Quietus Clarion (IC)

[Doomed Hero]

The mirror reflected a figure wearing a featureless grey mask beneath a grey hood. It was bare, without even eyeholes.

"I had not anticipated Sisters taking an interest in my plans." the muffled voice they assumed came from beneath the mask spoke. It was clam and collected, and somehow managed to both unnerve them and set them at ease. "I realize this may all seem strange to you. Bordering on heretical. In a way you would be correct, but such measures are necessary for the success of the plan. If it soothes your concerns you may think of it as an elaborate trap. An Avatar is no ordinary prey, but I do intend to bring her to our lord's judgement. The aid of the Sisterhood would be most helpful."

[callie]

Sister Amiril felt wary about the sudden change to their mission. This mysteriously masked figure did little to sway her uneasiness; if anything, he amplified it. Something intangible about his presence, his voice, sent a shiver up her spine. Sister Mara seemed more sure of herself, but Amiril knew that was just her training setting it. Having grown together since childhood, studying and honing their skills together, they each had a sense of the others emotions and mannerisms. She is shaken by this, not unlike myself. We will have much to discuss after this potentially illuminating interrogation. But not until the deed is done. Amiril caught Mara's gaze and nodded for her to continue her questioning.

[Jade17]

Sister Mara stiffened when she realized with whom they were meeting. She recognized him by descriptions she had come across in some of the older books in the Abbey. The Grey Master! What have we wandered into? Very fortunate that we cooperated...   She tried to remember everything she had read. There was not much information on this figure, and she would be surprised if Amiril had any knowledge of him at all.

He was one of the most powerful Legates in the Order, she knew that. She also recalled that he had come to power in a very unorthodox way, and that his methods of serving the Shadow did indeed, as he put it, border on heretical.  

She tried to ignore the strange sensation his voice sent up her spine. By the time he had finished speaking, every muscle in her body was tensed to the point of near snapping. At the word "Avatar," she felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach with a fist of ice, and her muscles wanted to collapse.

"Your Grace," she began, and cleared her throat, which had seized up more than she had thought. "Your Grace, our mission was to capture simple outlaws. We were told nothing of the presence of an Avatar." Her voice had shaken more than she would have liked, but getting the words out at all was quite an accomplishment, under the circumstances. The Grey Master! An Avatar! We are not prepared for this!

[Doomed Hero]

"Few know of the Avatar. I myself came upon the knowledge somewhat accidentally. I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity however." The Grey-clad figure mused in sincere tones. "Since it seems you know who I am, I assume I can count on your full cooperation?"

[Jade17]

"Yes, of course, your Grace." Sister Mara bowed her head in sincere respect, then continued: "May I be so bold as to ask to hear the logistics of your plan? The more information we have, the better we will be able to serve." Her stomach still churned in icy unease over the thought of what they had nearly walked into, and who they were working with. His methods may be questionable, but from what I remember, he gets the job done. It sounds as if we have the same goal, and what choice do we have?

[Doomed Hero]

"I am afraid I must take my leave." The image in the mirror says. "I will let Jael handle those questions."

Jael bows. "Yes, Master."

Without another word the mirror rippled like pond water and the image was gone.

Jael turned to the sisters. "The plan is fairly simple. We let them through to the Hold, then destroy it and kill as many as we can. Our focus will be on the Avatar. The survivors will run, and we will let them. They will want to get to Erathor to deliver whatever they came all this way to get. We will herd them along, keeping eyes on them and helping them reach the forest. They will believe they have succeeded in their mission, but in reality they will have provided the means by which our forces will be free to enter the cursed wood and crush the elves once and for all."

[Jade17]

Sister Mara looked to Sister Amiril. She seemed content to allow Mara to take the lead in this matter. This sounds like an improvement upon our previous plan, really.

She turned to Jael. "Very well. Sister Amiril and myself will of course need a few moments to confer, but I do believe that working together will serve the best interests of us all."

[Doomed Hero]

Jael gestured toward the door with an accommodating look. 

"Take your time."

[callie]

Amiril and Mara exited the pavilion and headed towards the upper camp to rejoin their fellow travelers, speaking to each other in lowered voices while they walked. Seeing a passing wagon she ordered it to halt. They stepped onto the back step and ordered it along again, ignoring the huddled slaves in the back.

Sister Amiril was understandably confused by the events that had just transpired. Why had Mara referred to the mysterious figure as 'His Grace'? And what of the Avatar? Amiril recalled reading something in one of the many books in the Abbey, but she couldn't quite remember the details.

"Mind casting some light on the situation, Sister?"

