News
about
Administrators and moderators will post important news here. Please be sure to check back regularly. :)

freebies
Freebies are sometimes posted on this board. Please be aware that a freebie can only be claimed up to one week after it was posted.

Freebies are often granted to "all active characters". A character is considered active if it has made an IC post within the last 2 weeks. Posts made after the freebie was posted do not count.

part seven.
IP: 2.27.240.21
Posted on June 3, 2014 at 10:00:08 PM by georgia

PART SEVEN Apeliotes Island The two women stared at the wet, rotten pile of rubble where Aura's house used to be. Morgana supposed she should have known. The air seemed colder than normal, and although she didn't say a word, Allianah's unasked question applied gentle pressure: what now? It was Morgana's idea to come here, but now she'd led them both to a dead end. The house was gone. In all the excitement surrounding the ancient creature, she'd forgotten Tristan's description of the then-dilapidated building collapsing on its former owner's son. One glance was enough to see that there was nothing to be gained from sifting through the wreck. If anything had survived the cave-in, it would most certainly have been destroyed by the pirates searching through the rubble to drag Thoth out, or by the weather since. After everything they had been through - the army of monsters, the loss of magic, the ancient creature, the trek to and across the island - it felt like the broken remains were spitting in her face. Getting to the island had proven more of a challenge than anyone could have anticipated. Allianah didn't have wings, so they couldn't fly there. Turns out she wasn't that hot around water either. When Morgana had led her down to the royal harbour, she'd stopped short at the sight of the boats. "We are going to sail?" She demanded, but not quite in her usual, haughty tone. There was bluster and arrogance, but Morgana got the sense that it was only there out of habit - or perhaps to conceal the quieter, subtle note of uncertainty underneath. "Unless you have a better plan." Allianah didn't, but that didn't stop her from casting the dark water a wary look. Morgana had gotten the feeling then that it was going to be a long voyage, and she was right. Between Kraar distracting her by cawing anxiously at every gull which came within sight and Allianah staunchly refusing to cooperate with the sailor whose help and boat they'd enlisted, the trip was slow and stressful. The sailor, who Morgana knew from the commune and whose name was Ant, explained the mechanics of sailing: the wind in the sail was counter-balanced by the weight of the crew, who had to balance the boat by leaning out the opposite side. Allianah sat on the outside rim and tentatively leant out a little, clinging onto the edge with white knuckles, but wouldn't lean as far as Ant wanted her to. He subsequently shortened the sail to keep the boat in balance, which meant they had to travel much slower than necessary. By the time they'd arrived on the island, the sun was setting on the horizon. As it got lower, bathing the ocean in a red glow, the sky had suddenly flashed, and when they had looked up at the sky they had seen a great ball of fire, burning amber and dragging a yellow tail out behind it. “A shooting star?” Ant had asked curiously, putting a hand up to his eyes in order to dull some of the glare, but Allianah had shaken her head in reply, squinting up suspiciously at whatever it was, as if she were trying to make it out more clearly. Morgana had not managed to get anymore information out of her after that, and had let the matter drop. They'd docked in a sheltered cove a little further round the coast where they hoped that they'd be less likely to be seen. Ant stayed with the boat. Allianah relaxed visibly when they set foot onto dry land again, but their problems were far from over. A sheltered cove meant cliffs. Allianah hadn't even bothered searching for an alternative route, and headed straight up the bluffs, scaling them as nimbly as a mountain goat. Morgana flew up. Hope about their mission had started to ebb away when they got their first glimpse of the surface of the island. Under Gwythr's dictatorship, Apeliotes Island had been selected as the base of operations for the 'good guys', led by Arthur and Aura, but once Gwythr was expelled from Shaman the civilians had gradually moved back over to the mainland. Then, as the outlaws, criminals and pirates started to band together to become a more powerful threat, they had assumed control of the highly defensible isle. Arthur had sent an army to evict them and, in the following battle, the surface had been completely laid to waste: now it was a barren, lifeless landscape, the flat mud broken only by the occasional dead, rotting tree. The army had failed to regain control of the island and the pirates had moved underground into the vast network of tunnels and caves. Morgana hadn't seen the surface of the island since she had lived here during the civil war, and she was stunned by how much it had changed. It was unrecognisable. Finding the old, abandoned village where Aura and the others had lived was going to be a tougher challenge than she'd anticipated, when there wasn't a single landmark left to guide the way. It had taken hours. Hours of trudging through thick, gloopy mud, desperately searching for a familiar sight with nothing but moonlight to guide them. The night was clear but cold. The only good news was that they didn't meet a single pirate along the way. Now, after that