|
Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 7, 2011 20:23:26 GMT -5
The port at Carthage was as bustling as the one in Caerdicca Unitas, and it took some time for the porter to gather our things from the ship. I'd spent the voyage brushing up on my languages, but it appeared that a good portion of people spoke Caerdiccan, which was certainly easier.
We paid the porter to take us to an inn, and to bring our bags, and a little extra for some information: where best to get supplies and horses. The man suggested I speak to someone called Floran who often helped travelers across the vast desert that seperated Carthage from Menekhet. I penned the man a note before we had even had time to wash up, and by the time our evening meal was served, I had received a reply.
My Lady Shahrizai de Amodour,
I would of course be pleased to render assistance and services unto you, but alas I am leaving with my caravan on the morrow. I would suggest that you travel with us, but as you only recently arrived, I was not certain if that would be too soon?
However, if you do wish to travel with me, come see me before dusk and perhaps we can come to some arrangement.
Yours,
Floran Octavian
I showed the note to Erie, but he was of a mind that tomorrow morning was too early to leave. I disagreed and when I left to meet Floran, he did not come with me.
Two hours and more haggling than I had ever done later, Floran and I agreed that we should meet at dawn and travel with him, as Menekhet was his destination as well. We would each have a mount, as well as space in his wagons for our things, and food and provisions would be included. It cost me dearly, but it felt worth it, and safer besides.
********************************
"Did you see them, Portia? D'angelines! When Faline brought news of them, I scarce believed my ears, and yet there was no doubt upon seeing her." Floran was already penning a missive as he spoke to his wife.
"And you're going to be traveling with them?" The way her face seemed to pinch showed what she thought about that. She had been glaring daggers and the lovely angel the entire time she'd been her, but she had been so intent on her negotiations that she hadn't noticed.
"Only for a day or so," he replied, sealing the letter and calling for his best rider. "Cassius Actaeon has put it about that he will pay triple for D'angeline slaves. It's rumored he's married a few of them already, and he's hungry for more. It does make a man wonder about them..." He stopped that sentence at one look from his wife. "Well, it's no matter to us, within a day of travel, we'll be rid of them and quite a bit richer."
|
|
|
Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 11, 2011 18:19:42 GMT -5
We were on our way, finally. It was early, and I knew that Erie was cross about leaving so soon after we'd arrived in the relative comfort of Carthage, but something was driving me to leave as soon as possible, so I simply ignored his concerns. Perhaps it was wrong of me, to be so singleminded about this, but there was nothing for it. Eros did not seem to mind either way, at least, and I could not say what Tal and Sirena thought, though neither seemed as out of sorts of as Erie.
The caravan was large, several wagons and more horseman, and Floran had gifted us with the best horses in his retinue. He'd also given Eros, Sirena and I a gift of sandsilk trousers and a matching loose fitting tunic, all in shades of pale tan or light brown. The clothes were comfortable, and fitted in such a way as to keep the sand of the desert from getting into our clothing and we were hooded in such a way as to protect our faces.
The trip started out easy enough, but soon I could see that crossing the desert was going to be harder than I'd thought. As the sun climbed over the horizon, the heat began to wear on me, and when I looked ahead, the horizon wavered and baked. We rode mostly in silence, though Floran and his men were gregarious enough. Some of the time Floran rode with me, questioning me about Terre d'Ange, and I was glad to get my mind off of the oppressive heat.
We made camp that night, and it was a relief to leave the saddle behind for the tent that Erie and I shared, though neither of us was in the mood to do more than simply roll over and fall asleep. The night was as cold as the day was hot, however, and eventually we were holding each other for warmth if nothing else.
The morning dawned too early, and the second day of travel began.
|
|
Cassius Actaeon
Noble
*Voted Best Foreign Character and Member of Best Overall Thread 2010*
Posts: 66
|
Post by Cassius Actaeon on Jun 12, 2011 18:02:17 GMT -5
My son Davion brought me the info: a caravan that would have amongst it three D'angeline women and two men. I was less concerned with the men, but of course, they could produce heirs a lot easier than their woman.
We rode out at dawn to lie in wait and when I saw the caravan, I gave orders for my men to seize all of it and enslave everyone but Floran, who I wanted killed. A man who would make a deal with someone and then sell them to me wasn't the kind of person I trusted in my household, so the viper could bleed out in the desert for all I cared.