[Jade17]

The shorter Sister took a deep breath. Her eyes flicked to the large man on the horse, then glanced over the slaves, and dismissed their presence. "This is...worrisome, at the least. We nearly made a very grave mistake. That figure was The Gray Master. One of the oldest and most powerful legates in existence. I don't know much, but I know that despite some questionable methods, he has a very high success rate in dealing with insurgents. And we're very fortunate to have met him before we attempted to carry out the original plan. By working with him, we may actually have a chance at taking out a very powerful servant of the Witch Queen--an Avatar." Her voice shook on the last word, despite a strong effort to keep it steady.

"This is very dangerous territory, Amiril. We're in way over our heads, here. We must step very carefully, if we wish to succeed and survive."

[callie]

Amiril listened intently to her companion, absorbing all the new information. She glanced at the slaves that were present, trying to decide if speaking in their presence was wise.  These days, you never know who might be listening, she thought. Then again, if Mara feels at ease, I see no reason to object. Deferring to her companion's good judgement, she decided to continue. In a cautious tone, she asked, "Who...or what is an Avatar, Mara?"

[Jade17]

"I don't really know any more than I've already told you...just that they are very powerful, and very dangerous. Not something we could ever hope to win against with our limited resources."

[callie]

"I see." Amiril paused for a moment, inhaling deeply to calm her nerves. We're certainly out of our element. How did a simple excursion into the world manifest into something so pivotal? A greater legate shrouded in secrecy known only as the Grey Master and an avatar of the Witch Queen? It was just supposed to be a band of outlaws. Thoughtfully, she continued, "This is troubling business, indeed. It was good fortune that you were here as a delegate of the Sisterhood, Mara. Without your knowledge of the Grey Master, we may have continued our pursuit blindly and been taken off guard down the road. Izrador must be very pleased with you. Now, we must confer with our fellow travelers about what is to be done with this new information."

[Doomed Hero]

The pair of sisters stepped off the platform onto the ground as the wagon rolled into the upper camp. They glanced around but did not see their companions. The large blue-skinned Oruk they had seen earlier saw them and gestured with his thumb toward the Engineer's tent.

Inside, the two Legates were arguing over the best course of action on the map they had laid out on the desk.

[Luiniel Blades]

Xein stood back from the arguing Legates, he was not sure if speaking his thoughts would turn their frustrations against him or not but he was not eager to find out. The scheming of the Legate Jael and his master made Xein feel uneasy but at least he could understand his role in everything.  Looking around the tent he found to the one person he felt he could trust.  He moved closer to Rash'Gar.  

It was an odd pairing, Rash'Gar was muscle bound and covered in dark fur yet still small, just a pup by the packs standards but he was already outgrowing Xein and would become far stronger still.  Xein meanwhile was thin, graceful, pale skinned and unlikely to change much.  They were much the same, and the two of them knew how to work together.

"Rash'Gar, I know you've been paying attention, what do you think of all this?"

[Jester]

Rash’Gar  quickly turned to look at Xein.   Startled for a moment. 

Big Brother was changed somehow. Preoccupied and distant.

 All the sounds, sights, and smells assaulting his senses. So many new man-things surrounding him. The occasional faint, familiar scent causing him to look around seeking its source, never quite finding it. Fading as quickly as it appeared.

Now with the two new females joining the pack, Rash’Gar felt the tension growing between all the males.

“This place stinks of sweat, blood, and death Big Brother. Let us continue the hunt. Let the others squabble amongst themselves for leadership of the pack.”

[Luiniel Blades]

At Rash'Gars words Xein felt as if some of the tension had slipped out of the tent.

Let the Legates choose the course of action, Rash'Gar and I will just have to succeed whatever their choice.

You had better not fail them.

At Skindancers words the moment of peace Xein had allowed himself was washed away.  Ignoring the Astirax Xein came back to the situation at hand.

"Have you gathered all the necessary equipment for yourself?  Your hands were never quite as sure as mine when climbing.  If you have then I could use your help with putting together a camouflage for our surroundings."

[Jester]

"Whatever you suggest brother, I defer to your wise words as always"

Rash'Gar  follows Xein's lead gathering equipment and materials for hiding their presence.

[Johanas]

"We shouldn't care WHO he is! It is our duty to serve the Shadow in ALL his endeavors! He obviously has a reason for what he wants, he obviously knows something we don't! Just wait for the Sisters to get back. They can, and SHOULD help in the decision-making process. I stand by their reasoning." Roycilo was more excited than any present had ever seen. For some reason, he was incredibly adamant about working with Jael. He wasn't smiling. That in and of itself was unnerving. "We HAVE to play nice with these people. I know as much about Skinner as you do, and I know enough to know we do NOT want to disappoint him. However, if we fight back against this Jael and his master, we will just meet MORE resistance. I don't like it anymore than you do, but we will get a lot further by working WITH them, than AGAINST them!"

