Post by Ace on Jul 5, 2014 16:04:14 GMT
(This is about a year old but much is made about how the Witch Hunter became famous...And Lore to a lesser extent, so it bares posting. It can now become common knowledge as any statute of limitations are now long past! *Grin*)
*Red brought the ladies, Lore and Alice of Suriel some spiked hot tea and joined their table as Lore began the tale.*
<q dol> Well, it all started with this creepy book with a child's spirit in it, Tabitha. We don't know how ancient it was. I don't even know where it was found...Drax's place? He was the vampire that origionally killed Imara, your Dame's former patron. All the high mucky-muk priest gots together and tried a ritual to destroy it but even that didn't work. So they sent Abe to destroy it in the Misty Peaks. There was alot of confusion about the Book, about who made copies and so forth. *She carefully edited out the part about Dragos and it being partially his fault she got stuck tied to a tree.* Suffice it to say it was the Voice's best guess as to what to do with it. Now I never intended to get mixed up in it. I hated the whole idea of it...Part of it was because...Well, Abe has this sword called Darvinia. It's developed a mind of it's own. No matter what he did with it, throw it in the Don River, tried to get it stolen, whatever, it always found it's way back to him. It's hard to admit this but...I'm jealous of it. It's been part of the reason we can't be together without fighting, she's also half the reason we're all still alive.
*The young woman, Alice Brant, frowned softly, listening to Lore. And quietly thanked Red for the tea.* <qDol> So... So what happened?
<q dol> Abe just has that kind of bad, stupid luck and that's why I don't consider myself any kind of hero, but Abe is. He know what it feels like to be called to be a knight, like your Dame and have nothing but broken dreams for the price of it. *She shook her head and stared into her tea cup.* Sorry, got off track there. I got nabbed by kidnappers demanding Abe turn it over to them at the Misty Peaks. In the mean time Abe's stuck with this Tabitha girl telling him if he doesn't destroy the book she'll get me back for him, and he's traveling with this spooky fellow and some druid...
*Alice's frown deepened as she listened.* <qDol> But what makes you a hero could be something you consider small. Like saving an innocent, or standing up to a bully... You might not consider it heroic... But it is! Sometimes small acts are the greatest.
<q dol> It...wasn't a fun trip. *She went on and Alice could tell Red was getting more and more uncomfortable...as well as Lore herself.* They um...they made me carry all their gear and would whip me if I slowed or fell down. At night they tied me to a tree and I would practice getting out of it but they were really good at knots. I tried to go on a hunger strike, wouldn't drink or eat so...I would die before we got there and rob them of their goal.
*Alice's eyes widened.* That.... thats horrible! Why would they do that to you?....
<q dol> Because there are assholes in the world who enjoy that, Alice. I grew up in the Hive and was gang raped...They were the same kind of people but were under someone's orders not to kill me because they needed me to bargain Abe for the Book. *Alice could hear Red give a dry swallow and turn away as Lore went on.* And I would try and make them so mad they would kill me...And I almost succeeded. The leader was choking the life out of me I pissed him off so bad... And I wanted so bad for him to end me and all this pain and suffering and shite...But a lousy Dwarf went and shot a musket right over his head before he could finish the job. *She glared at Red...but then her voice softened.* He also kept me from getting raped by them...And talked me into eating and drinking again. He...gave me hope when mine ran out.
*Lore's voice broke with emotion and she was quiet for a long time. Red excused himself to go for a walk outside. The Surielite Priestess had tears rimming her eyes as she went to grasp Lore's hand. Once finding it, she gave it a gentle squeeze. She said nothing, shaking her head. Obviously Alice's tender expression and touch of Lore's hand broke him also. Lore just clasped Alice's hand tightly, not pulling away, although one might expect her to given her history of showing no emotion. But she wanted the story to finally be told.*
So...We made it to the tree line and...I have never seen anyplace so beautiful. I grew up in the heart of the city and I was terrified of the wilderness, but here I was surrounded by...Like a cathedral of snow covered trees the size of buildings. It awed me, Alice. And for the first time in my life I felt peace for just those few short hours. They brought me to a cabin and they tied me to - what else? A tree, while they went in to check it out...But that was when they came...Out of nowhere...
