The echo of the screams of the failed supplicant and the crack of the stones closing has barely faded when the goat-masked monk points at the white-robed figure next to Marius. "Supplicant, arise. Name yourself."
The other occupant of the bench rises and pushes the hood back from her blonde hair. She comes to the middle of the chamber, to the spot where the last supplicant spoke to the judges, and looks up at the masked figures seated on the dais. "Thalia of Gateway."
"What do you seek?" asks a hawk-masked figure.
"Knowledge. I stand before you representing the Dey of Longtides, whom you would call a Marid or Djinn. He is a noble of his people and in his own way a collector of information not unlike yourselves. I have traveled far to reach you to ask, on his behalf, of purpose of the creation of the Great Gate and the agent responsible for doing so."
A monk with a fox mask asks, "And what do you offer in exchange, Thalia of Gateway?"
She takes a breath. "Amongst the Marid there is a tradition of a set term of service in exchange for knowledge. My master can offer much in this way--lesser Marid, magus such as myself, if your information is valuable enough, he might serve you himself."
The monks on the dais start to turn to each other, and Thalia speaks again. "Or he can offer you information. A tale lost for a score of centuries, perhaps of valor and terror and romance and the sons of Amber and the daughters of Rebma. Their battle with the sons of the Dragon and the desperate heroics and strange magics involved, and the consequences of the victory for the victor and the vanquished. All this I know, and will impart for the knowledge the Dey seeks."
The wolf-masked Klybesian at the end of the dais nods. "You may enter and trade with us." He raises one arm and points to the door with the eye in the pyramid, the sign of their order, burned into it. Thalia bows gracefully and turns away. The door opens before her; she steps through, and it closes behind her with a resounding slam.
Another monk, this one in a lion-headed mask, turns to Marius. "Supplicant, arise. Name yourself."
Marius stands in a graceful motion, looking more the lion than the monk, despite having no mask to illustrate. Or perhaps a caged panther, his eyes dark, and his expression grim. The congenial smile that he tends to hide his thoughts behind is nowhere to be found. He drops the hood of the robe with a shrug and the light caress of a hand, his demeanor less sullen than simply solemn.
"I am Marius." Seeker of Truths. Delver into Depths. Tired, lonely, and angry, all at once. "I am," is a conceit he allows himself, a denial of oblivion of void in a universe of Shadow. His mind races as he considers titles. Prince of the Universe, yeah. The thought almost amuses him. He decides after a moment that his name should be enough. If the Klybesians have the knowledge claimed, they know the rest. Besides, a mystery kept is one that can be earned.
He awaits the next ritual question, "What do you seek?"
The face of Tragedy obliges him.
Tragedy, of course, wearing bronze. He expected Tragedy. Comedy was still busy laughing at his innermost thoughts, and the Satyr Play? That was another game. [snorts, grins]
He is ready with his answer, directing it to the masked individual who asks, but his voice carries to all.
"I wish succor for myself and one of my Blood. I stand before you armed only with my maternal bequest, and a daedal legacy. Specifically, I ask for the services of translation to lead me on my way to this member of my Family, and analysis of similarities and known history between artifacts." A Family matter. The capitalization makes him think momentarily of Brita, with a definite fondness. He brutally cuts off the thought, pausing to keep himself in check. The ties that cut and bind.
He waits for the final piece of ritual. "And what do you offer in exchange?"
This question comes from
Pain. Threats. The smile is let loose, and his eyes narrow. It's one of the expressions he picked up from Admiral Caine, but he's never seen it on his own face. Images from old dreams pluck at his memories, and he bluffs it out. "I offer an appreciative audience. I offer the tale that led me here, and the stories I will tell when I leave. I offer both a measure of silence and a measure of talk. I offer you your role in assisting my kin, and, of course, Our Gratitude. I offer the seeds of new mysteries, ready to sprout into further knowledge." He attempts to suggest the sheer inevitability of the event, you know, has its own weight. Man, I hope his Fire specialty helps here. "Further, I offer news of the ascension of Xanadu," he hopes he remembers the name properly, "over Amber."
Eh. If that doesn't work, he's got a plan B. His player looks nervously at the Pit. Well, if he survives the fall, maybe Ce'e can help rescue him, right?
There is a murmur among the monks on the bench. Whatever language they speak, it is unknown to Marius. After a moment, the wolf-masked Klybesian speaks. "You may enter and trade with us, Marius of Amber and Rebma and perhaps of Xanadu. But we warn you, your kind is not unknown to us. We will deal with you as you deal with us. Remember that as you bargain."
