[Wind Reach Quest - Closed] Hunger Runs Deep

[Rhian]

Rhian couldn't help but smile. The gesture was a friendly one and served to cover the satisfaction she gained from manipulating the man thusly. The Inarta, the Endal especially, were so... direct. Few of them ever realize that direct action is not always the best way. It is a far greater victory to make another see through your eyes than to close theirs forever. She could have forced her will over the man, but that would make him resentful. Now, he's likely to be grateful if nothing else, and will be more inclined to listen and obey, even if unconsciously. The woman nodded, dismissing him promptly and waiting for Sven to show up. Luckily, he didn't take long and was at her side almost instantaneously, appearing practically from nowhere. He gave her a start that didn't register but for the narrowing of her eyes in irritation. The man was quite amiable, and pleasant to look at. Rhian might have bedded him if she didn't find his childish manner annoying, or suspected that he was entertaining the same thoughts. Besides... business and pleasure should always be separate. "Go to Whisper and find out what you can. If you meet a certain vapid looking Endal, follow her or join her, I don't care. But I want to know where that thread ends. You're good at taking the initiative, and I trust you. Do this, and I will remember it. In the meantime, I will go to Herth, and try to enter that house as a guard. Can I pass for a dek?" Smirking mildly, Rhian threw back her shoulders and straightened her back in a gesture of mock pride, making her chest just a little bit more... conspicuous.

[Fenilen]

Secret :

I haven't any idea what to post, so I have posted something small to let everyone else post. I'm sorry X_X

Attentive ears listened to the answer the blond woman provided to his question. A quick nod, confirmation of his understanding, and another smile. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind if we have to run for our lives, then," he then added quietly and uncertainly. A grim tone was in his voice.

If Fenilen had sunglasses, he would have removed them and looked up at Whisper. However, he did not, so his only action was a quick sentence. "Well then, we'll just have to... find out," he smiled briefly at her, and then tilted his head. Green eyes danced over to the approaching Brunhild, and a smile was extended to her as well. "Ah, hi, Brunhild," he said quietly. "Brunhild, this is Sairque," a finger pointed to Sairque. He didn't introduce Renol, though, as he did not know his name. "Sairque, this is Brunhild. I met her not long ago," Fenilen nodded as he listened to Brunhild speak.

The man was oblivious to the happenings that ran between the Endal. He was not linked to an Eagle, and as such, was left entirely out of the loop when it came to the information shared between the two Eagles, and by extensions, their riders. So, his entire focus was devoted to Brunhild. A quick bounce of his head showed that he understood. "Whisper has told us much. Now that you have shown up, my promise is complete. I do not think we will have to go to Lorlyn to search for information, but that is not my decision. No matter what we decide, I will share what Whisper has told us on our way there," the man was being frighteningly talkative. We'll see how long that lasts, though.

[Renol]

Renol reached up and scratched his head for a second, still not sure what to do. But he pushed away the nagging curiosity at the new feeling in the link between them. He didn’t want his dwelling on it to cause Fereo any more pain. I’m sorry, my friend, I shouldn’t have asked you those things. I’ll find a way to make it up to you, I promise. Renol took a second to focus his mind on other things around him. Whisper had seemed almost in pain as she had ventured off to her quarters, stumbling slightly as she walked. He was unsure of what to make of it. She hadn’t found the information he had divulged very welcoming. He had thought it made a good break in what was happening. It sure seemed a little too much to be a coincidence. Renol hoped that Whisper would be alright. But he would give her some time before going to check on her later. He seemed to have been the one to cause her the trouble with the revelation that Fereo gave him, so he wanted to make sure he hadn’t caused any trouble.

He looked to the other two standing near him, brushing aside any puzzled looks he might have still been getting. He looked over to the other newcomer to the group, mocking insult at not being introduced to the woman, but shaking his head and smiling slightly to them all. He waited until the introduction was complete before he spoke up,” I am Renol Fereo. I’m sure that I have heard of you before, Brunhild. The name is very familiar to me.” Renol thought about what she had said for a moment,” It would be wise to take the advice and seek out Lorlyn. But I am also worried about Jaz. I do not want him to have to wait any longer to be at peace. He has been trapped for some time, and his friends still are. So I would like to try to find the area that he talks of as quickly as possible and see if we can find anything there. After that, once we release the spirits of his friends, he can be at peace. If you would like, I can head down there with him and possibly take someone with me. Then you and anyone else can go inquire about Lorlyn.”

