Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Asha and Sara walked along their backs battered by a freezing wind from the north. Occasionally a strong gust of wind would bring a small flurry of snow hinting at the trouble behind them. Still they pressed on hopeful that a town was near though with each passing moment the skies grew more ominous and the wind more chilled. At first it was hard to notice but small flurries of snow quickly turned into wind whipping ice blades as the snow around them nearly blocked their vision the storm was upon them. Asha quickly moved next to Sara and pointed off in the distance. "THERE OVER THERE A SMALL HOUSE WE MUST BE CLOSE BUT ITS TO DANGEROUS TO GO ON QUICK!" Asha had to shout the howling wind would have swept away any lesser effort and despite her urgency the wind and snow made it less than quick. Despite almost losing Asha in the blur of snow a few times Sara managed to stay calm and they both made it to the house.

Sadly it wasn't the shelter they had hopped. Inside they found a cold abandoned single room cabin mostly likely used as a hunting shack. Broken furniture was heaped in one corner near some logs and fairly large fireplace was partially full of snow. Still all its walls and roof where intact.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara chased after Asha as the snow blasted around them. It was quite terrifying, the girl almost losing sight of Asha numerous times because of the sheer force of the snow-storm. Finally reaching the house and bursting inside, Sara was disappointed to find it empty and obviously abandoned. Still, after closing and locking the door, she dropped her pack to the ground and sunk after it with a sigh. "That was too close..."

After glancing around the small place for anything interesting, she looked back at Asha and laughed, somewhat uneasily. "Heh, not even a bed. Well, what should we do now? Do you think it's safe to use the fireplace, or is the chimney probably blocked with snow?"

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Asha raised an eyebrow but went to check the fireplace. Bending down the nymph looked up leaving her ass a tempting target. After a moment however Asha backed out and looked at Sara. "Looks clear" she smiled but it was hard for Sara not to laugh. Asha's face had soot all over it darkening her white hair to a more blackish grey. "What? Come one help me get a fire going its getting cold quick."

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

As Asha bent down, Sara couldn't help herself. Asha's ass was just entirely too tempting, too... grab-able. Standing behind the nymph, she saw her chance and plunged both of her cold hands down the back of her pants to grab a delightful handful of both cheeks. She gave the both of Asha's cheeks a squeeze with her shockingly cold hands before withdrawing them from Asha's pants to stand there with a demure look on her face. Unfortunately she couldn't hold the look when Asha turned, soot all over her face and hair, and she burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh all right, all right! Sorry, when you show off like that, a girl just can't help herself. I'm not made of stone, you know." She replied, and after clearing the snow and piling some of the broken furniture in the pit, she flicked her fingers and cast a small holy fire on the pile. Holy fire was ideal because this way they wouldn't even have to worry about burning themselves.

The fire made, she set about melting some of the snow until she had a pot of warm water. Pulling out a rag she dunked it in the water before she motioned for Asha lay her head in her lap. "Come here you dirty girl. Let me clean that soot off so I can see your pretty face and that beautiful white hair you have."

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Im only dirty cause you made me." Asha stuck out her tongue in a childish manner before resting her head on Sara's lap. For a moment she lay there letting Sara clean her face. "You think my hair is pretty?" Asha looked up into Sara's eyes "Only one other person ever complemented my hair I always thought it was a hassle always having to switch cloths so I matched up each season. That of course was when I was young before I started my wandering." Asha brought a hand up and caught one of Sara's. "Your remind me of him your good mood and attitude always positive and smiling." Asha squeezed Sara's hand tightly a moment before letting it go.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"So much sass from you!" Sara giggled as Asha stuck out her tongue, but once she got her head in her lap, she dutifully wiped away at the soot on her face, replying to Asha's question.

"Of course I do, silly! I-" She paused as Asha continued, a curious, then surprised look coming to her face the more Asha said. She could guess who the one other person had been, and when the nymph took her hand and told her how she reminded her of him, she could only smile softly as a tear gently rolled down her cheek and dripped onto Asha's forehead.

When Asha let go of her hand, Sara sat the rag aside, having wiped the soot from her lover's face, gently cupped her face in her hands, and leaned down to kiss the lovely woman in her lap. There wasn't an ounce of lust in this kiss, only tenderness as she pressed her lips to Asha's and kissed her for a solid minute.

