Mitura vs the Chosen

[Kender Bard]

Adam

Adam's ring suddenly begins to grow warm and the stone turns a little bit red. Adam starts before looking down at his ring, his eyes widening after a moment. Despite himself he feels as though it's too soon. "No..this is too soon.." After a moment he decides to try to hurry and find Dreamwarp. As he hurried, the ring grew warmer and warmer, almost painfully hot. Then; darkness.

It was if Adam had suddenly gone blind. There was nothing but blackness and himself. Adam stumbles to a stop, putting his hands out in front of him in case he falls or comes up to a wall. He tries looking around with quick motions, trying to see anything. "Hello? Anyone there? I need some help!" He calls out in hopes of hearing something.

For several long moments there was nothing but silence and darkness... And then the darkness began to recede, little by little, and all the ambient sounds of life returned, highlighting just how deadly silent it had been in that dark place. But as it does, the sounds that return are suddenly filled with horror. Piercingly, he can hear Kura shriek somewhere down the dim, but brightening, hallway in front of him. "DADDY!" she screams, her voice high and desperate.

Adam is shocked at the sudden change before he sprints off to find Kura. "Where are you?!" He calls out to try to better find her.

Another scream guides him, this one deeper, throatier--a woman's scream. It led to a room just at the end of the hallway. Dreamwarp's scream cut off with abruptness and in the moment of silence that followed was Kura's whimpers and tears.

Yet in another room, behind Adam and down on the opposite end of the hallway were sounds of fighting and pained cries that sounded like Drake and Lysander.

Fear seems to clench at Adam's heart and he begins to pray in his mind for this to not be happening. After a second he continues to sprint to find Kura and Dreamwarp, praying Drake and Lysander can hold on.

Adam reached the room, though it seemed to take an abnormal amount of time--like how in a nightmare, the goal you're running from only gets farther and father. He does reach it, however. Just in time to a monstrous looking demon twist at Kura's head, creating a sickening snap. Dreamwarp already lay facedown and motionless on the floor at his feet. The demon disappeared quickly once Adam's presence entered the room. Simply gone and vanished, and Kura dropped to the floor on top her mother.

Adam's knees shook as they threaten to give out, feeling like a piece of him died just now as tears fill his eyes. "No..no!" He rushes to Dreamwarp, almost tripping from hesitation of getting closer to check if she might possibly be alive. "Dreamwarp..?"

Calling her name had no effect. She was utterly still; that complete stillness that almost instictively you recognized as death because no living thing could possibly be so motionless. Her neck was discolored, much like how Kura's rapidly was bruising as well.

Adam trembles and reaches out to her for a moment before drawing back, face twisting in fear and pain before realizing Drake and Lysander are still in trouble and he scrambles to his feet and staggers into a run to find them. "Brother! Lysander!"

One more cry goes out just before Adam reaches their room--Lysander and Drake's screams mingling together. Like before, Adam reaches the room just in time to see another demon (this one with a long, sword like tail) impale the two clean through. The demon twists his tail to finalize the blow before pulling back and disappearing invisibly as well.

Faced with the horror of what has just happened, Adam felt numb and doesn't even notice when he falls to his knees. He looks around slowly with a lost look on his face. "Brother..? W-why? Why is this happening?"

Silence fell again. It was if there was not another living soul in the entire temple and Adam was left with the horror of his loss for what could have been minutes or long hours before it was finally broken.

A warm, pitying feminine voice filled the air, filled his head. "It's not fair. You may be the chosen one, but that ring won't protect anyone you love if the very worst should happen. And then what will you have? Soahc's love won't keep you company. Loyalty won't fill the empty bed or smile at you."

Upon hearing the voice intruding on his mourning, his head lifts despite not hearing the voice from any given direction. "..Who are you?"

"A friend. Tell me, child of Soahc... What does Soahc promise you that is worth the risk of this loss? What if I offered you complete and total protection for your loved ones instead?"

Adam gulped at that, feeling uncertain. "Ho..how would you offer something like that?"

Mitura presented herself, striding into the room of the two dead men. Her spider legs made the movements dainty and graceful. "I have a way," she said simply. "I am Lady Mitura, and I can see to it that no demon harms you and yours. Whereas your lord asks you to risk them for, presumeably, nothing in return."

Adam felt a spike of fear stab through his fading despair at the sight of Mitura and scrambled back to his feet. Though put off by her unnatural appearance, her words seemed to have his attention. "I..We aren't the only ones chosen..how can you protect them if you're all defeated?"

Mitura raised a brow. "If we are all defeated, then it hardly matters now, will it? The threat will be removed. But I'm offering to remove it unconditionally. All I ask in return is that you remove your ring and step out of this fight. I could even offer you more than that, if you desired, but I think that you'd be content just knowing your wife, brother, and children will never know the sight or touch of my abyssal brethren."

Adam seems to lose his will slowly as he fingers the ring, tensing up. Just before he could commit to it he pauses. "..What about my wife?"

"Trickier," Mitura conceded. "She is Chosen as well. I can only promise that she won't be bothered here. If she decides to continue in her fight... Well hers will be the first blow but no creature can simply allow itself to be harmed. I can keep my own creatures at bay from her but I cannot promise the same of the others if she is in the middle of the battlefield. I will do my best, however."

Adam frowns at that. "That's not good enough. I will not leave her to do this alone!" He takes a deep breath and tries not to look at the illusion corpses.

"Are you sure that is wise, child of Soahc?" Mitura whispered. It was a slithering whisper that almost had a physical sensation, like drawing something soft and ticklish through his ear. "I offer you as much safety as I am capable of doing and you toss it away? I could be a friend, or I can be an enemy. Nothing in between... And this need not be a grisly warning, but a certain threat.

Adam closes his eyes and takes a deep, shuddering breath before opening his eyes again. "I-I'm a priest of Soahc..I don't need to be wise.." He gulps before clenching his fists. "And you know nothing of what Soahc offered me!"

"Then tell me, and perhaps I can offer you something better," Mitura protested. "What did Soahc give you? It wasn't safety for your family so it must have been something great indeed for you to parlay their wellbeing in exchange."

Adam looks at her with a somewhat frantic look, wondering why she just won't shut up about this already. "Why should I trust you to protect my family?"

Mitura gave a soft laugh, more of a scoff. "Why should you trust Soahc? He of all the Forces is the msot unpredictable, the most likely to act contrary to sense. Placing your faith in him is as risky as putting your trust in me. Perhaps moreso; I have much to gain if I can persuade you to stand down. That is one less concern on my mind on the day of battle that will come."

Adam shakes his head. "I'm the generous path, if I didn't do what I can to stop you demons..I wouldn't be worthy of that, I realize that now. Even if I took your deal and you won, this world would be terrible and..not one I think I'd want my family to live in."

"Your family may not get to live in any world at all," Mitura snarled quietly. She was through trying to badger with this chosen. "Choose your enemies carefully."

Adam felt a fire burn deep within him at her threat and glares at her. "No, YOU should choose your enemies carefully! I may not be a fighter like my brother or my wife, but I am going to do everything I can to help the other chosen drive you demons back to hell if you aren't going to play nice here."

"Play nice," Mitura repeated with a small, short laugh. "We'll play all right. I suggest you sleep with one eye open from here on out, chosen, and that you keep it on your family at all times. Not that you can. Even you must sleep, eventually, but Evil never does."

And just like that, he was released. He was back in reality and the heat of his ring was starting to fade away.

Adam looks back down at his ring, chewing his lip as he trembles with what just happened and what he did. "..Dreamwarp." He nods to himself and hurries to find his wife, surely she is aware of the ring thing heating at least.

[Kender Bard]

Darin

Darin was currently going over paperwork, his least favorite part of owning a Mercenary Guild. The boys were out of the house and it was quiet, once his ring started to heat up he cautiously put his hand on his sword and glanced around.

A few moments later, the heat not receding, Darin abruptly lost all vision. The house had been quiet but now he was plunged into true silence. It was as if his senses had been robbed away.

"Well this is annoying," Darin said to himself. He turned his left from to right, just to keep up his own sense of direction.

Darin's sight returns abruptly, as does his sense of hearing. It was if nothing had happened at all. He was still in the quiet house with the paperwork laid out on his desk. Before he has long to take stock of the situation, though, a loud knocking sounds at his door.

"Ugh, this day is about to get annoying," Darin said as he made his way to door, throwing it open. "What do you need friend?"

The Mind that stood in front of him had a hand raised to knock again, but quickly lowered it. His gaze was somber. "I bring news from the House of Healing." He took a deep breath. "It's... It's not good. You may wish to sit somewhere first."

Darin's grip on the door tightened, but he made no moves to go sit down. "Say what you have to say," Darin said evenly.

