Pezz570

The Five Senses

So I've got Tayla's post done. It's a monster of a post, but it sets up for later plot. I probably should have just made it a plot point.

@JerkChicken I'm thinking that Tayla will fail at her task to bring you in, but will capture @Fetzen's character instead as already planned. Sound good to you?

@HokumPocus I'll work on a Chres post later today or in during the week.

The Five Senses

Tayla

---

Tayla stood inside the lounge of the Shimmering Fin, the giant inn near the center of town. The Clan had procured the building early in their venture of Shimmer Town. It had become a sort of... 'Church' for the Clan. A center of operations.

They had been quick to decorate the place appropriately. With tapestries displaying the Distortion's Green Sun and Moon. Paintings of men and women scratching out their eyes. A Muriel, made of tiny tiles, depicting Vetius, the Wisest and most ancient of all Sightless. And at the center of it all, a statue of a Shadowy Eye atop what appeared to be on top of a vine-like pillar of some sort. It's white unseeing pupil in the shape of a slit.

Tayla stared uneasily at the unseeing eye, as she sat waiting in one of the lounge's cushioned lavender colored chairs. Her mind replaying the day's events over again.

Tayla placed her right hand over her bandaged wound the damned woman had left her with. A cold rage bubbling beneath her skin at the thought of her. It begged to be unleashed. It cried out to her. Calling her name. Taunting her!

Tayla grit her teeth and pressed down on the wound with two fingers. Welcoming the paint that flooded her, using it to wash away the rage. She refused to let it take control! Well, at least for now... She would save her rage. Let it simmer. Let it grow. And then, when the white haired woman revealed herself again, Tayla would unleash it upon her.

"Tayla Li'Vaire." Said a familiar voice at the foot of the stairs. Tayla turned her head to face the woman she had been patiently waiting for. De'laire, an Clan member like herself. "What makes you think a runaway like yourself is welcome here any more?"

De'laire was a step away from becoming Sightless herself. A restricted magic user with more than a few screws loose from an over usage of her of magic. To become Sightless would mean to give up the cursed magic De'laire had been born with. A cure, De'laire hoped, to the ailing state of her mental capacity.

Tayla pressed on her wound more intensely. It allowed her to clear her thoughts and not let anger get the better of her. "Sightless to be, De'laire." Tayla said with a bow. She did her best to act polite. Unfortunately, her actions did not reach her words. "They tell me today has been one of your more saner da-"

Tayla meant to complete her sentence but found herself unable to. Her voice left her, enveloping her. A vibration in the air. Panicking, Tayla glanced wide eyed in De'laire's direction. A wicked smirk upon the woman's face. Tayla knew what came next.

The vibration buzzed around her for half a second longer before rushing into her ears. It attacked from within. Vibrating her eardrums, making them feel as if they were about to explode. Tayla fell to her knees screaming in pain. Clutching her right ear with her only good hand.

"Is that what they've been saying?" De'laire said with a cock of her head and a cruel smile.

"PLEASE... FORGIVE ME!" Tayla screamed in-between cries of agony. "I'M SORRY! I...I WAS WRONG..."

"You're sorry, are you?" De'laire said with a giggle. "Well I suppose that makes it all better then."

The vibrations immediately stopped. Tayla found herself on her side with tears streaming down her face.

"Sightless Nieffar says he is displeased with your actions. Something about abandoning your family, and Sightless Syella as well? He would like to know why we should allow one who cares only for herself to reside among us. Would you like to explain that to-"

"I-" Tayla felt her voice leave her yet again. A familiar terror shaking her as she heard the vibrations of De'laire's magic.

"I DON'T BELIEVE I WAS DONE TALKING YET!" De'laire screamed, eyes wide with madness.

The buzzing entered Tayla ears yet again. She prepared herself for the pain-

"That's enough!"

The buzzing stopped immediately. Tayla looked up to find Sightless Syella at the top of the stairs.

"It is not fitting for a Sightless to act in such a manner to her followers."

"Sightless Syella." De'laire said with a bow. "Please forgive me. I was only following Sightless Nieffar's orders."

"Oh? Sightless Nieffar instructed you to torture and kill one of our more promising new followers?"

"He..." De'laire paused and put her finger to her lips as if thinking. "No... He told me to scold her... Though, I don't think he told me not to hurt her..."

Syella tsked audibly. "No, of course he didn't."

"Sightless Syella?" De'laire asked questioningly

"No, it nothing... De'laire, you are dismissed. I believe one of the prisoners upstairs requires more... questioning."

"Ah, questioning... I do love questioning." De'laire said absentmindedly. "I do so enjoy their screams..." De'laire placed her finger to her lips again, thinking to herself with a smile. She seemed as if she had completely forgotten about Tayla.

