Elan Pt. 07 - Against Time

Against Time

--

The sun rose under a darkened sky the following morning as Talos, Casiama, and Sigismund entered the Imperial capital. The human metropolis was vast, ten times larger than the next largest cities, but they had already decided where they would check first for their killer.

Making their way past the guards at Savio's Gate at the south edge of the city had been the most nerve-wracking part of their journey for Talos. Elves weren't allowed inside the ring walls of Imperia, or anywhere within the vast Empire, for that matter. Thankfully, Casiama was not required to remove her hood, nor did the guards give the trio a second glance as they waived them through.

Talos and Sigismund had visited Imperia many times in the past, yet getting used to the stimulations of the city's sights, sounds, and smells was simply impossible if you did not live there. With three-hundred-thousand official inhabitants, and many more undocumented visitors, the city was positively teeming with life between every neatly-packed cobblestone street.

And it smelled. Casiama was appauled by the stink, and even more horrified that no one seemed to care about it whatsoever. The capital had no advanced sewage system; instead, refuse of all kinds was merely tossed into one of the many lazy streams flowing through the capital, and clean water was only obtainable via specified wells. The men of the party were used to such a notion; Casiama was not. She found another reason to hate the idea of human dominance, them having replaced the ancient elven paradise of Tor Remilla with such a monstrosity of excess.

They made their way to the Imperial Hospital first, thinking it the most obvious location that would be aware of Rayya's deeds.

Sigismund opened the front door to the to allow his companions inside. They wandered briefly, Talos looking over the best doctors and nurses humanity had to offer. Their eyes were sullen. Helpless. He was surprised to catch sight of one he recognized.

"Silvia!" he called, the red-haired woman turning instinctively to face the sound of her name. She looked as if she were falling into her own personal pit of despair a moment before, Talos having unintentionally saving her once again.

"Talos?"

"Hey, Sil," Talos started, lifting her from the abyss with a simple greeting. "Silvia, Sigismund, Casiama," he nodded to each soul present. They nodded back curtly, hard looks on all faces.

"Silvia is a, uh, healer, right? We worked together briefly during the Tardian Interregnum," Talos explained to his two companions, the mixed thoughts of old bloodshed and forgotten sensual lust flowing back to Silvia.

"Abjurative and Restorative sorceress," Silvia replied flatly, correcting her love interest of long ago.

"Right, right. Abjuration. Sil, We're on the hunt for someone. Someone bad. Have there been any uptick in suicides within the city recently?"

Silvia nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek as she led them into the patients' quarters.

-

Talos knelt at the side of a man's lifeless form in the patient's quarters, body blue and cold with blood soaked through the corpse's shirt. A knife wound was painfully visible on his chest, self-inflicted per Silvia's story. Casiama stood silently in the corner of the room, a hand over her mouth. Sigismund, for once in his life, too looked sad and placed a hand on Casiama's shoulder in solidarity.

"I tried to save him, Talos," Silvia cried, shaking her head. "I was too late... he was all the way across the city! Who does such a thing? Who..." her voice trailed off, whimperingly.

Talos stood up and trudged towards Silvia with a heart full of guilt. "It's not your fault, Sil. Never think that you can change the unchangable. How many of these were suicides?" Talos asked, gesturing around the room, his quiet voice barely holding up in defiance to his feelings.

Silvia pointed to a woman lying over on a nearby bench. Then a man across the room. And another still.

"Talos, what's going on?" Silvia asked breathlessly as two more people entered the room, a man and a woman.

"Reb!" the man shouted, running over to one of the female victims across the room. His hand grasped the cold, blue one of the corpse before him, shaking her as if she were only resting in a deep slumber.

"Markus, she's..." the woman next to him started to say before tears consumed her voice.

"Damnit Reb!" the man repeated brittly.

"Markus... Vex? What in the god's names are you two doing here?" Talos whispered in confusion, the two familiar souls from a previous life turning towards him.

"Talos..." the woman known as Vex replied, struggling to figure out why the man of her past was here now. The man beside her rose, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Cap'n," Markus said, recognizing Talos immediately. "I think I need a drink."

"We all do. We all do," Talos repeated dejectedly, speaking for all in the room still breathing.

