Freedom Pt. 06-08

"Cass ended the connection. And no, Markus, I'm not telling her we had a threesome!"

<<

Casiama placed the farcaster in her pack, swinging herself about to return to the throne room with Talos' answer. She spotted a black-clad sorceress she had just met huffing and puffing her way up the stairs, and wondered why the girl seemed to enjoy the exertion so much. Casiama felt a pang of territoriality at the sight of her before sweeping it away.

"Hey Tatiana," she greeted casually. The sorceress nervously glanced in her direction with a pout, her standard expression.

"Hey... you," Tatiana squeaked. Her eyes danced about the palace grounds, and she found her backpack by a bench just behind the elven beauty. Casiama laughed.

"Did you already forget of me? We just met not half an hour ago," the elf chided impishly. Tatiana shook her head hastily, thinking her serious.

"No! I mean... you're, uhm, Talos' companion. I know."

Casiama skipped towards her, closing the ten-foot distance between the pair. Tatiana had already forgotten her name, she knew.

"My name's Cass. If you have forgotten," she said. The elf noticed the sorceress' eyes appeared to be looking through her, and not at her.

"Yes. Okay. Hi, Cass," Tatiana uttered exhaustedly. She tried walking past Casiama, the elf stepping to the side to impede her.

"Do I make you nervous?" Casiama asked with a smirk. Tatiana didn't answer, but did point behind the elf towards a black furred pack with a pout. Casiama turned to strut towards it, lifting the furred pack up by its strap and handed it to Tatiana.

Casiama felt unnecessarily playful in the woman's presence, a feeling of feigned superiority over her whimpering form. She decided to play with her. Just a touch.

"Talos finds you pretty, you know," the elf smirked mischeviously. Casiama noticed the adorable sorceress jump in her own skin at the sudden statement and the elf shivered in delight.

"That's... that's..." Tatiana stuttered with wide eyes, already turning around to make a hasty retreat. She picked her cat up from the floor.

"He said he wants to sleep with you," Casiama chortled deviously with an exaggerated hand gesture. "Said he would move the heavens and soil to make it happen, and all that. I'd never seen him so worked up."

The elf felt just a touch of sympathy at that last statement, realizing too late that she'd gone too far in her jest. Tatiana appeared as if she were just about to cry - although, that may have been her normal expression - and Casiama decided to let her go.

"Take care, Tatiana."

"Yes-" the sorceress replied before jumping anxiously once more, an impact of oak wood on stone startling her.

The doors to the throne room slammed open, and Talos marched out of them with pure hatred in his eyes with hands outstretched.

"Talos, stop!" Sigismund shouted, running behind him. Talos spun towards him, but continued walking towards the steps of the pyramid backwards.

"What the fuck is her problem?! People are dying out there, and she rests calmly as if it's normal!"

"Don't do anything rash," Sigismund said, squinting into his eyes. "You're letting emotion get the best of you."

"Oh am I, Sigi?!" Talos extended his arms, as if speaking to the entire city, "Then let it be known, that I, Talos of Evora, am-"

Talos' statement was cut short, having run into a shaking Tatiana halting his progress with a hand pushed into his back. He had been but five steps from the edge of the pyramid when she had stopped him. He stepped forward then turned towards her.

"Oh. Thanks, Tatiana," he said quietly, somewhat amused the sorceress had returned. "That would've been quite the tumble, eh?"

Tatiana nodded, her eyes flickering between Talos and Casiama nervously. "Yes. Yes it would have." She had more to say, hadn't she?

"What's this about people dying, Talos?" she asked under her breath.

-

The sun was high above their heads, over a sky of never-ending clouds. Three humans and an elf sat atop the steps of the massive pyramid of Villjord.

Talos sighed dreadfully, then explained the situation to an enthralled enchantress. He skipped over the gruesome parts of the tale, believing the young woman before him too weak of stomach to handle them. Tatiana did not speak once during the monologue, but nodded attentively with eyes dancing between his and the clouds above.

Tatiana then breathlessly and hastily explained her own experience with the reavers of red-and-black, and her successes saving the town of Hvalbarg from their ravagings just a couple days ago. Her tale amazed the party, Talos somewhat in disbelief that this timid girl in black was likely the most powerful sorceress he had ever encountered. Still, one notion had him puzzled most of all.

