Finnius

First were Mephis and Althis, the twins. Everything was desert, blasted and barren. The sun hung in the sky, a merciless and unforgiving god. Nothing grew, nor did any creature walk or crawl. Into this were the Divine Twins born. Mephis; born of sand and heat, with eyes like fire and skin like coal. Althis; born of the dry desert wind, with flowing white hair and skin like the midnight sky. Where Mephis and Althis met; there they raised a monument. The Westering Mountains they raised, and blocked off the desert. Althis brought the clouds and rain, and there he formed the Frozen Sea. In bringing water to this barren, lifeless land, Althis unwittingly set into motion a chain of events which would end in his demise. Meanwhile, Mephis had retreated under his desert, searching for the fire that he felt swelling beneath the ground... He took with him three raw pieces of iron, and in the Desert's Heart, he forged his tools. A hammer he made; and called it Natayu: Land's Beginning. With this hammer, he split the Westering Mountains, allowing the sea to flow into the desert. Life sprang forth, where once was none. Grass and insects, birds, reptiles, then mammals, and the upright beasts. Mephis took notice. Next he forged a great scythe, called Balphinus: Truth of Fate. With it, he taught the Upright Beasts how to pull wheat from the soil. Some of the Beasts, however, rejected Mephis' teachings. They prefered to live as base animals, hunting with their teeth, burrowing with their claws. Three times, Mephis came to them, offered them knowledge, and was asked to leave. Three times he left in peace. One time, Althis visited them... A soft scraping behind Hryn alerted him to the prescence of the librarian. He marked the page he had been reading, flipped the book shut, and turned to face the graying woman that oversaw the records kept in the Court at Cold Port. She had a small leather-bound book in her hands, held closed with a cord that wrapped loosely around it. She gave Hryn a small nod and an even smaller smile. "I trust that you are finding everything well, master... what did you say your name was?" Hryn stood, picking up the tome and giving the woman a bow fit for a High Judge. "Hryn, madame... and you need not call me master." Hryn gave a small chuckle, self-deprecating and conspiratorial, and extended the tome he'd been reading to the woman. "Actually, I was wondering about a few things... for instance, who wrote this?" The librarian took the tome, flipping it open to the first pages and unwrapping the leather-bound book in one smooth motion. She ran her finger down a page, looking for the title, and stopped as she found it. "Ah... it was written by one, ah, Saevus Sospita... I believe we have a few of his other works, if you'd like to take a look at them." Hryn nodded once. "It would be my pleasure, honored madame." ------------------------ There was a tense silence as Loryn stared at her face in the mirror. Gavin wanted to say something, anything to break the silence. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that it had been an accident, that he would never do it again... but the words seemed small and petty, and they would not come. Loryn lowered the mirror to the bed and closed her eyes. Gavin opened his mouth to speak, as Loryn's shoulders spasmed into the beginnings of a sob. He closed his mouth and sat on the bed next to her, reaching out to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Loryn cringed away from Gavin's touch, backed into the corner where the bed met the wall and looked at Gavin like a demon. A few drops ran down her face, meeting in a point on her chin and dripping onto the soft green of her shirt. "I'm... Loryn... I'm sorry..." Loryn cupped her face in her hands and continued sobbing. Gavin winced as he heard the soft choking sounds from the woman, saw the tears roll down her face. He reached out again to touch her shoulder, and this time she did not cringe away. She threw herself forward, into Gavin's arms, and let him hold her while she cried. After a few minutes, she looked up at Gavin, and pulled away from him, wiping at her face with her sleeve. She sniffed a bit and smoothed her shirt down. "I... should apologize..." She dabbed at her face again. "I don't normally break down like that... I try to be strong... I'm sorry." Gavin shook his head slowly. "No... don't be sorry, Loryn. I can imagine how hard this must be for you... I mean, when Hryn took me, it was the same... he doesn't give you any choices. Well, at least not good ones. And then I... I hurt you. I promise, I didn't mean to... and I'll try not to do it again." Loryn nodded and gave a small smile, then leaned in to hug Gavin once, briefly but tightly. "Thank you. You're a good person, Gavin... you deserve much better than Hryn." Loryn laughed, a small harsh chuckle. "But you have as little choice as I do. Do you ever think about just running away?" "I did at first... I tried to run, a few times, but Hryn always found me. Hryn can find anything... anyone." Gavin shook his head. "I wouldn't try to run, Loryn... trust me, the sooner you accept this, the easier it will be. He's actually not as bad as he seems, most times... I think." Loryn laughed again. Gavin thought it sounded like bells tinkling. "So you can't tell either? Glad to know it's not just me." Gavin shrugged and smiled. "Well... c'mon, then, let's get back to work." Loryn slipped off the bed, and sat on the floor, crossing her legs. "If you would be so kind as to block out the window?" ---------------------------- Hryn poured over text, digested it and moved on. He'd found numerous references to this Althis as a wanderer and scholar, as an architect and warrior. If all the accounts were to be believed, Althis would have been very busy indeed. He'd supposedly fought numerous wars, led a tribe of these "Upright Beasts" to become something called the "Learning People," and built an entire city single-handedly. From the description given, that city sounded disturbingly like Hammerfall. Which was another odd coincidence. Hammerfall was, indeed, positioned in a gap in the Westering Mountains shaped roughly like the head of a hammer. Hryn had always thought it was a coincidence... the head of a hammer, after all, was round. A perfectly round depression in a mountain range could be caused by any number of things; erosion over time, or a sudden shifting of the ground. Hryn stretched and closed the book he had been reading. He looked over his shoulder and motioned for the librarian. The old woman walked over, gave Hryn a small bow. "How might I help you, ser?" Hryn favored her with a smile, and motioned to the book on the table. "I was wondering if it might be possible to comission a copy of this... several of these, actually. They're quite interesting, but I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay in Cold