[Mkguild] The Illusive Chain (17/18) - my comments

[cokane8116 at aol.com]

Link5: Defiance
 
Tangledcloth bound Lois all about, and he struggled in confusion for a few momentsbefore his mind finally recalled the events of the previous night.  He had fallen asleep in the form of a feralermine, another detail that the wolf had left out of the dream he hadbuilt.  It added to the number of smalldetails that had combined to break the illusion.
 
Muchmore calmly now, the ermine extracted himself from the cocoon of his discardedrobe.  Standing on top of the pile, hewilled his form to shift back to humanity. Fingers grew longer once again, legsshifted to support the stance of a man, his body grew, proportions shiftingsubtly until he had regained as much of his stature as he could manage.  Eventually, the Curse did reassert itself toprevent him from changing further, leaving him standing on his own two feetdespite appearing much like an animal still.
 
Onlyonce he had shifted back did he begin to shiver, a chill running through him,and not one brought by a sudden breeze. It was so easy to be confident in a dream, knowing that no harm couldcome to him.  Now, however, the time hadcome to gamble with his life, and the weight of the coming encounter felt likeit would crush him.  Leaving the robesdiscarded behind him, Lois found the same bundle of clothing and weaponry thathad been so key to the dream.  It wasstashed beneath the side table where it should have been, since the room wasentirely without a wardrobe.  Although hefelt certain that the pipe would not be wrapped in the cloth, he still pausedto check.  Nothing.  The impossible pipe was absent, as well heknew it should be.




>>>Important detail





 
Afew minutes later, Lois had dressed himself with the clothing he had wornduring his most recent, ill-fated patrol. The proportions were still wrong: his longer body left his tunic tooshort; the trousers were tight in some places, loose in others, and had to befolded up to keep him from standing on them; and the coat hung loose around hisshoulders.  Still, as he had hoped, hecould still wear the clothing, if not comfortably.  He strapped the pair of daggers to his belt,and reached for the bandolier of throwing daggers before pausing.  No, he would have no use for them in thistask.
 
Anabandoned lumber camp outside of the Outpost… It was a strange place for the wolf to suggest for their comingmeeting.  Lois was convinced that it hadbeen chosen for a reason, and it made him nervous.  As confident as he had played during theconfrontation with the wolf he knew that his own plan had only the slimmestpossibility of success, and allowing his opponent to decide the terms ofengagement had only made it so much more dangerous.  It had, however, been no deception when Loishad noted the difficulty of his own position. Careful use of his few bargaining chips would be required if he hoped tosucceed.
 
Hehad just one more stop to make before he left for his fateful meeting.
 
*       *       *
 
Alone,Lois walked on the westward track, the chill of the night air feeling naturalon his thick fur.  It had been a littlelonger than an hour since he had left, but he was in no hurry to meet hisfate.  The guard at the western gate hadthought it odd that he was leaving alone at such a time, but he had caused notrouble.  Likely, he expected that Loiswas going to reinforce an active patrol. Hopefully he would live long enough for that assumption to provecorrect.
 
Loisalmost missed the turn off the main road that the wolf had mentioned.  Although it was defined, there were clearsigns that it had been in disuse for a significant amount of time.  Though there were still portions of the pathwhere the dirt was too thickly packed together for any vegetation to grow, butthe forest had started to take back the ground it had lost, roots breaking upthe dirt until small plants were able to sprout even where wagon wheels hadonce packed it down.
 
Thelumber camp was just barely visible from the beginning of the path, but thetrees growing nearby made it impossible to see if anyone was there.  It was certainly possible to see the state ofdisrepair the building suffered, however. The roof, already built roughly, had lost boards at several spots,leaving a rough skeleton of a structure standing against the tests of time.
 


>>>Nature reclaiming it all







Theermine took his time as he approached, eyes and ears tuned to try to detect thewolf at earliest opportunity.  He was notsure if it was possible to accept the improved senses of his animal sidewithout changing the rest of his body, but he was certainly trying his best todo so.  Still, he could not hear, see –no, not even smell – anything that suggested that someone had come this wayrecently.  It was possible that the wolfhad taken an entirely different route to his destination, but Lois feared thatperhaps Nathan simply knew some trick to mask his path.  It could make the upcoming confrontation thatmuch more difficult.
 
