|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 6, 2005 13:29:41 GMT -5
His legs cramped beneath him, Ian watched the last of the army vanish over the horizon. With several falls, slowed by wildly grabbing at any branch that obstructed his path, he was able to reach the ground. He hobbled toward the knights' circle, trying to stretch some life back into his limbs.
He crept forward slowly, as he realised there was movement in the clearing. Parting the bushes, he looked inside. A vicious looking snake slithered from statue to statue, it's venom leaving steaming holes in the grass. Slowly, the snake raised its head, hovering near a statue as though to strike. Ian wondered why it had been left here. Were the statues more than they seemed?
|
|
|
|
Post by cree8ivone on Jun 7, 2005 13:04:27 GMT -5
Ian watched in horror as the large snake struck the statue. A hollow scream reached his ears. It was like someone was stuck deep in a well and yelling for help.
The scream grew louder. Ian covered his ears. The statue shuddered. The snake turned to face Ian. Then he understood he was screaming. The statue may have been screaming as well, but he didn’t have time to think about it.
Like an arrow the snake sped towards him, fangs exposed and Ian’s instincts took over. He pushed up to his knees, reached behind his back and grabbed the herring knife. Just as the snake reached up to strike him, Ian sliced its head off.
Because of the snake’s momentum, the head (though no longer attached to its body) continued through the air and hit Ian where his knight scar was. The force of the blow drove him backwards. He landed several feet away face up to the sky.
A bolt of searing pain shot through his body and Ian knew that the fangs had found their mark. Despair overcame him and he mourned his own death.
His sorrow was not because he would no longer be alive, but rather that he had not been able to complete his mission. He had failed his NaNa, his father, the Green Man, CuCu, the Lady of the Wood, the angelic Knights of Ni, and his Kingdom. The list was endless.
But then… Ian heard these words, “The sting of death is broken,” and the Stone Knights moved.
|
|
|
|
Post by Child of Immanuel on Jun 7, 2005 14:31:22 GMT -5
He almost leaped out of his skin when the sharp dagger poked his leg. Scouts in green camoflage uniforms had crept to the foot of the tree. When he saw their fierce faces, he surrendered and meekly came out of the tree. "To the Black Lady!" hissed one. "Hurry, before the Bluebird sees us!"
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 7, 2005 20:01:42 GMT -5
He wasn't sure what was going on, for now he no longer seemed to be in a tree, and the green uniforms had become interlocking plates of armor. His bed swayed and lurched till he felt himself drop into darkness once again.
He opened his eyes again and found himself lying in a soft bed and staring up at the Lady. She had changed little, and still she glowed with that strange light. Mesmerized, he watched her pull a needle smoothly through a strange dark fabric, seemingly made from shadows, for there appeared to be no substance to it.
She noticed him, and set her sewing aside. "You have wakened at last. I nearly despaired of your life, my Prince."
He twisted, why did this suddenly seem wrong? "Say the word?" he murmered.
She moaned, and dropped her eyes. "Do you not know me? After five years in my company, the tender words we shared, your vows of faithfulness... Ah, me!" A perfectly formed tear traced its way down her cheek, leaving a glistening trail.
He reached out to her, then felt the ache in his shoulder. Looking down, he realized, the knight had been removed, flayed from his shoulder leaving a raw patch of bleeding flesh coated in a foul smelling salve. No, things were not as they should be, and his questions could never be addressed to this Lady.
Somehow, she seemed false. He buried his face in his pillow to avoid looking upon her familiar beauty, for a rush of memory had passed through him at her words, and the thought of his lady wrapped his heart in sorrow. Had she turned, changed? How could she be so different? For she had often, and willingly spoken "Ni" for him before.
|
|
|
|
Post by Child of Immanuel on Jun 8, 2005 6:03:20 GMT -5
(Sorry! I forgot this page was here during my last reply)
The sorceress peered through the dense curtains at the captive. She had taken his knife, but his mind seemed a harder matter. CuCu's accidental touch, the siloaths, none of it had worked. It was time for the Black Ruby. She moved to the shelf smoothly and gracefully to pull down a bottle.
