[Mkguild] Warmth in Darkness Part 2

[Stealth]

Next part, had to break them mid scene so it won't get stuck waiting to need
approval to post due to size.


"IF that final punishment occurs..." Stealth reminded.



            Edmund shakes his head. "Let's not start that debate again here.
Save it for when we are back safely in the Keep."



            "Ugh, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying that may not
be the case." Stealth shook his head, "...I'm not even allowed to disagree
or it immediately means I'm debating."



            "What I mean is that this is not really the place for such a
talk." Edmund countered.



            "Then we're BOTH at fault in that." Stealth said in a grumbling
tone.



            He nods. "Agreed. We do need to talk this out sometime. We
cannot keep that between us forever."



            "What, a theological debate?" Stealth felt dismayed at the
thought.



            The knight shook his head, "No, just get our thoughts out in the
open and understand each other better. Otherwise such concerns turn to
resentment. But I understand. I'll just say that whatever happens after
death evil people like that are best removed from the world."



            "I suppose that's a way of looking at it. So long as they are
successfully removed, anyway." The cat shrugged.



            "This is a momentous event. We both agree on something!" Edmund
jokes.



            "This scares and confuses me." Stealth said dramatically and
they both laughed. Soon the courier sobered once more, "I still hate
slavery." The cat affirmed, "It has to be one of the pinnacles of
arrogance."

* *

            Edmund nods. "It is one of the true evils that I have strived
hard to eradicate all my life."



            The cheetah sighed, "Well, these spirits. They would consist of
slaves too, I'm guessing."



            "The spirits here are of all sections of society; Slaves, wives,
shop keepers, soldiers, craftsmen." The knight counted them off.



            "Then free them," Stealth conceded.



            Edmund laughed. "That is the hard part. These ghosts are bound
here for a reason. I do not know what that reason is. Yet. But I WILL free
them."



*--------------------------------*



            After some more time on the road the conversation died and the
two were left to their thoughts. Stealth began to tilt his head down and
appeared to be distracted.



            "What's wrong Stealth?" Edmund asks.



            "It happened so fast and then they took it. What will I do? How
will I ever pay it off?" He whimpered.



            Edmund nods. "You are still worried about that? Your debt is
cleared but you have to spend the night in a haunted forest."



            "...What?" His demeanour changed though the cat paid no heed to
the last remark. "Who paid it?"



            "I did," Edmund answered. "With a little help from Misha."



            "Misha? The taur guy?" Stealth vaguely recalled an image.



            "Yes the foxtaur guy. Despite his looks he is quite wealthy."
Edmund and Misha were well acquainted though Stealth didn't see much of the
fox scout during the months he'd been living at the keep.



            "What!? You asked him to pay?" He asked bewildered, "I have to
pay him back." The cat noted.



            Edmund shakes his head. "I said your debt was paid and I meant
it."



            "I have to thank him somehow." He continued, feeling humbled.

* *

            "How do you intend to do that?" The knight asked, mildly
curious.



            "I honestly don't know." He shook his head. "Did you tell him
who it was intended for... or why?" he continued softly.



            "...Aye, I did." The knight answered. He'd told the Head of the
Longs of Stealth's need as well as the basis of the need =96 the attack. But
Edmund would not bring that up now.



            "I have to make it up to both of you." The cheetah bowed his
head reverently to the knight in gratitude.



            "You don't need to make it up to us. It was a pleasure to help a
friend." Edmund shrugged him off.



            "But you know I will anyway!" The cat pointed out.



            Edmund gave a chirp of laughter. "I understand. Do not ponder it
too much or too long."

* *

            "Well you're taking me to a place that's haunted so I don't feel
too bad about it." Stealth joked.



            "But you don't believe in such things." Edmund reminded.



            The cat paused for a moment, "There are things in this universe
that I cannot deny but I don't consider them 'ethereal', I just think there
is a scientific reason for the occurrences. Hell, for all we know the
Lightbringer gods are just powerful mortals from another world, but mortals
all the same." Stealth explained.



                He nodded. "We Followers think the Lightbringers ARE just
that. Mortals who gained too much power. We think alike in that at least."

* *

                "That's good; I knew we were interacting for a reason
besides having the same curse..." Stealth shrugged.



            Edmund nodded once more, "We may be very different people apart
from the curse, but we share many ideals."



            "Hmmm..." The cat pondered, "If I weren't a cheetah would we
still have become friends?"



            Edmund thought for a moment, "If our paths still crossed, yes,
but perhaps not as close." He offered, "But don't ponder on it, don't be
concerned by what-if's. It's futile, we are here now."



