[h1][u]Act Two: Scattered to the Winds[/u]____ __ _ _[/h1] [h2][u]Chapter Four: Enemy at the Gates[/u]______ __ _ _[/h2] [hr][hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1pRMPSB.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr] Chad’orast’ilan’chiis stood as Lyen was taken from her place by the same guards that led her there. A single clap was enough to hush the quiet whispers that had followed her interview. “We now ask Calitan’Viszar’Telrontelios to approach for questioning.” Dyric returned to his place; not sparing so much as a glance in the direction of his sister. The powergazer moved towards the table again, joining the elders in waiting for the stranger to approach. He was used to eyes on him, and it brought on the same surge of adrenaline that came before every fight, and begged the same question: will I survive this? Time seemed to fall away like pine needles. His ‘comrades’... What did they see? A cunning maneuver, vouching for an enemy, or the truth? Idiocy. He went to one knee, “Give me your questions, and my truth I will trade.” “Your name,” The powergazer asked first, her voice so soft as to barely reach his ears. “Your home,” she continued, her eyeless face staring at Calitan. “Your family” The questions were listed, all innocuous under normal circumstances, but delivered with an intensity that left the audience quiet until it was finished. The powergazer nodded towards Dyric and motioned for her interviewee to stand. The former wasted no time to begin his circling. [colour=teal]"Let us start with this; what is it that brought you to our city during such troubled times stranger?"[/colour] “What brought us all here, sirrah,” his s’s whistled through his deformed lip. [colour=teal]"What would you presume that to be?"[/colour] "The mette-stiroi of course." Dyric folded his hands in front and nodded [colour=teal]"Merit's renown reaches far and we have many visitors, it's true. Where did you come from?"[/colour] "The decisions I've made and the road behind me. Ask better questions, sirrah." Dyric's placid face twitched into a half smirk. [colour=teal]"Your honesty is apparent. Let me be more clear then: Who commanded you come here?"[/colour] "Better, but I do not think that is a helpful question. You could say it was a colour. You could say it was my will. You could say it was Vyshta. I say it was all three. So why don't we focus on what matters?" [colour=teal]"I am grateful to have your approval."[/colour] Their exchange had brought enough levity to the somber proceedings to produce a smattering of laughter. "What is it you claim to have seen in the moments before Merit's death?" "Not enough to condemn another, at least not outright. No drawing. But the lady is a maledict, so..." Calitan shrugged, "I still think I have fought enough to know what their death dealing feels like." [colour=teal]"You don't proclaim her innocent?"[/colour] "Nor do I proclaim her guilty. But I know which way the scales tilt." [colour=teal]"So you continue to say nothing certain at all."[/colour] He turned from his subject with a wave of his hand. [colour=teal]"I will play along no longer. He is yours sister"[/colour] Talit stood, crutches forming under her arms as she did. [color=c4df9b]"How many a maledict would you say you’ve fought, Calitan?"[/color] She asked as she approached with her strange gait. Calitan thumbed through the ears of his necklace, "Nine." Talit grimaced, taking a closer look at each of the pointed ears. [color=c4df9b]"Enough to be familiar."[/color] She acquiesced. [color=c4df9b]"But have you ever met this one, Lyen, before these past two nights?”[/color] "Only travelling here. In a game of Three Yellow Roses. Is she innocent now?" Talit scowled but ignored the man’s snideness. [color=c4df9b]“You had no reason to defend a stranger lest you knew her to be mistakenly judged. Where is your certainty now?”[/color] “If it was such a simple matter we would not be here. I believe her to be innocent, yet I have been known to be wrong before.” [color=c4df9b]"Rarely wrong when it comes to maledict magics."[/color] She nodded to the string of ears around his neck again. [color=c4df9b]"You are excused Calitan'Viszar. I have no more questions."