The Freedom Stone

Anya returned to the inn in upper Nexus. As she stepped into the room she had rented, her heart sunk. Jalmar was nowhere to be seen. She sprinted downstairs and ran to the innkeeper. “Did you see the man I arrived with leave?” she asked desperately, out of fear for the city.

“Yes I did,” the old man nodded and replied, “the large fellow right? He left while you were gone, headed off to the lower districts without so much as a word.” He rubbed his faintly-bearded chin and tried to remember anything else. “Oh yes,” he said just as Anya was about to leave, “he put down a jade bit to pay for your room before he left.” Anya thanked the old innkeeper and rushed out of the building.

“Oh gods, please don’t let him be leaving!” she thought as she charged down the crowded streets of Nexus, knocking a few people over as she passed. “And please don’t let him be looking for a fight!” As if in answer to her prayers, though not as she hoped, Anya heard a loud crashing of stone and wood halfway across the city. “Oh no,” she thought, and raced off after Jalmar.

Meanwhile, in the slums of lower Nexus, Jalmar stepped over the shattered bodies of a dozen thugs. He was surrounded by a cloud of dust and small debris from the wall he had just crashed through. More of the thieves were outside, with small blades ready but without any desire to fight. They began to scatter as Jalmar appeared through the smoke and haze of the collapsing tenement behind him. A few of the thugs stood to fight, but even they were wracked with fear. One of the thieves blindly charged Jalmar and stabbed at him with a large knife. The blade bent and crumpled against Jalmar’s chest, and the thief dropped his ruined weapon in shock. Jalmar reached out lightning-fast and grabbed the thug by the neck. “You fought for your life,” Jalmar muttered, “good.” He threw the man back, and he rolled across the cobblestone street until he struck the building across the road and stopped. While not dead, the thug did not get back up for a while. “Where is your leader?” Jalmar demanded of one of the few remaining thieves. None of them answered, so Jalmar added motivation. He lunged at the next closest thug, and dodged past him. Right behind the thief, he spun on his heel and put all of his momentum on his right fist. In one wide arc, he brought his fist against the back of the thug’s skull. Bones shattered, and the man fell lifeless before he realized he was under attack. Blood dripped from Jalmar’s right hand, and he approached the next thug.

“I’ll take you to her!” the next thug shrieked. He scampered away, and Jalmar followed behind. The thief lead Jalmar to an abandoned blacksmith’s shop in the middle of the slums. He then knocked on the door in a particular pattern to signal his allies inside. A slot in the door slid open, and a pair of eyes was visible on the other side. “Someone here to see the boss,” the thug said sheepishly. The slot closed back up, and the thief looked to Jalmar. “We’ll have to wait a moment for approval,” he said. Jalmar almost chuckled. He swung one large fist against the door, and blasted it off its hinges. The flying door caught the thieves’ door guard full in the face and bowled him over. Twenty more thugs inside the building drew their weapons immediately. Jalmar stepped inside unafraid, and saw that the thieves were using the old building as both a hideout and as a forge to make weapons.

From the crowd of thieves, a young woman of finely athletic build and graceful posture slinked forward. Her short red hair framed a deadly serious but somewhat amused expression. She wore a long black dress, cut high up her right leg. She was about to speak to Jalmar, but stopped suddenly. The smile left her face as she stared him down. “I know you,” she said breathlessly. Jalmar somehow recognized her as well, but couldn’t place how. “Or maybe, I knew you once before,” she said with more composure. The thieve all stood motionless and silent as their leader and this new arrival stared at each other. Faintly, an empty circle of golden light glittered on the woman’s brow. Jalmar recognized that as one of the symbols of the anathema, much like the mark he bore. This display drove the thieves around the smithy to back away slowly until they reached the outer wall. They knew the nature of their leader, but they had not seen any others of her kind before. “What do you want here?” the woman asked Jalmar, with genuine curiosity.

“I heard in the bar that you were one of the exalted, I thought you might be terrestrial or know where I could find someone.” Jalmar spoke very straightforwardly.

The woman nodded, “I can find almost anyone, but why should I help you?”

Jalmar’s eyes narrowed, “We’re kin, and I will kill you if you don’t.”

RIP AND TEA-WHERE IS THE SCARLET EMPRESS?

<^_^>

Valheru wrote:

Jalmarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...don't cheat on Anya, you buttface. =P

Anya: "You were out killing another woman, weren't you?!"