"That's amazing, Tatiana. But... how did you get here before us?" Talos asked. Dusk lept into Tatiana's lap, and the sorceress patted him instinctively.

"Teleportation. Of the Redstone transmutation variety," she answered immediately, returning the man's grin with a subtle half-smile. Talos shrugged.

"And in Elvish?" he asked playfully. He knew of teleportation, of course. He'd traveled with sorceresses in the past who were capable of the feat, but had always distrusted the magic too much to be teleported with them.

Tatiana pondered the question's meaning for a moment then shook her head with embarrassment.

"I can travel instantaneously from place to place, so long as I can picture the destination in my mind. But it takes time to recuperate after each portal. One to seven days, depending on distance and mass."

"Mass?"

"Sorry," Tatiana blushed, "how much I bring with me to the destination. Or... how many I bring with me," she said breathlessly.

Sigismund cleared his throat to Talos' right. Talos had forgotten he wasn't alone with the sorceress.

"Would you be open to porting us out of here, Tatiana?" he asked. Sigismund saw this as an opportunity to skip a week trudging the cold frosts of Isbrygga, even if he didn't particularly trust teleportation either.

Tatiana nodded, her sight fixed respectfully onto his. "Yes," she answered succinctly.

Talos shoved the veteran on the shoulder. "Is that what we're doing now, Sigi? Abandoning these people to their fates?" Sigismund rolled his eyes.

"Look, Talos. I have a lot of experience dealing with reavers, just as they have a lot of experience with reaving. And I have but two words for you if you're looking to stop the cycle," Sigismund said coldly.

Talos raised his eyebrows in query.

"Impossibly idealistic."

Sigismund rested his chin on a hand then gazed out over the city of Villjord in silent contemplation. The party shared a moment of silence before any of them spoke up. Talos would not be dissuaded by his mentor's words. He had a lifetime of misery to atone for, and had found his opportunity.

"I'm with you, Talos," Casiama whispered perfectly from behind, placing her thin hands on his shoulders for physical confirmation. Talos smirked, then looked to Tatiana. The black-clad sorceress nodded with a half-smile, answering a question that needn't be asked.

"How can I help?" Tatiana asked with confidence.

-

Hilde awoke after the longest sleep of her life, groggy and miserably sore. She shook her head to try and redress a terrible pain in her neck, and her eyes fluttered open to assess her present situation. She spied several longboats in the sea in front of her, each holding a black sail with a cross of red battleaxes.

Reavers. It all came back to her again. The escape, the burning of the vessel, the incineration of all who opposed her. The failure, the weakness, falling into the sea a defeated woman. How was she still alive?

"The mage is awake, Wanderer!" a man bellowed gleefully to her side.

Hilde tried moving, but could not. Her hands were bound beside her neck through three holes in a plank of wood, which was fastened to the deck of the Mercy. Her legs behind her struggled in vain to find a comfortable standing position as she was forced to lean forward into her binds. She tried summoning another fireball, but found she was once again uncapable of the act.

Hilde could not see what was behind her, and perhaps that was for the better, as she could only hear the raucous roars of a dozen or two men as well as the powerful waves crashing against the ship. In front of her was only the bow of the Mercy, a decomposing and destroyed slave tied at the fore, and the endless sea beyond that. Judging that she were still here, Hilde had obviously failed to incinerate the vessel in her escape.

She remembered the axe lodged in her shoulder, a shoulder hidden beyond the wooden binds she now found herself in. Hilde couldn't feel pain from the wound, and figured they must have a restorer on board as well.

"Wonderful!" Kjartan exclaimed from behind her.

"Kjartan!" Hilde screamed hoarsely. "I will end all you hold dear!"

"You will be the one destroyed, Three," he declared to her before turning around to address his crew.

"This one's open for business! Call the ships! We sail for Villjord!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Freedom Part 7: Siege

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The night settled early over the port town of Villjord in the far corner of the world. Talos and Casiama were now in a lively hall of an inn down by the port of Villjord, hoping to find some decent-enough sustinence now that they had found civilization once again. Talos was pleased to find the inn offered all manner of fresh fish, and purchased several greedily for both himself and his companion. Mead was offered as well, wordlessly by the innkeep. The pair of course accepted the gesture, and made their way to a table.

