Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Úvano was much the same.
The animals were fed in the morning before the trade caravan went to their neighboring city. Meals were dolled out for those who had not yet the ability to cook in their own home, or preferred to spend the coin they brought in to have someone else feed them. What repairs were still necessary were made. The elves sparred and worked to hone their skills. The nets and traps were cast in the evenings to bring in at dawn.
It was all as usual.

Except the business with the gate.

Envy did his best to supervise, listening as Zeke and a few others worked on condoning the gate from the rest of the caves, while Gavin worked to create the wards that would protect it, as well as alert them whenever anyone came through. After the first night, Ruli appeared and wordlessly went to work to help, desiring to keep himself busy and throw himself into a task. No one pressed him, but Ruli knew he was being monitored.

He didn't mind it, to be honest. All it did was remind him that he had a real family nearby, people who cared, and he took that as encouragement. After another nights sleep he went back to work in the mess hall, earning himself some more coin he had no need to for. Envy, a few times, opened the door for him to speak with him, but Ruli dismissed it.
He'd be fine.
He was fine.
It was only the remnants of a nightmare. Dwelling on it would only keep it alive.

As the day for the celebration came, Ruli loitered in the caves, dressed in his usual nondescript attire, ignoring Envy's insistent demands that he attend with them. Why should he not go, the elf demanded. He'd done so much, and, even if it made Envy wary, he reminded Ruli that Kire would be glad to see him.
Ysaryn backed the Kartaian. She arrived in the cavern before the gate room well dressed; her hair was loose, her body swathed in a dress of gold, turquoise, and deep blue that was fitted in all the right places. Around her right arm, just beneath her armpit, was a band of gold made to look like a snarling wolf chasing its tail. Her black leggings beneath did little to hide the form of her legs. While Ruli couldn't see any weapons on her, he knew without a doubt that she had at least three hidden somewhere on her person. Any sign of trouble, and she'd have the skirts tucked away and herself armed in a single breath.
"You look nice." Ruli complimented. Envy turned his head as if he would see.
"I know." She responded with a smile.
"For your paramour?" Envy asked, grinning. He was dressed in creams and blacks, complimented with the abnormally bright robe that resembled the thing Ysarn had worn a week ago to Amria. Clearly, he was relying on her to shop for him on occasion.
"I dress for no one but myself." Ysaryn insisted. "But, should he be reminded how lucky he is, so be it."

When the runes lit up to announce that they had visitors, Ysaryn strolled forward and opened the door they'd installed, peering inside. "Finally. Something pretty to come through the gate." She declared in greeting, smiling wickedly. She swept back, inviting the three of them into the chamber.
Envy, waiting patiently to hear who had arrived, tilted his head when he heard Narda's voice. He grinned at once. "There is a voice I have missed, and am quite glad to hear." He extended his hand, inviting her forth so he could kiss her hand and embrace her politely.
After a quick glance to see that they were the only three, Ysaryn closed the door behind them. "Welcome to Úvano, Maika, and ..."
"Daryll." Ruli reminded her from where he stood.
"Daryll."
Ruli stepped forward, offering his hand to Daryll in greeting. "Honestly, welcome. I know you've been itching to get here."
"Daryll?" Envy asked, tilting his head again. "The Daryll?" He faced the sound of their voices, inhaling.

"Here come others." Ysaryn informed them, the runes and the alarm system no doubt alerting not only Gavin, but Rab, who came wandering through the caves.

Wanderers

"So long as they follow the same rules of conduct, I see no reasons to disallow visitors." Envy agreed, nodding. "I'll let him know. Perhaps I shall come along, just to see what this was all for. Again, figuratively." Envy sighed, waving his hand in front of his face.

~

Stark naked, her dark skin glowing beneath the sleepy morning sun, Ysaryn was stretched out on her belly, her arms tucked beneath the pillow she had her head upon. When she felt Ed's arm, and then his lips in her ear, the small of her back arched and she hissed as chills coursed through her.
"Ooooh." Ysaryn purred. Having discovered the effect such intimate touches had on her sensitive ears, he had taken full advantage, very much enjoying her reaction. With a pleasant shiver, Ysaryn turned her head toward him, smiling toothily at him. "It is, isn't it?" with a stretch of her limbs, she rolled, facing him.

