The light snapped her awake, in doorway a shadowed figure bent down. Smoke; it stung her nose, she sneezed.
"Get up nymphet." Kar practically glowed with excitement.
This was worrisome; better feign indifference. She keep her eyebrows from arching. Were was Maxwell?
He paced about the ship, watching her on occasion.
The Acolytes finished docking the ship at the port town of Despoes. You couldn't miss it as the name was burned into the trunk of a gigantic tree next to the dock.
A spray of a wave crashed onto the boats side, a few water droplets coated her nose and lips; the briny water was salty, too salty she spat it out.
Kar's smile seemed to go straight to his ears his hood bulged. He'd never taken off that hood yet, what was his hair color? Squinting didn't help much the shadows blocked everything but his eyes and lower half of his face.
The ship swayed some, turning back toward the tree the buildings that showed were the dull gray of weathered wood.
The windows on most of the buildings jagged and broken; a sickly sweet stench of the dead leaked out. It was an effort not to gag. She averted her gaze forward.
Wasn't this town a few years ago a vibrant trade center? How outdated was the intell? Bad, this is bad.
Most of the houses that remained standing had the vines wrapped around the pillars. Passing by them the leafs split open like before, their voice of legion droning on a ceaseless wave.
Is this your doing, the ship and this dead city?
Just the ship and the rest that follows. As for this city a deamon may have done this. It's hard to tell my reach is still week.
Why tell me this?
Quit playing dumb, you know what you are. Be a good little Elvin and mind Maxwell or your pet will die.
The thirteen hells with you!
Already there sweet cheeks, already there. Today I will separate from you and regain my power. Feel glad. You'll be free as a sprit, and without worry. Now move, it's time.
A deep trench ran through the town's center, pieces of vines, branches and bones were mixed in the upturned earth.
Unnamed pressed within and drew her forward, her footsteps stiff as she fought.
Kat turned around.
"Angered him again? You have spunk, but it won't help this time. If it were my choice I'd keep you around."
He cupped her chin in his palm. "Quite comely. It's a shame the treatment in the containers was interrupted."
An emotion fickered past, the usual demented aura smoothed, then the wall went up again. A wolfish point brought up the corners of his eyes. Now what?
A plain, chubby woman of middle age was sitting on a cushion at the entrance of a crumbling stone house. Her crimson dress of simple design. She stood.
"I did as you have instructed. The cleansing ceremony can began at any time."
"Good, The sooner we rid the cistern of it's consciousness the better. It has been most troublesome," Maxwell said.
Merryn shook, struggling to move. It? It?
"I'm not an it."
"I can only imagine. I have set up the blood bath inside my house." Nukpana said.
Maxwell turned. "Go inside remove your clothing, and sit in the bath."
She hissed at him. Unnamed pulled her inside the crumbling entrance. Exposed in the middle of the room a metal tub filed with blood. White broken floor tiles the only thing brighting the room.
No modesty curtains, so barbaric. Her stomach soured as the thick blood coated her legs in the bath.
Nukpana came in, lighting the gold, orange, and purple candles that surround the tub. She dipped a sponge into the blood coating her from toe to ear with it.
"Your essence must be very strong for unnamed to want it. Considering what I'll cost him." She shook her head.
She chanted in an oddly familiar foreign language, while dipping and coating her.
Nukpana coated her and it faded, she squeezed the blood over her head the red irony droplets beaded off her lashes.
Each drop ripped the surface pulling her in, thoughts and heartbeat slowed. Just the trickle of the warm blood and Nukpana's chanting.
A thud outside.
"Oof!"
"Roll! Duck!"
Footsteps outside.
Nukpana plodded to the doorway, flattening on the wall along side it; her round figure giving her away. Nukpana pulled a needle like dagger from inside a long sleeve and peeked outside.
Parcival started to enter the doorway.
Merryn pushed off the bath's lip, but the effort drained the strength from her. The blood was darker and thicker, it glowed and pulsed. Every few seconds it pulled more of her energy away. She slid back into the tub up her neck.
A sour taste filled her mouth. No! The tub felt deeper the harder she struggled to sit up and climb out.
Merryn rolled and rocked the bath, it leaned then reset itself. Blast it! Again, and again until it tipped over.
Nukpana's arms were above her head with that weird dagger overhead posed to strike at Parcival.
Han was behind running between the Acolyte's legs, they swung at him. He poked at them with his weapon while jumping around them.
She rolled out of the tub onto the floor, some of the tiredness left.
Grinding her teeth she lopped over nearly tripping over her own feet.
"Aruurg! Get out if here!"
Nukpana's face stretched back and her mouth opened, a screach tumbled out.
"Die pest!"
