Dark Light

Persona: The darkest light

I’m unfamiliar with persona, is there somewhere I can read up on it and the available abilities?

Persona: The darkest light

How do ppl know their abilities?

Veritas Lux Mea

Wow, I had forgotten why I was subscribed to this thread... just been waiting for intro opportunity. Lol.

Well I’m still here :)
It’s gonna be interesting playing a character I nearly forgot about.
Anyway hope everyone is well :)

Persona: The darkest light

Thinking devil but not sure yet. Gonna follow for a bit and see how it goes.

Cardinal Rift

Somewhere in the near distance a large heavy wyvern crashed hastily to the ground. It easily went unnoticed amongst all the commotion and unconscious people. A small moment later and suddenly a large heavy hand landed upon Rendyls shoulder.

Tholn

---

Tholn was a large man, a demi-giant at that with the muscles to match his awe inspiring stature. His equally fitting and intimidating hard stone facial features were silhouetted by long lengths of jet black wavy hair that reached down over his wide shoulders. On his chin sat an equally dark well kept pointy short sharp beard with an accompanying moustache, both trimmed with pristine lining and gleaming with the wetness of excess oils.

Of the few places between fine blue silks and shining polished armour where flesh was fashionably and deliberately exposed, his naturally dark olive skin was noticeable patterned by a plethora of fine white lines. Littered about his body haphazard and chaotically, some older than others, and of varying sizes, length, shape, direction and depth, still compared to his skin tone they all practically glowed in contrast.

Rendyl would quickly recognise the wyvern guard. Even though having observed her with an intimate closeness and consistency, the giant of a man had spoke very little to Rendyl, and when he did, did so with a hesitation and shyness unexpected of his appearance. This time however there was none of that. A deep throaty and demanding voice boomed with urgency from the worried man.

“WHERE IS LORD DRAKUS!?”

His eyes held obvious with the concern and fear he felt as his head swung around wildly, madly surveying the carnage that was once the great tower. Even with Eliona cradled limp and lifeless in his arms, her clothes torn ragged and stained with blood, he stalked through the unsettled dust and kicked aside large rocks and heaved up long wooden beams where ever he imagined signs of life.

“Where” The sentence started and ended on the same choked breath, the man clearly distressed.

The man would spend the better part of the next week stifling through the ruins for hours on end with the aid of servants. Removing body after body. Sometimes whole, other times in pieces. Still, he carried on with a fierce determination and denounced every unidentifiable corpse that could have been Drakus, even the one bound in his clothing.

From the ruins he found a few of their possessions and the body of a servant, all which he sent back to Solaris.

Cardinal Rift

Drakus

16th day of Anais

Afternoon
Location: Harrows keep townstead.

“That stupid fucking child!” Drakus snarled with a pure condescending disgust painted deeply across his face. “I’ll see to it that her misdeeds here sully her houses name forever.”

Drakus had been in his fair share of crisis situations and it was only for his knowledge that any conflict with this inexperienced brat would likely only lead to further hinderance than what she was already causing, that prevented him from putting her in her place. He would deal with her later, for now she could play her games and waste their resources.

For bards would soon be singing songs, and story-men spinning their tails of how the brat of house Harlow tried to play adult but only got good men killed. It would stick too because those with a lesson always did and this lesson was why little arrogant children should obey their elders, a story many parents would happily retell.

It didn’t really matter anyway if she was ordering people about since the guards loyalty would likely sway as soon as commands came from someone with the faintest hint of authority and who wasn’t a visiting child. And if for some odd reason they didn’t, Drakus would ensure they were properly punished for it.

He watched as one of her guards already stopped and wasted his time on some menial frivolity and conversation. A growl of frustration resonated deep in his throat as he put every face present in a permanent position in his mind.

Then those of proper training and stature approached him.
Drakus took a moment longer to coordinate the group of guards that heeded him, but in that time he rebuilt their composure, assessed their skillsets, ascertained the location of the hospice, (right under that stupid brats nose) and as he made his way there, formulated and carried out a plan.

If the lord of Solaris cared for the lives of the dead and suffering or not was unclear, but this was a moment of peril and crises. It was a situation requiring leaders and lords to take control and make decisions. It was his responsibility, a puzzle or challenge with action the only path.

