Post by Lady Hammer on May 1, 2007 11:36:58 GMT -5
(this is one of my shorter chapters)
VII. The Black Ranger Contract
“What are we running from?” Kedo shouted, chasing her breath. Maravandril shoved the Black Book in the watchwoman’s arms and looked behind her, a bad idea brewing in the back of her head. The shadowy apparition grew ever closer with its wispy arms tracing down the hall, and she knew what needed to be done.
“Hold this, keep running, and don’t look back!”
The elf stopped in her tracks and waited for Bootmann, Anna, and Kedo to run past her, which they did reluctantly. Then, she pulled her bow from over her back and licked her lips.
“You’d better go elsewhere, daemon.”
She raised the short, tight strung bow and pulled a white feather-tipped arrow from her quiver. The apparition grew closer.
“You’ve no chance.”
Fitting the arrow, she watched intently as the apparition opened his beast mouth, showing a full set of rancid, shadowy fangs.
“I swear by my homeland, you will not harm this city!”
The arrow flew into the misty black body with a glowing white aura. Digging into its frame. Flying onto the other side of the room. Whistling through the air. The form didn’t show signs of getting up, so she waited until the black form dissipated, and left to the others.
Kedo, Anna, and Bootmann had waited on edgy nerves on a nearby staircase. Flippant, Kedo rushed to Maravandril once she was in sight.
“Mar! Mar, what’s going on?”
Maravandril caught her breath and slung her short bow back over her shoulder. Her eyes were glued to the book in the watchwoman’s hands.
“That book,” she said, wiping a bead of sweat from her head, “that thing wanted the book.”
“What was it?” Anna asked, approaching. She pulled out her dagger. Shrugging, Maravandril shook her head.
“It’s a Black Ranger,” the watchwoman said, almost guiltily. She hung her head low, staring at the floor. “Last year, at January’s training one weekend, Heywood taught us what they were. Briefly. He almost talked about it like… it was the only one.”
“So there’s just one?” Anna asked. Kedo nodded. Skeptically, the thief folded her arms. “So, did they plan this?”
“No!” Kedo shouted, snapping her head up. Her fists clenched tightly. “How dare you say such a thing!”
“Then come up with something else that makes sense!” Anna bit back. Maravandril ignored the two of them, flipping through the Black Book, scowling at the coded words. It could never be just a simple, common language.
“This entire thing is unreadable,” she said. Suddenly, Phio sputtered in his sleep, thrown into another petite seizure. The elf slammed the book shut and handed it to Kedo again. Something else was brewing in her mind again. “You two take this, and take Heywood somewhere safe. Bootmann--” she turned to the brute setting down the small man, “--you go with me. That Black Ranger isn’t gone. Just one of my arrows isn’t that effective.”
“… But…”
“GO!” she shouted. Running with Phio on her back, Kedo led Anna downstairs. Maravandril readied her bow again and caught herself scowling at her own heroic idiocy. “Come on, Bootmann!”
As the elf slowly crept down the hallway, the asylum patient waddled behind her, taking a hard sniff at the air.
“What do you smell?”
“Ghost.”
And suddenly, the dark form erupted in the center of the hall. Little shadows in the form of animals rose from the ground, and at once, the elf knew she was outmatched. Bootmann threw his spoon into a few of the shadowlings, and Maravandril fired an arrow at the Black Ranger. Nothing. Another arrow. Still nothing. As the apparition neared her, the elf licked her lips, trying to figure out why nothing was working. She glanced over to Bootmann, who was waiting for more of the shadowy animals to spring up from the ground.
“Bootmann,” she started. Her voice was weak and shaky. The Black Ranger would strike again, and its eyes started to glow intensely, flickering at her. “Bootmann!” The patient heard her, and stared back at her with dull eyes. She doubted he was actually listening or paying attention, but she beckoned for him and ran down the hallway, rushing away from the screeching apparition as he conjured shadowlings to chase after them.
“I was stupid for playing brave heroine…!” she huffed, skipping steps as she flew down the stairs.