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 8, 2005 9:11:18 GMT -5
Farala carried the shimmering bottle across the room, acutely aware of the flux and flow of power still surging around the petulant young man. Her lip curled in a sneer. Even after all these years, her sister, Lei, still poured power far too liberally upon the undeserving, and this one...this one. She stopped and turned to study the broad shoulders, strong and well-formed. His face, even in its youth, still carried the same strong lines as his father's. It had been so easy to call Ingmar to herself. This, his son was stronger somehow, and far more attractive for it. She could sense the love tinge in Lei's power.
She had been so close...so close to gaining his trust. Often she had hated how much alike she and Lei were, but this time she had rejoiced...till he had requested the word. That awful word! How she hated its very existance, hated Lei for not fearing it, hated this fool of a boy for knowing of it. Very well, she would risk his life and the end of her dreams in a final gamble. She would wait no longer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Child of Immanuel on Jun 9, 2005 16:13:39 GMT -5
"The Knights of Ni! are mine," she murmured. "My father King Malcolm is mine. The greatest tree is mine. You also are mine." This was the incantation that would start the fluid's potency as she poured it down his throat. Power... nothing on earth is better.
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 9, 2005 18:50:01 GMT -5
Hacking and coughing, Ian felt the stuff burn its way through his system. Fiery rage surged through his mind and he lurched upward, catching the throat of the lady before him. She scarcely had a chance to scream before he snapped her neck and flung her acrost the room.
He was whole. He was powerful!
He snatched his knife from a nearby shelf, grabbed his bag, and rushed from the room. Though many green-clad men appeared and attempted to obstruct his path, he found he was invulnerable to their weapons and charged right through them flinging them aside like so many toys, to crush against furniture and walls.
|
|
|
|
Post by dgan on Jun 10, 2005 2:26:17 GMT -5
This story has expanded beyond my comprehension..... *thinks of ending the story with a nuclear attack* lol...just kidding, I would never do that to you, karenee  |
|
|
|
Post by cree8ivone on Jun 10, 2005 8:33:48 GMT -5
LOL
Ian watched the stealth bomber deliver its payload...
LOL
You're right dgan we must 'fight the good fight' and keep the story going. Then again, I would venture that Karenee could deal with whatever wrinkle we threw her way.
That reminds me, I need to add to the story today as well.
**gets behind the wheel of his think tank**
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 10, 2005 12:01:59 GMT -5
 You are soooooo right. Stealth bomber? Pshaw! I could deal with that with one hand tied behind my back. LOL       Although, I appreciate efforts to create a proper story line. LOL I'm looking forward to your contribution cree8.
|
|
|
|
Post by Child of Immanuel on Jun 10, 2005 15:22:20 GMT -5
Lei ran from her tent, jostled and pushed by the green clad men. They knelt in Ian's wake, crying, "All hail the great Ingmar! He has destroyed the Black Lady!" Lei pushed through. "Ingmar!" she cried, sobbing with joy. He turned, saw her, and snarled, but did not turn back. Lei was left standing alone, her tears turned to tears of sorrow. Her switched potion had gone completely awry. Ian was an animal.
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 10, 2005 16:10:48 GMT -5
Ian charged into the woods, torn by confusion. Had he killed Lei, broken his lady? The surge of strength seemed to be wearing off. He stumbled and fell heavily against the base of a tree. He buried his face in the rough bark, fighting back a scream of pain as fire burned through his body, searing him completely. What was real? What was not? Had he truly seen her alive?
No longer able to trust his own mind after all that had happened to him, Ian sat with his head in his hands, unable to choose which way to go. Tears trickled down his cheeks, sinking into his beard. Shaking, he curled around his pack, hiding his face in its folds. It all had been too much. He could not go on.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tegid on Jun 10, 2005 17:04:04 GMT -5
But Lei had not given up. "Ingmar, come back!" she cried from far off. "Ingmar! It's crucial! I have an important message for you from my sister!"