The door with the sign of the eye-in-pyramid swings open.
Marius doesn't let his expression change, but he hurries in nevertheless. Not like he's expecting them to change their mind, but because he would never have called himself, "Of Rebma," despite the dreams. He represses a smile at the, "We will deal with you as you deal with us." If only the universe would be so kind, and so cruel!
After he passes through, it slams shut behind him.
What, not even a, "It's been my pleasure to open for you, and my satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done?" Guess they're synthaSirius Cybernetics. Can't stand the stuff.
Erm.
He is doing his best to catalogue a path through here; looking for the proverbial "escape route."
Marius finds himself in a hallway leading away from the examination chamber. As he walks down the hall, he can see doors on either side every so often. The seventh door on the left is open, and Marius can see a light shining from within as he approaches the doorway.
He might, he thinks, be able to force one of the other doors open. Otherwise it's back to the chamber, or forward into darkness.
Marius utilizes the momentum of his meandering to make sure the door he goes through (the seventh doorway) is the correct door. (I believe that's how you work that pesky Pattern thing.) It's not that he doesn't have curiosity, it's just that he hates dead cats. They aren't much fun.
[Technically, that's not how you work that pesky Pattern thing--you can change present things but not something in the past, like where they meant you to go--but since that's where you're supposed to go, it's all right.]
He's preparing himself for an assault upon the senses, if not the self; all of this mystery and light versus darkness is grueling. He tries to remember if he could be the seventh aspirant. Or maybe it's someone else's lucky number. He plans on being alert the moment he steps into the threshhold, and secure in what lies beyond.
There is a hooded figure seated at a desk. The candelabra on the desk is the source of the light in the hallway. A rough stool stands on the floor between the entrance to the chamber and the desk.
How much light does it give out? (Just needing to picture it for psychological (and) power reasons.) Is this more a spartan office or a study (books on the wall) or an interrogation room? (Or is this stuff that _I_'m supposed to specify? I'm just trying to get the feel of this again, and be more proactive and all that.)
Three candles, with appropriate light from them. The office is clearly used: there are some books and writing supplies. But it's not personalized in any way. There's nothing that Marius sees as having signs of personality.
So, we can still, in some part, call these "cells" as befits monks and prisons alike. Well, at least they're not cubicles. Marius notes that there isn't any obvious laboratory or testing equipment, so he's considering two options to start with; 1) their information is limited to "available" knowledge and he's been sent to an expert or someone who can find an expert, or 2) their information will take time to acquire, and testing facilities are either magical or available elsewhere.
"Please, sit down, Sir Marius." The voice is masculine and vaguely familiar. The hood comes up and Marius faces the panther-mask that questioned him from the dais. Then the monk pulls the hood back and doffs the mask. He's light-haired and light-skinned, and his smile is a razor.
Oh good, another smiley!
Erm.
Sir. Fairly generic reference, but it could be specific. Marius has his wits about him, although his tendency to meander about the possibilities of a point still applies. He glances to see if the chair is over any obvious trap door, with a kind of expression that says (if Brother Tomat is adept at reading these), "You know. That's how the game is played."
He sits on the chair, making it look comfortable in that sprawl he's perfected, and leaving space for future violence.
"I am Brother Tomat. Let us bargain for the knowledge you seek."
[casting: Michael York.]
He nods. "What do you offer without charge?" he asks.
Brother Tomat considers the question. "You wished translation, and to identify an artifact? If you wish to show us what is to be translated, I can tell you without charge whether or not we know the language. Similarly, if there is no way that your item can be identified, I can tell you this without charge."
Marius notes that Brother Tomat's name was not included in that listing, so maybe it was either false, or included in the giving of Marius' name. Or maybe it's a bargain deal.
[Minor GM assistance: I recall that Marius was "wearing a white robe" and unarmed; can I presume he has brought the artifact in question? (I can't imagine he wouldn't unless it was confiscated or not part of the ritual.) If not, I'll need to rewrite the below.]
[That's fine. He's unarmed and unarmored are the key things. Other than that, you can take liberties with what he's got on under his robes. ;-)]
"Those two things I will request," Marius says. He reaches into a pouch for the ring. "For further, I believe we have much to offer each other that may not be clearly stated in the words of deal and counterdeal. Can we bargain further from the test of the Star Chamber?" He places the ring on the desk, but does not let his hand off of them, resting a finger on it gently.