Like he has any other interest in his own circle night caste.
He killed his lunar mate already after all.

Nizkateth wrote:

Valheru wrote:

Jalmarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...don't cheat on Anya, you buttface. =P

Anya: "You were out killing another woman, weren't you?!"

Like he has any other interest in his own circle night caste.
He killed his lunar mate already after all.

Whose shard obviously will belong to my favorite character, soon. ^___^

Valheru wrote:

Nizkateth wrote:

Anya: "You were out killing another woman, weren't you?!"
:lol:
Like he has any other interest in his own circle night caste.
He killed his lunar mate already after all.
:D

Whose shard obviously will belong to my favorite character, soon. ^___^

Leading up to very awkward moments. <^_^>

*snirk*
Jamlar : I killed you
Anya : Not well enough ! Byleeeh!
Jamlar : *walking in the other direction*
Anya : *follows*

I just love that last line Niz, Youre better than some of the PUBLISHED writers i've read for some of the D&D fantasty novels out there. its your trademark and you have such emotion, you CANT get your characters confused with eachother and fights are just..they hit every awesome center i posesse!.
If only i was inspired enough to do what you are! keep it up girl.

*cheering*

So, the Zenith has found the Night caste. Wonder when he will find his other 3 circlemates. And poor Anya. I can't beleive Jalmar would cheat on her. But I like the fact that Jalmar found a new ally. And since they are hidding out in a forge, I wonder if they have any contection to the place Anya took the obsidian. Finally, are they anywhere near the 6 tombs in Nexus?

Oh, one last thing, what's the new girl's name?

If Anya exalts as a Twilight or Dawn... That Circle will be so hardcore.

Niz, if stories were horses... yours are the love children of Seabiscuit and Pegasus.

Devi-Chan wrote:

I just love that last line Niz, Youre better than some of the PUBLISHED writers i've read for some of the D&D fantasty novels out there. its your trademark and you have such emotion, you CANT get your characters confused with eachother and fights are just..they hit every awesome center i posesse!.

Thank you!

It's good to hear that people are so thoroughly enjoying my work. I like to make sure my characters are distinctive (after all, Jalmar and Aiden are both jerks, but very very different about it), and it seems I've succeeded. ^_^

Cole the Demon Hunter wrote:

Wonder when he will find his other 3 circlemates. And poor Anya. I can't beleive Jalmar would cheat on her. But I like the fact that Jalmar found a new ally. And since they are hidding out in a forge, I wonder if they have any contection to the place Anya took the obsidian. Finally, are they anywhere near the 6 tombs in Nexus?
Oh, one last thing, what's the new girl's name?

Well, he may have found the night caste... but whether she survives this encounter is yet to be seen. And even if she does, who knows if Jalmar will actually hang around her.
Jalmar's not so much cheating on Anya as finding someone who might have info for him. Bear in mind, this is a guy who killed the reincarnation of his first age lunar mate without a care.
This is a different forge from the one Anya went to. She went to a highe class sword-smith's shop, this is an abandoned blacksmith from the edge of nighthammer. Perfect place to run illicit business.
They're near the tombs if you count being in Nexus. But I'm only partially familiar with any of their locations and whats inside, so I'm unlikely to be including them (except maybe to have Jalmar toss an extra or two into one of them to kill them).
Haven't picked a name for the night caste yet. She wasn't exactly in the mood for formal introductions when someone punched their way into her lair, and Jalmar probably doesn't give a damn.

Buddha wrote:

Niz, if stories were horses... yours are the love children of Seabiscuit and Pegasus.

^_^
Thanks!
That might be a bit much credit really... but thanks!

Jalmar, master of the incredibly badass final statement!

Valheru wrote:

Nizkateth wrote:

Anya: "You were out killing another woman, weren't you?!"

Like he has any other interest in his own circle night caste.
He killed his lunar mate already after all.

Whose shard obviously will belong to my favorite character, soon. ^___^

Great minds think alike! ^_____^ *high-fives*

Bladestorm wrote:

Great minds think alike! ^_____^ *high-fives*

Ehehehehehehehe *Highfive* ^___^ 'Though, she'd ALSO make a great Dawn. *Nods*

You can have whatever you want in them. My ST choose to have three of the tombs be entrances, and three be exits. Inside are two Elsewhere Manses, and time passes 2 weeks inside for 1 day on the outside.