Islands on Another World (GW2)

[Quaxo9]

Nairn Tuckamore

Already focused on the paper, Nairn was oblivious to anything else going on in the room. Her fingers flicked pieces of the stuff to the side and over even as her eyes probed each piece for information that might be useful to them. It wasn't looking good. Many of the entries seemed mundane - one appeared to be a grocery list - and nothing about child priestesses or the end of the worlds at all. The absence of anything of remote interest was suspicious.

She was about to start checking the desk for secret compartments when something caught her eye. One of the pages had floated close to a lit candle, the edge of it curling back away from the flame as though it were capable of avoiding bursting into flame on its own power. The page was somewhat translucent in the light, the black ink standing out in sharp contrast as both pigment and shadow, but there was something else. Nairn picked up the page carefully in both hands and held it close to the candle. Between the lines of visible text, another set of letters glowed as though made of fire.

"Someone from here...Ulga, perhaps - I do not recognize this script - but I think...it may be something of importance."

Nairn was unable to turn her face away from the glowing letters for even an instant, allowing the shape of them to burn into her memory. Perhaps it wasn't a different language but a cipher - either way - she wanted to know it like she knew her own tongue.

[Monkey Kitty]

Ulga gra-Shatul

Mikael glanced at the paper and shook his head. "I have no idea. I think it's some kind of daedric script, but I can't read it. Ulga?"

Ulga poured over it carefully. "I can make out some of it. I'm no expert, but... um... it says a being made of light? No, not light. Sorry. Energy. A being made of energy. Formed, not born. Oh! A child. This child."

The little girl stared at Ulga, her eyes round. She still hadn't spoke a word.

The Orc kept reading. "Um. They put her in the form of a child. So that... so that she would be perceived as an innocent. So that those who find her will spare her life. Because within her, she holds the key to... uh... to doom."

The child took another step behind Galenwen, so she was now almost completely hidden by the slight elf woman.

[Quaxo9]

Nairn Tuckamore and Fira-Nar

Nairn glanced over her shoulder at the child, clearly impressed.

"To gain such a name so early in life..." Seeing the child was less than enthusiastic about the pronouncement, she let her voice fall away and returned to studying the mysterious language before her.

The Argonian, however, bent low before Galenwen, hands crossed lightly over her knees as she attempted to peer around the woman and catch the child's eye.

"There now, it's quite all right. No one is going to hurt you. If my years thus far have taught me anything, it is that nothing is as it seems, and equally, nothing is written in stone. My name is Fira-Nar...what is yours, my child?"

The scaled paladin clearly either fully believed what she said - or didn't believe what was written on that piece of paper. Either way, she was determined to reach out to the child and attempt to assuage her fears.

[Monkey Kitty]

Anakita Snakecharm

The child just stared at them from behind Galenwen, her eyes wide and terrified.

"It's okay," Anakita said reassuringly. "We all bring some doom from time to time, right? It's not the end of the world. Unless it is the end of the world. But I'm sure it's not."

The Ranger finished this speech with a winning smile.

Galenwen looked at the child - who had somehow decided that she made a good shield, even though the girl seemed frightened of her too - and thought back on their interactions. It wasn't just that she wasn't speaking now. She hadn't spoken at all. Not one word.

"Are you able to talk?" she asked gently.

The girl opened her mouth as if to say something, then shook her head.

"That's okay," Galenwen told her. "We'll find some other way to communicate."

Ulga was still looking at the parchment. "I can't read most of this, but... I think there's a name. Elabeth. Is that your name?"

The child looked unsure for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, Elabeth," Ulga said with a smile. "Don't be scared. We'll find a way to help you."

[Quaxo9]

Nairn Tuckamore

It occurred to her that in a way, she and the child had much in common when Nairn was her age. At least this child had a name and most of the people in the room seemed to want to help her. Though, if she were being honest, this child also seemed to want their help. Nairn as a youngling...had not. The Norn shook her head and began holding up all the other sheets of paper to the candlelight, searching for more secret messages. None were so enlightened. She was about to start gathering up the books when her eyes alit on a last piece of paper. The grocery list. The strangely out of place grocery list.