The Mind licked his lips and nodded. "Your wife is the serpent Beast Pandora, mercenary, correct?" he asked. From his tone it seemed clear he was trying to put off the dreaded moment as long as he could.

"Whats wrong with Pandora?" Darin asked cutting the man short.

The Mind lowered his eyes a moment and then steeled his gaze. "She was found badly injured," he said in a low but steady voice. "A demon attack, it seems. One got in past the guards and the wall and she discovered it first, but it lashed out at her. She was rushed to the healers, both bodily and mental, but... I'm afraid she... Didn't make it."

Darin's eyes were darting from side to side as his mind raced. He knew his wife's skills, he'd bet his life on them, there was no way she'd be taken away from him. "What are you talking about? Pandora is on assignment. Who was with her?"

The Mind consulted his card. "It's hard to tell. Several people were injured in proximity so if your wife was with someone, it coudl have been any one of those people. She was the only one to sustain life threatening wounds, however." He cleared his throat. "For what it was worth, she killed the bastard."

Darin couldn't accept what the man was telling him to be true, it couldn't be after all. What would he tell the boys, what would he do alone. "Wh-what about her partner..she should have been with another mercenary?"

The Mind nodded. "Likely one of the injured. They were taken away quickly for treatment. I was only dispatched to find and deliver the notice to you." He paused. "You have two children, don't you? Boys?"

"Yes," Darin said slowly. By now his knuckles gripping the door had turned white.

"You may want to find them and keep them close," the Mind advised with a dark, foreboding look. "We don't know if there's more of these things running around and they attack quick as lightning."

"Yes..I'll find them right away, I need you to find the name of the person with Pandora though," he told the man

"I will do so straightaway," the man promised Darin with a nod. "It's the least I can do after telling you... That. It shouldn't take long. I'll meet you back here in half an hour."

"Thanks," Darin said quietly. "I have to go get the boys," he murmured as he turned to shut the door.Darin made his way over to Lukas' home quickly to see if he could get in touch with Sashi.

En route, he was interrupted by his two children running towards him, laughing and fresh from their play. But before they could do more than call out to their father and wave, a monstrous demon popped into visibility behind them. It looked like some kind of bipedal scorpion creature, covered in stingers, and in an eyeblink it impaled both of the children. They screamed in agony.

Darin grabbed his sword and charged as soon as the demon appeared but he wasn't fast enough. "No, no!!! Seth, Sawyer...damnit!" Darin screamed, lunging forward hoping to get his boys away from that monster.

His sword bit deep and the demon gave a shriek of pain. The fight was on! Sawyer and Seth were dropped limply, like rag dolls, and it swung at Darin with two stinger-covered claws.

Darin rolled beneath the stingers, rising to his feet he began chanting feriously heating up his sword as he sung at the demon again.

The demon put up a quick and fierce fight but it was no match against Darin's furious strikes. The red hot sword bit into its body like it was butter and repreated strikes finally brought it down. It lay writhing on the ground a bit before growing still and then melting into an oily looking puddle.

Darin paid the monster no mind he was only focused on his boys. Running to their sides he checked to see if they were still alive

The pools of blood forming beneath them were testimony to the fact that survival was unlikely. A quick check revealed no pulse. They had no breath. Both young boys had eyes wide but sightless.

Darin closed the eyes of both of his sons, rage boiling inside of him. "Worg! Worg!!! Why in the hell did you give me this damned ring!? What was I chosen for?! GET OUT HERE AND ANSWER ME!!" he shouted

Silence answered him as his voice seemed to echo eerily... And then... A woman's voice answered him but it was not the familiar voice of Worg's. "It's such an injustice that she would expect so much from you but offer so little in return. You are the only ring bearer of your family. How easily this fate could befall your family while you're off fighting in her little holy war!"

"I'm in no mood for this, tell me who you are or you'll face my sword as well," Darin said sharply

"My name is Mitura," she answered and stepped out into view from around a blind corner. She was keeping a healthy distance. "You're angry. I don't blame you; losing your family must be a terrible thing, even if it is just an illusion. But like I said, it is a great possibility in your future. What is Worg offering you in exchange for your service, for putting your family at risk? I bet nothing. I, on the other hand, am willing to offer you something if you agree to not fight for Worg."

"Illusion? My family is safe?" Darin asked.

"They are," Mitura told Darin. "For now. But it is all too true that demons are covering the land and that it would take very little for your family to be ambushed. But... If you remove and toss away your ring, I can guarantee them safety from demonkind."

"You show me a nightmare then you say you'll keep it from happening," Darin said taking steps towards Mitura. "I can't trust your word and honestly I'm even more pissed off about the demonkind now." Darin was still angry, but now it was finding a focus.

"I show you a hard truth and offer you salvation from it," Mitura replied. She did not bother to move away from Darin and stood her ground. "Tell me, Darin. If you cried out to Worg as you did just momentarily, do you truly think she would answer your cry? When has Worg ever done anything for you?"

Darin's hand was firmly on his sword, but he made no motion to use it just yet. "Truthfully I don't know, I still don't even know why I was chosen by her."

"Because you are meat. You are muscle," Mitura told him. "The Force of Strength needs soldiers and you are good enough to catch her eye. But nature is cold and ruthless is it not? What if you should fall in your holy duty? Who will protect your family then?"

Pandora is stronger than me in a lot ways," Darin said, even though he'd never tell his wife that. "And the boys are going to be trouble in a few more years. If I fall and the threat ends then I died protecting them. If I take off this ring and the demons get stronger..then I live without doing a thing for them."

Mitura made her displeasure known, her four red eyes gleaming. "If you do not remove your ring, you may find the shadows threatening your family sooner rather than later."

"You can't cast much of a shadow if you're dead can you?" Darin asked. "I don't take well to illusions, but I'm even worse with threats."

"Well, then we'll see if you're all the man your Force thinks you are," Mitura taunted softly. "I suggest not letting your children out to play much anymore. Darkness is falling."

And with that, the spell was broken. Darin was back in reality, the heat of his ring fading away now.

Darin made his way to Lukas immediately, to get his help in contacting his family.

[Kender Bard]

Acqua

Acqua was drifting somewhere between sleep and waking, drowsy and blissfully painfree from what the healer had given her. Her guess had been right and she had torn the already damaged mussle in her leg. A dose of healing water was helping, but really it was a matter of managing the pain, keeping off the leg as much as possible, and letting her own healing abilities do their work.

For once Acqua wasn't protesting or resisting the enforced idleness. Possibly because mentally at least, she was far from idle. Whenever she was awake enough, Acqua had been sorting through and analysing recent events and memories with Pixie. Unable to keep herself distracted and active as she'd been doing, Acqua could no longer refuse to think about the hunter's game as she'd been doing previously. And with Pixie's unemotional perspective, blunt statements of when there'd been nothing she could have done and the cat's gentle sympathy at moments that called for it, Acqua was slowly, painfully slowly, just starting to recover from the truma. For the first time since her escape from the hunter, Acqua had slept without nightmares.

A pity she was about to find herself in a waking nightmare.

As Acqua struggled out of the fog of a pain-killer induced sleep, she slowly realised... Her ring was hot! Alarm burnt away the drag haze quickly, but not quickly enough. She was barely aware of the tiny spider sitting on her finger before it sank it's fangs into her and everything went black.

She cried out in fear, mentally and out loud as her mind reached for Pixie's, trying to draw on the bond and see though her companion's eyes instead. Early lessons and childhood fears surged back. She had to see. If you couldn't see, you were helpless. Even if they didn't get you, a blind thief was useless. Blind thieves were caught, or starved.

Something disturbed that bond, got between it like a flimsy but impenetrable wall. She could still feel Pixie, but couldn't fully get into her companion.

No instead the darkness began to lift, little by little. She was no longer in the room she had been before, though. Now she was standing on the streets of Flux and all of it felt terribly real. The misty fog, that left you chilled but not really cold so that you were miserable but in no danger of dying of the cold. Faint sounds, remembered sounds, of the streets of Flux pierced through the haze all around her. There was a disorientation to it all too, a feeling that she had just woken up from a long, dream-filled sleep.

The tumbledown building was empty, but she was afforded a modicum of safety and privacy to think. This was interrupted by a sharp, loud, but curiously muffled and distant cry. Absurd though it was, the voices crying out were unmistakably her children.

Acqua's head snapped up, horror making her feel sick. She knew her children couldn't be here. But then, she couldn't be here either and she was, so... She couldn't bare the thought of her children here, in her childhood. The older three might be able to survive it, and just maybe Robin, but Letha and Lillian? This place would destroy her gentle, delicate baby girls.

She threw caution to the wind and ran towards the sound of her children's cries.