horrendous journey, they were faced with a big pile of nothing. "There is no point searching," Allianah spoke at last, sounding strangely calm. "If there is nowhere else on the island where we might find Aura's possessions, we should return to the castle." Morgana nodded, the wheels in her head turning slowly. "I don't know anywhere else here on the island where we might find her things, but I think I know somewhere on the mainland." Allianah didn't question. They turned and headed back the way they'd come, following their own footprints. The chill had well and truly set in by the time they reached the top of the cliff overlooking the sheltered bay, where they realised they were facing yet another problem. There was no way down without flying or using specialist equipment which they didn't have. Going down would be a lot more dangerous than going up, and Allianah wasn't immortal anymore. After a brief discussion and agreement, they doubled back and scanned the surface until they found one of the entrances to the labyrinth of caves below. The Nubian unholstered her wooden stave and went down first, with Morgana following hot on her heels. It was warmer down in the caves, but the air was stale and damp. Water dripped from the ceiling. The pair paused for a moment while Morgana got her bearings and Allianah pulled a torch out of its wall bracket. She glared at it for a moment as though expecting it to light of its own accord, before setting her stave carefully aside and, to Morgana's surprise, pulling out a small box of matches from the pouch on her belt. In a few minutes, the warm glow of the crackling torchlight filled the cavern. Morgana took the torch gently from her companion and gestured towards the tunnel which (hopefully) led down towards the beach. They walked in silence; the only sounds which could be heard were their splashing footsteps, the drip, drip of the water droplets from the ceiling, and the whoosh of the moving flames. "It is too quiet," Allianah declared eventually. Morgana agreed. "We should have come across someone by now." They rounded a corner, reached a dead end and had to double back to where they found the torch. Morgana selected the next most promising tunnel, hoping to be able to take a left turn as soon as possible. The tunnel continued in near enough the right direction for a while, then took a sharp right away from where they needed to go. After about half an hour of meandering around the winding natural corridors and taking as many left turns as were offered, neither of them had any idea where they were in relation to the beach. Morgana was about to suggest they head back and try the third tunnel, when Allianah stopped and held up her hand. They both paused, straining to listen, and heard a general rumble of noise up ahead. With a quick exchange of glances, they pressed on more cautiously. The tunnel widened out into a cave with an open end. The two women crept forward and peeked out into an extraordinary scene. Their tunnel ended here, on a ledge which jutted out half-way up the wall of a huge cavern with a high, arched ceiling. Torches lined the walls below them, lighting up the room, which was full... of pirates. At least now they knew why they hadn't run into anyone yet: everyone was down below. It looked as if every single outlaw on the island had crammed into the space and was now yelling and arguing, each trying to get his point heard while no one else listened. A brawl had broken out on the far left hand side of the room. At first it looked like utter chaos, but as she scanned the scene carefully, Morgana realised there was some order to what she was seeing: in the centre of the room, a small group of motley individuals were circled around a table and discussing something. Judging by their higher quality clothes, these were probably the pirate lords and faction leaders. Everyone else was loosely grouped, probably by faction, and stationed at every single exit was a pirate or two standing guard. The two women retreated from the edge. "We needed to get to the nearest left tunnel," Morgana whispered. She risked another peek over the ledge, nudged Allianah and pointed. "That one. Assuming the tunnel directly below is is connected to this one, we'll come out near it." Allianah followed her gaze slowly. "We do not want to start a fight. I will clear the way. Wait until you see me before you take the guard out, and then follow." She slipped her bow and quiver off her back and handed them to Morgana, who understood right away and took them carefully. The bow slotted with comfortable familiarity into her hand and she ran her thumb down the wooden back, feeling the intricate African shapes carved into it. It was a simple but high quality weapon, flexible and traditional. Allianah cast the bow a regretful look, as though she was parting with a precious friend, and vanished down a small, dark tunnel to their right. Morgana selected an arrow, shouldered the quiver and crouched quietly on the ledge. The wait was murder. Morgana kept her eyes focused on the tunnel directly beneath her, waiting with bated breath for Allianah to appear. Shooting the guard from this angle would be difficult, but if Morgana understood the plan correctly, she shouldn't need to. These guards were not trained soldiers: they were all facing into the cavern instead of looking out into the tunnels they were supposed to be keeping an eye on. Presumably no one really expected an attack. The key to getting out of here was swift, silent efficiency: they had to take the guards out without anyone realising they were