            Stealth felt satisfied with the answer and said no more on the
subject. He looked down to the saddle then back up again, "...say this
horse, it belongs to Terrant, right?"



            "Yes, that's right." The knight answered, "I told her I would be
bringing a friend with me to the woods and asked to borrow her mount."
Edmund saw Stealth try and fail to hide a big, triumphant grin, "I take it
your nose is working?" He asked with a smile.



            "Yeah!" Stealth chuckled, "I noticed her scent when I saddled
up." Despite a distinctive scent that only the gender morphed knight had,
the cheetah noted that he smelt like a healthy female human, though he'd
dare not tell Terrant that. Another thing the cheetah noticed about human
scent in general was that they smelled like monkeys and apes for some reason
but then they always did share characteristics. "Did you tell her who it was
for?"



            "Yes, of course, Terry wouldn't lend her steed to anyone." He
said.



            "Oh? That was nice of her." Stealth blushed.



            "She greatly appreciates how you always refer to her as Terrant
and call her sir." Edmund explained.



            "She does?" Stealth asked. His ears drooped as he blushed
slightly more under his fur.



            "Terrant is still having trouble dealing with the change in
gender unfortunately. But thankfully she is adjusting. Whatever the gender
Terrant is still a fine soldier." Edmund intoned.



            Stealth smiled, "A fine soldier and a good friend. You have good
people serving with you."



            "I know. My people stayed here with me, I'm thankful to lead
such people. I thank Eli for them everyday." The knight said fondly with
sincerity.

* *

---------------------------**

* *

*                *The arrow cut through the air and clunked against a stone.



            "Try again."



            Again, a narrow projectile whistled through the air and hit the
ground.



            "Ugh."



            "Don't be fazed!" The knight insisted. "We shouldn't be moving
for this, so relax and try again."



            To break up the monotony of the slow journey, Edmund tried to
tutor Stealth somewhat with his bow as they rode. The younger cheetah was
taking pot-shots at small, furry critters to have something fresh for lunch
to eat instead of trail rations. The frustration was helped along by the
fact that the knight made Stealth ride out over the range to retrieve each
fallen arrow. At least if he caught something it wouldn't be so bad.



            Edmund spied another rodent-thing, "There's one!" He pointed a
claw. "Have another go."



            Stealth pulled the bow as taught as he felt safe with and
released it. The arrow drifted a bit in the wind and impacted on the grass
halfway to the target, which foraged and scampered about unaware of the
failed attempt.



            "You just need to pull the bow tighter." Ed explained once more.



            Stealth's frustration showed despite his efforts to remain
level-headed. "I'm trying."



            "I know, it takes time." The Knight assured and took out his own
bow. In a single habitual move, the cheetah notched and let loose an arrow
which went straight through the tiny animal, out on the plain. Without
pause, Ed sent one more and picked off one of the critter's chums.



            The young feline felt his esteem and confidence drain away
utterly. He felt the same as when those nobles blamed everything on him, and
he felt the hopelessness begin to crop up once more. The paladin had no
trouble spotting the look of dejection on the cat's face and body; his
posture, ears, whiskers and tail completely slumped.



            "Snap out of it." Edmund ordered in a sharp tone and brought his
steed to a halt. "It took me years to learn everything that I have."



            "It's not that." The pride-damaged cheetah pointed out tersely.
"It's everything that has happened." He sighed.



            Edmund places an arm around his friend. "Take heart my friend.
Things will get better. Sometimes bad things just happen."



            "I know. I'm trying not to let it get to me." The cheetah said
while showing no outward sign of awareness to his friend's proximity.



            The Knight nodded to the field of their discarded arrows,
"restock the quivers and retrieve the kills." He ordered softly. Edmund
didn't want to order Stealth about like a page but he intended to keep the
troubled feline's mind busy, that and it allowed the Knight to remain alert
to threats. "Everything takes time my friend."



            After a few minutes, Stealth managed to collect all the arrows
as well as the two, small voles, felled by the skilled Paladin.



            "They're quite small, Ed." The cat teased as he approached on
his mount.



            "Aye, but they will be nice with what we brought along." Edmund
answered and took his kills from Stealth, placing them in a saddle bag.

* *

            They continued a short ways toward the haunted forest. Not all
that much time had passed though when they left, the warm, autumn sun shone
in the sky. Now every inch of the blue sky above had been blanketed by a
light gray cloud cover.



            The younger cheetah didn't notice the shift though he didn't
mind it either. He looked down to his steed's side and could no longer see
any distinct shadow. With the sun blocked out for the time, the weather
didn't seem particularly gloomy but pleasant and quite calming. Stealth
blinked and the tip of his muzzle twitched from the soft touch of droplets
on his nose and whiskers.



