Fated (Chapter Twenty-Six)
Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveHave fun.
Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/F
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kingdom of Valdrar, Minecraftia. September 30, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
Katrin froze as she saw a blur of movement between a couple of trees. “Hhh! Look!”
The others glanced where she was pointing, but the figure was long gone. It was just after dusk and it was getting difficult to see, but they knew that they were being watched again.
“Excuse me?” Carl looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of their stalker. “We’re looking for the Battlemaster. We don’t mean any harm. We just want to talk to him about something.”
“He’s important to the fate of the world.” Vorna added. “It’s really important that we see him.”
Their stalker didn’t reply or show themselves. Aldobiva sighed. “Did you really think that would work?”
“No.” Carl admitted. “It was worth a shot, though.”
“True.” Zel continued forward. “Anything is worth trying.”
As Vorna moved to follow him, something reached out of the bog beside her and seized her leg. She screamed in terror as it pulled her off of solid ground into the mud, dragging her beneath the surface.
“VORNA!” Aldobiva screamed, charging forward. Baltbee held her back, grabbing her and holding her still.
“No! Do you want to get dragged down too?!”
“Vorna! Vorna!” Aldobiva fought against him, but the sheepman held her tightly, keeping her safely away from where Vorna had been snatched.
Katrin and Zel immediately tried to use their powers to free Vorna, but the mud did not obey. It only bubbled a bit and shifted as Vorna struggled under the surface against the creature momentarily.
Second later, the movements ceased.
The descendant of Coestar had fallen.
Aldobiva’s screaming slowly subsided into shocked sobbing, shaking violently and falling to her knees. Baltbee didn’t let go of her, moving to hug his friend. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry…”
Carl stared at the mud, stunned. He carefully jumped from Vynx’s back and approached it, but jumped back when the creature reached for him. It grumbled when it missed and sank back into the bog, clearly not satisfied with just one human. He shuddered and moved to Aldobiva, hugging her as well. Zel and Katrin sat beside her too, the entire group clearly shaken at the loss of one of their own.
One sharpshooter down; a serious blow to the team.
“The swamp is a dangerous place.” An unfamiliar voice informed them. All but Aldobiva jerked and looked up.
A man that appeared to be in his mid-twenties stood there, arms crossed. He had brown hair and dark eyes, with a heavily scarred face that looked like it had been mauled by a bear several years back. He was about 5’11 and appeared to be very strong.
“Who are you?” Carl demanded. Vynx bared her teeth and hissed at the man.
“You were looking for me. Clearly you don’t know anything about the swamp. You need to avoid those kinds of areas- bog monsters lurk there and devour anyone who gets too close.”
Aldobiva sobbed harder, curling into a ball on the ground. Baltbee growled at the man. “You really need to remind her?”
He shrugged. “I am sorry about your friend, but there’s nothing that can be done. I advise that you leave the swamp as quickly as possible.”
“We’re not leaving until we find the Battlemaster.” Katrin insisted.
“You’ve found him. Now get out.” The Battlemaster crossed his arms.
“You have to come with us!” Carl told him. “You’re one of us. One of the thirty in the prophecy.”
“Prophecy?”
“Yes. We have to defeat the Hostiles- those ten monsters that were unleashed the night the Bloodshadow covered the moon- and we need to find all thirty people to do that.” Baltbee told him. “Except we just…yeah.”
“Hostiles? You mean those things that have been rampaging around Minecraftia? I barely managed to scare one off awhile ago when it started burning down the trees around where I live. I don’t like it when people fuck around with my swamp.”
“Well, they’re going to destroy the whole damn world if you don’t help us.” Katrin informed him. She pulled the stone from Zel’s pocket, holding it up. “See how it glows when I touch it? People in the prophecy make it glow. Hold it.”
The Battlemaster looked at her skeptically. “It’s just a glowing rock.”
“Take it.” She insisted, setting it down on the ground. It immediately ceased glowing.
The Battlemaster frowned and stepped closer before picking it up. He raised an eyebrow when it instantly lit up. “That’s interesting.” He mumbled. “Very interesting.”