Port. Business matters, you know." The woman bobbed her head again. "Of course, master Hryn. If you could just tell me which ones, I'll send for a scrivener right away." Hryn chuckled and stood from the table. "Thank you, honored madame." ------------------------------ They sat in darkness, Gavin facing Loryn. He stretched out with his mind again, careful not to stretch too far... and eventually, he saw the outline of Loryn, sitting cross-legged in front of him. She was defined in reds and oranges, with a lighter blue core. The rest of the room was blurred and distorted, like a reflection in a warped piece of metal... but Loryn, he could make out distinctly. Gavin's mouth turned up at the corners, and he breathed a low chuckle. "I think I've got it this time... you look all orange..." Loryn's head nodded and Gavin could just make out a shifting of the colors that he thought was a smile. "Yes... yes, that's how it should look. Very good, Gavin. Most people take days to learn trick, even though it's one of the most basic ones... something about the eyes needing to adjust that tends to throw them off." She stood up and walked to the window, tearing the blanket off in one smooth motion. Gavin's sight flared for a moment, the red blurring his field of vision, and then it snapped back to normal, with a slightly jarring sensation. Loryn stood looking down at the boy, giggled as he shielded his eyes. "I think that'll be enough for today, though... keep practicing with the darksight, get comfortable with seeing in that manner. Tomorrow we'll start you on the physical stuff... I warn you now, it can be painful." Gavin forced his eyes to open the rest of the way and nodded, giving a slight grin. "Hryn has instilled a great tolerance for pain in me. I should be fine... it's just the killing I'm bad at." Loryn closed her eyes and crossed her arms across her stomach. "Is that why you froze when... you saw... us fighting him?" Gavin shook his head slowly. "I don't know... I think... I think that I heard someone calling my name... and I just couldn't move. I knew that I needed to, I kept screaming in my head to just move... but I couldn't." Loryn nodded sagely and opened her eyes. "Well... either way, you keep practicing with that, and we'll work some more tomorrow." She gave Gavin a nod of her head, and slipped outside his door, closing it softly. --------------------------------- Hryn arrived at the Lonely Sailor late that night with a thick book under one arm, a copy of one of Sospita's lesser known works that the library had just happened to have a spare copy of. Hryn had persuaded them to keep the copy and sell him the original for a pretty penny. It was a treatise on trade agreements between the major cities of the Mephitic Island, specifically a now-dead city called Desert's Heart and Hammerfall. Incredibly dry, but the most useful piece of intelligence Hryn had gathered so far. According to this book, several large merchant families had invested in a road to connect the two cities, bringing tools and weapons from Desert's Heart into Hammerfall, and recieving large sums of food in return. Shortly after the road was completed, the lines of communication were dropped and the families in Desert's Heart had paid a visit to Hammerfall. Shortly after their visit, the governor of Hammerfall had declared the desert off limits to his people, and shut down the trade, even to the point of razing the road for several hundred miles inland. The exact circumstances would be most interesting, and Hryn was fairly sure that he could cross-reference the dates in this book with the records in Fexus' own libraries back at Hammer Keep. Hryn pushed his way through the front door, nodding politely to Mistress Ellon, and headed directly for the stairs. He passed Gavin's room and briefly considered knocking, before remembering what time it was... the boy would likely be asleep by now. Hryn slid the book a little farther under his arm and headed over to his room, opening the door slowly. It was dark inside, the candle that he kept burning a small stump. If Hryn weren't so adamant about it, Mistress Ellon would keep his room bright as noon at all times of the day. There was something wrong, Hryn felt it as soon as the door cracked open. There was a soft thumping sound, and a clearing throat. Hryn stood in his doorway, and pushed the door the rest of the way open. A man sat on his bed, hands on his knees and legs bowed out in front of him. He was obscured in darkness, and Hryn could barely make out one part of him from the other. The man looked over at Hryn and motioned for him to come inside. Hryn's eyes narrowed, and he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Hryn didn't even give him a chance to open his mouth. "Tell me who you are, why you're here, and why I should let you live. You have until I count thirty." The man leaned back and chuckled slightly, appraising Hryn. "My name is Lonane Hloran, Mallon. I'm here to pay a visit to my little brother, and I would very much appreciate it if he let me live long enough to at least give him a hug." Hryn's eyes widened for a moment, and he stepped quickly over to the single lit candle, picking it up and spreading its light to the others in the room. Hryn stared at the stranger sitting on his bed. He resembled Hryn superficially... except that his hair was greying where Hryn's was still black as coal, and his face was more lined by half than Hryn's. "Lonane... never heard the name. And you should know that Mallon's been dead for the last twenty years. I watched him die with my own eyes... I'm sorry." The man sitting on Hryn's bed studied him for a moment, a puzzled expression on his face. He closed his eyes and re-opened them, then cracked a harsh, wobbling grin. "Mallon... don't you remember me? Your own brother..." He stood up, slightly taller than Hryn, put his hands on Hryn's shoulders. "I've been looking for you for... gods, I've been looking for almost thirty years... Sara's married and had three children, ma and da've both passed on... don't you remember?" Hryn stared at the man coldly, watched the tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Lonane... whoever you are. My name is Hryn. Mallon Hloran died trying to assassinate the rightful Lord of Hammerfall two decades ago. He was a friend of mine before that, but when he tried to kill my Master, I cracked his neck with my own hands. I'm sorry for your loss... but I am not your brother. I think you should leave now." Hryn nodded to the door, waited for the man to wipe the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. The man looked at Hryn for a moment, wobbled on the verge of touching him again... and then he turned and walked out of the room, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Hryn locked the door behind him, extinguished all but one of the candles, and went to bed.