As she ran, a bit of debris caught her foot and sent pain shooting up her bad leg. It heralded other pains--like every weakness, every stiff join, sore muscle, every failing of her body was magnified and and seized her body, making movement that much harder, that much more painful.

Acqua tripped, tumbling to the ground with a moan of pain. She wanted to just curl in a ball and rest, but the thought of her children, lost and frightened, had her stubbornly struggling back to her feet. Oh Etaf, it hurts, she thought with a soft whimper, but she forced herself to take a few more steps and listen for her children's voices.

Their voices guided her, but she never seemed to get closer. They were always just some short distance away, in different directions. The pain only mounted. Movement became a chore.

Acqua bit her lip in frustration until it bleed, which only added to the pain. It's the damn fog, she thought bitterly. She should have remembered it played tricks on you. Maybe the voices weren't even real. Alethia once heard me cry out when we were seperated in the fog even though I was fine...

She leaned against a crumbling wall, hissing in pain, and touched her ring. Etaf, please. Help me!

A female voice answered her, but it wasn't Etaf. "Yes, cry out to your Force. You cannot help your children." Their screams reached a fevered pitch, then cut off abruptly, wetly and terribly, like throats being cut. "You are weak and worthless. You can barely move. You cannot even run to save your loved ones. What use are you? What use? Beg for Etaf to save you, your worthless child."

Acqua looked around, tears pricking at her eyes. My children... No! "Who's there?!" she demanded, trying not to sound afraid or near tears. The tremor in her voice betrayed her however.

"DARKNESS, COWARD!"

There seemed like there was going to be more but the voice cut off abruptly and the illusion was blown away. For a moment, Acqua's eyes were filled with stars, nothing but an endless sea of them, and then with a blink they were gone and she was back to reality.

Acqua blinked, looking around and shivering as she tried to understand what had happened. Almost as a reflex, she reached out mentally for Pixie, testing to see if the bond was still blocked.

The bond was there. The heat of her ring subsided slowly until the metal was cool once more.

[Kender Bard]

Neil

Neil is keeping watch over Kiri as she sleeps, it took long enough for her to finally drift off and he wants to make sure she isn't disturbed. They've got a couple days before Neil plans on leaving, and leaving her back at Acoia, but the waiting just seems to be making things worse for her. He stands, reaching for his sword, when he feels his ring begin to heat up. He's about to reach out to Kiri in case he needs to teleport her away when his sight simply goes. He shifts in the direction of the bed, hoping that he won't have to try and teleport like this.
The darkness did not seem to last too long for Neil. It cleared, and he was standing in the same spot he was as before… But it was daytime now and he was facing a large and impressive looking demon. One bedecked in metal from horn to toe and tendrils of flame leaping off his body to lick at the air. A heavy weight, like invisible chains, suddenly descended on Neil and forced him into a kneeling position.

“You serve well, human slave,” the demon rumbled, chuckling.

"I won't be your slave!" Neil glares at the demon and attempts to simply teleport out of the invisible weight. He needs to keep this thing away from Kiri, he can worry about the time of day later.

The teleport did not work. Whatever force was keeping him kneeling at the demon's feet was keeping him from escaping as well.

"You have no choice," the demon sneered. "Just like you have had no choice in anything else you've done." The demon reached out and ran a rough finger over Neil's face, leaving a smear of blood as he did so. "You are a born and bred slave and I am your master now." He pointed at him. "RISE!"

And like that, the chains decreed he should rise and they pulled up on him with as much implacable force as he'd been forced to kneel.

Neil grimaces as the demon touches him, pulling his face back as far as he can. He has to find a way out of this, he has to! He's still having a hard time believing that this demon got the drop on him so easily, and quickly. He isn't even sure what had happened. As useless as it is, he continues to struggle, he won't give up.

As Neil struggles in vain, the demon chuckles in amusement. "What are you even struggling for? You have nothing to go back to."

Neil glares at the demon, "The hell I don't."

The demon smirks, cruelly. He points and orders, "Turn." And Neil's body jerks to obey, twisting him around so that he was forced to stare at Kiri bound and gagged, held upright by the wooden stake she was tied to. Her head lolled a bit but her eyes were open, if somewhat unfocused. Bruises and small cuts covered her, indications that her current hazy state was the result of malicious treatment.

"Kiri!" Neil struggles even harder, likely bruising himself against the unseen chains. He doesn't care, the demon has Kiri. He was supposed to stop this, what had gone wrong!? "Damn you! What did you do to her!"

"Once you had left her side to pursue the battle, it was easy to procur her," the demon explained. "At first, of course, I was going to turn her, but when it was discovered she was your master... Well I don't share my pets well. Draw your sword."

"NO!!" Neil tries everything he can, teleporting the sword away, Kiri's bonds, anything.

As before, his own body betrays him as he grips his sword and slowly draws it from his scabbard, his will only strong enough to delay the inevitable. It was like being bound to a completely different Clear, but more complete. There were no loopholes. His mind was fully leashed to that of the monstrous being at his back.

The demon let him sweat in anxiety a few long moments before he made the order. "Cut. Her. Down."

This can't be happening, it can't be. He has to be able to stop it. He tastes blood from biting the inside of his mouth. As his arm brings up his sword he lets out a desperate, wordless scream.

In one swift movement it was over and Kiri's blood splattered his face and his chest. Her bonds prevented her from collapsing, but she hung limply. The blow at least had been a swift killing blow and she hadn't even managed to scream out. There had only been a moment, briefly, when she had lifted her eyes enough to lock on with his. They were eyes filled with sorrow and hurt.

"You are nothing more than a dog to demonkind," the demon master sneered after he'd gotten a laugh from the display. "You mortals were created to be subservient to greater beings, like myself. And you fools fell right into our trap. Never have I seen sheep so willingly go to the slaughter as you humans came to your true masters."

Neil can't take his eyes off of Kiri, he doesn't even hear what the demon is saying. He isn't accustomed to feeling much other than anger, but shouldn't he feel more than that now? He just feels...numb, like something's been torn away. And he can't get it back...

The laughter of his harsh demon master fades away, as does much of the scenery until it's simply Neil and the broken body of Kiri before him.

And then a voice. Soft, sympathetic, female. "You are a monster, child. Aren't you? Born with Evil in your heart. You may want to be rid of him. You may try. But you are a monster, aren't you?"

Even when Neil feels that he can move again, he doesn't bother. There's no point. At the new voice he scowls, looking around, wanting something to vent his anger on. "Show yourself!"

"No." Then there's a heavy and long silence, long enough to let Neil's thoughts return to what he'd done, what he'd been made to do. Only then does the voice speak again. "You have a chance at salvation with your woman keeper, but the demons are even more monster than you. And if you go to do battle, you will become one of them. Oh, you may not be enslaved, though that is a very real possibility. A strong demon is always looking for new thralls and they're terribly easy to make... But how much blood can you soak yourself in before you forget what it was like to try and be something other than what you are?"

"I will not become one of you!" Neil shouts at what can only be a demon. He does catch that she's speaking as if Kiri is alive. Is this all a trick? "I will cut down all I need to make sure she's safe!"

"How?" the voice whispers and it's like little insect legs crawling over his scalp as she does. "When you two will be so very far away? How can you guard her while you fight demons and she hides away? Or do you intend to bring her with you...? I wouldn't advise that. She is weak and helpless and a ripe target."

Neil scowls at the darkness, itching for a target, so much easier to just end things with his sword. "Threaten me all you want. Is that all you can do?"

"Why... No. Would you like definitive proof of my power? Because I know where you are. And I know where she is. Back down. Toss away your ring and guard your lady and what little humanity you have or I will have to demonstrate."

"If you want to fight me then fight me. As far as I can see you're a coward playing mind games."

Mitura appeared and she smirked. "You can't defeat everything, human. You may be strong and Chosen of Worg, but you are just one, frail, lost mortal man. Your hubris will get you killed... Or enslaved as I have warned you. Why, I can quite easily make you my mind puppet if I so desire."

Neil resists attacking the demon as soon as she appears, this was surely just an illusion. "You're a broken record, demon."

"Then the time for discourse is at an end." She waved a hand dismissively. "I've given you your only warning. Will you heed it before the inevitable tragedy must occur?"

"Piss off."

"Take a long look at that corpse, Neil," Mitura taunted. "Because it's a look into your future."

With that, the illusion snaps and Neil is back to reality, his ring cooling on his finger.

[Kender Bard]

Harmony

Harmony was resting on her bed in the inn, her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling and contemplated the ring she was acutely aware of on her finger. The smooth, warm metal--

Wait, warm?

She sat up abruptly and as she did her world went dark. Her heart beating fast, she sent her mind out questing for Farfarello's but was unable to locate it. What the hell? She sought out Libre and was again met with nothingness.

