Completed [Seasonal Quest] Upon a Star (Open)

[Fallacy]

22nd Bell, 29th Winter, 511 AV "Mirror, Mirror, reflecting so bright The wishes of everyone tonight… Mirror, Mirror, with magic so nice I accept your price. Mirror, mirror, May you might Grant me my wish right? Mirror, mirror, shining in the night Answer me my wish, give the legends life…" The night was dark, and the city was resting. For once the chaos which had descended upon the city seemed to quell, settle in the dust, and the city was once more peaceful. Even the buildings seemed to shift just a little less, as if observant of the peoples need for sleep and this one night, this one night, of peace. Though not everyone was resting on this night, no, and the ones who were not would see quite the sight. A light, yes a light, flooding the city, but for only a moment, before it disappeared, vanished, just as mysteriously as it appeared. Although those who have been in Alvadas might sum it up to the fickle cities talents, a cry for attention at most, some who dabbled in magic and are more in tune that the rest of us, might sense a slight influx in the surrounding Djed, a ripple. 6th Bell, 30th Winter, 511 AV --- Verlyna’s Emerald Pool Location Link The sound of laughter pierced the silence of early morn. Nothing was quite like going to a ‘secret’ place with someone you love, no. Verlyna’s story was so tragic, that it was almost romantic to those sick in mind. She wanted power, and to stretch the limits and go beyond in her discipline. Too bad the cost was her life. Another giggle came forth, this one from a more feminine source, ”No, way.” The couple sat there at the edge of the pond, ”Im not going to look in it.” she exclaimed, her voice filled with determination, ”You’re crazy” she smiled up at him, leaning more into his arms as he held her. ”Well,” he shrugged, ”This is Alvadas. he laughed shifting slightly so he could get more of a grasp on her, ”Fine,” he kissed her forehead and gently got up, ”Ill just go in myself.” he proceeded to start to strip down, ”I am not afraid of mere legends.” he announced with a cocky smile discarding his shirt to the ground below, ”And Ill prove it to you, that I am the bravest man in all of Alvadas.” he laughed as his bare feet reached the edge of the pond, toes just inches away from the water. ”Marrian, you don’t have to.” she said getting up, ”Please, don’t…” she protested wrapping a hand under of his arms, ”You don’t need to prove anything to me.” she smirked and kissed his bare shoulder, ”You’ve already shown me enough. No one swims in the pond for a reason…” she sighed, ”Im not saying I believe in the stories, but all stories have some foundation of truth, right? They are made to warn the future generation of danger, and this pool is one of them.” There was a slight pause, a collection of words, ”Please, stay with me. Here, now. I already know you are as brave as any knight or warrior” she tried to reassure him, trying to get him to step down from the challenge he set before himself. Almost flinching at her touch he glanced back and smiled, listening to her words, ”I want to do this.” he said, ”Stories are stories and nothing more….” He stopped looking into the water. His muscles tensing, getting rigid, ”The water is nothing more a story.” he confirmed before growing silent. Waiting to hear him out she smiled at him, but that quickly faded as he just stood there, ”Mar?” she asked. No response. ”Mar?” she gave him a little shake. No response. ”Marrian?” her voice tinted with worry, ”Marrian.” anger could be heard, ”this is not funny. Answer me.” she gave him another shake. No response. ”Fine.” she gave him a push, thinking that the sudden force would make him answer her. Instead she watched as his body fell into the pool. No movement. ”Marrian.” she screamed as his body started to sink, as if being dragged, into the pool. Running in after him she gasped at the cold water nipping at her skin, so cold that it almost burned. It was warm for a winter day. Snow hadn’t quite set in, but the water was still freezing. Grabbing onto the body of her lover she tried to wrench him up, but the waters seemed to have laid claim to him. She could feel herself, as she looked into the water, growing dizzy, feeling sad, a thought entered her mind… yes, a wonderful thought. She should give up. No, shaking her head the woman tried again to reclaim her lover from the waters, but instead he sunk farther, ”No,” she yelled, ”You cannot have him.” her heart was racing and the cold waters made her legs hurt, burn, but soon they went numb, tears streaming down her face as she tried to save him. Frantically, and finally the waters grasp seem to loosen up and she was able to lift him, ”Marrian.” she sobbed, ”You idiot. You never have to prove your…” she paused, her heart stopped as she felt a hand on her ankle. With a tug she lost her footing and was engulfed in the water. She struggled and fought, but she sunk deeper and deeper until finally she gave into the words in her head. She gave up. The lovers together in death. The pools surface smoothed out, the ripples of life fading and the pool once again gained the mirror like quality as the rays of the rising sun hit it. A true beauty. Soon though, the pool was once again disturbed as a shadow could be seen in the center, growing bigger and bigger as it reached the surface. The shadow reached out and penetrated the portal, a hand rising from the water, and soon following it the head of a young lady. A true beauty. OOC : Anyone is free to join this quest until I post again at which time the thread will be closed. Im going to try to post every Monday (doing my part of making Mondays just a little bit better). Oh my gosh, Fallacy! It is Friday! I know. I'm excited for this quest because I've been planing it for a while now, but as everything should be its flexible to character actions and reactions. I hope you all will have as much fun with this as Im going to have. Nothing too evil will befall your characters if you play smart. Whew crazy intro go! Yay for the death of 2 NPCs in one post. Watch out players who join Im out for blooood.

