Closed Searching for the Despised (Syveris)

[Skerry]

8th Winter 513AV

Being named by Zulrav had had a number of consequences for Syveris. First people had begun to look at her differently, to watch her through wary eyes then they had begun to shun her. Many seemed to think that they would be guilty by association if they were standing too close to her. Corridors would clear, spaces would automatically appear around her even in the most crowded areas and only the lowliest Dek could be forced to go near her. The only constant presence was a War Hawk following her from a distance, always following. Sometimes there would be a different person following her but there would always be someone spying on her movements. It had convinced her that she needed to find out more about the Despised so as to clear her name. The girl just hadn't gotten around to it yet but when she came out of the Armed Gallery she heard something that forced her into action: a lead.

There were two women gossiping, in quick voices. Their voices were quiet but growing steadily louder as they argued over a particular rumour.

"I heard he's down in Deep Warrens but nobody wants to go down there," one said to the other, who shook her head in disbelief.

"If he was down there, Marla, somebody would know. Somebody would have been sent down if the Despised was down there!" the skeptic replied, shaking her head vigorously. The name of the Despised came out in a hiss.

"I'm sure it's true but the only ones that have gone down there are those ones who are helping them. I heard they drag Yasi down there to feed that man. They're evil, I tell you. I heard that-" the woman Marla replied to her friend, cutting her sentence short when she saw Syveris who was closer than she would have liked. Her expression one of alarm, she grabbed her companion's arm and proceeded to drag her away, shooting furtive glances back at the glassworker. Her friend began to protest but when she looked back and saw Syveris, she stopped fighting and hurried away too.

The girl was left alone in the corridor except for the War Hawk assigned to her today, who leaned silently in the entranceway to the Armed Gallery, watching her but never saying a word.

[Syveris]

Annoying. That was what all that stupid reactions were. Really, really annoying. She knew that trouble was coming the moment Zulrav had named her, but she wasn't expecting such an extreme reaction. People wouldn't even answer a simple question. In fact, they wouldn't allow her to get close enough to ask something. The only stranger that talked to her was the blacksmith she was helping, and he was annoying beyond reason.

Syveris couldn't really blame them. She understood they were scared, after all, it had been a God that accused her. But even so, their reactions never ceased to put her in a very foul mood. To make things worse, she had noticed there was always someone watching her. It had taken her three days to notice it, and when she did, she just became even angrier. The Avora wasn't a dangerous criminal, she wasn't a murderer, and she had absolutely nothing to do with this Despised. And if something, anything, didn't change soon, Syveris would end up doing something stupid.

It was growling to herself in pure annoyance that she walked out of the Arms Gallery, and saw two women talking to each other. She expected them to run away, but it seemed like neither of the two had noticed her presence. Well, not that it made any difference now.

Syveris was ready to walk away when she heard the words that caught her attention. Normally, she wouldn't care for rumors and gossips, but really, she was just dying to hear something from someone, and as the women kept talking, she began to approach them, her interest picked.

So the Despised was in the Deep Warrens? Anger washed through her, anger at the person that had set her in this situation. She wondered if the others were going through the same. Well, she had to do something, for her and for the others. And even for those stupid people, although Syveris knew she would have trouble trusting the Inarta from now on. She surely wasn't receiving any help from anyone in Wind Reach that wasn't already her friend before everything started.

The woman seemed to notice her presence, as she quickly took her friend by her arm and walked away. Really subtle. The Avora scowled at them, angry, but decided to let it go this time. She had more important things to do now.

Turning quickly, she ignored the one who was following her today, and walked quickly to the Deep Warrens. Syveris didn't even stop to think about it, as usual. She just needed to do something, before this whole situation made her crazy.

x Poppy

[Skerry]

The War Hawk followed the fast moving Avora from a distance, his pace quickened to keep up with her. Her behaviour seemed suspicious and so she had to be followed. There was no problem keeping pace with her, no obstacles to slow down pursuit. As soon as the girl moved down a corridor, any people in it would melt away, darting into side passages or pressing hard against the walls of there was no other means of escape.

As she neared the Deep Warrens, the corridors became less busy. There were fewer people to slink out of the glassworker's way, a fact that perhaps she might be grateful for except that her guard's footsteps were loud in her ears, echoing alongside her own. The need to escape him would be a high priority for someone who wanted to explore in peace but escaping him without getting lost would be a hard task.

As she made her way further down into the mountain, right into its very bowels, it would grow steadily darker as the lamps began to dwindle. The walls of the passage are of rougher stone and the weight of the mountain above seems to beat down on anyone who ventures this far. The air seems different, hotter, thicker somehow and the War Hawk's breathing increased to a pant, a loud sound in the dead tunnels. There was no foot traffic here.

