High Noon in Saun

[Siorey]

♆ 18th of Saun, 718 ♆

♆ What a fucking day, being that this heat was unbearable, even for me. I was done with my duties earlier than expected so I decided to head home and relax for the rest of the day. Though on my way out of the Element Hall I overheard some guards talking about a string of burglaries happening across town. I wondered if they broke into my boat and took something, but the only two things worth stealing were always on my person so there was no need for me to panic. Continuing to ease drop, I overheard that a group of people had gone to investigate the burglaries. Putting on my acting chops I walked over to the two guards running their mouths. Hey guys I could realy use your help, its my third day here and I was suppose to be on the patrol for looking for the burglar culprit. Any idea where the patrol party was headed? I asked, knowing damn well I wasnt apart of it. The guards laughed at me, gave me some grief for being late, and then told me the area in which the search party was heading. Thanking the poor saps, I ran to my sloop, making the needed preparations. Once done I set sail for Sweetwine Woods. From the general description I was given from the guards, the way to Sweetwine was accesable by boat, which was a good thing. To beat the heat I had taken my shirt and made into a wrap around my head, sweat glistening from my chest and abs as I scanned the banks in order to find the party, hoping they hadnt gotten too far to where I couldnt see them.♆

[Tio Silver]

With the vote concluded the party pushed onwards deeper into the woods, cutting a path through wilted plants and dry, cracked earth until they reached Dream Lake. As it came into sight Tio's defiance spark started to flicker uncomfortably in his soul, translating the silent voice of the river for the yludih to hear. Dream Lake was growing weak; becoming sickly due to the lack of new water to replenish its withering body. It croaked out a couple of raspy groans, pleading the sky to send the rains and end its torment, but no reply came. The poor thing was in pain.

Putting aside his teasing of Elitza for a while, Tio walked down into the lake and stopped when the little water that was left came up to about his ankles. He crouched down to lay a hand gently atop the surface of the water, then called upon the spark within him to establish a connection with the lake. He didn't have the power to conjure up anything like enough water to set the lake at ease, but the least he could do was offer it some small comfort. "Easy there. It's alright, the rain will come soon." He muttered quietly, too quietly for the rest of the group to hear, and waved his hand across the water like he was petting an animal. "Hold on a little longer my friend. Summer will come to an end eventually."

His eyes started to scan the lake, searching for anything that might be hidden beneath the water. Regardless of if he found anything or not Tio eventually waded back out the water and returned to the group and had a search around the tufts of grass nearby.

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

Contrary to my expectations, Tio Silver did not choose to divide the search party in half to get Elitza all to himself, which left the decision at a stalemate. Until, of course, the commanding officer in charge broke it with his executive decision: the four of us were sticking together, at least for now. The archer glanced my way after Lucas declared that, nodding slightly towards me. It seems she and I were of a similar mindset from her point of view. I had no desire to let her think otherwise, so I replied with a nod of my own. The truth was, it wouldn't hurt to have someone like her watching my back if things got hairy later.

The trek to cross Ol'Tucks and head towards Dream Lake was largely uneventful. I was no woodsman so the shallow state of the river did not strike me as unnatural or alarming. In fact, given the stifling heat from the twin suns overhead, it made mighty good sense that the water barely reached my ankles. I was simply thankful that I didn't shrivel up in similar fashion when I spent too long out of the shade. The dense underbrush of the Sweetwine proved more tedious of an obstacle than the river. Nature did not take into account for the long-limbed when they grew their branches, and much of the the walk through the woods was spent in a stoop, one arm held in front to push the foliage out of my face. By the time we reached the dwindled banks of Dream Lake, several leaves had lodged in my hair despite my best efforts.

Lucas was in shock as he stared at the shrunken waterfront; it seems he was unaware of the change. I myself paid it little mind beyond a cursory glance. If the rivers diminished in the heat, as I had presumed earlier, than it wasn't that far of a stretch to say the lake did it normally as well. It helped, of course, that I had not seen the lake at its peak, so I had no point of comparison on which to form my own opinion towards the matter. Tio stepped into the water and waved his hand across its surface. An odd gesture, but I expected such from the strange man. In fact, I was surprised he hadn't made some brash comment to accompany it for the rest of us to hear; he didn't seem like one who acted in silence often. Still, the concern I saw in his Tangle was an emotion I didn't expect from him either, so perhaps the man had more to him than he let on.

