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Kernstalion 2 - 26: Hanging by a thread
🕑 Added 2021-08-29 20:19:07 +0000 UTCA few hours later, I was lying in a room I'd had to clean up myself on a stack of fresh hay. What remained of the bed, after the goblins had ransacked the place, now lay in a mangled heap below the window, outside the tower. Besides the hay, there was only a door that remained, which was now locked. I'd slammed a borrowed dagger under it to keep it shut, but sleep wasn't coming. It could be the tickling of the hay or the fact that I had just trained my mindscape and still felt sore, but whatever the reason was, I just lay staring out of the open window at the darkness outside.
Two more days until Par's transition is finished, I thought to myself. Besides training my mindscape, I'd only entered it to make sure nothing was going wrong. For the rest, I'd avoided entering it. Was that what was keeping me from falling asleep? I thought about it for a bit, then shook my head. It wasn't that.
Twenty minutes later, I still had no idea, and I was slowly drifting off, when it finally came to me. With a start I was fully awake, looking at the soft moonlight outside.
I felt aimless, without direction.
Before, I'd known what the issue was, the danger, the big bad. I had more or less known where to go and what to do. The Guidar were trying to take our world, and I needed to stop them or, if I failed, get humans here. We had succeeded on that partially, although the memory of the millions of humans that were enslaved still haunted me sometimes. The beginnings of a city were built, and humans should be slowly filling it.
But now?
Nimron was a problem I had no way of solving. A mortal against a deity? Not happening, at least not yet. All I could do was help Rathica and pray she would come out victorious. Eliandra was still asleep, and there was no way to fix that now. So what did that leave? Head to Steadfast and help the humans? All I was really going there for was to fix my chaos poisoning, but I could probably go to Ulderion for that. He was much closer, and I was sure he'd help cure me.
The faces of Haltir and Laurel passed through my mind, and I sighed. I could get ready for the weapon's master tournament or help Laurel…
I sighed and shook my head, and as my mind continued to wander, I finally succumbed to sleep.
The next day I woke up annoyed and with a short temper. The caravan would stay for another day to fix the waystation and heal the wounded, and I wandered the massive keep. The longer the day lasted, the more my temper flared up, and when it was time for dinner, I felt like biting someone's head off.
I wasn't stupid. Something was happening, something outside of my control. It had to be because I'd never felt like this before. That left two options. Either it was the chaos poisoning kicking in or whatever was going on with Par.
In front of me was the central hall, now ready for a massive supper, and chatter and bustle came from inside. Every word seemed like a sharp stick that poked the angry bear inside of me. Although I was hungry, I gritted my teeth and slipped away unnoticed, back to my room. Staring at the dank and cold room with the hay in a corner, I growled. Before I could do something stupid, I stepped into the room and jammed the dagger below it to block it from opening. As I did, I suddenly realized the folly of the plan. Someone could just push the dagger out from the other side…
"Dammit!"
I left the dagger and lay down on the hay, but I was up again a minute later, passing through the small room. Finally, I couldn't hold it anymore and closed my eyes to step into my mind-scape.
> Transition will be finished in twenty hours and forty-one minutes
I barely noticed the small alert as a wave of anger and fear washed over me. Par's black, bleeding heart hung in the middle of the area, shaking and shuddering. Blotches of bright red flesh showed in certain areas as if black paint had washed from it.
"Stop releasing your nasty shit into my mindscape," I snarled, unable to keep in my anger.
"Finally showed your mortal face again? Bah!" Par spoke in short bursts, almost as if it cost him an effort to speak. "As if I have a choice! This stupid system is taking effect, and-"
Par howled in agony, and the walls trembled and shivered as a fresh wave of anger and hate flowed out of him. As it washed over me, I felt ice-cold anger take hold, and I floated forward with murder on my mind. Images of stabbing, slashing, and biting the heart filled my mind as all calm and planning vaporized. Without even knowing what I was doing, I directed the powers of my mindscape towards Par's form, and the walls glowed as long metallic thorns appeared from their sides, shooting forward.
"Keep in control, you mind-addled mortal fool!" Par roared.
The fear in Par's voice, not as much as the words used, were what caused the anger to subside for a fraction, which was just long enough for me to realise what was happening. My concentration broke, and the metallic thorns stopped extending towards Par.
What just happened, I thought as the anger began building up again.
"Get back out, and wait until it stops," Par said in grunts and bursts.