"De'laire..."

"Ah... Yes, yes. That's right... I've been dismissed."

Sightless to be, De'laire, gracefully bowed goodbye before proceeded up the stairs. She hummed to herself happily. Her next torture victim just around the corner.

Tayla got to her knees as Sightless Syella strode down the stairs calmly. "Sightless Syella, please allow me the chance to redeem myself. I desire nothing but to serve."

"Do you now? Funny, that was not the impression I received from today's failing."

Tayla's blood boiled at the words. She wanted to scream in rage, to blame the white haired woman for the day's failing. It was her fault that Tayla ran. It was her fault! Not Tayla's! "I was... distracted. Reminded of my past."

"That is a very poor excuse for your failing."

Tayla said nothing. Sightless Syella stared her down before smiling. "Come." She said, nodding towards an empty nearby room. Tayla followed Syella into the room, closing the door behind her. The room was lit with candles. The Sightless would talk to people in this room when they didn't want other Sightless using the Insight to spy on conversations. Being unable to see in the candle's light, Sightless Syella traced her hand along the wall to help guide her through the room.

"Tayla, my poor Tayla. You were but a filth covered girl when I first found you cowering in the street. I gave you a home, a family to call your own. And when I became Sightless, you vowed to serve me in my ascension. Today you failed to serve, and in doing so you failed our Lord. I am deeply disappointed, to say the least. Tell me Tayla, how is it that you plan to undo this mishap?"

It took everything Tayla had to keep it together as she listened to Sightless Syella speak. She pressed ever harder on her wound as her she felt her temper flare. "Unless I'm mistaken, Sightless Syella, I would imagine that I am not the only one being blamed for what happen today."

Sightless Syella frowned coldly. "Blaming your superior is not a good way to gain favor." Syella said in that raspy dry Sightless voice of hers.

Tayla smirked. It appeared she hit a nerve. "Sightless Syella, you know that I would never blame you for what happened. Sightless Nieffar, on the other hand... Well, we both know how he is. He will tell all who will listen how much of a failure you are. He'll claim you are undeserving of the title of Sightless. Raise doubt in your capabilities. Anything he can do to gain more power and control within the Clan. Am I wrong, Sightless Syella?"

Sightless Syella said nothing for a long moment. "You propose that I fight back and prove him wrong." It was a statement not a question.

Tayla simply smiled and said, "Give me the chance and I'll find the heathens for you. I'll track them down and kill every last one!" Or just the white hair woman at the very least. Tayla didn't say that part though.

"Very ambitious of you." Sightless Syella said with a smile. "Unfortunately, we are not to kill them."

"But why?!" Tayla cried out in frustration.

"That is none of your concern. Do not kill them." Tayla was about to object but was was stopped when Syella raised her hand. "That said, I like you're way of thinking. The one who fought against me, the man covered in filth. I wish to know who he is. Find him, and bring him to me. Can you do this for me?"

Tayla's heart leapt at any chance that might lead her back to the white haired woman. "Yes!" She said eagerly. "Yes, I can this for you." And should Tayla find the white haired woman with the filth covered man and then accidentally kill her...

"Very good." Syella said with a smile. "Now then, get to work."

The Five Senses

@13org Just edited my post to make it more clear that Chres's comment towards Karina was not a hostile one, but one of understanding.

The Five Senses

I'll probably be doing a Tayla post at some point soon to show what happened to her, along with a plot point to show what's going on with the sightless. Those two maybe combined, but probably now. After you all have done some chitchat, I'll do another plot point to progress the story to the next day along with an interlude plot point.

@Jerkchicken Since your character missed out on learning Karina's name, I added it into my new post. :)

The Five Senses

Chres Sansus

Interactions with @Fetzen, @13Org, @HokumPocus

---

Chres parsed his lips at Karina's words in regards to the insight. An itch crawling up the back of his neck. He resisted the urge to scratch it.

She didn't fully trust him. Perhaps rightfully so. His whole life had ended up being a lie, after all. Everything he thought he stood for, turned on its head within a week's time. What was he now, but a lie? What was he now?

Chres turned his attention towards Sil. She was flying in circles around Octavio's familiar, giggling to herself happily. He couldn't help but smile at her blissful unawareness.

"I understand. You do what you need to do, Karina." Chres said to Karina, at last. "Whatever you do though, just be careful. We don't fully understand the extant of the cult's power."

Chres nodded and got up from his seat. "In the meantime, however," Chres began, while locking arms with seated Octavio and lifting him to his feet. "Octavio and I will get started on tonight's watch."

"Come on, then." Chres said, forcefully pulling the well dressed man towards the one of the spare bedrooms with a good view of the building's entrance. "Allow me teach you the joys of staying up all night while keeping watch."