[Sairque]

"What could be holding them to this plane?" Whisper asked shortly before making her razzled departure. Brunhild appeared while Sai was still savoring the closeness of Catabasis.

Fereo is physically fine. He spoke of something forbidden to us, and mentally he is a much stronger bird. The most important man in her life was scared, and while she had never felt anything so comforting in her entire life as the way he cradled her mind, the secrets he was being forced to carry without her help stoked her determination to get to the bottom of whatever had happened. He faded back to the standard level of activity, and slowly her mind reacquainted itself with the present. Fenilen, loyal to the bone, was filling Brunhild in a bit. Renol then introduced himself. Both of the men, and Brunhild, had stated their opinions. Sairque was quiet for a few seconds, the pause not drawing out for too long before she spoke.

"I don't believe we should split up," the flight leader intoned quietly, standing, brushing her hands off even though there was nothing on her palms. Strict yellow eyes looked from one member of the party to the next. "Jaz might be related to whats going on. Whisper seemed surprised that his friends were still here at all, and she mentioned a recent influx, this could all be related. It seems likely considering our suspects are all ghosts." She could have missed something, that was also likely, so her tone wasn't absolute and she looked to everyone to gauge their feelings.

"Maybe Fen should fill you in on everything, Brunhild, before you decide we don't have enough information. I don't know much about Lorlyn," she admitted. "But it seems like we have evidence pointing to the deep warrens and perhaps Shiz, enough to justify going and taking a look. And maybe, Brunhild, you should us if you've received any helpful information from Val."

[Dreamcatcher]