The passage branched off in a number of directions, tunnels twisting and turning away from the main one. A number of choices had presented themselves to the glassworker to choose. She could take the passage straight ahead, the one to the left or to the right, or to turn back now while she still could. If she stood long to ponder her choices then she'd feel the eyes of the man standing behind her boring into the back of her head, his loud breathing the only sound in the dim passage.

[Syveris]

She walked fast, focused only on getting to the Deep Warrens as fast as she could. Deep down, Syveris knew it could be dangerous, and that maybe she shouldn't be going at all, specially since it could be the 'proof' people needed to accuse her of helping the Despised. However, this was something she needed to do, and so these thoughts were shoved away. She was barely noticing the people give passage to her anymore, looking straight ahead.

As she got nearer, the footsteps that followed her became louder. The Avora sighed in annoyance. The damn Inarta could at least pretend he wasn't following her, but apparently, that wasn't an option. And then, Syveris reached a point where there was no one else besides her and the annoying Inarta.

Syveris stopped, looking at her three options. The Avora bit her lip, thinking as to where she should go. Breathing was harder down there, and the atmosphere was uncomfortable. The stones were rougher, and the air was almost suffocating. She took a deep breath, almost feeling the weight of the whole mountain above her. This was really unnerving. If it wasn't for the fact that this was a very isolated location, Syveris wouldn't have understood why would anyone stay down there.

The man behind her was breathing loudly, and the sound was annoying her again. She turned, facing him. "Can you please stop this? It's getting really annoying!" the only reason Syveris didn't scream at him was because, down there, it felt like the whole mountain would bury her alive at the slightest disturbance. It was a stupid thought, but the feeling was there. "If you are so sure about following me everywhere, than at least try to be silent about it! Can't you just..." the Avora stopped talking, a thought suddenly occurring to her. If the man followed her down there, then he would be proof that she wasn't working with the Despised, at least not right now. And if something happened, he would help her, right? She wasn't very sure, actually. In fact, Syveris thought that he probably would leave her and run, if anything went wrong, but even this kind of company was better than none, specially if she didn't want to be labeled as a traitor for going down there.

Syveris looked at him for a few ticks, thinking, before turning to face the three paths. Turning back wasn't an option anymore. With a shrug, she kept going forward, ignoring the passages on her left and right. She didn't want to get lost, and maybe, if she kept going forward, she would prevent that. She surely hoped so.

x Poppy

[Skerry]

The man was only doing his job, following the girl. He wasn't supposed to interact with her or intervene in any of her actions which was how he'd ended up down in the horrible deep tunnels of the Deep Warrens. When she turned on him and talked to him, he stood glued to the spot, his eyes wide with surprise. If she chose to pay attention, she might have noticed his youthful appearance, something that had been obscured by the perpetual frown on his face. His expression of surprise smoothed all the lines in his face before they returned, more prominent than before as if he was deep in thought.

He picked his lips nervously and mumbled a quiet sorry, his face twisting in confusion at his words. She was the possible traitor so why apologise? But she had already turned away and begun to stride down the middle passage. The young man followed her, making an obvious effort to be quiet as his footsteps faded to light taps and his breathing quieted. This new quietness meant that he slowed down and if the girl looked back, she'd notice that he'd fallen behind.

The passage itself had been constructed by someone who didn't seem to know about straight lines. The passage twisted and turned for a few chimes and then branched off again, one passage on the left and another on the right. If she was trying to stay in a straight line, she was going to have a hard time.

The air coming from the left passage was warmer than the other passages she'd walked through suggesting some sort of heat source, perhaps a place close to the heart of the mountain, or near a magma pocket. There was a chance that that way could be dangerous. An unpleasant smell came from the right passage, a smell that could have been caused by something decaying down there. Neither passage seemed like a good choice.

[Syveris]

Syveris could barely hear the man behind her now, and she felt grateful, although a little guilty for her outburst. He didn't look like he wanted to be down there with her, although she wasn't going to take the blame for this. She wasn't a traitor, and if they wanted to treat her like one, then there was nothing she could do. Well, except look around Wind Reach and try to prove her innocence.

This Warrens were anything but straight, and the never ending twist and curves were already annoying her. At least there weren't any branches for a good while, so she wouldn't really get lost. She hoped so, at least.