“Those animals were all see-through!” Bootmann said, falling behind, his legs unable to keep up with her. Terrified, the elf grabbed onto his thick wrist.
“Come on!”
The ranger followed them down the stairs and down the next hallway. Calling out for Kedo and Anna, Maravandril looked for where they and Phio could have gone, tearing open doors, wasting as little time as possible. Then, finally, they returned her calling.
“Mar, over here!” Anna yelled, waving the elf and patient over to a secluded room at the very end of the hall.
“Help me!” the elf yelled back. Hearing her plight, Kedo and Anna pulled out their weapons.
Suddenly, the apparition and his shadowlings erupted into hot flames that licked at the walls. Maravandril and the others froze, and when the fire cleared, the fire breather stood with pursed lips and vicious eyes.
“Aeslyn!”
Kedo rushed up to her sister, but Aeslyn’s face was unchanging. She glanced over the party.
“Aeslyn, what’s going on?” the watchwoman asked meekly. While the fire breather took a pause, a clatter from elsewhere in the building reached her earshot.
“There’s been a breakin,” she said. “It’s serious. I’ve been here for awhile now, running back and forth. It started with seven intruders, but I don’t know how many there are now. I ran past a dead red-head just a few minutes ago.”
“I knew it!” Anna suddenly shouted. “I knew we weren’t the only ones stationed for this! That man is a filthy rat!” Aeslyn raised her brow, then looked to Kedo’s sheepish, paling face.
“Well?”
“I was trying to find you! I found all of this information, the information that you wanted me to find this morning, but then the breakin already started because I- well I fell out of a window, but then when I woke up it was dark and I figured the breakin must’ve already started, so I rushed into ARC--”
“And found them?” Aeslyn asked, motioning with her head to Anna, Maravandril, and Bootmann. Then, there was another loud crash, giving the other three no time to get offended with Aeslyn’s comment. Glowering, the older sister took out her torch from her side pack and blew it a flame, its orange hues reflecting in her celadon eyes as she gave one last glance to all of them. “Watch out for Centa.”
And then she was gone.
VII. The Black Ranger Contract
“What are we running from?” Kedo shouted, chasing her breath. Maravandril shoved the Black Book in the watchwoman’s arms and looked behind her, a bad idea brewing in the back of her head. The shadowy apparition grew ever closer with its wispy arms tracing down the hall, and she knew what needed to be done.
“Hold this, keep running, and don’t look back!”
The elf stopped in her tracks and waited for Bootmann, Anna, and Kedo to run past her, which they did reluctantly. Then, she pulled her bow from over her back and licked her lips.
“You’d better go elsewhere, daemon.”
She raised the short, tight strung bow and pulled a white feather-tipped arrow from her quiver. The apparition grew closer.
“You’ve no chance.”
Fitting the arrow, she watched intently as the apparition opened his beast mouth, showing a full set of rancid, shadowy fangs.
“I swear by my homeland, you will not harm this city!”
The arrow flew into the misty black body with a glowing white aura. Digging into its frame. Flying onto the other side of the room. Whistling through the air. The form didn’t show signs of getting up, so she waited until the black form dissipated, and left to the others.
Kedo, Anna, and Bootmann had waited on edgy nerves on a nearby staircase. Flippant, Kedo rushed to Maravandril once she was in sight.
“Mar! Mar, what’s going on?”
Maravandril caught her breath and slung her short bow back over her shoulder. Her eyes were glued to the book in the watchwoman’s hands.
“That book,” she said, wiping a bead of sweat from her head, “that thing wanted the book.”
“What was it?” Anna asked, approaching. She pulled out her dagger. Shrugging, Maravandril shook her head.
“It’s a Black Ranger,” the watchwoman said, almost guiltily. She hung her head low, staring at the floor. “Last year, at January’s training one weekend, Heywood taught us what they were. Briefly. He almost talked about it like… it was the only one.”
“So there’s just one?” Anna asked. Kedo nodded. Skeptically, the thief folded her arms. “So, did they plan this?”
