(RPG) The tale begins...

[beowuuf]

Almulsis has been a journeyman for a long time, and yet still feels the thrill of a conglomeration of people such as this, even when the village is dying down for the evening. Not bound as tightly by the great houses in the big cities, an honest settlement of convienience that has burst its banks as trade and commerce and travel have enriched them.

A settlement where knowledge and tales and information can be found and traded under anonymity in friendly comfort. And where other powers can be found too. Almulsis feels the prickle of a mage near, perhaps a shop or local sage. He makes a mental note to come back, but tries to stay focused on his target, even though the sprawl of people and creatures thta has passed through here makes it harder.

He feels seperate prickles as if being watched as he comes to the start of the village proper. He looking about for late groups which could be the source, or could be questioned to help his search.

[Ameena]

Ameena spots the familiar cloaked shape of Almulsis as he comes into view, walking down the road into the village. As a few people begin to light torches so as to see their way around, darkness cloaks the rest of the village in shadows.
After waiting a few moments more, Ameena slips down from the tree and softly approaches one of the houses at the edge of the village. There are few people about now, but those who are still out seem to be those who would keep to the shadows themselves. Ameena looks carefully around, ensuring that there is no-one near her. Satisfied that no-one is watching, she looks up the wall of the nearest building, regarding the roof.
A quick trip later, Ameena crouches on the sloping roof of the house, night-ready eyes easily picking out the figure of Almulsis. She remains motionless, shadowed by the now-black sky above.

[Sera]

sera, rather unstable about going into a village, stops rather distantly from the edge of the village, she feels that her appearance may cause panic among the people there, she sighs, only to watch both of them go forth into the village, she turns away, thinking she would best stay away, but not too far, so she can return to them when they decide to leave the village and continue on.0sera fades slowly into the foliage around her, keeping eyes on almulsis.

(you can carry on without me from here, ive kept you waiting long enough, ill just make a random appearance, i am watching you both, just in a position where you both can carry on without waiting for me.)

[beowuuf]

(OOC: Heh, sorry, back in the RPG mood, so thought I'd try out a post - anyone interested? : ) )

Almulsis can feel the flow of the area and is concerned. For a place this size, without any worries, there should be more people around. Perhaps they fear the reapers... but in that case you would expect the place to be completely deserted, and the area to feel afraid. There is a lack of concern, as much as a lack of bodies.

Almulsis dodges the occasional group or nods from afar. He is amused to feel a prescence on the edge of his consciousness. He hopes he is not imagining things...he hopes it is his dark cloaked companion keeping a watch on him.

He hopes this even more as his feet finally lead him to where this town flows. It is on the other edge of the place, but it is certainly the centre. A large if plain building, solidly constructed with towering plain oak doors. They are open, welcoming, and yet Almulsis feels nothing but rejection. He knows it will cost him energy and will merely to step forward beyond the boundary.

Yet here is where all the townsfolk seem to have gathered tonight. Here seems to be a place where mysteries might be solved.

Here is the temple.

[Ameena]

OOC - Hooray

BIC - Ameena moves swiftly and with practiced ease through the shadows, passing across the rooves of the houses and completely out of sight to those below, since no torchlight reaches up this far. She tracks the progress of Almulsis, keeping him in view as she flits from shadow to shadow, watching as he approaches a building larger than the others.

[beowuuf]

Almulsis needs to pretend to adjust his pack to hide his lack of movement as another group appears. He bows his head low and whispering a friendly greeting to conceal his lack of face, shadowed as it is in a headscarf. He decides to bend down to the ground and adjust his laces.

Looking in he can see the initial opening into the temple is the whole area - no anteroom, it is a giant hall. Either there are no seats, or no one is using them - everyone stands, talking amongst themselves. In the distance is soemthing upraised above the heads of the crowd, maybe a pulpit or dias. He also realises there must be windows high on the roof, as strange silvery beams of light are touching the edges of darkened corners - the moon is high tonight.