Her hopes were crushed when she saw that the main path divided into two, and neither one allowed her not to turn. With a sigh, Syveris slowed down, looking at her options. In truth, she only wanted to walk into any of them, look around and then go back as fast as she could, to the nice part of the mountain. But these were the Deep Warrens, and more than she wanted to find some evidence and return, she wanted to stay alive, and a rushed decision like this wouldn't help her in that.

To her left, she could feel a warmer air than the rest of the Warrens, and that was saying something. To her right, there was a strong and very unpleasant smell, a smell that, to her, felt like something was rotting. She wanted to turn and go to the heat source, but that could mean going straight to a heat source she was sure wasn't harmless. The hot air could always mean that someone had made a fire inside the Warrens, but then this someone had some kind of serious problem. She was barely supporting the suffocating air without any sort of additional problem.

And the decaying smell... Hadn't the Despised being accused of murder? Could it be the body of the person he killed? The thought sickened her, and she had to support herself against a wall, closing her eyes. She would not throw up now.

Syveris waited for a chime before opening her eyes again, biting her lips. She would look. She had to. That was why she had gone down there, after all. The Avora straightened up, and walked into the right branch, hoping that she was mistaken, and it was only an animal body or something like that. She refused to look back to see if the man was still with her. If she saw that he wasn't, she would probably turn away and go back, and that wasn't going to happen.

x Poppy

[Skerry]

As Syveris crept further and further down the right passage, the smell of decay would grow stronger and stronger, overwhelming her senses. It would take a lot of effort not to retch though the man behind her could not control his urge to retch, the sounds loud behind her. Turning a bend in the tunnel, she would not find a body as she had anticipated but merely clusters upon clusters of fungi that showed up in the tunnel with a slight iridescent glow. It was from these and the water that they sat in that the smell of decay had come from, the water a murky black. If she succeeded in passing the mushrooms without being overwhelmed by nausea then she'd be able to hurry into the maze of tunnels ahead.

The passage of the War Hawk behind her would not be as quiet as before, a low groaning coming from his lips as he fought the urge to get sick again. His groans would echo eerily off the rough walls, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet tunnels. Being preoccupied with his stomach, he wouldn't take care to keep his steps quiet, instead stomping from behind the glassworker.

Past the large clusters of mushrooms, the tunnel branched off twice, one going diagonally to the left and the other going straight. Unfortunately, the straight tunnel begins to split only a little way in, a tunnel branching to the right which branches off in turn. The straight tunnel seems to promise that the unprepared traveller will get lost. The one to the left seems eerie, a whispering sound seeming to bounce off its walls. It can only be heard when the traveller strains to listen but it is enough to rise goosebumps on a person's arms. The tunnel is twisty but after half a chime of following its twisty path, it opens into a small, dim room.

[Syveris]

If she thought the smell was insupportable, it was much worse when she got closer and closer to the source. Her stomach twisted, and she trembled with the effort to not throw up. The Avora turned on the curve, and stopped, surprised by the fungi that glowed. She wasn't expecting that, and she would have turned back right then, desperate to get away from the smell, if it wasn't for the water. It was black, and although it could very well have been mud, it pulled her her forward.

The smell was making her dizzy, and she knew she wouldn't be able to put up with it much longer. Quickly, she managed to pass the strange clusters of fungi, before nausea took her over and she had to bend and vomit. There were grunting sounds behind her, although it seemed like the man wasn't as sick as she was by the smell. She ran away from the smell, only stopping when she could breath normally again.

The loud footsteps and grunting sound could have annoyed her, but right now, it meant that the man had indeed followed her down there, and she was grateful for it. Besides, it wasn't like she was doing any better, so she stayed quiet. Syveris took a deep breath, welcoming even the suffocating air of the Deep Warrens, and straightened up.

Again, choices. She grunted, annoyed by whomever had carved those stupid Warrens down there, if they had indeed been carved by someone. There were way too many branches in the straight tunnel, and Syveris felt lost just by looking at it. She shook her head. Right then, there wasn't really much thinking to do, and so, she took the left tunnel. This one was anything but straight, but at least it had only one path. Before she ventured further, she leaned against the wall, feeling a faint headache because of the fungi.

The Avora frowned, turning her head. The man had already stopped, and he wasn't talking. But there definitely was some sound. Syveris trembled, and began to walk again. She could rest later. Really, why the Deep Warrens had to be so unsettling? So many branches that she hoped the man behind her was paying some attention, as she wasn't sure she could go back without help, fungi that smelled like rotten bodies and now, a whisper coming from somewhere. Syveris was grateful by the not so silent steps behind her, if only to cover up the strange sound.

It wasn't long before she reached a room. It was small, and not very well lightened, but her heart began to beat faster in her chest. Could it be that she had truly found something? Syveris wanted to run inside, look for something, but she kept quiet, listening and looking, trying to see if it was safe.

[Skerry]

The room that Syveris had come to was a dead end, something that she couldn't possibly know with the poor lighting. She'd have to hope that her eyes adjusted or else she'd never see that there were no passages leading off from the room except for the one that she'd just come from.

The whispering sound was a little louder here but it sounded more like angry howling now. It was as if the wind blowing through some crevice or crack. Wind couldn't blow in the mountain though, could it? The howling together with a twisted shape in the centre of the room made an ominous scene. To unadjusted eyes, the shape might have seemed like a hunched and sitting figure. To those who could see in the murk, a grotesque and twisted rock formation horribly like a tortured person, would come into view. The figure would seem to be screaming, something dark and liquidy seeming to spew out of its mouth. If it was touched, it would turn out to be a part of the rock.

At the base of the twisted form, a small scrap of cloth clung to the stone. It would be hard to find unless Syveris came across it by touch, an unlikely occurrence. If she found it, she wouldn't be able to tell a lot from it as it was only a small and dirty bit of material, perhaps from a cloak. If she didn't find the cloth then there wasn't anything to keep her there. The girl would have to return down the tunnel again, passing the young War Hawk who watched her curiously. His arm raised slightly as if to stop the glassworker in her tracks but it dropped to his side once more, without him saying a word. He would continue to follow her soundlessly without trying to intervene again.

The girl would be forced to return to the branch in the previous tunnel. Her only choices were to go back or to enter the warren of tunnels that would be easy to get lost in. If she continued on, she'd find that the tunnels would seem to twist and turn endlessly, seeming to send one in circles, never leading anywhere as far as the traveller might see.

[Syveris]

She waited. The only thing she could hear was the wind. Only... How could the wind reach so deep in the mountain? But there didn't seem to be any movement, and there was no one in there, as far as she could tell. A form in the middle of the room looked like a person, but it was too still. If it was indeed a person, then he or she was dead.

Sending a nervous glance to the Inarta that accompanied her, she entered the room, circling the thing in the center, not wanting to even look. She couldn't take another dead person so close.

Syveris reached the end of the room, and touched the stone surface of the wall. There was no passage. "Petch!" she screamed, angrily kicking the wall, as if this gesture would make a path appear in the solid rock. She felt like crying, again. So close. The Avora felt so close of finding something, and now she had reached a room with no way to move forward. And the only thing in said room was... something in the middle.

Turning, she angrily cleaned her face. She wouldn't go away without searching everything. She had to find something. It was impossible for a person to simply vanish, so the Despised had to have left some clue.

The Avora approached the center of the room again, trembling slightly as she reached out to the figure. Her eyes were getting used to the dark, but she still couldn't see exactly what the thing was. When her fingers touched the solid rock, she sighed, relieved. Not a dead person. She had been wrong again, and she was very, very happy with it. Syveris let her hand stay in the cold stone, feeling more calm only by sensing the stone under her fingers. It took two whole chimes before she finally was able to see in the darkness, but then, she wished she hadn't.

The rock formation was twisted, and it looked disturbingly similar to a screaming person. It was horrifying, and Syveris began to feel sick again. She turned back from the figure, knowing she was probably getting paler and paler. She had found something, but she didn't had the slightest idea of what it was. She would have to ask someone, the Valintar, maybe. Syveris doubted he wanted anything to do with her, but maybe he could send someone to see for themselves, couldn't he?

The Avora hurried back to where the man was, one of his arm raised. He soon lowered it again, but Syveris found the gesture curious. "What is wrong? Do you know what this thing is?" she asked, her voice weak. The Avora wasn't expecting him to answer, but she truly wanted to hear a human voice, something that would be normal in this eerie place. "Do you... Are you good with tunnels? You have to follow me, right? If you don't answer, I'm going to the other path, the one with the I don't know how many branches. If I do, I doubt I will be able to come back, and you will be lost with me." it wasn't a threat. She only wanted to hear something that wasn't the wind-like sound in the room. "So... If we go down, can you lead us back?" was she even making sense? Syveris leaned against the entrance, looking back at the room. There had to be something, and she would search for this something, not even if she had to waste the whole day down on the Deep Warrens. And even more time, maybe.

She looked back at the man. He wasn't going to speak, was he? The Avora was almost begging him to. She wasn't even trying to pretend that she wasn't afraid of getting lost anymore. But if there was nothing to find in this room, if the statue hold no significance, then she would go back to the branch and look in the twisting tunnel. Syveris could think of a way of not getting lost. What she couldn't do was to give up so soon.