Brother Tomat smiles. "Most of those who come here find the tests of the Star Chamber, and the bargains made therein, sufficient to their needs. But most who come here are not of the royal blood of Amber. I suspect we have much to offer each other, Sir Marius." He places his hand out to Marius, palm up, the back flat against the desk between himself and Marius.
Marius decides Brother Tomat is only flirting as much as he is, and with a soft roll of the finger, flips the ring over into his cupped hand. He places it onto Brother Tomat's palm gently. He smiles broadly. "That lineage is indeed shared in me, but what this one reveals may be more pressing. At least," he adds, "to start."
He gives Brother Tomat a chance to look at it, with a kind of associated, "Your move," shrug. His posture changes from wary to curious.
Brother Tomat holds the ring up to the candle. "Hm. In some ways this will be more difficult than I thought, in other ways simpler. The inscription on the ring is in Mabrahoring, which I myself can read--but that may mean I have to speak to the Illuminated Master to have it examined. For it may be warded by spells more secretive than I can penetrate."
Mabrahoring. The name rings a bell in Marius' mind. Caine had spoken of it many years ago. The language of Sorcery, he called it.
"What do you offer for the service of translation?" Brother Tomat asks.
Brother Tomat's been an upstanding fellow, giving things away left and right. Marius nods. "You have the appreciative audience, and as you have already answered one question, I offer the tale that led me here, and the seeds of new mysteries. For the translation itself, I will speak of Xanadu and the end of Amber."
"Done and done," Tomat says. "Speak and I will listen." The last seems to be some kind of ritual phrase, from the way Tomat intones it.
"It began as most adventures begin, with the dream of a lady."
Marius leans back on the stool, his hands resting gently together next to his knees.
"Three ladies, in fact," he seems to correct himself. "One tall, cool, and with skin that hinted of jade and earth, her hair spun of obsidian silk. This one waited in a garden under the waters. One fiery with hair like molten blood, tempered by self-control, and she stood against the mist-filled forests, a sword in her hand. One wearing white, as I do, with black hair and all the signs of my blood, barefoot and against a background of pain and death.
"The first woman I had seen in my dreams. She held secrets against the tide. The second woman I am beginning to know, for she is of my Family, and I recall how fiercely she protects her children against the growing green. The third woman I knew well, for she was my mother."
He adjusts slightly on the stool, resting more on his right knee, body more pointed along that line. "My mother wore white, as I said, untouched by the blood of that final battle at the edge of all that is Real." He drops hints as payments for futher mysteries. "She took my hand, saying nothing, and raised the ring I wear as a member of the Knights of the Ruby." He rubs the evidence with his thumb, almost absentmindedly. "She looked at it for a moment, and then nodded. Another ring, the one you hold for value, appeared in the palm of her hand. `Remember,' she said.
"At that point my dream changed, and I sat in a grove with my cousin Paige. She was concentrating on an unusual sword, one shaped more like a fang, with a leather rose wrapped around its hilt. She looked out at the forest, as if anticipating an opponent. She broke her gaze and looked at me. `Children,' she said in the same voice as my mother's `Remember.'"
He shrugs and reverts to his waiting posture. "Then I was underwater, in a garden I have often spent time within in my dreams. It looks like Rebma, and indeed, the woman there has all the signs of one who rests in that place. She stood admiring a flower that seemed made of blood, for as the current moved, a smoky darkness emitted from it, leaving a salty, coppery taste in the water. She turned to me, and plucked the flower, showing it to me. In the middle was a pearl. In that same voice, she said, `Danger.'"
Marius sighs. "When I awoke, I rummaged through my mother's effects, and came upon some that had been set aside by Lord Boreal. I discovered the ring, along with a note that spoke of a sister that I had not known I had, and how to find her. A sister in danger.
"Perhaps the dream came from having looked through the objects and not really recognizing them. I have many dreams whose origins are merely fanciful. Still, if the dream were not enough, the ring and note spurred me into what may have, at the time, seemed a drastic, perhaps impulsive change in course. I gathered my companion," he does not say, `albatross,' "and began following the signs.
"I now know how to pack quickly for a journey, and we left in haste. I recognized with heavy heart the path we were following, for even now, there are remnants of the war. A blasted plain that was only now budding scavenger grasses where once were roses. A path that had led between the cool grey hills was now broken and buried in avalanches of inhuman bones. Nightly I dreamt of blood and knives, and of my friends, shipmates, people I knew and trusted as the colours and biles of unnatural beings left their marks on them once more. I was not going back to that place; my companion would not do well there, and I do not yet have the knowledge to make it mine."