[Coyote777]

From the corner of the tent, Riddar looked up from his polishing and honing of Razor.  He gave a hoarse, rueful chuckle.

"We may live longer, aye.  More than that remains to be seen."

He moved Razor off of his lap, pointing with grindstone in his hand.

"Do you know why the wars over the mountains and under the trees have ground on like they have, while the Heartland fell in a matter of a few short years?  It's simple:  Men are weak, and full of pride.  We had already torn ourselves apart with squabbling 'mongst petty tyrants, most of whom couldn't wait to declare their devotion to the Father, once their backs were against the wall.  But these dwarves, these elves... It's a different matter.  The dwarves are as hard as the stone they call home.  Orcs without the gift of the Father's clarity.  They'll gladly die, but not before they take as many as they can with them.   And they will take a great many... 

Riddar glanced aside, staring at the lamplight, his eyes momentarily reflecting far-away fires.

"But the elves....   I understand dwarves.  There's not that much that's very complicated to understand, really.  But then there are the elves.  Oh, sure, they'll bleed and die like anyone else if you run a sword through their guts, but you'd have to see them first.  Them and their damned witch-queen, you can't fight them...not like any other foe of this earth.  So of course, men with pride and a burning desire to elevate themselves in the eyes of the Father hatch schemes.  I've served the Shadow in the North for more than thirty years.  I've seen plenty of High Legates come, and go...  And I've seen them and their lackeys engineer many a 'bold stroke' or 'cunning ruse' that will cut out the heart of the elves once and for all.  Most of those High Legates aren't around any more...but the Witch-Queen still rules in the West, doesn't she?"

He drew a short knife and began picking at his nails.

"No, the orcs always had the right of it...  Burn the forests, mile by mile, foot by foot, and salt the ground with our blood.  Pin them down under a growing wall of ash and dead flesh, till they have nowhere left to run but the sea..."

[Luiniel Blades]

Though he had tried not to get too involved with the business of the Legates, Xein could not help but halt in his work to listen to what Riddar had to say about the nature of the Dwarves and Elves.  Maybe it had been because he had become so focused on Riddars words that when the tent flap had opened to allow the two sisters to enter, it felt as though reality came crashing down over the bubble of security the tent had falsely promised.  He heard the distant snapping of the reins and saw the wagon start to roll forward.  Before the opening in the flap had closed Xein was moving forward past the sisters, his internal alarms going haywire as he rushed out to the camp and watched the wagon gain momentum.

Now?  No, it's too soon we weren't ready!

And then he saw as the tower began to fall. Riddars words echoed in his mind.

 The dwarves are as hard as the stone they call home.  Orcs without the gift of the Father's clarity.  They'll gladly die, but not before they take as many as they can with them.   And they will take a great many...  

Xein began shouting "Move! The tower's falling!!  Everyone out of the shelter now!!! "

[Coyote777]

At the crash of sudden motion, every nerve in Riddar's body awoke.  He was standing erect, the warm and familiar pommel of Razor in his hand before thought even came to him.  There was no time, pure joy of action had entered all corners and forgotten places of his bones.  He hacked at the flimsy fabric of the tent, opening new avenues.

"Back to back!  Stay together, come what may!"

[Jade17]

Mara felt her right hand go to her whip, while her left reached for and grasped Amiril's hand. She pushed through the nearest opening that Riddar had created, pulling Amiril with her. She didn't move far, fully intending to follow Riddar's order to stay together. She squeezed Amiril's hand, as much to reassure herself as her sister, and let go, preparing herself as best she could for whatever was to come.

[Doomed Hero]

What came was dust.

A cloud of dry, choking dust that slowly rolled out, swallowing the mouth of the pass. They could hear crashing and screaming, but they could see nothing.

[Luiniel Blades]

As Xein saw the dust cloud roll towards them, It reminded him of the late autumn seasons on the plains of Erenland.  When the long grass had turned red and brittle as the strong wind broke it apart forming dust clouds that could ruin ones eyes from too much exposure.

Xein turned away from the cloud, closing his eyes and covering his face with his arms, wishing he had brought something with which to cover his face.  He would be useless as long as the dust covered everything, but Rash'Gar with his keen senses would be the first to find a way out of this.  Trying to breath in as little of the dust as possible he began shouting.

"Rash'Gar, find us a way to high... ack higher ground now!"