Thepath continued, curving towards the workers’ entrance past a few steps that hadbeen built into the path, reinforced by timbers that had been driven down intothe dirt to make climbing the inclines easier. The ermine proceeded slowly, still staying wary of any shadow thatlooked out of place.
 
Theopen-air structure was a haunting sight. Axes, saws, and simple woodworking tools were scattered about the area,most of them looking as though they had just been left there by workers who hadexpected to return at any moment.  If itwere not for the clear signs of wear and corrosion on the hafts and blades of thosetools, Lois might have wondered if the confrontation would be interrupted.  Lois took care to step over the abandonedimplements as carefully as possible while still trying to pay attention toeverything else.  There was still no signof the black wolf, but the ermine had a distinct impression that he was theresomewhere.
 
“Isee you took your time.”
 
Lois’impression proved to be correct as a voice sounded from somewhere nearby.  The former assassin turned, trying to trackthe source of the words, but found it impossible to do so in the darkness ofhis surroundings.  It proved even morecomplicated when the next words spoken seemed to bounce around the area, wordssounding hollow like they might when spoken in the loneliness of an empty room.
 
“Youare fortunate that my line of work already demands a great deal of patience.”
 
“Icame as agreed,” Lois replied eyes, ears, even nose searching for hisrival.  “I made no promise regarding thetime of my arrival.”
 
“AsI made no promises regarding the nature of our meeting,” Nathan’s voicereplied.  Again, he seemed to speak fromno less than three locations over the course of his statement, each far removedfrom the last.  Either there was somemagic involved, or the wolf was employing some sleight to render himselfuntraceable despite Lois’ best efforts.
 


>>>A helpful little trait





“Whatis to know about our meeting?  We arehere to settle a conflict by one means or another; by my death, or by yoursuccessfully reclaiming me for your masters.” Lois slowly drew one of his daggers in his right hand, turning casuallyto search behind him as he took the other in his left.  He had hoped that there would be some sort ofepiphany as he held the weapons, a memory of the way he had used them in thepast.  Unfortunately, he felt much thesame as he had earlier that day fighting Balrog.  He could remember the way combat should flow,but could not imitate it himself.  Eventhe weight of the weapons in his hands felt wrong, no matter how he held them.
 
“Youcome prepared to defend yourself, I see.”
 
Loisthought he saw movement in a nearby shadow, but there was nothing there when heturned.  He felt exposed where he stood;no doubt his opponent could see where he was, and he had no such advantage.
 
“Icome prepared to do what I must.  What isit that you seek to accomplish?  Here Iam; I have no shelter.  If you wish medead or captured, your opportunity is here.”
 
“Iwould much prefer to hunt you from the shadows, much as you did to those youkilled in times not long past.” Suddenly, a rush of movement before him, and Lois had to backpedalsuddenly to avoid a blinding flurry of sharp, furious blows.  He lacked even the time to focus his eyes onhis assailant before the attack was over, leaving him standing in the center ofthe building, panting as he tried to find the wolf.  “Remember? Often you would toy with them, drive them nearly mad from fear beforefinally landing the fatal blow.”
 
Thevoice spoke with no shortness of breath despite the brief, intenseskirmish.  Lois himself was far morewinded than he should have been, but again he lacked any memory of efficienttechnique and all that remained was blind, desperate panic.  “I do not remember,” he admitted.  Where was that cursed wolf?
 
“Ofcourse not.”  There was a sinisterchuckle, a sound that bounced about the area in chaotic echoes despite how openthe building was.  “What memory would ananimal have of a man’s life?”
 
Loisheld his peace, but in his silence, he tried to determine the aim of the wolf’scomments.  It was aimed at somehowunsettling him, but as he stood there he could not determine how.  Engaging an elusive opponent in a game ofwits that forced him to stay on guard at least made him feel more confident inhis humanity.
 
“Youknow why you were reduced to an animal, don’t you?”
 