-

The party, now six strong with Silvia, Vex, and Markus, sat around a large table at the poetry hall-turned-murder scene of the Spellsong. Talos had wanted to see the latest crime scene in person but found the venture nearly useless when he'd arrived.

Useless, except for the drink.

He explained the situation as he knew it to all present, hoping that Silvia and Vex would have ideas in tracking Rayya down. But he simply didn't have enough information, and no evidence that would hold up in a court. The suicide of Rayya's father, the Marquis of Skymarch, was the only event that had triggered this guilty train of thought.

So the conversation turned to more trivial matters. Markus, somewhat jealously, asked Vex how she knew Talos. He received a less-than-ideal response from the sorceress.

"Has the whole Empire fucked you by now?" Markus asked her in light jest, receiving a punch on the shoulder from her as he finished his question.

"It was a one time thing," Vex sneered, remembering her long night with Talos back in Catriona all those years ago. "Besides, I still haven't slept with you yet."

Talos was staring towards the center of the table as they spoke, not particularly listening. He remembered of the amber-colored stone in Torvald's possession, realizing he finally had a proper source to ask of it's properties; the sorceress across the table, Vex, was a world-class magical infuser. If anyone would know of a 'casting stone', it would be her.

"Vex, do you have any idea what a casting stone is?" Talos asked, only getting a shrug in quiet response. He decided to elaborate, finding the ask important.

"A mage had asked my friend to find one in some ruins up in Isbrygga. It's this fruit-sized, amber looking dull stone. She had told him it was of no use to anyone but her," Talos explained, his sight not leaving the table. He didn't feel the need to bring their spirits down with the discovery of his friend's corpse a month later. "I, uh, don't particularly believe that last part, by the way," he added for no particular reason.

"A farcaster stone, perhaps. Sorceresses of ancient times used them to communicate over long distances," Vex started, squinting into the distance as if recalling a memory long forgotten. "They're incredibly rare, though, and I don't believe any are still around. They worked in pairs, or sets of three usually. A sorceress with one stone could speak with a holder of another stone, provided they both accepted the connection."

Talos pondered, wondering why Rayya would need a stone to do that when she already had the capability of reaching out to him over thousands of miles. Maybe she needed to talk to somebody else.

Silvia raised a finger. "I read somewhere that one could theoretically re-route a farcaster's communication frequency. All they'd need to do is to infuse it with an item of strong sentimental value to someone you're trying to reach," Silvia added. "Of course, that method is only helpful for enchantresses like your Rayya, since anyone without empathic skill would be unable to communicate without a matching stone."

Talos' eyes lit up in sudden realization.

"That's it, Sil! Rayya must have lost her ability to talk to me telepathically, which is why she hasn't reached out. She's traveling westward, going to..." Evorus? Catriona? Any other of the dozen towns he'd passed through with Rayya five years ago? Did any items of sentimental value even exist, that weren't on him or in Casiama's plane?

Talos stood up and stepped away from the table, Casiama and Sigismund immediately following his lead.

"I don't know where she's going. But probably Catriona, if I had to guess. Searching for something sentimental."

Markus spoke next. "Cap'n, you mean to tell me you think your daughter is wandering through the Empire, suicidin' people with her mind just so she can talk to you?" Talos nodded at him as Markus rose from the table.

"I'm not sure why she's killing. But... yeah. I have a feeling."

"What are you going to do when you find her?" Markus continued.

Talos looked up with dread for a brief moment; he'd thought of the very same question for weeks now and still wasn't yet entirely sure, truthfully. He gave an answer that sounded confident enough nevertheless.

"I have to stop her. I have to end this."

"Well ya ain't gonna do it without me. She has hell to pay for what she did to Reb," Markus replied, a thumb pointed at his chest.

"I'll help as well, Talos," Silvia added, she too getting on her feet. She'd felt powerless to stop the sudden massacre until just then, and was enthusiastic to finally see a light at the end of the mineshaft.

"Me too," Vex said, rising.

Talos looked over the haphazard collection of sad but vengeful souls before him, nodding in silent thanks for their support. How fortunate was he to be surrounded by such kind-hearted, familiar people. He had an action plan ready in seconds.

