Blood and Gold: Chapter 19

[jiminee]

Hello
Its me again, here with actual, serious writing ;P
New character introduced this chapter, and other things happen.
Chapter list | Map

Vechs feels the cool metal of the dagger in his bag as he leaves the city once again and heads home. Blame is there when he gets inside, sitting back against the wall and drinking in silence as the others sit around the table, talking.

“Hi Vechs,” he says as Vechs comes in. Vechs heads to where Nebris sits, playing cards against Etho with a concentrated frown on his face, a pile of gold coins gleaming on the table beside them.
“Nebris,” Vechs says. “I got you something.” He tosses the dagger in front of the man and smiles as he picks it up.
“We all need these,” Vechs explains as he inspects its finely crafted blade.
“Thank you!” Nebris says with a grin.
“I’m aware you were,” Vechs searches for a word, “borrowing Blame’s. Now that’s only for self-defence in desperate situations. We try not to make a habit of hurting people.”

Nebris nods, glancing towards Etho.
“I expect you have your own weapons, Etho,” Vechs says. Etho nods distractedly as he slaps a hand of cards on the table between he and Nebris. As Nebris stares in anger, Etho pulls the pile of coins towards himself with a smile.
Vechs returns to where Blame is and whispers. “Did you manage to convince Guude?”
Blame shoots him a look. “Not now, Vechs.”
Vechs stands up and gets himself a drink and sits back down beside Aureylian.
“Do you all want to hear a funny story?” he asks, and continues talking before anyone says anything. “When I went and got that dagger, there was a man in the weapons shop who told me, ‘this place is rotting from the inside out from all the crime’. I agreed with him as I slipped that dagger into my bag. Oh the irony.” He chuckles. “But I suppose he’s used to that sort of thing.”
“I’m sure,” Aureylian says quietly. “It’s so easy to steal in this city.” She puts down her cup and stands up. “I’m going outside.”

Aureylian walks through the forest. At first she’s just wandering aimlessly but eventually sets a course for the desert. She hasn’t seen much of it and would like to, despite hearing only bad things about it.
The edge of the forest slopes down as it turns into scrubby plants that soon die out into the smooth ocean of sand. Aurey sits against a tree, and looks back at the light of Corax gently brightening as the sky dims. It looks so perfect from this distance, all gold and glowing with the palace crowning it at the peak of the hill. She squints and it blurs, the trees that cross her vision vertically slicing up the image.
It really is true what they call the city, she muses. Blood and gold. Like a pile of dead bodies hidden under a heaping of wealth, nothing good can come on what its built on. The rich can afford to forget what their gold came from.

“Thanks for getting me this,”
Vechs is lying in his hammock staring at nothing in particular when Nebris’ voice makes him jump.
“Oh. Hi Nebris.”
“Sorry, did I scare you? I’ll go.”
“No, no. It’s okay.” Vechs rolls onto his side. “Was there something you want to talk about?”
Nebris is standing in the doorway holding his knife. At Vechs’ movement he steps into the room and sits down on the floor. “Can we kick Etho out?”
“Huh?” Vechs almost laughs. “No. Or, go ask Zisteau.”
Nebris looks like he’s already set on doing just that, and Vechs actually laughs. “I was just kidding. Listen – it happens. You’re going to have a problem with him, but that’s how it goes. Just learn to live with him or something.”
Nebris sighs. “He irritates me. And that makes me want to kill him.”
“Please don’t kill him. That would not be helpful to anybody here.”
“’Side from me,” Nebris mutters.
Vechs stares Nebris in the eye. “Listen, just go release your frustrations elsewhere. Just not on your teammate.”
Nebris nods, then stands up and flops into his own hammock, exhausted enough to fall asleep instantly.

I’m not really ready to do this, am I?
Aureylian purses her lips at the question resounding in her own brain, still watching the city. She could move now, get up but why not stay here? It’s better with the fresh air, despite the chill of late evening that is beginning to fall through the forest and roll down on the desert.
And it’s away from the tension. The terrible terrible tension she senses rising among her friends, between Blame and Zisteau, and between Etho and Nebris. Though she thinks they will last for a long time, Naziv will, and they’ve been through what’s felt like hell together, she still worries. With two more members than usual, too, it’s harder to manage the emotions.
Aurey lies down on the sand, her hair spilling into it like a bright river. Stars glimmer above, easier to see without the leaves obscuring them. Aurey watches as they brighten in the darkening sky, her eyes growing heavy.

A Coraci man’s backpack bulges with instruments and books. Perhaps too heavy for such a short trip, but he deems all the items necessary as he makes one last inventory check and hoists the pack onto his back. It aches immediately, and he considers leaving all his things behind. But no, he wants to make this experience, a rare night off from working, as fulfilling as possible.
He thinks he’s on the verge of a breakthrough, but he can’t be sure. Work takes up too much time, and besides, Kurt doesn’t want to be as presumptuous to believe that his little hobby is worth anything to the world.
But he’s never met anybody as interested in the stars as he is. Maybe it’s just the nature of the Coraci to trust in old values and not question the nature of the wider world, but Kurt does. He’s developed his own ideas, his own beliefs about the bodies in the sky. He might be totally wrong; he muses as he sets off down the lit main street of Corax city.