Aardy, I've always been a big fan of your surrealistic psycho-writing, and this piece is no exception. Your work is usually just far enough out there that it makes perfect sense, and again... no exception. What else can I say? The world held together by post-it glue. I loved it!

My muse is a female figure, though not a woman exactly. Kind of the way that you refer to a boat as 'she.' She's an insane and fickle creature, bouncing from one project to another, and sometimes wanting me to write the end of something before the beginning. She creeps up on me in my sleep sometimes and spins my dreams into tales of vivid and stark beauty. She stalks me during the day, making me lose my concentration in a whirlwind of ideas. She abandons me when I need her most, and laughingly returns at intermitten intervals. I think I shall call her Pekkle, for she is as much a demon as anything else.

OOC: Tanuchan: Ya, as much feedback as you want to give, the more the better. Reasons for changing the way you do, things that you look at as being wrong with the piece, anything at all. And on another note, good work guys. Keep 'em coming!

A wooden board is placed near the Kissing Booth, bare except for a piece of parchment nailed to it. It reads as such: Dear fellow Pennites, The following piece, though written in haste, Has caught my attention, but cannot get through; So since all my efforts are going to waste, I turn the proof-reading over to you. Whomever replies, and fixes the thing, Will have my fondest, well-wishing heart-felt, And if that's not enough, not thoroughly tempting, They'll also recieve a small bit of geld! -Thanks in advance, Anonymous Immediately below it is written the following: I believe in love, I believe in fate, I believe my debts can never be repaid. I hear music play, I hear dying screams, I hear my heart beat, I hear everything. And I know, I know, Just what you meant, My time with you was heaven sent. But in the end, It could not be, I was wrong for you, but you were right for me. A small stack of paper, a few quills, and bow of thumbtacks sit on the ground below. OOC: Ok, here's the challenge. Take the above piece and rework it, clean it up and make it your own. Essentially, give the absolute harshest, most critical feedback that you can. Level 5, for those of you on the Valdar scale. When you're done, just tack it up on the board. This event is worth 5 geld! Yeah, line yer pockets!