Her pulse in her mouth, she reached out her mind to her father, even though he was too far to reach. Dad, help!

And just like that, the darkness was gone and Harmony was sitting up in bed. But it wasn't the inn bed, it was some other bed with clean, white plain sheets. Harmony glanced down and noted she was dressed in a similarly drab white sleeping gown. What was going on? Confused, she slowly slipped out of the bed and reached out her mind again, but again was unable to reach anyone near to her. She checked her Mind signs--no, they were intact. Puzzled, she crept out of the room and stepped into a whitewashed hallway. Cautiously, she made her way down it until entering a stark white room with little more than a few (white, of course) chairs in the middle of the otherwise empty room. There was a man there and Harmony thought he looked kind of familiar to her. "Mikasi?" she asked quietly.

The man looked up at her and she realized it wasn't him. He was a stranger. "That's an unusual name," he said. "Come, Harmony. Sit. You overslept."

"Who are you?" Harmony asked, glaring and getting ready to run.

The man sighed as though deeply tired. "I see you don't remember who I am today. Have you been having your vivid dreams again?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Harmony snapped, nervous and growing increasingly nervous. The man stood but did not advance on her.

"Your name is Harmony," the man stated in a clipped, methodical voice. "You've been brought to me to be cured of your delusions. I'm a mind healer, and you have been suffering from the belief that you live in Khelek with a woman named Filly and a man named Schuldig. The last time we spoke, you were having dreams and fantasies of traveling on some great and noble quest of some sort. Something involving rings? It's a shame because we were making such great progress... But it seems you've backtracked again."

Harmony's heart was beating fast and hard in her chest. "What do you mean, delusions? How do you know all this about me?" Her hands curled into fists. "Who are you!?!?"

"My name is Loher. Healer Loher. Try to remember, Harmony. You're in my place of healing in Sensatia."

"Why is everything white?" Harmony asked.

"For especially volatile and lost individuals, we try not to excite the patient too much," Lohrer explained. "You are especially.... excitable. Please, Harmony. Have a seat. We'll go over your dreams and try to get you to remember reality."

"This is not reality!" Harmony protested. She'd moved back until her back was pressed hard against the wall behind her. "I'm dreaming!"

"No, you're awake now," Lohrer explained patiently. "You were dreaming." He held out his hand. "Here. Feel my hand. It's solid and warm."

"So are the people you're claiming are in my dreams!" Harmony told him. She stared at his hand, moved forward a step, and lightly touched it. It was indeed solid and warm.

"You have a powerful imagination and coupled with the abuse you've suffered, it's no doubt that you feel things as if they are real when you're having an episode," Lohrer told her soothingly. "Let's start from the top. You were rescued two years ago from a man who had kidnapped you as a small child and kept you in a constant state of abuse. The man was a tall, redheaded Morilantan-"

"My father did not kidnap me!" Harmony snapped, angry. "He did not abuse me! EVER!"

Lohrer waited for her outburst to subside. "...Morilantan. He convinced you he was your father and planted false memories in you regularly so that you would remain loyal to him and in a state of confusion about reality. He trained you to be a powerful teleporter so that you would provide quick escape whenever he needed to move swiftly-"

"No!" Harmony shouted. "No, you're lying!"

"-but he was finally caught and you were rescued by a winged Wind with blonde hair whom you call Filly, though her true name is Effie. You have also been known to call her Efil from time to time, also false. Since your rescue we've been working to remove the false memories from you without completely damaging your mind more than it already has been."

"This has to be a dream," Harmony gasped covering her eyes against it all. It had to be. It HAD to be. "I love my father. He loves me."

"It's very easy for you to construct a figure that resembles him and project love onto it, make a fantasy that you were loved in return," Lohrer told her sadly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he peppered your memories with acts of genuine kindness, to keep you confused."

"I want my father!" she sobbed. She reached again for Schuldig, to no avail. "I want my mother!" She reached for Filly and again came up with nothing.

"Poor thing, you're going to make yourself sick if you keep this up," Lohrer told her. He moved towards her this time and reached out to very softly stroke her head. "There there. It's all right to be scared. There, there..." He eased her into a chair and snapped his fingers. Filly stepped into the room.

Harmony jumped up and ran towards her. "Mother!!"

Filly stepped back, looking startled and confused. "She still thinks I'm her mother?" Harmony stopped in her tracks, staring.

"Yes, so please go and make some of the tea she likes," Lohrer ordered. Filly bowed her head and left the room hastily, giving Harmony a disturbed look over her shoulder.

"Mom...!" Harmony cried out but didn't follow. Tears streamed down her face.

Lohrer guided her back to a chair. "Would you like me to produce a real memory for you? To help solidify things for you?"

Harmony stared at this strange man who claimed to be her healer and nodded numbly because she didn't know what else to do. She felt a presence in her mind, despised it, tried to push it out but it snatched at something and dragged it into her minds' eye.

Harmony was huddled in a tiny, dank room in the darkness, shivering. She was cold and her stomach hurt. The door opened in the room and she flinched as a large figure strode into the room. It was too dark to make anything out. She recognized he was tall and had long hair, some muscle. He was familiar to her. She started to rise up but he struck her hard. She could taste blood in her mouth.

Harmony made a noise of distress as the brief little vision ended. She didn't remember that, but it'd felt real too. She could almost taste the blood in her mouth and probed her cheek with her tongue. By then, she was shaking. She clasped her hands together, looked down. Her ring...

"Explain this then!" she declared, shoving her hand at Lohrer's face. Lohrer leaned back and lightly pushed her hand aside.

"That's your safety ring," he said simply. At Harmony's uncomprehending look, he cleared his throat. "We taught you to remember that you were wearing that ring when you sleep and when you have an episode. If you ever feel the need to return to reality, you need to take the ring off and throw it away. Then you go to 'sleep' and wake up. Sometimes the ring will be hot when this happens. That's your mind trying to break free and wake up."

By then the not-Filly entered the room again with a steaming mug. She held it out to Harmony. Harmony accepted it wordlessly and sniffed--it smelled like herbs and honey.

"You're very shaken today," Lohrer went on. "So I think it may be best if you get some sleep again. Drink that up and go lie down. We need to wean you off your false memories and fantasies. Too much at once might hurt you."

Harmony stared at the drink. Was it poisoned? If she got sick here, was it just a dream or would she really get sick? She decided it didn't matter. If it were poisoned, and this was a dream, she would just wake up. If this was all real, there was no reason for her healer to poison her. She drank the slightly bittersweet drink and handed the empty mug back, lassitude settling on her almost immediately. Lohrer walked her back down the white hallway, into the white bedroom with the white bed and its white sheets and tucked her in.

"Pleasant dreams," he said.

Harmony fell asleep. Harmony woke up. One of the two--she was back in the inn. Her heart was still racing. She tore at her sheets, staggered out of the bed, and darted for her door. She needed to see one of the others; Farfarello, Timble, Flame. Anyone. "This is real," she whimpered under her breath as she fumbled with the door handle. "This is real."

[Kender Bard]

Zack

Zack flopped face-down on the bed, stifling a groan. After they'd found out about the demons, Zira had stopped letting Zack slide whenever the subject of weaponswork came up. He'd practically been ordered into the training ring, and he often found himself hurting in places he hadn't known could hurt.

A hot bath, that's what he needed. Mm, heat. He sighed a little as his ring-finger began to grow warm, then his eyes popped open. That was wrong. He started to scramble up and call for Zira or Erebus, when the demonic little spider bit and his vision went black. He froze, shaking his head as though he thought the darkness were a blindfold that he could try to shake off.

"Schuldig, if this is one--" He cut himself off as he realized he couldn't hear, either, then swallowed and gamely continued. "--one of your mind tricks, it's pretty badly timed." Zack knew it wasn't Zira's lover, but of all the people he knew, Schuldig was the most likely to do something like that. And he really, really wanted it to be someone he knew.

When the darkness cleared an unknown amount of time later, and sound returned, immediately his nose filled with the smell of smoke and he could feel heat, as if all the fireplaces in the palace were turned up.

There was screaming and shouting, but it was quiet and distant until his door was abruptly thrown open and a young page boy ran in, covered in smooth and coughing. He stumbled to the floor, but managed to look up through watery eyes and gasp weakly. "Lord Riel!" He stumbled as he tried to get back up. "Lord Riel, you must help us!"

There was no response, of course.

The child coughed and reached over to take Zack's hand, tugging. "Lord Riel, the royal family is out of the palace, trying to bring order to the people in the streets, but the palace is under attack! You are the only one here who can help us servants!"

A few others staggered into the room, of various ages and sexes, but most where fairly young or old and once their eyes and lungs cleared of the smoke, they were all looking to Zack for guidance and help, their eyes begging.

"Please, Lord Riel! Save us!"