[Ameena]

Ameena crouches low as a cloud moves to reveal the shining moon, far above. It is bright tonight, but the clouds should provide fair cover, since there are a lot of them. Still, she has no intention of taking chances - she remains motionless until the moon is hidden again, and then darts across another roof and crouches in a sheltered spot, where further moonlight will not touch her. From this vantage, she can still see the large doors outside which Almulsis is standing. She glances at his red gemstone pendant with mild curiosity, wondering again what it is for, but then lowers her hand and focuses on the cloaked one, continuing to watch his actions from on high.

[beowuuf]

Almulsis realises he cannot wait any longer, some people from inside are looking out. He can't rely on their light stopping them from seeing his form looking in.

He raises himself, breathes in and out slowly, then makes to walk forward. He allows himself one final hesitation, and looks around whichly. He makes a few small gestures with his hand, as if shooing away something. Ameena may have thought thye were to here if they weren't made so low and he was not facing away from her.

He nods to himself satisfied and steps boldly if more and more stiffly up the stairs and into the torchlight, crowds, and general air of carefree optomism that seems to radiate from the temple

[Ameena]

Ameena merely watches in silence as Almulsis enters the building. She keeps her eyes on the doors, almost like a predator waiting for her prey to emerge.

[beowuuf]

Ah well, let's try expanding this to a story/RPG then! OOps, bit of a long weird post - ah well, here it is!

"Ah, another brother joins us! Please, shake take you robes off, be warmed here, join us!"
Almulsis instantly tenses at the attention, good natured as it is for now. He bows pressing his hands together rocking backwards and forwards on his heels like some mute old timer, happy to be here. He also ensures he settles into the back of the crowd, behind a pillar and in the worst position for any to see him.

It makes it difficult to see the priest who is talking at the front, but Almulsis is willing to take this chance. A few moments later he wishes he had not made that gamble, could see the man better, for he does not sound like any priest he has ever seen in his long life - he feels more liek a street performer, a showman.

"My brothers my sisters, my fellow dwellers in Taimadu!" speaks the voice with rich, strong words and a happy tone. "Welcome one and all, young and old, those believing the message and those merely wishing to give thanks to the effects it has brought - praise us all here tonight!"

There was a slight trickle from the back of the crowd, uncertain how to react. However the forward crowds raised their voices enough for them all. Almulsis could imagine the waving hands of the man, his depreciating smile, looking to calm the crowd without - of course - wishing the crowd to do anything of the sort.

"I have the Message, as I have heard it, from the High Priest of Poukal. The Message that has kept us safe, kept us sane, in this trying time. Great Houses..." the front crowd jeered and sneered, and again Almulsis could imagine the magnanamous hands waving to quieten their less than worthy words. "The Great Houses tremble in fear where we stand here, tonight, in joy! The Great Houses watch their barriers and barracades fail to the shadow of death while a child could stand at the edge of our village, watch the stars and moon in perfect safety."

Some more and the back had to nod, while some at the front vocalised their joy with words of praise.

"The Message is clear - and it is obvious my brothers, my sisters, my journiers through life! It is obvious whether administered by those like our glorious High Priest, or whether administered to those who do not listen, by the Reapers themselves."
The crowd is uncertain how to react at the mention of these creatures - the worst swear word some older members could have heard uttered. The priest must have sensed this, must have smiled, because a low mummer of agreement started to trickle fro mthe front, a small chant the man himself must have been leading.

