42 (Keylo)

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

Lanai grinned several times as Enigma answered her, particularly as she mentioned the elven queen, and the convents Enigma had been banned from. She paused thoughtfully for a moment, and the kettle began to sing, indicating that the water was boiling, before her pet could answer. "A time? No, but sooner is always better than later, of course. Not that we need to hurry. A brief rest after all that has happened is most certainly in order, and Celesis is a very long way off."

Just then, as Enigma was likely poring tea and preparing to answer her pet, a slight scratching sound at the door alerted them to movement. A tiny white mouse squeezed under the door, its nose and whiskers twitching. Its beady red eyes fixated on Enigma for a brief second, darted to Lanai, and then the tiny rodent promptly vanished back under the door, clearly frightened by the sight of them.

Lanai stared at where it had disappeared for a moment, and then muttered; "Odd...." She turned back to Enigma, and something was clearly bothering her. Her face set uncomfortably, Lanai waited a moment, mustering herself, before saying; "Mistress.... There is something I've been meaning to ask.... Are you alright? Earlier today... When you entered the ballroom, you looked odd... Stricken, even. And you've been behaving... Oddly, ever since. I know today didn't exactly go as planned, but...." She stopped, clearly not sure what else to say.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

A cautious person even in times of success, Enigma found herself reacting to the would be intruder with almost disproportionate force, her aura having quickly stretched out with the intention of devouring the rodent altogether…but hesitating just long enough upon recognizing its diminutive nature… liberal use of magic to destroy a common household pest. Lanai was correct. A vacation really would do her some good, given how paranoid she was becoming. Anymore, and she would be erecting stone fortresses around camping sites at night to keep mosquitos, with all of their potential for carrying plagues, away.

Letting out a sigh, the elf would attempt to put an end to such thoughts by occupying herself with the task of pouring tea. Even humming to herself slightly to perhaps distract her from any unease (though she would also seal the crack beneath the door at that time)… Yet, upon the rather sensitive question being asked, all of that would cease altogether as Enigma seems to freeze in place…becoming deathly silent, almost as it was taboo to her in one sense or another. And when she did answer following an extensive delay… it would not be with the usual “cheery” demeanor, but rather one of unbridled seriousness, without even the typical flair and prose to alleviate such in the slightest.

“…I…No. It would be a lie for me to give any other answer. I know not my nature at this time; that is the only one which I can give. My behaviors have been strange of late, different from even what I would expect of myself. Unreasonable even, if I were to think back upon them. They follow no logic nor standard I’ve established for myself over my years of trouble. They lack any justification in terms of survival instinct or even common sense. At best, they could be considered oversights made due to conditions of extreme stress or pressure. Yet, even then, there remains a part of me that questions if they weren’t something more…something more significant. The same part that now nags at me incessantly with two distinct questions…”

It is then that a pause follows as Enigma chooses to finish pouring the tea and set the kettle down…taking a seat soon afterwards as she perhaps even reclines a bit if she’s able to. But once she did, it would be following a sigh, that she finally concluded her response to her pet’s question...and slowly regain her normal manner of speech

“... ‘What are you to me? And what am I to you?’ In the loosest definition, we are elf and demon, master and pet…yet for some reason, such an answer no longer seems satisfactory. Hence I’ll direct the questions back to you dear. What am I to you? And what are you to me?…“

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

Lanai, already fairly pale to begin with, paled further as Enigma froze and went silent at her question. The demoness waited for her answer nervously, and didn't relax again even as Enigma asked her own questions in response. She'd listened intently to her every word, however, and Enigma didn't doubt that her pet understood her, as Lanai adopted a surprised expression. Her pet waited a while, as Enigma herself had, before responding, and when she did, there was none of her usual playfulness. No teasing or laughter in her voice, and her face set seriously, Lanai replied; "Enigma.... I do not know what I am to you. Even as long as I have known you, which I think is longer than any other since you came into your power in full, even I could only guess at that. I can tell you what I want to be, however. Because it is the mirror of what you are to me. And what I meant when I spoke of something that had been agreed upon between us. I cannot be sure, but I hope that that is true."