He shakes his head. "I broke with the path and followed a new one, across sands that dazzled the eye, and befuddled the brain. My steed was smarter than I and was not hypnotized by its dance. My companion feasted on a metallic bird that showed us the way to a city of black iron and golden light, and we spent a day at its outskirts. They spoke a language that remembered ours, and their knives were like Paige's dream sword, and they knew thorns but not roses.
"There was water, then, clean water, cold water," he remembered it as if the sheer description could quench a thirst. "We followed it, tripping over vines, and climbing muddy hills, but there was no bridge across, and while we could have swam, knowing the right place is more important. A bridge can just as easily be between worlds as any portal can be an entrance someplace else.
"We followed the river to the sea, to seeing large ships with sails of every colour in the rainbow. I looked for signs of our fleet, and told my companion some small tales of my time on the decks of ships, when I remembered something that had been said about the monks who knew.
"I made up my mind that night, and dreamt of Amber like an island, floating into a sea of fire. I chose a fast ship, and with one bribe and one threat," he smiles, thinking of the look on the steward's face, "made it to this place, with incidents contained rather than strewn to the Shadows."
He gives the bones of his tale with a flourish, as if to say, "And here we are."
Brother Tomat's eyes have been closed throughout Marius' recitation, as if to listen without the distraction of visual input. At the last sentence, he opens his eyes again, and nods. "I hear, and will remember."
He holds up the ring and reads the inscription. "Made in token of a price Deirdre of the Sorrows paid to the Smith." As he holds it up and reads the words aloud, there's a flash of light, and a second inscription appears, overwriting the first and limned in tiny flames. Brother Tomat's eyes widen.
Marius' smile turns extremely wry, because while in a way it surprised him in its effect, it doesn't surprise him in its event. "Now, was _I_ supposed to read it, or will that happen at any verbalization of its claim?" he murmurs, not quite making it an official question. "What price would you claim of me for the new inscription, provided it is something you can read without harm?"
"I can read it," Brother Tomat says steadily. "My price is knowledge of the name of the sister you seek, Sir Marius."
"Rather than giving directly what is arguably mine to give," Marius says, "I offer you a puzzle of sorts instead." He smiles, remembering Sir Xenial's first explanation of Mincarti-rules chess. "I have said this is a matter of Family, but I have a very large family, and we are in the habit of giving gifts to each other. The answer is in the following few statements.
"I have in my possession four gifts, a ring, a bracelet, a scarf, and an affine. Each of these gifts was given via a woman, or at least all have worn the guise of one, and all gifters are related to me in some fashion. Each of the gifts come from a different named reference point, and consist of two elements.
First, the item from Mistress Carper, which was not the affine, does not represent forest & finery; the suspected Rebman item is neither of air & stone, nor is it a ring.
Second, the item from Shadow (which isn't the scarf) and the one that I received from a fellow Knight (which wasn't the ring in question) are both non-sentimental.
Third, the likely Rebman item does is not indicated by fire and secrets, and was not given to me by the Lady Paige.
Fourth, the charge from my mother to Signy (who is not Mistress Carper), and which is not made of forest & finery, was not knowingly Rebman in origin; the sentimental item from Amber is neither of air & stone, nor fire & secrets.
Finally, neither the scarf (which was not from Chaos) nor the item containing both pearls & the hint of the moon were received via Dame Aisling."
Tomat listens carefully, eyes closed, as before. When Marius finishes the recitation, he hands the ring back. "It said 'Seek her on the Plain of Towers'," Tomat explains, rising from the desk. "We need to leave this place, now."
Plain of Towers. Does that ring any bells for Marius? It seems somewhat contradictory, a plain being a flat geographical feature, and yet towers are tall, perpendicular to a plane...maybe it's a place where the inhabitants seek the rooftops? Great. His sister is a bird. Well, the name sounds about right for that. [OOC: Maybe she likes to do swan dives. Just like Marius' mother. Right into the abyss! Score! Erm.]
The name rings no bells for Marius.
So, presumably, it is a plain of towers without belltowers. Belfrys? Not a place for bats, therefore not a place for vampires, and thus, not in the undead realm of Xeno the Destroyer. We're set.
Erm.