Gesturing to Elitza in the hopes that she would follow, I began to make my way along the southern edge of Dream Lake, eyes scanning the treeline in that direction. No signs of the thieves were visible along the water, but if they were in the vicinity they wouldn't be far from fresh water. Whether or not the archer followed me, I stared within sight of the group and, hopefully, within range of Elitza's crossbow if it came to that. Anything I hoped to see, I hoped to see it from afar.

[Vorpal]

As Tio finished comforting the waters of the lake, and made to return to the dried ground, his hand sputtered into a deep green glow. It looked oddly transparent and seemed to reflect fractal lights within it. Luca's eyes snapped to the strange phenomenon and looked quizzically at the other man.

"Your hand! Are you alright? Is the water dangerous?"

The water itself had been unremarkable. However, Tio would have been able to see a strange warp in a small part of the lake bed. It was like a fissure that produced heated water that wavered separately from the rest of the lake's contents. In the scruffy vegetation around the waterside, he managed to find a solitary earring snagged on some tufts of grass. If he picked the piece of jewelry up in his bare hand, the incognito pirate captain would find that the gold metal was slightly hot. Still, the thing could have been heated in the sun. The earring glinted innocently, giving no clue as to where its possible counterpart might be.

Meanwhile, Elitza obliged to the gangly man's request to accompany him around the lake. Their feet crunched over the dry ground, but that wasn't the only noise Elitza picked up on as they scanned the treeline. With one hand, she reached out to tug on Mute's sleeve, pulling him to a stop. The other hand drew her crossbow in a swift movement, which she then pointed toward the trees, back where Ol'Tucks should be.

At this point, Mute could hear it too. A rough grinding sound and some creaking.

"Stay behind me," Elitza said as she pushed through the trees. This was both for the man's safety and because of the fact that she wanted a clear shot for her weapon. Some sharpness had crept into her tone in face of a possible threat.

Clearing the line of trees, Elitza came right into view of Siorey's sloop, struggling along in the shallow water. The craft hadn't quite grounded itself, but there certainly were spots where passage was difficult. The woman frowned and lined her weapon up with the figure on board.

"Element led investigation," she said in a calm but commanding tone. "State your business in these parts."

Behind them, the clinking of a belt and sword announced Luca's presence. He had rushed over the moment something had seemed amiss.

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[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

I recalled the moment Elitza tugged on my shirt sleeve a memory. I had been a child, barely above my father's knee. I couldn't see over the crowd, so he had lifted me onto his shoulder so I could ride the knights ride out of the gates. Most of the people around me were in awe of shining armor or the colorful standards, but my fascination was engrossed by a far more subtle detail: the horse's reins. To a child so small, the thought that a thin strip of leather could so expertly guide the massive warhorses with the faintest instruction astounded me. The beasts, had they wanted to, could have ripped free from this yoke, but they didn't; no, they feared the painful sacrifice necessary to break free and so they followed the directions given them by the threaded cord stuck between their teeth. Even then, I saw the beauty in that imagery.

The past faded a trill later and reality settled back in, carried by stern request from the archer. Stay behind her and that dangerous crossbow she now wielded. Well, she didn't have to ask me a second time. Stepping aside to let Elitza take point, I followed a half-step behind on her left. Not the wisest decisions, I realized after a moment, given that I was right-handed. If I needed to swing my club, I would need to step around the woman, lest I hit her by accident. Biting my lip, I decided to stick for the position, at least for now, and hope that her bolt flew true if it proved necessary. I could worry about my tactical placement the next time.

We found the source of the noise as Elitza and I cleared the tree-line. A small ship was trying its best to make it up the river, struggling in the more shallow parts. I figured that this was a route the captain didn't take often during this time of the arc, else he would've known about the difficult passage in the shrinking waterway. Why, then, had they made the journey to begin with? It certainly was a suspicious coincidence.

I was thankful I asked Elitza along with me because she handled the interrogation better than I ever could of; I doubted me waving the club at the sailor would have been enough to intimidate him. The archer and her weapon more than made up for my presence and, if the sound of a sword sliding from a scabbard, Lucas was right behind me to add to the threatening front. Perhaps Tio Silver was back there somewhere as well-- though I did not glance back to check-- a quip at the ready.