[/color] No guards made to escort the scarred Yasoi away. As quickly as the attention had settled on him it dissipated; interest already changed to the next witness. In total five took the stand. And as each passed, the patience of the crowd wavered. The sun made itself scarce, and one by one the citizens of Loriindton returned to their homes as it became clear no justice would be found the first day. More witnesses vied for Lyen's innocence and guilt; Some defending the magic of maledicts, professing that casting without drawing is impossible. Others claimed to have sensed her draw earlier in the evening and perhaps this had been enough- One woman claimed to have seen Lyen poison Merit’s glass herself. It was all a contradicting mess that revealed only one absolute truth: Merit had died the exact moment Lyen laid hands on her. [hr] A morning breeze carrying the scent of smoke and burning fat drew Ogmund from slumber, and sent him into an imitate fury. The source was easily found only a few meters south from the camp. His men were found encircled around a fire, interacting in as hushed tones as could be expected from an entire contingent of Eskandr forces. Ogmund stepped over the two closest and, to many vocal complaints, kicked the cooking set-up aside to stop out the small flames. "What did I say about fires? We're too close to the tree dwellers." He glared at the group, they had to have been at it as soon as his watch had finished. Damned fools. Damn himself for not waking to put an end to it. "Been four days since our last hot-meal. How's a man to keep his wits about on an empty stomach?" Soldi moaned, making no effort to look ashamed, instead leaning back in his place and patting his notably bloated stomach. "By following orders." Throwing on a blanket to extinguish any remaining embers put an end to any further argument. "Clean up and pack; I want to be out of these woods by sundown." He turned heel from the scene as the soldiers hastily finished the remains of their breakfast, keeping their complaints as grumbles among themselves as they readied to move. "Here," Before they set out, Soldi came to Ogmund with the last of the food; a charred strip of meat folded in a flatbread. "Not warm anymore," He shrugged "But still better than what we've been having." Ogmund only gave a nod in thanks, but only tucked the meal into his bags. He'd not acquit their wrong-doing by taking part, however he hungered for fresh food. It was barely a mile into their march when the strangeness began: " [i]"Nax luin yani dii'luin abe rot hax'oft!"[/i] The voice was unnaturally loud and echoing with the dense foliage. The language recognizable only because of its foreignness. Yasoi. A shiver ran down Ogmund's spine. How long had the forest been so quiet? "Who's there?!" Shouted one of the men, "Where are you?" Ogmund whirled "Quiet! What do you-" But he was interrupted by more of the strange lilting tongue. [i]“Huusoi? Tai soceh abost juu nash!”[/i] A mist rose from the ground, a clear trick of the Gift that only only a few men seemed to recognize. The rest shouted back, heedless of their leader's orders, frantically moving as though to push away the fog that began to envelop them. No response came to the soldiers, but the exchange between their watchers continued: [i]”Joi di'thiir Eskand'huusoi? Tuum tai fep!"[/i] In the same moment he recognized the word referring to the homeland, Ogmund heard weapons being drawn behind him, on turning he found Soldi. The sight of a raging berserker was unmistakable. Entering such a state was supposed to be impossible without heavy use of the gift or the intense frenzy of battle; and was never an accident. Even after Ogmund commanded the man to still, he was already surging towards the trees in search of the voices' source. [i]"Dii'esct yanii, wiip'tuum wes tuum'oft abe juvet?"[/i] It wasn't just Soldi. A dozen men followed him into the forest, axes raised and screaming a bloody battle-cry, then more with them, until all but those unaffected by the rage remained. Ogmund found himself left with fifteen men looking to him for orders. "Stop them from getting any further into the forest!" No more lines came, but a chilling laugh followed them in their pursuit. It was a hopeless attempt. As fast as they ran it was no match for the inhuman speed and endurance that came with a berserk rage. The first group had long halted when they were eventually reached. Just in time for Ogmund and the others arrived only in time to see the first volley of fire leave the hand of an Eskandr soldier to embed itself into a tree above him. In mere seconds the single branch transformed the entire section of forest into a wall of flames. [hr] It wasn’t long after Lyen was returned back to her room that she fell asleep. Exhaustion from staying awake so long finally beating out her anxiety enough to give her a few hours rest. Her dreams were short and frantic, and when she woke only a few hours later, she hardly felt a difference had been made. But food was waiting for her, and it was at least something to do. There was no stopping her thoughts from circling the trial as she ate. Dyric had played a dirty trick, and after the scarred man’s non-committal interview, there didn’t seem to be anyone left who wanted to so much as consider her innocence. The truth remained though. And it would reveal itself, such was the purpose of keeping a timewalker at all. She had only partly finished when Talit’s face appeared in her doorway without the usual warning of her crutched gait or even the guard's acknowledging her presence. [colour=D4E637]“Is it that time again already?”