Breaking the kiss, finally, Sara said nothing, only continuing to look happily, tearfully, and with a gentle smile at Asha as she psionically drew the water from the bucket and ran it through her partner's hair with a few simple hand motions before sending the dirty water running under the door. Stroking the wet strands of Asha's now-clean hair, she mentally unpacked their bedrolls, then picked Asha up with her mind and placed her between the sheets. After tossing a few more pieces of broken furniture on the fire, also done with her mind, Sara kicked off her shoes and socks and joined her in the bedroll. The fact that they were still clothed didn't bother her, she wordlessly kissed Asha again, before breaking it as another tear escaped her eye. "You say the..." She sniffled a little, "Sweetest things.." Sara nestled herself in Asha's neck, as a few more tears began to roll down her cheeks. Doubtless she was rather more sensitive to this because she had such intimate knowledge of what Farnel had meant to Asha. Rather overcome with emotion, she was content to just lay there and hold her lover as her happiness-inspired tears rolled down her face, Asha to decide what to do next.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Asha returned the kiss bringing one hand up to Sara's back to hold her there till the woman broke the kiss. Asha watched mesmerized buy the dancing water that cleaned her hair and then flowed out the door. When Sara picked her up however she panicked a little but calmed down once she realized what was going on. Settling into the bed roll Asha drew her close and held her tight. "Because your the sweetest person Ive met in a long while." Asha gave Sara a kiss on the forehead before snuffling closer to the woman as their fire burned bright and the winds howled outside. Warm and happy both drifted off into sleep.



Sara woke in the morning to a chill air and frost on the ground even in the little cabin they where in. No light came threw the windows telling her it was still very early morning. The fireplace was nearly dark only the smallest of embers still burning. Asha was next to her still wrapped in the bed roll shivering but awake. Looking at her confused Sara began to speak only to have Asha quickly cover her mouth and shake her head no. Waking up a bit at the sudden act Sara felt the air around them it was foul tainted. Looking at Asha she could see the woman's teeth weren't chattering from the cold but she was shaking her muscles tense eyes alert.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara drifted happily off to sleep, despite the cold she felt an unusual warmth of body, mind, and spirit. "Sweet dreams."




When she awoke the next morning, it was rather cold inside, Asha seemed to be feeling it too. However, when the nymph silenced her and she realized it was tension and worry. She also noticed a foulness in the air. She desperately hoped they hadn't made their camp for the night in some sort of haunted cabin, or the territory of something worse. Not knowing what sort of danger they were in, but knowing something foul was afoot, Sara did the only thing she could think to do, protect Asha, and herself.

Calling upon another aspect of her scrying power, she focused in order to project a portion of her essence to the grounds outside of the cabin. This would allow her to see what was going on outside, and hopefully determine the nature of the threatening air without exposing herself and Asha, perhaps she would be able to draw the creature away from the two of them.

As she focused her energy, she had time to hope that whatever this was couldn't sense her using her spirit power, or else they would be in some trouble. She put a finger to Asha's lips and nodded slightly to let her know she was about to try something. Then she blinked and instead of her normal eyes, it was as though her eyes had been replaced with an image of the vastness of space, uncountable numbers of stars and galaxies spinning through her eyes. And she manifested herself outside of the cabin, outside of her body, and most importantly, away from Asha. Time to find out what was going on here.

Spoiler

Scrying: Paying 8 EP, the character astrally projects themselves to a location or creature, allowing them to communicate and interact with powers with creatures and objects at that location.

Projecting to spot a little ways outside of the cabin.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara drifted out of her body and up and out of the cabin settling some distance away but still with in sight. Looking about she could see the stars clearly in the crisp air it looked to be that the storm had ended. However it also buried the cabin halfway in snow clearly blocking them in. Still something was bothering Asha and it wasn't the snow moving from her position Sara made a slow circle from her starting point to see if she could find the trouble. She made it half way before she had to stop. Before her stood a woman with midnight black hair and frosted green eyes. Her skin was as pale as snow and she wore a half torn robe or dress that clearly showed of her breasts. The woman walked around the cabin grinning like a predator. One hand traced the outline of the building leaving icy tendrils one the wood as she went. Even in her semi transparent state Sara could feel power rolling off her. This thing was not to be toyed with.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

This...woman... She was bad news. Frankly, Sara would have preferred goblins, this woman gave her the creeps. As she observed her, she saw that she was somehow leaving icy marks on the building as she walked by. Some sort of magic, perhaps. And how was this woman even out walking around in the aftermath of a winter storm like that? Even in her astral form, Sara shivered. Every instinct screamed for her to attack this woman, but she couldn't just do try to strike her down. Walking around like a predator was not reason enough to kill somebody.