I wanted to ask what was going on, but he suddenly howled again, and another fresh wave of rage and hatred washed over me. Before it could take hold, I practically jumped out of my mindscape. As I slammed into my body, I slumped to the ground as my anger increased more and more.
A soft tap on the door caused me to look up.
"What?" I snapped, barely able to contain my anger.
It was quiet for a moment, then a cold, calculating voice came.
"Galir asked me to check up on you, see if you were alright. You missed the meal."
It took me a moment to recognize Dibidi's voice, and every part of me wanted to scream and rage at him to piss off and leave me alone. Instead, I clenched my jaw and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"I'm having a little issue here," I managed to croak out. Before I could continue the dagger shot out from under the door, and the darkly hooded Dibidi slid into the room like a shadow., With two daggers raised, his gaze took me in before scanning the room as if looking for an assailant.
I didn't see the minute look of worry in his eyes. All I saw were the daggers. The glint of the light on the blades was the final step. My control shattered like glass, and with a snarl, I jumped towards him.
--
Dibidi landed on the ground, his sensitive eyes quickly scanning the room and finding nothing dangerous. Still, the odd Prime had sounded in pain, as if he was being strangled. An animal-like snarl made him dodge back as he took in the massive four-armed Prime rushing at him. The man's face was contorted with rage, and his previously intriguing eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets.
"Prime, control yourself," Dibidi said as he jumped back, straight up the wall, triggering his ability to slide along it before making a flip across the flailing shape.
The Prime's eyes were bloodshot, the pupils as small as pinpricks as he spun around and jumped across the room so fast Dibidi barely managed to roll aside.
Something is wrong with him...a. A curse?
The man's movements were out of control but faster than any he had seen, well, any aside from his sister's. As he slid along the ground, thick, muscular fingers groped across his back. He mechanically dislocated his shoulders, moving his arms up to release the upper part of his thin armor that was yanked back at the same time. With practiced moves, he rolled across his shoulders, forcing them back in the joints.
He knew the room was high, one of the many tower rooms he had searched for the Hags in, and he sprinted forward, up the wall, and slid the last distance towards the wooden cross beam just below the ceiling. The Prime slammed into the wall below him, then looked up and lowered to his haunches.
He can't, Dibidi thought. But his instincts were never wrong, and he jumped forward towards the other crossbeam as the Prime shot up, his fingers grasping the wood.
"Sorry, but you need to cool down," Dibidi said as his hands snapped forward. His daggers sprouted from the Prime's hands, nailing them to the wood. Two new ones appeared as if by magic in his hands, and as the Prime reached up with his lower hands towards the daggers holding him, he flung those two, pinning the other two hands beside the first set.
Whatever is happening, he isn't in control, or he would have used his magic, Dibidi thought.
"Calm down!" he tried again. He needed to get through to the Prime, or he would have to kill him. No matter the consequences, he wasn't going to let his life end in this dismal world.
The Prime roared again, his voice probably audible throughout the entire keep, and he began ripping at the daggers. Dibidi felt the first bit of fear when he saw the hooked daggers begin to slowly pull out. Without any more waiting, he pulled his belt from his waist, leapt across to the other beam, and bound the belt around two thickly muscled arms. As soon as the first two were pinned, he pulled his chest belt and bound it across the others.
For a moment, the daggers wobbled dangerously, then they stopped as the Prime hung from the beams, his legs flailing about as he snapped at the wood.
"I've never seen anything like that," a cold voice, so similar to his own, said from the door. Dibidi looked over to his sister and nodded.
"Throw me your belts, just to be sure," he said.
A little while later, the two stood beside each other on the beams, looking at the dangling and grunting Prime.
"It is either poisoning or a curse," Dibidi said. "Go and tell Galir to keep everyone away and send for Linery," he continued.
Libidi nodded, turning and disappearing with her normal impossible to trace movements.
"I hope she can cure you of whatever ails you," Dibidi muttered as he looked at the still struggling Grablon Prime. "Because killing you would leave a bad taste in my mouth."
--
A loud ping burst through the constant rage that clouded my mind. With it came a wave of calm as the angry rollercoaster I'd been on suddenly turned into a slow ride on a calm sea. For a moment, I just enjoyed the disappearance of the torment, then intense pain reared up its ugly head. It began in my shoulders, branched up through my arms, and ended in my hands that seemed aflame. I couldn't hold back a pained groan.
"He is snapping out of it," a soft, cold voice uttered from above me.
