Memories of Soule
Collab between Fallenreaper, Alphakoka & Kestrel
Vignar gave a nod to Emily after he took the medical supplies off her and started to slowly tend to his wounds as she went off to check the pulley. He fumbled with the bandage and would end with a rather sloppy bandaging unless he was helped. Afterward, he groaned as he stood and dragged himself to where Emily was to see if there's anything he could help with. Not exactly the most conversational person, Vignar bluntly offered his help before adding a concern right afterward. "Ah, I have a question if you don't mind answering… why exactly is the dragon matriarch seemed to be angry with you?"
Emily looked at him, her eyes flittered to where Cerberus' image settled in the sand and laid. The spirit had been mercifully quiet the whole day as she tugged the rope connected to the crank once or twice. At Vignar's words, she lifted her eyes and glanced at him. "The Mission Mother of the Dunes, we were originally sent out to see what happened to a team on a mission to capture a drake. They never returned and the Library wanted to know what happened. Our second task was capturing one alive if possible. Early in, we were ambushed and Ramza, our team leader, was nearly torn to pieces. I made a choice, my teammate's life or the drake's. You can guess which I chose."
Her eyes seemed lose their focus in the memory as she recollected the details, Cerberus' middle head fixed on her and made her skin bump with awareness. Emily took a deep breath before continuing, "It turns out the drakes weren't just animals acting on instinct and misguidance, but her children. An infant who didn't know better. The earlier team sent were supposed to prevent it, it was why they were kept alive, but they were too late when they arrived. We met the dragon and Cerberus was the only one that could understand her, speaking a language none of us knew. I made the mistake of trusting my spirit, even with his grim view on death. I don't recall over half what I repeated but afterwards, she set the caravan on fire and over a third of them died. Men, women, and even a few children all screamed while being burned alive. Because I trusted Cerberus, I killed them… I won't make that mistake again."
Cerberus tensed, his figure rose and padded to the pair's direction. His voice rippled through both Fran's and Vignar's spirits when he spoke, knowing Emily would not relay his own words.
After our last encounter, I don't think reason would've worked now. She was far too gone in grief to listen like my own. Her children, however, will suffer the consequences if she rages war with the world. An ending I've sadly seen before and faced myself.
"That's… So sad." Fran whimpered, not knowing better words to use for all her recommendations as orator. She'd seen deaths as statistics before, but the guilt she could hear Emily bear tore at her heart. She clenched her fists to fight back the tears, causing too much salves to slip from her hands onto Diane's wounds. It was a good thing the poor girl was unconscious.
"Oh, no!" She yelped, as Fran half-hazardly began to try and rub the spilled medicine off of Diane with the blankets. . Though it wasn't as if she could focus doing so well. Fran's shaking hands had wasted quite some of their supplies.
Hah, you should've pursued and killed the dragon, Vignar's spirit growled.
Vignar frowned to himself, "I..see," he said, looking at Emily and Fran. "Still, why would she send us away to this place then?"
DOESN'T MATTER, REST, RECOVER, WE HAVE A DRAGON TO HUNT! Dovahkiin shouted.
Emily bent down, deciding to help Fran some, than answered Vignar. "I don't know, Vignar. I don't even know how she knew of Soule, which she hissed clear as day, and it seemed she knew more than just its name. It worries me of how or why… Soule is a closed off community. Not even the Hub has complete information on it. The only reasons they know it exists is because of trade and the fact most the youth end up working for the Library."
Once, with a little help, Diane's wounds had been treated, Fran sat upright and swatted the sweat off of her forehead. It'd gotten really cold, as she offered Diane back up to Emily for the rook to carry.
"Emily, can I ask you… Where we are going?" Fran said, having finally calmed herself a little, "It seems like you are following some sort of direction… Not that I'm complaining of course."
Emily reached out for Diane's still figure and lifted in order to slouch over her back. The rook pulled the rope to secure the two woman at the waist and at the shoulders, crisscrossing the ropes until she was certain she wouldn't lose her passed out teammate. While she double checked the ropes, the woman answered casually, "Downward. Soule is below us and built into the cliff face where there's little entrances into the actual homes. I grew up learning to climb before I could walk and it's a skill I'm very adapt at. How are your climbing skills?"
"Not so good." Fran admitted.
"It will be fine, Fran." Emily tried to sound more encouraging than she felt inside.