"The Message, the Message, the Message, the Message, the Message..."
"Man must be strong, must be of the earth!"
"The Message, the Message..." more took up the chant.
"Man must turn from interfering with nature, with that which has carried on for eons without his wretched twisting and investigations!"
"The Message, the Message, the Message..." again said by more.
"Man must put aside magic and the ether for his fellow man and the community in this world!"
"The Message, the Message..." The back of the crowd were not quite there yet, but the front crowd were getting louder.
"Man must ensure nature is protected as he lives in harmony with it, stop those who would interfer!"
"The Message, the Message..." those at the back started murmering it, nodding.
"He must stop those who are against nature..."
"The Message, the Message..."
"Those who are outwith nature... "
"The Message..." stronger nods, not a mouth did not chant.
"Those dull creatures who nature has spurned! Those dull in mind who nature is punishing!"
"The Message, the Message..." Smug tones resonated in the crowd.
"Those wrong in form and wrong in mind both must be removed...
"The Message, the Message..." said the crowd in total belief.
"We must work to protect out borders, and push to end those that that taunt nature with their very twisted prescence and twisted magics!"
"The Message, the Message..."
"We must ensure that only those of us who are spared from the Reaper, those of us who believe, those of our race and beliefs, are allowed to continue in our quest"
"The Message, the Message..."
"Only then can we join with nature..."
"The Message, the Message,"
..".and be one in soul..."
"The Message, the Message..."
"...forever!"
"The Message!" said all the crowd, then stopped. Almulsis's blood had already run cold. The silence was like a physical blow.

And through the crowd, around the pillar, the priest on his pedastal stared. Almulsis could see the priest, and the priest could could Almulsis - he was staring directly at him.

[Ameena]

Ameena hears rhythmic voices chanting from within the temple, growing louder and louder. She has heard this kind of thing before, and now, as then, cannot hear, and has little interest in, the actual words which they are chanting. Suddenly the chanting stops, somewhat to her relief, for she has never understood why such creatures indulge in these kinds of activities - although sometimes they seem joyful, far too often they seem to incite anger and violence.
Often, of course, they have been voices chanting about her, accompanied by much waving of such things as torches and swords. She cared little for them then, and her attitude has not changed. Were she not waiting for Almulsis, she would have long since left. She would not even have come near the village.

[beowuuf]

Almulsis froze as he stared directly into the eyes of the madman on the podium. Yet even as he felt fear, he also felt some elation. He could detect the edges of the mind of man - the Message was not spreading like this, the priest of Poukal village had told him nothing.

He was a liar, a charlatan, and was probbaly like many of men around the lands. Those taking advantage of the fear to gain power. Unfortunately he was also in completel command of this whole congragation.

"Brothers, sister, you belief is music to my ears - but I hear a discordant not from our elderly brother at the rear."

Every eye turned to look at Almulsis now, even though it was difficult for many to turn that way. None showed anything but true hostility.

"Why do you not show us your face..." asked the man at the podium, smug as he felt Almulsis's terro,r and thought he knew the reason for it.

[Ameena]

Ameena's curiosity surfaces again as she wonders whether the sudden silence has anything to do with Almulsis. No, that can't be - he'd entered before then. He'd entered before the chanting had started. Perhaps that had been something to do with him. Or perhaps not. She has no way of knowing, but doesn't want to depart the safety of the shadows on the rooftop. One hand still clutches the red gemstone amulet, and her eyes remain fixed upon the doors of the building. Though she is safe from the illumination of the moon in her current position, that will not help her if she should still happen to be here when daylight comes. Still, if Almulsis does take that long to emerge, she can always move away from the village and find another spot where she can wait for him. But for now, she has no reason to move.
She wonders again, briefly, exactly why she is following this creature. She knows she has numerous reasons for doing so, all of them somehow subtle yet combining to become more important.

[beowuuf]

Suddenly there was a noise far below Ameena, a dull deliberate thump of boots. A few figures, cloaked heavily, were making their unhurried way with sureness of purpose towards the temple.

In the light of the moon their cloaks looked black. While not the deep colour Ameena had achielved with her own attire, they were unlikely to be much lighter in daylight - and these figures did not radiate the aura of ones who wished to be seen in daylight.