[Alric Wilmot]

29th of Winter, 511 AV Alric laid on his bed in an uncomfortable silence. He could not sleep for one reason or another. Whether it was the fact that he hadn't gotten a single letter from his father in over a season, or that his life long goal was being re-structured, was irrelevant. He could not sleep, and that was his immediate concern. However, try as he might, he simply could not focus on that problem in isolation. He kept going back to his conversation with the red-haired man. The ridiculous philosophy he was now embracing, and the utterly ridiculous notion that he could accomplish it. And yet, if he did not at least try, what hope was there? Granted there wasn't much to begin with, but there was none at all if he did not try. To master the world, what a foolish dream. And yet, Alric's thoughts were flooded with such foolishness. Alric gave a deep sigh as he shed he rose from his bed, and began to dress. At times like these, only the cool night air of Alvadas could clear his mind. He settled his mask onto his face and slipped out the door, intending to simply walk the grounds of the Wilmot Manor so as not to get lost due to Alvadas's constant tricks. As he paced between the guest house that served as his home, and the former house that once housed a now absent father, his thoughts became numb and shapeless. The biting cold of the night served as an excellent distraction from Alric's admittedly absurd concerns. As he clutched his coat closer and began to think of heading back in, he observed a most curious sight. All of Alvadas lit up as though the sun had risen early, he could see no source of the light, but it still seemed able to surround and encompass his surroundings regardless. Alric had never seen anything like it, despite the fact that he had lived in Alvadas all his life. And this thing, whatever it was, intrigued him. Yet, almost as suddenly as it had come, it departed, and left the Wilmot manner once again draped in darkness. Alric felt, as oddly as it sounded, especially considering Alvadas's nature, that the light was... out of place. There was a nagging at the back of his mind, that he had felt that same 'out of place' notion someplace before. Not two seconds later, he recalled that he did indeed feel that notion before. He quickly sauntered off back into his house and out of the cold. He remembered alright. It was that same feeling when he had hypnotized himself. When he injected Djed into his own mind. Although the feeling was faint, it was enough to let Alric know that the cause of it was beyond his ability to deal with. He would sleep, and ignore it. And while common sense said that things don't simply go away because you ignore them, it did say that they could be dealt with later. And if Alric was going to deal with something as strange as this, he most certainly would need a full night's rest.

[Iliana]