Where are the palace guards? Zack wondered helplessly. He wouldn't have felt quite so overwhelmed if it had been only the page, but a whole group? And if there was disorder in the streets, where could they all be safe? Maybe the temple? But how would they get there?

Zira, Erebus, I need you....

After a moment of hesitation, in which he hoped in vain for advice or just someone telling him where to go, he turned to the window and tried to open it. "I... If the way out is clear, I can help everyone to the ground." He hoped. He had the signs for the job, but he didn't know what the scene below would be.

The group murmured, thankful. They began to crowd up near Zack, as if his very nearness would provide them with safety. A couple more servants trickled in, these young children with an adult herding them.

"I think that's everyone," the adult gasped, bleeding in places.

The cool air out of the window soothed some of the heat but it drew more smoke into the room as well and set everyone to coughing. Under cover of the smokescreen there suddenly came a bestial snarl and someone screamed. Flames erupted anew--evidently this creature was causing much of the damage in the palace. More screams.

Zack felt his heart leap up into his throat. No. Efil, no. The kids--!

He clenched his fist, creating a breeze to blow the smoke away and let them all breathe. For the first time in a long while, he wished he'd inherited his father's Fire sign. He could use wind to smother flames, but it would be easier to just have control of the fire itself.

The smoke cleared revealed the monster at the door, which perhaps was not much of a blessing. The creature was bipedal with an almost cartoonishly large insectoid head, some sort of acidic substance dripping from its mandibles where it caught fire even as it fell to the ground. A few of the servants who had come late into the room were covered in flames and they writhed on the floor, desperate to put them out. The rest of the servants shrieked and surged against the other side of the room.

The demon took a breath and spit its substance like a flamethrower at the group, igniting it.

Zack froze in horror at the sight, eyes darting between the people and the demon. What could he do? The demon was right there, so even if he could put out all the fires....

Trying to shut out the screams, he touched his signs together and expelled his elemental energy in a burst against the demon. He hoped the air pressure would hit the demon hard enough to kill or incapacitate it, but he had no time to check. He ran to the bed and awkwardly ripped off the heavy cover, intending to drag it to the group to smother the flames.

The demon was knocked out of the room, out of sight as flames flared up in the hallway, obscuring it.

One of the burned victims was a child from the late group. He was a horror to look upon, skin burned away in places, the smell of cooking human meat thick about him and the others. As Zack neared, he held a hand that dripped something viscous out towards him and in a raspy, dying voice cried out, "You didn't save us, Lord Riel!"

And then others picked up the words, whispered them, the chant growing in volume as more and more said it.

"You didn't save us."
"You didn't save us."

Part of the ceiling collapsed, taking out a couple others.

"You didn't save us."
"You didn't save us."

His vision darkened again abruptly, but there was still the smell of death and smoke and fire thick in his noise. All the voices in their whispery-loud collection continued on in his ears.

You can't save us. How can you save the world? The world needs you. You couldn't even save us...

His vision was restored. He was back in the room from before the vision. The smells that had assaulted him faded as his ring cooled.

"NO!" Zack gagged and fairly flung himself off of the bed, eyes wild as he looked around the palace room, seeking the demon, the fire, the dead and dying.... He gagged again as he remembered the stench of burnt flesh and dropped to his knees, heaving onto the floor.

It wasn't my fault! he thought desperately, tears spilling down his cheeks. It wasn't! Except it had been. Why had Soahc picked him? He was just a bard. He'd be nigh-useless in a fight. Even Zira knew that; it was why he was making him learn a weapon, and probably years too late for it to matter now. Was that what it had been? A warning from Etaf, to show him that Soahc had chosen on a whim and that Zack wasn't fit for a role? That it would be best for him to set the ring aside?

"I can't," he moaned. His husband, his friends, his family.... So many of them were chosen, and he couldn't back out knowing that they were, and with them knowing he was as well. He'd just...have to try harder. Get better.

Somehow.

[Kender Bard]

Kaylin

Kaylin was sitting amongst her collection of things in her 'home' with Nuo. She should have been asleep but she had no wish to. Instead she was turning a ring around and around in her fingers, her mind everywhere and nowhere at once. When she realized what she was doing, she dropped it and began to fuss with her own ring. As she did so, it began to grow increasingly warm. She stared at it in confusion. What did that mean? And then suddenly... Blackness.

She panicked, scrambling to her feet. "Nuo!" she called out, looking around, seeing nothing. "Maple!" Her companion was not with her. Fear rose in her throat, choked her so that instead of a panicked scream all that came out was a little whimper.

As the darkness slowly faded, she saw she was standing in a completely different room. This one was something like a bedroom; small. Cozy. She could smell something sweet in the air and swallowed, confused now. After long moments, she poked her head out of the room cautiously, only just then noticing she was wearing a long, pretty blue dress of some kind.

"Ah, Kaylin, there you are, silly girl," a rich warm male voice stated. She jumped with a little yelp turned her head. There was a man by her door. She began to retreat back fearfully and the man gave her a puzzled look. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Come on, let's go to dinner before your mother grows cross with us."

"M-mother?" Kaylin whispered, alternating between fear and confusion. The man stepped closer to her and she began to move back but he was quicker. She closed her eyes, braced... His arms came around her in an embrace and he kissed the top of her head. She was so stunned, she couldn't move.

"Come on, my girl," the man said, stroking her hair. Tears pricked at Kaylin's eyes. "Give your father a hug now." Her arms went up and slowly went around the man. After a moment of stiff embrace, her hug was suddenly crushing. "Oof! Careful, you'll break a rib."

"Sorry," she mumbled. She had no idea what was going on but it was nice. He moved aside and together they moved through the house (her house?) to a dining room where a beautiful woman bearing some resemblance to Kaylin sat at the head of the table. There was two other, younger people seated. Another woman and a young boy. They smiled at her.

"There's my girl," the woman greeted with a smile. "Come on, Kaylin. Dearest. Sit and let's have dinner. Your brother and sister are near to starving."

Kaylin wiped at her eyes and nodded. Brother and sister. Mother and father. She took a seat and breathed in deeply of the fine scents of dinner. Warm cornbread, fresh greens cooked to tenderness...

"Your betrothed will be joining us tomorrow," her 'father' stated as he helped himself to some dinner. "So I thought you'd like to look nice for him. Tomorrow, we'll go out and buy you material for a new dress."

"Thank you," Kaylin whispered, easily falling into this role. She bumped the silverware and dropped a fork on the floor. After she bent to retrieve it and sat up, her siblings were gone. She looked around, panicked. "Wh-where'd the others go?"

Her mother looked at her in confusion. "Others?"

"My b-brother and sister?"

Her mother just smiled in a puzzled way. "Dearest, you don't have any siblings."

Kaylin rubbed at her eyes, growing scared again. When she lowered her hands, she was alone at the table. A sudden intense fear gripped her. "No!" she cried out and stood, looking around wildly. "Mother? Father?!"

There was a creak on the floorboards behind her. Kaylin whipped around. Arthur, one of the priests from the temple, was standing there. Kaylin moved towards him, whimpering. "Arthur, where did they go?"

Arthur's face twisted in disgust and he backed away. "Don't come near me. What are you? You're not even human."

Her chest hurt. "Arthur it's me!" she cried out. "It's Kaylin! You've known me since I was little!"

"Monster!" Arthur barked at her. He fled. Kaylin began to cry softly, following after him but only a few steps. He was gone. She sensed a presence at her back and turned around again to see Nuo standing there. She sobbed and threw her arms around him. "Nuo, everyone is leaving!" He stiffened in her arms, but she didn't care. He always did that. She lay her head against his shoulder anyway, to cry out her frustration. Unusually, she felt him move, try to back away from her. She lifted her head and blinked, vision of him swimming in her blurry sight. She released her hold on him and he backed away completely from her. Between one blink and the next, he was gone.

"Nuo?" she called out in a trembling voice. "Nuo, please don't go! Arthur! Somebody? Anybody!"

Nobody wants you. Nobody loves you. It was a female voice, whispering in her ear. Kaylin sank to her knees, wrapped her arms around herself, and rocked back and forth.

"Why?" she cried out. One person had loved her, but she hadn't loved him back. Then she never saw him again. That had been a terrible, terrible mistake. Now she had nobody but Nuo. Now she did not have him.

Poor child, the voice whispered. Poor child. I can give you love and family.

"Really?" Kaylin whispered.

You'll never know otherwise... Just take off your ring and swear off the Forces.

Kaylin clutched her ring. Efil had called on her, but why? What use was Kaylin against monsters and demons? She was half monster herself. Was that why?

Will the Force offer you anything better? You could die... Or you could be happy and loved.