It was easy enough to kill Floran and the other traders, but the man had been wily enough to hire guards, and those gave us a little more trouble. Surprisingly, the D'angeline men took up arms as well, though I supposed I shouldn't have imagined them to be as soft as women just because they looked it. Perhaps this would be more of a challenge than I'd anticipated.
I instructed my son to secure the women, and if they had to kill the men, so be it.
|
|
|
Post by Talenon Shahrizai on Jun 12, 2011 18:12:58 GMT -5
We only made it to the second day of travel before we were set upon by what I first took for brigands. After they immediately killed the person in charge and dispatched the rest of the traders, however, I sensed that it wasn't that simple.
I didn't know if Erie could fight, but I could, and I pushed Sirena, Sophine and Eros into one of the wagons as I grabbed my sword and engaged with the first man that came my way. He was a decent fighter, but lacked precision or patience and I killed him when he was foolish enough to lunge at me, leaving his throat unprotected. There were more of them, though, a lot more, and it wasn't long before Erie - who apparently could use a sword were back to back, surrounded and outnumbered six to one. I didn't like those odds, though I was not quite ready to back down... wondering how many I could kill before I succumbed to the injuries I was sure to take, and if it would be enough to see Sirena free.
|
|
|
Post by Sirena Shahrizai on Jun 12, 2011 19:29:23 GMT -5
After being at sea the sand wasn't so different as I expected. Both moved in waves of sort, though these ones were hotter. Both had abrasive sprays, both reflected the sun until you could go near to blind staring too long, and both were as fickle as they were heartless. I'd gotten my bath in Carthage, but that feeling of a calling had led me to be gleeful when we'd left and headed deeper into the golden dunes. Gold sand, and somewhere hiding in them were the sharp rivers of more gold, like wheat. Why did I think these things? Let me just be warm, like blood, like burning flames that showed a light in the heart.
The second day I'd woken and known something was wrong, my eyes glazed slightly as I waited for the song of hoof beats. I needed to hear them, the beautifully masked voice had said so and I loved him, though not the same way as my Tal. A part of my mind sang a battle-hymn full of the promise of blood, another sang of sorrow, but both hummed the same word between notes. Destiny. What destiny, silly ones? You have to find the question, something screaming inside to drown out its own greatness. Make sense!
Then the hoofbeats, the smell of blood cooking on the hot sands, and that pressure. It hurt, more than blades and shattered glass, like Tal when he hadn't stayed, when my mind had broken like a rope pulled too hard. I went into the wagon when Tal put me there, giving him a solemn look, then looked at Sophine and Eros where they sat before I peeked out between the coverings. Tal fought with his shining blade, the sunbeams making it look like fire, and I smiled and hummed to myself, leaning my head against the wood even as my hands curled against my ears.
This was badness, it felt like La Scarletina with sharp blades, stabbing them into my eyes. My Talenon was beautiful. He's too strong and a threat. Quiet! Destiny wants its due. I have to follow the path? First you have to find the first step. Yes, for them. Sophine and her illness, the other brother and sister, myself and my Tal, and that other one. But my love, my love, I won't take that path unless you're on it. There will be a way, just wait!
|
|
|
Post by Guy de Layne on Jun 12, 2011 19:52:09 GMT -5
I was sorry for Lilli that I'd had to leave her behind, but for myself, I made better time alone. Tiberium had almost been a dead-end, and when there was no sign of Marc or Henri either, I began to feel uneasy. Perhaps Sophine was on to something, and if that was the case, I was even more worried about her. I found the D'angeline, Noelie de Maignard, and she gave me the same information she'd given my sister, with the exception of the letters, which Sophine had with her.
No matter, I sailed for Carthage the same day that I had arrived in Tiberium, chafing at the pace of the sea voyage. Winds were favorable and we made good time, but it felt too slow for my taste, and when we landed, I could not wait to have a horse under me again.
I was in luck, it appeared, for I had arrived only one day behind my sister. I was out of luck, however, in that she had just that morning departed for Menekhet with a merchant caravan. A merchant caravan could not travel as fast as one man on horseback, however, nor cover their tracks, and it was not hard for me to catch up with them at dawn the second day.
However, I wasn't the only one to catch up to them. As I saw the men come washing across the desert, I thought at first it was a trick of the light, a mirage, but no, the sounds of screams and the splash of blood on sand was real enough. I was tempted to go charging in, sword drawn, but first I knew I had to see where my sister was. I watched as a Shahrizai - not my sister's husband - shoved her and the other women into a wagon while he and Erie fought bravely. It was time.