It was raining again, over Cold Port... it rained more these days than not. The people of the city sometimes grumbled about the cold, wet weather but for the most part they kept their heads down and their mouths shut. Hryn strode down the street into the Merchant's Quarter, and headed towards the shop of Nanten the Tailor, who was, among other things, an actual tailor. He was also one of Fexus' plants in Cold Port, and had been his highest ranking operative in the days before Hryn... now he ran a clothier's business and sent the occasional pigeon to Hammerfall to infom the Master of what little information he had gleened from the petty nobles and occasional Judges that gave him custom. Hryn liked the man well enough... he had no respect for Nanten, but he was pleasant and polite, and Hryn approved of both of those traits. The shop was a small affair, but tastefully decorated and expensively stocked. Anyone with an eye for fine clothes could tell that Nanten was much more well-off than the size of his shop would suggest. Hryn opened the door, listening to the tiny bells placed above it alert Nanten to his possible customer. Nanten emerged from the back room, a stocky man in a white shirt and nicely sewn leather pants... he'd most likely made them himself. Stocky he may have been, but anyone who mistook Nanten's bulk for fat would be sorely surprised. He was solid all the way through, the result of working for Fexus for nearly fourty years. His hair was just starting to grey, and he had a pleasant face, with a wide, inviting grin... which he dropped as soon as he recognized Hryn. Nanten gave a low nod, lowering his head almost to his chest. "Good morning, Fixer Hryn. I assume you come on business?" Hryn nodded once, briefly. "Then if you would be so kind as to latch the door and turn my sign around?" Hryn flipped the wooden marker on the front of the door to it's closed position, and slipped the lock into its place, then moved farther into the room. Nanten motioned for Hryn to follow him, and headed into his back room. --------------------- Gavin sat crosslegged on the floor, across from Loryn. The room was dark, the windows covered with the spare blankets from Gavin's bed, and the candles extinguished. Gavin's hands rested on his knees, and he stared forward into the blackness. He could only assume that Loryn did the same. She spoke to him softly. "Calm your mind, remove yourself from the noise of the world, become a stone in the middle of a river. Focus your mind into a point of granite, cold and sharp." Gavin closed his eyes, let his mind wander... he'd been doing this all morning, with no more result than one splitting headache. Still... Hryn had asked him to give this woman his cooperation, and so he did... besides, she didn't look half bad. In Gavin's small experience, there were worse things than being alone in a dark room with a beautiful woman. He had to remind himself constantly that she was dead... then again, so was he... "Now extend your senses, widen the field of your vision... see me." Gavin's breathing came slow and shallow... Loryn had said that he wouldn't need to breathe once he adapted to being dead... that his body would absorb the oxygen directly through his skin. She said this... Gavin had yet to see any results. She had said that his body would no longer require food... or at least not near as often. She had claimed that he would only need to eat once a day to stay at full strength, and that he would be able to go a week without food or water and still be able to act as a normal human. She had claimed that even should he stop eating all together, he would only enter a deep sleep from which he would eventually awaken. Gavin tried to reach out with his mind, willed his eyes to see... blackness met him. His stomach growled, and his knees ached from sitting in this position for hours on end. He ground his teeth together and squinted. "Center yourself, Gavin... try again." Gavin once again took the deep calming breaths he had learned during Hryn's initial training. He released his grip on his knees and felt his heart slow. He forced his eyes to relax and widen. Loryn's voice came calm and melifluous again. "Calm your mind..." ---------------------- Hryn sat at a small round table. The man had been brewing a pot of tea, and he poured Hryn a cup almost as soon as he sat down. It tasted faintly of mint and almonds, and had a sweetness to it that Hryn found relaxing. Nanten poured a cup for himself, took a small sip, and sat down across from Hryn. "So what business are you on this time, Fixer Hryn? Assassination or intelligence?" Nanten cupped the tea in his hands, letting the warmth of the porcelain soak into them. Hryn closed his eyes and took a small breath, inhaling the aroma. "Neither... Fexus has decided to consolidate his control of the Courts... I was supposed to gain a foothold for him within the political structure of this city via a woman by the name of Loryn Halgus... who disappeared from her office a few days ago. To make matters worse, he'd also sent orders to begin the training of a young man named Gavin, who is... less than alive at the moment." Nanten nodded, thinking for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Sounds like quite the pickle... frankly... I'm glad I'm not in your shoes right now, Fixer... how can I help?" Hryn sipped at his tea, and removed a small wooden box from his pocket. "I need you to find out what happened to Madame Halgus. This might help... I found it in her office shortly after her disappearance." Hryn thumbed the box open, revealing its contents: a vial of bright green liquid, a small blue stone, and a brittle-looking black cube. Nanten pulled the box closer and studied the contents for a moment, picking up the vial and swirling it softly. "Well... I'm not sure about the other two, but what you have here is magebane. It can boost your mental abilities tenfold for a while... problem is, you always come down, and afterwards it extracts a heavy price... usually greater than what it gives to begin with. Highly addictive, and highly sought after by many of the Court officials. Your Miss Halgus was most likely an addict... or a trafficer." He shrugged, replacing the vial. "Nasty stuff it is, but a vial this size would be worth a good sized house in most cities." Hryn leaned back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs, and cocked his head to one side. "And how would you know so much about it, tailor?" "Because most of my custom reeks of it. You'd probably be surprised at how wide-spread this stuff is in the higher ranks of the..." Hryn stared back at Nanten blankly. "Then again... maybe you wouldn't." Nanten cleared his throat and lowered his head a small bit. "Yes, well... I'll look into it, Fixer. Is there anything else?" Hryn closed his eyes, a small grin spreading on his face, and took another sip of the tea. "For the moment, no. I'll be in touch later." Hryn finished the last of his tea and rose from the chair. Nanten lifted his head to look at him and then stared back down at his tea. ------------------------- The darkness was suffocating... Gavin sat with his hands on his knees trying to compose himself again... and then it happened. He saw... not with his eyes, but with his very soul, Gavin saw the room. He could make out the shape of the bed, the cabinets and the blanket stretched across his window. He turned his head back down, and saw Loryn... really saw her for the first time. She was a black shape, with a small core of light... a golden pulse in the center of her chest. It was the most beautiful thing that Gavin had ever seen... he reached out with his mind, slowly... probing the edges of that light. It wavered and pulsated at his caress, and moved towards him. Gavin touched the core, lightly... just a brush. Loryn screamed in pain, and the blackness of her form slumped to the floor. Gavin leapt to his feet, halfway toppling over himself... he'd been sitting cross-legged for hours, and his legs had fallen asleep. He ripped the blanket from the window, permitting harsh light to spill into the room, his black eyes squinting shut for a moment. Gavin turned back to Loryn, lying half on her side, her chest rising and falling in a shallow motion... unconscious. Gavin knelt down next to her, flipping her on her back, and startled as he saw what he had done... ---------------------------- Hryn walked slowly through the rain, his hands in his pockets and his head watching his feet. The soles of his boots made a light click-clicking on the stones of the street. He let his mind run over the last few days, let himself watch Gavin lie on the floor, the life oozing out of him. More clicking, down a side street. An alleyway, homeless people huddled under whatever rags and refuse they could scrape together, desperately trying to keep themselves dry and warm. Hryn ignored them and continued down the alley. Click-click, another turn onto a wide street, lined with shops and dotted with the occasional inn. The smells of food perfumed the street, giving a contrast to the squallid people just down the alley. More people flowed by Hryn, there were always more people in this city... Cold Port was very much overpopulated. Hryn clicked down the cobblestone walkways, towards the Lonely Sailor. The rain coated him, soaked him to the bone... Gavin was dead... dead, and apparently some kind of highly respected dead at that. Hryn turned down a street, not a block from the Lonely Sailor, and headed towards the Court at Cold Port. He needed to know more about this Althis. ------------------------------ Loryn's eyes fluttered and opened, slowly. Gavin had moved her to the bed, had covered her up. He was sitting by her side, staring down at her with those unreadable black eyes. Her face hurt... her whole being hurt... what had the boy done to her? She had been sitting with him on the floor... trying to teach him to see without light... a simple trick, really... just a matter of letting your eyes drink in whatever heat was present in the room, and transmute that heat into light... but then his eyes had shone... a cold white light, like a dying star. Loryn shivered and sat up. Gavin lowered his head and turned halfway around. "I'm sorry... sorry I hurt you, Loryn..." Loryn fell back against the bed, stared up at the ceiling. She had no idea what the boy had done... she'd never seen anything close, not even from the Council. It scared her... Althis' favor always took a different form, always translated to a different aspect of his divine being in his chosen vessel... but the Council had documented every instance, every occurence, and nothing fit. There were differences, yes... always differences... "Loryn? Are you ok? Can you hear me?" Her eyes opened and closed, her mind raced. The boy had... looked at her? Had he touched her? She couldn't remember... couldn't remember... He'd been sitting still one moment, a small amount of heat running through his body, residual heat from the friction of his blood flowing... nothing more... and then he'd... "Loryn?" Gavin looked at her with concern in his face, began to stand. And then he'd glowed like the sun... he had put off enough power to raze the Lonely Sailor to the ground... and he'd done something to her, something with all that power. Loryn looked over at the boy, standing up with worry streaking his smooth cheeks. He was talking to her. She sat up again, rubbed her forehead. "Yes... yes, I can hear you... Gavin, I need you to tell me what you did... tell me exactly." She motioned to the bed, for him to sit down. He complied and began speaking, twisting his shirt in knots with his hands. "I don't know... I was trying to calm myself back down, trying to see like you had wanted me to... and then I did see, I saw everything. And I looked at you... and there was this... this point of gold, this core of light. I wanted to touch that core, wanted to drink that light... and I just stretched out with my... mind? I just stretched out and touched it... and then you screamed..." Loryn's hands continued running down her face, stopping on her left cheek... her fingers traced the shallow indentions, the scars... five of them, and a larger one in the center... She looked back to Gavin, speaking in a near-whisper. "What did you do to me?" Gavin lowered his gaze again, as if looking at her hurt him. He walked over to his shelves, retrieving a hand mirror and bringing it back over. Loryn grabbed the mirror out of his hands almost as soon as he presented it, and pointed it to her face. She sat still for a moment, her jaw hanging open like a fish. She traced the marks on her face absently, almost reflexively. A perfectly formed hand had burned itself into the flesh of her cheek. Gavin kept his head lowered. Loryn let him.