She paused, the glow of her crimson eyes fading, until the orbs were revealed, allowing her to look into Enigma's eyes without any sort of interference. "What you are to me... Is more than just my mistress. As disloyal as I was at first, when you first took command of me, I have served you more fervently than I ever did the Queen of Hell. You are more to me than just the one whom I must obey, now. It started the first time that I tasted your soul, and has only grown more powerful with every day. I've never told you much of what I was back in Hell. But I'm sure that you have guessed that I am old, Enigma. Very old. And I can say, with certainty... That I have never felt what I feel for you, for any other being. That you are unlike any other person whom I have ever met, on this plane or on my home world."

"What are you to me, my insane, dangerous, powerful... unique, pure, wonderful mistress? Enigma.... My kind do not live as mortals do. Having seen much of mortal life in my time with you, I can say that our ways are largely empty, and filled with poison and pain and needless suffering of all involved. You... You fill the emptiness that such a life left me with, Enigma. You are what I live and breath for, from day to day. My kind do not feel such things, but this is not only within my mind. It is within my heart.... My soul." She paused again, waiting a moment and allowing all of that to settle in. "I never imagined that I would one day say this to you, that day when you enslaved me. I did not think that my kind could feel such as I do now, and if they did, I would have called it utter weakness. I would have reviled what I am now. And now, looking back... I can say that I would have been wrong."

"I... I think that I love you, Enigma."

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Silence. Twas all that filled the void immediately afterwards, as the demoness's words left one high elf...completely baffled. Blinking her eyes in confusion, as if what had been spoken was the strangest thing she had ever heard. "Love"? A demon was expressing genuine "love" for one such as her? What?...

It wasn't that she was entirely unfamiliar with the concept of love, she had seen and read of it enough to have obtained a base understanding of it, but... love, directed at "her" of all people? And the implications that "she" was perhaps experiencing the same madness-inducing emotion, was that even possible...? Given the nature of her mind and spirit that is... Such a sappy, suicidal impulse inducing emotion...was that even...but that was...

As her mind spun circles with the matter, blinking a few more times as it seemed to come to a resolution, it would be then that something strange began to happen to the elf... Now, of all times, despite her normally impassive demeanor, Enigma would find her ears begin to redden...her cheeks begin to burn hot, and a emotion that she rarely felt beginning to overtake her as she continued to spin to a certain conclusion...over and over again...the feeling known to many as embarrassment. Rare was it that her emotions shot out of control as in such a manner...rarer was it that the elf found herself heavily oblivious to such visible displays of them, as she failed to realize it until she put a hand to a cheek to find itself burning slightly.

"...That's...I...That's...I'm...not exactly sure...I..."

Unable to piece together a coherent sentence, Enigma found herself rising from her seat and beginning to head for the door...only to remember she had blocked it off herself. A moment of paranoia that ended up impeding her own means of escape, she really was slipping up. But more importantly...right now she...

"...I think I need to step outs...no...I think I need to...I think I... I think I need to take a lie down!"

Having no control of herself whatsoever at this time, it was perhaps all the elf wanted to do to find a moment to calm herself, to collect herself altogether as she tangled with what she considered to be an unsolvable paradox...perhaps bury her face in a pillow or the likes at least to not let such a disgraceful state be shown to her lover- pet- demon...whatever Lanai was at this time! Tottering over towards the bed, which Lanai was also inconveniently sitting on, Enigma perhaps thought to place herself on the...other side of it, in a manner that would let her perhaps crawl away into a corner for a bit as she fought with herself. If only she was exhausted enough to just descend into slumber...

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

Lanai was taken aback by Enigma's strange response to her admission of her feelings. Taken aback, and pained, though Enigma herself likely did not realize that. She moved out of Enigma's way as her mistress took a place on the bed, staring at Enigma the entire time and for a good while longer than that. Having curled up on the opposite side of the bed, and facing away from her pet, Enigma couldn't see Lanai, but she could still feel her move through the bed that they now shared.