~ Rhian~ Sven nodded as Rhian told him to go find Whisper, he was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be following Rhian. Still he knew of the entrance and could always explore it later. As Rhian tried on her poise for a dek, Sven thought she was joking and began to laugh at her. Sven had a great deal of practice going unseen in Wind Reach and thinking that a woman dek would try to attract attention was the funniest joke he had heard from Rhian. He continued to laugh, causing his eyes to close and his face to turn bright red. “Hahaha… Petch! Rhian that’s a good one, and maybe you could tear your clothes artfully showing a hint of the delicate parts… Hahaha… whew, By the Gods and Goddesses if a female dek walked around like that, she would be bow legged by the end of the day.” Wiping tears from his eyes, Sven looked back up at Rhian. “Ahhhh… thanks for the laugh, alright I will get going to find out about Whisper.” Sven stood up and began moving. For the most part he kept huddled and presented a feeling of despair about him. Quickly the upper castes ignored him and as a Chiet or Dek came up to speak with him, he morphed into a confident individual that admittedly stopped them in their tracks. His masquerade made him invisible in the wash of humanity that was the common room. The room was filled with chatter and people. Rhian could see female deks all about her, for the most part they walked hunched and wore extra clothing appearing to never really be warm or display any skin. They were a pathetic site, those that didn’t have injuries or horrible sores, were covered in filth. It seemed that for most of these women, fear of being used by anyone for anything had made them cover themselves in muck to avoid contact. The few dek that dressed clean and walked proud were always seen with an Endal, making sure he, or in some cases she, was waited on with baited breathe. They were nothing more than trophies for the higher castes, basing their worth on the success of their protector. For a dek woman, it was the best they could hope for, but it was a life of constant fear of losing their protector. The others struggled daily, but they had an Inarta pride about them, for at least they sold themselves to a city instead of one person. When Rhian was done in the Communal Kitchens and found herself in the Courtyard of the Sky, she saw something unusual. Tam was there yelling at Herth to open the door, several other Endal were there organizing the Chiet and a large iron ram. It seemed one way or another Lorlyn was going to speak with the Endal about her crimes. Rhian quickly scouted the alcoves, and saw a small group of dek walking up to the highest tier. A man seemed to be waving them to quickly hurry, he was dressed like a dek, but was better fed then most. From what Sven said, this had to be the man protecting the secret entrance. ~ Brunhild, Fenilen, Renol, and Sairque~ Axel heard Brunhild and sat on the same ledge she had dropped her off at, awaiting her return. Though Fenilen was left out of the conversations that were happening between the Endal and their birds, he began to notice other ghosts starting to come from the tunnels. For a moment light from a candle brought a brief flash of blue from the lamps glass to his eyes. When he looked at Jaz, he seemed almost completely solid, like another person, except now he possessed a chain about his neck. As for the other ghosts, many of them also had chains about their necks, those that had died without the advantage of necks, a chain was coming out of their chests. They seemed to be milling about waiting for something, and Fenilen realized he hadn’t seen them before. Slowly like a rainbow, the ghosts began to sparkle here and there with color. Flashes of red seemed to fill in the spots of horrible wounds, while yellows seemed to slowly wash the skin of the dead. A small child that bore horrible sores and looked like she had a horrible cough came up to Fenilen; with sad eyes she opened her arms. The feeling of the ghost wanting to be picked up and carried in his arms came to his mind. Strangely the vision was only possessed by Fenilen as the others could only see Jaz. Fereo gave Renol a mental shrug. Feelings and thoughts flowed between them, and Fereo realized that it was not his fault and didn’t hold Renol responsible. In fact, the bird held himself responsible, slowly a wave of depression swirled in the birds mind. This time Fereo had pushed past the laws of the Eagles and because of it the large hard layer was in his mind. Even though Fereo's depression dwelt on what had happened to him, he was able to offer some advice. Whisper was probably so shocked about the ghosts it caused her physical illness or pain. I have seen it before in humans, when something is so shocking and shakes the very core of your understanding it can make you ill. In fact, weren’t you pain from what just happen to us? Do you think it’s any different then what happened to Whisper? A weak part of Fereo became angry and the feeling of talons scrapping across the mental barrier came through the link. Though it was nothing more than if Renol punched a stone wall, Fereo finally succumbed to the depression and the mood along Renol’s link turned dark and brooding. Catabasis waited for Sai to complete what she was saying before he began to talk again. If Brunhild was sent her by Val, then couldn’t she also order supplies that you might need to find Jaz’s resting place? I know that Ismun is Val’s bird and he is the oldest and strongest amongst us. If Axel has been appointed to this task, then she should be able to talk to other birds and relate our needs to them. During the sharing Sairque had realized that Catabasis wasn’t a very good telepath, he had been strong enough to physically establish links between him and a human, but his thoughts were like a whisper compared to Fereo who could shout across leagues. For Sai her bird had been stronger then all others, and he could lift almost twice what a normal eagle could, but apparently just like physical strength, mental strength came in degrees. Sai also began to realize that there was another mental connection she had. Catabasis had always been so close to her, and his connection had overshadowed the other one. Yet during the moment of their closeness she had seen another connection. Axel spoke to Brunhild, Apparently, Herth has refused anyone to see Lorlyn and has barricaded the door. You are going to have to hurry if you want to talk to her, because I don’t think she is going to be around much longer. It was almost in a childish glee that Axel spoke to Brunhild. Apparently, the birds had been talking and were conversing over what was to be done about Lorlyn. Brunhild got the impression that whatever was to happen to Lorlyn, Axel would be amused by it.

[Rhian]

As Rhian entered the Courtyard, she glanced at Tam with as much interest as one would look at a piece of furniture upon entering an empty room. She did however, took note of the rather heavy looking battering ram and almost lapsed into an eye-rolling reflex. What was it with Inarta, Endal in particular, and brute force? The females might be a little bit smarter, lacking a second organ to think with that might confuse them, but still most were... hopelessly dim. Looking up at the alcoves, Rhian spotted the man Sven told her about. A quick look was all it took her to make her see he was no dek, but certainly not high enough in the pecking order to count for anything; no self-respecting artisan or rider would agree to this. Rhian needed to talk to Lorlyn, failing to do so would be particularly... galling. Tam would use a stick on the girl when a carrot is necessary. She will break her. Rhian couldn't let that happen, not without talking to the girl first, anyway. Her naturally deviant mind was working overtime to try and come up with a solution. Neither Tam nor Herth are willing to give up, they will be some head-butting, and Rhian was not at all sure that Herth will come out the better side of it. A game changer then, was necessary. The young broker briefly considered confronting Tam, but dismissed it as folly almost immediately. Rhian lacked the status, and lies could be discovered. In any case, it involved making an enemy out of an Endal and that was always a bad idea, not to mention Val would be less than pleased with her to say the least. The notion left her with few choices, each worse than the one before. More people will come after Lorlyn, and Rhian wanted to question her first, alone. My time is running out. When she finally reached the man guarding the entrance, she was winded. Her breathing labored and her sense of urgency only more... well, urgent. Once the ram started operating, it wouldn't take long. Panting slightly, she looked up at the man, making sure every syllable of her body language spoke of authority and power. Just don't be conversational. Once more, her painted hand went searching for the missing luck that used to hang around her neck. My luck, gone. She looked at him with cold, grey eyes. "Go tell your idiotic employer I have a place to hide the girl." Rhian began with a tone that broke no argument. "If he is not willing, ask him how long he thinks he can protect Lorlyn now that everyone knows he's with her. Even though Tam's a female, it seems to me she's operating a bigger manhood than he has between those hairy legs of his, one that can breach doors." She looked at him expectedly, "Why are you still here? Go on, scurry." Hoping against hope that bringing the girl to her quarters was not the worst idea she had ever had.