            Each minute speck of water contented the cat. Gentle enough not
to irritate the sensitive features on his muzzle yet apparent enough to
stimulate them. He smiled at the acute sensation he could now distinguish.
Then again, he'd been able to smell and feel rain as a human anyway and it
was a smell he enjoyed. But now Stealth's whiskers tingled from the drops
and it was a fun feeling, just so long as they remained minute drops =96
drizzle at the most. To be caught in a rain storm without shelter wasn't
something the cheetah wanted to experience even when he used to be a full
human.



            Stealth looked about the surrounding area. The haunted forest
now dominated the landscape to the north. There were other woods about
however these didn't appear quite so imposing. Off to either side the trail
still consisted of open ground, notably barren fields, or so they appeared
at first. The cat looked over to one area and considered it for a moment.

* *

            "Ed, wait." Stealth instructed as he dismounted.



            "What's wrong now?" The knight asked.



            Stealth stood before a long abandoned and barren farm field.
Nevertheless, the cheetah walked towards it and began to inspect the soil.
He found a spot that he seemed to approve of and then approached a nearby
shack from which he snatched up a rusty shovel. Stealth quickly removed the
topsoil and unearthed a good number of potatoes.



            "Impressive, but we're carnivores." Edmund reminded.



            "I am aware. Do you still have those voles?" Stealth asked,
unfazed.



            With some confusion the paladin held out two dead animals in his
hand.



            "Good, I need their skins and flesh, the entrails aren't
important." He instructed the feline still in the saddle.



            Edmund shrugged, after some work with a dagger which produced an
icky sound as it was applied, the feline quickly and brutally tore off the
outer flesh which consisted of fur, skin and body fat. Still on his horse,
the cheetah trot over to the other cat who had accumulated a small pile of
wood, broken off from the shack and attempted to light it.



            The knight sighed quietly and took the liberty of creating a
fire after giving his friend the fleshy hides. Stealth took the morsels of
flesh and placed them in a small metal pan from his pack intended for meals
then held the pan out over the fire. The metal soon heated up to the point
that it burned away the fur and slowly the solid animal fat began to melt
into a thick, oily fat. The cheetah tilted the pan and applied the melting
animal fat to the potatoes which he let soak for a moment while Edmund very
patently waited for the results of the experiment.



            After a few minutes of waiting, though not as long as it took to
extract the fat, Stealth skewed one of the potatoes on his dagger and held
it out over the fire. The vegetable cooked in the fire helped along with the
fat coating it which seamed to accelerate its roasting. The carnivores took
in the aroma as the vegetable baked. As it began to turn golden brown,
Stealth removed it from the flame and held it out to Edmund.



            "Try it." He said hopefully.



            The Knight cocked his head in bewilderment but took a bite out
of the object. The cheetah purred with content as he consumed the small bite
of plant food in his carnivorous muzzle.



            "That's quite good." He commented and licked his lips. "Tastes
like a roasted vole."



            Stealth smiled, "Really?"



            "Really." He took another bite, "I should try that on my next
patrol, very clever."



            The cheetah blushed, "I got the idea from people who have those
large, outdoor roasts. Or anyone who bakes food with lots of meat." He
explained and scratched his head, "Their taters tend end up baking with a
good amount of cooking fat." Stealth placed the pan back over the flame in
an attempt to extract more of the oil as he explained. "Though I don't know
if anyone's ever cooked them in fat deliberately let alone if it's been
applied to field cooking."



            Edmund had been copying his friend's example and already had
another potato over the fire. "There is a first time for everything and it's
good to have such a taste for potatoes again."



---------------------------**

* *

            After stopping at the foot of the haunted woods for a hearty and
resourceful noontime meal Edmund saddled up his mount and instructed Stealth
to extinguish the small camp fire before returning to his. After breaking
camp they made the rest of the journey toward the woods which now stood just
a scant few yards away.



            Stealth felt nothing as they crossed the threshold; it looked
like yet another forest no different from the others dotting the valley. He
felt relief yet disappointment at the lack of paranormal atmosphere. Then
again it was still daylight.



            "So tell me about these ruins." Stealth persisted from the last
time.



            The paladin looked about at the woods that surrounded them.
"These woods are young. They are not the millennia old forests of the
Aelves. They date back to the year 150. Before then this area was covered
with farm fields and a small city. A true Suielman city."



            "Ah." Stealth said simply.



            If Edmund felt bothered by the apparent apathy he didn't show it
but continued nonetheless, "It a city of over a thousand souls who lived,
laughed and walked it's streets till the day the lutins attacked. The hordes
swarmed over the wall to the north and laid waste to the entire valley. But
this town held out for many days. It's brave people beating off waves of
attackers."



