What Secrets Does the Keep Keep? [Nya/Tarot]

[Abashai]

Abashai's head still spun, a numb shock still seized his brain. His chest burnt still with an icy cold, his body weak from Dira's draining of his life. The desert man's eyes remained locked on Kiphos, though his gaze was almost glassy. It was all sinking in. The gnosis and its strength and encouragement had gone, the palpable presence of divine persons had left, and a muddy confusion now hindered his focus. Slowly lifting the icy sword, Shai slid it back into its sheath with a metallic hiss. His gaze shifted to the old wizard and the woman, only giving them a cursory acknowledgment. He did not need to turn to Nya, he knew what she was thinking, saw what she was seeing. She was terribly weary and overwhelmed with the unearthly experience she had been forced to endure. "I know dear, I can't do this now, we can't." The Benshiran sighed, resting one hand on the pommel of his khopesh while he wiped a cold sweat from his forehead with the other. They needed to be away and alone, if only to rest and allow a moment to regroup. Their lives, their world had not only been turned upside down, but inside out. Abashai and Nya had to figure out this new bond, to figure out again what they were doing, in light of all that had been revealed that day. "I'm sorry," Shai spoke, his voice sounded forced. "We do need to speak to you, urgently. But today has been....too much. We need to rest. We will return tomorrow." Abashai walked slowly to the Nya's saddle. "We will go back to camp for tonight. We need to rest, to figure things out Nya." He grabbed his bow and quiver and their packs, slinging them over his shoulders, Nya's cloak still fluttering about him, even without a breeze. He left the saddle where it lay, he would not burden her with his weight until she was ready. "I trust you will care for our saddle, we would be very grateful. We will be back in the morning" He uttered without glancing up. Abashai approached Nya, refraining from getting too close, he knew she needed time and space. Her bondmate simply reached out to scratch Nya affectionately behind her ear, his hand trailing off to run down her jawline. "Lets go." He-who-had-been-Ardrem turned and waited for her to follow.

[Tarot]

"Uh, sure," Kiphos replied, slightly taken aback. What moodswingers these people were. Hardly a moment ago they were basically threatening him at sword point, and now they were leaving? What made them so confident they'd even find him again the next morning? He was one of Ionu, by the gods! If you were lucky enough to catch one, you better make sure you kept an eye on them all the time. He had disappeared over less, and gratitude and the promise to the old woman were the only things keeping Kiphos there. Hopefully they'd suffice. "Ah yes, we'll take good care of your thingamajig," Konrad chimed in, and eyed the saddle with a glint of curiosity, "free of charge too. Never let it be said I'm a miser! I'm not a miser, right, Agethia?" And that was the start of a long monologue about that one time when Konrad had shared a loaf of stale bread with a beggar and told the poor man he could take his time repaying him. The two of them were undoubtedly free to go. With no more interferences from the gods and mortal threats, the day was entirely their own.

[Nya Winters]

Nya was tired, but this wasn't what she had expected. The Huntress in Nya knew enough not to let prey go once it was pinned between ones paws. She had hoped Shai would take the initiative and question Kiphos, rather than let it fall to her. But she knew where Abashai's heart was and what he was trying too do. However, she couldn't let him leave. Not now. This was their last chance and in the morning, this all might have just been a dream. Kiphos would probably be gone. The single most irresponsible thing they could do would be to just walk away. Regardless of how tired she was, Nya could never do that. The Kelvic knew how the Gods worked. She knew they were tricksters and divine beings who thought sometimes the living had less importance than they did - especially those mortal. So when Abashai scratched her ear she nuzzled his hand but rose, shifting as she did. She finished her nuzzle on his shoulder in her human form, and turned to Kiphos.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said suddenly, irritated, though not at any one in particular. "We've come a long way to ask you questions about Tallshade because we think you are the only one who might have the answers. Zulrav and Yahal have charged us with the sacred task of gathering the seven artifacts. This is like our six life being burned attempting this - so we have too much invested to simply give up now. We need to find them, and we've been told that the powercube can guide us. But we can't find it - we don't know where to look - and it is our hope that you will help us do so now that we have helped you with your problem as well. Or perhaps there is some information you know but haven't published. Rhysol's forces are getting really close to them. And we are not the only ones looking. Others are too. If they are brought loose in into the world great damage could be done." She said, not at all bothered to stand before them in the skin version of her form, not truthfully remembering where they'd dropped their things in the multiple shifts and the battle that had just happened.

