| Logs |
2003 June 15
| Idlewild |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Idlewild Logs |
June 15
The king makes a sudden dash for the door that Steven fled through with the nefarious control rod in his catty teeth. Though obviously wounded, with Aiden's arrows sticking out of his chest, the scrawny elf king makes decent time on two legs, robes hiked up to show elaborately embroidered boots.
Steven dashes for the crates at the far end of the corridor. Maybe he can loose the wolf somewhere in there, at least for a little bit. The wolf is crazed-mad enough to not care that it's seriously wounded. Blast, where's Seodil when we need him!
Aiden quickly grabs one of the red arrows and sends it arcing towards the king. It catches him dead in the back with a shower of sparks. He staggers, but does not fall.
The four confused-looking wolves in the throne room still do not attack, wavering on their thin legs.
Soleil takes off after the king, sword in hand.
Steven's pursuing wolf continues doggedly, fifteen feet behind and too angry to be tired.
Lotte stands by the same hole in the paper ceiling Aiden's shooting through, dancing nervously in place. "Are you going down there?" she asks Aiden.
Aiden nods, scowling.
The king's robes disappear through the door, Sol roughly twenty feet behind.
Lotte wrings her hands. "I.. do you want my pouch? I'll come down last, but you might need them."
One of the four standing wolves falls over.
Aiden shakes his head, "I'll be fine.." He puts his bow down and picks up his sword, walking over to the rope so he can get down into the room..
Aiden grabs the rope and uses it to drop down to the floor of the room below, with a grace that seems to suprise even himself. He hits the floor, running for the corridor where Steven and Sol went.
After a short corridor run, Aiden bursts into a wide room with more of the vaulted ceilings and great empty spaces that this castle seems to have in abundance. In this room, a large collection of wooden crates fills the far corner. Steven's tail is just disappearing into the scattered mass of giant boxes, with his badly injured wolf in pursuit fifteen feet back. Fifty or so feet ahead of Aiden, Sol is chasing the king into the same area.
Sol lunges for the king as they near the crates, and succeeds only in stabbing his sword into a crate. As he stops to put his foor up for leverage to remove it, the king vanishes around the bend of the nearest jumble of crates.
Steven's paws scramble upon the wooden crates, and he gives a soft growl of frustration when he cannot find any purchase.
Steven's wolf hurtles around the corner of a nearby crate and staggers to a halt, lowering its head to stalk him, eyes fixed on him, teeth bared. It looks terrible, but intent.
Steven narrows his eyes, facing down the wolf. He is unwilling to let go of the control rod; that will limit his options. I wasn't really interested in tasting his blood, anyway, he thinks, unsheathing his claws.
When Aiden rounds the corner in pursuit of the king, Soleil hard on his heels, the hapless monarch is scrambling up to higher ground on a pile of crates, but having trouble with his robes. He turns mad eyes to Aiden and stares past him at Sol, mouth opening.
Steven's angry wolf looks none too steady on his feet, a good match for yhe badly wounded cat he faces. He rumbles deep in his throat at Steven, hanging back as if finally wary.
Steven holds his position, waiting for the other wolf to make the first move. or keel over, whichever comees first.
The wolf makes a coughing sound much like despair and charges Steven.
Aiden skids to a stop, his lips curling into a decidedly cruel grin when he sees the look on the King's face as he spots Sol. He keeps his sword in hand, at the ready, but pauses to see what the king will say.
The damaged king gapes at his nephew, and the mad eyes glitter wetly. "Dhu?" he says, voice raspy and dry, nearly as thin as he is. He raises his arms, robes flapping fetid air toward the two below him, rich with the scent of long-unwashed elf in old, threadbare clothing. It smells much like mildew.
Soleil flinches, and flinches harder as the king starts to climb down again, crooning, "Dhu, sister-son, you are back to make it right..."
Steven' slash connects... but he gets little more than loose skin. And the smell. Gods, the smell. Hasn't any of these creatures taken a bath in a hundred years? He files that away as trivia, though. He's worried about what's going on with the king elsewhere.
Aiden turns to steal a quick glance at Sol, waiting for word to strike.. He doesn't want to simply cut the King down if Sol wants to talk to him.
Sol starts to inch backward, and says in a very young voice, "But you tried to kill me. And Lua."
The king smiles horribly, gaunt face stretching, and keeps crooning to Sol as if he does not even see Aiden in front of him. "We must be all together, don't you see? Family, you understand. So lonely here, and the wolves do not talk anymore..."
Aiden turns around and walks to Sol's side. He turns back to face the king before he speaks, his voice a whisper that he hopes will carry only to Sol and not to the King. "Be strong, Sol. You're not a child.. he is a withered old man and we are here. He cannot hurt you.."
Aiden adds, "You need only say the word and he will die."