Wanderers

Envy exhaled and frowned, considering the question. "If he hasn't answered that himself, I should not. I believe I am the only one he's told." The Kartaian admitted. "But I can confirm he was alone the last time. He wound up in the tunnels some time after. He was ..." Envy shook his head. "It took him a while. That's all I can say."

His head turned toward the direction of Ruli's house, lips pressed thin. "He'll sleep. Keep to himself. Perhaps in a few days if he doesn't show his face I will intervene."

Wanderers

Ysaryn chuckled at him. "It sounds like a wonderful idea." Ysaryn answered to Ed, stepping beside him to walk through with him. Ruli, Kire, and Gavin followed, and Envy turned toward them as he heard their steps.
"You're back." Envy said, reaching out. Ruli stepped towards him, touching his hand briefly to tuck it out of the way, before strolling past them and out of the passage. Envy turned, following him with his head before he faced the others again, an accusing question left unspoken in his expression. What happened to him? Even Zeke followed Ruli as he wandered by, forgetting their feud as he worried.
Ysaryn cleared her throat. "Hungry?" She asked of Ed, stepped toward a passage that would lead them out, walking backwards along it as she grinned at him. "I could make you dinner, if you'd like to stay."

Envy was still, listening, though one ear was pointed down the passage Ruli had wandered. "Kire?" He requested softly, raising his hand to ask for her. "I think we need to have a conversation. Zeke?"
"We got this." Zeke answered, nudging Gavin with a grin. "This one will take care of the wards."
Taking Kire's hand, Ruli wandered along the stone path, free hand on the wall, as he led her to his chambers, and into the sound proof barrier he kept around it. When he knew where he was, he let Kire go, and turned to sit on his large chair.
After a few seconds of silence, the Kartaian inhaled. "Has he said anything?"

Wanderers

Propping his head on his fist as he leaned on the table, Ruli watched them with a blank expression. Ysaryn, on the other hand, looked amused as they girls complained about being denied cake. Especially when Kire teased that she would take her share now. Chuckling, Ysaryn leaned forward and sniffed curiously. "Why you not make this in Úvano?"
Ruli shrugged a shoulder indifferently. "No ones asked."
"Hmm," Ysaryn said, turning to lean against the table, while she watched the girls say goodbye to Kire.

As Kire asked about his wellbeing and mentioned the gate again, Ruli once more shrugged. "Fine." He said automatically. But her offer to take him home now made him hesitate, and he looked around. "I haven't apologized to the healer I bit."
"You bit a healer?"
"Will you make sure she gets a share?" Ruli continued, ignoring the elf. "But otherwise, sure, I want to go."

He rose from his seat and raised the blanket from his shoulders, moving to fold it neatly before setting it on the chair. "Seriously?" Ysaryn asked teasingly, moving around to help him, shooing him away.
He grunted, letting her finish, and faced Kire instead. "Ready." He continued with another shrug.

Wanderers

Envy exhaled softly, clenching his jaw. "Kire," He said in a low voice. "This is not a conversation I would have in front of so many." He warned, glad when she turned to Gavin instead. Ysaryn, within hearing range with her ears, tilted her head slightly, but didn't press. They both listened to Gavin speak, Envy nodding softly in agreement. "I would need to know more to give more accurate answers." He explained, though the antidote they mentioned aligned with the one he'd toyed with in his spare time.

As Gavin and Ysaryn wandered off to watch and rest, Envy turned his face toward Kire. "For now, we'll remain. See to your family. And bring mine home again when he's ready." As much as Envy wanted to demand Ruli's return now, Kire had more pressings matters, and Ruli was safe. When they left again, Ysaryn appeared at his elbow once more. "He really is okay." She reassured him. "He slept alot. looked peaceful. We kept an eye on him."
"Peaceful?" Envy repeated. So at least the antidote let him relax. Another heavy sigh, and Envy turned, patted Ysaryn on the shoulder, and disappeared along the cave.