Firstly four guards, the most confident riders were sent to locate horses in the near vicinity, two guards who had a light gate got to work assisting around the hospice, guarding it and sending up a pulsing, welcoming beacon above the clearing market place.
Inside the building of science and healing Drakus found it to be in reasonable condition. Lucky for them so too were the two nurses and doctor.
Introductions were kept quick and short, the situation made clear and actions put in place right away.

More than once Drakus’s eyes lingered on one of the nurses who worked with a resilient focus and determination. The other, Drakus sent to the market place to assist and overlook the growing number of injured arriving in the clearing and make the final call on who would be allowed past the light creating guards to be treated in the hospice.

It was then when they left the building that the four horsemen returned, followed by three horses. They were a little spooked and slightly injured but would do.

Drakus found the guard with the largest and most calm horse and clasped his hand on his shoulder before giving his order.
“With consultation from our nurse take that beast and ride quickly into the markets and where ever else she advises, your goal is not to stop and help any one individual but help all, by getting and bringing back the supplies that she needs. Make mental note if you wish of any suffering you see but DO NOT stop or delay, the lives of the many rely on you. Others will be on their way to aid behind you and you can always go back with the horse after. I’m counting on you.” And with that he sent him off with a willing aider from the markets.

That left two horses and seven guardsmen. Most of which just had weak force gates, except for one older man with greasy black hair and a crooked smile.

“I’m leaving you here to look over things. Use your gate to create what water you can and watch that child, if she interrupts or tries to overrule me again, kill her pony.” the man only nodded and smiled and Drakus realised why he liked him.

“You!” Drakus pointed to and singled out one of his young guardsmen, a thin agile looking man who had started to clear some debris. “Take the swiftest horse, you are the messenger. Once again don’t delay. Spread the message of what is happing here. Rally every guardsmen you can find. Seek out any known healers. You go east and I will take the West. Rendezvous with me at the north gate.”

That left five men and a horse Drakus had now claimed. A stray guard just happened to pass by while completing tasks set out by young Abigail Harlow. Drakus lashed out and grabbed the man by the arm dragging him into his little circle. In a cold harsh whisper he said.

“Listen carefully soldier. I will personally have you demoted and publicly humiliated if you follow one more order from that brat child girl. You are a bloody grown man and this is a crisis! Now go with your brothers, split into two equal groups. Travel in each direction. ”

He calmed a bit as he spoke to the whole group.

“Aid the able so they may assist others, do not waste your time on the damned. Keep moving. Unite others to your cause. Take the paths of noble houses, they are more likely to survive this mana storm and offer further aid to others. Once you have hit the northern gate leave one man behind and return back the way you came, assisting those you could not before.”

With that last command, all the men had duties and were off to work. This left only himself. He mounted the horse and looked back, Abigail Harlow was doing an alright job clearing the market place and making temporary accommodation and space for the injured. Pending the state of the other districts, it just might prove useful. Did, did she just smile at him? He gave her a fierce scowl, kicked his horse and galloped off on his way, heading along the west route. While he was looking at the carnage around him as he travelled, something caught his eye in the north. It propelled from the tower and plummeted towards the ground. A human sized bird noticeable against the swirling distraught background that Drakus had deliberately avoided acknowledging or considering. Rendyl.

Cardinal Rift

Drakus

16th day of Anais

Afternoon
Location: Escaping Harrows Tower, Basement.

‘Well, that wasn’t very exciting.’ Drakus thought to himself after a short moment of staring expectantly at the darkness that had engulfed the monk.
Jerome.

Jerome?

he called out casually as he awaited a reply. Nothing. He shrugged with a dismissive ‘oh well’ and wondered off away from the devouring darkness back towards the pantry.

He was crunching down on a juicy warm apple when two things hit him, the growing stench of the two dead bodies and the realisation that this place needed a fresh air supply. Suddenly and quickly Drakus began searching the walls and roof. It was there just near where he found Jerome that he saw it, near the top corner of the far wall, an air ventilation shaft.

It was subtly disguised by a large stone block filled with many drill holes. In the dark corner you could barely notice it, but Drakus found it. He knew it was there and that behind that holey rock there had to be a larger and clearer path for the air to flow. Just how big, he couldn’t be sure until the cover was out the way. A smirking grin took his face as he welcomed the challenge.