We were outnumbered, but I was as good as three men, and that was modest. I rode in with a loud cry, breaking the circle and giving my countrymen a fighting chance.
|
|
|
Post by Sirena Shahrizai on Jun 12, 2011 20:27:14 GMT -5
So much blood, but Tal and Erie were brave- though my eyes were for Tal more, because he was mine to look at and he was my lodestone. The more I looked though the more it felt as though I had to move though. The masked one, with the beautiful bronze claws, he stood outside, just beyond my vision. A path then? How did you find a path you couldn't see? Perhaps with your feet. Why must I go now? Because if you go later it will be much, much worse. I don't like this destiny so much. No one likes their true destiny, but your heart and blood make you strong enough.
Almost heedlessly I sighed and took the veil from my face and hair, setting it down on the bottom of the carriage and letting the blue-black Shahrizai locks fall around me in all of their shiny splendor. My clothing was those same trousers and blouses that Eros and Sophine wore but the light tan would bring out my hair and eyes that much more strongly. I was small, but I was quick. This would be a test to me. To better feel the path beneath my feet I kicked off my slippers, then heard a cry and looked back out as a Casseline rode up, puzzled for a moment. Oh, a surprise. The gods do seem to love those. My path still calls me.
Giving Sophine and Eros a mysterious smile I slipped from the wagon too quickly for them to stop me, the small dagger I kept on my thigh in my hand, the thing no longer than a handspan but wickedly sharp. The soldiers were busy with the fighting and I looked around as my feet carried me where they would, a lyrical song brewing in my mind and then leaving my lips, a song of summoning and belonging, sweet sounds with dark words, growing louder as I moved. There was a part of myself that watched this interestedly and wondered what I was about, but I kept going. A man on a horse stood far away and I met his eyes as I continued, giving a curtsy as I did and then rising to look at my Tal. "I think I know the question now," I said to him across the sand, a look of brief sorrow in my eyes. "Stop. I don't want any of you to die."
|
|
|
Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 14, 2011 20:10:30 GMT -5
It took me a few minutes to register that we were being attacked, but by then Talenon was shoving the three of us women into one of the wagons.
"Eros!" I cried out, reaching for him as the tent flap shut in my face. "Oh Gods, what's happening?" I said, fear making my stomach turn. Erie shook her head, her eyes wide, while Sirena peeked outside. I could hear the sounds of swords clanging and the shouts of men, and the fear in the pit of my stomach intensified.
I was about to ask Sirena what she saw, despite being afraid of what she might say, when she suddenly took off her veil and walked out out into the fray. I was so shocked for a moment that I just stared at the canvas before I yanked it open and peeked out.
It was a mess, there were bodies everywhere and the air smelled like copper. I saw Erie, though, and breathed a sigh of relief before I realized that Sirena was ... surrendering? I couldn't believe she would do something like that, until I counted the amount of men that Talenon, Erie and ... was that Guy? My head was spinning from the rapid turn of events, and for the moment I was unable to do any more than simply stare at the scene unfolding before me.
|
|
Cassius Actaeon
Noble
*Voted Best Foreign Character and Member of Best Overall Thread 2010*
Posts: 66
|
Post by Cassius Actaeon on Jun 14, 2011 23:35:49 GMT -5
It was amusing, when the other D'angeline appeared out of the sand, but my smile was wiped from my lips when he killed two of my sons out of hand.
"Take that one alive!" I called out, though I had my doubts that it was possible. Still, anyone that could fight like that was useful, if he could be turned to my purpose. If not, well, I could kill him as well later. There was no more killing however, because one of the women came forward, one with hair as black as night, a blue hue to it that drew the eye.
She spoke in their language, which I knew enough of now to communicate and I held up my hand for my men to stand down. It was unnecessary, because at her appearance everyone had stopped moving, staring at her as she swayed across the sand.
"If you do not wish anyone to die, tell your men to lay down their arms and come peacefully," I said in their language. She was close enough to me now that I could kill her before any of the men could do anything, and I loosened my sword in its scabbard to let them know I meant to use it. It would be a shame to waste a woman like this, beautiful and daring, but if I had to, I would not hesitate.
|
|
|
Post by Talenon Shahrizai on Jun 15, 2011 0:16:51 GMT -5
I didn't know who the man was who appeared out of nowhere to help us, but I wasn't going to argue with an extra swordarm. It didn't matter though, because a flash of blue black hair out of the corner of my eye stopped me dead.