~

He woke some time later, finally hungry and dying of thirst. Someone had cleared away the soup he hadn't eaten earlier and left the rbead and cheese. Ruli nibbled on the former, then drank a bit of the tea before he went to sit up. He still shivered, but nothing at all like before. Only passing chills, that were barely noticeable. His head was clearer, but he still felt unbearably tired. His limbs still felt like lead. And his brain.
Ruli sat still for a few minutes, remembering. The feeling of the poison, the smell of the desert sand, the yurt above his head. He could feel the lash of the whip, even if it never touched him.
And Elva's question. What was going on between him and Kire. A way to unwind. His disappointment in the truth.
And the fact that she was an empress again. Her throne reclaimed. Her enemy slain.
She really wouldn't have a use for him anymore.

Ruli stood suddenly. Too suddenly, as he wobbled on his feet for a moment before he caught his balance. The moment he could, he shuffled through the house to find the kitchen on the grounds of asking for more food. More tea. When the cooks set some down before him, Ruli devoured it, cleaning his plate, then downing two cups of tea. But it wasn't enough to quell his mind. To silence the shadowed pit that made him want to curl up in bed and not come out for a week.

So, he made an odd request. Ruli asked the staff for the freedom to make a cake, explaining that he'd promised the younger cousins. When they were visibly unsure, mostly because they knew he'd undergone some injury, he shrugged. "I need to busy my mind for a bit, then I'll sleep again."
So he baked. They allowed him anything he needed, and Ruli kept himself busy for the better part of two hours, eating another plate of fruit and meat while the cake cooled.

When it was finished, and iced, he settled down on the table to stare at it, criticizing his work, until his promise to sleep was fulfilled before he'd even left the table.

~

Hours later, washed, fed, and in a fresh set of clothing that, for once, was not combat leathers, Ysaryn returned. The Tower smelled slightly better, though she still rushed from within to the fresh air outside. It wasn't hard to locate the others, and she and Gavin went to work where they were needed. As Gavin broke the wards, Ysaryn inhaled, agreeing that there was a lack of anything in the air.

At dusk, Ysaryn felt a little more tired than usual. Fighting was one thing. Physical labour was something else. But she didn't mind offering her help, espeically since Ruli, the one incapable of sitting back and doing nothing, was currently unable to do anything.
And there was Ed. Ysaryn grinned at that unsubtle promise.

When Kire asked, she Walked the two of them back to the manor in the mountains, the elf shivering for a moment with the shift in air pressure, following Kire as they circled the house. Infirmary was empty. As was the room offered to Ruli. Before they went to search the hot springs, they were informed he was in the kitchen, and Ysaryn snorted.
Perhaps he was still incapable of sitting back and doing nothing.

As she eyed the cake, she chuckled. Indeed.
The commotion of Kire's arrival forced Ruli to open an eye, peering at them beneath a slightly-more-normal-coloured eyelid. Ysaryn winked at him before turning her attention to the younger two. "I an perfect." She declared with a slight lift of her chin. "And if you want to ask, ask now." She gestured toward Ruli, who watched them in silence. "Wait til you learn where the world gate opened."
Ruli inhaled and raised his head, wincing as his neck pained from the awkward position. "World gate?" He asked, rubbing his neck before he looked down to the two cousins.
"I promised. So yes, its yours." He answered their questions. "Dinner first, though, or I'll never bake another."

Wanderers

Envy tilted his head, then grinned. "Gavin." he said, extending his arm in invitation before wrapping his arm around him tightly. "I'm glad to see you unharmed. You know, figuratively." He shared. "Though you smell. You all do."

As Gavin went into an explanation, Envy's relief faded from his countenance. That Gavin had, indeed, used his blood, even if for a good purpose, bothered the elf. His mood didn't improve when he'd heard what had fallen upon Ruli. "Poisoned?" He repeated, turning his head to look between voice to voice. As Gavin listed the ingredients used, Envy visibly paled.
"Yes, please bring him back. He," Envy swallowed, halting himself before he turned toward Gavin. "Write those ingredients down for me, please. We need the cataloged here."

