Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Blind Guidance

Awaking to the sound of claws grinding against cobble, Yuler opens her eyes to meet those of Lee, whose panicked state tells of something much greater than her recovery going on around them. With muffled words, he pulls her up into a sitting position and wipes gunk from her face. Though his words remain incomprehensible, she quickly realizes that they are coming from a place of warning. Through blurred vision, she looks about them, where she spots the tail-end of Hael, whose silver fur and tar-colored flesh whip about in a dramatic manner. Her awareness rising, Yuler gasps and gags simultaneously, spitting up dark water and choking on it all the same.

"Good, you're breathing. Get up! We must move!" Lee tugs at Yuler's arm until she is on her feet, then the pair of them face Hael, who continues to mangle the bodies of Nostrum as they dare to approach her. With a bellowing shriek, she shreds each of her contesters in an inhumane act of violence. "We have to help her in any way that we can." Lee states, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Keep clear of her maw and do not present your back to her!" With this, Lee darts off to Hael's right, where he slashes at a man who has made it passed Hael's vicious onslaught.

Yuler looks about the bodies at her feet, then leans forward and picks up a sword that one had dropped in their desperate efforts to live. She then allows herself a moment to cough up more of the harsh fluids before raising the blade, ready to fight yet again. Sticking to Hael's left hind leg, Yuler remains cautious of the beast but sets her focus on two more Nostrum as they approach her from a far corner of the chamber they have found themselves in. Unsure of her ability to truly fight with such an unfamiliar weapon, she gives herself the same stance she would have used with Cronn's ax and slings the blade from overhead. As the first of the Nostrum deflects her attack, the second moves in, plunging their own blade at her. Reacting hastily, she manages to avoid being skewered and swats at them from her left to her right. The blade manages to connect with the second Nostrum's arm and they back off for a moment to recuperate. At this same moment, Hael's matted fur is seen darting downwards from up above, squashing the first Nostrum with ease and batting the second into the shadows. Hael lets out a ghastly roar in the direction of the second, who Yuler is certain must be dead.

"That'd be the last of 'em, Hael! Calm girl! Soothing thoughts!"

Yuler looks to Lee, who has now pressed himself against a wall and placed both hands out in front. Unable to obey his own warning, he is found face-to-face with the beastly woman, who continues to step toward him with a deep rumbling coming from her belly. Yuler, unsure of what to do and what not to, grasps tightly at the hilt of her blade and slowly approaches the beat from behind, but before she finds a reason to strike, Hael raises her snout into the air and sniffs several times. Then, she lowers it and turns away from Lee, who lets out a fearful pant.

"Come Yuler, we must follow her."

Yuler watches Hael squeeze into the same tunnel she had originally entered from, then looks to Lee.

"Is this safe for us? Where is she going?"

"Trust that she means us no harm, girl. She has picked up a trail. Where ever she is headed, it must mean a great deal." Lee pulls the brim of his hat down and his mask up, covering all but his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "Follow her."

Yuler nods and raises her own mask. Ensuring it is snug in place, she takes the tail end and follows Lee up through the tunnel, which remains vacant of Nostrum, unlike before. Assuming Hael had managed to cleanse the place of what vermin there was, Yuler allows her blade to fall to her side, then picks up her pace to keep close to the beast that guides them. Before long the sound of wood cracking can be heard coming from the front of their chain and Lee stops in place, as if to be watching what it is Hael has found herself doing. Yuler does the same, spotting yet another passageway into the dungeons being shredded open by Hael's onyx claws.

"Wait, should we not find Marne before leaving the dung-"

"Sh!" Lee demands, observing Hael's actions carefully and dodging what splinters find themselves coming back towards him.

"But-"

"Sh!" Lee raises his sword, ready to strike whatever comes from the opening as Hael pulls herself out of the tunnels and into a large room.

As Lee and Yuler make their way out as well, they come to realize where it is they are. A commons within The Bethel. Rows of large bookcases and seating areas fill the empty space, just as Hael lets out a pained whining.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothin'. She's coming back around."

Yuler watches as the Great Beast begins to shrivel away, leaving massive tufts of fur behind as Hael's human form is restored. The bandages having never left her face, she shivers in the nude against a polished floor. Lee quickly moves towards her, offering her his coat and pulling her up towards him in a warming fashion.

"There." Hael's shaking voice states as she raises a finger towards two large, unguarded oak doors. "Marne."

"Marne?" Yuler nearly sprints off, but something about the state of things within The Bethel unsettles her enough to await the others. "We must hurry then, if we are to assure his safety."

"Safety?" Lee spits with a chuckle. "Whatever lies in wait beyond those doors, it is nothing less than death."

"What do you mean?"