“No!” Kedo shouted, snapping her head up. Her fists clenched tightly. “How dare you say such a thing!”
“Then come up with something else that makes sense!” Anna bit back. Maravandril ignored the two of them, flipping through the Black Book, scowling at the coded words. It could never be just a simple, common language.
“This entire thing is unreadable,” she said. Suddenly, Phio sputtered in his sleep, thrown into another petite seizure. The elf slammed the book shut and handed it to Kedo again. Something else was brewing in her mind again. “You two take this, and take Heywood somewhere safe. Bootmann--” she turned to the brute setting down the small man, “--you go with me. That Black Ranger isn’t gone. Just one of my arrows isn’t that effective.”
“… But…”
“GO!” she shouted. Running with Phio on her back, Kedo led Anna downstairs. Maravandril readied her bow again and caught herself scowling at her own heroic idiocy. “Come on, Bootmann!”
As the elf slowly crept down the hallway, the asylum patient waddled behind her, taking a hard sniff at the air.
“What do you smell?”
“Ghost.”
And suddenly, the dark form erupted in the center of the hall. Little shadows in the form of animals rose from the ground, and at once, the elf knew she was outmatched. Bootmann threw his spoon into a few of the shadowlings, and Maravandril fired an arrow at the Black Ranger. Nothing. Another arrow. Still nothing. As the apparition neared her, the elf licked her lips, trying to figure out why nothing was working. She glanced over to Bootmann, who was waiting for more of the shadowy animals to spring up from the ground.
“Bootmann,” she started. Her voice was weak and shaky. The Black Ranger would strike again, and its eyes started to glow intensely, flickering at her. “Bootmann!” The patient heard her, and stared back at her with dull eyes. She doubted he was actually listening or paying attention, but she beckoned for him and ran down the hallway, rushing away from the screeching apparition as he conjured shadowlings to chase after them.
“I was stupid for playing brave heroine…!” she huffed, skipping steps as she flew down the stairs.
“Those animals were all see-through!” Bootmann said, falling behind, his legs unable to keep up with her. Terrified, the elf grabbed onto his thick wrist.
“Come on!”
The ranger followed them down the stairs and down the next hallway. Calling out for Kedo and Anna, Maravandril looked for where they and Phio could have gone, tearing open doors, wasting as little time as possible. Then, finally, they returned her calling.
“Mar, over here!” Anna yelled, waving the elf and patient over to a secluded room at the very end of the hall.
“Help me!” the elf yelled back. Hearing her plight, Kedo and Anna pulled out their weapons.
Suddenly, the apparition and his shadowlings erupted into hot flames that licked at the walls. Maravandril and the others froze, and when the fire cleared, the fire breather stood with pursed lips and vicious eyes.
“Aeslyn!”
Kedo rushed up to her sister, but Aeslyn’s face was unchanging. She glanced over the party.
“Aeslyn, what’s going on?” the watchwoman asked meekly. While the fire breather took a pause, a clatter from elsewhere in the building reached her earshot.
“There’s been a breakin,” she said. “It’s serious. I’ve been here for awhile now, running back and forth. It started with seven intruders, but I don’t know how many there are now. I ran past a dead red-head just a few minutes ago.”
“I knew it!” Anna suddenly shouted. “I knew we weren’t the only ones stationed for this! That man is a filthy rat!” Aeslyn raised her brow, then looked to Kedo’s sheepish, paling face.
“Well?”
“I was trying to find you! I found all of this information, the information that you wanted me to find this morning, but then the breakin already started because I- well I fell out of a window, but then when I woke up it was dark and I figured the breakin must’ve already started, so I rushed into ARC--”
“And found them?” Aeslyn asked, motioning with her head to Anna, Maravandril, and Bootmann. Then, there was another loud crash, giving the other three no time to get offended with Aeslyn’s comment. Glowering, the older sister took out her torch from her side pack and blew it a flame, its orange hues reflecting in her celadon eyes as she gave one last glance to all of them. “Watch out for Centa.”
And then she was gone.
