Answers At Last
Hermit slid onto the stool Bob pulled over to the kitchen counter for her, resisting the urge to tell him she could get it herself. Man, so far that was the hardest thing about being blind. Everyone being so nice and trying to do everything for her. She tried to be nice and appreciative but assert she could and should make sure to be able to do things for herself at the same time. Not always an easy balance to find.
She waited until Knight set the glasses in the sink and left the room to ask. "What's up Bobbo....I know it's serious an' not your style....so hand me an ale an' spill it...."
Hermit ran a hand back through her hair and braced herself. Bob stayed quiet the whole time until he got hermit's ale and settled on the stool next to her. Even then he took his time before speaking. "It's the tree hermie. Why the Gith are here. We haven't been able to find the Vorpal blade to give them back, send them on their way, cause it's -inside- the Great Tree...." Hermit set her head back and closed her sightless eyes. "No.....ya are not tellin' me what i think...hey, wait a minute. The tree doesn't take anythin'....only Souls ta pass through it in the cycle..." Her hands fell to her lap as she looked up questioningly, praying this was a misunderstanding. Bob gave an unseen nod and went on. "Remember the Gith you offered sparing his life for information? All he said was they would get back what you've taken from them and spoke the word Karluth?" Hermit took a long pull from her ale and nodded. "Well, Karluth isn't a what, it's a who. Their Captian to be exact, the wielder of the Vorpal sword."
Bob went quiet, waiting for hermit to piece things together and repeat it. "So....you're tellin' me that their Captian was killed, an' the tree has his soul an' the sword? That's why they came here? They tracked the damn sword?" Her gaze went towards the tree even though she couldn't see it. "Oh man...i get it. It's not jus' the sword they want back, it's their Captian as well...."
Again, an unseen nod from Bob as he set a hand on her shoulder. Being so tense it actually made her jump a bit. "Aye, but there's more hermie...." The man went on. "They tracked the sword and know what the tree does, hence knowing they have a chance to get the Captian back.....Uh, you do know that Githyanki collect souls..." Hermit nodded slowly and leaned forward against the counter hearing Bob pause and lick his lips.
hermit finally spoke up. "Mhmm.....so this isn't really -so- bad. They collect Souls, know `bout the tree, so think they can actually revive the Captian...ok, so..if it's not hugely important ta the cycle of life an' death....we let em? I can arrange for one ta come an' have access.....they get what they want an' go...." The heaviness in the air could still be felt. "That's not so bad...Right? Bob?"
hermit went silent as it hit her, her jaw dropped. "They collect souls...they're astral bein's so get power from them....all souls that pass over pass through the...." Her eyes went to the tree again. "Oh feck... they want the Tree itself..." There was more silence until hermit pounded the counter with a fist.
hermit stood from the stool so quickly it toppled over. "No way! No way Bob! If they get the tree, an' power from -every- soul that passes through it...It's only a matter of time `fore they could take over the whole demmed planet...." and it got worse. "Hades....they'd go on a massive killin' spree jus' ta make it happen!" Bob had still not said anything, only set a hand on her shoulder after righting her stool again.
hermit sat down and buried her head in her hands. "Forget a matter of time." was said in a whisper now. "The faster they killed the more power to keep doing so, Man Bob, it would happen so freakin' fast..." Hermit drank down most of her ale and let out a long exhale, her head shaking from side to side. "An' lemme guess....Karluth is workin' towards the same end, from -inside- the tree...great." Hermit let out a growl of frustration. Suddenly being blind wasn't an accepted challenge she was looking forward to overcoming anyore.
"This -cannot- be happenin' NOW!" There was another blind stare up at Bob. "How...how did ya find this out?" He took her hand and pressed the parchment of runes into it and replied. "I was able to ask....a coworker lets say...to decipher it for me. Hermie, we're lucky for the moment, the Sword Seeker Knights have reported back, called for an Army. It's only the shift that's keeping them from being able to get here yet....but like Thaevia, Zad and everyone else, eventually they're gonna hit the right plane, this one...."
Hermit never heard Bob so serious and so concerned before. Shyte, it was his job to only observe and judge, never to care and especially never to get involved. The fact that he'd done this was a testament to the situations major implications. Hermit forced a wry chuckle. "Ah....ya could end up out of a job there Bobbo, if no one's left..." He took no offence to her statement, trying to make light of things, and set his hand on her shoulder once again as he got to his feet. "I'll probably loose the job for intervening, but i guess you and your people....you got to me hermit."