* * *

It was a short time later and Drakus’s blood buzzed with the thrill of spent mana burning through his veins, sweat dripped down his forehead and his body heaved with the weight of his heavy breaths. There was a ringing in his ears that muffled the rest of the world, but it was quickly fading. But oh how he felt alive.
Above him a smoke cloud snaked across the ceiling, dark puffy tendrils reaching out from the now exposed ventilation shaft. Soot and char marks stained the walls around it, shrapnel of cleaning containers lay scattered across the floor and the centre table smouldered in patches around the dead monks. Small embers glowed on their robes, teetering on the swords edge, threatening to either grow and engulf their clothing entirely or simply fade away from existence and die like the monks it danced upon.
Either way Drakus did not care, he had his goal clear before him.

Wiping his brow with a kerchief from his vest, he took the last bite of his apple before casually discarding the core over his shoulder and raising his hand towards the open stone vent.
A wide and proud gate appeared before the shaft. Drakus mused and his grin widened, his mana already fully replenished. Maybe he didn’t want to escape this place after all, what ever was going on it made him feel near invincible.

A strong heavy gust of blazing hot air washed through the vents, clearing the dust and cobwebs, killing all the insects or creepy-crawlers that called it home, and sucked up all the smoke.
Drakus stared proudly and curiously at the now clean empty tunnel.
The mana high he was on made him too enthralled with action that he didn’t really stop to consider the possible consequences of the path that lie ahead, what had transpired here or what he might find. He just moved.

A move he might later regret.

The stone ventilation duct was tight, made for fresh air not men, lucky for Drakus he was not claustrophobic. Even still it proved to test his nerves.
For a start the round tunnel did not favour his rectangular frame. He had to roll his shoulders in and squeeze them together just to fit. Once his arms had a position either in front or behind him there were few opportunities to change that. From every direction the walls pressed in on him.
His body blocked nearly all light, and that tiniest bit that was left did not follow him around the first bend.
He wondered if maybe this was how Jerome felt right now.
The air around him felt thin and tasted stale. The stones in the wall ever so often sat jutting out grabbing at his soft body and he had to twist, wriggle or just drag himself over it.

And then it happened, he threw his arm forward as he had been for the last five minutes, to grab blindly at the floor in the pure darkness that had swallowed him whole. To get some small amount of purchase as he pulled himself forward as he wriggled and kicked his legs.
The five minutes of monotony seemed like forever and it all came to an abrupt end when so to did his path.

Panic hit him as he struck the dead end, again and again. His fingers bruised and his nail folded back and bled. He strained his eyes to try and see but it it made no difference in the pure black. He couldn’t go

But then a sound reached him, ever so faint but unmistakable. A horse. The panic receded on focused breaths and Drakus felt around. Above him, there was an opening above him, but his back did not bend that way.
It took a small amount of painfully slow backtracking before Drakus found the space to roll over. Once on his back, reinvigorated with hope he released a wave of mana into the tunnel around him before he wriggled on with renewed enthusiasm.

Still the bend was tight but after defying some of the bones in his body it felt damn good to be nearly standing. The slight incline and tight space made for a possible if not awkward climb. It was only a short one though. Then he could see it. The reflection of light.

As he manoeuvred around a small bend to a more verticals tunnel, suddenly the air tasted fresher and he could once again see. He was nearly out. Only one thing stood in his way, a heavy grate and old padlock. He made quick work of the lock, eagerly deforming it’s shape till it no longer served its purpose. Then, after getting purchase on the tight walls, he mustered his strength to push off the heavy grating.

Freedom!

As he flopped to the dirt floor Drakus found himself in the shadow of the grand keep. If that’s what it still was, it presented itself as more of an abomination than the portals now did. It was twisted and disjointed, defying gravity in ways no craftsmanship ever could. He looked around confused. The buildings were familiar but all wrong. Broken and misplaced like the stones of the cellar walls, but these were entire houses.

And the death!!!!

It filled the streets. Bodies were strewn everywhere where he looked. Some stumbling around or crying, others not moving.

It. It was just too much to take in. Drakus shook his head confused. None of this made any sense, where was the tower, where did he just come from. What happened to these buildings, what happened to these people. Just what in Anais’s name was going on!
All hell broke lose right after he teleported to the basement...
Did it have something to do with that swirling vortex?