Talos leaned against Casiama, nodding towards a table in the corner of the hall where he had spotted a familiar sorceress. Tatiana was seated alone, reading through an extensive black tome while her black cat munched on a gigantic fish atop the table. She was seated as far away as possible from the raucous revelry of the fellow inn-goers, and wore a genuine smile on her face as she flipped through the pages of the book.

"She looks happy enough already. Why must you ruin every girl's day, Talos?" Casiama asked sarcastically. Talos smirked, then walked towards the table in the corner of the hall regardless.

"She's the only one here besides you who speaks Elvish, and I'll be speaking to you all night," he justified in a half-whisper. Casiama rolled her eyes, following him to the table with a smirk.

Talos stopped just behind Tatiana, attempting to read some of the words in the tome she was so obviously engrossed by. His mind skipped over several of the words written in all capital letters, before realizing the book was written in Kinglish.

"Hey, Tatiana," he greeted coyly, taking a seat at her table before it being offered. Tatiana quickly swivled her gaze towards him with wide eyes, and slammed the book shut as he sat down. Talos smiled nervously, to match her reaction.

"Sorry...?" he said slowly. Tatiana shook her head, bringing a gloved hand to her neck and swallowing.

"No, no! You just surprised me. That's all," she quickly replied, her words hurried. Her other hand never left the top of the black book on the table, and Talos glanced towards it. He immediately found the cover to be familiar. "What brings you here?" she asked nervously.

Talos chuckled, nodding towards the book he had recognized from Mschuleft. He had to lug that tome, as well as three others, a quarter of the way across the Empire. He would never mistake it for another.

"We're staying here, but apologies for the surprise, Tatiana. Where'd you find that?"

Tatiana glanced down towards her hand, then towards Talos, then away again. She nearly hopped out of her skin when she realized Casiama was seated next to her in the opposite direction, having not heard her sit down. Tatiana looked towards her kitty instead.

"I-it's just a normal book, I swear! A friend from Catriona let me borrow it."

"Mmm," Talos mumbled, then took a swig of his ale. He let Tatiana stew in her own shivering discomfort a moment, then spoke once he swallowed.

"I recognize it. A friend of mine rescued the very same book from Mschuleft last year, though I am surprised to see it in another's possession so far from Catriona," he explained. Tatiana huffed, then let her hand drift from the book's cover.

"Oh! Well it's only a copy, Talos. They have already conjured dozens," she replied breathlessly.

"What's in it?" he asked with a smirk. The sorceress's cheeks reddened significantly.

Tatiana would never answer truthfully. While most of the Mschuleft Catalogue, as the four books were now known as, were useful spell tomes, this particular book was instead an autobiography of an unusually salacious sorceress who had lived centuries ago, known as Rose. She had documented all of her travels across the land, and described in detail the many throbbing thorns and weeping petals she had discovered whilst doing so.

"I-it's a history. Of the Age of Dragons," Tatiana hastily answered, her heart thumping in her chest. Talos didn't believe her, of course, but played along. She didn't need to know he couldn't read Kinglish.

"Fascinating," he replied dryly. "May I take a look?"

"No! I mean, uh..."

Talos chuckled ruthlessly. "Relax, Tatiana. I'm only teasing you. I'm sure it's just some boring mage stuff." Tatiana chuckled with him, albeit nervously. She hastily grabbed the book, leaning over in her seat to place it back into her travel sack. Talos caught a quick glance of Tatiana's clothed ass as she leaned, which was framed delicately by her silk dress.

His eyes flickered towards Casiama across the table when he realized his mistake, who had both her brows raised as she gazed back at him, as well as half a scaled ice fish in her mouth. She was failing horribly to consume it, and was likely tearing her gums in the process. Talos couldn't help but laugh at the helpless predicament of the otherwise formidable princess.

"Cass, stop," Talos giggled. "Good gods, did they not have fish in Tor Valliya?" Casiama blushed and released the fish from her mouth, letting it thud onto her wooden plate.

"We did. Only we at least prepared it properly," Casiama retorted just as a princess would, with a huff, pointing at her unprepared dinner. Talos leaned in to grab it, placing it on his own plate and brought a knife to it's tail. Tatiana's cat followed the fish as it traveled over it's head.

"They prepare ice fish with the scales still on, princess," Talos explained with a smile, cutting into it. "It practically melts the meat within, and it's delicious."

"Oh."