Sighing, Sara manifested her form nearby the woman, though away from the cabin. She kept herself ready for anything, expecting the woman to throw some sort of magic at her and determined to try to lead her away from where her and Asha were staying. "Hello there. Is that your house? I hope you don't mind that I stayed the night in there..." This wasn't going to end well at all, she could feel it in her gut.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

The woman spun around her dress kicking up some snow. It was then that Sara noticed the woman was leaving no tracks in the snow her bare feet visible from her location. "Oh a woman" the woman sounded somewhat disappointed at this. "I was hoping for a man.." The woman's voice had a cold edge to it her words almost cutting at Sara's ears. "One gets bored with the taste of orc essence after awhile.." The woman licked her lips which where as blue as her eyes even her bare nipples where blue. It begged the question what kind of creature was this certainly nothing Sara had ever encountered before. The woman began to walk away completely ignoring Sara and headed out across the snowy field. "Be thankful Im not that hungry spirit user I may have broken my men only diet for one as bright as you..." Her voice trailed off like snow blown on the wind leaving a chill deep in Sara's soul.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara was rendered speechless as the woman turned to her, eyes, lips, and nipples icy blue, somehow leaving no tracks in the fresh snow... She dared not interrupt the woman, just taking careful note of what she said. As she thankfully departed, leaving no tracks and seemingly unbothered by the cold, Sara could only mumble, "what are you..."

At first she figured she was an apparition of sorts, but her cloak, what remained of it, was most certainly real... It just made no sense... Who was she. Regardless of if she received an answer or not, unless the woman tried to engage her in conversation, Sara would release her technique, her consciousness coming back to her body as her eyes returned to normal. Despite being back indoors, she still felt the chill of the woman's gaze upon her. Hell, the woman had even seemed to see her technique for what it was... It left her quite frankly terrified.



Coming back to her body and stirring, she looked around for Asha, and if the nymph was still in their bedroll, she would clutch tightly to her, desperate for the heat of her lover, the magical warmth from the night prior having all but disappeared.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Is it gone? When Sara nodded the affirmative Asha collapsed on to her holding her tight still shaking violently. "I was so scared I never felt an aura like that." Using some of her power Sara got the fire going again to provide some light and heat to the room. "I had always heard but I thought it was just a tale to warn travalers of the dangers of winter." Asha had gone pale from the cold and fright.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

After relighting the fire, Sara just held Asha for a long time. She didn't understand what had just happened, though from what she could tell, she had just come into contact with a being of both immense power and cruelty. It was a matter of luck that she had survived. Had the...woman been hungry, or had she been a man...she shuddered to think about what would have happened.

"Asha..." she spoke slowly and quietly, still terribly frightened by what had happened. "What was that? She looked like a woman, but she was naked, frozen almost...but she didn't seem bothered by the snow, she left no tracks...And she just seemed to radiate malice. And if she is to be believed, she is strong enough to feed off Orcs, though I don't know what she eats, I assume it has something to do with spiritual energy though from what she was saying. And I guess it's a good thing she doesn't like to eat girls..." She shuddered again and pressed close to Asha, willing the evil woman from her thoughts, hoping she never had to face such a horrifying thing again.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Asha's shivers slowed as the room began to heat up and she held Sara close. "Many years ago before the invaders before the last demon gate had opened their was a sorceress who traveled from town to town healing the sick and helping the people. It didn't matter if they where good or bad rich or poor. Her mercy was given freely to those in need. For the most part many let her pass unharmed letting all benefit from her gifts. It was said however that a bandit lord desired her to be his queen and she refused his advances far to often. Vowing revenge for his damaged pride; the one thing no magic can fix. He sent his most vile men after her. She fled of course but it was to no avail despite her magics and experience the men caught her. It was the dead of winter much like last evening they rapped her and beat her and rapped her some more before discarding her to die in the snow. She however did not simply die or at lest not in the way most mortals do. I heard a daemon of the winter took pity on her and gave her new life to avenge herself. She was reborn as deadly as the winter as cold as ice seeking only vengeance for her loss. Of course Daemons are often cruel creatures while the gift he gave to the mage allowed her to be reborn it also robbed her of who she sought revenge against. So now she travels the snowy wastes looking for vengeance against a long dead foe that she cannot remember." Asha looked over at Sara shivering at her story. "As cruel as her fate and form is now I think the greatest crime is that no one she helped would help her. They where to afraid." Asha covered up looking at the fire still chilled.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara stared into the fire as Asha related the story of the woman. Listening to it, she was forced to reconsider her opinion of the woman being a monster, even though she had felt nothing but malice in her presence.