Does Brother Tomat seem uncomfortable in any way, or just "done"? Is he in a hurry? That final "now" could be read either way. Either way, though, Marius rises from the stool in a fluid motion, looking somewhat amused, but in a state of lazy readiness. (If he were a cat, his tail would be twitching, but he'd be laying down nevertheless.) He will follow Brother Tomat.
Brother Tomat is definitely in a bit of a hurry. Not enough of one to disrupt the smooth silence of his demeanor, but enough of one to get him moving at speed. As he comes around the desk, he says, "What do you have with you in this monastery that you cannot bear to leave behind?"
So he's staying cool, but Marius' panic button has been tapped. "My companion," he says, amending, "and my weaponry," in his head. Another question he answered, so he risks one. "The matter of our haste?" although he makes it quite clear he is more than willing to pursue that same hurry.
"Is better discussed when we are outside this place if you value the safety of her whom you seek," Tomat replies. He opens the door and looks both ways before gesturing to Marius to follow him, moving past the door and what appears to be deeper into the complex.
Bah. That was the whole point of his coming here, and so he stays silent. In fact, he will do his best (power and practice to the test!) to maintain the silence and unsuspectability (I doubt that's a word) Tomat wishes. On the other hand, he's counting the questions he's owed. He's not the sneaky type, but he's not stupid.
Tomat leads Marius through various sections of the monastery complex, past the occasional brother and past a couple of well-armed guards at one point. Tomat keeps his head bowed and says nothing as he and Marius pass the guards.
Nothing to see here. Just let us move along. We are not the affines you're looking for...however grammatically incorrect.
After a time, they are in the area of the monastery where guests stay, and soon enough in Marius' own chamber. Ce'e is waiting there. "My lord?" he says questioningly to Marius.
Marius' belongings are as he left them, apparently undisturbed.
Marius gathers his pack, shrugging it on over the robe nonchalantly. (I think we mentioned earlier how he packs as if he's ready to be ridden out of town on the rail.) He nods to Ce'e.
"I said on the way, near the rock that looked like a pointing finger, that we would find answers here. These answers, as brought by Brother Tomat," emphasizing, "Named, _not food_," as the lesson goes, "say we must hurry to the next piece of our puzzle. You are ready to leave?" he doesn't _quite_ make it a question.
Ce'e eyes Brother Tomat curiously, but accepts the definition. Brother Tomat is sophisticated enough to
...take everything in stride, no doubt. [player winks]
[Yes. I hate it when I lose half my sentence to an editing cut and miss it in vetting. :-/]
[I always try to check to see if I any words out, but I'm not always successful.]
"Brother Tomat, this is the Knight Cloudeater," he says, finishing cinching the strap to his sword. "If you would give us our heading?" he's ready to go.
"Down the mountain," says Brother Tomat, who appears to be dressed in nothing more than heavy robes and sandals. Unless he has some sort of monkish discipline to keep him warm, he'll freeze. "We don't have much time." He moves to the door and glances out it, down the hallway.
Well, at least it's all downhill from here. ("All roads lead downhill from Amber"?) Marius looks concerned for a moment, but figures if Tomat wants something more, he'll ask for it. And heck, Marius is generous, he'd give it to Tomat for free.
"If speed is essential, we shall have it," Marius decides. "Lead on, and we follow." He makes sure Ce'e is up and moving, and is thus good for his words.
"Ideally you should take the visitor's exit and I should depart quietly in the secret ways known only to the brothers. I can lead you that way, but there will be a fight if we are discovered. If I take you to the visitor's exit, I will not be permitted to leave with you. How do you prefer to proceed?" Brother Tomat asks.
"I am not afraid of conflict," Marius says, not in a way that suggests he was being accused of being a coward, but simply stating that he has no concern about a fight. "How far would you intend to guide me?" he asks. "I would have your company as far as my requested answers require, but I would not have unnecessary blood on my hands."
"If we go out that way together, some will not come back. But this is my break with the Order. What I have already done is enough to sign my death warrant when the Illuminated Master learns of it." Brother Tomat's tone is grim. "Once we leave, I will guide you to the Plain of Towers. There, I think, I will find a better welcome, and protection from the Order."
"To better welcomes, then!" Marius says, as if making a toast. He frowns slightly, weighing something in his mind, and then nods. "It was never my intent to burden you with knowledge, merely to shoulder more for myself. Alas, the taint of knowing is a pervasive one, leading a man to sins like curiosity and power." He laughs, but goes sober, somber, in the next sentence. "If I can find some redemption by offering what protection I can for the journey, I would say let us choose the fastest ways, no matter the danger."