Anotherattack; this time Lois caught a glimpse of movement to his left just before itcame, and he tried to meet the flurry with an attack of his own, only for hisdesperate strike to be batted away easily by one of the wolf’s strangesticks.  Nathan spun in front of theermine, responding to another thrust from his right hand by blocking it at thewrist, a sharp strike sending a shock up Lois’ arm and causing him to lose gripon his blade.  A swift series of blows tohis hip and upper leg sent him sprawling.
 
Andthe wolf was gone before Lois could regained his focus.
 
Theermine half-crawled to where his weapon had fallen, taking it in his right handas well as he could.  The sting that ranup his arm still made gripping it difficult, but he would manage.  He dragged himself to a kneeling position asNathan’s voice spoke again.
 
“Yourpatrol was subjected to the exact same magic as you were, but only you wereirreversibly reduced to an animal. Strange, is it not?”
 
Loisgroaned.  He could feel several areas onhis right leg bruising already.  The wolfwas taunting him, and unless Lois could find a way to prevent the sneak attacksit would only get worse.  A brief silencehung over the lumber camp, a protracted pause designed to give him time tothink.  As much as anything, it just gavehim the time to find his feet again.  Hehad no doubt that the wolf would provide his own opinions on why Lois had beenso uniquely affected.
 
“Ifit were so easy to reduce a Keeper to animal form, any half-competent magecould reduce even the most determined patrol to little more than a collectionof beasts, babes, and mindless objects of lust. No, the countercurse is far too strong for that.  It holds back the Curse enough so that, evenif it should be strengthened for a few moments, a Keeper would still retaintheir minds and their forms.  It takes atruly sinister magic to overcome its strength.”
 
Loisstood tall, focusing as best he could on the voice that impossibly echoed abouthim.  He listened to the wolf’s words,but tried to concentrate more on anything else that might have been out ofplace.  Still, nothing stood out.
 
“Doesyour lecture have a point?” he asked, his frustrated voice shouting out to noone.
 




>>>Good point. Villains who like to draw things out are annoying sometimes.







Thechuckle echoed again.  “Perhaps you sensemy direction already.”
 
Thenext attack came from directly behind Lois, a brutal strike across his backthat sent his head snapping back in agony. Both daggers clattered in front ofhim as he collapsed to all fours, stars dancing across his vision.  His mind screamed at him that he had tocounter before the wolf broke his neck in the next flurry, but a desperatewheeling punch met only empty air.  Loiscould not arrest his momentum, and he spun in a flailing circle, droppingawkwardly onto his injured leg with a cry of pain.
 


>>>Lois is loosing at this point





“Whereare you?!”  Lois cursed, spinning hishead to try to find his assailant.  Hegasped and spat between gritted teeth as his leg gave out from underneath himand he fell on his back, panting from exertion despite his failure toaccomplish anything productive.
 
“Theassassin Vincent Lois, brought low by little more than a common soldier.  Ah, but who am I to laud my own effortsagainst the empty shell that was once so great an assassin?”  That laugh, that cursed, echoing soundbounced around the fallen ermine again. Even with Lois sprawled helplessly, the wolf did not give him any chanceto track his movements and continued to mask his true location.  “If you were really Vincent Lois, you wouldhave suffered no ill effects from so weak a fetish spell.”
 
Theermine clambered up with the support of a nearby table, thankful at the very leastthat decay had not rotted the legs to ruin. Already so beaten, he could not muster the effort to watch for hisopponent as he recovered the fallen blades from the ground.  No attack came, perhaps the first mercyafforded him during this encounter.
 
“Yourpatrol was able to resist because they had the will to do so.  When the spell hit you, however, it severedyour connection to your masters – to those who have molded you and made you whoyou were.  Vincent Lois was gone, and theonly thing left behind was little more than an ermine with a few confusinghuman memories.”
 
“Iam no animal!” Lois growled.
 
“Really?  I wonder…”
 
Loishad no time to prepare for the next assault, especially as it came from nodiscernable physical direction.  Instead,the next attempt forced a confusing jumble of thoughts and instincts to theforefront of his mind.  His weapons fellagain, this time as he clutched at his head with his paws, crying out as hismind was invaded.  His clothing saggedaround him as he sank down, body changing against his will.
 