Emily had chosen not to scold or reprimand the woman's sloppiness at wasting the supplies, namely as they all had a lot on their minds. Shouting wouldn't do anyone a bit of good though frustration seeped in her core and likely showed on the outside. Over and over, her mind kept thinking about what the Dragoness had said and inwardly the dread had started to flood her insides. What sort of test would she face when she finally got down there? Emily recalled the sneer words of her home pass through the Dune mother's teeth followed by the werecat's pitied expression, namely when the beast had been so spiteful to her earlier and only at the words uttered by the dragon did that sudden change. Something that made Emily's middle harden like a rock thinking about. She hoped this mission didn't end in worse tragedy than others before this...else this might finally shatter her and leave her empty finally.
"The cliff side?" Vignar breathed, "Why there?"
"According to legend, my people were plagued by beasts in the desert for centuries until one small child followed the trail of a poisonous, double headed lizard and discovered Soule's birth place. Since then, we lived alongside them and the Shif, a fanged underground land fish, growing an immunity over time and co-existing. It also provides protection against the harsher sand storms in this region. If you haven't noticed, those domes are cracked and beaten. Not suitable to protect against tons of sand pouring in around you and risk being buried alive. In addition it helps keep our village isolated from strangers who don't know or understand Soule's ways," Emily said as she turned about, her body crouched down by the crank to check its function for the climb. She tugged at the rope feeling it hold under her strength surprisingly well, even when it stressed from the pressure applied.
"That seems a bit…" Vignar started before stopping and shook his head. It was far for him to comment on other settlements' eccentricities. That they actually received safety from them probably made Soule a 'kinder'... A brief glance at Emily and Vignar dropped that train of thought.
Fran was more than a little nervous about climbing into an isolated village exclusive to people who had adapted to poison, but the looming night was more than sufficient of a threat to motivate her as it crawled higher up her skin with every passing second. She watched Emily closely, but was a little worried about Vignar's condition. "Can you climb, Vignar?" Fran asked the bishop. "And how do we get Diane down?" Fran sincerely wondered. Surely Emily be strong enough to carry her, but could they get Diane down so easily?
"If I take it slow and nothing happened," Vignar replied to Fran. He was wondering the same, but seeing the crank, the bishop guessed that it was likely that Emily were going to use it to lower the unconscious woman down.
In the distance, the landscape seemed to begin to move. Breezes were beginning to move the piled up sand in small doses, lifting them up briefly before laying down again. It hardly looked like the kind of storm that would dent rock, but Fran had read a little about the desert… And the sight had her a little worried.
"When is it ready?" she asked Emily. "I have a feeling we have to go soon."
"Almost," Emily said as she answered, her eyes flickered to spot the same warning signs Fran had, "Right now we're running out of time."
She ripped out several feet of rope and handed it to Vignar, then trailed to Fran. "I'll have to carry her down with me. The bad part, this usually takes four people and all them good climbers. Out of the three of us, I'm the most experienced and likely in the best shape. So I'll be carrying most the weight, however, I need both of you down there before me and one of you inside a home to help pull Diane inside. The winds will be starting shortly. So, Vignar, take that end, tie it around your waists and then you start down. You'll be establishing our path. Fran follow him close, taking the same path he does. Keep a few feet length between you two on the way so if someone falls, the other and I will have time to brace and anchor you until you regain a grip. I'll follow after one of you are firmly inside a home. Near the door, there's a hook and line, including a belt. Attach the belt is first thing you do once inside and that will keep you from falling out when you lean out to help the other in."
Fran nodded in understanding, even though she had to run Emily's instructions through her head repeatedly to actually comprehend them. Like with the medicine, she felt her hands tremble with every pull of the rope. She was worried she wouldn't tie the ropes tight enough, or descend safely. The idea of having to regain a grip itself was frightening enough for her. Fran tried her best to copy Emily and Vignar.
"Are you ready?" Fran asked Vignar, a little concerned still. "If anything happens, I'll do my best to help." She promised her fellow bishop, but Fran was not too sure if she actually could.
Vignar gave a nod to Emily and took the rope from her. Tying the end of the rope around him twice, to make sure it won't came off, Vignar took a few steps back as he judged the amount of rope between him and Fran. "As I'll ever be," he replied to the female Bishop as he peered over the cliff and checked for footing and their destination. "This will be an interesting experience at the very least."