"Ulga. A bit more." The burning ciphers flickered on the piece of paper briefly - then began consuming the paper. Nairn let the page drop and began patting it with her hand, but the flames hadn't come from the candle - the tiny page burned itself to a crisp in seconds. Undeterred, Nairn chose an empty corner of another page, flipped open the next available inkwell and located a quill. Her movements were sure, but decidedly slower than when she wrote in a more familiar tongue. After a moment, she passed the page to Ulga.

"These are the symbols I saw before they caught fire. I was unable to catch it all, but perhaps...something?"

[Monkey Kitty]

Ulga gra-Shatul and Mikael Stormcrow

Ulga shook her head, but even as she was straining frantically to catch a word, Mikael snatched a scrap of paper out of the air in the mere instant before the flames consumed it.

"Ow!" he said, and swore under his breath as the the paper burned his fingertips as the last of it was burned away. "But hey - yes, there was something on there. It said... the The Orchard Cemetery?"

"I know where that is," Ulga said. "Um. It's in Coldharbour. Unfortunately. But we may not have to go there. I... hope we don't. Maybe if we just find a connection to that plane, to that specific place in Oblivion. Something..."

There was a pause.

Then Sellia said, "Vampires. A place where vampires gather might do the trick. We have a connection to Coldharbour. And to... its ruler. And the Orchard was a place where many vampires were enslaved - as you'll know, Ulga. That's our connection."

"Sure," Mikael said. "Worth a try."

As they were leaving the tower, he turned to Sellia. She looked at him warily - which he realized he deserved.

"Hey," he said to the vampire. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For being an ass. I've had some... bad experiences with vampires... but that's not an excuse. You haven't done anything wrong. You've done right by us. I shouldn't have doubted you just because..."

"It's alright," Sellia replied. "I've had some bad experiences with vampires too. Caution with our kind isn't a bad thing."

No apparent bad blood - so to speak - seemed to remain. Mikael felt no residual tension from the vampire; it seemed his apology had been completely accepted. That was good. He didn't want to be the kind of person who judged others based on their origins. He needed to do better.

"So," Ulga said. "We find a vampire gathering nearby? Uh... carefully?"

[Quaxo9]

Nairn Tuckamore and Fira-Nar

At least they had a destination. She wasn't sure what Coldharbour and Oblivion were, but the latter was certainly of interest by name alone. Nairn picked up a few books from the desk and kept the two bottles of ink and the quill she'd found, these provisions were tucked into her satchel. There would be time for reading later.

As they were walking down the stairs, Nairn found herself shoulder to shoulder with the argonian swordswoman who seemed to be doing her best not to eye her up. At least, her eyes seemed to be flicking in Nairn's direction and away again on a consistent basis. The norn was at a bit of a loss as to why. Perhaps conversation would set the woman at ease? She did have questions, after all.

"This 'oblivion' - is it literal?"

Fira was startled by the sudden question and a bit embarrassed that she'd been caught watching the tall foreigner. It was strange - she was tall and pale like a Nord, though certainly taller than most Nord she'd met - yet her accent was nothing like that of her countrymen. And then that question - who didn't know of Oblivion? And who didn't know about vampires, for that matter? Fira's left eye took stock of many of the party she'd been introduced to today and had to admit that most of them didn't seem quite right. Clearly there was more going on here than she'd first surmised, though she also had to admit she hadn't asked many questions herself. Here was a golden opportunity.

"Sort of. It is difficult to perceive - those who see it from afar see nothing but a void - but it is a place. Just on another plane."

"Ah, we are familiar with other planes of existence. This is not a difficulty." The woman seemed preoccupied, almost as though she were disinterested in the answer despite having asked the question. Fira was a touch annoyed, but decided not to let this new information slide.

"What do you mean? You...seem to be walking Tamriel for the first time, though you look to be a Nord."

"Norn." Nairn corrected, then realized there was some need for explanation. "I am Norn. Anakita, Stefan and I came from another world where Mikael was hiding with his wife and children. We are here to seek the mutual continuance of our worlds."

"Oh, well. That explains...several things, I suppose." The argonian was still a bit confused, though the answer had been plain enough. Another world, indeed.