“No!”  The ermine realized what was happening andwilled his body back to form.  But… whatform was he trying to realize?  He lookedat his paws – how strange they looked – and tried to picture them as he wantedthem.  Small, inflexible digits tippedwith dark claws, padded to let him run efficiently on all fours… No!  That wasn’t right!
 
Unableto recall what he wished to accomplish, it was all Lois could do to focus onkeeping his body from changing at all. Though it felt like an eternity passed, he managed to hold out only afew moments before the barrage ceased. The confusing thoughts faded into the background again, and finally hismind was clear enough to allow him to reverse the change to his body.
 
Hispain from his physical wounds was the least of his concerns now.  He felt confused and mentally exhausted.  He could only focus on one thing: thatinsufferable wolf.  What had he done tohim?
 
Finally,it seemed that Nathan had grown tired of hiding.  The black wolf emerged from the shadows,laughing and giving Lois a slow, mocking round of applause.  “I knew that this would be entertaining, butI honestly did not know just how easy it would be to bring out the ermine.  You truly are little more than a shell of aman.”
 
Loislaunched himself at the wolf with nothing but his fists, but the wolf barelyseemed to move as he drew his weapons and blocked the attacks away.  Rather than disengaging, in fact, the wolfstepped towards Lois, crowding him with precise footwork and preventing himfrom mounting any serious threat.  Heseemed to know exactly where Lois’ next attack would come from every time, andhe continued to intercept them effortlessly before striking the ermine where hehad injured him before.  The formerassassin stepped back, but still the wolf would not relent, closing thedistance still and adding yet more bruises to his staggered opponent.  Finally, unable to stand against the attacksany longer, Lois fell backwards, tripping and falling back off of the wooden platformand into the clearing just outside.
 
Theermine gasped for air, barely able to see the wolf standing over him throughthe tears in his eyes.  His black furblended perfectly with the shadows, but his amber eyes stared like glowingembers from just beyond arm’s reach.  Hedid not press his attack.  Instead hewaited, allowing the battered ermine to rise to his feet.  Lois made one feeble attempt to do so, butcould barely rise above a kneeling position with his right leg so injured.  As he raised his eyes to look at the wolfagain, one of Nathan’s weapons greeted him, its end pointed at his face.
 
“Ihope you enjoyed your chance at freedom,” the wolf said with a patronizingsmile.  “I had hoped that some small partof the brilliant assassin would still shine through, but you are truly no morethan an animal trying and failing to masquerade as a man.”
 
Asmuch as Lois hated to admit it, the wolf was right.  He knew more about how to be an ermine thanhe recalled about his lost humanity. Only a desperate fear of fading into the oblivion of an animal’s mindprevented him from willingly surrendering. Yet here, faced with this utter defeat, it was his last hope.
 
Theermine drove himself forward, ignoring the pain, and attacked.  There was no thought behind his actions now;for the first time since he had been restored, he allowed the ermine’s mind todominate him.  He was a wounded animalwith his back against a corner, and survival drowned out any otherthought.  From all fours he launched onelast, desperate attack.
 
Thewolf defended admirably, moving quickly and decisively to stop the animal’ssurge.  He landed a few strikes, but hisopponent felt no pain.  Claws rippedacross one of the larger man’s arms, and bared teeth snapped for his shoulder,tearing out several strands of fur as they just missed flesh.  Nathan roughly pushed away from hisassailant, but a second attack came as quickly as the first.  This time it was the wolf who was unable togenerate an effective strike before his opponent had closed the distance.  He managed to leave one of his weapons forhis enemy’s jaws to save his throat from the same fate, and with the other rodhe delivered a glancing strike, again aiming for the right leg.
 
Fora moment, Lois was shocked back to his senses by the dizzying pain of theattack.  In that moment Nathan could seethe fear return, only to be replaced again by desperate rage.  The wolf had been given enough time toregroup, however, and he swept his stick sharply across his body, making fullimpact with the ermine’s ribs and sending him flying to the side.
 