"Hurray!" Sil shouted with joy, giggling as she did so. She was now zipping around Octavio's head instead of the familiar's. "Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!"

The Five Senses

Let me wave my magic RP Game Master hands....

Yup! Now there is! :P

The Five Senses

In regards to your first question about how to tell the direction you are facing. The answer is yes and no. In the morning, the sun will always rise in the North, however it will alternate each day in regards to which direction the sun will set in. For example, one day the sun will set in the east, and during the next day it will set in the West.

That being said, there's a much more consistent way to tell which direction is north while in Shimmer Town. That is done by the positioning of the nearby lake. Lake Shimmer borders the north side of Shimmer Town.

As for your second question, yes. Sound is completely unaffected by the distortion. I think the plan is a solid idea. I'm definitely down for it.

------

On a side note, I've been considering having the innkeeper interrupt and mention that he is aware of some people who have been plotting a resistance against the Cult for a while now. That way we don't have to orchestrate an entire riot from the ground up. I'll probably do this whenever I post next.

The Five Senses

So I think now is a good time to do some Crystal Jade 101.

Crystal Jade has the following properties:

-It sparkles in the light.
-It gives off a greenish glow in the dark.
-If you shatter it, it will give off a burst of lingering light.
-This light will make you go blind if you are exposed to it enough. So it should be used sparingly.
-if two pieces of crystal jade are touching one another, they will slowly fuse together to form one crystal.

Other things to know:

-Crystal Jade is mined from a multiple mines located around the vicinity of the capital of the Nation of Sight.
-This is the only place it is found. Thus making it abundant in the capital.
-Crystal Jade is probably on of the The Nation of Sight's biggest exports. Their biggest buyer is The Nation of Hearing.
-Crystal Jade has been in short supply for other Nations since the war started. This is especially true for the Nation of Touch since the war started.
-Crystal Jade is some what pricey. Most common people stick with normal candles, however inns will often have a supply of them available.

The Five Senses

Chres Sansus

Interactions with @Fetzen, @13Org, @HokumPocus

---

Chres grabbed a bowl of soup for himself, as he listened to DB speak. Was he right? Was this pact a reference to the coy nature of this mystery being? Was the meeting a 'blessing', as DB suggested, or would it turn out to be a curse?

Chres struggled to recollect the words Sightless Syella spoke during her clash with DB. He had been so out of it then. It was a struggle to recall anything at that time with clarity.

Chres raised a spoonful of soup to his lips suddenly aware that Octavio was addressing the group. Chres found himself quite taken aback. For the short time Chres had known the man, Chres had formed an impression of a theatrical man who would do whatever it took to sneak his way out of working.

"-it would be for the best if someone who was in better condition were to play the role of a guard." Octavio stated as if it were natural thing for him to say. "Please, rest for now while Chres and I protect you."

The words took Chres by surprise. So much so, that he began coughing on his soup.

"Did you jus-" Chres started in-between bouts of coughing. Chres cut himself off realizing that now was not the time to question Octavio's sudden desire to forego a good night's sleep. This was the man who had nearly 'slept' through the entire fight at the inn after all! He had only conveniently managed to wake up when the Inn had already caught on fire.

Chres cleared his throat and started again. "Yes." Chres said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Yes. You all should get some rest. Octavio and I will take the first watch."

Clearing his throat a second time and took another spoonful of soup.

"DB's right." Chres said a moment later. "I don't think we stand a chance at dealing with the cult without some sort of plan. We need some way to disrupt them and take them by surprise. Perhaps if we could start a riot with the townspeople, but... If what Gin said about the distortion is true, with every day that passes, the influence the Cult has over the townspeople will increase..." Chres paused. Thinking.

Chres turned his gaze downwards, toward his soup. "Starting a riot takes time though. Time we might not-" Chres's words trailed off in mid-sentence. There was a beetle in his soup...

"Look, Chres!" Sil said, as she land lightly on the rim of Chres's soup bowl. "I taught him how to swim!"

Chres stared, mouth agape. Sil smiled back happily. Head cocked. Hands clasped behind her back.

"Sil..." Chres sighed, while placing his spoon down on the table's surface. "Why don't you go play with Octavio's cat."

"You mean that Lizard?" Sil ask glancing in the familiar's direction. She had trouble telling animals apart. "Okay! I know the perfect game!" Sil said speeding off in the familiar's direction.

Chres sighed. He pushed his bowl of soup off to the side and took a moment to recollect his thoughts. "Whatever we do, I think the Crystal Jade candles will be key. Especially after seeing what they did to the Cult. It will probably be wise to use them sparingly though. They say Crystal Jade miners go blind from their work, even with darkened shades."

The Five Senses

I'll try to get a post ready tomorrow.