As Kire went on to discuss the gate that had formed, the Kartaian inhaled. "Ah, yes." he sighed, turning towards where the gate formed. "I ... I don't know. It may come in handy, now that we know what it is. We can wall it off and ward it. I..." He frowned, turning toward Zeke, or at least where he remembered the man had been. "Start preparations?"
Zeke, who had been standing a few feet to the side, nodded and left.
Envy turned back toward the others. "Ysaryn, you people are alright?"
"Hungry. But yes."
Again, he nodded, then looked toward Kire. "So, this leads to your world? Its safe?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn couldn't scent them out, the Greek of whatever was below them overwhelming and nauseating. She covered her mouth and gagged behind her arm, wiping her eyes as they burned. For once, she envied the lesser senses of the others.
When they suggested the basement, which she knew to be near the source of the scent, she paled. However, her attitude changed when she heard the word armory. Suddenly determined, she turned and strolled down the stairs with the others. Though she grew less excited about the armory as they went and the stench grew stronger.

The elves were in the far corner of the armory, both pale and I'll. The added reek of vomit somehow improved the odor. The two, a male and a female, looked up when they heard the group approach, looking as though they would rather welcome death then fight.
Until they saw Ysaryn. They scrambled to their feet, looking relieved.
"Ysaryn." The female sighed. "Where are we?"
"The air is toxic." the male agreed, putting his hand on his mouth.
Ysaryn grinned at them from behind her arm. "Yes, it is. But temporary." She gestured toward the doorway, her eyes wandering the weapons and armour stands. So much Amrian steel. "Follow us out. We will return you to Úvano."

Despite the smell, Ysaryn lingered in the armoury for a moment before she followed them, remaining herself that she could return when it smelled better to ogle the weapons. They trudged back up the stairs, the elves both keeping their distance from the others, with the exception of Ysaryn.

As they stepped into the Seer room, and saw the portal that had ripped them here, the two stiffened, but gave no argument as Ysaryn strolled right through it. It smelled worlds better in Úvano anyway. They glanced at one another and followed, exhaling as they stepped into a room the recognized.
Envy, who hadn't moved, tilted his head as he heard the footsteps and sighs of relief. "Does someone want to explain?" He requested.

Wanderers

He was just slightly bothered by how much many questions she asked about his source of knowledge. Ruli watched her expression, seeing much of Envy's curiosity in her eyes. Maybe that was just a scholar thing. Maybe he'd have seen it in Daryll, too, if he'd paid attention in the man's alchemy room the other night instead of focusing on the maps.
He listened to the ingredients used, and the ones Gavin added, with interest. Why Gavin was brought in to help, he didn't press on, but his mind circled the ingredients she listed. "Huh." Ruli grunted, not sure if using that particular one was genius or just a damn fine guess.
Actually, it had Envy written all over it.

Her continued questions made him no less uneasy as her questions about Kire, but at least these ones he could sidestep. "Its more psychological." Ruli informed her. "It isn't like the other poisons that shut down your body or stop your heart. It effects your mind." Ruli shrugged the blanket to tuck it closer against his head, covering his ear for added warmth. "If you continue to take it, it does little more than make you feel heavy. Make your bones reverberate slightly, and uncomfortably. Its used as a sort of tranquilizer. Its when you're waning off of it that kills you. It tells your brain you need more or you're going to die. Causes so much pain that many kill themselves to escape it. K-Kire's Ring likely helped her. And the ... the antidote. Its smart. I would suggest something to help the victim fall unconscious. So their brain can't tell them to die."

He tucked his arm closer, wrapping the blanket tighter around him. "I'd like to sleep more." Ruli announced in hopes of cutting off further inquiries.

~

"Kirai!" Ysaryn shouted at her as the idiot woman stepped toward the portal and vanished. Ysaryn froze, waiting. It was so instantaneous, so sudden. Ysaryn watched the gate itself, wondering if it would collapse or rear angrily. But nothing happened. warily, she turned her head to Gavin, raising her eyebrow.

"For fuck sake!" Came an alarmed voice to greet Kire first. Zeke lowered his sword from where he stood behind the portal, glaring at her. "I almost killed you!"
Envy, standing not far from Zeke, grinned when he heard Kire's voice. "I know you." He answered her, though he made no effort to step forward, his hand braced on the cavern wall. "Can you enlighten us as to what has appeared in the heart of the city?" He asked. "Gavin and Ruli? Are they with you? And Ysaryn?"
"Wait." Zeke turned to face Envy. "If she made it through alive, maybe the others are, still." As Envy raised his head in agreement, Zeke whirled back around. "Two shadow elves were near it when it opened, they were sucked through. Are they on the other side?"