Tatiana clasped her gloved hands together atop the table, her eyes flickering between her tablemates as they conversed. A half-smile had formed on her lips, although she hadn't been aware of it. Talos placed the now-prepared fish onto Casiama's plate, which was pawed at by Tatiana's kitty before she placed a calming hand on it's back.

"Sorry for him. Dusk loves fish," Tatiana giggled, explaining the obvious. She smiled brightly as her eyes gazed upon the cat's black fur. Casiama grinned, and fed Dusk the first bite of her meal with a wide smile.

Talos cleared his throat, drinking in his lover's happiness. "Uh, Tatiana. Thanks for offering to bring my friends here to Villjord. It really means a lot to me, and I know we just met and all..."

Tatiana flicked the gaze of her sparkling brown eyes towards Talos nervously. "Yes?" she asked when he trailed off, wondering if he'd continue.

"And, uh... nothing. I'm just very thankful," Talos said. "I guess I'm sort of wondering why you jumped on board so quickly, is all."

She glanced away from him and took a deep breath. "I saw them, Talos. I know what they're capable of. And judging from your reaction today, we both received similar responses from the Jarlinna." Her gaze returned to his, and her next words were spoken softly, but with confidence.

"But when I saw you, Talos, I saw someone who was both capable and willing to do the right thing without recompense. That's enough for me."

Talos nodded to her, and he smiled genuinely. He so needed to hear that from someone.

"Thanks, Tatiana," he said softly. "I'm really glad we met."

-

The following morning Talos, Casiama, and Sigismund stood in a half-circle around a sorceress clad in black holding a kitten in her arms. It was still early, yet the city of Villjord was already teeming with noises of horse-drawn cart and townspeople milling about their day. A cold sun shone down upon them behind a field of clouds.

"Silvia! Good morning," Casiama greeted to the stone in her hand.

Talos had decided it was best to bring the party together before venturing out to find the reavers of red-and-black. He'd already warned Silvia, Vex, and Markus yesterday that the sorceress was coming to teleport them to him.

Tatiana was now moments away from teleporting to Dystval, a small Isbryggan town destroyed by the raiders a week ago. The journey out would be instantaneous, according to the sorceress, and the journey back would require two or three days of preparation.

Talos was naturally curious of Tatiana's ability, and decided to keep the farcaster's communication open during the sorceresses port just to see if it were truly instantaneous.

"Morning Cass! I'm all set over here," Silvia replied from a hundred miles away. "I'm just by the main hall in town."

This may be the first time in centuries that both a farcaster and teleporter had been used in parallel, Talos mused. He smirked towards Tatiana, the girl almost-imperceptably shivering as she prepared herself.

"Do you know of it?" he asked. Tatiana nodded in reply.

"Yes. See you in a couple days, Talos," she whispered nervously. Tatiana extended a gloved hand, outstretching her fingers. She dreamt of a sandy shorline studded by wooden houses blackened by flame.

"Okay, she's coming over," Casiama said excitedly with wide eyes. A bright flash of purple light emanated from Tatiana's being, slowly dancing away from her for a moment before being sucked back in hastily. Silvia replied within the instant.

"She's here. Hi there, I'm Silvia," they heard her greet through the stone. Casiama beamed, glancing over to a grinning Talos.

"Awesome," he uttered.

"Great. See you soon, Silvia," Casiama grinned, terminating the farcaster's magic.

"Oka-" Silvia almost said.

-

Talos, Casiama, and Sigismund passed the next two days quietly. They perused the markets of Villjord, shops aplenty with a thousand thousand magical baubles that they'd never understand due to the langauge barrier. They drank the mead, feasted on fish and stew. But mostly, they waited.

It was the second night since Tatiana's instantaneous journey to Dystval, and Talos and Casiama were in their private room at an inn near the large port of Villjord. Casiama laid contentedly on the pillows of the almost-comfortable bed, eyes cast unreadably towards the ceiling. Talos sat in a chair to her side, retrospectively gazing at a gold-and-sapphire circlet on the room's small table.

It had been the prized possession of a girl he'd known once. A girl who had all the potential in the world, potential which had been cast asunder by Talos' failure as a father. Tears welled in his eyes, but he did not cry.

"Gods I miss her," he croaked out after half an eternity. Casiama turned towards him, resting her head on her hands, but did not dare utter a word. "She really had a good soul, once. I don't think I'd ever thought of sunsets as more than a day's completion until I met her."