29th of Winter, 511 AV Once more, as it had been for the past several nights, Iliana could not sleep. Her mind would not settle and her body would not relax, and so she had decided to stretch her legs for a bit. As quietly as she could Iliana tiptoed through the Manor, her white dress she had slipped on rustling softly on the wooden planks of the old house. She made her way past the other bed rooms, stepping as lightly as she could to keep from waking any of the other guests in the manor. She made her way through the rest of the house and out the door into the courtyard, shivering with the cold. Wrapping her arms around her Iliana made her way to the middle of the yard, looking up at the light sky and the glittering stars above. A soft breeze blew through the night, rustling her dress and pulling at her blond hair. Smiling, Iliana closed her eyes and let the feeling of the wind engulf her, unwrapping her arms and spreading them out at her sides. Under her breath she began to hum, the soft and sad song drifted over the quiet space carried by the wind. Then, following some que only she could hear, Iliana spun in a circle, her dress billowing about her. Bending at the waist she swept one arm before her waist and raised the other high over head. As she finished her rotation she leaned back and spread her arms out once again and lifted one bare foot, placing all of her wait on the other leg. With a swift round kick Iliana propelled her self to the side and landed on the other foot, rotating on the tips of her toes as her momentum carried her into another leap and spin, bending low so that the tips of her fingers brushed the grass as she rotated on her toes. With a smile that spoke of contentment Iliana leaned backwards so that her hands touched the ground behind her, one foot raised in the air. Pushing off the ground with the other foot the girl stood on her hands, both feet pointed toward the stars. For a moment Iliana thoughts were taken by the simple act of movement, her muscles warmed by the activity, but then she remembered, she was wearing a dress... As the handstand was completed the dress fell completely down her form, exposing her from the stomach down. With a little yelp of surprise Iliana lost her concentration and fell to the cold ground, moving quickly to cover herself once more. Her cheeks burning Iliana looked around, wondering if any had seen her spectacle. Shaking her head Iliana gave a nervous laugh. At this time of night she doubted anyone would have seen her, but she felt self conscious all the same. It was then that Iliana noticed something strange. A light, a blinding flash swept through the city of Alvadas, illuminating everything and obliterating the shadows of the night. Then, as quickly as it had come it was gone. Iliana blinked in surprise and rubbed her eyes, looking back out to where the flash had come from. "What was that?" Iliana wondered outloud. Shaking her head Iliana ran her fingers through her hair and giggled, "I wonder what Makutsi would say to a performance such as that one... I am not certain she would approve of THAT kind of entertainment." She laughed at that thought and slowly stood, her cheeks still a bit red as she dusted off her dress and turned to go back inside. Iliana did not think much on the strange light that had come from the city. After all, she reasoned, it was a city of wonders and magic. So she quickly returned to bed, sleep soon claiming her thoughts.

[Skugga]

29 of winter 511 AV Skugga sat wide awake curled up on her bed facing the hearth, wrapped in a blanket to ward of the winter chill. A small ray of moon light found its way through the curtains covering the windows of Skugga's small cabin, casting a surreal pale blue light on the floor. The night was completely silent, only the vague crackle of the fire broke it. It was late, almost midnight perhaps but Skugga didn't even feel tired as she stared at the flames dance. Tilting her head slightly she could just see the moon and silhouettes of trees, her cabin had moved from inside the city to its outskirts without her noticing. Rising she put the blanket on the bed before placing another piece of fire wood in the hearth, looking once more outside the window she pulled her cloak from the knob on the wall, wrapping it around her slim form she stepped outside. The cold, fresh air bit at her face, removing any trace of sleep she may have had, taking a deep breath she smiled, the air floating about as smoke in front of her. The peace and silent was soothing despite the shivers that trickled down her spine, Alvadas was so tranquil at night it seemed like another city, yet another illusion. Times like these was also times of weakness to Skugga, without her wanting it her thoughts strayed to her past home, her family. She wondered how they had taken her disappearance, had they even cared past the shame? Did they spend time and money to find her? The worst thought was that they had found her and decided to ignore her. Skugga loathed these moments, she hated to feel sad and lonely, even if it was mostly sub consciously, it was for weaklings and she was perfectly alright without her rich life in Zeltiva. Pushing away those thoughts and feelings she was on the verge of turning around to go back inside when the entire city lit up. Staring in wonder she frowned, there seemed to be no light source that could cause this light, then in a moment it was gone. Blinking Skugga scanned the city, resisting a slight urge to rub her eyes like a child, but Alvadas lay dark again, hidden in shadows with a ghostly moon light illuminating the highest roof tops. Still curious Skugga decided to let it be for tonight, it was late and she had work tomorrow, it wouldn't do her much good if she messed up because of lack of sleep. Making sure the fire was strong Skugga stripped of her dress and crept in between the covers, curling up for warmth, suddenly she was dead tired, closing her grey eyes she was soon asleep.

[Nyahna Sasin]

29th of Winter, 511 AV

Alvadas had proven to be quite the mystery. Nothing stayed constant for long, and Sasin had, several times, turned a corner, only to run head first into a wall. It was like the entire city was playing hide and seek with it's inhabitants. And occasionally trying to kill it. He still remembered walking out of the inn and almost falling into water. Simply walking around the city was an exercise in frustration.