"Can you help us sir? I pray that you can. Zulrav and Yahal have both said you know more than you let on... and that you are wiser than you appear." Nya said, stalking forward to get a good sniff at him. She swayed slightly on her feet, the four footed form a far better choice for this level of exhaustion, but it would have left her unable to communicate. Nya glanced at Shai, trying to read his expression both through his posture and through his gaze. She wasn't sure why he wanted to leave... though she knew the day had been a great deal to much for him as well. She had just thought he'd step forward and ask the man their questions. Men spoke better to men, not to naked Kelvics that had the capacity and will to use one of their limbs as a chew toy.[/frame]

[Abashai]

Even as Nya's feline form was enveloped in a shimmering myriad of pinpoint lights, Shai could hear her chastisement. He would be a fool to walk away now, when they had Kiphos right there. Abashai felt Nya's strength and tenacity barrel through her pain and utter exhaustion. It was just like her, to rise from chaos to plow ahead, never detracted from what she was after, whether it be a doe or poacher or a piece of vital information. But what his mate had overcome now was nothing short of amazing. Nevertheless, Shai felt acutely Nya's consternation, dismay and fatigue. Conversely, Abashai had become angry and withdrawn. He had just been forced to stab his wife and watch her and their unborn child die. He had a goddess yank a part of his very being from his chest to give it to his bondmate, leaving them with some bizarre shared life. Oh, and he found out he's been doing basically the same thing over several lifetimes. So when Kiphos looked at him as if it was some inconvenience that the people who saved them from a gruesome death chose to take some time to recover before asking the small favor of some information, the Benshiran grew irritated. He regretted that his stubbornness left Nya to question Kiphos, but even as she drove forward, the traumatic encounter made Abashai want to get away. He was tired, tired of gods and goddesses and their manipulation, confused and betrayed by the truths they revealed. He ached physically, hurt for the loss of their baby, for something just for Nya and he that was taken by these deities. And he could not escape the sight of his hand plunging the suvai into Nya's chest...it made him want to vomit. Abashai watched his nude wife converse with the strangers. usually unwilling to have his mate remain naked in front of strangers, at the moment, her public nudity was overlooked. What he really wanted was to grab her and escape, to run off into the wilderness...just like he fled into the desert over a dozen years before. No. That was not the answer. When he left Yahebah, Abashai had tried to run from guilt and confusion and anger, but he never escaped it in the desert. Only after he met Nya did he begin to overcome that shame and frustration. His self-loathing and guilt had cost him a lot. Nya and Shai could never outrun the burden laid upon them, even if they fled to the ends of Mizahar. Granted, Nya's mate had been shaken by the monumental events that had come to pass. But Abashai, or Ardrem, or whomever he may have been before them, obviously possessed extraordinary resolve. Abashai had exhibited it, and he would again. When he set his mind to something, The Benshiran was committed until it reached its culmination. This was his destiny. The Lord he has sworn fealty to had made that clear, and the woman he had sworn his life to was already destined to complete it. Shai sighed visibly, realizing he had been clenching his teeth. The marked of Yahal begged his God for forgiveness for his selfishness and irresponsible behavior. He dropped the supplies he had gathered at his feet. Nya did not have to do this alone, should not have to. She needed him to step up and he could feel her frustration at the situation. The Benshiran strode up next to his bondmate as she finished her plea for help. He tugged off the mysterious black cloak and held it out to Nya. Then he looked Kiphos squarely in the eyes. He spoke resolutely, but in his even-tempered, heavily-accented voice. "I apologize, I did not mean to treat your assistance lightly. Nya is right. I hope you can appreciate the gravity of what we are asking, and the dire consequences if we fail. Any information on Tallshade or the cube that could direct us, could give us an edge over those who seek these items with more malevolent intent, would help." Abashai narrowed his gaze as he studied the man. Would he cooperate? would he do so out of benevolence, or is he more mercenary, demanding some payment? He posed the questions to himself, though Nya no doubt heard them. "What do you say? Would you work against the will of the gods?"

