Kindness for his Nightmares: XXIII
Markos reentered the building, his body sore and his mind racing. "If you keep at it you'll be able to do more than summon lightning." Herod added helpfully. For the best three hour's Markos had the components and requirements to summon a witch bolt drilled into his skull, along with the differences between cantrips and spells.
"Well.. I have actually casted some magic before." Markos admitted as they walked together back to the manor. Markos wasn't all that good at it just yet, but he knew he could get better. After their 'teaching' as they put it, Riu was pretty exhausted. Markos could see that looking over at her white hair it was no longer in its normal combed length over her sides, instead now messy and thrown in random directions. Herod was not much better, Markos giggled lightly.
"Really what kind of magic?" Riu inquired. Her voice was slightly higher pitched and definitely showed the wear of teaching him magic. Markos looked over, meeting her blue eyes.
"Plannar shifting!" He exclaimed. Herod gave him a shocked look before he broke out laughing, his green eyes showing his utter confusion and disbelief. Well.. he knew that his siblings did not find it funny.
"Yeah.. planar shifting.. Sure Markos." Herod replied as he laughed. Riu joined in and Markos just frowned.
"Well, It's late.." Markos said suddenly. "We should all be getting some sleep." He stared at the stairwell leading to the rooms on the upper floors, if they were being honest with themselves sleeping in the rooms they claimed didn't fair well, afterall according to Asher and Adleth who had actually gone to each guild, they were infested with termites and other problems.
'You could burn it all.' Markos cringed as another whisper went through his head. Of course now was the time he had to hear some idiot's perspective.
'What if we just tried blowing it up!' Another whisper. Markos shook his head.
'I'm me.' Markos thought. 'And I'm in control.' He stared at the floor of the tavern where Herod, Adleth and Riu were currently sitting on a blanket discussing who knows what.
"Markos." Markos turned to see Asher's concerned eyes. "You ok?" Markos went to open his mouth, he wasn't ok he knew that, he was far from ok, but at this point he had no comment, how could he? While he grew more comfortable with the group he found himself landing on worse rolls of the dice like his insanity was just going out of control.
'No. I'm not insane.' Markos told himself. 'I'm fine.' he took a deep breath before nodding. "I'm fine Asher."
"Well, I don't know about all of you, but I've dealt with enough random shit today. I will sleep." Alekzandr said firmly. Alekzandr pulled out a bedroll from his backpack as Asher did the same, now while Asher's bedroll was new and freshly purchased to replace the one he had.. recently lost. Alekzandr's was a dark blue with tattered edges and a clear picture of age on it. As he unfurled it on the ground. Markos threw his yellow cloak to the floor.
'Is that what you want, Pharaoh?' Markos could practically hear its voice as he stared at the cloak, a spoil of victory, a victory he wished he hadn't even needed. He set a few things from his bag onto the cloak. He could tell that while Adleth, Herod, and Riu had yet to even start to try and sleep, he was going now. At least he had Alekzandr and Asher nearby. Perhaps his dreams.. Would be merciful.
They were.. not. He received no such mercy. He felt his mind tear in two as he slept, his body plunged under the oceans as he witnessed a city glowing in the distant depths. Non Euclidean geometry reached out with tall spirals that seemed to double in on themselves, roads in which Markos could see both the beginning and ending as they sat next to one another. It was a city unlike any other, and a city he dreaded to see. A booming deep voice came to him, muffled from the distance as it called out in a guttural language; Markos could understand yet he could not make out the words. The water was a freezing cold that bit at every inch of his skin, as he pleaded the waves to become undone to be rescued from this hell. Whispers intruded his mind, he thrashed in the deep blue, and called out for help screaming under the waves though he knew no hope would come. Oxygen was ripped from his lungs as he screamed his ankles feeling as if they weighed a hundred tons as he felt himself being dragged downward towards the sunken city. His thalassophobia went off as Markos tried to close his eyes, eyes that could not shut. "I'm not here, I'm not.. This isn't.." He felt the panic rise in his throat as air spilled from it, until no air continued. Markos tried to take deep breaths to remember he was sleeping. It was all a dream, a dream he told himself as his lungs filled with sea water and slime. He clenched his already closed eyes shut but it did nothing as he saw the green and white city below him. At once a deep sound could be heard churning below as he looked down and saw a racing object coming for him, he could not truly see it but could feel the dragon arm reaching for him. He felt the fear fill his body as he desperately paddled for it miles away from him, the water kept shifting as whatever came for him got closer and closer. Markos breathed in the salty water before a hand gripped him
"Be safe Enah.." Markos instantly flinched at the feminine voice as he was tugged by the arm he looked up as the ocean surface once miles away became nothing more than a simple river bank with a smiling figure above; wavy black hair, gorgeous purple eyes torn- the hand gripped his as he was pulled to the surface. A saviour, it was not. Markos felt the panic consume him; he was pulled towards the smiling terror, the one he had attempted to flee. A fate worse than death.
Markos shivered in the corner of the tavern biting his bottom lip in a desperate attempt to avoid screaming. "Uheo.." He muttered to himself. "Uheo.. I.. I.." he shook his head and bit his own tongue. Out the window he could see the sun rising slowly. Despite never really being in that ocean he could feel his body still shivering from that cold water as he was drenched in sweat. Markos buried his head in his lap as he sat with his arms around his legs which were brought up to his chest. He felt a small nudge to his left which made him flinch. "U-uheo..?" he looked up with terror before seeing a mug. It floated in the air and slowly set down before him. "Lif.." Markos whispered. Looking down he saw a brown steaming liquid in the mug. He smiled and picked up taking a sip. He was shocked as the hot liquid touched his tongue, it wasn't ale, something sweeter, something he hadn't actually tasted before. He took a few deep breaths and smiled into the empty spot beside him, feeling the cloudy presence that was Lif. He smiled and raised the cup before emptying it. "Thanks..." He muttered. Lif was clearly there for a purpose but He was unsure of what it was. Before he felt the tug against his cloak. Markos turned to the left and saw the dusty floor shift a little.