here, because if it came down to a head-on attack, there was no way they could hold up against so many opponents. After a few agonising minutes, the guard she had been watching vanished backwards into the tunnel. There was a brief pause, and then Morgana saw Allianah poke her head out for just long enough to make eye contact. Show time. Morgana knocked the arrow and took careful aim. If Allianah tried to sneak across now, the pirate guarding the tunnel they were aiming for would see her and raise the alarm before she could reach him; their best chance was if Morgana took him out from afar. Unfortunately, just injuring the guy wouldn't be enough - he'd yell or cause a commotion which would have them noticed in no time. This had to be quick, clean, and deadly. Trying not to give too much thought to what she was about to do, Morgana pulled the string back, held her breath, and released the arrow. It zipped silently across the room and nailed the man between the eyes. He toppled over backwards. Morgana glanced down at the rest of the pirates, but fortunately none of them had noticed - they were all too busy arguing or brawling with one other. Allianah wasted no time in sneaking from her tunnel to the target one, crouched over so that no one would see her over the line of pirates, gripped the corpse and pulled it roughly back into the tunnel where no one could see it. So far, so good. Swinging the bow over her shoulder, Morgana stole down the tunnel, which was fortunately well-lit. The gentle glow of the torches illuminated the faces of the motionless pirates scattered around. Morgana counted three in total, and hoped that they were just unconscious, not dead. She didn't waste time checking. As she neared the end of the tunnel, she slowed down to concentrate on keeping her steps quiet, although she really needn't have bothered - the din in the cavern was as loud as ever. She checked to see that the pirates were all facing away from her and seized the opportunity to hurry out and towards the exit tunnel where Allianah was waiting. She'd only made it three steps when, as luck would have it, one of the pirates turned around. "Hey!" He yelled. The time for secrecy was over. Morgana put her head down and sprinted for the tunnel, which was fortunately close enough that she made it before most of the other pirates even knew she was there. A few more shouts went up. It would be a few seconds at least before any of them got their act together enough to try and follow her, so she needed to make those seconds count. She blasted into the tunnel and slowed down just long enough to gesture to Allianah that they had to get going, before picking her speed up again. The Nubian deity got the message. As the pirates started to pour into the tunnel, the two women sprinted away. The hardest part was not slipping or twisting their ankles on the rocky, wet, uneven floor. They had to dart round stalagmites and duck under stalactites, squeeze through tight gaps wherever the corridor narrowed and leap over chasms. At least the pirates were slowed down too. They met no one coming towards them, so they only had to slow for the natural obstructions until they shot out into the open air. Morgana's sense of direction hadn't failed them, and her hopes soared as she glanced about and recognised the sheltered cove they had arrived in. Those hopes came crashing back down when she took a closer look at what was up ahead. Ant was lying on the ground, his head cocked at an odd angle, face-down and unmoving in the sand. Six pirates were clambering over his precious boat, stripping it of anything useful. They had already ripped down the sails and detached the boon, which was shining in the moonlight only a few feet from where Ant lay. Morgana stopped dead, her heart pounding in her chest, her eyes unable to register the horrific scene in front of her. Ant was dead, no question. He had given his life to get them here, where they had found nothing useful whatsoever. The loud shouts of the pirates echoing in the tunnel to their rear shook her out of her reverie. They could probably take on the six pirates (who hadn't yet noticed them) stripping down the boat, but then what? Neither she nor Allianah really knew how to sail, and even if they could, they'd never get the boat repaired before the other pirates came out of the caves and overwhelmed them. Their ride home was gone. There was only one thing left they could do. "We have to swim," she commanded. "We'll swim round the island to another bay and lay low for a while. When this has all died down, we can head back to the mainland." Morgana took a step towards the black water, feeling her confidence rise again. They could make it. It was only about ten miles to the mainland, which wasn't too far to swim. Once the pirates gave up looking for them, they could - "I cannot swim," Allianah said flatly. Oh. That made sense, now that Morgana stopped to think about it. Allianah was a desert warrior from a dry country which didn't border any sea, so she'd never had a reason to learn to swim; she probably relied on magic whenever she had to. That explained why she'd been nervous about going on the boat, too, and why she wouldn't lean out when Ant asked her. One of the pirates on Ant's boat looked up and yelled. They were out of time. Allianah flipped her stave out of its holster. "Go," she ordered, "I will find another way." Yeah, right. Morgana grabbed the other end of the stave and yanked it to make sure the deity was following her, then turned and headed back into the tunnel they'd just come from. Ant's pirates charged