A little blue man with bandages wrapped around his arm walks slowly to the tower in the Conservatory, stopping in front of the poster. He reaches into his pocket and removes a tastefu, though somewhat crushed, quill. He signs his name... and a few more lines of text... and drifts off to lay down somewhere, muttering "I'm getting too old for this..." as he wanders off. -Finnius Mustardio Jalopini Canard O'Harpy, Little blue man, human, enjoys long walks on the beach, good conversation, and cuddling... but not too much cuddling, please, I'm still recovering from playing tag. -Also up for grabs- Any of the Where Gods Fear guys! Hryn- Fexus- Gavin-

A happy birthday, To our favorite painting... Fourty one years old?! Seriously, happy birthday, ya scruffy old ragamuffin.

Time froze. Hryn's sight bled... his heartbeat rose, his breathing came ragged and shallow. Gavin would not... could not... survive. Hryn pushed himself to his feet and stalked forward slowly. The woman began removing her forearm from Gavin's chest cavity just as he reached her. She turned to face him and he was there... not an inch in front of her face. The woman startled, jumping back a bit. Gavin slumped to the floor, red spilling down his knees and pooling on the floor. Hryn snapped his arm forward, backhanded the woman across the face, time slowed again. Hryn moved in a dream, slipped around her side as she tried to swipe at him with her sharp, treacherous nails. He planted a knee in the small of her back, heard the bones pop and grate, grabbed her arms at the shoulders and pushed his leg outwards. He felt the tell-tale pop as her arms disjointed. Gavin's body shook and spasmed as the life flowed out of him. Hryn let go of the woman's right arm, spun her around to face him, snarled at her. "I gave you a chance... I tried to let you go..." Hryn slung her to the floor, in front of Gavin's twitching body. "Fix him." The woman's eyes widened, her mouth worked open and closed, her bones began to work themselves back into their sockets. Hryn stood over her, watching, his eyes narrow and dangerous. "You know what to do, woman... do it." Hryn's voice rose in volume, until he finally roared at the woman. "Fix him!" She crawled to Gavin's corpse, gingerly took its still twitching head in her hands. His eyes had rolled back in his head, had almost popped out of their sockets. The woman dragged a steely nail across her own wrist, letting blood flow down into Gavin's gasping mouth. Hryn stood still, his face darkening. Gavin's body gave one last twitch, one last gasp... and then died. A tear rolled down Hryn's cheek, but otherwise he remained still. --------------------- Hryn returned to the Lonely Sailor later that night, a large sack slung over each shoulder. He nodded briefly to Mistress Ellon, ascended the stairs, and locked himself in his room. He opened the sacks, placing one gingerly on his bed and pulling back the cloth to reveal Gavin's pale corpse. The other, he upended and dumped out on his floor. The woman in red scowled at him and rubbed her backside. "I told you already, it takes time for the soul to cross back over into its vessel! Now let me go, you oaf of a man..." Hryn knelt down and stared her in the eye. "Understand something... there is a reason I never asked for your name. You see, there is exactly no chance of your leaving this room alive... you can, however, leave it in your present state, which is dead. But you will leave it when I tell you to, and not a moment sooner." The woman spat her words back at him. "What does that have to do with my name?" Hryn's mouth drew itself up into a crude smile. "Nothing. Everything. Your name is Loryn now... yes, I think that suits you quite nicely... another woman that I had the over-riding urge to kill, but prevented myself from killing. Tell me, Loryn, what colors do you like... so that I can get you some decent clothing." The woman's eyes widened again, in outrage this time. "You... you... you will not treat me like some common slave! My name is Dessina ka'Marc-" Hryn cut her off with a quick slap across the face, and grabbed her jaws in one of his hands. "Your name is Loryn, and that is final. You had the chance to walk away from me, live your life peacefully, and you rejected that." He leaned in closer, held the woman's gaze. "Consider yourself lucky that Gavin there will need someone to help him understand his new existence. If he didn't, you would be lying on a bare stone floor with a knife in your heart like your friend. I am not entirely without compassion, but if you continue to act like this, I will kill you and find him another tutor. Now tell me what colors you want to wear, and I will see about getting them for you." The woman closed her eyes and let out a small whimper. She smelled like defeat to Hryn. He let her jaws free and lowered himself to sit by Gavin's side. Hryn placed a hand on the boy's head and drew in a slow breath. Gavin's flesh was cool... there was a barely perceptable rising and falling in his chest as his lungs processed oxygen, trying to return the spark of life to his dead body. Hryn's eyes squeezed shut for the barest of moments. ------------------------ Gavin's eyes snapped open, then closed quickly as they were met with a blinding light. He winced and groaned, a sound like a bellows being worked. The woman in red... Loryn... darted to his side under the watchful eyes of Hryn, dog of Fexus. She took his hand in hers, placed the other one on his forehead. She whispered softly to him, Hryn listening in to every word, coldly storing them away to write down and send to his Master when this was done. She shushed Gavin, made soothing sounds and waited while he shook. "Shhhh... calm down, boy... tell me what you see..." She had almost motherly tone... a very stern, demanding, suffocating mother to be sure, but a mother none the less. Gavin pressed the knuckles of his free hand into his still-shut eyes, digging them in, twisting. "I... I see... I see a city... covered in water and fire... fire from the sky." Hryn's face darkened as he listened. "There's a tower... and a man in robes... he holds the fire in his hands, his eyes control the water..." Gavin made another wincing sound, scrunched his face up like he was going to cry. Loryn murmered softly to him again. "Go on, Gavin... tell me more..." "He... he's got... there's blood... oh, gods, so much blood... it's all over him, covering him... he..." Gavin sucked in air, his chest rasping hollowly. He cried out. "He sees me! Please... someone... please..." Gavin thrashed fitfully, the woman held him still with a slight pressure on his forehead. He calmed after a moment. "He's... he's coming towards me now... he looks... he..." Gavin ceased speaking, mumbling softly, and then his features relaxed as he lost consciousness. Loryn released his hand and turned to face Hryn. "He's coming through it now... all dead souls pass through the domain of holy Althis. He holds them for a time, speaking to them and learning of their lives... if he is impressed, he will let the boy return to his body, so that Gavin might tell him better tales when next they meet." Hryn cocked his head to one side, staring at the woman. "And what if he is not?" Loryn smiled harshly at Hryn, closing her eyes. "Then Althis will take his payment on the boy. Sometimes he requires a portion of the soul in exchange for letting it return... sometimes he requires more..." A low growl escaped Hryn's throat. "And... how hard is it to impress this Althis?" Loryn shook her head. "He is... cold, and dead... beyond emotion, and passionless. Althis hungers for hot life, remembers the days when he still lived..." Loryn shrugged, and opened her eyes to look at Hryn. "It depends on his mood." She smiled. "It is said that holy Althis can see the worth of a dead soul... I've heard rumors that he sometimes brings the living to himself prematurely, in order to read their futures, and sends them back with ancient knowledge... and sometimes a new purpose." Hryn grinned back harshly. "Who says this?" Loryn gave a low chuckle. "It is a well known rumor among the dead." Hryn shook his head. "Then let the dead keep it." --------------------------- Four hours later, Gavin once again opened his eyes... they were no more than cold black orbs. As Loryn sat by his side staring down into them, her mouth hanging open, and her face painted with shock, Gavin's lips spread into a thin, bloodless grin. He chuckled under his breath, and sat up on the bed, swinging his legs over the side and glancing up at Hryn. Hryn crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Welcome back, boy." Hryn's mouth cracked into a small smile. "I see that you've come back to me in record time... very good." Gavin's black eyes closed, then opened slowly. "It's good to be back, Hryn..." He motioned his head to the woman, still staring forward mutely. "Who's she?" "That would be the person responsible for your death, boy. Also the one responsible for bringing you back... and your new teacher until you get used to your new existence. Her name is Loryn." Hryn took a step closer and tapped Loryn on the shoulder. "Say something, woman... introduce yourself." The woman's eyes fluttered between Hryn and Gavin for a moment, and she shook her head quickly, motioning towards the door. Hryn cocked an eyebrow. "Gavin, do me a favor and stay here for a minute... I think our Loryn wants a talk with me." Gavin nodded his head, still grinning, and leaned back against the wall. Hryn walked over to the door, holding it open for Loryn, who darted out quickly, and then closing it behind himself. No sooner was the door shut than Loryn collapsed against the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor. "Now tell me, woman... what's the matter?" "His eyes... didn't you see his eyes?" Hryn nodded briefly. "Yes... they were black... what of it?" "Hryn... you're the boogieman for the dead... have been for nearly two decades... tell me that you know at least some of our stories." Hryn shook his head. "Actually, I don't know any of them. Fexus sends as he will, and his orders very rarely involve listening to the folk tales of the people you're about to kill." Loryn pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Black eyes are the sign of Althis' favor... his chosen few. There are only a handful of us who bear that sign, besides those on the Council..." Hryn shrugged. "And why is this a bad thing?" Loryn shivered. "Because of what those precious few are capable of... he is... he is holy now... I cannot control him, Hryn. Our law forbids it, even if I could..." She began trembling. Hryn knelt down in front of her, putting a hand on her knee. "You are not subject to the law of the dead anymore... you are subject to my law... and you will teach him. As for the controlling..." Hryn grinned thinly. "Leave that to me."

*Huggles Sal and wraps her in warm blankies, then runs off to make soup.* Hope you feel better soon. In the meantime, have a flower!

But... but... I liked Tam's comment... /me huggles the comment and remembers it always.

Yui-chan, I understand your feelings on the matter. I had placed it in the WW because I wanted serious 'this should be changed' feedback, however, I am not in the least averse to random drive-by commentary like Tam's. So with that said, do with it what thou wilt. Makes no difference to me, and it might get better feedback here. /me sets mode to +difficult.