He loved it. Alvadas was fascinating, confusing, impossible, and most importantly, fun. Walking was better entertainment than any show he had ever seen, especially since Sasin never had a real destination in mind, simply mindless exploration. He had no doubt that if he needed to go anywhere in a hurry, he would be cursing the fickleness of the cities geography, but for leisurely walking.....

He was on one of his walks now, in fact. This one had been rather safe, with rather benign changes, nothing very out of the ordinary. He laughed softly to himself. Of course, given that he was currently trying not to slip on a road made of solid ice, ordinary was subjective. He finally stepped out onto real cobblestone (So it seemed), and grinned. He was back at the Wolf's Cave.

He was about to step in and turn in for the night when a bright light blinded him. He hissed, blinking and shaking his head. Petch that hurt. He glanced around, seeing nothing to indicate what could have caused the flash. He scowled, slightly worried. He had never seen that, or anything similar before. Of couse, in Alvadas, that didn't mean much. Still....

His hand drifted to his knife again. The last time he had seen a bright flash of light, he had been pulled into something exhilarating. Terrifying, but exhilarating.

It would be worth investigating, he decided, yawning softly. In the morning, perhaps. He turned to enter the Cave, and nearly ran into a metal pole. The Cave was no where to be seen.

"Shyke."

[Ryce]

29th Day of Winter 511AV Ryce pushed his fur cloak into his small leather backpack, filling the pack to its tightening’s. He could now feel the cool breezes of the night as they swirled around him. He stuck his nose into the air and inhaled a long deep whiff, a series a small shorter sniffs followed as he allowed his nose to lead the way. There was no way for him to know if the aromas he was catching were previous encounters between the people and its city during, the now ended, daytime. Or if it was simply the city alone, causing him to believe the air was so filled with such events. His beady burgundy eyes followed inspection after his nose was through. Time after time he felt despair and foolishness, when the scents were leading him to the later of his thoughts. It was indeed the city itself not only shifting the buildings but filling the mind with false hopes. Ryce grinned childishly the mystery of his home pleased him, and he would embrace it wholeheartedly. As he continued his nightly trot amongst Alvadas, a sudden distant sound alerted him. He couldn't distinguish what it exactly was; he believed it to be the steps of a fellow mid-night traveler. He cautiously continued forward now even more intent on the sound of his own movements. His head jerked around to view his back side, his animal instincts now in full motion. A blinding light flashed sending him to his knees wincing in pain with his sensitive eyesight. He landed with an unexpected thud, now covered in the entirety of his own clothing. Ryce turned his head side to side trying to grasp what had occurred, he was now in his ferret form. Quickly putting aside the occurrences he began thrashing about inside of the small pile of cloths. Small claws ripping through them in anger, eventually he threw himself out of the cloths and transformed back to human. Forcible he could point out that even though being prepared; he had never intended on transforming until sighting a threat, it was just an instinct he lived by, knowing the threat he would then act accordingly. His head perked to the side, there was another muffled sound. Ryce quickly ran to the corner of the building in the direction, not giving thoughts or concerns to the fact of not being dressed, and squatted placing one hand on the building and the other on the ground. As he lend forward, “There! “ Ryce shouted to himself, pleased with it actually being something. He was now looking at the back of a figure shorter than himself, who seemed to be talking with a pole. “Shyke.” Ryce’s head cocked to the side, the obvious sign often given from a confused animal.

[Kale]