She felt it as Lanai shifted, but then shifted back. About to reach for her, but hesitating, and then returning to her original position. She did it again, and Enigma could almost feel the heat of her pet's hand against her shoulder, but once more Lanai stopped, and then pulled away without touching her. In another time, Lanai would have pounced on this moment of weakness and uncertainty in order to feed deeply upon her mistress at the very least.... But not this time. This time, Lanai paused, unsure of what to do. She reached once more, shifting back toward Enigma until the elven necromancer could feel her breath on the back of her neck, but once more she stopped, and pulled away.

She waited like that for several moments, before shifting again, but this time, Enigma felt the weight of her pet leave the small bed completely. Her pet stood, and Enigma heard her joints pop at crack, before Lanai said; "There are things that must be taken care of. I will be back shortly." It was delivered in the coldest voice she had ever heard from the demon, and once she had finished, Lanai stepped over to the door, crossing the short distance extremely quickly. A working of her energies shifted the barrier that Enigma had created to keep pests out of the small house, and she heard the door open, and Lanai stepped out of the house.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

For once in her life, or perhaps in a long span of time, Enigma's lack of empathy and emotional understanding would prove almost...tragic, had she known what pain she had unintentionally inflicted on her pet. Yet at the present moment in time, her emotions convoluted and impossible to untangle, she would fail to recognize such a detail, but instead...of how uncomfortable she felt, how she seemed to burn and tremble from her pet's close proximity, her arms having curled up around herself almost in the manner of a frightened child. What were these strange feelings, these alien sensations she felt? What were they, and why did they make her so insecure? It wasn't that they were unpleasant, it was just that they were utterly abnormal for her...mysterious and strange...the state of her soul should not be allowing for their existence at all (or so she believed)! Yet..here they were and despite her normal curiosity, as something directly happening to her, she was...frightened. Her, the Devourer of souls, frightened by what should be petty emotions! If only they would go away...

...Yet, when they finally did, when she was left utterly alone in that small hut...the relief she thought did not come. No, rather...following her pet's departure, and what should have been the usual return of the voices in her mind, came naught but a chilling...silence, and a dull ache in her chest. One that was almost... suffocating to her. When, when was it that the concept of being left utterly alone became terrifying to her? When was it that she, impervious to most of the world's happenings, became frightened by such minor things? Did the happenings as the mansion truly have that great of an impact on her? Or was this perhaps a suppressed fear that was only showing itself now? No… that was impossible, she would have felt such a thing earlier, even if she had been travelling with Lanai the entire-…

…Then it finally dawned upon her, Lanai was not with her at this moment in time. No rather, Lanai had left her, to take care of something…or so it seemed. Yes…she was feeling this now because she was all alone, and the weight of such a realization was almost…crushing, if not suffocating. It was as if the walls of the hut had suddenly begun to close in, while waves of doubt, fear, and despair began to seep in. Rising…closing…threatening to swallow her whole, to devour her altogether. Her breathing quickened erratically, seeming to struggle for each precious breath as if it were here last while trying to choke out a single word, a word that would not come… Help, she needed it…if she was left as she was now she would be utterly consumed!...

Stop. Calm down.

Dispelling the panicked thoughts from her mind through a moment of sheer will, Enigma forced herself to relax…to take deep breaths, before finally sitting upright. Self-doubt…insecurity in this manner, she couldn’t afford to dwell upon such things. Not if she wished to retain who she currently was, as “Enigma”, the Wanderer. The state of her soul required clear, concise definitions of who she was. A curator of knowledge, an individual that never spoke a lie, a wanderer that never remained in a single place for an extensive period of time…clear, definitions of herself that she could not deny, that she could not be allowed to deny. That was the rule upon which she ruled her being, the rule that allowed herself to remain “sane” within “insanity”. Which meant, she could not deny the existence of the feelings she felt, merely accept or reject them, strange as they were. For self-delusion was a forbidden and dangerous thing to one of her state; it meant to deny her role as the dominant personality within a mass of souls. Thus a expedient decision was necessary. Would she accept them as part of who she was? Or reject them, and cast them into the swallowing mass?...