Ian lifted his head and turned toward the voice. Uncertainty wracked his brain, and he decided on caution. "Who is your sister? And who are you? More lackeys of the she-monster?"
In the fading daylight, with the full moon rising, he saw the woman coming toward the tree. "I am Niniel Lei, the Banhope. Ingmar, do ... do you not remember me? I have served in your court so many summers! And I have taught your son everything he knows about gwyddbwyll."
Something distant stirred in Ian when she said this, but he couldn't quite place it.
"And my sisters Nienna and Nessa, surely you recall the dear times you had visiting with them around our winter hearth with your retinue!"
The potion-induced ferocity subsided further in Ian at some dim memory. He would test her verity. "I remember those two, yes, yes... " His eyes narrowed. "But you ... ?"
She hung her head. "I've always had a difficult time getting on the A-list for those gatherings, while everyone's first thought is for my two sisters. Nessa, the Banlove, serving in the court at Amazonia, and teaching them all those wrestling and boxing skills she's learned from her husband -- in my most honest moments, though, I have to admit she IS the Greatest. And Nienna's words always come to pass." She held a small roll of parchment toward Ian. "She has words for you."
Ian reached out and took the roll from her hand and looked in her eyes. He still couldn't be sure. And his mind hurt, his eyes were still blurred from the tears. He opened the parchment and tried to focus on the words. The light was dim. What was this? From what he could make out, it looked to be portentious words, both instructions and warnings, but he couldn't read it all. It looked like there was another message interfering, written in moonletters. What did it say?
Ian gasped, but caught himself. He could clearly see "Farala" and "Ingmar's spawn" and "come with all haste" and "don't let Purple Hair ... away". At the bottom of this second message was the signature of the Djinn of the End of Desire.
Ian realized he had in his hands something he wasn't supposed to be seeing.
|
|
|
|
Post by karenee on Jun 11, 2005 1:11:20 GMT -5
The sheer size of the conspiracy indicated in the moonletters overwhelmed his mind and he sat, staring blankly at the page, until Lei knelt beside him and began to read. She seemed to see none of the moonletters, reading clearly in a gentle voice that threatened to draw him beneath a spell of adoration.
Indeed the situation was grim. The knights of Ni were oppressed on all sides, limited by the curse. Hints of the Wild Bluebird of Ekklsindorfia amassing a large army to the south had already been verified. His own kingdom was subdued, annexed to her Empire and she had already begun to set her eyes upon the forest. They would need all their wits to keep from being crushed between her armies. And the Wild Fereans to the north had been stealthy in their approach, but it was certain that if the knights were weakened by the attack from the south, that the wildmen would take advantage of it.
Then came the warning. "Beware the traitor. A shadow falls upon the day, and the great tree is fallen. Ware the fox that skulks in the night, and the light that comes before dawn. Proceed with all haste." He stiffened, wondering why the moonletters had been placed on this scroll. Could Nienna be a traitor and this message false? For whom had it been written?
"Lei, who had this scroll?" She looked up, trickling a handful of leaves into the air to drift to the earth.
"I found it among Farala's belongings when I switched the potion. She was harming you, but I did what I could. She captured us upon the path as we were taking you to the Haven, and only allowed me to remain with you because she desired to keep me under her eye."
"I have forgotten much." Ian said, sighing.
Lei's face twisted and a tear slipped down her cheek. "I shielded you as I could, but the siloath are strong and my protections failed, harming your mind."
He offered her his arm and pondered the meaning of a message from the Djinn of the End of Desire placed upon a scroll clearly intended for his eyes only. As they entered the deep cleft leading into the basin of the fortress mountain, he realised the message must have been intercepted by the enemy, and carried onward to Farala so she could arrange her attempt on his life. Relaxing, he lead Lei forward, vowing to verify his theory as soon as possible. His only other theory was too horrible even to contemplate.
He stopped and turned to her. "Speak the word, please."
She looked up at him, her face glowing in the shadows, and her eyes lit up with inner laughter as she opened her mouth to speak.
|
|