"What a...cruel fate. To spend your life helping others, only to end up raped, tortured, killed, and reborn as a tormented soul to inflict misery on others...and no one stood by her. That is...." Sara looked at Asha briefly, then looked to the floor. "As sad as your story...." She said this referring to Asha's decade-long search for her daughter. "To suffer such a fate...that is not justice...that is not mercy...that is not right..."

After a few moments of silence to further contemplate the tale of the sorceress, Sara spoke again. "Asha...you know I'm going to have to help her, right? I have already pledged myself to return your daughter to you, and I intend to follow through on that before anything else. But once we save her, I have to help this woman. No one so good should be left in such a tormented state for as long as she has been. As it stands now, I may not be strong enough to help her. But I will stand where no one else will. I will stand with that woman, and one way or another...I will help her find the peace she was robbed of so long ago." She gently lay back with Asha onto their bedroll where they could watch the fire from a more comfortable position. She brought a blanket over them and lay with Asha, just stroking her starkly beautiful white hair in an attempt to relax her partner. She no longer felt so disturbed by the encounter with the ice-lady. Now she pitied her. Now she had yet another force to drive her. Another person who needed her help.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Sara... shes a dangerous creature. You said it yourself she thought about eating you." Asha held Sara close protectively. "I know I can't stop you from doing that but just think about it don't make such a quick decision. What if you never find her again? What if you do? She might not let you go again." Asha didn't let Sara go and only seemed to hold on tighter. "I doubt anything is left of her old self anymore she has become a monster Sara the only way to really help her is to.. is to...." Asha didn't want to say it but it was clear what she meant. Put her down end her life.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Letting Asha hold her as tightly as she wanted, and enjoying the woman's tight embrace as it were, Sara smiled sadly. "I know how dangerous she is, Asha. But..." She paused for a moment, feeling unexpectedly emotional, taking a few moments to just stroke Asha's hair while they held each other.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued. "I found your daughter, I know I will be able to find that woman again. And she has to have some faculties left, enough to know she wants to eat men rather than women. I have to at least try to reason with her. And if that fails...then there is only that one small mercy left that I can provide. If nothing else...I will release her from this tormented life.

More tears will rolling down Sara's cheeks as she leaned her head on Asha's shoulder. "I have been gifted with incredible spiritual power Asha... and my village teaches that with that power comes a responsibility to use it to improve the lot of others in this world. To aid, to protect, and to destroy as necessary to help the people who need it most. This woman dedicated her life to helping others. She may not have come from my village, but she exemplifies everything we stand for. I won't abandon someone like that in their time of need."

Perhaps it was a noble purpose, but a great sadness still filled Sara. Assuming they rescued Asha's daughter, it would be easy to settle down for a life of happiness and pleasure with the nymphs, a happy ending if ever their was one. She was keenly aware that if she pursued this woman then she may lose that future and instead face a cold, icy death. She just held Asha close, "Asha..." it was all she could say as she held her nymph lover against her.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Asha lightened her grip a little and moved more into a snuggle position. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't try. That is what makes you so precious a rare soul in these dark times.." Asha kissed her lightly on the cheek before forcing them to both lay down. "Come on lets get some more rest and let the snow melt a little before we try to force our way out."

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Smiling happily as Asha lay the two of them down again, she wrapped her arms around the woman's head softly. "Well having a great role model like you around really helps me live up to my potential." Kissing Asha goodnight softly but passionately, she held her lover's head to her chest, being the one doing the holding more than being held, as Asha had always been doing the holding until now. Now though Sara felt her feelings for Asha growing, and almost instinctively wanting to wrap the woman up and protect her from all the pain in the world. "Goodnight Asha sweetie. Let me be the one holding you tonight. Let me be the one protecting you from the night-terrors for the rest of the night..."

Sara kissed Asha gently on the forehead and just held the woman against her as they lay there, stroking her hair gently with one hand. "...Just go to sleep my lover." Once Asha's breathing had slowed to the rhythmic pace of someone who had fallen asleep, Sara would drift off to sleep herself, a smile on her face.