With that choice ringing in her ears, Kaylin returned to reality. She looked around her room filled with pilfered things from other people who had families and loved ones. As if an object could carry a piece of that love, Kaylin stole and hoarded mementos of other people's happiness. She wanted the real thing, though.

Swaying, swiping at her eyes to clear them of tears, she left her treasure room and wandered a bit aimlessly. A part of her wondered if the vision meant Nuo had finally left her, like she feared from time to time. Even if he hadn't... Was it really worth clinging to someone who was no better, maybe worse, than she was in spirit and heart? She fiddled with her ring, pondering that, and looking to see if her only human...oid companion was still with her or if she was as alone as she felt.

[Kender Bard]

Schuldig

Schuldig was reclining on his couch after a session with his 'body servant,' who would serve to help keep his disguise up when the Grandisle trip was finally underway. He was just reaching for a glass of wine when he felt his ring grow warm, and he stopped mid-motion, eyes scanning the room even as he reached out mentally to seek out anything amiss. When light and sound both left him, he tensed and put all his focus on his mental web, reaching out with threads of thought and shoring up his shields to brace for whatever might happen next.

The darkness and silence stretched on and on for an indeterminate amount of time. A touch on his shoulder broke the spell and he was suddenly looking into Filly's concerned but mildly annoyed face. "Schuldig, wake up."

As the minutes ticked by, Schuldig's tense wariness began to grow into anxiety, edging on fear. Only the fact that he was unrestrained and could feel the pain and taste the blood when he bit the inside of his lip kept him from giving in to panic. Something was fucking with him and he didn't fucking like it.

Filly's face was a welcome relief, but Schuldig didn't let his guard down quite yet. "I wasn't asleep," he said, looking around the room with suspicion. "I either had a waking flashback, or someone's trying to screw with me, and since I've never had waking flashbacks...."

Filly glanced around, her annoyance melting to concern. "I found you like this. I think something might have put you to sleep." She shifted her stance and her feathers ruffled a little. "You're awake now, though. And we need to talk." She gazed at his face again, her expression hardening. "Now."

Now it was his turn to be annoyed. Okay, apparently he was in trouble--again--for something. He couldn't imagine what, since he really hadn't done anything that he knew would piss Filly off. Still, it could bloody well wait for a few minutes.

"Something might have put me to sleep, and you want to talk? Let me repeat that: Something--which, considering the shit going on right now, might have been a demon--got the drop on me, a trained spy and assassin, and managed to knock me out. Despite my sign strength and the Swan thing."

He pushed himself to his feet as he tried to reach out to his friends in the palace. "And you want to talk now? Whatever it is can fucking wait until I've checked with Brad and Nagi."

As he reached out his mind--feeling nothing--Filly stepped forward, her annoyance swiftly transmuting to rage. "No! It can't! Schuldig, you will listen to me now or else I'll go take care of the problem myself! Don't you dare brush me aside so casually!" She seethed. "I'm not a fool, though you obviously think I am one. I KNOW what's going on, and the implications of what's happened. So if I'm still demanding to speak with you, then maybe you should shut up for just a moment and consider that it's that important."

"If your problem has anything to do with why I can't feel Brad or Nagi right now, I'm all ears," Schuldig shot back, worry making his tone sharp. What the fuck was happening?

"Our daughter is DEAD!" Filly snarled at him. "While gallivanting out in the middle of nowhere!" She shoved at Schuldig's chest, tears filling her eyes. "You shouldn't have let her go! You should have been with her! I can't protect her, but you could have! It's all your fault! You're so busy trying to be the little master of intrigue that you let her just go off! Maybe she won't listen to me, but she would have listened to you!"

"This is your fault! I hate you!"

Schuldig let himself be shoved back, his heart turning to ice in his chest. Dead? Harmony...dead? But how? He touched his signs together, seeking his daughter's mind in the south. Nothing. Frantically, he turned his attention to those she'd been with: Farf, Libre, Flame, Timble....

Had they all-- But how? Eight Mind signs among them. Teleportation and telepathy. A merc, warrior, and assassin. If she'd called out, he'd have heard. He'd have been first. Why did Filly know? If Brad had a vision, he'd have told them both. And why had-- And when he'd woken up....

"Farf was with her," Schuldig said slowly, breaking sign contact. "And Libre. And two other guards. And I can't reach any of them." He paused, searching mentally. "Or Locket. Or the kids. Or Delilah. Or Lucifer." His eyes narrowed. "Or you."

Filly shook her head. "Maybe your telepathy is acting up." She pressed her palms against her eyes and shook. "My brother told me. Just a few moments ago." She lowered her hands and glared hatefully at him. "you want to feel me? Feel this." A sharp pain assaulted his mind suddenly, like sharp nails on his psyche. “How does that feel?! Because I guarantee it doesn’t compare to my pain!”

Schuldig hissed at the pain, though a part of him welcomed it. Now, if he could just find where it was coming from.... Telepathy doesn't 'act up,' he thought. Least of all mine. And you just overplayed your hand. Since when had Filly been able to pick up his private thoughts? Coincidences happened, but that was just a little too conveniently-timed. Someone needed a little more practice at being a mater of intrigue, and it wasn't him.

He sent out threads of thought in a few directions, seeking his attacker's mind in hopes of striking out with his own attack.

Sensing the game was up, Mitura shattered the illusion. It was just the darkness again, Schuldig, and herself.

"Mmm I wonder if you're the Force's idea of a trump against psychic intrusion," she remarked, giving Schuldig a speculative look. "So far you've been the only mortal to truly see the illusion for what it was. Well played. I'll dispense with the games, then, and make my intent clear. Give up your ring and forfeit the fight against the demons."

"Oh, well, since you're being so upfront about it, I'll just say 'no' instead of my usual 'fuck no,'" Schuldig told her. "Whether I'm the Forces' idea of a trump, wild card, part of a flush, or the joker, you'll just have to wait and see. 'cause if you're going to this much trouble to get me to give mine up, there's at least some worry that the chosen will fuck things up for you, and I love screwing up someone's plan."

"You're not as special as you believe yourself to be," Mitura told him. "You are not the only ring bearer and not my only target. But I will not simply bow out and concede defeat. I have seen your minds and the faces of your loved ones. And you have so many loved ones. I'll give you this warning only--stay out of the affairs of the war and I will stay out of your affairs. If you refuse these terms, then I will make it a point to bring misery to your life."

Schuldig grinned, a sharp expression that was more of a baring of teeth. "And so many of my loved ones are Chosen and have the same loved ones that I do. We'd all have to back down for the rest to be safe, and considering how many of us lived through the hell of Morilanta and don't want to see it or something worse cover everything...well. I don't see that happening."

"But still, I suppose I should thank you for stopping by. Tell me, how well do mindfucks work, even after the fact, when everyone knows that's exactly what they are?"

"Everyone has their fears," Mitura replied. "No matter how absurd they may be or how unlikely, they still shy away from them. If you are thinking of going to trumpet a warning to the other faithful, then go ahead. It won't stop me, and it will still be an unpleasant experience for them."

"If you do decide to do this, though, I cannot let it go unpunished. I will send the Queen Mother to your little den of Morilantans and she will release the Evil in the hearts of you and yours that you have worked so hard to rise above. Then your fear will be reality. How long do you think the beloved in your life will remain by your side when you reveal to them just how deep your depravity goes? How much... Faith... Do you have, Chosen, in those around you? I hope it is very strong. You will need it."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've made my bed and had to fuck in it," Schuldig said with a grim smile. "However I do it'll probably be a surprise, even to me."

"May you choke on your arrogance, mortal," the spider-demon whispered before withdrawing, allowing Schuldig to come to reality once again.

Schuldig stayed tense and wary for a few moments more, sending his mind out in growing sweeps to make sure he could detect no demonic minds in the vicinity. Once satisfied he was alone in his own head once again, he sagged on the couch and reached for his wine.

Despite the cool ring on his finger, he gave a brief mental Bless this booze, you bastard before taking a sip. We'd better be able to keep these after, he thought. This is turning into some seriously expensive jewelry.

After he did a mental check on Harmony, he was going to Brad with this one. He did think that it would be to the collective's advantage if they got the word out about the mind-fucking demon, but it never hurt to get the Oracle's advice, especially since his ring was supposed to help his already impressively accurate visions. Whatever they decided, he wanted a Seeing on the Queen Mother that the demon had mentioned. With a title like that, she had to be trouble. Plus there was the matter of her threat.

Yeah.

Really fucking expensive jewelry.

[Kender Bard]

Amaro

Amaro lay on the bed in his inn room in Ronduin. He should of course be thinking about how to find the missing healer. Or even getting some sleep or doing the exercises to try and repair his damaged arm.