"Rena!" I yelled out, and if everyone hadn't stopped fighting, that might have been my last word.
I watched in shock as the man who was obviously the leader of these group loosened his sword and told Rena to tell us to stand down. It was unnecessary. If she was at risk, there was no more I could do ... I dropped my weapon before any further words were spoken. I knew Rena, there was something behind this, and I had to trust her.
|
|
|
Post by Sirena Shahrizai on Jun 15, 2011 19:41:32 GMT -5
The confusion from both sides was almost a song in itself and I smiled slightly at it, looking at the man, the bad king, as he loosened his sword, nearly laughing but refraining from doing so. I wanted them to live, so I had to play nice. Whether or not I'd survive was still a question but I had a feeling I would. The golden-haired girl still waited and I would see her, to tell her more of what she was missing from her own questions. Kushiel must have loved her very much to think her worth all of us doing what we were, with me as the bloodhound. I knew he loved me too, but would the same have happened if I was surrounded by sand?
Turning to the others I looked at the fighting men, then the women in their wagon, and raised my voice, clear and melodic. Tal's sword was already in the sand and he seemed worried, and I wished I could have reassured him. No, no, other things first. I needed to be the dagger, to quickly strike the heart so there was no pain. "No more fighting, cousins, Casseline," I said in a firm tone. "We have to stand down and go with this man to his home and not be afraid. The only time a snake will strike is when you're gripped by fear." I hoped they would understand, and if not for the many cackling voices in my mind I would have been afraid too. Oh Tal, please Tal, please make them listen...
Turning back to the man on the horse I gave him a curtsy, then peeked at him from beneath my lashes. "My lord, do you have a white rose that blooms in the sand?" He did, I knew it, but I wondered if he knew it as well. What else could you call a blonde cousin with so much red anger in her?
|
|
Cassius Actaeon
Noble
*Voted Best Foreign Character and Member of Best Overall Thread 2010*
Posts: 66
|
Post by Cassius Actaeon on Jun 18, 2011 15:47:54 GMT -5
I was surprised that the men listened to her, she was only a woman, though she did have a commanding presence, much like the blond fury I kept at home. I narrowed my eyes at her words, which were a bit hard to make sense of, though I attributed that to the fact that I was just learning their language.
A white rose that blooms in the sand? I didn't know what she meant at first, but it came to me that someone with the thorns that Lei had could easily be considered a 'white rose.'
"I think so," I said in her tongue, glancing at my men. "Take them," I commanded in my own language, not wishing to waste time out here in the open on riddles. There would be plenty of time to question her later. Two of the men dropped their weapons, but one did not.
"There's no way in hell we're coming with you," he said, suddenly striking out, his sword slicing across the throat of one of my sons. Without a cry, my son was down and the rest of my men were upon this treacherous foreigner. He could do nothing as more swords riddled his body than any man could stand, and while the rest of the men were being bound he lay there, bleeding out in the sand.
|
|
|
Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 18, 2011 16:02:53 GMT -5
I was watching with my breath in my throat as Sirena told the men to lay down their weapons. They had to, I realized, because there were just too many enemies. Even with my brother there, eventually they would be overcome. Talenon and Guy obeyed, but Erie... he had a fire in his eyes that had never dimmed, despite the way things sometimes lay between us. Not now, Erie, this isn't the time for it...
I thought they would disarm him, but in mere seconds, my husband was lying in the sand, blood pouring from him at an alarming rate.
"No!" I screamed, shoving the canvas aside and jumping out of the wagon, my feet slipping in the blood and the sand as I tried to get to Erie's side. I could hear Eros' own cry, feel her next to me as the two of us fell to our knees at his side. "Erie!" I tried to staunch the flow of blood from one wound, then another, but it was no good, there were too many. I tried to do something besides sob, tried to tell him I loved him, but his eyes stared blankly up at the desert sun, and I knew it was too late - he would never hear me tell him I loved him again.
I was only dimly aware of hands on my arms, until they started to pull me away from Erie. I kicked and bit, screamed and struggled, but in the end I was bound and thrown over a horse in front of one of my husband's killers, and as we begin to ride away, all I could do was watch Erie's body fade from view, lost to this vast desert.
|
|