'Who is Uheo?' The writing was crude and reminded Markos of his own writing, though that was probably because of his lack of neatness. He looked down, as the flashes of his Uheo ran through his mind, large sprawling tentacles, the pure black face as he tried to attack, shifting in every few seconds.
"Someone.." He muttered finally. "Just someone..." Markos concluded. Setting the cup down at the bar. He shook his head ready to try and distract himself. A feeling passed over him Lif's presence gust over the bar.
"Up early?" Markos nearly jumped as he heard a soft voice ask behind him. He turned slowly, his eyes met that of Riu, soft blue specks with flecks of gold in them. While her face was quite beautiful he noted, it held almost a contemptible elegance to it. In adjacent to her long silvery white blonde hair. "You gonna.. Start the apocalypse?" Riu tried to joke but Markos's mind flicked over to the similar question Fabia had asked all that time ago. He finally shook his head. "Couldn't sleep? Or.." Her voice trailed off; she sounded so kind, something that caught him off guard.
"Nightmares.." He finally answered. Her face twisted in a look of sympathy. "You? What are you awake for?" Riu pursed her lip staring at the ceiling. Her mind seemed to ponder the question for a long time.
"Couldn't sleep." She replied with a pause. Markos shifted on his ass standing up to take his mind off of what had happened. He leaned upward above Riu and pointed to the cellar door behind the bar counter. Riu frowned; she stepped quietly over the party members inching forward. She was dressed modestly in a different white outfit than he'd seen when he went to sleep. Riu got closer and stuck her upper half over the bar clearing some of the dust away.
"I haven't seen it yet." Markos admitted, though he noted, of all the room's doors the cellar had the least dust on it. Still enough to know the party hasn't seen it yet. "Wanna look?" He offered though he knew he was going down there regardless as he vaulted over the bar. He heard Riu struggle to get over behind him, finally walking around to the door. Markos blew the dust off as he reached down. The Cellar door was made out of simple dark wood with iron inlays that surrounded the edges and made the small ring handle which sat in its crevice. Pulling it open he was surprised by the lack of a creak before he descended the ladder.
"Wait up!" Riu hissed in the darkness Markos had none of it, as he descended the ladder before looking up, to see Riu descending right above him. Quickly looking away before completing the fall. The cellar was a simple room, about twenty by twenty feet for the first room, he could see the second attachment to the chamber which went in a different direction. "You know, you could be a little bit nicer?" Riu whispered to him. Markos shivered a little to the cold cellar and walked over to the wine room, it was much smaller. The entire cellar was made out of a dark grey stone brick that looked dusty and old Markos could spot, several barrels of aged ale and casks of wine sat around like monuments to the tavern. He was glad he was wearing his cloak as the air seemed to be just cold enough to entice a shiver. Riu however wasn't so lucky.
"Why the hell is it so damn cold down here!" Riu said through chattering teeth. Markos looked over at the girl who was dressed in only a sweater and pants somehow neglecting socks.
"No idea Non-" Markos stopped, she was.. Being kind. "No idea Riu." He felt a little out of place to continue insulting her. He went to leave realizing the cellar was just that, a cellar before Riu said something.
"Behind the fourth barrel." Markos turned around from the ladder looking at the fourth barrel from the left hand side. At first Markos noticed nothing, before a small error of detail caught his eye. "It's not level with the rest of them." Riu continued. Her voice was calm like she had suddenly forgotten the cold, Markos moved forward and looked at her, both of them examining the barrel. He shrugged.
"I mean it's old, why do you bring it up-" Markos began but Riu's eyes grew wide as she covered his mouth pushing him gently against a barrel, Markos struggled to hold still as Riu and him stood close next to the cask.
"You can't hear it.." Riu affirmed suddenly as she took away her hand. She looked at the barrel and he just stared at her pondering the pro's and con's of stabbing her for touching him. He thought she was nice! "It's.. here.. Oh god it's here." Riu bent down grabbing the legs of the wooden cylinder before pulling hard "Help me Markos!" Riu sneered. Markos recoiled out of confusion before bending over and aiding her as they pulled the already unlevel cask away from the wall. As they moved it he noticed a shadow growing more and more behind the cask, until it was completely removed. His eyes grew wide, behind the mossy stone of the barrel sat a little hole in the wall with a large black symbol resting above it. Within the hole sat a prominent figure in a fetal position white as snow and still so very intact. The skull was small and contained prominent elven features as the body gave proportions not unlike that of a grown man. Markos saw the remains of an elvish man.
"Oh my.." Riu murmured. Markos could feel her eyes look over at him. "Do you... think?" Riu's voice was full of sorrow. Her bottom lip trembled.
'Ask him!' Markos heard a voice say. 'Ask her! Maybe she did it!' He looked up at the symbol above the body, two descending triangles on either side with an open vertex down triangle on top.
That.. symbol. Markos thought to himself.
"Lif!" Markos called out softly. "Lif.." He tried again.
"W-what?!" Riu tackled Markos causing his head to hit the pavement, "You idiot!" he shook his head as Riu slammed the palm of her hand against his temple. "You can't.." At once Markos could tell they both felt the presence of Lif as Riu climbed off of him, he looked up to see the dust moving as he could feel the spirit falling to his knees. "Lif I'm.. I'm so sorry.." Riu shot him another dirty look but he shrugged it off, they had found Lif's body and he deserved to see it.
"This.. is gonna be terrible." Riu said softly as she tried to console the mute specter.