[Tarot]

Everyone just froze as soon as the name Tallshade was thrown around by the shapeshifting Kelvic and her human mate. The old Konrad was the first to recover from the surprise, suddenly acting like a different man. The old caricature of a man was gone, replaced by a look of stern seriousness. He gestured for the duo to follow him. "Come, young'uns, these are not things to be discussed in an open space like this. Don't believe for a second that the Relic came here by some accident of fate. It was lured here for sure. Our enemies can and would do such a thing. Manipulation runs strong in their blood." The old man opened the sturdy double doors of the Keep. Kiphos and Agethia trailed after him, the latter supported by the former. If Nya and Abashai followed, they would find themselves in the bowels of an Alahean castle from pre-Valterrian times. While it had probably been restructured several times, the original layout was unchanged - and the original maker had had grand dreams for the place. A corridor led into an antechamber with suits of armor on either side, then into the main hall. Staircases both left and right led to the first floor, which overlooked the hall itself on three sides. Two long oak tables split the hall in three. The old man approached what looked like a robed figure sitting at a table in front of an empty dish. He removed the hood and revealed the bleached white skull underneath. The skeleton had been defleshed clean, like a thing of centuries ago - the work of Galan'nas, no doubt. "This was my senior apprentice before the Relic attacked," he said, and tossed the bag of bones out of the way, retrieving the robe and placing it on the table. "The only spare change of clothes we can get you for now, lady," he shrugged, leaving it there for Nya to take, or not. It looked clean, though its source might be unsettling. Kiphos helped Agethia take a seat, always casting sideways glances at the foreigners. He was clearly the plain-looking type who didn't voice one tenth of the things running through his head. "Well, I guess it's my turn now," the man began nervously. "Yes, when I was younger, I led the expedition for the Powercube. There were eight of us, including Agethia's brother, Aruin." The old woman nodded gravely at the mention of the name. "We knew the employer was ruthless, but each of us had their own reason for joining. I just wanted to continue my… my ancestor Vuld's work on magic." He stuttered slightly there, reminding perhaps of the words of Eyris' portent in Matilda's room - he lies yet he doesn't. "It was hopeless," Kiphos shrugged. "Yes, the traps claimed several of us, but a second or third expedition could have cleared them. But no matter how many people you throw at the Guardian, it's hopeless." He shook his head. "In the depths of that pit there is a being not of this world. A being that made a deal with Areesa Tallshade and will not let anyone pass. The voice talked to us, told us to leave while we still could. We didn't heed its words. And we just… I don't know, it was dark. But it reaped us like wheat. Hopeless, I'm telling you. Only Aruin and I made it out of there alive. Aruin was badly wounded, and the employer captured him right after we got out of the cave. We haven't heard from him ever since. I just ran as fast as I could, for as long as I could, never looking back." Agethia murmured something. "He was a Stormwarden like you, young lady. His marks were just like your own."

[Nya Winters]

Following cautiously, Nya listened carefully to the sound of the old man's voice. He said things she was interested in - things she needed to know. And so she noted them in her mind as she followed tiredly. When he offered her the robe, Nya slipped it on, nodding gratefully for the garment. Death didn't bother her. It was a fact of life - one she'd just encountered in fact. She did wrinkle her nose at the smell. Even though the garment appeared clean, it still smelled like a rotted corpse.

Konrad then admitted something that surprised Nya. "An expedition? To where?" She asked, curiously. "You didn't say where." She emphasized. To her way of thinking, they couldn't do anything about the relic either, and yet the duo had. Perhaps the place he spoke of would be something similar. Perhaps not.

"What sort of being was it?" Nya asked, curious. She wished her mother were here for a moment.... for Zilvia could probably ask far better questions and know far more about what Konrad was talking about.

Nya glanced at Shai then, something like pain flickering through her eyes. She then turned to Konrad and told him something that even Abashai didn't know about the talderian forest cat. "I knew Aruin. He was a very good man. He lived out the last of his life chained with his power used to make lights turn off and on. I set him free only for him to die because he was too weak and the man, the cult leader, too strong. My marks are not just like his own. They were his... at least one of them." Nya said softly, sadness infusing her voice. She wanted to call a storm there and then, to remember the Stormwarden and maybe hear his old voice in the winds.

[Abashai]