Well, having just read this piece, I really liked it. Like Sal, I'm a romantic at heart, and the imagery oozes sweetness and gushy feelings. Maybe 'oozes' wasn't the best choice of words there... It has a welcome grace and a natural feel to it. Mighty good stuff, Zool, mighty good. Welcome back to the active writing.

Cold stone chilled Gavin's hands as he scrambled across the roof of the Court. Hryn had said there was a hole big enough for the boy to get through, a disused chimney or somesuch. He hadn't specified where, of course; that would be too easy. So Gavin slunk along the smooth marble roof, splayed out with his hands doing as much work as his feet. It was cold and the sun was just a lighter patch of gray on the clouds which threatened a frozen rain any moment now. Gavin shivered and continued on. ------------- The inside of the Court was warm, as always. This place sapped the heat from Hryn's body, though... it felt wrong today, felt like a too-tight jacket. He kept his face smooth and walked down the hall to the office of Loryn Halgus. Hryn really, truly despised the woman. She was typical of the stupid, self-centered bureaucracy that infected this city. So far, all Hryn had done for her was kill. She didn't even try to think of his other capabilities, didn't even ask about them, and so Hryn didn't tell her. The door loomed closer, now. Hryn had come to dread this part of the day... the meaningless lecturing, the droll little quips. Hryn sighed and opened the door. -------------- A slow drizzle coated Gavin. He'd found the chimney that Hryn had mentioned, but it wasn't quite as disused as Gavin had been led to believe. A thick trail of smoke drifted up into the gray sky. Gavin sat on the roof and tried to figure out how he was going to get into the Court at Cold Port. -------------- Hryn stood in the doorway, head cocked to one side. The office was empty. No desk, no chairs, nothing. Hryn glanced to either side, made sure no one was watching, and entered the office, pulling the door shut behind him. -------------- Gavin pried at the corner of stone, numbing his fingers. He had stumbled, quite literally and almost off the roof, upon a small hatch. The boy assumed it led into an upper attic, or something similar. And so he had been prying at it for the last twenty minutes, working his fingertips into the tiny cracks, and finally it was coming loose. Gavin gritted his teeth and let out a small grunt as the hatch popped up. He sat there for a moment, waiting for any movement below, and when none came, Gavin took a peek inside. Darkness and the smell of mold met him. Gavin inched his head in farther, saw no movement, swung his shoulders and torso through the hole, flipped down to land softly on the floor. A cloud of dust drifted up, coating Gavin's legs in a soot the color of the outside sky. He took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, studied the room he was now in. It was, to all appearances, an attic as he had thought. There were shelves and boxes, there were shapeless lumps covered in sheets. There was a door. Gavin noted the positions of these things, then pulled the hatch shut, locking the room in darkness. --------------- Hryn crouched where Loryn's desk had been, studied the marks on the floor where it had scuffed the stone as it was moved out. He sniffed the air, smelled a faint trace of something acrid... Hryn narrowed his eyes and stood. He walked to the walls and slipped his hands across them, felt for any imperfections... and he found one in the southwest corner of the room, just a cooler spot on the wall, really. One that sounded hollow when Hryn tapped on it. ---------------- Gavin pressed his ear to the rough wood of the door, listening for sounds of movement. He slowly let the door open, watched a sliver of light grow across the floor. No sounds met his ears as the door swung wide, and Gavin stepped out into the upper chambers of the Court. __________ Hryn worked his hands around the cool spot, found the small notch of a pressure lock. He pressed it in, and a small section of wall slid out, revealing a wooden box not two hands across. Hryn reached out his hand, took the box and began to open it. There was a sound behind him as the door opened. __________ Gavin wandered through the halls, heading steadily south, heading towards the stairs down. ------------------ Hryn turned his head casually as the door opened, a slow smile forming on his face. Two figures stood in the door, a man and a woman. The man was short, wiry... he had the look of a scrapper. The woman was tall and exquisite, dark hair braided thickly down her back. Both of them wore red, the woman in robes and the man in dyed leather. Hryn chuckled softly. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come... well, let's get this thing over with." The two looked at Hryn consideringly, and moved farther into the room, closing the door behind them. ------------------- As Gavin stepped off the flight of stairs, he saw his quarry's door... saw two people in red slip inside, closing the door behind them. Gavin crept closer. ------------------- The man circled around Hryn, drawing a slim blade from the sheath at his back. Hryn stood still, still chuckling, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, I realize that you're already dead, but don't you think that you're making a mistake here? Think about it... only two of you? What did Loghis think would happen?" The man stopped moving for a moment and cocked his head to the side. Hryn closed his eyes and continued. "You two are sacrificial lambs on the altar of his ambition. Maybe if you stop and go away, you'll get to enjoy whatever life is left in you." There was a soft scuffling sound as the man with the blade began moving again. Hryn's arm darted out, his hand deftly closing around the man's throat... the Master's favorite technique, and one that had served Hryn well since he had learned it. Hryn whipped his head around to the man and opened his eyes. "Did you not listen to anything I said?" Hryn pulled the man closer, his voice lowered into a snarl. "And you just blindly obey... you fool." Hryn threw the man across the room, watched with interest as his body hit the stone wall and rebounded, falling to the floor with a solid crunch. The woman watched her companion fall, and turned her head to Hryn. She opened her mouth to speak, and Hryn cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't. I know the offers, I know the games, and I'm frankly sick of them. Take your friend's broken body back to the Council, let them stitch him back up, and then run as far from Cold Port as you can. I hear there are cities on the mainland where dead men can live again." On the floor, the man's body began twitching, his bones popping back into place, and he raised his head to speak. "My body is not so broken as you think, dog of Fexus." Hryn blinked at the man, honestly surprised for a moment, and then shrugged. "Good. Now you can walk out on your own." The man rose to his feet and advanced on Hryn. Hryn's mouth twitched. "Or not." ------------------------ Gavin paused just outside the door. People were speaking inside, but Gavin couldn't make out the words. He took a moment to calm himself, slow down his breathing. He thought back on the last month of training, put his hand out to take the handle of the door. He opened the door just as a man in dyed red leather rushed Hryn. Gavin's eyes went wide as Hryn slipped to the side of the man's knife, catching his arm as it swung, twisted the wrist, snapping it. ----------------------- Hryn snapped the man's wrist back, a clean sever and twisted to catch the knife as it fell from his hand. His eyes fell on the open door, and Gavin's stunned face. Hryn's heart skipped a beat, and then he plunged the knife into the man's heart, twisted it, and drove him to the floor. ------------------------ Gavin stood silent, his breath catching in his throat. Hryn was crouched low over the dead man on the floor, and he raised his head to meet Gavin's gaze, opened his mouth, words coming out but not catching in Gavin's ears. He could hear his own heart beating in his chest, clamoring to be out. ----------------------- "Move, boy! Get out of here!" Gavin stayed still, obviously frozen with... terror? Shock? Something. Hryn let go of the knife, stood from the twitching body of the man. He rose just in time to watch as the woman twisted with a speed faster than any normal human, spun towards the boy. Hryn took a step forward, his jaw dropping. ----------------------- Gavin saw Hryn stand, saw the woman spin towards him. He registered that he should do something, told his body to run. His legs betrayed him, wooden and stiff, locked into their position. The woman's hand shot upwards into Gavin's gut, nails like steel tearing through the soft flesh of his belly. He felt her hand as it moved upwards into his chest cavity, deftly found his heart, and squeezed. ---------------------- Hryn fell to his knees.

