "One!" Rorugir smiled, cupping the finished product in his hands. "Two!" Suddenly, unexpectedly, Rorugir turned back towards the amber-eyed man. He thrust his hands out far, as though throwing something into the air. A dark chunk of earth flew across the pavement, aimed straight for Lina and the man. Thunk. The man never reached three.

[Rorugir]

Lina was gone. Rorugir knew she had fallen with the last man as well, but he could not find her body. The man, yes. He lay to the side of the road, a bruise forming on the side of his head. Rorugir's lip curled as he stood over the unconscious man. He wanted to slit the man's throat, but he had a feeling the Shinya would want to talk to him. Something to the side caught his eye. He drew close. Dark eyes widened as he examined the broken neck-collar, a piece of earth driving it apart. A sudden, beautiful song split the air. The voice that sung it was not human, nor Isur, or indeed civilized of any kind. No, it was an animal voice, and the one of a swan, at that. The beautiful white bird flew away from Rorugir, away from the city of Lhavit, it's song fading along with it. Nonetheless, Rorugir thought he understood something of the swan's song; I'll come back for you. Rorugir smiled, and stood up, letting the collar fall to the ground. He laughed hoarsely. "Welcome to Lhavit..." he muttered to himself. And then, picking his way past the bodies, he began walking down the street. Dawn came, bringing new light, as he walked away. FIN

[Aspen]

Character: Rorugir Skills: Observation + 2, Unarmed Combat +1, Running +1, Rhetoric +1, Weapon (Battleaxe) +1, Reimancy +1 Lore: The Beauty of Skyglass, Coming to the Aid of a Stranger, Getting Lina to Talk, Revering Lhavit, Ominous Feelings, Unlikely Odds, Leaving a Mess for the Shinya to Clean Up, Welcome to Lhavit! Notes: What a great thread, I love your writing! If you have any queries or concerns, shoot me a PM!