“We need to get out of this swamp.” Zel muttered. “You need to come with us. It’s imperative. We may never defeat the Hostiles without you.”
“This is so ridiculous. Fine, whatever. But if it ends up being a waste of time I’m going to kill you and head home. Got it?”
Zel shrugged. “If you could beat us. My name is Zel.”
“I’m Marcus. We can have introductions later. You head back to the village and I’ll meet you in a few hours. We’ll set out there and travel at night.”
“Night? Why?”
“I have my reasons.” Marcus nodded slightly and vanished, darting through the shadows. With a jolt, Carl realized that he must have been their stalker.
Always aware of his surroundings.
Baltbee stood up and tried to coax Aldobiva up. “Come on, it’s okay. It’s okay. You can stand.”
“V-v-v-vorna…” Aldobiva sobbed, refusing to move. “Sh-sh-she’s g-gone…V-vorna’s gone…”
“There’s nothing you can do for her, okay? You need to carry on. Carry on for Vorna. We need you, and she would want you to carry on and help save this world. Okay?”
“I k-know…”
Baltbee helped her stand and hugged her again. “I know it’s rough. But you have to carry on. Okay?”
Aldobiva sniffed. “Okay…”
Zel silently led the way back to the village, still shaken despite finding who they had come for.
Locating the Battlemaster had had a higher cost than he had anticipated. He only hoped Marcus was worth it.
-~-
Coe yelped when he saw Vorna dragged into the mud. He shook, tense, staring into the orb and whispering under his breath for her to be okay.
He only saw the mud still for a second before his orb shattered. He shrieked in surprise and jumped back, dropping the glass on the floor. As it hit, it turned to bronze sand and went everywhere.
Everyone looked up at him, staring in shock and, in the cases of those watching other groups, confusion.
“Vorna’s dead.” Coe whispered, which caused the entire group of Mindcrackers to immediately begin speaking and demanding to know what had happened.
Once they had been silenced, a stunned Avidya explained the entire situation. Once he had finished, another voice spoke up from the doorway.
“I think this is a bad time, but my orb activated.” Thejims held it up slightly, the image of Marcus held within it.
Coe nodded. “Y-yeah.” He sounded a bit shaken, as if he hadn’t actually expected to have to watch his descendant die. “Vorna…”
“Poor Aldobiva.” Pause muttered. “Look at her…”
“At least Baltbee’s being useful.” Millbee said quietly. “That doesn’t really make up for the loss of Vorna, though.”
The room fell quiet for a moment before Blame spoke up. “She’s just the first of many, you know.”
“Way to be a downer.” Aureylian grumbled. “I don’t want to think about having to watch Adrian die.”
Etho shuddered, holding his orb close. He worried about Niel under these circumstances, and if Vorna, a skilled and well-trained sharpshooter could go down…
Vechs shivered at Blame’s words. He had been feeling unnerved since getting the Hostile’s orb back, and felt the compulsion to look into it. It resonated in his toolbelt, but the others were unaware that it had been moved out from under its blanket, as he had replaced it on the floor. He jerked at seeing the shadows move but relaxed when he realized it was just Thejims’ shadow moving as he went to sit down.
Vechs pulled a blanket from off the back of the couch and wrapped it around him, feeling safer with it. Vorna’s death made him even more uneasy, knowing that Blame’s words were true: she was only the first of many…
-~-
Samuel sighed, looking over the waters of the lake. The group had reached it about an hour ago and set up camp, deciding to make boats and head off in the morning. He had chosen to take first watch, allowing the others to go to sleep, as they certainly needed it. Tarsen and Tranpar had gone to sleep immediately, but he noticed that Valkan appeared to be scolding Trymdas for something.
Samuel frowned, looking closer, and it looked like the younger brother was about to cry. Valkan’s eyes seemed to flicker blue momentarily as he shouted something about Trymdas being useless. Samuel stood and reached for his spear but saw Trymdas race off into the trees, clearly upset. Valkan started to follow but tripped, leg still not fully functional, and swore viciously.
An angry person who held many secrets, none of them good.
Samuel bounded over. “You keep watch. I’m going after him.”