Bob let his hand run down her back as he walked away into the pub, leaving her to sit and think.
*******Two Weeks Later*******
Thomas_Thompson The pair of them had been travelling for a couple days and now he and his daughter were almost to their next destination...Thomas knew of the little haven from a few years back, but likely wouldn't recognize it when he saw it...he'd never seen it with a tree...last he remembered, it was just some campfires clustered together, a safe haven for weary travellers...He smiled over at his daughter, reaching out a hand to muss up her hair..."You gonna make it another couple miles, kiddo? We're almost there."
Anya` bounced on her seat in the wagon and smiled up at her Father, two front teeth missing. "Pa, you sure miss hermie is gonna let us stay? Will she really give me those treats and teach me to use my slingshot too?" The eleven year old went to stand up, pretending to take aim at things in the woods as they went along the rutted path. "I will become a great hunter and feed the whole camp!"
Baika`Ballstomper Even from here, the sounds of smells of the building taunted her. Taloned-like toes curled in to the loose dirt that had been worn from usage in the makeshift camp her troupe created upon their arrival. Hidden by various shrubs, trees, and the thickness of the woods it made quite the little cozy home for them. One with entrails of animals strewn as though they had been gutted just for decoration. A sound in the woods nearby caught her attention, and one of the scouts came to inform her that two were passing through nearby. It was just the chance she'd been wanting to fall in her lap, so to speak. And by now she could catch faint signs of the cart rolling through, breaking twigs. A growl escaped, saliva practically oozed out with the sound and she began the trek towards it at a quick pace. Being in these woods for as long as she had been; she'd already learned to duck and weave through the trees in order to reach her destination as quickly as possible.
Thomas_Thompson nodded towards the eleven year old..."Sure as shootin', girl." He answered. "Miss Hermie is a real nice lady, she'll probably spoil you, so you make sure you mind your please's and thank you's..." He instructed.
Anya` flopped back onto the seat with an exaggerated huff. "You know i'll behave!" Though the smile on her face, the tip of her tongue poking in out out through the gap of her missing front teeth may have suggested otherwise. Her little head inclined as she sprawled across the backboard and looked up through the tree's. "I promised Momma when she had to....go.....that i would take good care of you."
Anya` didn't bother to cover a small yawn. "Soon i will be able to do everything that she did, and you will be happy again, right?" The backs of her boots thunked against the buckboard. "We there yet?"
Her approach, and stink, was probably enough for the horse to sense well before she even reached the two. Out from the front of them she lept, at first holding one hand in to the air to telekenetically toss the man from his seat, to a nearby tree. Although it surely wasn't an act to knock him unconscious it seemed to be enough to stun him momentarily while she went toe to toe with the now crazed horse. Her gangly hand raised, drawing up from it's sheath a blade stained with ages worth of blood. Without effort of restraining it, she plunged the blade straight into the center of the horse's skull from the bridge of it's nose inbetween his eyes. It flailed momentarily, crying out in obvious pain. Bucking relentlessly to free itself from it. She twist the blade, causing a loud crunching noise to be heard. The horse's skull was crushed and once she removed the blade it collapsed on the ground with a thud.
Thomas_Thompson sighed, looking over at his girl..."You don't need to do what your mama did...you make me happy by just being you...don't you ever ever doubt that...I love ya, gi-" His words were cut off as he was suddenly flying from his seat, back hitting hard into a nearby tree...Breath was knocked from his lungs as he fell to the ground, gasping for air to try and replace it...he could hear the screaming of the horse and was terrified. "A-Anya..." He choked, trying to lift his head to see what had happened to his girl...
Anya` was sitting happily, fingers laced together and wiggling around eachother. She loved it when her Father said he loved her, which he said often, but she never got enough of it. And suddenly he was gone. Just like that. The small wagon came to an abrupt stop as she got to her feet and she toppled forward to hit the back of the horse and then the ground. "DADDY!!!"
Anya` screamed as the horse panicked and crawled under the wagon just as the steed fell to the ground. Tears of terror streamed down her face as she saw the ugly creature standing where the horse had been. "D-Daaaa.......ddy?" was said between tearful gasps.