In another breath, Ysaryn appeared beside Kire, looking wide-eyed, but in one piece. She blinked, bewildered, before inspecting her body and hair for damage. "Ysaryn." Zeke said, before quickly repeating the question about the elves. The fuchsia haired elf exhaled, then turned around and stepped back through the portal, instantly returning to the Seer Room, nearly bumping into Gavin before she explained and began searching the rooms.

Wanderers

He tolerated the proding as she inspected him, but the moment she was finished and called for food, Ruli lay back down on his side and cocooned himself in the blanket. His eyes watched her as they waited for the meal. When it arrived, he didn't straighten again, still unwilling to eat even if, rationally, he knew he should. She lit her pipe and nibbled on fruit, and Ruli waited, knowing more was coming. She bore that same look on her face that Envy often got when he was curious and wouldn't ignore it.

Ruli wasn't really expecting a thanks, however. He blinked at her as she continued to chat, even apologizing for the chatting, as she revealed a little about Kire. Ruli had had a hunch, but it was nice to hear Kire was just as horrible about showing weakness as he was. He flashed again to the flicker of memory last night where he had asked for Kire to stay, and she'd obliged, even though he was on the stone floor of a basement. When she had her own bed upstairs, and really had no obligation to do as he asked.

As Elva moved on, mentioning something she'd been meaning to ask, Ruli blinked again and focused on her, listening. Is there anything between him and Kire? A loaded question, really. For some reason, it didn't surprise him that Elva knew. Either through Kire, or Ysaryn's comments to Ed, he assumed. Ruli inhaled and shuddered as he sighed, giving the question proper thought.
"It was to take the edge off." He said after a time, feeling heavier for it. Was he disappointed? "Her idea. But I suppose they'll stop now, so no further cause for curiosity."
Ruli closed his eyes, wondering why his heaviness didn't disappear. Was he disappointed? He saw her face again, the blurred shape as he asked for her to stay, could feel her hand in his, the warmth of her body that soothed him. Remembered how he'd accepted his inevitable death because it spared hers.
But she was empress again. That put an end to alot.

"What antidote did you give me?" He asked suddenly, deciding to pull the topic away from Kire. "It helped alot. I'm ..." Ruli opened his eyes again, peering at Elva. It was scientific documentation. "...familiar with the poison used. At least a strain of it from my world."

~

Ysaryn chuckled again, twitching an eyebrow in Kire's direction before she turned and went to work, following the group as they cleared room by room, chamber after chamber. Ysaryn scratched the runes with her swords, pulled tiles up from the ground to break them, helped to cut down trees that bore the scars of the magic. It wasn't easy work. Despite the negation wards of Ruli's, she could somehow sense the magic that radiated from the runes. It was like a slight wave of nausea, making her both hungry and unwilling to eat, that disappeared with each one that broke.
It felt good, though. Having slaughtered so many Gemini mages in the memory of those she had lost, those who hadn't been so lucky as she had been, and then destroying all that they had slaughtered for. It was a victory. As the day moved on, she fell silent and contemplative, silently mourning one of her lost female's with each broken rune.

As they approached the tower, however, Ysaryn had no argument about not entering at all. The crypts had given her the creeps. They did not bury their dead, so being beneath the surface of the earth with a whole series of them made her skin crawl. Instead, she remained outside of the tower beside Gavin and the cousins, staring up at the glowing windows.

When Kire shouted at them to join her, Ysaryn frowned. "Why she sound happy?" Ysaryn asked in a half grumble, drawing one of her swords as a precaution as she stepped inside.
And immediately gagged. "What in unholy-?" She said, covering her nose and mouth with the bend of her free arm. Her eyes watered, and she hurried upstairs as quickly as she could, the odor following her for the first two flights. Even when it finally lessened, Ysaryn kept her arm over her face. Their air felt odd here, a surge of magic similar to the world gates hummed and dances around her, pressing on her ears in some unidentifiable song.

As they neared the room in which Kire stood, Ysaryn's steps grew cautious, but she straightened, her arm still raised. As they stepped inside and she peered at the gate, at the image projected inside of it, her arm finally fell. "Is that...?" She asked, taking a very cautious step forward to peer more closely. Though nothing was clear beyond the walls of the cave, she could see shapes moving on the other side, like shadows deep beneath water. One of them was very large. "Is that Envy?"