Abashai was most interested in the old man's sudden lucidity. He wondered if the wizards senile behavior before was just a deception, a facade to observe and gauge Shai and Nya. Konrad mentioned enemies as if he knew them, their ways. Abashai was most interested in hearing about them. The Benshiran patiently followed the group, keeping an eye in Nya and a tight rein on the barrage of information and stimuli that she emitted. His eyes scanned the structure as they entered. The Keep was impressive, a design he had seen neither in Eyktol or in Syliras, but it was glaringly empty and quiet. He watched Nya don the dead apprentices robe, noting a strange irony in the garment of the dead being worn by one who had returned from death. When Kiphos spoke, Abashai crossed his arms, weighing his words. He wanted to remain diligent to sift the information carefully, as he as of yet did not trust the man. Mention of an expedition, of an employer, prompted Abashai to question further, eager to get at the data that Kiphos teased them with. Shai was matter-of-fact when it came to getting something done. He needed to delineate the what, where and how, to gather facts and analyze them. Now, they had found a source of details they needed to find the Powercube, locations and dangers... But Nya's fatigued alto voice arose, and he turned to look at his mate. Of course she was thinking the same thing, but even before she revealed her piece in the puzzle, Abashai felt the sharp pain and sorrow that some memory had evoked. As she spoke, he realized Nya had been entangled in the web of this plot longer than he knew, Zulrav truly shaping and forming the Kelvic for the task she was born to bear. Every step they took, every secret revealed only convinced Shai neither he nor Nya were the people they once believed they were. Knowing intimately Nya's sadness, all too real through the bond, and that the old woman may too need a moment at the news of her brother's demise, Abashai held his questions for a moment, letting a reverent hush fall for a few moments. His gaze fell to Nya, curious about this Aruin and why he had never heard about him before.

[Tarot]

Silence fell upon the room as Nya mentioned the circumstances of Aruin's death. Kiphos looked saddened, but unsurprised. His head turned to Agethia, who had sunk a little more into her chair but still bore herself with dignity. "I see," said the old woman, "I never expected to see Aruin again in this life of mine. It is good to know that he died a free man, at least. It brings a little... closure. He'd have done anything for Zulrav. We were twins, you see, but only he was marked at birth. Zulrav was like the invisible third sibling when we grew up, and I always felt jealous, left out. Who knows, maybe the reason Zulrav didn't mark me was so that I could offer some help to those who'd take my brother's mantle and continue from where he'd left off. You made it just in time, for I do not have much longer to live." The others gave her a sympathetic look, and from their gazes it was obvious they knew it was the truth. "Konrad has done a lot of research on Tallshade, her artifacts and her legacy. He's more than the wizened old fool he appears to be." "Now that's a compliment if I've ever heard one," the wizened old fool mumbled. "Kiphos here is our gopher boy. He goes places we are too old and weak to go." Agethia cleared her voice, betraying her asthma. "Like that time at the cavern, the Bloodsink cavern as it was once called. 'Tis not far from here. Three days' march South-west of this castle, it is nigh-impossible to miss. The cavern appeared after..." Agethia began to cough, and Kiphos motioned for her to stop. He picked it up from there. "Some forty years before the Valterrian, the world knew one of history's bloodiest battles. As Suvan and Alahea clashed, the echoes of the slaughter reached the Ukalas itself. The Alahean army was all but annihilated. The heir apparent was killed and his head put on display on a pike. Then the Court Mage of Alahea released some kind of alchemical weapon upon the Suvan armies and visited the same destruction upon their battalions. My... my ancestor Vuld, he lost his father and brother in the battle. His first journal as a child detailed all the horrors of that battle. Bloodvalley, as they called it." Kiphos's eyes lit up once again, as they always did at the mention of his famous ancestor Vuld Shaik. "Countless legends were born around that battle. Never before had Suvan and Alahea risked virtually all of their forces in a single pitch battle. The combined death toll was certainly in the hundreds of thousands. Men in their twenties returned home with grey hair and shaky hands. Others never spoke a word again. It is said that so much blood was spilled on that three-day battle that the earth itself opened on Semele's command to swallow the crimson lake that had formed over the valley. Probably just myth, but the cave had not been there before, so they named it Bloodsink. Areesa may have chosen it because of its grim reputation. Or maybe not. The woman was a conundrum even in her lifetime." He quickly adjusted his aim: "That's what Vuld thought of her." The man hesitated a little before glancing at Abashai and then Nya. "I'll take you to the cave. But I... won't go in, sorry. I don't know who or what the guardian is, but I don't stand a chance against it. I've always believed it was some summoned creature, though there was an odd detail about it." "The accent," the old Konrad interjected. "Yes," Kiphos nodded, "Summoned beings, when they speak our language at all, don't usually have Mizaharian accents. That creature had a distinct North-Alahean accent." He hesitated a little longer. "From my language studies. Still, strange." "Then it's settled," Agethia murmured, "Kiphos will show you the way to the Bloodsink. But before that, there's something I'd like to ask the two of you. Konrad and I have been wondering for a long time. Maybe you have the answer. Maybe the question will just make you think. Why Zulrav?" Her hands curled around the arms of her chair. "According to Konrad's research, Zulrav's name shows up many times throughout the centuries in the quest for her treasures. Konrad also thinks this is... atypical of Zulrav. Out of character, even. A search like that would fit Eyris more. This old lady who lived five centuries ago, and the wind god with her, have shaped our lives in many sad ways. At the very least I'd like to know why before I die. I hope you understand."