"Very well. But the sins are mine and the redemption is also," Brother Tomat replies, with equal seriousness.
[OOC: I was writing a response to one of the threads about "modern thinking vs. medieval thinking" and how player knowledge and interests collide/combine with that of the characters. Given my avocation, redemption _is_ an interest of mine that might not always concern Marius, but then I was thinking of all the things that Marius feels he has to atone for (his form of self-punishment for not protecting Deirdre, for not going with Corwin, for at least lusting after a member of the family, and other "sins") and decided it wasn't just a player-driven interest. Makes me happy.]
Brother Tomat leads Marius and Ce'e back out of the guest wing and into the depths of the temple complex. To the extent that he has a sense of direction left, Marius thinks they are moving toward a part of the temple built into the mountain. Occasionally they pass guards; Brother Tomat ignores them as if he is about with Ce'e and Marius on mundane business.
Marius' impression that he is going under the mountain is soon confirmed by the end of wooden walls and the beginning of stone ones. After another bend in the corridor, Marius sees a large door. It's barred on this side, and guarded by a large, burly fellow who might be a very, very distant shadow of Marius' strongest uncle.
"Who goes there?" the guard asks.
"A brother, with two to depart."
The guard looks Marius and Ce'e over. "I didn't have any word of that. You have the sign from the Illuminated Master?" he asks the monk.
From within his robes, Brother Tomat pulls out a golden disk. As he shows it to the guard, it spins, and Marius glimpses the sign: an eye in a pyramid.
"Very well." The guard unbars the door, and lets them pass.
Once they're on the other side, the door closes and Marius can hear it being barred against them. They're in a stone corridor, roughly hewn from the rock. Brother Tomat leads them further down and further in, whispering once they're away from the door, "That trick is unlikely to suffice more than once. They will be warned at the next door, most likely."
"And thus are we warned." Marius does not have to make sure his knives are handy; that's one of his essential pieces. He does bring his palm closer to one, though, in preparation.
"Ce'e," he says, keeping his voice low, and speaking clearly for the affine, "there may be violence. Please wait for my signal or call of your name before entering the fray. Friend Tomat," he says, looking up and amending the "Brother" as it may no longer relate, "is it better to kill or disable in this fight?"
"I would not kill needlessly," Tomat says, "but those who are deemed responsible for letting me flee may be punished by death." He frowns. "The Illuminated Master thought I was too attached to Signy, and he had me removed from the tower. Perhaps he was right."
Marius considers. "They will then defend themselves on their own merits," he decides. "We will give them the choice to disable or die on their own." He nods.
"I will have the question pending, then. What was she like?"
Tomat smiles. "Beautiful and passionate. Weyland found her impatient, but he did not teach her as her capacities demanded. She is a brilliant sorceress, and when she comes into the Amber heritage she has been denied, she will be a force to be reckoned with."
Marius nods.
[His thought process goes something like: "Sorceress. Yesssss. Good. Force. Good. Heritage denied. Oops. Bad. Do we have a budding Dara on our hands?"]
He checks on Ce'e to make sure his affine is well, and continues down the hall. Despite his words to Tomat, he's not really intending on giving anyone a chance to get in the first blow. The best defense, and all that.
After a few more turns, Tomat pulls Marius to the wall and gestures around the corner. Marius carefully looks around the corner and sees a door and a man sitting on a stool, looking down a cross-passageway. Next to him is a door. And a small gong. Tomat indicates, without speaking, that they need to get out the door. The man seems alert. He's also unarmed.
This looks like a good opportunity to use bait. Marius moves close to the affine, and speaks to the side of Ce'e's head in a whisper slightly louder than a breath. "At my signal," he reminds the Knight, and finishes with, "stop our attacker's breathing." That should be sufficient, he decides, idly wishing he had a handy-dandy Amberite-to-Chaosian dictionary. (But, then, he asks, what happened to the rest of the alphabet? Oh, nevermind.)
Ce'e nods once, abruptly.
You know, this OUGHT to make our noble hero feel more comfortable, like, "We're communicating!" but instead, that pit of dread (somewhere between the sacrum and the belly button) just gets ping'd.
In the flickering light, C.E. looks vaguely like Prince Martin.
Heroes always evolve.