"The chambers there... belong to the High Priest and Priestess. It is... their throneroom." Hael shivers harshly once more as Lee helps her to her feet. The pair then begin a slow journey towards their next point of interest with Yuler taking the lead.

"Slow yourself Yuler. There will surely be another confrontation and Hael is in no condition to assist us."

"Of course." Pulling back ever so slightly, she continues towards Marne.

Once they have reached the doors, Yuler pushes against them, causing a great amount of creaking as they slowly swing open. With the doors now out of the way, they are met with a grand red carpet that runs the length of the room, and white marble floors. The high ceiling and arched architecture tell tales of congregations that once took place, but are surely a thing of the distant past. At the far end of the room, Yuler spots the frame of a man laying against the carpet, and some distance beyond him, a woman. Who stands between two empty thrones and looks on in their direction.

"How curious it is..." comes the voice of the woman, "to see such faces after... so many years."

Yuler looks to the others, then back at the crumpled form of Marne. No longer having it in her to await their approach, she rushes towards him and turns him over, inspecting his body for injuries.

"He is fine, I assure you." The woman takes a step towards Yuler, who immediately returns to her feet and pulls her blade free. The woman pauses for but a moment before continuing to approach.

"What have you done to him?" Yuler demands.

"Nothing, dear child. He is simply slumbering."

Yuler looks back to Marne and begins shaking him in an effort to wake him.

"It is no use, I am afraid. The sleep he has found himself in is the doing of a holy man's brew. Only time will stir this child."

"Lady Mardelia, High Priestess." Comes the voice of Lee. "If I may-"

"We come with a purpose." Yuler interjects.

"And what purpose might that be, Yuler?"

Startled by the woman's knowledge of her name, Yuler stumbles on her words for a moment.

"Yuler, this is no place to play your games!" Spits Lee. "Silence yourse-"

"We have come to put an end to Dabria." Yuler states confidently. Straightening herself out, she offers an honorable stance to the Priestess, who simply offers the girl a tender smile and puts open palms out to her sides.

"There will be no need for such actions to be taken. Dabria's work is nearly complete, and once it is so, High Priest Ordaite will return to me... to The Bethel."

"So it is true then. The High Priest is still living." Yuler gulps harshly, knowing now that her efforts to sway the woman have failed.

"Of course he is." Lady Mardelia looks to a large, pane-less window and smiles once more. "Always tending that garden, he is."

Moments after she speaks these words, the large doors behind them swing open once more and a mob of Nostrum approach the thrones. Though, with nothing more than a look from their High Priestess, they stop in place and each offer a bow to her.

"Fine Nostrum of these holy lands. I assure you, there is no need for violence in this moment. Allow yourselves to rest. Allow us to speak." The Bethel Nostrum do as they're told and take a knee, offering prayer to the High Priestess, who looks over them with motherly eyes. Eyes that remind Yuler of Achlys.

"Ignore this girl's words." Comes Lee's voice once more. "We wish only to retrieve the boy, then be on our way."

"I do apologize, Defector Lee. For I cannot allow you to leave these grounds. You will all return to the dungeons in a short while. I have been assured that it will take Defector Hael some time to recover from her transformation, and therefore, grant us the time to reinforce your cell. I must apologize for the treatment you lot have been given when initially placed there. It was an ill overlook on my part."

"I must doubt that." Yuler states as her lip curls with anger.

"As I presumed you might." Lady Mardelia begins closing the gap between herself and her visitors once more, placing a warm hand against Yuler's shoulder once she has done so. "Child, I must warn against continuing with these efforts. Dabria is a gift and must be cherished as such."

"What kind of gift brings so much death and despair?"

"A gift that serves a truer purpose." Removing her hand, Lady Mardelia places it into the opposite sleeve of her white, floral gown and does the same with the other, keeping both tucked tightly to her body. "To ensure that these acts can not be pursued, I must contain you for the rest of your mortal life. I pray that you forgive me."

Yuler laughs in the woman's face and then looks to Lee and Hael, who share a woeful expression. She then turns back to the woman, who has begun making her way up to the thrones with a melody being hummed under her breath. As she does this, the Bethel Nostrum behind them begin approaching once more, in numbers that Yuler knows to be far too great for the likes of her party to manage, especially in the condition they are in. Once her arms are trapped tightly in shackled bindings and Marne is lifted from under his arms, the party is escorted back out of the throneroom. Yuler watches from over her shoulder as the High Priestess brushes the cushion of the second throne whilst continuing to hum the melody. Then, to Yuler's surprise, another returns the melody to her. But the voice is not that of a man or woman. It is the deep vocals of a beast from somewhere beyond the window. Low howls strain to match the notes that have been played for them, seemingly soothed by the voice of the beast's mortal wife.