*Alice smiled slightly, her other hand slipping over the woman's. She gently rubbed her forearm.... She didn't ask questions about Lore's earlier past... She didn't want to hurt her more...* <qDol> Were you in Gaelanl Lands? You said The Voice came to you... Which, I thought she never left the Monastery... *Alice frowned* So, who came?
<dol> No Abe and I went to see the Voice. No, no we were FAR beyond Gaelan lands by then, at the tree line of the Misty Peaks themselves...And who came were the Orcs,
*Her hand tightened around Alice's. She swallowed now, noisily with remembered fear.* I BEGGED them to cut me free. I would have gladly fought with them because I knew what my fate would be with with the likes of the orcs. That gang rape would feel like nothing compared to what they would do to me. But one, two, three, four, they were all cut down, all but the Dwarf who didn't have a chance to cut the rope. ...He could have run and saved himself but he didn't. The war party leader asked him who I was...And he made the most brilliant piece of bullshite up I've ever heard...He told them I was the Voice of Elynir herself! So that was where the Voice came in.
...And then...they stabbed him.
*Lore swallowed again and Alice just stroked her arm until she recovered enough to go on.*
There he lay bleeding in the snow. My protector...Well the orcs took me back to their chieftan in a cave. There are several separate tribes of orcs, you know. So far no leader had been able to gather them all together. That's the reason why we puny humans have survived so long. AND he reason why the Broken Axe tribe is so dangerous. The chief the tribe I was held by spoke really broken dolgan so I made case that I was the Voice. And I backed it up with enough slight of hand and mind tricks to make it stick. He wasn't CONVINCED but he was JUST curious enough not to turn the himself and the other orcs loose on me. Instead he stripped me and put me in a cage made of bone.
*Alice's eyes grew wide with amazement at how anyone could ever trick something into thinking someone was The Voice... Obviously the orcs didn't know much about The Voice, or Seers in general. And quite surprised that they stripped the woman naked and threw her into a bone cage!* Oh no! Poor Master Red! What happened next, Madame Valentina? What happened next?
*Lore continued on, remembering as if it had happened only yesterday.* Every now and then the let me relieve myself and I'd do some more tricks for them. I was miserable. The cage was sort of a torture device in itself, not big enough to be comfortable. I was constantly cold...But from trying to escape those ropes I'd limbered myself enough to disjoint myself. And I managed to steal a knife during one of my 'shows' and smuggle it back to the cage. So I knew I could slit my wrists when I didn't come through with any other 'predictions'...And something told me to wait. All I wanted to do was to take that chieftan down with me and something told me I'd get my chance...I became quite fluent in orc while I waited. In the meantime the f'ing orc 'queen' was wearing my armor and that pissed me right off, so I had plenty of motivation! And who should come along one one day but....Abraham. My hero! *The smile in her voice was fond, but sounded sad.*
*Alice frowned, listening... She didn't understand much of what Lore spoke of... But her face urged the woman to continue...* And.. And what happened next?
I heard the ruckess start and I'd managed to loosen a few bars of the bone cage so I could easily kick out of it when the time came, and-
*Red was back then and sat down and picked up the tale.* -And there came Lore runnin down the cave shaft naked as a jay bird and yelling, Bitch, that's my armor! *He laughed.*
*Alice tittered and grinned.*
*Red went on.* I had managed to find her friends after playin dead in the snow. We dwarves are masters in deception, lass. *He winked at Alice though she couldn't see it.*
*Lore's voice was back to normal though still nostalgic.* We had a heck of a time in those caves, surviving an attack by the Broken Axe tribe, finally dropping the book in the lava and seeing the leader and his big pale yellow wyrm. And then we came home, Abe became famous... Red I, not so much, the end!
*Red stopped her though.* <dol> But we became famous a wee bit later for the battle of Hatchdorf because ye had so much experience with orcs.
*Alice gave a soft giggle, clapping her hands.* Oh, how wonderful! I'm so glad everyone was safe!
*Lore agreed, reluctantly.* And you're one of the first and only ones to hear it, Alice.