[Abashai]

Pieces of the puzzle continued to come together. Abashai would have declared it a fine stroke of luck that Matilda gave the pair the clues that lead them to these people. But the prolific appearance of divine beings in their lives indicated to him that, once again, residents of the Ukalas had lit a path that He and Nya could not help but follow. As Shaik picked up the story from the crone, Abashai marveled at the history. Not since the Valterrian had man seen war on any scale, and the imagery of hundreds of thousands of warriors battling to the death reached beyond the desert man's ability to comprehend. Such a massive loss...waste of life. How much more time, he mused, would pass before Mizahar once again fielded large armies to spill blood for land. The purported origin of the cube's resting place and the account of what Shaik would only refer to as 'The Guardian' only served to darken the already ominous picture Shai had conjured of the place. He glanced at Nya, whose fatigue wore heavily on her face. It had been unbelievably difficult to see what she had to endure that day. Had it not been for the strength Yahal had supplied, he would not have been able to tolerate it. The more he heard, the more he realized that there would be more that both of them would be asked, or commanded, to endure. Abashai was relieved that Kiphos would accompany Nya and himself to the Bloodsink, his experience in the cavern would be available to the couple, if only up to the entrance. The Benshiran wanted to know more, what they would need, how far in the previous parties had gone, and every minute detail of this guardian. But he gave place to Agethia and her desperate question. His would wait. Glancing at Nya, Abashai pondered the old woman's question. Zulrav had grown to be influential in his life, though he had never sworn any fealty to the god. From the viscious sandstorm that stole his parents, to the grim events in the keep's courtyard, he acknowledged the Storm God, maybe as much as Yahal himself, had played a part in the circumstances of his life. the true impact the deity had was only now being revealed. What the wind lord's purposes were a mystery to him. He turned to the odd trio and spoke up. "I myself hesitate to speculate on the storm god's interest in the discovery of these things. Perhaps Zulrav had a part in creating the items, perhaps they contain something that belong to him. Or perhaps the god has a higher plan that requires them. " He turned to his bondmate. Nya was a Stormwarden, chosen by Zulrav himself. Apparently there were things she had not shared yet with Abashai. Perhaps, in one of her times of communing with her lord, he had revealed to his servant some explanation. Not that the god's were obliged to inform mortals of their motivations.

[Nya Winters]

Nya listened quietly. She didn't choose to sit down or linger at Abashai's side. Instead, tired, she roamed the confines of the space dragging in scent and listening more with her feline senses than with her eyes to the story that unfolded. She wasn't an intelligent creature, one that could be considered scholarly and deeply thoughtful. She was, instead, a creature of action. She needed to be moving, breathing, flowing from one moment to another - from sleep to waking - from danger to safety - to really feel alive. Her favorite areas were fringes, doorways, places where shadow touched the light. Nya made a thousand transitions a day and savored the moments between one thing and another best of all.

The instant before a kiss. The moment before a kill. The inkling of an idea before it fully bloomed into being. And like Abashai said, she wouldn't presume to know Zulrav's motivations. But she did know the wind.

Her smile at the question was quick. It wasn't cocky or arrogant, but it was the smile of a creature that knew something in its work that made the explanation almost obvious to her - whether it was the right one or not. And so, when she spoke, she did so carefully, trying to relay to the non-wardens what it was she knew that caused her this belief.

"I've been among storms before. I've been held in the air at the heart of vortexes and been asked to become the wind. And when I did, so many connections became clear. Zulrav blankets everything. He is the air we breath and the breath of all the plants, animals, and even of Mizahar itself. Because he is so out there, surrounding everything, he knows so much more than we can know. If he doesn't hear it, he feels it or caresses it with his body." She said thoughtfully.

Nya gathered up the trailing end of her borrowed robe and swirled it up to cover one of her fisted hands. The robe totally encircled it, covering it completely just as her words had described. "If he is interested, I suspect there is only one reason why. I do not know this for sure, but I think it means Tallshades artifacts can take what he loves, the very world itself, and destroy it. For without the world, what would he embrace and how would he survive? He can and has lived without people. He can and has lived with creatures both greater and wiser. And the winds would keep him company. But without the sea and the mountains and the transitions all across the world, no wind would even ever be born. Their would be only emptiness and nothingness, and thus not even him." She let her fist dropped and the robe swirled away into nothing, falling back towards the floor to pool overly long about her bare feet.