Sol hesitates. The king says, "I found your mother. I talk to her. I took the arrow out, it was an accident, she understands. She misses you." Soleil freezes in place, eyes going wide, and seems unable to speak.
Aiden growls, "Liar.."
Aiden whispers to Sol, "He's lying to you, Sol.. If she was alive, she'd be on the throne, not him. Don't listen to his lies."
The old king seems to see Aiden for the first time, and says, "Oh, no. No, no, no. It was an accident, I was so sorry. She's with us now, I made it right. She told me to bring you back, I always do what she tells me. She just.. can't... go out anymore." He looks sad. "My fault. But I try."
Aiden lifts his sword, "Call the wolves off, tell us where she is and I might consider not killing you."
Soleil reaches out blindly and holds Aiden's arm so hard it hurts, and whispers through clenched teeth, "Aiden... what if he does have her?"
The king gives his ghastly smile again and says happily, "Yes! We must go to her. She will be so pleased." He waves his arms, then frowns. "I... cannot call my wolves like this. I need it!" He starts looking agitated.
Aiden shakes his head. "Do without. You're the King. Command them."
The king looks distraught. "Can't. Can not. They are deaf, deaf!" He hops in place, fretful. His expression changes and he calls suddenly, "Daenia!"
Aiden looks around for whoever he is calling for..
Sol shudders and does not turn around at the quiet clicking of nails on the marble floor, an uneven gait. He says, "No. We saw her earlier. Don't do this."
Aiden scowls at the King.
A plainly undead wolf walks into Aiden's sight as he glances behind Sol, one hind leg broken, causing the uneven gait. It moves with utter patience, and stops several feet away.
The king says caressingly, "My love. You never left me. You show them what real love is, yes. Then--" he looks at Sol, "then you understand."
Aiden looks at Sol. "Sol.. Is that your mother?"
Sol shakes his head violently, but whispers. "No. No, but I'm so afraid she's here somewhere too, Aiden."
Aiden looks back at the King. "Tell her to go and get Sol's mother. Now. I'm running very thin on patience."
THe king frowns. Patiently, he says, "I told you. She can't go places. She's just not strong enough. I always go to her, to show my respect. I pretend not to notice. You should too. We should go to her."
Aiden nods, "Then lead the way..." He calls out more loudly, "Steven? Are you okay?"
Steven's wolf has collapsed on top of him, wheezing.
Steven grimaces, trying to push the wolf off of him. he tries to yowl, as best as he can with a mouthful of the control scepter.
The wolf is lighter than it looks, and rolls off him to lie gasping, eyes hostile but energy spent. It snaps weakly at him and comes nowhere close.
Steven evades the bite relatively easily, and can't help but feel pity for the thing. When this is over, I promise, he thinks, I'll release you. He perks his ears again, and scampers -- as best as a quarter-ton feline can 'scamper' -- to find Aiden and Sol.
Daenia stands patiently, slowly rotting in place but still faithful. The king scrambles ungracefully down from his crates and wafts by Aiden to grab Sol's other arm, tugging eagerly.
Aiden snarls at the King. "Lead. Don't touch."
Soleil recoils into Aiden at the touch, and mutely puts himself on Aiden's other side, farther away from the king, silently grateful.
Aiden follows after the King, sword at the ready always, just in case he tries something stupid.
Steven's ears flatten against his head as he comes up on the scene, eyeing Daenia warilly, and the King even warillier. More warily. He remains back a little, keeping the control rod well out of sudden leaping graps.
The king looks hurt, but continues, shaking his head and murmuring things to himself, to the undead wolf that pads clicking along beside him. He leads the small group of three onward.
They stop back in the throne room again, where the king presses a piece of carving on the throne. A small door opens behind the throne, revealing a narrow room with a low table, ornate chairs, threadbare tapestries, and a sheer-silk-swathed skeletal figure at one one of the table.
Aiden stops short with a hiss..
The king says happily, "I promised! Here he is, and your daughter is on her way, soon, soon. We will be a family again, it will all be right." He continues babbling, but less coherently.
Steven shivers, shaking his head slowly. He becomes immediately alert for any move made on him and the control rod.
Sol makes a small broken sound like a sob.
Across the room, surrounded by four silent wolves mostly in her lap, Lotte tries to make out the commotion but cannot see into the small, tragic room causing the trouble.
At the sound of Sol's sob, Aiden bursts into action. He attacks the King full-out, with a determined and very very angry look on his face. He looks like he not going to stop until the King is laying at his feet on the floor, twitching..
Aiden's furious slash catches the king just right, and his new sword slices cleanly through the old elf's body and robes from his right shoulder down to his left hip. With a surprised look, the old king falls.
Aiden snarls, watching coldly as the King falls dead.
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