[Monkey Kitty]

Sellia was at a bit of a loss, unsure whether she was expected to take the lead here. She was the natural choice to lead them to vampires - but she finally had a tentative understanding with the group, and she didn't want to disturb the balance by appearing too involved in the politics of her kind. Perhaps it was best to wait and see what way the wind was blowing.

It was taciturn Gwindor, however, who decided to be frank. "My lady, I think you are the best source of information about this," he said, and she was surprised by the courtesy of his tone. As if speaking to a valued provider of knowledge, not a mere bloodsucking creature of darkness. He went on, "Will you serve as our guide?"

Sellia glanced around, but seeing no objections from the others, she nodded. Her recent meal - while necessary for survival and maintaining sanity - had the unfortunate side effect of allowing her enough blood to blush faintly at being called 'my lady,' and she reproached herself for it.

"Yes. This way."

As they descended the steps, with Sellia in the lead, she spotted a tiny injured bird that had been crushed beneath some cultist's boot. With a subtle motion and no comment, she bent and picked it up, and the sparrow disappeared into her sleeve.

By now the sun had set, and Sellia led them along the coast for awhile, then turned north, up the slope into a forest. "There will be many of them," she said. "Don't be alarmed. I will make sure they don't harm you."

Her warning was in vain. When they stepped into the quiet cemetery grove, it was completely empty. Sellia's sharp eyes darted around in confusion...

"This is sort of like the reverse of an ambush!" Anakita commented conversationally. "I like it better than the regular kind..."

Another of Sellia's vampire senses had picked something up, though. She smelled... blood. Lots of blood. She gasped, and disappeared into the trees beyond. When the others followed her, they would find them kneeling by a haphazard pile of dead vampires.

"Someone killed them," she whispered in disbelief. "Someone killed them all..."

[Quaxo9]

Fira-Nar

Fira was inclined to agree with the strange bow-toting woman for once. She could do with a few more 'reverse ambushes' in her line of work, though what it meant in this case certainly felt much more sinister than any ambush she'd experienced. The feeling that something - someone - was missing always brought a strange ache to the left side of her face. Today when the ache presented itself, she felt it was a bit ridiculous. She didn't know these people. Certainly there was some investment in their being here, but nothing personal.

When they came upon the bodies, she understood.

'Missing' didn't always mean that you'd find what you were looking for in the condition in which you'd expected. While Fira wasn't one to be overly concerned about someone killing a vampire, that someone might take it upon themselves to kill an entire gathering of vampires who clearly hadn't been on the hunt was definitely worrisome. That, and Sellia's distress. Though they may feed on blood and serve a particularly horrible prince, they were still people and exhibited the emotions one would expect upon finding a slough of dead where one had expected camaraderie.

"Do you think the cult did this? That they picked up on our plan and got here before we did?"

She began inspecting some of the nearest corpses as politely as possible. If the cultists hadn't killed them...who had?

[Monkey Kitty]

Sellia

For a moment, Sellia silently regarded her fallen brethren. Then Gwindor was beside her. With the hand that remained to him, he briefly made contact with her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss," the stoic elf said quietly.

Sellia knew he was just being courteous. That it wasn't personal. But that didn't matter. She was still deeply grateful for his kindness. It gave her the strength to continue, with a shuddering breath.

"I can't say for sure," she said. "But these vampires seem to have been killed by common violence. There is no... precision, in these injuries. That doesn't seem consistent with the actions of the cult. They were willing to kill a vampire, certainly - me - but with the intention of using my blood for a specific magical purpose. The wholesale slaughter of vampires would not seem to advance that purpose."

Anakita nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why someone did this," she speculated. "If they're using vampire blood, then killing the vampires would prevent them from doing their ritual sacrifices. Maybe this was actually the cult's enemy. But... that's kind of a problem. I mean, besides that they killed a bunch of people and that's awful. It also means that we may be dealing with two issues at once. And that whatever killed a bunch of vampires is probably either pretty powerful... or else there are a lot of them. Either way, it doesn't look great."

"Do you... plan to act on this?" Sellia asked, surprised. She wouldn't have thought the pile of vampire corpses would inspire much reaction beyond 'good riddance.'

"Of course," Anakita said, sounding equally surprised. "You can't just murder a bunch of people for no reason. Right?"