He nods to Tomat, and then steps out, looking for all the world like he's perfectly comfortable being where he is. There are two things Marius likes more than meihem, these days. (Sex and figuring out puzzles, if you must know. Needless to say, our young man needs to get laid more often.) He leaves it up to Tomat as to whether or not the monk wishes to address the guard, but if Tomat does not move into the hall with him, Marius will address the man. "Pardon me, sir, but does this lead outward?"
"Hunh? You're the intruder!" He picks up his striker and winds up to swing it as his gong.
Marius shrugs, a fluid movement that brings a knife up backwards, with a hope to use it more cudgel-like than strictly to kill. His intent is more to slide between the individual and the gong (AKA, reinforcements) than to injure the fellow. At least, right this minute. Let him have a minute to get his blood pumping.
Marius interposes himself between the guard and his gong, his knife held pommel up, ready to strike. The guard shouts "Help!, Intruders!" and Tomat comes around the corner with C.E.
"Is this the signal, My Lord?", asks C.E.
Marius laughs. "A signal indeed," he tells the Cloudeater, in affirmation. He looks at the guard. "I wish you had not done that."
He'll strike to kill.
The guard struggles briefly but dies quickly and quietly under Marius's blade.
As the son of Deirdre turns, he sees C.E. fighting two more of the guards, and Tomat struggling with a third. Tomat seems to be having a harder time of it. There is a guard at C.E.'s feet. His throat seems to have been ripped out.
Marius' expression blazes with the momentary glory of living in the here and now. He seems quite pleased with his Knight, and in fact, the thought crosses his mind as to how much better placed Ce'e is with him, rather than Aisling.
He'll jump in to assist Tomat, not quite to the extent of pulling the monk away, but not too far, either; perhaps shouldering him as available. As far as Marius is concerned, this is _his_ cause, and he does not want to see his guide go down for it.
Marius sees C.E. thrust his hand down a guard's mouth, and then the guard's throat bulges outward. He may have seen claws rake under the guard's skin from the inside, or it may have been his imagination.
[Marius' inner response to such a thing? "Effective. I wonder if I could learn that." It's a vivid image.]
[Luckily, we don't allow combat-time shapeshifting, T-1000 style. If we did, C.E. would've shoved his hand into the guys throat and just make it bigger. He's a stickler for the letter of your orders.]
Marius appreciates that, although of all the folks in Amber who would probably be good programmers, Marius isn't one I'd peg for the job.
Tomat is easily shouldered aside, and the guard fights no better than average. He is slow and poorly trained and would not have made a good sailor for Amber's Navy. That is all the thinking that Marius has time for before the guard is dead at his hands.
Marius gives them the benefit of the doubt, as it is impolite to speak too much ill of the dead. After all, they were not prepared to fight one of Amber. Or were they? He remembers the words offered: "We will deal with you as you deal with us." Will he call them intruders and expect his blood spilled? Or will they find something up to another level of force and apply it to Amber? Naught to worry about now.
The last one starts fleeing down the corridor. C.E. speaks up. "My Lord?" His arm is coated in blood, which drips onto the stone floor.
"Remain here," he says to CE. "It was not a fair contest," he says, to Tomat, and then he will (attempt to) sprint down the corridor, seeking the last guard's consciousness.
Tomat runs to the door and starts pulling at it.
Down the hall, Marius quickly catches up with the fleeing guard. Does he kill or merely disable?
He's going for the disable, but if it's a choice of taking a wound for it, and getting a clean kill, he'd kill. He'll run back to CE ASAP. [grins]
Marius catches him quickly, and a clean, efficient tackle brings him to the ground. His lack of protective headgear makes his chin produce a meaty crunch as it hits the flagstones. He's out cold, but may live if he's found soon. Marius rolls to his feet and runs back.
That's more of a chance than his fellows had. Marius' sense of justice is satisfied for the nonce.
CE is standing exactly where he was left, and Tomat is pulling at the heavy wooden door. From the crack opened so far, Marius sees moonlight.
"Sir Cloudeater!" Marius makes it sound like a calling to attention. "Do you have any concerns you need to report?" he asks, moving past CE to try to help Tomat.
CE says, "No, My Lord."
Well, that's a relief. Unfortunately, CE's habit of eating sentients does kind of keep the "scooby snack" option down to a minimum. Heck, maybe chocolate counts as "proto-sentience." It's good for all sorts of other folk. Or broccoli. "Eat your vegetables!"