6th Bell, 30th Winter, 511 AV The air held a chill that seemed to sink to the very bone. The temperature was much lower than it normally was. There was no mistaking what time of year it was. Yet the weather did not seem to affect how the layout of Alvadas changed. If anything, it seemed the weather fueled the city's need to change. It might have simply been Kale's imagination but he swore that the streets changed more often now than they had in the previous summer. The city itself was a fickle thing. One moment it might allow you to find your destination almost immediately. Other times it very well might keep you lost for extended periods of time. It was almost the sixth bell as Kale continued to try to find his way back to his home. He had been trying to find his residence for hours. Every time he seemed to catch a glance of the place he was staying it would disappear the moment he blinked his eye. It was like a shadow in the corner of his eye. Everytime he turned to look it was gone. Kale could feel his anger beginning to rise due to his situation. He had lived in this city for a long time and he had never had this much trouble finding his way home. Kale let his feet slow until he had stopped moving. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, Kale let his gaze wonder. He could not see that which he sought. The gladiator let out an irritated sigh. It seemed Alvadas itself did not want him to find his home. Kale's eyes continued to scan the surrounding buildings. If he was not going to make it home he could at least find somewhere else to lie down and get a bit of sleep. It was not as though he really needed it. He had gone days without sleep in the past. It was more of the city's actions that were causing him such distress. He spotted one of Alvadas' inns in the distance and turned to move towards it. He had only just adjusted his course when he realized the streets had switched themselves yet again. Kale turned his vision towards the sky. "Fine. If thats the way ye want to be then so be it. Take me where ye wish me to be", he spoke to the heavens. He did not raise his voice when he spoke. There was no need for him to. The entity he was addressing was the city of Alvadas itself. This collection of buildings and illusions had seemed to actively take a hand in his difficulty in making his way home so logic dictated it had to be for a reason. If it was aware enough to do such a thing surely it would show him what it wanted. He just had no idea exactly what a city would want from a human. Kale was a warrior not a thinker. He would let scholars try to figure things like that out. The warrior began to walk. He did not know where he was going. He was trusting Alvadas to show him where it wanted him to go. Perhaps once he got there he would find out what it wanted so that it would stop playing these games with him. He walked for what felt like forever. The time he spent aimlessly wondering the night was likely closer to the length of an hour. Kale had no idea that only an hour had passed though. As he traversed the ever changing streets minutes seemed to run in together. He had no definite way of telling how much time was passing. Gradually Kale's surroundings began to solidify. Or perhaps it was simply his perception noticing that the streets had stopped rearranging themselves around him so much. That realization came coupled with another. He could hear voices in the distance. It was the first time all night that he had heard another person. He moved towards the sound. As he got closer he made out two voices. The closer he got the better he could hear the two voices. Now he could clearly tell the difference between the two. It was the voice of a man and a woman conversing. Kale turned the corner as the man's clothing dropped to the ground. He moved back behind the building and peered out to watch the two. He normally would have left such a situation and went about his business. Due to the city's recent treatment of him, he decided to stay and watch. He looked on as the man began to sink. He watched everything that happened. He moved from his hiding place to help the two but by then it was too late. Yet before he could turn to flee he watched a figure begin to emerge from the pool of water. It seemed almost otherworldly. As much as he wanted to turn and run he did not. He could not get away. His eyes were locked on the figure before him. His will had dissipated as he watched the emergence.

[Eridanus]

TL;DREri is walking towards Acumen Asylum.

The ethaefal was whisked away back to the City of Illusions, the one place that captured his heart and never really seemed to let go, by mysterious agents claiming to be that of the government. There were mentions of prophecies, chosen ones and strange calamities, and the entire thing reeked of shenanigans.

By some stroke of luck the other people who were rounded up belonged to his small circle of friends in Sunberth as well, and so he found safety in numbers, travelling together with the group across the treacherous Sylira region and the choppy Suvan waters to get here. It was fine to him, for even if said agents did not appear he would somehow make his way here anyway, for his personal quest pointed him in the direction of this city. It just made it more convenient for him to travel in a group of trusted comrades.

Eridanus did not really know what to do after they arrived, and he walked the city, trying to regain his bearings. He had not been here since he trekked to Alvadas to find Ishkaral, the akalak who kicked his butt in martial arts many years ago in order to learn from him. He had intended to just learn from the akalak and so kept his arrival secret from the Acumen Asylum of which he probably owed a visit or two. He had been there many years before to apprentice under the Headmaster who had taken him into his confidence regarding the inner circle of the Asylum - the true secrets behind it, and he had stayed there for a couple of years before his personal quest pointed him somewhere else.

The ethaefal had a feeling that he should probably make known his arrival this time, for unlike the previous time all signs in his life somehow pointed to this city, and he had a feeling that he might be here for quite a while. As he walked in the direction of what he hoped to be the Asylum, he wondered how the school have changed and what the Headmaster would think of him.

He probably should visit Mistress Rihea first though, since she was the one who recommended him to the ancient ethaefal who governed the school.

[Bob Barton]

30th day of Winter, Towers Idol Slanderer

Arriving in Alvadas just only a few days ago no one could actually blame Bob for getting lost in the city. In fact he actually expected that a very considerate local should help the little but man full of presence find his way around and not a stupid, ugly looking statue in his opinion since it was harassing him right now. "You think I am dim? Well, just because I did not see this stupid star of yours does not mean that I cannot hunt it down to shoot it right back up your..." if sculptor was as good as claimed to pay that much attention to detail. Just because Bob had no idea what the statue is trying to compare him to does not mean that he cannot identify an insult when it is sent his way. "No you are the waste of time here!" Bob said in closing after a very lengthy exchange full of very strong words which are too inappropriate to be repeated from both strange parties and stormed off away from the statue because "you are not even worth anything if you cannot give me proper directions." It could not give any proper directions even if it wanted to? Right...

If it was someone else from Bob's party of travellers then maybe he would believe something like that but for something which is stuck in Alvadas, literally in one spot that was never going to happen. Bob was happily moving away thinking he got the last word when the slanderer said something else and it was so unspeakable that Bob thought that he misheard it until it was repeated one more time. "What-did-you-say?!" Bob needed to think of a way to get this statue to shut up or else total strangers around him will start thinking bad things about him like it was not already enough but what would a statue be afraid of? It needed to be something very damaging to its worth like "I will take those blind eyes of yours since they are too shiny to actually see things properly" pointing to the pretty gems which easily stood out from the dark granite followed by something which is damaging to its image. How he would want to do that is "I will buy a lot of ink and paint after I sell off those worthless rocks to display things so horrible on your body that people will laugh because your insults are just too lame compared to my work!"

Even more insults and threats when they both were caught up with the engaging exchange one more time and Bob gave up not saying a word of retort and moving away quietly. He did not chicken out as he always did like the statue said but was taking a tactical retreat to prepare even more words of despair for the next time. That or finding out the most heinous things he could do to completely traumatize the statue to keep to itself when he was around next time if it was possible but if the threat of vandalism did not seem to have any effect, what else is there that he could use?

[Ulric]

Red, bleary eyes cast over the vague, inky shape of a raven, perched on a jut of timber, caught up by rusty pegs. What, nothing to say? He grunted, leaning his head back against dirty plaster broken by a skein of cracks, enveloped by the smear of inky night. He let go of the skin, idly reached for a string of garnets in the jade sky, caught up in a fever dream.

As ever, rest eluded him.

The cogs were grinding, the gears pounding, tongues of steam rising from tapered, dented bronze tubes as the slaves worked the levers, their chests bare, sweaty. They pelted back and forth, bearing filthy buckets of grease, of sloppy tar, carrying chisels and crowbars, hurling after carts of coal. One, clad in the scraps of a robe, had the furl of a schematic clenched in his shaking hands, liver spots on his head.

And there, biding in unstinting vigil, were the drones with their whips, their cruel, barbed spears.

Each had a carapace, eyes that you couldn’t see, flesh that you couldn’t touch under their armor of chitin, their shroud of apathy. The hive was working, the factory was clacking, sending up an acrid fog. The machinery was there, if only you cared to open your eyes. The slaves only bore chains for their lack of sight.

The night beckoned.

Do you dare break from paradigm?

Ulric knew, in the depths of his heart, that there were no heroes, just shades of men long departed, forlorn. Inevitably, it comes to a brink, after the pages are scribed, the tales raveled around fading embers, when you being to lose yourself. No, take a step back. They don’t care if you wet your trousers. They don’t care if you shook with fear, and sought to flee in ignominy. They give you luster, and take from you the truth of who you are, of what you’ve done, for their own sake.

Not yours.

Vaguely, he shambled away, in his mind a clack of bones on a dingy trestle, lost among the snaking lanes. And then, invariably, he met his nemesis. The lord high cunt of graven marble, its long, horsey face etched with apathy. The horned king of insults. The argent prick of mock. The red-eyed arse licker.

“You’re going to fail,” spoke the statue, a gravely rumble that made him frown. “You’re just a brute, a thing to be used, as they’ve always used you.”

Ulric grunted. “So?”

“Your life is a tapestry of deceit.”

Though he made to trudge away, an abrupt, wicked impulse caught him and he jerked back. He thrust his jaw at the statue, covered with a hedge of beard, a fiendish grin, dark eyes smoldering. “Probably,” he grated, “But at least my cock is of flesh, not granite.” Reaching under armor, under cloth, he took a step back, then directed a hot, pale rush of urine over the Tower’s Idol Slanderer. Deal with it, you cunt. That's what I do.