“He’s my brother, you have no r-“
“He’s my friend.” Samuel snarled. “I’m in a better position to find him. You keep watch.”
Valkan growled at him but he was already gone, spear out and following Trymdas’s path.
It wasn’t difficult for Samuel to find Trymdas, considering the path that he had left and how loudly he was sobbing. He was sitting down, leaning against a tree and curled into a ball.
Samuel sat beside him, setting the spear down. He didn’t say anything, just put an arm around the sobbing boy. He leaned against Samuel, drawing comfort from the safety of the man. “I’m s-sorry…”
“You’re not useless.” Samuel told him. “Your brother is abusive and controlling and you shouldn’t listen to him.”
“He’s all I have.” Trymdas whispered. “I don’t have a choice…”
“You’re sixteen, right?”
“Mhm.”
“You’re almost an adult. You can’t be listening to your older brother all of your life. You need to become your own person.” Samuel hesitated. “I can try to protect you from him if you want.”
Trymdas looked up and shook his head violently. “N-no! Don’t! I don’t want you to get hurt!”
Samuel frowned. “Hurt?”
“He…Valkan…” Trymdas shuddered. “I can’t…I can’t tell you. But please…don’t get in his way. He will hurt you…he might kill you, and I…I don’t want that to happen, not again, I can’t take that again!” He hugged Samuel tightly, burying his face in Samuel’s chest. Samuel sighed softly.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m s-sure. Don’t g-get in his way. Please.”
“Okay. I won’t.” Samuel paused. “Don’t let him push you around, okay?”
Trymdas didn’t answer, and Samuel didn’t insist that he do so. He just stayed with him until they were ready to return to camp. Trymdas didn’t look at his brother, going straight into his tent to sleep. Samuel’s brown eyes met Valkan’s green ones.
“Fuck you.” Valkan growled softly, getting up and going into his tent.
Samuel didn’t bother to reply. He just took up his position to watch over the camp again.
As he peered out over the water, he felt a chill go down his spine, and had the horrible feeling that something bad had happened.
Meanwhile, in his sleep, Tarsen shivered too. He wouldn’t remember it, though.
Only Samuel would remember his horrible suspicion that he had lost a friend. That, compounded with how troubled he was about what Trymdas had said about Valkan, kept him up almost all night.
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Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 07:35 pm (UTC)Don't hate me. <3
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 04:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 09:29 pm (UTC)Oh dear.
But the real question is... Who the hell did Valkan kill before?
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Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 09:37 pm (UTC)Also, just saying...
IF YOU KILL NEIL I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!!!!!! (That was over-exaggerating, but I will probably start crying and there will be no cookies for you!)
And I was like half hoping that Vorna would appear in the Mindcrack base thingamajig after she died, but then I remembered that this is Tana writing this story....
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Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 05:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 12:45 am (UTC)G.C.
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 05:01 am (UTC)And you took the other commenting route from me. I chose to have a long rant, you found a few words and said them with great sincerity. ;) I applaud you.
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 01:13 am (UTC)BUT IF YOU KILL NIEL I WILL MURDER YOU IN YOU SLEEP.
-awkward anon
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 04:53 am (UTC)I want to tell you the people that have to survive, but that will probably just make you kill them. I'm too smart for you!
And it sounds like Valkan is, well, strange. And Trymdas has a good reason to be scared of him.
I think you still get cookies, even though someone died, because it wasn't one of my favorites. (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 05:22 am (UTC)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
/#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 10:35 am (UTC)Taaaaanaaaaaa
Evil is good. Yes
And I still can't remember what the fuck I was going to poke you about regarding Vechs, but eh, whatever
I think it was a good choice of a first death, personally. Killing off one of the stronger team mates is really an eye opener for the others, it really gets across the message that no one is safe.
As always, good chapter!!
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Date: Monday, August 24th, 2015 10:14 pm (UTC):P
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Date: Tuesday, August 25th, 2015 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 25th, 2015 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 25th, 2015 10:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2015 03:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, November 9th, 2015 03:31 am (UTC)I was starting to get bloodthirsty >:3