after them, shouting and waving their clubs; the storm of pirates from the huge cave were coming towards them from up ahead, visible by their growing shadows on the walls. They had seconds. Morgana scanned the wall and saw what she was looking for, what she had seen when they came through before: a smaller side-tunnel leading off somewhere else. A small breath of hope. She wriggled into it, followed closely by Allianah, hoping it would widen out. It didn't. The only consolation, as they forced themselves through the claustrophobic, airless space, was that the pirates were broader-shouldered than they were. It felt like a lifetime, but couldn't have been more than a minute until they broke back out onto another beach, gulping down the sweet open air. The pirates were still after them - they could hear them. Worse, three huge pirate ships were immediately visible in the ocean. One looked like it was anchored out to sea, but the other two were moving, and one of those two was manoeuvring worryingly close to shore. Allianah and Morgana wasted no time. They sprinted across the beach, scanning the landscape for a hiding place or an escape route. Going back into the caves now would be a bad idea; the pirates knew every inch of that underground labyrinth, and would have a definite advantage. But where could they hide in the open? There was nothing - no landmarks, no natural formations... just bleak emptiness. “Well well,” an all-too-familiar voice shouted from the approaching ship, “isn’t this a strange reversal of fortune?” Morgana froze, growled something under her breath, and then turned sharply to look out to sea. Killian stood on the deck of the ship, peering down at her over the starboard side with a grin on his face, “are you in need of assistance, my lady?” She glanced over at Allianah, and then looked out beyond the Belladonna to the ship which was still heading straight for them. There was no choice. Morgana sighed. “If you’d be so kind,” she shouted back to the pirate, her mouth twisting as she fought not to grind her teeth. Killian’s grin broadened and he lingered in view for a few moments before he turned his back and disappeared. A few seconds later, a length of rope was thrown over the side of the ship towards the shore, with a weight attached to the end. It landed in the sand with a soft thump, spraying grit over Morgana’s boots. “I suspect we’re about to get a bit wet,” she told Allianah, trying valiantly not to show her irritation “you go first.” Morgana handed the rope to the Nubian, “just keep hold and you’ll be fine, you have my word.” Smiling encouragement in the face of the original’s ill-concealed trepidation, she waited until Allianah had a firm grip on the rope, and then she waded with her out into the shallows. The water level crept up their legs, soaking their clothes as the waves broke against their bodies. When they had gone as far as they could, Morgana gave two sharp tugs on the rope and a moment later, it tightened. Allianah was pulled upwards out of the water, and managed to athletically position herself so that her right foot rested on the weight on the end of the line. When she reached the top, Morgana saw arms reached out to help the Nubian over the side. The weight was thrown over the side again and landed in front of Morgana, splashing her with water so that the bodice of her dress and her hair became as wet as the rest of her. She took hold of the rope, gave the two tugs, and felt herself lifted into the air. More quickly than she had expected, Morgana found herself being lifted up over the side onto the deck. She felt strong hands close around her waist and, at first, it did not register who they belonged to; she was too eager to feel solid ground again. The grip however lingered for longer than was necessary and she found herself pressed against a leather-clad chest. “Welcome aboard the Belladonna, Your Highness,” Killian beamed, looking down into her face. Morgana did not smile back. She gripped his arms just below the elbow and pushed him backwards, prising them apart. “Thank you,” she replied a little stiffly. “Oh don’t be like that love!” he teased her, before turning and shouting instructions to his crew. When he returned his attention to her, he was grinning again. “We’re even now! You got to see me running from guards, now I’ve watched you running from pirates! May I just say, it was a most enjoyable experience!” His blue eyes flickered pointedly downwards to her chest, where the fabric was clinging to her skin. “I dare say it was,” Morgana replied, pushing past him and striding across the deck in order to rejoin Allianah. She turned around when she was half way, and grinned at him, “so you see, we’re not even at all!” her mouth formed a pout, “I didn’t enjoy my turn half as much!” Whipping around, she put her back to him again, “if you could take us back to the mainland” Morgana shouted back over his shoulder, “that would be wonderful.” A smile played in the corner of Killian’s mouth, and, when he was sure she would see, he swept her a flamboyant bow, “as my lady commands!”

Written by Georgia & Merlin

Replies:

• part eight. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 10:00:02 PM
• part nine. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:55 PM
• part ten. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:47 PM
• epilogue. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:27 PM

You must register before you can post on this board. You can register here.

Post a reply:

Username:
Password:
Email:
Subject:
Message:
Link Name:
Link URL:
Image URL: