90th of winter, 520 AV
The moonlight lit Aster's steps as she walked through the city. Her form for this season was tall and broad, lean with muscles that she didn't actually know how to use, but that certainly served for making her look more intimidating, and tattoos swept across her tanned skin. More importantly than that, it was another face that Alard hadn't seen.
Her cloak's hood was pulled up, though the hem brushed a few inches above her ankles, as she strode with purpose towards the area of the city known as the Den. She'd never actually been there before, and it was a bit of a far walk from the dovecote, which made Aster uneasy, her nerves flaring and heart jumping into her throat every time she heard footsteps in the nearby alleyways. But by some miracle or another, she made it across the city without much incident, aside from a drunken man who had stumbled across her path, only to retch in the shadow of a building.
Aster wrinkled her nose, but kept walking. As she entered the Den, she heard a shrill yet distant, muffled scream. A shiver ran down her spine, goosebumps rising along her arms and the back of her neck. A part of her had thought what she'd heard of Doctor Petricious was exaggerated, but perhaps not. Her mouth felt dry suddenly, and Aster considered for the briefest of moments turning and fleeing before she got any closer; but then she remembered Rak'keli, the calm, quiet, powerful presence of the goddess, the heavy weight of expectations in her gaze on Asterope.
Inhaling deeply, Aster squared her shoulders and walked further into the Den, following the sound of the shriek that had pierced the night air. Her steps lead her to the edge of the Den, to a small house that seemed more like a shack, tucked away behind other buildings. It was ramshackle and run-down, but from the distance she stood at, Aster could see dim light flickering through the dirty, grimy windows.
"Shit," Aster hissed under her breath; someone was inside and awake. Quite possibly the mad doctor himself. Staying to the side, out of sight of the windows, Aster carefully approached the house. Another muffled scream rang out into the night air, much closer, though not seemingly coming from the house itself. Aster edged closer, arcing a wide berth around the side of the house to get a glimpse at the back of it.
An unobtrusive, inconspicuous shack sat behind the house. Were the screams coming from there? They sounded a bit too distant for that to be the case. Frowning, Aster retreated back towards the front. She gave a furtive glance around, but nobody seemed to be around. Dropping into a crouch, she edged slightly closer to the front of the house, straining her ears to listen.
She heard some muffled shuffling, and then footsteps as whoever was inside walked around. "Useless idiot," she heard a man say, voice just loud enough for her to make out, bordering on shouting; clearly whoever was speaking was irritated. She heard a dull metallic thud, and then a garbled, low scream, this time distinctly coming from the house. Inhaling and holding her breath, Aster risked a quick peek into the window, poking her head up just enough so that she could peer in.
She had to squint, trying to make anything more than vague silhouettes out through the grime; she could only see details in patches. A man was standing with his back to her, leaning over a metal table. She could make out someone's legs on the table, strapped down, and blood dripping off the metal surface and onto the floor. The man standing, who Aster could only assume was Doctor Petricious, leaned over the person strapped down to the table; she couldn't tell what he was doing, but it seemed to involve some measure of force as he put his weight into it, and the person laying down let out another wordless cry.
Word count: 668
Her cloak's hood was pulled up, though the hem brushed a few inches above her ankles, as she strode with purpose towards the area of the city known as the Den. She'd never actually been there before, and it was a bit of a far walk from the dovecote, which made Aster uneasy, her nerves flaring and heart jumping into her throat every time she heard footsteps in the nearby alleyways. But by some miracle or another, she made it across the city without much incident, aside from a drunken man who had stumbled across her path, only to retch in the shadow of a building.
Aster wrinkled her nose, but kept walking. As she entered the Den, she heard a shrill yet distant, muffled scream. A shiver ran down her spine, goosebumps rising along her arms and the back of her neck. A part of her had thought what she'd heard of Doctor Petricious was exaggerated, but perhaps not. Her mouth felt dry suddenly, and Aster considered for the briefest of moments turning and fleeing before she got any closer; but then she remembered Rak'keli, the calm, quiet, powerful presence of the goddess, the heavy weight of expectations in her gaze on Asterope.
Inhaling deeply, Aster squared her shoulders and walked further into the Den, following the sound of the shriek that had pierced the night air. Her steps lead her to the edge of the Den, to a small house that seemed more like a shack, tucked away behind other buildings. It was ramshackle and run-down, but from the distance she stood at, Aster could see dim light flickering through the dirty, grimy windows.
"Shit," Aster hissed under her breath; someone was inside and awake. Quite possibly the mad doctor himself. Staying to the side, out of sight of the windows, Aster carefully approached the house. Another muffled scream rang out into the night air, much closer, though not seemingly coming from the house itself. Aster edged closer, arcing a wide berth around the side of the house to get a glimpse at the back of it.
An unobtrusive, inconspicuous shack sat behind the house. Were the screams coming from there? They sounded a bit too distant for that to be the case. Frowning, Aster retreated back towards the front. She gave a furtive glance around, but nobody seemed to be around. Dropping into a crouch, she edged slightly closer to the front of the house, straining her ears to listen.
She heard some muffled shuffling, and then footsteps as whoever was inside walked around. "Useless idiot," she heard a man say, voice just loud enough for her to make out, bordering on shouting; clearly whoever was speaking was irritated. She heard a dull metallic thud, and then a garbled, low scream, this time distinctly coming from the house. Inhaling and holding her breath, Aster risked a quick peek into the window, poking her head up just enough so that she could peer in.
She had to squint, trying to make anything more than vague silhouettes out through the grime; she could only see details in patches. A man was standing with his back to her, leaning over a metal table. She could make out someone's legs on the table, strapped down, and blood dripping off the metal surface and onto the floor. The man standing, who Aster could only assume was Doctor Petricious, leaned over the person strapped down to the table; she couldn't tell what he was doing, but it seemed to involve some measure of force as he put his weight into it, and the person laying down let out another wordless cry.
Word count: 668