At the very least, he'd might draw the fire away from me if a fight was initiated. He was, as I still imagined, still shirtless and therefore a very attractive target.

[Tio Silver]

When a rich green glow flared into life across his hand Tio stopped and stared curiously at the phenomenon. He gave his fingers an experimental waggle and moved his hand around, watching how the light danced across it. It didn't feel like it was harming him, nor did it seem to be spreading. Just what had caused this? Some form of magic no doubt, but what kind?

"I'm fine. It's just some kind of pretty light show, nothing to worry about... I hope..." Tio replied to Luca absently, keeping his eyes locked on his hand as he waved it through the air. "How curious. I had no idea Sweetwine had such an interesting lake in it. The question is, does this have anything to do with the thief? As cool as this is I see no reason to suspect a connection."

Finally he looked away from his hand, and his attention was drawn to the peculiar fissure. Now what was this, a fracture perhaps? It would explain why his hand was glowing, but he hadn't thought fractures could be so small. Then again there was no reason why they couldn't be, surely? A rather foolish idea crossed his mind, but it was the kind of idea he didn't want the others to realise he was going to try and so decided to attempt it later.

Stepping out of the lake for now, Tio investigated the grass surrounding the lake and came across the golden earring. It was a rather stylish little thing, and Tio found he rather liked the look of it. He quickly gave it a wash in the lake to clean off any dirt than might have been clinging to it, and then clipped it on to his left ear just behind the one the dread pirate Roberts had given to him. When the water settled he admired his reflection on its surface, and decided that he liked the way it looked on him.

When he looked up again Mute and Elitza were doing something far away on the other side of the clearing, and Luca was hurrying over to join them for some reason. Good, none of them had eyes on him anymore. Wading back further into the lake, Tio headed over to where the fissure was and quietly drew his cutlass.

"Let's see what happens if I do... this!" Tio muttered to himself, stabbing his blade down into the fissure.

[Siorey]

♆ 18th of Saun, 718 ♆

♆ I knew it was hot in Saun, but Fauldren's low hangers this was rediculous. I was practically down to my underwear, not that I cared all too much, but this heat was truly an unholy condition of the season. It also made travel upon the riverways next to impossible, as my sloop would catch on some rocks & shallow ends every now and again. It was truly frustrating and I was about to just give up and go the rest of the way on foot. Sticking it out for a another break or so I was coming upon the lake in Sweetvine, or at least one of them, when i heard a voice call out, well more like threaten out, to me. Looking I could see a woman and a man on the lake's edge, and noticed she was pointing something at me. The words "Element & investigation could be heard, then an inquiry as to what brought to this area. My eyes trailed down to my wingblade before looking back at the woman and the man, with another man coming out from the clearing with a sword drawn. Hey hey I'm on your side. Shoot me and U'frek will turn scalvoris into an underwater paradise! I'm an element, you want to spend some time in slags deep for assault on a military officer in training. I said, holding up my hands so I wasnt seen as a threat, last thing I wanted was crossbow bolt in the gut. I came to help with the investigation, I really didnt have anything better to do. I confessed, trying not to get off on the wrong foot.♆

[Vorpal]

E

litza didn't seem very impressed with the Biqaj's threats and frowned, not bothering to lower her weapon. However, when Luca glanced at the young man and then rested his hand on her shoulder, she did relax her grip a little.

The Element officer stood between the archer and sloop, looking confused himself, but trying to smooth over the situation.

"I didn't think there would be any more volunteers, but Element in training, you say. We'll welcome your services. What is your name?"

Shouldering her crossbow once more, Elitza looked toward Mute as if to gauge his reaction. She wasn't entirely convinced of this newcomer, but concluded that Luca would be able to handle matters on his own. As she turned back toward the lake, there was a series of loud splashes.

--

Meanwhile, Tio had made the discovery of and claim of a shiny piece of jewelry. The moment he secured it to his left ear, he would almost feel as though the world had gone lopsided. The hearing in his left ear seemed to have been amplified considerably, and was subtly interfering with his sense of balance. The once quiet ripples in the shrunken lake sounded loud and echoing while Tio's own footfalls would seem like thunder below him. In the distance he could catch snippets of what the others were saying behind the treeline.