The desert is best for starwatching although Kurt, like most with any sense, fears the venomous scorpions that reside in the sands. Again like most he’s heard the rumours, the old stories that are always passed around – like the one that no scorpions are even left in the desert because the Prince had them all exterminated. Kurt doesn’t believe this. He doesn’t believe much of the mythology that surrounds the Prince.
He is an easy target, Kurt knows. Having retreated into the palace over sixteen years ago and only making a few public appearances in that time, Prince Einar is an old, private and mysterious leader that the citizens of Corax have taken to spinning strange tales around. Some say he is immortal, and will never age. Some say he ordered all members of his court to never leave the palace. Some say he is a perpetrator of Corax’s rampant crime himself, disguising himself as a vagabond and running around the streets in plain view.
Kurt doesn’t believe a word of these things that are told. So he always treads carefully in the desert, watching his feet for scorpions as he starwatches.

Out the gate of the crowded city a worn path stretches into the desert, fading into the sand a short way from the gate. Kurt turns off it immediately; he’s learnt that the light of the city obscures the light of the stars. At the edge of the desert, the forest blocks Corax some, making starwatching easier. It’s cold now, and Kurt is thankful for the warm coat he’s wearing.
He walks along the desert staying close to the trees, searching for a flat spot on which to set up his things. He’s scanning the tree line when something catches his eye. There’s a figure up on the hill, prone as if dead and Kurt cautiously steps up onto the slope.

People don’t tend to come out here. Aside from Kurt they stick to the city, and only really leave if travelling to Mes or elsewhere by river. They definitely don’t come out to the desert, or even the forest much, unless travelling to or from Lyren. And those people also stick to the path.
Kurt cautiously walks up the slope until it’s clear that the lying-down figure is a sleeping woman. He guesses she didn’t mean to fall asleep. As he wonders whether to wake her, Kurt frowns at her face. He’s sure he recognizes her from somewhere, but he swears he’s never met her before. As he’s scrutinizing the woman’s face, he sees something that makes his heart stop for a second.
There’s a scorpion in the sand by her arm, deadly tail poised to strike. Kurt doesn’t hesitate and steps forward, bringing his foot down on the creature.

Aureylian’s eyes pop open, and there’s a strange man standing above her looking concerned. She sits up hurriedly, shaking sand from her hair and grinning apologetically.
The man is wearing a long coat and has a large backpack on his back.
“I’m sorry, I was out here and I fell asleep. I must have been a strange sight,” Aureylian says. “Uh. Hi, I’m A- Mere.”
The man stares at her for a long time before saying, “There was a scorpion, I just killed it. You really shouldn’t fall asleep by the desert, it’s dangerous. Those scorpions are fatal.”
“Whoops,” Aurey says. “Well thanks for that.”

“I’m Kurt,” the man says in a soft voice. “Anyway I’m sorry, I’ll uh, get back to what I was doing.”
‘What are you doing?”
“I’m, er, starwatching,” Kurt says. “I just, like looking at the stars but recently I’ve taken an interest in charting them and, I think there’s more out there that we can ever know. I think people don’t spend enough time looking at the skies…” Kurt’s voice fades away as he trails off. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok,” Aurey says. “I really shouldn’t be here. I just needed to get away from my friends, there’s been tension. And, we’re planning something that I’m really nervous about, but I haven’t told anyone that.” She laughs. “Now I’m babbling.”
“It’s ok,” he says. “I guess you’re new here, though.”
Aurey stands up, frowning. She doesn’t want to give too much away to Kurt about what she’s doing here, but she is curious.  “How can you tell?”
“Most Coraci don’t venture outside the city walls unless they’re going somewhere. Aside from me, of course.”
“Why not?”
Kurt pauses. “Let’s just call the people in this city very… traditional. There’s a lot of fear circulating within those walls. People think if they leave they’ll get jumped by bandits, or stung by scorpions, or caught in a sandstorm.” He laughs nervously. “Not entirely unfounded of course, but there’s just as much misconception perpetrated by the people of Corax as there is about the city itself.”
Kurt stops suddenly, and looks down at his feet. “I’ll go now. Goodbye Mere.”
Aurey smiles. “Bye Kurt!”
The man walks back off into the desert and Aureylian turns towards the darkening forest, walking slowly.

“Oh hi Aurey, there you are,” Zisteau says as she comes back in. “We need to have another meeting.”
“Really? Now?”
Zisteau nods. The rest of the group is gathered around the table, sipping drinks and Aurey sits down.
“Right. Tomorrow we are going to the Underground again to meet with Bdubs. He’s going to show us the tunnel that we’re extending. We might have to begin digging tomorrow too. And also…”
Zisteau stops to fix an eye on Nebris. “I feel there’s been rising tensions among certain members of this group. I’d like for that not to interfere with our plans, so please resolve that in a way that’s not going to screw up the dynamics of Naziv, or else you risk being kicked out.”
Nebris looks down, brows drawn over his bright eyes. Evidently he’s not happy but says nothing.
“Thank you.”

Comments

[ruddiestbubbles]

Hmmm I feel Kurt will play an important part in this. I know this is very unlikely to happen, but I want Kurt to be in on this and when they get into the castle they end up running into the prince, who is actually Zisteau and blah blah blah stuff happens and SMS is a thing and so is Nebtho and Blame the Vechs and everything is happily ever after. Like I said, very unlikely.

[(Anonymous)]

So now we have Kurt, who could fit into this a number of different ways, and who knows what Generic is doing, plus we don't really know what Guude is going to do... This is an interesting tale that you're weaving. I look forward to seeing how it plays out. So many possible directions... Have a cookie (::) (::) (or two)
-Observing Anon

[jiminee]

*takes cookies*
thank you! c:

[scara]

A new dynamic has appeared indeed.

[tdscott8]

Theory that the prince has either been dead for a long time, or is Jarool.