Loiscoughed and sputtered desperately for breath, spitting a bit of blood from theside of his muzzle.  He was sure that thewolf’s strike had broken a rib at least, and no matter how hard he tried to tapback into the rage he had felt before, his body had been punished enough.  He screamed his pain and frustration to theair, pain blinding him to anything else. When he did finally open his eyes, the wolf was there again, his pawheld out towards him, the claws tracing an incantation.  The jumbled thoughts and instincts floodedback to the fore, but they came as a welcome relief from the agony of theermine’s body.  He tried to will his handto the pouch on his belt, but he could hardly move.  His gambit failed, he resigned himself towhatever came next.
 
Beforehe could be changed, however, the shaft of an arrow interposed itself betweenhim and the wolf, stuck into a tree just below the wolf’s outstretched paw.
 
“Stepback!” a shout echoed from somewhere nearby.
 


>>>YEAH! Help arrives!







Thewolf turned to find the source of the rude interruption.  Lois, still lying there on the ground,realized that some unknown power had granted him a last chance.  He pulled a pouch from off his belt, takingit in one paw and thrusting it in the direction of Nathan.  He screamed his agony to the sky, even as aspark of memory returned.
 
Hedid not know when or where the memory had come from, but he knew for certainthat it was one of the few that he knew had come from a time before he had everknown the name Metamor Keep.
 
“Doyou see those strands of magic?  They areyours for the taking.  They can do almostanything, but only if you learn how to weave them.”
 
Lois’scream ended as he put every ounce of his willpower into the fetish stoneinside the pouch.  What magic hepossessed activated the spell on the stone, and he felt a familiar pulse ofpower surround him.  With it, his right mindfaded, and the world faded close behind.
 
*       *       *
 
WhenAlex had first heard the voice sounding in his mind as though from somewherenearby, he thought that stress and lack of rest had finally rendered himmad.  Only when the rest of his patrolalso reacted to the strange voice did he realize that it was not madness, but amessage from an unknown source; a message, it seemed, meant for someone else.
 
Julianwas the first of the two mages to identify the direction from which the voicecame, following the strands of magic used to project the words through the areaback towards their source.  It was aremarkably long journey, and all along the way new messages came.  The voice taunted someone, unnamed for sometime until at last a familiar name was spoken.
 
VincentLois.
 
Thepatrol increased their speed, moving as quickly as they could to try toforestall any disaster.  Still they werealmost too late.  Alex saw the figuresfirst: Lois lay unmoving in the snow, his white fur and camouflaged patrol gearalmost invisible in the dusting of snow, while above him stood a black figure,disappearing into the shadows even more effectively than Lois blended in withthe snow.  Alex planted his paws asquickly as he could, quickly readying an arrow on his bowstring and drawing itin a single motion.  He let it fly andwatched as the arrow stuck fast in the bark of a tree just beyond the twofigures.
 
“Stepback!” he shouted, another arrow ready before he had finished speaking.
 
Asthe black figure turned to face Alex, it was Lois that made the unexpectedmove.  In a flurry of motion and a shoutof indistinct rage, defiance, and pain he thrust out a paw, and suddenly thearea was plunged into an eerie silence. The dark figure collapsed without a sound, and Lois himself disappearedfrom Alex’s line of sight.
 
Julianand Lucy were already dashing past as Alex replaced his second arrow in hisquiver.  He followed close behind, unsureof what awaited them below.
 
Thescene he found as he arrived was unexpected. As Julian wove a quick spell between his paws, a feral black wolfcollapsed into an oblivious heap in the snow. Lucy, meanwhile, was gently picking through the pile of clothing thatLois had been wearing moments prior, and it became clear that Lois had againreturned to feral form himself.  Lying inthe snow between the two animals was a square of brown cloth, with the familiarshape of a fetish stone just visible between the folds, smoldering as iffreshly picked from among raging flames.
 
“Cansomeone explain to me what in the Pantheon’s name just happened here?”




>>>Cool fight scene showing the wolf striking seemingly from no where!








 
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