Broken Webs and Lifted Veils
Twentieth Day of the Fourth Month 294 AC
Laboratory and last resting place of the Golden Thread
There was such a thing as a sight man was not meant to see, such a thing as a vision not fit for mortal eyes. That the agents of the Inquisition knew with the cold certainty of carefully collated reports, and yet they were all still here, watching and seeking, waiting and counting the horrors of the world and the depths of mage's hubris. Kyla Fairwind looked down at the great pale
monstrosity, now still in death, with something that might almost have approached pity. Bands of gray and silver ringed its abdomen and legs, its body covered in short, bristly hairs of white and silver. The markings upon it almost gave it the impression of a skull, its many milky eyes open and staring upon the faces of its killers. Not Kyla or Ysilla no, not even Ysandryx, much as the little dragon may have preferred it. It was slain by the men and women of the Praetori, those forged anew by the flesh-smiths to be warriors, if not beyond mortal peer then certainly beyond what one might commonly see of arming halls and legion compounds.
The cabal of mages who had summoned forth this particular monstrosity were hoping to obtain some means to more effectively spin silk and reap the boons of wealth in magic that would see them match such giants as Silver Serpent Enterprises and Everfire Steel. It had seemed a harmless enough endeavor to their superiors In the Scholarum when it was only the fields of healing and transfiguration that they delved into, and even some fields of enchantment had not been seen as alarming. It was only when the head of the project, a native-born Tyroshi mage called Aleor Alkaris, was observed looking into tomes of complex conjuration at the edge of his security clearance that Headmaster Horio of Tyrosh called for an inquisition investigation of some of his most skilled pupils.
It was too late for them, hours late granted, not days or weeks, just late enough that the corpses of the dead lay bloated and broken on the laboratory floor, the shells of the spider's brood spewing forth from wounds and gashes together with the liquefying remains of internal organs.
What does it say about me that I can still recognize a spleen from a liver in that state, the girl asked herself. What does it say about me that among a company of former sellswords, soldiers, and other killers for hire I find my stomach the least troubled.
Ysilla was eating a pocket pie as she scribbled her report in her silly, too-fine writing. There were advantages to being friends with Dany, and she didn't just mean the presents or the chance to see far off places and strange spheres. In dreams the princess could show them things that were wondrous, terrifying, or both. They often asked for both, Ysandryx leading the way boldly for she feared no nightmare or phantasm and they were at her side, or perhaps on her wings, unwilling to back down and be forever lesser in the dragon's eyes.
Perhaps that made them fools, perhaps it made them monsters. It certainly made them less human than most...
"Hey, where'd you get that apple?" Kyla asked the praetorian walking in the room happily eating a Volantine Blood Apple, of the sort that got their color from the supposed battle blood that wet the roots of the first trees of its sort to grow, though they were more likely fertilized with ash and dung like most things. "That could be evidence!"
The man gave her a long searching look before pretending to peer carefully at the fruit in his hand.
"Alright fine," the girl rolled her eyes. "Got anymore?
Someone won't share her pies."
She caught the second apple on the first try.
Human or not, there was worse company to find oneself in, Kyla Fairwind decided.
Lost 1 Wizard Level 5 and 3 Adepts level 4
OOC: An interlude brought to you by the fact that it is the third day Christmas and I'm bored enough and stressed enough to ignore pain to do something interesting. Didn't quite feel up to writing the battle. I hope you guys will excuse the break in pacing under the circumstances. Kyla and Ysilla leveled up from this. Not yet edited.
, but I can't reach the current page by reading through it. So I wanted to show my support for it, it's author and it's fans while all three are going through a relatively rough patch just in-case it may end soon. Hope you all continue having fun!