But instead he was thinking of his brothers and sisters. Not just Talon and Acqua, though he was of course worried for them, but also of Thom, Alethia and Vortai. The three siblings he hadn't been able to save. Forces he missed them, even Thom. His heart ached so fiercely he longed to numb it with a strong drink or three.

The thought sickened him. Am I really that much of my father's son? He wanted to think he wasn't, but the doubt was, as ever, there in the back of his mind. He toyed with his Head of Family ring. It wasn't the same ring as his father's. He'd had it reformed and damn the lack of status... But wearing it bothered him. He couldn't even remember putting it on before he left. When had it become habit?

Mitura's spider bit him almost the moment he became aware of the heat of his force-gifted ring. He swore as the world went dark, pulling out a dagger and bracing himself for a fight. Damn. This is what I get for wool-gathering, he snarled mentally.

The darkness held for a short while but then was abruptly gone. Amaro’s sight returned. He was standing with a kitten in his arms, the creature painfully thin—little more than skin and bones. In the hand he had drawn his dagger he instead held a piece of charred meat. The kitten mewled hungrily and strained in his arms towards the morsel. An overwhelming love, fondness, and protectiveness for the kitten stole over him.

Amaro blinked, absentmindedly feeding the meat to the kitten as he looked around, trying to figure out where the hell his dagger had gone and the cat had come from. For that matter, how had he gotten outside and where the hell was he?

"This is not my day," he mumbled to the kitten, then thought, I'm getting far too used to the mind cats. Still... Even he had to admit the kitten was cute. Certainly wouldn't hurt to look after it, at least until he figured out what was going on.

As he spoke, his own voice sounded queer. It was soft and high pitched, like that of a child's.

Before he could ponder on that further, he heard footsteps from behind him. "What do you have there?" he heard. It was his own, real voice talking to him. And he sounded unhappy and suspicious.

Amaro turned around to face the person with his voice, too confused by the situation to answer the question. What the hell...

It was… Himself. Though he looked a little different; his clothing was like that of his father’s and his family ring was in clear view. “Put that filthy beast down. You didn’t feed it, did you?”

"What the hell?" Amaro shook his head as he stared up in disbelief at 'himself'. "There is no way this is real," he muttered, shaking his head.

The vision of himself grew angrier, eyes flashing darkly. "Answer me," he said in a low tone of warning. The kitten mewled, dug its little claws into Amaro's arm lightly. "And put that thing down. Right. Now."

Amaro took a half step back, uneasy. Not only was the whole situation crazy, but it was bringing back memories of his own childhood. He idly made a note not to yell at Acqua again... or not too much.

"No," he said, speaking the word he wished he'd been able to say to his father. If this was a dream, and it must be, he could at least say what he thought. "And it doesn't matter if I did or didn't."

His doppleganger's voice dropped to a low and threatening tone. "What. Did. You. Say?"

Amaro stared back and scowled. "I. Said. No." He stroked the kitten to calm it and added, "Go away."

Amaro's double took long strides towards him; he moved far faster than should have been possible. His hand flashed, and he struck Amaro with the full force of his strength. His other hand reached out and dragged the kitten out of Amaro's arms; it went yowling, hissing and spitting.

Amaro toppled to the ground, the force of the blow too much for his child-sized body. But he scrambled back to his feet at once and leapt for the kitten. "Give her to me!" he demanded.

Older Amaro held the kitten up by the scruff of her neck and shoved Amaro back. “This is a waste of our resources,” his double snapped. “We are going up against hellish monsters from the Abyss and you’re wasting time and food feeding a fleabitten kitten.” He gave the animal a little shake. “You know what this is good for?” In a swift movement, he snapped the kitten’s neck. "Demon bait."

Amaro's eyes narrowed as his face set in fury. "You," he hissed. "Are not me. I would never do that."

But a niggling, horrifying doubt poked at the back of his mind. Was he so sure of that? He remembered a certain mutt puppy and his boyhood grief at his father calmly throwing it to its death. Could he ever be that much like his father?

He'd been drinking dangerously like his father over the last few years, particularly since Vortai's death. Never crossing the line into outright drunk, but not sober... Was he capable of that?

He thought of slapping Acqua as a child. Thought of the more recent arguement they'd had and the anger he'd felt when Talon had torn into him for the bruises he'd covered their sister in. Then he started to consider what might have happened if he'd been drinking at those times and felt sick.

"Stop this," he muttered, but he wasn't sure if the comment was directed at his own train of thought, or at whatever had caused this situation.

This is a warning, Mitura whispered to him. To face demons can change a man. Is this who you want to become?

Amaro swallowed, then pushed away the unease and stood as straight and tall as possible. "A lot of things can change a man," he replied tensely. "That doesn't mean they will." And besides, Talon and Acqua would never hesitate to tell me when I'd crossed a line and drag me back over it.

But would you listen?

She dragged out that painful memory of the fight he'd had with Acqua that he himself had triggered, allowing her to get a glimpse of it, and forced him to look at some of the details closer. How much he had hurt someone he loved, and how when confronted he refused to own up to his own guilt.

You already teeter precariously on the edge of what your father was. All it would take is a little something, a little push...

A history of his temper and violence marched before his eyes. Striking the ones he loved and cared for in fits of anger and rage.

You've always been violent. Your blood tells your heritage and it is only with an effort of will that you keep it in check. War does terrible things to even mild mannered men. If you go to fight the monsters, who's to say you won't come back as one?

Amaro scrowled, his temper flaring at having some of his most shameful moments paraded in front of him. Since this thing could apparently hear his thoughts, he countered with some of the better moments, such as star gazing with Acqua or going looking for Rocs with Talon, sharing a meal and a drink with Talon after work and going on long walks with Acqua, laughing and fending off her playful attempts at picking his pockets.

And finally, a memory of just sitting around a campfire with Acqua, Alethia and Talon, having nowhere they needed to be and nothing they needed to get. Acqua had just managed to catch her first rabbits alone and he'd been helping her prepare them for dinner, congratulating her on the good job. Talon and Alethia had been preparing the rest of the meal, while Talon told an exaggerated version of his first solo hunt.

"We've had our bad moments together and I've done things I'm not proud of. But my siblings and I have had far more good moments together then bad. And I dislike talking to myself. Why don't you show yourself, if you've got something to say to me."

No.

My warning has been given, Chosen. Those memories are old; that is who you were. But the ones I show you are fresh and recent. This is who you are.

The question simply remains on who you will be. But I see a trend...

You are a monster.

Mitura released him then, quickly, so that reality snapped back quickly.

Amaro gritted his teeth as he looked around the room. His ring was cooling, so he knew the demon was gone. But just in case she could hear him, he thought, Maybe you're right. But if I'm a monster, I'm still on the side of the Forces. And that makes me a hell of an improvement on you.

With that in mind, he rolled off the bed and dug out his pack. This job was going nowhere fast and there were two other teams of mercenaries searching. He didn't need to be here and he could do a damn sight more finding his brother and sister and helping them.

He was going home, to Talen'sul to check on his wife and daughter, then he'd find Acqua and Talon.

[Kender Bard]

Nicolais

Nicolaus is at the guild practicing on his violin, it's one thing that he doesn't have to pretend to enjoy. He doesn't stop playing right away when his ring begins to heat up, if there is a demon around best not to let them know he's on to them. Of course, that doesn't help much when he suddenly can't see anything. His bow slips giving out a rather unpleasant screech before he drops the whole thing, hands reflexively going to the knives he's got hidden on him.

The darkness was fleeting; one instance he could see nothing and the next he was suddenly in the guild hall again, posed with his knives. A young woman, one of the older students from the place, was trembling in front of him, looking terrified. "Master?" she whispered to him. "Did I upset you?"

Nico stares at her for a moment, what the hell was going on? Wait, Master? He keeps his knives where they are, very suspicious of some demon trick. "What did you say?"

The girl shivered and quickly averted her eyes. “I-I asked…” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I asked if I upset you, Master.” She made a hesitant motion towards him, as if she wanted to touch him. “Please. I can’t bear the thought of upsetting you.”

No, this can't be right, not at all. He hasn't snared anyone, no one could know about him, he's been far too careful. Was this some sort of trick? He backs off a step, holding his knives at the ready, this could be the demon his ring had warned him about. "Stay back."

She drew back quickly, as if burned.

There was sounds now coming from outside the room. Footsteps and raised voices and they sounded concerned and a bit angry.

"Oh," his slave girl said quietly. "I think they've noticed my absence."
Still not convinced that he isn't dealing with demon right now, Nico isn't eager to leave the room and run into any more people. "Why would they be upset?"

The girl looks at him a bit surprised like he was stupid or simple. "Because you ensnared me," she stated.

Nico shakes his head at the woman, still refusing to believe. "I couldn't have." This must be some bad dream, or trick, or something. Despite his refusal, however, he can't help but feel a small doubt in the back of his mind.