[/colour] The younger woman shook her head. [color=c4df9b]“No, and the guards can’t see or hear us, but we only have a few moments,”[/color] Lyen straightened, and held back the reflexive questions.[colour=D4E637]“Then tell me what you came here for.”[/colour] [color=c4df9b]“To tell you to be ready, I’ve spoken with Otios, and it’s given me an idea. We can pull the blame off you and Perrence in a single act. Just- Be ready to move when it happens.”[/color] [colour=D4E637]“During the trial?”[/colour] [color=c4df9b]“Hopefully before, I have to go.”[/color] There were of course countless more questions Lyen had ready, even before Talit had finished answering the first. But she’d vanished as suddenly as she’d appeared. It had been time magic, Lyen concluded as she finished her meal. What less could be expected from Vyshta’s most favoured? As accepting of Talit’s haste as she’d been at the time, it didn’t take long for Lyen to become vexed at her vagueness. How was she supposed to ready herself if she had no idea when or what even for? She paced the small plain room until she was certain dawn had to have passed, but a call to her guards heeded no more than a shout to remain quiet. There was little else she could do but draw and deplete a small pool of essence mana from her own body, ready to reflexively cast. It was mid-day by Lyen’s best guess when someone finally entered the hallway. A stranger she vaguely recognised as one of the costumed jesters on the mette’stiroi, though his appearance was much less festive and demeanor infinitely less jovial. “The city is under attack, we need everyone outside!” Lyen pressed herself up to the small hole in her door, desperate to make out what she could of the men outside. The three guards looked to each other then the intruder. “What of the prisoner?” “One of you take her to be held in the council’s chambers for now. You other two come with me; they’re burning the trees, Exiran spare us.” Lyen found herself alone but for one remaining guard that gripped her forearm as he led her out the building. “Don’t think about trying any of y…..” His sentence never finished as his hard set frown was replaced with a vacant, slightly blissful expression as Lyen’s magic took near immediate effect. [colour=D4E637]“Wouldn’t dream of it.”[/colour] She said flatly as the disorientation eventually brought the armored man to the floor. Without further hesitation she made for the final door between her and freedom. A billow of hot air, clouded thick with smoke greeted her at the entrance. Outside was pandemonium. But the blaze, only a few feet away, commanded immediate attention. Already it was well into the city and extended well beyond her vision. All around Yasoi ran, scattering in search of family and treasure as they made their escape. The true attack didn’t arrive until Lyen had already committed herself to destroying the parts of untouched trees too close to the flame, desperate to aid in halting the fires before they came any closer. They seemed to emerge from the fire themselves; screaming barbarians, wielding their weapons at anything that moved in their reach. Lyen was brought back to the witch wood, how desperate she’d been to help her people then. She looked at the blood covered axes of Eskandr tearing Loriindton asunder and prayed to each of the gods by name that this wasn’t the event Talit had planned. [hider=Summary] The first day of trial has ended largely in a stalemate. Few minds have been changed. Something has happened to drive the Eskandr forces wild, they are attacking Loriindton, though there do seem to be a handful trying to stop them? Who can tell in all the chaos. [/hider] [hider= Player Actions] The city is on fire! Eskandr are madly attacking anyone they come across! Help is needed on the western side of the city where fire and Eskand force began coming from. Who you aid and how is entirely up to you, or maybe you’d rather use the distraction to pillage treasure and info. If you’re struggling or need any further info please do not hesitate to DM me here or on discord.[/hider]