Outside the Cycle - Act XIII

So I pretty much know exactly where this abomination of an RPG is headed, so there is a very good chance I'll be posting them much more regularly than the weekly schedule. So this is out two days ahead of time.

No intro jokes this time round because I figured if you want one you should check my Dotabuff stats.

Act XIII: Freed from the Real

Hangovers. They distracted you from duty.

Whisky, however, did not, and Tresdin drained another glass before refilling it.

"You say he incapacitated her? Lanaya was not a part in this… murder?"

The Crystal Maiden slowly shook her head, shaking. It was unfortunate she was too young to drink - Tresdin thought it may have calmed her, made this report easier for her.

Perhaps Lanaya were innocent, taken against her will. But Tresdin knew of the Psychomancer, and anything he was involved in was full of lies and duplicity. Rylai gazed at her with pools of sadness.

She had been found not a day past, wandering aimlessly around the jungle. Her eyes were dead, her magic had abandoned her, and while she could not provide detail without breaking down, she had said enough to inform Tresdin that Arash had murdered Traxex and Davion, and that if this were to be believed Lanaya were guiltless.

The commander nodded to Lyralei, who escorted Rylai away.

"War is no place for a child," Tresdin stated, emptying the whisky. Damn, that was the last…

"She followed her sister," Rubick justified.

"Who is also dead," she snapped. Her council was too soft… a grand magus, a ranger girl, an old man, an arrogant princess.

It was still hard to think of Ezalor as a Fundamental. He was soft, mild, and slept a lot, with a bit of a smell of mothballs. Doddering old men and children, she fumed. It was probably the whisky talking.

"I want him dead," she announced. "Whosoever kills Arash Vespender shall be greatly rewarded. Spread the word."

Mirana looked at a list of Radiant resources. "We don't have the resources to assault him - in force."

"Then send our bounty hunter after him," Tresdin snapped. "Gondar isn't doing much here anyway."

Nobody could dispute that. Stress was beginning to get to the commander, making her very glad that she had long ago learnt how to fight as well as plot strategy while consuming amounts of alcohol that most would consider rather excessive.

"I am planning on sending Rylai away, perhaps to Ultimyr Academy," Rubick informed them. "Commander Tresdin is right, she has no place here."

"I doubt she will ever recover," Ezalor confided. "'Twas a cruel thing Arash did. Madness breeds only madness."

The Grand Magus nodded. "She needs counsellors, friends, neither of which she will find here."

"Good," Tresdin said, words slurred. "Now that's over we need to get back to the war at hand. Of our outer towers, only the second one in the top lane still remains, while the Dire have all their bottom towers and the second tier ones in the other lanes. It is likely they expect us to attack bottom, so instead we shall strike their tier two tower at the top lane."

Mirana shrugged. "You are right, they will not expect that, but we cannot engage them directly with all their demons and other forces."

"Send Nature's Prophet," Rubick urged. "His dominion over the forests will enable him to get in and out quickly and take the tower before they realise it."
Tresdin nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Meanwhile, we shall distract them with a little skirmish on the bottom lane, headed by Anti-Mage and Vengeful Spirit."

Ezalor cleared his throat. "That won't work, I am afraid. Shendelzare has left us, returned to the Ghastly Aerie with the Skywrath Mage."

She glared at him in shock. "What are they planning? It is madness!"

Tresdin realised it then. "Oh."

"Dragonus was at the Black Rook with Arash, but seems to have deserted him since then." Rubick grimaced underneath the harlequin's mask. "I don't know what his goals are."

Another one lost, the commander despaired. How she wished there was another bottle of whisky nearby…
_____________________________

Blackest night opened its eyes and caressed Lanaya with its still embrace. Her own violet orbs fluttered open, and she gasped for air before realising that she was not choking.

Her sight seemed sharper, not tainted by a darkness within. Her headache had faded, and so had her memories - all she remembered of the past few days was a wave of blood and truths as dark as they were false.

I am myself again. She almost cried with relief from that alone. The assassin gazed at the bloody symbols she had drawn on the walls, but they were meaningless to her now. Her wound, too, had stopped aching. She inspected it, and it had almost fully healed.

Lanaya did not question the seeming miracle. Footsteps in the dead of night clicked slowly as they approached her.

She did not need to look to see who it was. "Arash."

"I couldn't come earlier," he apologised. Oddly, he was fully geared for battle, resplendent as he had been before the run to Vo'hollom Domosh.

"I did not want you to," she snarled. "What did you do to me?"

His eyes were downcast. "I should have thought. The talon touches those it strikes with a temporary madness, compounded and multiplied with each subsequent attack. Too much will kill even the strongest of heroes."