With Marius' help, Tomat gets the door open. More accurately, Marius opens the door with Tomat's help. Then they're out on the mountainside. It's cold, even in the summer--winter here would render the route impassable, most likely--and Marius can feel the chill even through his gear. Either Tomat has some magic or some discipline that keeps him from shivering.
"We need to get off the mountain. I have the paths to the Plain of Towers memorized; I won't need a rutter. But once we're off the mountain, we're less likely to encounter pursuit." Tomat looks up at the monastery complex, which juts out of the mountain some distance above them.
Marius follows Tomat's gaze.
"One moment to tend to my man, and we will be off," Marius promises. He returns to Cloudeater. "You have done most excellently, my Knight." The tone of his voice is rewarding. "We must return to our journeying now, which will give us the first opportunity to clean... you of these unfortunates. Is there anything you require before we continue?"
"I hunger, My Lord," CE says. He does not look at Tomat.
He darn well doesn't look at Tomat. If we don't have a rutter, we need the fellow. Of course, we don't need... Marius doesn't look down the corridor.
He sighs, but the grin is still plastered on, and his voice is still warm and pleased, if somewhat low. "You deserve a feast, my affine," he says. "One I will be glad to assist in providing. Will you last through a journey down the mountain, or will what is here," he looks at the remains, "provide necessary sustenance for that trip?" I mean, they're, um, recently alive.
"It is weak energy, My Lord, but it will fill me for a time," CE explains.
"That time is all I request of you, my good Cloudeater," Marius says in a hearty tone, as if he were to slap the affine on the back. "A feast, I say. A promise."
"Yes, My Lord," CE says, and bends to consume the recently dead.
At this point, Marius doesn't watch. He's seen the show. He's sold the tickets. It bothers him a lot less than he thinks it ought to, which, well, bothers him in itself. On the other hand, he's also been to a few ports and eaten some odd things harvested from the sea. It's not like grace is something you're expecting when you have fresh dungeness.
Tomat is not-watching from a distance. It is quite possible he can hear the conversation, too.
Well, Marius _had_ been trying to keep his voice low (as noted) but there's not a lot of ambient sound to mask it. "Tomat," he says, moving away from CE as if to take the monk's attention, "how are we going to lose our pursuit?"
"That's a good question," Tomat says, and turns away from the scene, giving CE privacy to feed. "I have some magic that will help, but it may not serve us everywhere we go. If we get far enough ahead of them, we'll find Signy. After that, some of the pursuit will be moot. I'll be branded a traitor across Shadow for leaving the Order, but there are places where the Order has no sway. I'll go to one of them."
Marius nods. "As well as my thanks, which I like to think as no small blessing," he says, with a wry smile. "Do you know what we should expect to follow? And in order to gain time my man has lost us, should I be looking for equipment, steeds, and/or dangerous terrain useful to slow those others down?" He makes it sound like he's taking personal responsibility for this.
"Steeds would be best at the foot of the mountain. We'll want horses when we get to the Plain, and survival gear. There are two shadows between, and we should be able to ride in both of those." Tomat considers the other question. "They will send men-at-arms, and when those fail, magicians. Speed is our best ally, because no wizard they will send can stand against the Lady Signy."
Tomat looks at Marius, assessing him. "Do you have any magical talents, Sir Marius?"
"You speak of the term `shadows,' and ask that question?" Marius replies, absently, sounding entertained. He also seems quite amused at the heady impression of Signy that Tomat has lent him. "Alas, my talents are slight, but I am always willing to learn, which has stood me in good stead. I am fierce with a rope or sail, and I can find many of the things I look for, but as for magic, I fear my talents have not yet bloomed." He frowns. "I fear the death we sow will ripen quicker than our journeying. My good fellow Sir Cloudeater," he gestures to Cloudeater with maybe a twitch of the shoulder, "also has propensities I have not fully explored, which I hope will aid rather than hinder." He tries not to look restless and fails.
"I have some spellcraft of my own," Tomat says. "It will have to do."
Ooh! Marius sees this as an Opportunity to Learn and Observe.
[OOC: Have you got anything more here or are we at EOT so I can move us forward? If you've got some definite agenda for what comes next, let's go with that. Otherwise I have some ideas.]
Mostly EOT. Marius is letting Ce'e do what the affine does, and then they're going to Move. He's going to exercise those rusty Pattern skills of his as much as possible along Tomat's route.
Last modified: 18 September 2006