“You did,” she responded and there was a hint of loathing and hatred in her eyes and tone, but they were subtle and fleeting, replaced quickly by a look of doubt and chagrin.

There was banging on the door now. Evidently it was locked. “Open up, Clear! We know you’re in there!”

Fine. Nico sneers at the door. "Stop them."

The woman was swift to respond. She went to the door and opened it, only to greet the people on the other end with a burst of fire. There were cries of pain and shock, but there were far more on the other side of the door and she was but one woman. Though there were injuries, and severe ones, they were able to simply overpower her and trample into the room. One of the men had a guard uniform and a crossbow. He lifted it and sighted at Nicolais. “Filthy Clear,” he growled.

"Drop it." Nico commands the man, even as he hurls a knife in one quick motion. Whatever the fuck this is, he's going to defend himself.

The man obeys, allowing Nicolais to slay him in the process. As he falls, three more men burst into the room and lunge at him. Nicolais Clear aura was potent, but when enough elementals are in a group, one Clear cannot possibly stand alone... And in the background there's a cry going up. Clear, Clear! His cover is gone.

The tableau freezes suddenly. Mitura's voice rings out into his mind. "How unjust that all it would take is one small slipup, someone getting a bit nosy, and this could be your future. But I can prevent that for you... And perhaps make you even more powerful. Undetectable and powerful."

Nicolaus whirls at the voice and, realising that there doesn't seem to be a direct source, glares at the frozen scene. "And how would you plan on doing that I wonder, whisk me away from the dangers and make me a pawn?" The sarcasm all but drips from his words.

"I have no need of pawns," Mitura replied contemptuously. "Other demons may rely on the strength of thralls but I need no one but myself. However, I'm not opposed to seeing opposition removed. Give up your ring and I'll give you something far better in return. I am capable of granting blessings like a Force; that power is not unique to them. How would you like the ability to ensnare anyone without effort but remain utterly guileless and innocent in the eyes of any who look upon you, no matter what you are doing?"

Nicolaus eyes the 'man' he had killed, turning Mitura's words over in his head. It would be something, wouldn't it, terribly tempting...

"And what of the demons, I would still have no more protection from them."

"Ah so you want me to sweeten the deal? I can arrange that," Mitura replied. "If you give up the ring, and I give you power and protection... Does that sound like a deal?"
"I'll admit, the offer is tempting." Nico slips the dagger he'd been holding back into it's sheath. "What sort of protection, exactly, and what guarantee can you give me, to trust you will do what you say?"

"An amulet of warding," Mitura explained to him. "For the protection against demonkind. You will become essentially invisible to them, save for the very strongest of demon lords. But if they see my gift upon you, even they will not bother you."

"I'm really not certain how I can prove my gesture of goodwill, though, other than to point out that it's mutually beneficial to us both. Would you have me do something?"

Nico isn't sure how much he was expecting, perhaps he would just have to believe that him abandoning his ring was worth what is likely a mere bauble to the demon. "And the strengthening of my powers?"

"Hmm I think for such a noble looking young man a circlet would do nicely," Mitura replied, her voice dripping satisfaction. "It will confuse those who would look upon you as hostile and that in turn will let you ensnare at will without concern for stealth or subtlety."

Nico grins at the thought, it may be a bit much, but he could work with it. He begins to pace slowly as he thinks the offer over. What had the Forces offered him, after all? Nothing but a mere warning should there be demons about. No protection, no security. Certainly no great powers, and he does so love power.

It is true that removing any of the Force's chosen would be a great blow, he is sure, and while he had accepted, he was still unsure as to why he'd been chosen other than his skills at dealing death. There may be retribution, though Nicolaus is certain he can deal with the other chosen assasin. Zevran had once been in his guild after all. He toys with the ring on his finger for a moment before slipping it off, decision made.

"Good," Mitura whispered. "Tell you what. Keep the ring close to you. I am far away and it will take at least a day for my messenger to bring my gifts to you. You will receive them at midnight of the following day in your home. If you do not, you may wear your ring again, our deal null and void. But if you do receive them, you must throw the ring away."

"Very well," Nicolaus replies with a small grin, "I will be waiting."

He was released, gently eased, back into reality as Mitura slipped away from his mind.

As promised, at midnight the following day there was a visitor to his home in the form of soft tapping noises coming from a window near him.

Nico had been waiting for, well, something. Drawing a dagger (can't be too careful) he unlatches the window.

Skittering quickly over the sill and down the wall was a large spider, about the size of a cat. The creature had a web sac on its back. It paused near Nico, hissed slightly, the reached back and pulled the sac off its back, placing it on the ground and tearing at it. Metal glinted. A silver amulet with a spider inlaid in jet black and a matching silver circlet with spider emblem at the forefront were laid out before him.

Nico keeps a good distance from the spider, and insect that large could make anyone uneasy. Once the amulet and circlet are laid out, however, he crouches on one knee to look at them. He pulls out the ring he had been keeping on him for the past day, surely possesing it along with these would end poorly. "I don't suppose you want this?" He smirks, holding it out to the demon spider.

The demonic arachnoid made a small squealing noise of pain and the ring burned hot betwen Nico's finger. The spider scuttled back quickly.

Nico chuckles, he'd expected that to happen. He folds the ring in a handkerchief and sets it aside for now, he'd throw it out in the morning, somewhere a bit farther away from his home. That done, he turns back to the demon's gifts, picking up the amulet first and turning it in his hands.

The amulet was of heavy make but it otherwise didn't look out of the ordinary, even though the spider motif was a little bit unusual. The same for the circlet--they would be poor gifts indeed to draw too much notice amongst humans.

At least they aren't ugly. Nico slips the amulet on, waiting to see if he feels any different.

Unlike with the ring of the Forces, there's no actual feeling that infuses him save for a very faint tingle that started from head and went down to his toes and then faded.

Nico isn't sure if he's disappointed or not, but at least it seems to do something. He puts the circlet on as well, it's mostly covered by his hair so it won't even attract much attention, he's sure.

This time the tingle merely encompasses his head before fading.

Nico raises a brow at the demon spider. "Is there something else? If not why are you still in my home, shouldn't you be feeding on someone."

The spider didn't seem to notice him anymore as it scuttled around the room a bit before finally letting itself out.

[Kender Bard]

Sunflower

Sunflower is getting ready for bed at the little inn she and Sunder are staying at. Since all of her rings are delivered, she's decided that they should try and enjoy themselves as much as they can before anything else happens. It really is nice just spending time with Sunder and knowing that they don't have to head this place or another as soon as they can, though the waiting is starting to get on her nerves just a little bit.

She's brushing her hair when her ring starts to heat up, and when she finally notices it she drops the brush with a gasp. She knows she should hurry and tell Sunder, but she feels rooted to the spot. What are they supposed to do against a demon!? By the time she shakes herself out of it enough to get up, she suddenly can't see. She chokes out a half sob as she stumbles on the chair she'd been in and tumbles to the ground. No nononoooo there can't be a demon her. What did it do!? Is it in the room!? It's all she can do to keep from sobbing as she tries to pick herself up, expecting something to come at her at any instant.

The darkness was lifted, but very slowly, little bits at a time, revealing the room again. But as the darkness lift, sound returns completely. And so she's left in half darkness listening to a sudden deep, heavy, wet breathing near her similar to that of a large animal. The breathing was very close and suddenly she could feel a warm gust of breath against her skin.

Sunflower gives a little shriek and holds her arm up defensively, half rolling to the side and away from whatever it is. Where is Sunder? Had he not heard her? Maybe it was best if he hadn't, if she's going to be killed by a demon she doesn't want Sunder to be killed trying to save her. She does her best not to shake and snivel as she waits for something horrible to happen, no real hope of stopping it. Once again, she wonders just why she'd been chosen.

Something rough strikes her, lancing her body with pain. Her vision hadn't fully returned and seemed stuck in half darkness so that she could only make out the towering shape of the demon that was hurting her. She had to rely on the sound of his heavy grunt as he strike her, the smell of brimstone and sulfur, and all of her other senses to tell her what she knew already--this creature was more than capable of killing her quickly. That it hadn't yet only bode that perhaps it had more sinister intentions.

Sunflower shrieks again when she's struck, curling up as best she can and beginning to whisper a prayer to Etaf. She was supposed to protect her, right? At least until she's done what she has to, and she's barely done anything yet.

"Weak fool!" a deep and menacing voice snarled before the illusion was brushed away in a wash of stars.

Sunflower whirls around, expecting to see whatever the horrible thing was next to her.

She was alone, back in her inn room. No darkness, no utter silence, no monster. Just a fading warmth of her ring.

She stays where she is for a while, wanting to find Sunder, but too shaken up to move just yet.