Finding what he believed would be an easy path for him to traverse, the bishop cautiously started his descent. He had to stop several times to assure his bearings and slipped his footing just as many times, although his enhanced strength gave him a lot more leeway on such mistakes it was still a nerve wracking experience.
Emily watched Vignar. Her eyes flickered and followed his path with ease, noting the problem immediately as the wind started to blow across the open area. He was heading too far one direction. Granted the path was safer but it left a gap about two to three full grown men wide, too far for the bishop to safely leap over to without falling to his death. Gingerly leaning over the cliff edge, Emily's voice shouted to her teammate as she cupped her mouth to enhance her voice through the building storm. "Vignar, you're heading left too much. Seek some holdings to the right else getting to the entrance will be tricky."
By this time, Fran should've been ready to head down leaving Emily alone.
Vignar glanced up where Emily was after hearing her voice before looking down to his left and right. Noticing that he was indeed heading too much, he gave back a nod before trying to shimmy right. Finally, he reached the entrance and heaved himself in, where he momentarily laid down on the floor with trembling hands and knees. Then he remembered Emily's instruction and moved to wear one of the belt on the wall, afterward he peered outside and waved. He tried to yell but his voice was lost against the wind.
PATHETIC, A voice echoed in his head.
Scaling the rock wall was an excercise no kinder to Fran as it was to Vignar. She had killed her nerves, but couldn't will herself to be skilled at climbing. She fared far slower than Vignar and the gap between them widened. She heard the man yelling, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Not that it mattered, there was nothing Fran could do for Vignar. She could barely handle herself. Tightening her focus, Fran continued to descend. Slowly, but surely.
Emily was relieved when Vignar made it into the hole and, she hoped, followed her instruction to strap himself in. He had done well for his first climb though it was likely to be his last. Thankfully the sand storm would've been enough to chase many of the dyhra deep into the homes and so, unless he was foolish enough to explore instead of help, the chances of him being attack was fairly low. For some reason the the lizards had learn centuries ago to fear the storms though no one knew why or bothered to learn, merely they all accepted it to be nature.
Watching Fran's slower climb edge only down a fourth the way, the wind above started to whip harder and faster. The sand hissed across the almost flat surface on the cliff top while the wind tried to shove the rook off. Instinctively and stubbornly, Emily dug her heel into the sand only feel herself move an inch against her will. Her hand tightened about the rope until it felt like it would burn her palm, rubbing on the skin and making it red, causing her to grind her teeth harder. She wasn't going to last much longer up here unless, forcing her to react much sooner than she wanted. Wasting no more time, Emily turn her back to the edge and cautiously lowered down, her gauntlets summoned over her arms to use as makeshift hooks.
It when she just gotten her legs over the edge, when the wind gust grew in strength. The sand kicked up into her face causing her body to fly backwards. Nothing was between her and plummeting to the bottom as gravity took hold, much faster then expected to her surprise. Impulsively her arm flail out, jerking back and thrusting forward, the blades making a loud sound when the steel grinded across the rock face.
"Shit!" Emily cursed as her right shoved forward and smacked right into the cliff side.
It only bounced off sending her skittering to the location Vignar had mistakenly wandered towards earlier. Her fingers scrambled to recover, their flesh torn and bleeding with each failed grip, while the rope did little to stop her rapid fall. Her bare feet stung when she tried to use them and only were cut on the rocks, sending a few minor pebbles to scatter over Fran when Emily barely missed colliding into her. Pain roared through her shoulder when abruptly her fall came to a full stop, her arm strained when it was forced to hold her body in place. Unsure what had saved her, the rook looked up to see her gauntlet had managed to wedge itself firmly in an oversize gap and now she hung from it dangerously just several feet under Fran.
'Don't gawk there all day. Start climbing… Cerberus' voice spoke gruffly into her head, nearly causing Emily to jump out of her skin. Her eyes spotted him outside the corner, her heart racing, and standing on air to glare at her.
'I very much doubt your luck will hold out so...MOVE! NOW!
Unable to explain what happened, Emily's mind snapped from her shock and her feet started to dislodge the stick fast gauntlet. It would take a bit of time before she managed it, unsure how this happened, but not questioning it too much.