…She would decide, after a breath of fresh air. And with that, Enigma too, though after a delay, would exit the hut.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

Lanai paused for a moment just outside of the doorway, looking back at her mistress, before walking away completely. Enigma was left alone with her thoughts, which quickly attempted to spiral out of control.

Though it took time for Enigma to clear her head, soon enough after her pet, she too left the hut where they had intended to find sanctuary. Safety from the elements it had provided, but safety from that which lay within was something that no structure could possibly grant. Argent Vale was silent and desolate before her, the debris from the mansion that she had destroyed coating much of the empty town, and the lack of any life would have been at least mildly concerning to any normal person. Her pet was nowhere in sight, and she could only guess at where Lanai had gone to, or what she was doing now.

The tavern or the general store might contain things of value, but Enigma doubted that her pet was after material treasures at this time, unless of course she'd gone for food, which they'd had at least enough for the two of them already in the tiny home. The largest remaining building, which might have been some sort of legal building, or perhaps a church or shrine of some sort, held similar potential. The rest of the buildings in the small town were just homes, akin to the one that Enigma had just left. Enigma had more than one decision to make, it seemed.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Yet as hazardously unnerving as silence was to a troubled Enigma, to one who has calmed herself down...it merely gave room for more...varied thought. For rarer and more interesting topics to be brought to mind. Such as for example, whether a tree in a forest made a sound upon falling if no one was around to hear it, or the likes. And perhaps the validity of one's death, if no corpse or trace were ever to be found. Curious thoughts like those for example, were what silence would bless Enigma with as she received the breather she needed...

...Along with more rational ones such as the need to learn more about the town's history lest another countess appear to interfere with her plans. And where better else to learn about it, than a sanctuary that she would normally be banned from otherwise? After all, as the town was now...there was no one to stop her. So...why not?

And with such a thought in mind, Enigma would head toward the single largest remaining building, letting her "aura", or her very soul serve as her scout...and perhaps bait for any remaining prey she had missed.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

The town remained silent around Enigma as she strolled through it, her aura detecting nothing, and attracting nothing. She spotted a mangy looking dog on the opposite side of town, but it turned back to glance at her only once, and from very far off. It slunk off into the woods after staring at her for a few seconds, and Enigma entered the building she had chosen without further incident. The oaken double doors were easily pushed open, revealing a large desk with a chair behind it directly across from them. There were three doors leading out, two on either side of the desk that were open and led into a larger chamber, as well as one more on the left side of the room that was closed and marked with a sign reading; 'Authorized Personnel Only.'

The opening area was fairly empty, and Enigma was free to do as she pleased. Searching the desk might turn up some information about the function of this place, though it would also consume some of Enigma's fairly precious time. The chamber's ahead may hold something of interest, but a quick glance inside revealed the church-like rows of pews leading toward an altar with an unfamiliar symbol on it, though there were three more doors within, one beside the dais, and two on the left side of the room. The signed door was also possibly of interest, and it wasn't like obstacles had ever stopped her before, and there was no one left to bother her if she took a peak.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

...Granted that the only prey left seemed to by a stray hound however, it was only entirely reasonable that Enigma's attention and energies would shift elsewhere altogether, given how little use weak souls of that nature were anyway. Weak souls of that degree would require more energy to devour than they would provide; hence her focus was best reverted to her original task at hand (while her pet was off taking care of her own business)... Learning more about the dingy little village she had little cared to understand.

As for the first place she searched upon reaching her chosen destination...well, naturally her first course of action was to go to the place that would be most likely to contain secrets, the place normally barred to the public.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 99, Status = Fine

The door was unlocked despite the sign warning away intruders, and Enigma had no need to waste her energies on forcing it open. A small chamber beyond it held nothing but a set of spiral stone steps leading up, and as she had already gone this far, there was no reason for her to stop now. After all, when one was searching for knowledge, there was no room for hesitation. The climb took only about a minute, and at the top, Enigma found herself on a landing with a wooden ladder leading up to an already open trap door.

Pressing onwards, Enigma climbed the ladder, but as she placed her hand on the top, she felt something wet and cold and sticky, and when she pulled her hand back to check, she found it coated in red.

The top of the tower proved to be a simple bell tower, the ancient looking copper bell tied to a rusty chain not far from where Enigma reached the top. There, the elven necromancer had a flawless view of Argent Vale and its surrounding countryside for miles around. An endless ocean of green trees, fresh leaves covering them due to the advent of spring, greeted her eyes in all directions around the heavily isolated village. She could see the rubble of the mansion she and Lanai had destroyed, the debris still shifting and crumbling in places as it settled into ruins.

Far more intriguing, however, was the scene that had apparently played out up here at some point in the recent past. Three corpses, their eyes glassy but their bodies not yet smelling of rot, were at the top of the bell tower. One was a human woman in a simple dress, likely a local from the look of her. She was lying on her side on the floor in one of the corners, exactly opposite the other two bodies. She was curled around her stomach, her hands pressing against the wound that had claimed her life, and the puddle of drying blood that Enigma had touched was apparently hers. The other two were also human, but male, and were most likely not from this village, if appearances were to be believed. One had red hair and a thick red beard, suggesting that he was from the North, and the fact that he wore chainmail armor over his clothing only reinforced that idea. There was a hole the size of a grape was just over the man's heart, plainly visible as he was lying on his back. The other wore fine clothing and had dark hair, likely some minor noble of some sort. He had been disemboweled, but the arm pressing over his stomach had at least kept his innards from being exposed.

There was no sign of her pet, either here or anywhere that she could see within Argent Vale from her high perch.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

The sign was a healthy reminder, a reminder as to how many parallel meanings might exist for even a harmless statement such as "Authorized Personnel Only". Yet in spite of this, it was not fear that filled her being, nor horror, nor even shock. Rather...it was an unsurprising curiosity that struck her upon gazing upon the "gut-wrenching" sight. One that made her question events that had taken place, made her lust with the buried history that had been written only so long ago.

Fortunately as a necromancer however, especially with how recent this massacre seemed to be, it would be more than easy enough to obtain what she wanted as she put a single finger to her lips, and chanted briefly, using it as a focus in replacement for her missing staff (which she would have to root out later), a smile of sorts upon her visage despite the absence of her pet. If her primary chain to sanity could not be at her side as this time...then her, perhaps, gruesome curiosity would have to serve as a substitute; as it had done for so many years prior.

"Come, remember what you were. Turn back the wheels of time, and sing to me about past, present, and future. Arise."

Brimming with power, though only as much as was required, it would be then that Enigma would call upon the souls of the recently deceased, to ask them of their tale...and perhaps offer them a deal or two, should it be interesting to her.

((Call Spirit, but use it as a gauge for how powerful the spirits are. The more energy that's required to invoke them, the more interested Enigma becomes in them.))

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 72/99, Status = Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

The three spirits take X = 2 for the girl, X = 3 for the gentleman, and X = 4 for the northerner.
Total cost: 6 + 9 + 12 = 27 EP.

Enigma found that the spirits of the three corpses weren't particularly powerful, the girl barely requiring any energy at all to call upon, and the other two only requiring a moderate cost to raise from beyond the grave, and grant a sad facsimile of life. Three ghosts, the image of their dead likeness even now, stood before Enigma, their death wounds plain for the necromancer to see. They stared lifelessly at her, empty eyes awaiting her command, and each of them began to speak at the same time. What came out was a trio of different voices, each of them distant and echoing, and each of them saying a completely different thing.

It was a jumbled mess that even Enigma couldn't hope to sort through, and as the three spirits issued their tale, each apparently starting at a completely different point somewhere back within their childhood, she realized that it might be a good idea to make her instructions a bit more specific. And preferably, try and get them to speak one at a time rather than all at once, though she would have to determine in what order to hear their stories.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

And sing their tales they indeed did...but with the grace of harmony of a thousand dying crows. Such unruly dissonance truly befitting only the weaker of spirits. Enigma had forgotten how...disorganized, and mindless the lesser of souls could be, who would follow instructions aimlessly without any regard for logic at all. Irritating really, but nothing too hard to fix.

"Sing thou has surely done, but be there order in thy songs! No really dears, one at a time before you wake the rest of the dead."

Commanding the spirits to be momentarily silence with a motion to her lip, the elf would began her...sequencing of tales to be told. Giving the following order to the girl, the gentleman, then the northerner in turn.

"Begin your tale, a summation of events from three days leading up to your time of departure. Delve further into the past only to provide context for your story."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 72/99, Status = Fine

The three spirits went silent at Enigma's command, following her orders flawlessly. At her request, the girl began her tale, speaking with the same reflective echo as before, but with only one voice, Enigma had an easier time of understanding her.

Spoiler

I was... Alone. Then, he came to take me from my home. from my father. Two days ago. He said that I did not belong here. That I should be more than the beaten wife of a farmer that I would become in this place. He told me that I was beautiful. I was due to be wed in six days, to a man that I hated. A man that had... Defiled me, against my will. A man with fire in his eyes, and nothing but agony that he forced upon others in his heart. Thodric.

He took from that place. From that darkness. His name was.... Cordin. He had seen what my husband to be had done to me. And he took me away. He was a gentleman, a rich man who could protect me from Thodric. He was... Wrong.

The man with the red beard came. Thodric had hired him. Had sent him to reclaim me, his property. He... Followed us for miles. I don't know how, or why. He could have just let us go. Cordin offered to pay him to leave us alone, but he wouldn't. He tried to kill us. We ran.... For miles, it felt like. Then... We came here. We thought that we could hide, but a man from the tavern told our pursuer that we had fled here. We couldn't go any farther. They fought.... I tried to stop them. I said that I would go back to Thodric, if only he let Cordin go. The red beared man... He stabbed me, in the stomach. Pain. I watched him stab Cordin too, after his magic sword was thrown aside, but Cordin drew his gun... And shot him in the heart. They both fell. Darkness. Then.... You.

The man in the finer clothes, apparently Cordin, came next, his voice louder and stronger than that of the girl.

Spoiler

I was traveling alone to my fathers summer home in the north two days ago. I came across a village, Ashford. I stopped to rest, and at the inn, I saw her there. She was the innkeepers daughter, I found out. I had never seen her before, but when I saw it, her smile... Made my heart pound in my chest. I stayed a short while to inquire after her, and found out that her name was Karie, and that she was set to be married to the captain of the town guard. He was an awful man. A violent one. I saw her turn her head in fear as he was mentioned, and saw a bruise upon her collar as she shifted. I knew that I could not leave her here, to this man, to be broken and beaten by him like an animal. That night, I spoke to her, and convinced her to come away with me. Early in the morning, we snuck off together, and made haste down the road. She was happy, I thought. She laughed, and smiled.

Someone must have... Seen us, in the morning. Or heard me the night before. The man came. I recognized him as one of the guard. I don't know why such a beast would be allowed in settled lands. We fled from him, but he followed. When we got here, I paid the innkeeper to hide us, and he came with us here, to the priest of this place. He allowed us to stay up here until the man had been led away. But the guard found out, somehow. When he came up, I drew my weapons, and told him that he would not take her back to the man she had been forced to wed. That I would pay him, and that if he refused, I would kill him. He threw his shield at me and knocked my gun out of my hand. He was up the ladder before I could recover. We fought, but Karie.... She got in the way. He killed her, and then stabbed me. I fell, but I fell onto my gun. I took it, and shot him with my dying breath.

The northerner, the strongest of the spirits that Enigma had conjured, spoke last, its voice the strongest.

Spoiler

My brother had paid a dowry for a woman. She was a pretty thing, but not very bright. I came down from the North for the wedding. But someone kidnapped the bride days before the ceremony. No ransom had been asked, so some of the guard offered to help bring her back, as he was their captain. I was a mercenary, and knew some tracking, so I offered my help as well. I was the one to find their trail, but it was growing cold, so I left a marking for the others to find and followed it.

I tracked them for two days. Then, I came to this village, and asked after them. A young boy named Roland told me that he had seen a girl like the one that I was looking for going into the church with the innkeeper. She had been with another stranger in fine clothes, so I assumed that some sort of magician had charmed my brothers betrothed. The priest was a poor liar. He tried to stop me, but I knocked him out. I checked the basement first, but found nothing. They weren't in any of the rooms. Finally, I looked up here, and found them.

The boy was no magician. He was just an idiot. He tried to bribe me and threaten me all at once. I knocked the weapon from his hand, and even with his magic sword, he didn't have the skill to fight me in hand to hand. The girl got in the way of the blow that would have killed him. While he was distracted, a second strike finished him, but he lived long enough to take up his weapon and fire it. I was sloppy. I failed my brother.

He seemed to have finished his story, and that left Enigma with nothing more to hear from them.

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Although Enigma had expressed initial interest in the tale presented...the elf quickly found herself losing interest as the pieces of the story came together one by one...seeming almost...bored by the time the tale finished. A typical tragedy out of fledging love...how many of those had been recounted to her already before? While she herself knew not if she possessed the ability to love, she knew well enough of love to understand what results it could bring about, at least... love between mortal creatures at the very least.

Tragedy, despair, idiocy...madness.

Upon reaching the last "word" in her train of thought, the elf found herself experiencing a strange twinge of...pain, of...fear even, for some reason. Oh...that was right, she had yet to resolve her little...business with her pet. The pain was understandable...but...what was this fear, this unease she felt?...

"Enough. Fade away and become nil."

...So the necromancer would speak as part or her hungering aura seemed to latch onto the spiritual forms of the three that stood before her...and forcibly compress them into what the elf seemed to consider...raw energy. Enough so that she would begin using the walls of the church to create a set of stairs so as to depend upon the ground...and then begin roaming around in search of her pet. For there was something important she had to tell her, something vital...

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 72/99, Status = Fine

The three spirits faded back into nothingness at Enigma's command, the final one that she would give to them. Momentarily interesting though this diversion might have been, and her aura latched onto the spirits and absorbed them into the mass of souls that made up her being. The little energy she acquired from those dead souls was quickly spent on the creation of the stairs that took her from the roof of the church. Along the way, Enigma spotted a sword lying on one of the rafters. It was obviously of fine craftsmanship even to her inexperienced eyes, but it was also a short distance out of her way.

Regardless of whether or not Enigma went for the sword, she reached the bottom of the her shaped steps quickly enough and without incident. The sun was beginning to come up, off in the distance, and Enigma started her search for Lanai as the first rays of dawn came across the horizon and bathed Argent Vale. It made the search arguably easier and arguably safer than doing it by moonlight, at the very least, and Enigma strolled through the small town in search of Lanai confident that nothing would bother her. Not that there was much that could bother her in the desolate village.

Ten minutes of wandering followed, the small village dense enough to make her search take longer than it should have given the size of Argent Vale, but eventually, as she was strolling about, Enigma spotted Lanai walking out of a building not twenty feet away. The place had been someone's home, at some point, or at least that was what Enigma suspected when she saw the tiny, dingy building. Lanai looked haggard and exhausted, her pink hair long and in desperate need of a good wash, and she had stains along her inner thighs that looked suspiciously like blood. She was hunched forward slightly, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, but the most dramatic change by far as that her pets stomach was now totally flat, as it had been before they had gone to the mansion. Lanai spotted Enigma as well, and the elven necromancer didn't miss the very brief hungry look that her pet gave her as their eyes met.