I would have to choose my children over my spouse. There is nothing in me, not even at the expense of the person I love, that would allow for me to hurt a child... and especially not my own. That said, I would regret and weep for a very long time, curse myself and likely spiral down into a crushed shell of a man. Maybe I'd move on, who knows? (Shakes his angry fist at Sal for difficult soul-searching questions. Keep 'em coming!)

And I qoute: Awoo, Awooo, Awooooooooooo!!! Which is to say: Happy Birthday, oh toothy one.

Oh noodles wet with stringy goodness, Raise unto you your anthem high. Sing praises to your flavor-packets, Tear them open, inhale, then sigh. Oh steaming Ramen, in your broth, Grant me now my daily bread! Fill me with your soup-like warmth, Make my tummy go to bed! Ramen, Ramen, I adore thee, Worship thee and trust in you, Cheapest of the noodle-products, Hope that you adore me too! -Keats it ain't, folks.

Happy birthday to Snakey, oh he of the long, curvy body and subtley plated scales. Sing praises to his expert camoflauge and unhingable jaws! (Very useful at parties, might I add.)

Coughing, achey, and depressed, Kids are sick and so am I, Even my poor dog is getting stressed, With all the hacking, wheezing sighs. Ruby cheeks and running noses, My achey head and rising fever, Snot that flows like fire hoses, Oh woe is me, I'm sick forever! So raise the banner, or a tissue, And string those hankies high, A pity party's not an issue, When you're so sick that you could die. -The little blue man backs away, nervously. "Please don't hurt me?"

Actually, Z, I had the same problem... of course, then a freak storm swept through and knocked out the power for the rest of the night, but hey... there you go. :wizzie:

Now, doesn't that sound fun! Anyway, we'll be glad to see you back in three weeks.

Countdown five, in the branches stalking, silent. Sliver flew through the body of the Demon, landed on the other side, bounded towards Alric and Shanna. The woman had killed at least two of the assassins. Arrows lodged in three more, and their bodies fell from the trees where they had hidden. Countdown three, getting closer, stalking. A sharp whistle cut through the trees, followed by a rustling of leaves as several human forms scattered off into the treetops, splitting into the night. Three assassins stayed on the ground, locked into combat. Two followed after Sliver, one advanced on Alric. Countdown one, closing in, target sighted. Mara pulled back her bow, drew the arrow to her shoulder, enough force behind it to put the shaft through bone. She swung the arrow towards Alric. Countdown cancelled, dropping in... now. There is a soft thump as two feet land behind Mara, and a soft scraping, sand poured over stone, as a long blade is slipped deftly underneath her chin. "I'd suggest lowering that bow." A gravelly voice, Finnius' voice. "Any first tier illusionist could tell that monstrosity from a real demon. Notice that there are no arrows in it, despite it having been fired on? Notice that the assassins are ignoring it now that Aiden has projected himself through it? Think, Mara."

It's sad to see an old friend go, and while I can speak for no one but myself, I will miss having you around. That said, I wish you well. Nothing more to say, really.

Ok, by way of explanation, this is a love note I wrote to Katz as a half-jab to a response in Crap a la Z, in the Banquet Hall. It was meant in good fun, but also supposed to be a decent letter, as it is my personal belief that everyone deserves a good love letter now and then. The letter, and Katz's resulting reply are posted below. Enjoy! Dear Katzaniel, Can I call you Katz? In any case... I just wanted you to know that I've been watching you for some time now, and I've really come to care about you... I know you don't see me the same way I see you, but I hope that doesn't change anything between us. (This is the header, to ease you into the 'high praise section' of the letter.) I've tried to keep all this inside, but I just can't stand looking into those sparkling, wonderful eyes and not saying anything. In the end, dear, that's what did it... your eyes. I fell into them, and never want to find my way out. I love you. (The Praise section speaks for itself.) If, my dear one, you feel anything similar for me... If I can have that hope of real, true joy... then please let me know. I wait with my heart pounding and my face flushed, and dream of you. I see your beautiful smiling face when I close my eyes, can almost feel the tender brush of your lips, and then I open them and remember my place. But, dear Katz, there is always a smile on my lips afterwards. (The outro, where the letter gets a bit bolder.) Always yours, with love, Finnius Mustardio Jalopini Canard O'Harpy PS: Just so you don't think I'm a creepy psycho-stalker, I'm writing this as a response to Crap a la Z. As you can see, I am, as the French would say: Smooth. Katz, belle that she is, was a good sport about the whole affair. How could I *not* think you're a creepy psycho-stalker? You had me really confused at *least* until you started talking about my eyes. 90% of my brain is going, "This is some sort of joke", but the rest was going, "How can you fall in love with someone online, and how would a relationship even be possible???". I'm glad to know that you haven't really fallen in love with a tigertaur. Much better for you, Finnius. Katz (Yeah, you can call me that!) And so my torrid tale of tigertaur titulation comes to its only possible confusion... er- conclusion. All is well, Katz doesn't think I'm *too* weird, and the Pen, (Hopefully.) has one more amusing anecdote to add to its list. Thank you, and g'night ev'rybody!