"Emily!" Fran shouted the rook's name, as she stretched out her hand towards the woman. Yet the winds were ruthless. They picked up speed and the young woman with it. Fran's single-handed grip couldn't compete with the force of nature. She couldn't reach for Emily and now she couldn't even reach for the rope. Fran plummeted down, much like Emily before her.
Vignar was surprised to see his two team-mates lose their grip and started falling. They were both too far for him to reach safely and the wind blew them away from the shelter. As the male Bishop registered it in his mind, the rope tied to his waist tightened from Fran's momentum and started to drag him. It was only the safety latch and the close distance to the frame that he didn't end up falling and managed to grab the side of the entrance with a hand.
Vignar's grip was the only thing that kept Fran from falling to her death. When she smacked against the rough rock wall, it felt like something cracked inside of her body. The sandstorm masked but didn't muffle the loud thump, again and again, as Fran was torn off and slammed back into the stones like the sandstorm's personal plaything. Desperately she tried to claw at a hold, tearing the skin off her hands as she did. When Fran finally managed to latch on and dragged herself back against the wall, part of her wished Vignar had cut the rope loose. Sharp pains coursed through her, and she could swear she had broken a rib. She could see blood for her eyes, as it mixed with tears. Fran couldn't scream, she could barely hold on. She remained on the wall stifled. Crippled with fear..
Emily's heart stopped for a moment, her fingers ached and bleeding, evidence of her rapid climb down to reach Fran. It wasn't easy with the wind batting her about and threatening to toss her from the very wall, her body literally lifted off causing her bite back a startled cry. She didn't want Vignar to assume she was going to fall too. The sand and grit found itself way into her throat, scratching the inside and preventing her from shouting out something to sooth Fran. The storm had rushed in faster than the rook expected making it harder to adapt while she slowly continued her way down.
Inch by inch it felt like hours passed against the howling winds, Emily's muscles flaring in protest against the ill practiced motion. Her head tilted so often to estimate her location and squint through the stinging sands, noting where Vignar was, still using her claws to keep her fingers from bleeding. She was winded and sweating, her body sore thanks to the quick pace when she reached right beside the bishop. He was busy using himself as an anchor causing her to have to remove Diana herself.
Angling her claws, her fingers gripped the crease within the rock, testing until she was sure it was firm enough to hold her weight, when she let the gauntlets vanish. Her body jerked and her teeth bit into her lip, strangling a cry. Emily focused, letting the smoke reform and become her knife. She pushed herself enough to make a small space where her arm could fit. The blade was ideal to allow her something to dangle from and still free hand, allowing her to both rebalance Vignar then swing Diana into the gap. Freeing her up to retrieve Fran.
She stabbed the blade in next to her fingers before shifting both hands to grip the handle, her left leg braced against the rocky surface. Being pretty much on the door's edge had its perks and her right hand cautiously reached out to seize Vignar's arm. Her eyes looked at him once, waiting a few seconds for him to brace, before fingers wrapped about it tightly and suddenly jerking it abruptly to the door's inside. She only hoped he had time enough to realize what was going to happen. It seemed-even when her companion's lives hung on a thread- Emily still refused to request Cerberus' aid revealing how broken her trust in her spirit had become.
Emily's help couldn't come at a better time as Vignar couldn't recover his balance on his own. Her hand helped Vignar steady himself and he nodded to her in appreciation before being pushed back into the room.
When Vignar finally rebalanced himself, her hand released him. The one she was dangling from started to feel the stress of ach spread through the muscles, causing her to grit her teeth and ignore it. Slowly she started to push with her right leg making her swing to and fro. Once, twice and a third time she started to move closer to the hold before she re-summoned her dagger. Black smoke wisped and twisted, forming once more into a solid weapon within her free hand. On the last push to the hole, Emily made one sudden jerk and she slashed the blade across her chest. It easily severed the ropes while she swing the unconscious bishop into the doorway.
Wasting little time and weight off her back, Emily started to once again move down the rock face. Without Diana on her back, the rook easily made her way down despite the buffing wind sending sand into her face and roaring in her ears. It took some navigating to reach Fran but at last, coming beside her, Emily reached down and snagged the Librarian's hand. With all the strength she had, the rook lifted her up, pulling the woman onto her shoulder where she secured her. Once more the rook moved upward as she reached the hole, she reached out for Vignar to quickly pull her up and in. Which the bishop did.
"Thanks," Vignar whispered as they all caught their breath. "Should we rest here for a bit?"