My eyes snapped open as I looked around, confused about where I was and why I was hurting. A muddled image of the ground a dozen feet below came into view, slowly clearing up. Below stood the female mage -Linery?- staring up with a look of worry and slight relief.
Why is she below me? I thought, blinking and shaking my head to try and clear it. It only increased the pain, and I looked up. Wait, up?
It took a few more moments before the truth of my situation dawned on me. I was dangling from my hands from the wooden beam close to the room's ceiling. Leather straps were strapped around my wrists, and a dagger stuck from one of my hands.
"What the hell is going on?" I snarled, looking around.
"You are chaos-poisoned," a cold voice answered. Looking at the voice, I saw the two Isirow assassins effortlessly standing on the beam opposite the one I hung from.
One of the two jumped across.
"Are you calm again?"
It seemed like he was asking me, but his gaze was fixed on Linery, who stood below.
"I can't detect the emotional fluctuations anymore. How it's possible, I don't know, but he is normal again.
"I am fine," I snarled, the pain making my temper flare up. "Now release me!"
My anger caused the Isirow, which of the two I didn't know, to stop reaching for the bindings and look at me. I saw the worry in his eyes, and I sighed.
"I am fine," I said again, calmer this time. "But my arms and hands feel like someone used them to break open a keep door. Release me."
The Isirow smiled slightly, not what I had expected, and ripped the dagger from my hand in a single smooth motion. The pain only increased, and I groaned as tears appeared in the corner of my eye. The Isirow noticed, and his - or her?- smile widened.
"Enjoying yourself," I said with a slight snarl.
There was no response, and a moment later, the last of the bindings were removed from my hands. As it was, I belatedly realized I should have come up with a way to get down, but I fell, landing badly on my feet. My legs buckled but barely managed to hold me as my arms slapped against my sides, pain flaring up. I slumped down, taking deep, shuddering breaths. My hands were tingling, the fingers dark and without feeling. I wasn't going to cast any spells anytime soon, that much was sure.
"So, you're awake," a soft voice asked from the door. In it stood Galir in his leather armor, a sword strapped to his waist. "I hope you don't mind, but we removed your ax just in case you went crazy again."
I sighed, shaking my head. "That won't happen again soon. I have the poison under control. This was just an unfortunate occurence."
"Oh?" Galir frowned. "Linery said there seemed to be something going on with your aura, but she wasn't able to detect what or see inside." There was an obvious question in his words, but I ignored it as I slowly got back to my feet. My hands were swelling quickly, the fingers thick like sausages, and dark bruises sat around thick welts and indents in my wrists. My upper arms, especially the shoulders, felt like they had been dislocated, and all in all, I knew I could do with some healing.
Shit, how am I going to cast Share Lifeforce like this, I thought as I quickly recalled the last time I had filled up my lifeforce. That was during the afternoon, before whatever was going on with Par had made me lose control. The memory of that made me slightly curious to look at the state of my mindscape and Par. Still, the knowledge that if I needed to cast Share Lifeforce within twenty hours or less made me frown. Wait, how long had I been hanging there? I looked at the window to see the daylight stream into the room.
Shit!
"How long was I out?" I asked in dismay.
"The entire evening, and morning," Galir said.
My hairs stood on end as I realized that meant I'd not drained lifeforce in almost twenty-four hours. I turned to Linery, unable to keep my fear completely from my voice.
"Can you heal my arms and hands?"
Multiple shocked gasps came from around me, and Linery's mouth fell open in surprise. After a moment, she seemed to realize I was serious, and she shook her head.
"I can't heal, and we don't have any of your people's famous potions of healing here," she said.
I swallowed, realizing if I didn't fix my hands fast, I'd be in trouble. Raising them, I tried slowly to move the fingers, but only one hand even responded, and a single motion made me groan in pain. Only two fingers moved, and no more than a fraction.
"You seem worried. What is wrong?" Galir asked, his hand on the pommel of his sword.
I didn't reply, staring at the ground between my feet. Something, a memory, was slowly trying to get my attention. Galir said something else, but I didn't notice what it was as I tried to get a grip on what was at the back of my mind. Then I remembered. My demon poison resistance! If I was infected, that would give a massive boost of regeneration instead of any ill effects! If I could get something that held demon poisoning, I could probably fix my fingers… if I could find something that was. There was probably something to find in the woods, but locating it might take too long.
I looked up at Galir, who was scrutinizing me as if he was worried I'd lose it again. I couldn't blame him, and my next question probably wasn't going to help much either.
"Do you have anything infected with demon poison I can have?"