The kitchen was completely destroyed... debris scattered around and bodies strewn all over the floor... the Head Cook would have been livid, had she not been among the dead. Fexus strode into the scene, motioning for the servant woman to follow him. She did so, nervously shaking. Pathetic. Fexus swept past the overturned tables and shattered crockery, past the bloodied bodies of his former kitchen staff. He glared in disgust at a severed arm hanging delicately from one of the few still-standing candle-holders. The woman, nameless servant that she was, stayed close behind him. Fexus walked over broken glass and crunching bones, and came eventually to the kitchen's pantry, where sat the limp form of a dead man, dressed in black. He had no lower jaw, and what was left of his upper seemed drawn up at the corners, as if the man were grinning at Fexus from beyond the grave. Fexus crouched down, looked the dead man in what remained of his eyes... they were remarkably well-preserved. His face was burned, blackened from heat. Fexus stretched out a hand, gingerly lifted the top half of the man's skull. He grinned, and glanced back up to the serving woman, still trembling. "Look here," he said, motioning for her to come closer. She stifled a whimper and did so. "See the inside of his jaws?" Fexus pointed at the man's palate, traced the inside of his tooth-line. "It's mainly melted off, but you can still see a trace... tell me, do you see it?" The woman trembled, shook, drew closer and examined where Fexus directed. "Y-yes... sir... th-there's... there's some m-metal in there... around the t-top." Fexus chuckled. "Yes, yes, very good. Do you understand what that means? Can you put the clues together?" The woman's eyes grew wider, her mind raced frantically. "H-he had m-metal in his m-mouth?" Fexus smiled patronizingly. "Yes, dear, he had metal in his mouth. In fact, I would say that the whole thing was coated in it... a painful process, to be sure." He began drawing his hand around the man's destroyed cavity. "Imagine what it must have been like... your mouth forced open, held there by clamps or a strong hand..." Fexus' grin widened. "And then the agony as molten metal was forced in, held in place until it cooled..." Fexus shivered. "The Council is getting bold." He looked over at the serving woman, and absently pointed to a corpse laying near. "Bring me the jaw, the lower one only should do... and make sure to keep the tongue intact." The woman covered her mouth and began silently mouthing a prayer. Fexus raised his head and stared her in the eyes, unblinking. "Do it." ------------ Mistress Ellon was an excellent cook, and a good keeper of affairs. Nearly every evening she brought Hryn and Gavin expertly prepared meals, and brought Hryn news of the local traders, the men who dealt in land. She had also kept him informed of anyone asking to see him since Gavin had been kidnapped. This evening, she brought him an excellent sweet duckling and two letters for dessert. The first was from one Loryn Halgus, and consisted of names and addresses; people Hryn would have to dispose of, to his annoyance. The second was more urgent, and much more important. It bore no name, no coat of arms. It was sealed with a large drop of dark green wax. Cracking the wax and unfolding the letter, Hryn was surprised to see a name at the top that he recognized. It was the name of a man long dead... one whom Hryn had been quite familiar with. Hryn scanned the letter quickly, then read through more thoroughly. Dear Mallon Hloran, It is with the most distinct and savory pleasure that I am informed of your prescence in Cold Port. One of my vassals has informed me of your brief stay as a guest of my Council, and I am pleased to see that you have not lost a whit of your edge in your servitude to that bastard Fexus. I have also been informed by my lower Council that they wish you dead. I have no urge to see such an exquisite killer as yourself removed from this world, Mallon. I am willing to offer you a place at my side. Fexus told me once that you were his most trusted assassin. You can be the same for me, if you wish. You have these choices: Join me and die, momentarily. Live again and be my right-hand man. Resist me, and die. Rise as a puppet. Your choice, Mallon, think on it. -Garod Loghis Hryn thought over the letter, thought over the name. In the end, he lowered his head and chuckled. The Council had guts. ------------ Fexus took the bloody mass of flesh from the shivering, pathetic woman's hands, and then dismissed her. He deftly forced the bones into their proper settings in the dead man's skull. He worked the jaw up and down with his hands a few times, felt the muscle reattach. Fexus smiled and fingered the pendant around his neck. He watched with great interest as the dead man's eyes rolled back into their sockets, popping wetly as they found their settings. The body twitched momentarily, the lungs sucked air into the chest cavity, a hollow, rasping cough followed. Fexus dropped the smile and thrust his hand forward to grab the dead man's throat, the blood still wet on his hands. "Good to see that you yet breath. And if it can breath, and it has a tongue, it can talk. And you will talk." Fexus gave a brief squeeze for emphasis, and then gave enough room for words. "You work for the Dead Council, correct?" The thing made a wet gurgling sound, as it adjusted to its new mouth. Its eyes held fear, and a small touch of madness. Fexus narrowed his eyes, and the thing began to speak. It had a voice like ashes ground underfoot. "The Council sends their regards, Lord of Hammerfall... your servant is a dead man walking." Fexus gave a half-grin. "Getting lippy already, is it?" He tightened his grip on the thing's throat and began musing to himself. "I suppose they programmed that into you, though, for circumstances like this... but what shall I do if it can't keep its wits and answer simple questions?" Fexus ground the thing's voice box between his fingers, and it writhed in pain. "I promise you, my Hryn is no fool, and more than a match for any corpse. Why is the Council intruding here?" He released his grip and the thing slumped against the wall. "They are only retaliating because you have invaded Cold Port! You know you are not welcome there!" Fexus chuckled and stretched out his other hand to take the creature's fingers in his grip. He began bending them back. "I go where I please. No man, living or dead shall bar my passage." He snapped the thing's fingers back, and it howled. Fexus clenched its throat, cutting off the sound abruptly. He forced its head back against the cold stone wall and glared into its eyes. "Your Head once told me that he could see through the eyes of each of his servants, that he could hear their words. Let's hope for your sake that he wasn't just boasting." Fexus crushed the thing's neck with one hand, and hoisted the corpse from the kitchen floor. He slung it over his shoulder and left the room. The nameless serving woman was kneeling, her back against the wall and her head in her hands as he left. Fexus stared down at her for a moment. "Cheer up, woman! I hereby appoint you the new Head Cook, with all benefits and priviliges thereof. Now get to work cleaning that mess up!" ------------ A knock came at Gavin's door. Gavin lay still on his bed, staring at the ceiling and called out, "Come in!" The door creaked open to admit Hryn. He walked over to the bed and took a seat next to Gavin's feet, looked him in the face. "We need to talk, boy." His tone was serious, deathly so. "Tomorrow you will acompany me when I go out..." Gavin sat up, crossing his legs on the bed. Hryn continued. "There may be fighting involved, and killing... I warn you, death is no easy thing. And it never gets easier... not unless you lose your conscience." Gavin opened his mouth to interupt, but Hryn raised a warning hand. "Don't... this is hard enough without your gabbing. Boy... Gavin... I know that you look at me as some kind of monster, that you think I am unjust. I will not disagree with that. Understand though, if I hadn't taken you when I did, someone else would have. For one with the right eye, you stand out like a beacon, you blaze with potential. Tomorrow you will meet that potential. You will kill, and you will not know why. You will only know who. I warn you now, never look for the why... it always ends badly." Hryn patted the boy's leg, a soothing gesture. "Now get some sleep, you'll need it." Gavin piped in as Hryn left the room. "Hryn..." Hryn turned to face him. "You're right... I do think you're a monster. You deserve to die." Hryn chuckled. "Who knows, boy, you may even be the one to kill me. Now sleep." And he left the room.