Merryn plugged it with a fist, the woman's teeth tore the skin off her nuckles. Merryn hissed, it stung. She fell as her legs couldn't hold her up anymore.
Parcival jerked back out of the doorway way, his brows raised, then a small smile flashed over his lips before he dodged away red cheeked.
Nukpana spat blood, if it was hers or not, that was hard to tell. She turned, her face scrunched and eyes narrowed.
"If I have to nearly kill you to finish the ritual I will, girly."
She slashed the air near her face.
Merryn stumbled crawling back, feet sliding off the loose floor tiles, her heal titled a metal grille on its side before it clanked back.
He pulled out a heavy sword and held it near the rotten witch's nose.
She breathed in, staring hard at him for a time before dropping her weapon.
"Watch your back Oh, Holly One." Her voice a mocking tone. Backing away she pushed him and ran out.
He put put his sword away, unclasped his cape, and draped it over her, closing it.
"Can you walk?" He held out a hand.
Warm fingers enclosed hers, and drew her to her feet.
She huffed out her nose. "I don't...."
"Thought as much. We need to escape first, then worry what they did to you later."
He clamped a hand to the doorway frame and squeezed it until it cracked, his expression darkened; an ill-fitting contrast to the calm of before.
Han ran toward them.
Maxwell, followed in pursuit. The Acolytes went off somewhere.
"You little Jackal! Get back here! I'll rip your paws off!"
Maxwell's spit flew from the side of his mouth, and his face red down to his neck.
"What did you do?" Parcival said.
Han grinned his ears twitching.
"We really need to go now," she said.
Peeking around the doorway, the creepy Acolytes were closing in. Each held a lit torch. It gave the impression that their eyes were of flame, the light danced across their faces, highlighting and darkening different parts with each flicker.
A hollowness came off of them as each in turn was in sync with the other; as they stopped, faced forward and each held their torch up ready to throw.
Hans ears flattened and he backed away from the doorway.
"Now would be a great time to tell us your plan, Parcival."
He shook his head. "Not this time."
Han's tail wrapped around his middle and he backed up to the bath.
"Gods," Han said.
"Burn it," Maxwell said. "Unnamed will protect her, the annoyances can die."
The Acolytes tossed the torches onto the roof that landed with a thump each time.
The doorway soon dissapeard by a cloud of hot smoke, that stung her nose and made her eyes tear.
Burning hay was prominent, she covered her mouth with a hand, and ran towards the only window in the back of the house, Parcival and Han, followed.
Before she got there her foot tipped the damn grill and it flipped halfway smack onto her shin. That stings! She fell down, stopping her decent by grabbing the edge of the hole. It was bad enough to wear ones birthday suit, but to fall in unkowen muck?
"Yaa!"
More smoke filled the house and the hay crackled while clumps if it fell randomly.
Parcival and Han worked back over to her almost stepping on her fingers.
"Where are you?" Parcival coughed.
"Look down."
Parcival bent down, started to pull her up then streched down and dropped her.
"Hey!"
Dropping several feet in the dark and landing on her chest, she hissed through her teeth. Ouch. She brushed them off and rewraped the cape.
Seconds later they dropped near.
An entrance to an underground tunnel was here.
"Go, go, go!" She pushed them into it. If this luck would just hold, can't let them get killed.
She couldn't tell how long it took to go through; the long dark passage went on forever. Each heartbeat was louder then the last, she crawled faster.
The tunnel narrowed a hundred feet, this continued until it curved upwards and ended at a metal slab of some sort in the middle of a brick wall.
"Dead end?"
Parcival went back and returned a few minutes later.
"I can't find any forks or exits."
"Maybe this is just a hide out," chirped Han.
Merryn went closer to the metal slab, a metallic sheet hug on tiny hooks.
She whistled. "Look."
Pulling the sheet revield a a mirror. Well, now.
She plushed on the glass, it didn't budge. Now what? Han ran his fingers along the ornate edge, prying them under. He heaved and the mirror swung open like a door.
"Splended!" Parcival said.
This opened inside a cellar, they climbed an old staircase, this ended in another dead end. She held her hands out running them over the wall. Her fingers plunged though a thin paper.
She stumbled out of a large pantry into a dark empty kitchen.
Parcival followed, and stood beside her. He coughed.
"You may want to take a moment and find a dress or robe." He avoided eye contact.
"True."
She wrapped his robe tighter, and hurried around the house. Finally, in the last room upstairs a wardrobe held several well worn dresses. And a few long undertunics. Not the best clothing for traveling, but better then nothing. She put them on, laced up a pair of boots and went back down.
Parcival smiled, then it disappeared into a frown.
"We need to go outside, so the mage Cory can see us."
"let's wait until dark," she replied.