[Ameena]

Hearing the footsteps thudding below her, Ameena spares their makers a glance, since she can immediately tell that these individuals aren't quite the same as the other shadowy figures walking, skulking, or wandering about the village. She notices what appears to be their intended destination, and wonders whether they, like Almulsis, are heading toward the temple for any particular reason. Not that she knows Almulsis's reasons for entering, but to her, that's not particular important. Again she wonders why she is staying with this one. None of the creatures below can see her, yet she knows she will be inviting trouble if she stays here too long. She will certainly be gone from this spot before dawn, if only to move away from the village far enough to prevent discovery. Not that there is a great deal of cover nearby, but she will manage. She has before.
Watching as the newcomers approach the temple doors, Ameena thinks the same thing she normally does when she sees these kinds of creatures going about their lives - they seem so complicated, doing things that seem pointless to her, and which she does not understand. Somehow, she knows, there will most likely be violence tonight. Why did she and Almulsis happen to have come here tonight, of all nights? Why not some other time, when no such strangers might happen past?
At least, she considers, it is night, and as such, she is, for the time, safe.

[beowuuf]

The three figures did not enter the temple however. One stood directly infront of the door, seemingly uncaring if he would be seen or not. He twisted his head, as if to listen in to the sounds from within, or as if trying to think a potent, slow thought.

The other two figures took up positions on either side of the door, with their back turned like strange guards. Each looked to the other and removed their hoods. Yellow glinted in their eyes, spiked ears ontop of their heads. They resembled cats, except their hair was wiry, their noses squat but humanoid-like under the fur.

One of the two reached up inside the sleeve of their cloak, and puilled out a tubular device. A deliberate shake of it and the tube extended itself, smaller tubes shooting out. The cat creature tried to offer the device to the cloaked figure at the door, but it waves it away - for now.

[Ameena]

Ameena regards these strange creatures with a slight frown. She has never seen creatures of this race before, and so can deduce nothing in particular about them beyond what she sees. Perhaps they are from the temple, and are preparing for some kind of temple-ceremony which will take place later in the night. Perhaps they are simply visitors who must conduct a strange ceremony of their own before they enter the temple. Perhaps they are waiting for someone to depart the temple, and will then, perhaps, either greet or attack them.
But she has no way of knowing, and tries never to assume things. She will wait. She wonders what Almulsis is doing. Does he know about the strangers now outside the temple? Would it matter if he did? Are they of any relevance to him?

[Sophia]

Sonia Resè paced in her chamber. Oh, it was opulent, most assuredly, but the wealth and material comfort that were so abundant in her existence as the leader of a Great House could not have been very much solace to her now, not with the news she held in her hand.

She tried to make the best of it, for she had no great love for Vengkal, either. She forced a smirk. "That fool, he thinks that simply throwing more Centurions at the problem will amount to anything..." She laughed hollowly, and her advisors followed suit.

She shook her head to herself. The more pressing problem was, of course, that she had no better idea than throwing more Centurions at the problem. Oh, she could find some more attuned to magic, certainly, and perhaps they may have a better chance than some hulking brute, but-- it's all so much of a needler-shot into the abyss.

"What of the man who spoke out of turn, the one who demanded two thousand Denarii?" she asked offhandedly.

"We have seen or heard nothing from him," replied an advisor.

Sonia expected as much. Just another loudmouth. "Very well. Put a one hundred Denarii bounty on his head as well. If nothing else, it will teach some respect, and give the greedy masses a target more reachable than the seemingly unconquerable black menace."

[beowuuf]

"The wasting disease," said Almulsis with a croaking voice, audible in the chilled hush that had followed. "I came to hear the Message for myself while I still had the time..." Almulsis theatrically coughed and doubled up as those at the back moved away from him. In the sudden noise of footsteps no-one would have heard him mumble, apparently to himself.

"Bah!" spat the man on the podium, the trickster in contempt of such an amateur move. "The wasting disease, or the marks of neglect of the temple of your body? Which is it, Setting Sun practitioner!"

The crowd gasped in horror. Almulsis simply stood up as if struck dumb at the accusation. The crowd tensed but for a moment were still.

"Brothers! Sisters! He and his kind, the traitors in our midst, thye are the problem!" The man flung his arm out, pointing at Almulsis. A bolt of energy flew across the room and buried itself close to Almulsis's head in a pillar. The crowd suddenly turned, and the man looked agast.

Almulsis hissed, voice perhaps too loud for a croaky man on the edge of death. "He tried to kill me! With..with magic! He is the traitor!"