The look was very brief, and Lanai's expression became a blank, emotionless one as she turned to face Enigma, still totally naked as she had been for most of the previous night. "Hello, mistress. I was just coming to find you, actually. How may I serve thee?"

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Barring if the sword had any magical properties, Enigma would have little interest in it, beyond the sake of novelty. Especially with the more pressing matters already on her mind, and how the elf had already built a considerable collection of them before she had grown bored with the concept of mortal forged steel. Nevertheless, even if it was magical, at best the sword would be an afterthought for her to ponder upon...once that which burdened her were lifted away, one way or the other.


Yet...nothing, not even the resolve from before could have readied Enigma for her "reunion" with her pet. At least...not in the manner laid out before her. The blank expression, the weariness...it was finally clear to the elf that something had been broken earlier. And...clearer yet as to who had been responsible for it, but not the alien weight that accompanied such a realization. "Remorse", a sensation that the elf had never felt before, for her actions. An emotion that...quite simply enough, Enigma had no idea how to deal with altogether, beyond tremble.

How was she to counteract such an emotion, to be rid of this even greater weight that had been placed upon one that already existed? Was she to erase the source of her distress?...Yes, if Lanai wasn't here at this time then she wouldn't be...

She wouldn't exist anymore. She had determined that prior, that the present "Enigma" needed the demon's companionship to remain who she was...that she couldn't maintain herself without the other at her side. Thus...what was she to do? Run?...Flee again from her own emotions, from the crushing weight surrounding her from all sides? Escape...that seemed to be a good option. Resume her travels far away, and pretend that nothing had happened? That the events in this village never took place? That...could work...right? Yes...running for solace...that was a good option... Retreat with the better part of valor...


And with that, Enigma ran...but in a direction completely unexpected to her manner of "logical thought". As rather than running away from the source of her distress, she ran...to it, and embraced it, in a moment of true and utter madness... wrapping her arms around the labored demoness, and whispering two words that one might have never expected to hear from the elf, ever.

"I'm...sorry."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

Spoiler

HP = 52, PP = 53, EP = 72/99, Status = Fine

Lanai looked slightly confused as Enigma approached her, an expression that deepened as the elven necromancer wrapped her in a hug, and that got a sizable helping of shock when her mistress spoke those two simple words. When she had grabbed Lanai, the demoness had very hesitantly returned the gesture, but now her arms closed around Enigma and tugged her close. Lanai looked into her eyes, obviously unsure of how to handle the situation, for several moments.

Eventually, she opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again for a few seconds, her expression becoming completely neutral as she hesitantly said; "It's alright... I understand, my mistress. It was.... Forward of me to speak as I did, and unreasonable to expect you to return such sentiments to your servant."

 

[Keylo]

Re: Enigma (Keylo)

"That's not what...No dear. That's not...what I'm apologizing for now dear."

There was a quiet sigh from the elf as she realized she had apparently created yet another misunderstanding, one that was possibly less damaging than the last one...but a misunderstanding nonetheless. Yet as was her nature, it would be unclear whether such a subtle gesture was out of disappointment or relief...for now anyway.

"...I am a being that does not speak lies, or rather, cannot dear. I can not say for a fact that I am...in love with you, unless I truly know if I "can" love to begin with. Thus why I could not respond to you at that time."

There is a pause for a moment as Enigma, keeping herself held tightly to her pet so as to keep hidden what was now perhaps an "unsightly" appearance as a result of embarrassment or the likes, hesitates...as if wondering how best to express herself now that she had essentially walked herself into a corner...

"...And even now, I can not say whether I am capable of love. However...I can say this. As it stands now dear, I can not live without your presence, your company, your...touch even. Without you being by my side on this path..."Enigma", as I am now, would disappear. If the need for such company counts as "love", then indeed...I can safely say that I reciprocate your feelings. Just...don't leave me alone again, please."