Nearby a young girl on a small horse tried to rally some wayward and lost guardsmen. Drakus stood up and dusted himself off. His fine attire now disheveled, marred with dirt and small tears. He felt like words would not reach these people and considered opting for a display of power, but then again, under these circumstances maybe now was not the time to be opening gates, despite how badly he wanted too.

“I command all of you to fall into formation and report before me.” Drakus boomed in his most authoritative voice. This was not his first time taking command of local guards. Perk of the Immolis house.

He started with a simple command. One the guards would have completed a million times before, one their bodies could complete without their minds.

“ little girl on the horse, you too! I have an important mission for you.”

@Stitches

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

Oooh quite interested in this!

Is this ok for a fc

Also for powers thinking he can absorb things into his body and store/manipulate them and later produce them from anywhere else in his body.

Cardinal Rift

Drakus meandered behind most others after the talks. He had brought much paperwork and taken many notes. What ever changes came from today he wanted to be prepared to make the most of them, to be sure Solaris could capitalise on it.

As he came to the teleportation device he mused upon it. Something had been bugging him about the relic, more than just the fact he couldn’t have one.

Drakus

16th day of Anais

Afternoon
Location: Harrows Tower, Basement?

“Ughh”

Drakus awoke suddenly with a sharp groan, disoriented and confused he shot up to his feet as he rapidly blinked away the blinding effects of a bright light still staining his vision. Unbalanced he stumbled for a bit before finding purchase on the nearby wall.

What happened? Where was he?

As the room slowly came into focus, a corridor maybe two meters wide, Drakus realised it was not one he was familiar with. He began to process the odd site when his memory came back and he recalled the last word he had said while standing on the teleportation stone. His own voice echoed in his head.

‘Basement.’

Despite what had just happened or was still happening, Drakus felt... Great! Heat rose from his body as he burned off excess mana and the room was already starting to warm. He rode the exhilarating feeling that came with it. It just didn’t seem to end. With a clear mind and proper thought, still he didn’t feel balanced, and soon he understood why.

It was not him but the room, the long corridor before him lay on an odd slight incline. It seemed a bizarre design and he couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind it. But that was not all that was out of place. The more he looked upon it the more surreal the room became. Almost dream like. He began to pace up the stone corridor, the soft rug beneath his feet vanishing halfway into the floor. Part of the wall ran parallel to the incline while another part ran at what Drakus believed to be level. The shape and angle of the stone bricks were not consistent either, some shot out with jagged edges reaching for him menacingly.

Iron doors that once ran down the corridor now no longer fit their frames. The first door he passed was no longer a door at all but an oblong hole in the stone, the bottom of the used-to-be doorframe ran through the middle of it while the iron door itself jutted out of the floor in the middle of the room like an iron tombstone.

Worse than the doors or the floor was the teleportation pad he walked away from. Now no longer runes and sigils painted onto a solid surface it was instead an empty black void calling to him. An endless hole of darkness to and from nowhere, a mesmerising powerful vortex both impressive and equally terrifying.

Cautiously Drakus threw a stone into its swirling deep depths but with no sight or sound from it he could only imagine what happened after the darkness consumed it. One thing was for sure, Drakus was not stepping into it. He watched it for a little longer, entranced by the abomination before him, it seemed to suck the very thoughts from his mind.
Shaking free from its grasp he moved on, still ever weary and curious of those pads. Hopefully they were not ruined forever.

---

While some of the doors were in disarray or non existent others still managed to hold in place just enough to bar the lords entrance into what ever lay behind them.
Those that barred his path quickly became pools of molten iron, the constant flow of mana quickly replenishing his reserves.

So far the contents of the rooms were consistent with what one might expect to find in a basement. Cleaning equipment and tools. Old sheets and spare quilts. After having to climb to enter one such rooms Drakus’s efforts were rewarded with an array of good foods, albeit half of them lay scattered across the floor. He helped himself as he searched the room, sampling the wares as he took some of the well stored salted meats and a satchel of vegetables.

A greater find than that was what must be the guards supply room. It was filled with enough weapons to arm a battalion of men to the teeth they seem to be standard issue sabers, crossbows, and sets of armor.