The preacher's face fell as the crowd, the instrument he had crafted with his words and carefully planned actions, the mob poised to violence like a trained dog, suddenly slipped his leash and turned on him.

Almulsis smiled a dark smile at the justice of it as the crowd surged forward. Almulsis was no sadist, he turned towards the door to make his escape.

And saw the figure at the door.

High above, the red gem given to Ameena glowed for a moment, and vibrated. A few whispered words in the mage's voice came through. "Ekeel. Run."

[Ameena]

Ameena hears, once again, the sound of raised voices from the temple. Then there is a faint flash of light, as though perhaps someone has hurled a spell. This is followed by more raised voices, again in anger.
Then Ameena is suddenly startled as the small gemstone in her hand glows faintly, and vibrates. She stares at it, unsure as to whether or not she should discard it - what if it is invoking some kind of hostile magic against her?
But the glow and the vibration is accompanied by the words of Almulsis. The first of these words means nothing to her. The other seems a command to do something she has had much practice at. Far too much practice...
Slipping softly backward along the roof, away from the direction of the temple, Ameena descends to the ground behind the building and darts away from the village, keeping low as she flees across the dark, but open, ground. she keeps to the few, scraggly trees as much as she can, in case any creature from the village should happen to have spotted her. But it seems she is safe - she reaches the cover of a nearby copse of trees and climbs swiftly to perch in the boughs of one offering her a view of the now-distant village. It has not taken her long to retreat this far, but she wonders what could have happened.
Then she wonders why she obeyed Almulsis. Of course, thus far, she has no reason to mistrust him, but after so long alone, why is she so ready to answer to the whim of another? But surely, if he had intended harm upon her, he would have asked her to stay, or simply said nothing? Or perhaps he was simply pretending that there was some kind of threat, in order to gain her trust, so that he might find her again and betray her later. Yet that seemed wrong to her. No. For now, she decides, she will trust him. If he can speak to her through the red gem, still clutched in her right hand, it will not matter if she has to retreat further from the village in order to conceal herself.
But what did the word "Ekeel" mean? Was it a word in another language? Perhaps. But she thinks it more likely that it is the name of one of the creatures in the temple, or perhaps one of those who arrived afterward, and who were still standing outside the doors when Amulsis told her to flee. Well, whoever or whatever "Ekeel" is, it seems no immediate threat to her. From her current vantage point she can see the roof of the temple, but the rest is masked by the smaller buildings between it and the copse of trees in which Ameena now waits.

[beowuuf]

Then there is the rustling.

Below Ameena three more figures, similarly clothed to the previous fignures and moving in the same quiet way were visible. A person of lesser talents would not spot them, but Ameena's senses could as if these creatures walked in broad daylight in heavy footstep.

They walked with the same purpose as the others, towards the temple.

Were Ameena able to see through the trees, and buldings blocking sight, were Almulsis able to see through walls of stone, futher figures would have been seen - perhaps eighteen or twenty in total, groups of twos or threes walking with the same unfathomable purpose around the village and towards the place where the villagers now dwelt.

Were Almulsis and Ameena together, Almulsis could have told Ameena exactly the tales he had heard of the Ekeel. Cat-like creatures, legends, they were said to be solitary hunters scattered throughout the world. An old race that had since been wiped out by the strong Variayzho , the powerful Dryads and the prolific humans over the centuries and millenia. To see one, if you had the talents, was unheard of. To see two or three together, you knew that some momentous event must be occuring for such a gathering.

Were one given free access to the libraries of the Great Houses, were one able to speak face to face to some of their greatest minds, one could perhaps divine a pattern and history of the Ekeel sightings throughout the years, realise the changes and disasters that these sightings of them gathered had hinted at. One may then discover that never had even half of this number been seen together in one place before.

But such wishing does not make it so, and for the moment Almulsis did not know of the enormity of the threat any more than Ameena could understand the full import of Almulsis's word to her. All Almulsis knows is that in all likelihood he may well die, and it is with a certainty that he must do something that he has spend a long portion of his life avoiding.