With powerful legs she lept on to the stoop where the man had previously been driving the horse. Sniffing the air, and the sounds of the girl under the cabin able to be heard from where she stood, she soon found out the girl's exact location underneath the wagon. Her blade, which dripped with horse blood, was thrust down through the floor of the wagon in a vicious attempt to pin the child to the ground so she could watch her daddy's death before she was killed, herself. Every few inches she crept closer until the blade was slammed down through the wood and quickly inserted into the little girl's back from above. The spine would crunch as the blade made contact, pinning the girl to the ground with ease.
Thomas_Thompson Oh No...Not his little girl..."Run, girl!" He shouted and struggled to his feet, pushing past pain and breathlessness for the sake of his daughter...dear gods, please no..."Please, not my little girl!" He begged, running for the creature...he had no weapon...they'd never encountered anything like this before...his fists balled up as he leapt atop the wagon, aiming to tackle the creature off...He was a strong man, but he'd never been trained to fight...he was a simple farmer, not a warrior.
Anya` She tried so hard to be a good girl, a brave girl and not make a noise or cry as she turned to see where her Father was, footfalls echoing from the wooden floor above her head. She wanted to show him that she didn't need to run and he didn't need to be afraid. Anya had taken out her slingshot and wasn't going to let the monster hurt him, but all she saw was his dusty boots rising up into the wagon.
Anya` "It's ok Daddy!" her small hand wiped her nose and she crawled on hands and knee's looking for the perfect stone, a magical monster killer stone. Just as she saw it and reached out, the blade came down. It was so fast she almost didn't realize it went through her. Blood seeped from her mouth as she stared at the sword coming out of her stomach and into the ground, blood oozing down it's length.
Baika`Ballstomper lunged forward just as the man lept atop her back. Although it didn't take much for her to regain composure from the 'attack.' With him still near she turned, grasping him by the throat with her talon-nailed gangly hand. No doubt the man would try to yell out again, and maybe even beat her off with a plunder of fists. It wouldn't be enough, however, and her hand soon tightened around his windpipe, crushing his larynx under the force of her grasp. It hadn't been enough to kill him, despite the fact that his neck was close to being broken, and with him still in her grasps she strode to the front of the wagon. Just so the child under could witness the death, herself. She flung him down with ease, like a damp cloth, on to the ground face up and pressed her foot against his chest cavity. Talon toe curled, ripping the flesh. With one shove her foot broke every bone in his chest, pushing through the flesh and no doubt squishing his heart and lungs under the pressure she put on them both. Her foot remained stuck, for a moment, in his chest cavity. Only when she pulled her foot out could the gaping hole be seen.
Thomas_Thompson He yelled as anticipated, tried to pummel the creature with his fists...it wasn't enough...he just wasn't trained...panicked out of fear for his daughter...Eyes widened, breath stopped as she crushed his vocal chords...he landed to the ground in a heap upon his back, eyes immediately turning away from the creature towards his daughter...hand reached out towards her, stretching the impossible distance, eyes riveted upon her's...he opened his mouth to speak...to tell her he loved her one last time...tears welled in his eyes as he saw the slingshot in her hand. She'd tried to save him...he couldn't speak...but anyone could read the words 'I love you' from lips...and so he mouthed the words...and eyes went blank, unseeing as the creature's foot slammed into his chest, crushing bones, lungs, and heart, effectively ending his life...he left nothing behind but an outstretched hand and words of love upon his lips for his daughter who was soon to join him...they would be together with Anya's momma soon...
Anya` blinked at the pool of blood gathering in the dirt around the sword as she remained on all fours, still not quite understanding, and looked up to the sound of her Father hitting the ground to see him reaching out towards her. Anya smiled through her tears as he told her he loved her, and nodded, her tiny hand rising to hold up the magic monster killer stone so he could see it.
"It's o.....kay, i've.....got it." Anya` `s body slid down the length of the sword to rest on the ground, the smile still on her face and the stone clutched tight in hand with her
last breath.
Fresh blood filled the air like mist around her. The ghastly scene hadn't ended there. She took no liberty in keeping the bodies as preserved, although made fairly certain that their heads remained intact for Hermit to see who they were upon finding them. They were propped up on pikes infront of the wagon, and a scout remained nearby to keep the wild animals away from eating the bodies before they could be found. The wagon had been turned so the message could be read with the visionary of the two bodies piked in front of it.
"Hermit and all leave the lands now, or the deaths will continue until only you remain."
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