            "Really?" Stealth sounded surprised. "I heard about the fall of
the Suleimans but I don't know any details." He explained. "Just that lots
of lutins poured south."



            Edmund nodded absently. Of course the knight may have been
exaggerating just a bit to perk his friend's interest... "This is where it
all started. Metamor Valley was the first place to fall. The people who
lived here were brave and strong but they were too greatly outnumbered and
late one night the city fell but only after killing many lutins. Angry at
their losses the lutins put everyone to the sword in a single night of
massacre and chaos."



            Stealth seethed under his breath and his ears folded. "And
then?"



            The paladin shrugged. "No one is sure and the Shadow Fox is
reluctant to tell me more details. He had been summoned right before the end
and although he could not stop the downfall he did exact revenge on the
killers. He must have killed thousands of lutins before they fled the city."



            "Then some of the inhabitants would have survived, right?"
Stealth looked up and asked, even though the people to whom he referred were
long dead.



            "Some must have but they soon fled. It seems those who died then
do not rest in peace. Each night they haunt the ruins going thru the motions
of their final day of life." Edmund explained, sounding distant.



            The cheetah furrowed his ridges. "Why? Are they sentient?"



            "If you mean do they think? Yes but they are trapped in unlife
reliving the city's downfall and their own deaths over and over again." He
added in more detail.



            "How then are they trapped in a cycle?" Stealth continued, "If
they are capable of thought."



            "They are not really alive but trapped in a terrible undead
mockery of life. They do not know of the passage of the centuries. To them
it still that terrible night." Edmund eventually clarified.



            Stealth looked away for a moment and then back. "Have you seen
this?"



            "Yes," Edmund answered tersely. "Several times and it pains me
every time."



            "Is it dangerous? What happens if they see you? What happens if
you interfere?" The feline demanded in a sharper tone.



            "Do NOT interfere," Edmund answers. "Most will not even notice
you unless you directly interfere with them or worse try and steal something
from the ruins. So do NOT take anything. Not even the smallest most
worthless of coins." The cat said adamant.



            "And you're taking me to this place!?" Stealth asked with a hint
of panic. "What if something happens? What if I disturb them?"



            "You won't," Edmund reassures. "You are too responsible for
that. And you will be with me and I will watch over you."



            After a moment Stealth nodded without a word.



---------------------------**



            The two made their way slowly thru the forest when a large stone
wall loomed up out of the brush ahead. They stopped and dismounted from
their horses less then a half dozen paces from the wall. "Let's look in
here." Edmund said, "It looks like it was once a substantial building."



            Stealth looked at the imposing wall, "Is it safe?" He asked as
he tied up the horse.



            "More or less so." Edmund said as he tied up his own horse to a
small tree. "Be careful of where you step. Keep an eye out for writing or
anything that might have writing on it like pottery."



            "You can read Suleiman?" Stealth asked sounding doubtful.



            He nodded in answer. "Yes. My parents believed that all their
children should have a classical education. I can read 5 languages."



            "Really?" Stealth asked sounding envious. "Can you read my
parents language?"



            "I cannot speak it well but I can read it." The paladin
explained.



            "That's still something, I can only read common." He admitted,
though being able to read at all was still quite a feat for those of the
Midlands.



            "I can teach you if you want?" Edmund said.



            "That's okay; I think I'm too busy to start learning other
languages." Stealth declined.



            Edmund shook his head. "You should never stop learning. It keeps
the mind young and active."



            "And when you're done, you will be old." Stealth noted as they
crossed through what looked like a collapsed gate and into what was once a
large compound. The younger feline flicked an ear and pondered at the task
ahead, "I thought you said not to disturb anything." Stealth reminded. "How
do we begin to look for clues?"

* *

            "You search with your eyes, and your ears and your mind." Edmund
explained. "Look for anything that seems different and unusual. Also be
careful where you walk. There could be a hole opening into some deep
cellar."



            They slowly moved through the rubble toward a smaller gate. The
room beyond the gate was a tumble of stones and bricks but a small marble
figure poked out from the middle of a large bush. "This must have been a
home. That statue would never be in some business place."



            "It doesn't look safe to tread, not without disturbing the
remnants." Stealth observed.



            The knight nodded, "This way." They moved past the wall toward
nearby partial-standing structures.

* *

            The two walked slowly thru the silent forest. Jumbled piles of
stones were everywhere. Some knee high, others waist high and still others
piled high over their heads. Edmund would stop occasionally and examine some
interesting stone or pile of stones before moving on.



            After a while they came to a ruin that still resembled a
building. Tall moss covered columns towered above them. The two carefully
made their way to an open doorway and the paladin peered inside.
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