|
[ rules ] [ setting ] [ players ] [ archives ]
oren loosens his axe, but does not draw it. He begins surveying the surrounding area, looking for what may have caused the wounds to the qirin, but also partly to avoid looking directly into the qirin's light. [Joe's note: Looking into the morning sun probably isn't too hot an idea...] [GM: Gosh, Joe, can't you take a li'l Texan hyperbole? Let's say it's a *cloudy* morning.] The wounds seem as if they were caused by teeth or claws of the extremely sharp variety. Takashi notices this as well--in fact, Takashi wonders at the lack of suppuration, but then, wraiths aren't entirely corporeal, from all he's heard. After taking his cursory check [ooc: and assuming he didn't see anything arousing suspicion], Qoren asks the obvious. "Are you ok?" The qirin inclines its horn to him briefly, then turns to look directly at Frenil. "Do you think that I am a fool," she says, "to confront you when you carry weapons at your sides? Were I here to kill you, I would wait until sleep came for you--and sleep always does, for those who dream and live and die--and cut your throats, and be gone before the dream faded from your eyes. I keep the bargain with the Qenaren, and it was that bargain that brought me into this forsaken land." Takashi listens attentively to the wraith, contemplating every word she has to say. When the qirin finishes Takashi has calmed down quite a bit, because he believes that the qirin's arguments are plausible. She is breathing normally, but the dark, wise gaze is troubled, and there are silver lights in that darkness, like far-off stars. "Qenaren," she says, "and Bereshi and Ashenlander. All of you. I have been part of a battle against that which comes out of the Ashen Lands, a power that has no human name because it was born before human legend. My power is limited here, though; I must return to my home to rest. And it is *my* home as well as yours"--those last words are directed toward Qoren. "I know that as well as you. I know the ancient pact Qenarens made with Wraiths," Qoren responds to the qirin's words. Once she has finished speaking Takashi asks the wraith, "May I offer my assistance in attending to your wounds?" and as if to explain his reasons he adds, "After all, you were wounded fighting on our behalf..." The qirin studies Takashi with eyes of shadow and starlight, and then laughs: a laugh that rings like a bell about to break. "I am honored by your offer, physician. But there is no healing for my kind except the long, long sleep." Her eyes dim. "It is past time for me to seek the healing rest. Where there is light, there follows darkness; and it is time for the darkness to emerge." She approaches with soft steps, and the horse and mules lower their heads, as if offering her homage. She rears, and with a toss of her head she brushes her horn across Takashi's hand on the reins. Some of her blood, silver and peculiarly cool, is left on his skin. Then another leap, and she has regained her distance from them. The qirin continues, "Some ills are beyond healing; some hatreds are beyond bridging. Turn back, turn back, before a new law comes to swallow you. Turn back and lance the darkness from your own hearts before seeking the darkness without." [Karsten: Takashi writes down the qirin's last words as exactly as possible for future reference.] "Now if only life were that simple," Qoren muses. "Although I do appreciate the warning. But we are here to gather information on what is most likely that very darkness you speak of. And there's nothing more we can do to prepare ourselves without that information. How do we remove the darkness from home and heart when we don't even know what the darkness looks like? Thus, we must continue on." She is silent, then says, "Perhaps it is best. Ever the way of your folk, to pry into corners until they learn what is there, for good or ill." There is a certain wry humor in her voice. "I would tell you more, if I knew the words for it." The qirin turns then, in contempt for axe and bow, and heads toward the Black Wall with a grace made more eerie by the silver blood that glistens behind her, a silver trail. "May your return be safe," Qoren says quietly as the wraith disappears into the distance. [Karsten: Although I think that Takashi has a good memory (after all he is quite intelligent and has a profession that IMHO requires a good memory), he will write down these last words of the Qirin as exact as possible for later reference.]
Back: Frenil, Takashi & Qoren's Story 1
Star image provided by Clipart Castle.
|