"Alright," Talos explained quickly, "Sigi, you and Silvia scan districts two through six here in town. Vex, Markus, seven through eleven. Cass and I will check the district twelve slums and the western gates. Meet at western gates as soon as you find anything, or at sun fall if you don't. Or back here if the gates aren't a good idea." No need to check sector one, the Imperial palace. The different areas of the city were well-known to its inhabitants, so he did not need to explain the intricacies of his asks to the group.

Talos produced his drawing of Rayya's face and laid it on the table, the eyes of the group memorizing the picture.

"Remember, she's dangerous. Protect each other and watch one another for signs of enchantment," he added, pulling the picture back. His eyes flashed over everyone else's at the table. "Anything I'm missing?" Vex nodded, fishing a couple small red stones from her pouch.

"Yeah. Everyone take one of these. I call 'em Thunder Beads. If you find her, throw it hard at the ground. It will make a noise so loud you'll swear everyone west of the Dracorange heard it. With any luck, it should break any enchantment and let the others know you've found her."

Talos nodded, picking up two beads from the table and handing one to Casiama before running out the side door of the Spellsong, his elf right on his heels.

-

Markus swept his hands around himself half an hour later, spinning once as his eyes danced around the massive city around them.

"Vexima, how the fuck are we going to find a girl who doesn't want to be found in a crowd of half a million people?"

Vex huffed, scanning the crowds around them. "You aren't going to find anyone, Markus," she explained between breaths, eyes darting over the square. "Talos split us into these groups for a reason. A sorceress can pick up on strong magics if she concentrates."

Markus sighed, thanking the gods that someone had a better plan than he.

"He's brilliant, you know? Even under stress," Vex said.

"Especially under stress," he agreed. "One time, back in Tardia, we were ambushed by a pack of... gods, it must have been eighty elves that had been lurking in the forest beyond the city," the man reminisced.

"Oh? How'd you two get out of that one?" Vex asked with feigned interest.

"Oh, I wouldn't've without him. It wasn't just us, o'course. But all of us were completely stunned for that couple seconds before Talos barked his orders."

"Shields up!" Markus imitated the man with a deep, booming voice. "Column one, face left! You four, protect the rear! Column two, with me men! For the Blood Moon rises!" Markus raised his shield and let out a silent mimicry of the cries of two dozen men charging into combat.

"Sounds... heroic," Vex replied with a soft smirk.

"Oh, anything but. We lost half the troop in that skirmish. But if it hadn't been for the cap'n, we'd have all died that day," he thought back in somber rememberance of those lost in the quest for more coin.

Vex looked down an alley way for a moment, concentrating silently before returning to the main road.

"So, what brought you two together? You fucked him because...?"

Vex chortled, thinking the answer obvious. "Do you not see how handsome he is?"

Markus shook his head. "Naw. Can't say I look at men like that, Vex."

-

Sigismund scanned the crowd before him. The red-haired sorceress to his left had her eyes shut, concentrating on her surroundings. Sigismund knew that she was reaching out for any sign of Rayya's magics, finding Talos' decision to split the sorceresses into different groups wise. As were most of his captain's decisions. He stood watch as her silent guardian until she opened her eyes a couple moments later.

"Nothing here," Silvia said with a frown. Sigismund acknowledged her with a nod before journeying on.

"So I've been meaning to ask you," Sigismund started, finally speaking after several minutes of solemn silence.

"Yeah?"

"How did I miss you during the Interregnum? I was on that campaign," he asked, reminiscing of those tireless days of battle and death.

Silvia smiled as she too thought back.

"I take it you didn't visit the keep, then? Locked behind two sets of gates as the elves burned everything down around us?"

Sigismund shook his head. "Nah, you're right. I was in the woods most the campaign. I was Talos' lieutenant in the Blood Moons, you see. Had to keep the boys in check."

"Well, that's why we didn't meet," Silvia explained, her eyes darting over a group of kids playing with a stick and hoop in the streets. "Half the keep had been turned into a makeshift hospital, then. I met Talos as he was shouting at the marshal of Tardia, commanding him to release his troop from the castle to reinforce your boys." Silvia smiled and giggled.

"I waited patiently a good while to talk to him, needing more bandages and whatnot from his supplies for the wounded. Eventually I realized he wasn't going to stop yelling until he got his way."