The last door at the end of the corridor was still perfectly in place, even the sign hanging from it was unaffected. It read.

’Monk Residencies’

He could have opened it normally but with the abundance of mana in the air there was little reason not to do things the fun way. Armed with a loaded crossbow and a small shield, Drakus heated the door to melting point before sending it exploding in and then stepping easily through the hole.

As he enters the residencies, a grim sight confronts him.
Beyond the entry hallway, in a barebone stone gemlit room,
three monks lie lifelessly draped over a wooden table and chairs, all dead. Having either drowned in their own vomit or been overloaded with mana. He checked the bodies but there was nothing he could do.

Beside the dead monks there were multiple doors. Through the contorted doors Drakus could see what must have been the communal sleeping quarters, not that they could be used for that any more.

A soft muttering could be heard nearby, it held a familiar chorus to it. A prayer to Anais. It came from one of the distorted quarters. Drakus, following the sound, quickly made his way to investigate. There on the floor was a monk leaning against the wall. He was maybe thirty five years of age. His dark hair that hung over his face and lack of a pin mark him as one of the newer additions to the Brotherhood.
He rocked ever so slightly as he recited the prayer again and again, seemingly unaware of Drakus’s growing presence. Drakus had seen this behaviour before, in men overwhelmed in combat by loss or injury. He knelt besides the man and joined him in preyer.

When they came to an appropriate ending Drakus interjected with his most calming voice.
“Monk, can you tell me what is going on?”

"I... I don't know... Colt and Ren were just discussing, and I... I just felt a tremor..."
"And then Dev came in and..."
"I woke up... and they were all..."

The monk muttered never raising his head. Drakus grabs the man by the chin and lifts his face forcing eye contact.
“Yes they are dead now, may they find Anais. We on the other hand are not, now I believe you survived to help me, so pull yourself together and let’s find a way out of here. Your duty is not done yet.”

Drakus spoke with such confidence his words were a matter-of-fact and he sought to give the monk purpose and importance.

“Now what do you know of these teleporters? Is this one still safe?” He asks leading the man back to the only entrance and exit he had soon to this place.
The monk slowly got up and followed Drakus.

"I... I've never seen them like this before."

He again muttered, staring down into the deep portal.

“Well what do you know of them!?”

"Not much."
"Just how to operate them."

The monk was appearing a little less shaken, but he still refused to meet Drakus's eyes by his own will.
Drakus was growing frustrated and impatient by the monks slow recovery and lack of useful help.
He let an eerie silence fill the room as he stood still staring at the top of the man’s head waiting for his gaze.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Drakus finally spoke, placing a hand on the broken mans shoulder.

“Good sir, servant of Anais. What is your name?”

“Je, J Jerome.” He softly stuttered under his breath, still never looking up.

Drakus looked down at the poor man, 10 years his better but quivering like a useless weak fool.

“There there.” He said leaning in close. Then in a short sharp whisper he spoke directly into his ear.

_{“ Jerome, if it’s safe, come back and get me ok, now go with Anais.”}

With that he pushed the monk into the broken teleportation device.
Now, now the monk looked Drakus dead in the eyes. His own were wide and his face pale, the look of betrayal told all as he disappeared into the darkness.

Cardinal Rift

Leras stood and watched as Elise and Drakus walked away. She had something of a wistful expression on her face, though it was mixed with disapproval. “I never liked him. I didn’t like any of those brats from that house. But it isn’t my place to choose my lady’s friends.” She grimaced. “That’s that. Hopefully I can collect her in one piece, if at all. To the ampitheatre it is, then.”

"Do not call him a brat." Rendyl retorted, stepping up behind Eliona's right shoulder.
"He is more mature than his siblings, and it shows through his actions."

“Yeah, and I’ll bet that you’ve never met either of the other two. Ruel’s mostly lovely, but a complete idiot. Drakus is an arrogant bastard, as you know. Cedric is… I’d prefer it if my lady were to give up on him. They’re all the same if you boil it down a bit.” Leras grumbled. She gestured in the direction of the amphitheatre, taking a few steps towards it. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

Rendyl used a hand to gently guide Eliona forward to follow Leras, taking care never to touch the woman "Little Ruel was curious about my wings, and Lord Cedric looked ready to tear Lord Drakus apart."

She flicked her wingtips lightly with the memory of the confrontation making her shiver. It was rare to find someone that attempted to put Lord Drakus on the back foot, and even rarer that Drakus allowed them to continue breathing afterward.

“Oh, Ruel’s never seen one of your kind before. Probably wanted to take a good look before he votes not to give you rights. Don’t blame him. Though I’m supposed to be calling him Lord Immolis now, aren’t I?” Leras clicked her tongue. “I’ll never get used to these new names. Solaris, too. What’s that supposed to mean? Oh, I hope Elise never gets married.” She continued, though much quieter, to herself. “Well, if it’s him, she’ll still be Dalris. There’s already a house for that… two more years, isn’t it?”

Abbi listened and bit her tongue. The woman was clearly trying to start a fight. Abbi could see the tension in Rendyls arm and how she stood trying to look non-combative but hand ready to draw her sword. The third participant, Eliona treated this as a non-event. She had told Abbi, “In the art of being a Lady, one must hear others words, listen to what they say and think about why they are saying them, and if they invoke a strong reaction, act like nothing happened.” Abbi’s father would tell her, “Who cares what they say, jerks are jerks.” The problem was that Abbi wanted to like everyone, including the “jerks” and mostly wanted them to like her. She watched with awe as Eliona worked her grace taking everything going on around her. She continued to stand there wanting to defend Rendyl. A caty thought came rushing to her mind about how sad it was that servants these days seem to see themselves as Nobility, expressing their opinions about things that were above their station. The problem was in the proper order of things the guards of the Lords were effectively above her, being their masters fist. She on the other hand was the daughter of a working parents living in a different province. She was under the protection of Lord Drakus. She thought she was a “Miss” and no longer “girl”, The funny thing was that most people just called her Abbi. From the serving girls all the way to Lord Drakus, when he called anything. She did her best to defend Lord Drakus’ honor by not starting a fight even though she thought it would feel good to do so.

Rendyl shook her head slowly at Leras's comments. Of course a human guard would be more interested in politics. All Rendyl really cared about was making sure the select few individuals of House Solaris kept on breathing. However, today she had an opportunity…

"Eliona, I'll be back. Leras, may I impose upon you to take her to see the amphitheater? I don't want my presence to make others uncomfortable…"

Eliona nodded and reached out an arm with a loose hand towards Leras. She spoke with a Lords confidence and command but her words held such a delicate gentle diplomacy that she could probably tell you to go to hell and somehow you would end up looking forward to the trip.

“Perfect, we have much to discuss anyway, and the sooner we all stop squabbling over our own perceived flaws and biases of others we can truly get to the heart of things. Wouldn’t you agree? Now let us be on our way. That ‘arrogant bastard’ as you call him has given me coin enough that all shall enter the amphitheater for free tonight and I have permission to grant scholarship for two of my favoured performers. I would be honoured if you helped me pick.”

Leras took Eliona’s hand a little roughly, but not on purpose. “Right,” she said. “Yeah, sure. I don’t know much about music and the like, so don’t expect too much from me.” With unusual gentleness, she began to lead Eliona down to the amphitheatre. It made her uneasy to spend the rest of the evening away from Elise, but it was too late to go back and find her. So she resigned herself to looking after Eliona, and did what she could to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Abbi did speak before Eliona and Leras left for the amphitheatre, “Miss Eliona, there are a couple errands I need to run, if I may take your leave.”

---

Abbi shopping

After being dismissed and watching the tension between the armed women, Abbi set her mind on a miniature rebellion of her own. It was a working rebellion that would benefit Solaris in the longer run, but it did show some independence and initiative. So she took the instructions with a big dose of sugar. In her thinking she really did not think that Lord Drakus really cared where they went as long as it was away.
She looked at the maid and the guard then said, “Time to go do a little shopping!” She waited to see if Rendyl was going to come with her. But she was not going to press. She really was trying to play by the rules. But her rule book had a few coffee spills and water stains that made a couple of the pages run.
Abbi looked at them and said, [color=FF007F “First thing, clothes.”[/color] Her maid was excited thinking they were heading towards the high fashion shops that were stocked from around the kingdom waiting for the nobles and their caravans. Her maid’s enthusiasm ran high thinking that Abbi was embracing her position and was going to dress the part. As they turned away from the fine shops to the working part of town where the smelters, miners, and blacksmiths worked and lived. Her maid’s joy changed to concern. She wanted clothing that was going to be sturdy and could be used when she worked on things. Something that could resist acids and bases, take the heat, padded, and strong enough to climb on rock piles. Leather aprons, rubber and leather gloves, as well as padded leather pants and coats. Ugly clothing as her maid called it, but Abbi was worried about function and not fashion. She slid a pair of leather pants and boots on under her dress. She would have changed completely, but decorum being required, she stopped and did not put on a show.
“Next, comes the important stuff,” she said with a smile from ear-to-ear. Geological samples of stones, minerals, and ores for the university. If she could find a geologist that worked with the mines, she might’ve even been able to get a recommendation for good books to use at the university. As she went from stall to stall she examined things closely, always on the look for things of interest or tools. She broke down and bought a couple beautiful imported lace ribbons for her maid’s hair and spices for cooking.
From one of the mining caravans, she also ordered a couple barrels of saltpeter for fertilizers for some gardens she had planned in her mind. She also ordered a couple barrels sulfur to help keep the bugs down in the gardens and to dust her pigeons to keep the mites away. She also checked into getting some larger quartz crystals, they would need to be shipped to her.
When she was looking in the metal merchants stalls, an old man with dark hair that was slightly balding and combed over, called out to her. His ears with slightly round and his eyes were emerald green that were clear. His smile was genuine, though his teeth looked a little sharp. Unlike the other stalls, his stall was a large tent with walls that offered some privacy and was placed near the poorer part of the keep. She did not realize that she had just found a part of the black market.
“Come, come, My lady. Come, Honest John can get what you need and no one will beat my prices,” he called to her and opened the flap to his tent. The servants tried to keep her from entering the tent. But she did, she could not stop herself as curiosity, being one of her downfalls.
“Peppermint tea?” he offered, “Exotic Peppermint, Mentha Ipus from the Beastman’s lands, much richer flavor and smell than what grows here. If you like, I can send some with you.”
She sat down at a small table with exotic rugs on the ground; chests were open showing different items for sale. After some small talk about the weather and where she was from. A servant brought a beautiful tea set with tea cups which he washed in a bowl and dried. Tea was poured, and the steam came from the cups in the chill of the evening air. Honest John said, “I have been told you're looking for tools and metal. Yes?”
“Yes, I am,” she said and took a sip of tea. It was strong and rich. The aroma filled the space.
“Well, I am an agent mind you. I believe I can help locate some equipment from Kothlin, though it may take a few weeks for it to be delivered though, lathes and milling machines. You will need electricity, probably a couple power generators from young.. and different refined metal blanks from Balaur.” He smiled, his spies had been working and he could see he was on the right track as her cheeks flushed.
He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote in a beautiful script, everything was beautiful, the items and then an amount after each. He rolled it and placed it in a scroll tube and then sealed it with wax. “If the hopeful, new Lord, is interested in the deal, reply to me by looking for a messenger runner wearing a red and green tassel on his belt and the message will get to me,” he said.
Abbi finished her tea and set the cup down.
He turned and pulled another bag of tea from the box and handed it to. “You should get back to the keep before it gets dark,” Honest John said in a very paternal tone and showed the party to the door.
When they got back to the keep proper, Abbi’s face was flushed and she felt a little giddy. To put it mildly, she was buzzed like blue bird’s eating late fall Choke Cherries and flying into the window. Her maid got her to her room to sleep it off, but Abbi wanted to go to the ballroom and dance. As the maid was helping her change she commented, “It is amazing how that the dress had managed to stay in place without falling down. That would have been Hooorrrrriiiiffic.” She said giggling as she was placed in the bed and covered with enough quilts to keep her there. Rebecca her maid, kept saying “Yes, Abbi.” like there was nothing going on. Her guard would deliver the tube to Rendyl to give to Lord Drakus. He would whisper an update on what they had done, bought, and the condition of Abbi to Rendyl so she could pass it on. He suspected that Abbi would be having a headache in the morning would get the “you were not safe” talk with her in the morning. He figured that Rendyl would be the one delegated to that task.