[Fenilen]

Ghosts, entering the room from all sides. One two three four five... He lost count. There were so many. He had no idea this many ghosts inhabited Wind Reach. Were they also bound to this Life, as Jaz was? Endless questions and possibilities shot through his mind, vanishing just as quickly as they appeared. Eyes gracefully flew from the ghosts to the lamp as it flashed, wondering what had caused the sudden pulse of blue. Wait, Jaz, he seemed normal, no longer bearing the ethereal qualities a ghost possessed. The other ghosts, they changed too. All were connected by a single chain, racing from around their necks to the chests of those whom were unfortunate enough to have lost their necks.

Reds colored the wounds that they had suffered, bringing them into perfect clarity. Hues of yellows rinsed over their flesh, as if they were washing themselves under a cascade of water. Such a beautiful display, like an artist was painting a picture in the world before him. Greens eyes danced with the splashes and the sparkles and the glittering. Fenilen had simply never seen anything like this before. Nothing in this life was so vivid, nothing so awe-inspiring. The artist was not restricted to a physical object. He did not need canvas, or glass, or paper, or clay, or stone, or anything. The world was his art. Nothing he had seen in his mortal life could compare.

A small child approached him, opening her arms, calling to him, pleading for him to pick her up. No, she was sick. She would infect him, he would die of the same disease that she seemed to suffer from now! The Inarta recoiled in fear, eyes darting away from the girl.

But were such thoughts really logical? Eyes watched the display of color for a few moments more. No, they weren't. The girl was dead, yes, but she needed comfort. She needed the comfort that every child was to be provided by their parents, the comfort this girl may have been denied in life. He would not deny her now, not for the world. With emotion he had never felt before, he wrapped his arms around the child, lantern in hand, lifting her from the ground. Once she was secure against his chest, he slid one arm, the one grasping the lantern in its fingers, down, supporting her from where her thigh met body, like a father would his child. His other, empty hand held the little girl close.

Then, a single tear fell from his eye. A quiet shushing sound rolled off of his lips as he held her. The one tear was followed by another, and that tear by two more, until finally, Fenilen was softly crying. The shushing was interrupted only briefly, by his shaky voice. "It's okay, little one. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you. Fate has been cruel to you, but no longer, never again. You're safe. Safe. Forever. I promise," he whispered softly. It was a lofty promise, one that he had no means to keep, but he made it anyway, and he made it with all the conviction his heart could muster. The arm around her back relaxed, rising up to brush the hair back behind her ears in an attempt at a comforting gesture.

Clink. The hand met the chain that bound the ghosts together. Watery eyes opened up and looked at the chain one more time. What if it led to what was keeping them on this world? It couldn't be there for nothing, it had to have some reason! It had to! If he could free the little girl, she could be free from the suffering that plagued her even in death, the suffering that seemed to trap her on this world! Yes, this was what he would do, even if it took his last breath.

Secret :

I hope the liberties I took in describing the chain and the ghosts were okay, I tried to stick to your post as much as possible. If anything doesn't fit, just tell me, and I'll happily change it.