Meanwhile, one of the Ekeel beside Ameena pauses. The two others look back, but shrug and move on ignoring the strange behaviour of their fellow. This figure pulls out some strange object, a twisted set of spikes that curl and flow in a pattern of inhuman craftsmanship. The figure sniffs the air and looks around but can see nothing. Without anything else to go by except its apparent uneasiness, it starts waving the object in its hand around slowly, as if testing each direction in turn.

[Ameena]

Ameena remains motionless, eyes fixed upon the creature below her. It certainly appears suspicious, and may have sensed her. But she is used to out-waiting things that are looking for her. However, should this creature happen to determine her presence, or worse, her exact location, she has no idea as to how much danger she may then be in. Still, she is a fair way back ineo the foliage of the tree, and there is space for her to be able to leap out of it if she should need to.
But for now, she remains absolutely still, simply watching the creature and keeping her eyes narrowed, lest their greenish gleam attract attention from a sharp eye.

[beowuuf]

Ameena's patience, that has obviously served her so well in the past, shows no signs of letting her down. The creature casts about here and there, but apparently without a focus the device in its hand cannot aid it.

"Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" comes a hissed scream in the night. A lesser person might have bolted as the sound strikes terror deep into the soul, but Ameena's patience and discipline keeps her unmoving in the tree. The creature seeking her turns its head, apparently at some summons from its fellows now almost out of sight.

"Gyah!" it says, the sound of a thousand cats feelign their tails being stood on simultaneously. It is loud and angry and threatening, but also carried tones of child-like petulence. With a final regretful head turn one way and the other around the path, it visibly slumps its shoulders, drops its hand with the many curved wand, and walks away.

Suddenly it hisses and spins around quickly, wand pointed firmly in a definite direction. Ameena feels her arm tingle and a knot not of internal origin form in her stomach.

However, she also sees the wand is not pointed at her, the eyes do not look at her. Once again, despite the effect patience wins out. The Ekeel again slumps, and this time it really does go away.

It's dark figure blends into the shadows of night as it lops away with an odd cat-like gait, made stranger by a limp it apparnetly possesses.

[Ameena]

Ameena remains motionless for some time after the strange creatures have gone. She wonders if they have anything to do with "Ekeel". Perhaps Ekeel is not an individual, but the name of this race. If she should reunite with Almulsis, she intends to ask him. But for now, it is too dangerous. Since the creatures have already searched here and departed, this place should therefore be even safer, since they will be less likely to return having already found nothing.
She glances at the red gem still clutched in her black-furred hand, and her ears give a twitch of minor irritation as she returns her gaze to the distant village. She could leave, go somewhere else, see if Almulsis chooses to contact her again through the gemstone, and then seek him out again, or she could stay where she is and await such an event from where she is.
It has been a while since she rested, perhaps a couple of days, but she hasn't exerted herself greatly so can go for a while longer, perhaps another day or so if she spends the majority of that time doing little else. Well, as she has little clue as to what is happening, she decides to wait and see if anything comes of the events in the village - if Almulsis contacts her again, they can go from there. If he doesn't, she will wait for a number of days, however long it takes before she risks discovery by something hostile. If he dies, and she knows or finds out about it, she will simply continue with her travels alone, life as it had been in most of her memory's length before she'd met him.
But for now, she waits.

[beowuuf]

Amlulsis stares at the figure in the door of the temple, unaware of how to act. Second hand knowledge has told him the name and legend of this people, gives him the same superstitious chills as others, fearing them the harbingers of misfortune. However that is it. What business would one have here? Given the 'message' and the dealings of the people here, are they here to punish?

"Shhhhhhh," hisses the Ekeel like a guyser of steam escaping the earth, looking down his stubby snout at Almulsis. A few members of the congregation have perhaps spotted the new visitor and cry out. Not in the cries of hate they had expounded a moment ago. The legend of thr Ekeel has apparnetly filtered even to this once sleepy place, and the reactions to it are screams of panic and fear.