"Why are you here, to torment me further?" Lanaya asked through gritted teeth. "You have what you want, now go about your schemes alone."

To her immense surprise, he drew out a key and fitted it into the lock. It clicked slightly as the door opened. "I am leaving, and you should too."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," she hissed.

"It is… in your best interests. Without my moderating presence I can't promise you that your privacy and status will be respected," he explained.

She thought of the looks some of the Dire had given her, and shuddered. "Alright then. What do you need from me?"

"Nothing."

Lanaya blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Arash smiled. "I needed you to get me back into this place, but now that I'm leaving, I will spend some time at the secret shop waiting for Abaddon and Dragonus. Consider this by way of an apology. For everything."

It wasn't enough. She eyed his jaw, reared back, and punched him. Hard.

The Psychomancer picked himself up off the ground, rubbing his jawline. "I guess I deserved that."

"You GUESS?!" she snapped. "Could you be any more of an *******?"

He shrugged. "Probably. Do you want to hit me again?"

She very much wanted to, and she did. This time, he took a lot longer to rise. That in itself tasted like victory to the Templar Assassin.

"Can we go?" Arash winced. "I rather like my face not broken."

She redressed into her combat gear and headed out with him. They moved quietly but quickly, and leapt over the wall. Once they were safely away from the Dire fortress, she turned on him.

"Won't the Shadow Fiend see us gone and suspect something?" Lanaya asked. Arash chuckled quietly.

"Oh, he'll mutter something about me, presents and special rewards, and that's it."

"What do you- oh." She blushed a bit as she got his meaning. "You don't?..."

He smiled sweetly. "Lanaya. I would rather gargle lava than **** you."

The way he put it was insulting, but it was a relief anyway.

"No, we shall have about a full day to get away before Nevermore overcomes his adoration and realises that I'm up to something. By then, I fully intend to be with the shopkeeper," he continued.

"I always knew you were planning something," a new voice announced. Arash whirled around and fired off three bolts of psychic energy, which dissipated in the dark.

"Invoker," he whispered in horror. A wall of sound slammed into the pair, knocking them down, and Kael jumped down off the wall, looming over them, not to intimidate them, but completely to make himself look impressive.

"Fear not, children, I am not here to hinder you," Kael took a pinch of white powder from a small pouch on his belt and sniffed it. "I have been your secret protector for some time now, on Nevermore's commission. He made it very worth my while."

Arash rose first, and Lanaya followed with some difficulty, still weak from her imprisonment. "Join us," Arash implored. "I know how important you are to yourself, and the Ancients-"

"I know," Kael said. The Psychomancer blinked in surprise.

"I will take your side," the Invoker affirmed, and threw Arash a small crystal. "Contact me with this. Mayhappen I shall deign to assist you when you call. Quas Quas Wex."

The elder mage vanished from sight in a remorseless chill. The cold faded eventually, and when it disappeared entirely Lanaya knew he was gone.

Arash was staring blankly at the crystal. Suddenly, his head jerked up and he looked at her.

"This was unforetold," he said. "Yet not entirely unwanted. Shall we?"

"If we must," she replied warily, but this time it was her that lead them towards the secret shop.
_________________________

"You are leaving very soon, given your triumph," Abaddon heard a voice say.

He turned, coming face to face with Vikaryn Ashkarai.

"I have business to attend to at the Ancients," he explained. "I have a conspiracy to foil, and a certain mage to confront. I do not expect to be overly long."

Vikaryn gestured at him. "You are the last of the Trueborn. Were you to die…"

"…the half-born will take my place. If they are careful with their breeding, their descendants will be trueborn in a generation or two. Besides, rule of Avernus should be based on merit, not bloodline."

The other lord nodded, seeing the wisdom of the statement. "Vanath goes with you?"

"Aye. I will warn you, if we fail, the world ends."

The other raised his left eyebrow. "Mysterious, but I think I can see your point."

Abaddon picked up the shards of his runeblade. "I need a new blade," he murmured. Perhaps the shopkeeper had one…

Vanath d'Avernus entered. "The armies await," he informed his lord. Abaddon nodded. "Give me an inventory," he commanded.

"Two hundred House Guard. One hundred Rangers. Seventy Avernal Vindicators. Twenty Black Riders, and eight Twilight Assassins."

The Lord of Avernus glanced at the exiting Lord Ashkarai. "Good." He clicked his fingers, and the omnipresent Mistblades stepped from the darkness. "We go now."

As he stepped out onto the courtyard, and surveyed his small force, he realised how miniscule it was compared to what Avernus could have fielded before the Ambry uprising. Still, it should be more than enough to clear the Radiant creeps away.

And after that, Arash would have a lot to answer for.