As Tio returned to where the fissure was, the waters of the lake rippled away from him as if both curious and apprehensive. When the blade of cutlass cleared its sheath, the lake seemed to whisper its warnings. However it was too late. When the blade plunged down into what seemed to be a fissure, for a while, all was silent. The cutlass appeared to have sunk in, but Tio would still be able to see the wavering shadow of its tip through the lake bed. Gradually, a sort of pressure could be felt traveling along the sword to the wielder's hand. Something was pushing back against the weapon.

Suddenly, with violent bubbling, the cutlass was sent spinning out of the fissure with some force. Following it was a good amount of air, and even more lake water fountaining out of the strange break in reality. So now, Tio was standing in the middle of the lake with an angry geyser in the middle. If the earring had remained active in his ear, the noise would be quite deafening.

Mixed with all the commotion, something landed in a cloud of dust on the ground where the sun had dried up the water. Nothing could be seen, but whatever it was left a set of deep, three pronged foot prints.

[Tio Silver]

As he put the earring into his ear the world suddenly fell out from under his feet, and before he knew it Tio's face had smacked down into the dirt. The sounds of life around the forrest had magnified a thousandfold into a deafening orchestra, and the unexpected, intense assault had completely thrown off his sense of balance, causing his knees to just collapse beneath him. He scrambled to remove the earring and let out a shaky breath as the noise returned to a normal level.

"Well now, aren't you a curious little trinket? I like you." He muttered to himself, grinning crookedly. It would take some getting used to, but an item like this would be invaluable for spying on people. As his sense of balance began to return he slipped the earring into his inner jacket pocket and pushed himself back to his feet.

Back in the lake Tio's cutlass pierced into the fissure with little resistance, like a knife into a bucket of cream cheese. For a long, drawn out second nothing happened, and for a while Tio started to think that nothing was going to happen. Then there was a slight tremble from his cutlass, followed by another, and then another. The tremble grew into a tremor, which started to rock the cutlass backwards and forth as the blade began to push itself back out the fissure. No... it wasn't pushing itself: something else was pushing it!

With an explosion of water and steam a jet of water rocketed out of the fissure and soared high into the air, raining thick drops of water down into the parched lake. The silhouette of something concealed in the chaos shot out and crashed into the dried earth nearby, leaving an inhuman, three-pronged footprint in its wake.

"Hey Luca! I might... I think I might have just summoned an unholy demon from the debts of the lake. My bad." He called out hesitantly. "Can I keep it? My daughters love demonic animals, I'm sure they'll take good care of it."

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

Very few things irked my nerves move than brash faith. The sailor, when confronted by Elitza, discouraged her threat with a wanton claim of cataclysmic consequence wrought by the Immortal U'Frek, as if the man's God had nothing better to do than avenge every little offense shown towards him. I found that scenario highly unlikely. No, apparently the only one who didn't have better things to do was the junior soldier himself; I just wished he would've found occupation in a bar or brothel far away from here instead of loudly interrupting an investigation. The thieves, if they had been in the vicinity, were probably long ago after hearing that poor excuse for a ship scrape its way up Ol' Tuck's. Lucas could be friendly to him. I simply shook my head in disappointment, catching Elitza's eyes for a brief moment to realize she shared my sentiments. I was growing to appreciate this woman.

Behind me, I heard splashes from the lake, so I turned to follow their sound. A geyser of water was spouting out of the lake like an earthen fountain. Even from where I stood, droplets of the lukewarm splashed against my face. Elsewhere, on the edge of the lake, a dust cloud had sprung up to shroud the nearest vicinity. It was hard to determine whether one had caused the other. I couldn't see Tio amidst the water and dirt, but I imagined he was caught somewhere in one of the two; he had still been in the water the last I saw him before Mister 'Military Officer' had made his unwelcome arrival.

Glancing at Elitza again, I moved to stand beside her once more like we had done when we investigating the strange sounds. This time, I successfully implemented my earlier thought by moving to stand a half-pace to the archer's right. Now she still had a clear lane of vision to fire her crossbow if needed and I could swing my club without any impediment. As of yet, there wasn't any indication of a new threat, but it was better to be prepared than to be caught off-guard.

Tio's shout to Lucas wasn't the least bit assuring either . . .