"You have no business here" says the Ekeel in some strange, sharp dialect - mechanical yet flawless. There is a tone, a tone that Almulsis can pick up the edges of in thought. The way it says 'here' does not mean in this temple, in this village, in this situation. It is a disgust for Almulsis still occuplying this mortal plane.

The lash of that thought is like a blow, and Almulsis's reaction is immediate. Surprising himself by breaking so fully a vow he took long ago with barely a further thought, he walks the paths of farspace in the blink of his eye.

The place is white with too much light, and Almulsis has to turn his face downwards to the strange shadowy ground that is like fine sand. His mind is all he needs in this place though, and he reaches it out and through the eher itself. The secret of farspace was not the collection of knowledge and thought here, though that was certainly powerful. The secret of farspace was the doors that hid in plain sight, the doors to other places beyond this place. Perhaps they only existed in thought, could only be given possibility and existence in this place.

Whatever, the effect was immediate. Even as he channeled void energy back through the mental path to his body, his mind stayed to use itself, like a key in the lock, to open a hidden door. The whiteness, if Almulsis could have observed it with his astral eyes, tinged red as fire, not just the substance but the pure concept of fire, streamed through the door. It surrounded Almulsis, but in farspace, in this place of thought, it could not consume him. The emotions of its hunger and greed could, and that was his real ability, his real trick. Almulsis's mind diverted the consuming concepts and emotions and channeled them harmlessly into nearspace through the ground of farspace here.

The sky grew darker and angrier around Almulsis as he pulled more of the fire energy towards himself... he could look up now. Infront of him, at odds with everything, was a tree. Its trunk was stout, its branches long and its roots deep. Except the thing was upside down, the foliage, Almulsis could feel, burrowed deeply into the granular earth. While the roots spread out into the sky, becoming thinner then invisible as they spread out and out into the still whitened nothingness above the red haze. Almulsis did not know what to make of this impassive guardian in farspace, but he did not need to...

His consciousness awoke in the real world again, a fraction a a second later but needing to act just as instantly again. In this world the fire enegry he had summoned would consume him. Instead he handled the void energy first, using it as a tool to deflect, shape and them direct the fire energy towards a new target. Such awesome power coalessed to a point and Almulsis gestured with command towards the Ekeel figure.

* * * *

Meanwhile, Ameena found the gem burst forth with a red light and jumped aorund in her hand. It actually burned her hand, but that was not why she let it go - for she did not let it go. Somehow it became insubstancial, that could be the only reason it escaped her grip, falling and falling down as a red point of shining light down to the foliage below. It still glowed, not hidden but enhancing the greenery around, a strange beacon now to her prescence above.
Would it alert those creatures, whatever they were? More importantly, what had caused such a reaction?


* * * *

Almulsis could have told her why the stone reacted as it did. As he discharged, to more screams behind him, the fatal blast at he creature, it moved with the spedd of its legend. To Almulsis it plucked a strange stave from no-where, catching the red bolt on its tip. To the energy, this should have mattered little, but instead the immesne power of it was sucked from the world, leaving behind an echo of emptiness in Almulsis's mind. It was distracting enough that Almulsis did not even see the twirl of the staff as thr Ekeel turned it to an attacking posture and sent the energy back, reformed, towards him.

Chairs and members of the congregation were blown apart or had parts disintergrate to ash. The original preacher, trying to defend from blows of a mob, did not even see the thing that turned him to whisps of powder floating in the air.

Almulsis could told Ameena why the stone reacted as it did in her hand, but the problem was that the exact moment it happened, he was looking down at a perfect, large and cauterised hole in his chest. He fell down dead without a word.