[Renol]

Renol cringed slightly at the effect that Fereo sent through their connection, also startled by the fact that the eagle would do that. Apparently, he wasn’t getting something that Fereo was trying to point out. Renol shook his head, clearing the feeling from his mind after a moment, sighing as Fereo went silent. Renol looked to Sai as she voiced her concerns about splitting up. She had a good point. But it still didn’t give them any good heading on where to go and they needed that at the moment. He nodded a little bit, looking over his shoulder to where Whisper had adjourned to, scratching his head for a moment. He bowed his head to the group for a second,” Excuse me for a moment.” He turned away from the group before Fen started holding the invisible child in his arms and crying. He needed to check on Whisper to make sure she was alright. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but he needed to check. He knew that sometimes it talking about things helped the most to alleviate the pain. That, and there might be another part to this puzzle that he might be able to figure out. Something about the fact that the ghosts were still here was deeply troubling to her, like Fereo had said. So he needed to find out what that was. Why the idea of something holding all those spirits here would be something so inconceivable to bring pain to one’s mind. There was something to that that he needed to find out. But he made a mental note to keep himself in check. If she didn’t want to talk about it, or if it caused her pain, he wouldn’t push the subject. He wasn’t going to do to her what he had done to Fereo. He’d learned that lesson. He just wished that his friend hadn’t been made to suffer for it.

Renol slowly walked over to Whispers quarters, knocking on the door gently before opening it a crack to peek in,” Whisper? I’m sorry to intrude, but I wanted to make sure you’re alright. I’m sorry if what I said pained you. I didn’t mean to cause that. Is there any way to talk about it?” His voice was calm and quiet but almost pleading, even if he didn’t mean for it to be. But he waited for a reply before he ventured further into the room.

OOCShort post this time. My other thread took it out of me. Plus I wasn’t sure what to go on for this, so I’m grasping at straws for this post. Sorry…

[Sairque]

If Brunhild was sent her by Val, then couldn’t she also order supplies that you might need to find Jaz’s resting place? I know that Ismun is Val’s bird and he is the oldest and strongest amongst us. If Axel has been appointed to this task, then she should be able to talk to other birds and relate our needs to them, Catabasis suggested. Sai rolled the thoughts over in her mind as her eyes followed Renol to Whisper's quarters. He had a kind soul.

Why can't you just ask? she inquired loudly of her Eagle, balking at having to go through someone else to get the job done. The added 'volume' an unconscious attempt to make up for the apparently tenuous link they had. It was like they were whispering after experiencing Fereo's voice. And her mind kept poking and prodding at the third connection she'd noticed. What was it? Who was it? It was similar to what she shared with Catabasis, but alien compared to what she'd noticed herself and Addy having, which wasn't as defined as this new thing.

Their food stores had been cut off, unattainable, and even with everyone working together there was no guarantee that they would gather enough to make it through the next winter, she reminded herself. Stop worrying about your mental connections for five seconds.

Sai turned to Brunhild, her back facing Fen and his lone ordeal. She didn't know much about this particular Endal, but the woman had to be competent and reliable for any responsibility to have been placed on her shoulders.

"Do you think that you could talk to Axel and Ismun and procure us the necessary supplies for an expedition to the deep Warrens?" Sai closed the distance between them some more, her yellow eyes attentive on the other Endal's. "Perhaps a cartography kit in addition to the Deep Warren gear?" she asked thoughtfully, left arm wrapping around her hips for use as an elbow rest for her right, fingers tapping softly at her pink lips. "Chalk would be acceptable, of course, but I would rather keep a method of recording with us, you know what I mean?"

What was that other connection? Can you feel that? the short flight leader suddenly demanded of her Eagle. It's like there are two bonds, I only just noticed it. Focus. Not that anyone would be able to notice she had tuned out for a second.

"As soon as we get the supplies we're going to start searching the Warrens with Jaz as our guide," she informed them, loud enough that her voice would carry over to Renol and to...Fen. Hard yellow eyes fell on the lanky man, trying to figure out what he was doing. It was like her was cradling something....except nothing was there, and he was talking to the nothing. Glancing around to Brunhild and Jaz, surely they were seeing the same things she was, Sai closed the distance between herself and her friend. Gently, her right hand squeezed his shoulder.