Sigismund nodded. That sure sounded like Talos. Silvia giggled again.

"So I coughed. Just a light cough to get his attention. He shut up then, holding his hands behind his back like a legionnaire at attention as he looked on me with just a hint of blush," she said with a brief smile.

"He found me again that night. I'd been up for twenty hours by then, rushing between soldiers bleeding and dying on the floor of the keep. I was so tired I thought I'd die from the stress." Silvia looked down sullenly, remembering the fallen.

"He saved me from myself that night. We shared a bottle of the foulest liquor as we watched the stars turn from the roof of the citadel. Then, well..."

"Yeah. I figure I can guess the rest," Sigismund acknowledged with a soft smile as they searched through the countless streets of the capital, the sun still high above marble and stone.

-

Talos and Casiama had spent nearly four hours in the slums of the Imperial city, watching the western gates carefully for the missing sorceress. There had been no sign of Rayya, but Talos wasn't merely going to wait around for her to show up.

He instead held the collar of a nervous-looking watchman.

"And you're sure there hasn't been any suicides around here today?" The soldier nodded, trying to sate the insane man's questions.

"You're really, really sure?" Talos released the man's collar as he realized he was telling the truth. He fished out his drawing of the girl, and the watchman shook his head. He hadn't seen her.

Talos sighed, releasing the frightened man from his interrogation. Casiama stepped behind her lover and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but felt just as helpless as he.

"She might have left the city already. I'm going to check on the next town over. Ask around," Talos said.

"Okay, honey. I'll stay here. For the others," Casiama replied after a moment's hesitation. Talos spun on his heel to kiss her, Casiama pecking him on the lips first. Then a quick, loving gaze and a smile.

Talos looked up at the sky. Two, maybe three hours 'til sunfall.

"Be safe, Cass."

-

Alanna sighed softly as she pressed her naked, curvaceous breasts against the equally voluptuous set before her. She brought her hands to the edge of the pool, filling them with shampoo before running them through Rayya's hair.

"I told you it'd be nice," Alanna purred, reveling in Rayya's pleasure.

Alanna had convinced Rayya to try the Imperial bathhouse with her, none better in all the Empire. They currently occupied a corner of the massive pool, another half-hundred sharing it. It wasn't crowded by any stretch. The Imperial Bathhouse cost an extraordinary four silver Imperials a person to use; four silvers which could feed someone for a month, if they were cautious.

It wasn't a completely innocent ask by the auburn-haired sorceress to bring Rayya here. Alanna had had a spotty history of flings with fellow sorceresses in the past, what with being locked up with a hundred of them for four of her teenage years and all. With a certain man out of her life, Alanna had found a woman's comforting touch desirable once more. She found Rayya's form to be deliciously familiar to hers, and Alanna figured she'd at least want to see where things went.

Alanna's lips were held dangerously close to Rayya's, but she refused to take advantage. Rayya's eyes were shut, merely enjoying the feeling of total cleanliness; she had never developed such salacious tendencies herself, although they were incredibly common in Catriona. Alanna pushed down on her shoulders, signaling to her friend it was time to soak her hair.

Rayya came up from the hot water with a gasp, sauntering closer to Alanna through the chest-high bath with a grin. Alanna ran a fingernail along Rayya's nipple with a giggle.

"It's nice to see you smiling. You're adorable when you're happy, Rayya," Alanna cooed. Rayya smiled in return, but didn't reply. Alanna continued in her place a moment later.

"So where do you plan on going next? To find something of his?" Alanna asked, speaking of Talos.

Rayya shrugged, even though she knew the answer as she pressed closer to Alanna to clean her hair as well.

"Evorus. He was raised there," she whispered, running her soapy hands through Alanna's hair. "So there has to be something there."

Alanna smiled as she tilted her head back, soaking her own hair. She spoke with eyes shut. "Maybe. But I remember him saying he hated it there when he was growing up. Are you sure?" Alanna retorted softly.

"No other options, really."

Alanna gripped Rayya's shoulders, turning her around for just a moment. Rayya could see the steadily growing number of eyes on them from across the large marble bath from this vantage point and felt a hint of embarassment.