[Ameena]

Ameena lets out a hiss of startled surprise as the small stone suddenly glows brightly and grows hot, fading from tangibility and falling through her hand. Yet it seems to become solid again at some point during its descent from the branch, as it lands softly on the earth below, landing beside one of the roots of the tree in which Ameena sits, its dirty-silver chain gleaming redly in the light.
Glaring in the direction of the village, Ameena can see no sign, yet, of the strange creatures who passed before. Even if they were still there, they would have to be facing the copse of trees and standing at the right angle to spot the stone as it fell past leaves and branches, not even lit here by moonlight since that is coming from the other side of the copse.
Ameena looks down at the stone now, wondering whether she should pick it up again. Almulsis told her she should keep it safe, but is it, in itself, dangerous to her? What caused it to suddenly act in this way? Since Ameena had done nothing to it that she hadn't done already, and remembering the way it had caused Almulsis's words to be heard by her, she considers that it must be linked to him in some way. Whether to some kind of telepathic energy, or simply to his wellbeing or some such, she has no idea. But then again, perhaps it is some kind of weapon he is choosing to use against her. But that makes no sense. She considers simply leaving, right now, and continuing her existence, once again, by herself. Perhaps Almulsis is dead. Perhaps that is what those feline creatures were doing - going to kill him. Perhaps they are something to do with the "Ekeel". Perhaps Ameena will be safer if she flees this place as swiftly as she can, leaving the stone behind.
But Almulsis asked her to keep it safe.
Ameena lets out a quiet sigh, bowing her head and closing her eyes for a moment as she knows she may not be acting wisely. She slips silently down from the tree and cautiously steps over to where the amulet has fallen. She crouches down, ready to bolt if anything unpleasant happens, and slowly reaches out a hand to grasp the stone.

[beowuuf]

The stone flares brighter for a moment, but there is no burning sensation. Infact, a calm comes over Ameena as she touches the item. She can instantly feel that this is not an internal set of thoughts, but equally it is not somehting that is seeking to dominate her will, merely an extra level of perception floating on the outskirts of her mind.

She stands up and realises that the land looks different just now - all around, like a delicate spider's web tapestry, are small strands and feelers that seem to go off to nowhere, but she knows through these strange other thoughts that they are prepresetnations of the paths to farspace, farspace she can almost see being given form.

She looks at the stone in her hand and can feel two sensations, emotions radiating from it. One feels distant, old - it is a hunger, a lust, a drive for power. Ameena, never needing power, doesn not feel empathy with the sensation. The second feels fresher, and is just as strange. Some desire to connect with nature and the world, and to do good in it. Ameena is already connected with nature, and has no wish to involve herself with the world.

She might be tempted to throw the stone away now its brightness falters, but is distracted as she sees two strange figures infront of her.

While they are mroe real than the tapestry that is on the edge of her vision, they are obviously not real, or not fully in this plane. She would feel no fear of them anyway, but knows with that external certainty that they are not here to harm her, and have a limited abiltiy to anyway.

They resemble a cobination of apes and dogs, strangely shaped limbs. They beckon her to follow, for they are worried - their pet seems to be injured. They do not seem concerend for Ameena's safety in this mission, for reasons that even the fog of perception cannt give answers to.

Ameena however is given another answer, and realises why they need her, as she looks at the stone with new understanding. Somehow, she now holds the essense of Almulsis in her hand. The stone contains his soul.

[Ameena]

OOC - Watch it with the making-Ameena-do-things...

BIC - Ameena peers closely at the stone, unsure as to how she suddenly knows these things, and further unsure as to whether or not she likes it. However, if these strange new senses are to be trusted (and somehow, she feels, they can be), she will come to no immediate harm if she follows the strange creatures who have just appeared.
She takes a cautious step toward them, eyes narrowed in suspicious curiosity.

[beowuuf]

Sorry, was trying to keep it 'Ameena might have reacted this way, except here's the thngs she's observing that obviously would negate any action', but I'm soooooo tired - rest assured, it's action all the way now

The creatures seem to nod to themsevles the instant Ameena forms thoughts. With a strange satisfied set of motions, the two creatures shrug, turn and begin running directly back to the temple.

[Ameena]

Ameena looks carefully around before leaving the shelter of the copse, then runs after the two odd creatures, moving with a moderately swift yet hunched over gait, as though trying to keep hidden beneath shelter which isn't there.