"Fenilen, don't be alarmed, but I think you're talking to yourself," yes, she knew the man well enough to believe that he had a few quirks such as this. It was okay, he was a good guy. Friendliness and understanding sparkled in her eyes when they sought his out. No, she didn't really think he was talking to himself, but she didn't have any clue as to what he was doing. From what they had seen thus far, everyone saw the ghosts, they didn't appear to select people.

[Dreamcatcher]

~ Rhian~ The man seemed relax as Rhian came up to him, then as she spoke he looked shock and for a moment looked to actually start doing what she said. The Dek began to turn towards the alcove, and then stopped. He seemed to realize what Rhian had said and stopped reacting to the sound of her voice. As the man turned around he drew out a dueling dagger, something that this Dek certainly wasn’t suppose to have. “Nay pretty, I think you are going to go see the boss man himself. No sudden movements, or I will make you a lot less pretty.” His face screwed up, the way he held the dagger showed Rhian that he knew how to kill. He motioned for Rhian to enter the alcove. As she went, the stone seemed to be completely solid, yet out of the corner of her eye she saw the Dek move and an unseen seam opened in the stone. The hinges were impossibly quiet as it opened into an impossibly dark stairway. The Dek spoke, “Go down.” His breath was horrible and he motioned with the knife for Rhian to step in. Sadly she didn’t see any way out of her situation and as she entered the alcove, he closed the stone door behind her. She stood in the dark as echoes of people shouting came up the stairway, along with a deep boom. ~ Brunhild, Fenilen, Renol, and Sairque~ As Fenilen picked up the girl the some of the sores seemed to disappear from her body. She began to cry in his arms as he told her that he was safe. He felt like he held ice in his arms, softly the girl began to speak, “Daddy? Daddy? I am so sorry I made mommy cough. Why can’t you forgive me Daddy? I know I was to stay in my room daddy, but one night when you went flying away, I went in and slept with mommy. Please forgive me daddy, I forgive you for dropping me into the tomb.” To the others Fenilen seemed to have lost his mind, there were no ghosts besides Jaz. As Fenilen touched the chain, he felt crushing guilt of killing his mother by sleeping in the same bed as her. His father had flown into a rage at seeing his wife coughing up blood. All he wanted was forgiveness for going out of his room and into his mothers. His mind recognized something else, should he ever rid himself of this guilt then only cold darkness and judgment awaited him. Brunhild realized that she was being called for a rescue mission. Apparently, she another Endal was in trouble a few days out, knowing it was her duty, she relayed all the information she had gathered to Sairque and told her that she had to leave. The flight leader knew that she was in charge now, Catabasis informed Sairque that he was making arrangements for the few supplies that Wind Reach could spare, as well as, two spare Chiet miners were going to be given to her for escort. They would have the supplies all she needed to do was lead her band of heroes to the underground forest, it was there that they waited. Catabasis spoke up, they have enough provisions for three days time, I would suggest that if you are going to be gone that long to tell Addy. Whisper's room was almost insanely sparse. In the corner of the room was a small amount of bedding, while she also had a small chest and wardrobe. Whisper sat mediating in the middle of the room as a blue candle flame flickered in front of her. Whisper sat so still, that Renol actually became worried about whether she was breathing or not. Then out of nowhere she spoke, “I am disturbed at the idea that so many ghosts have been held against their will for so long. I have devoted my life to understanding death and helping those pass on. See Renol, we live and die and then are reborn… that is natural and it right. However, some souls are so tortured by deeds and acts to them that they break the simple balance. I try to restore that balance by helping those souls achieve a sort of peace. Others try to capture souls before they can become reborn, or establish a connection that can bring forth that mind which has died. However, in all the time I have been alive… I have never heard of anything capturing a soul, besides some of the greater gods, and I don’t believe one of them is responsible for twenty miners.” Once again she became silent and still. Answering, his question with her own wisdom and thinking, the Konti were not like the Inarta and their thoughts were just as strange as their bodies. Whisper now believed the conversation was done, and that Renol had a choice to make, she cared not what happened for if she died she would be reborn. So she thought about that souls that were captured and what would cause such a thing. With her mind on that subject, she wouldn’t even react to Renol, unless he did physical harm to her. OOCOk guys, sorry for the short post…. But I have been drained by the new job. I am going to get this back on track. Sairque you can assume that Brunhild has told you everything, including Rhian’s description. There will be another couple of short posts… but then we will be back on track! Sorry its taken this long.