Post by amimsyborogove on Oct 8, 2016 21:25:29 GMT -5
Turn 1: Turn of the Black Queen
The cavern was utterly black save for a dull crimson light that seeped up from below. The water splashed quietly up against the skeletal form that rose from amidst the subterranean basin of the spring, as though trying to claw its way up from the deepest depths of the leylines. The gentle glow of the arcane power flowing through this vast underground cavern was all the sun she needed. The breeze that blew in from the world so far above was her breath. The currents that swirled around her were her blood. The magic pulsing through the earth below was her heartbeat. The quiet, steady splashing of the unfathomably expansive spring was her lullaby. This, and not the fragile form that lounged limply like a doll between the claws of the skeletal creature’s outstretched hand, was her.
Reine raised her head ever-so-slightly, although even this simple gesture was difficult for her. So, the time had finally come. It would not do for her to appear before such a reputable lord in her present state. Appearing by her side the instant she was called, her dutiful Queen knelt beside her, straightening and binding back the tangled strands of her mane-like hair into two long tails, and wrapping her in elegant white robes like the Queen herself wore. She felt herself sinking slightly into the hand of her large guardian as she slumped once more, allowing her legs to dip beneath the surface of the crimson waters. She could feel the current flowing through her, carrying with it a new sensation: the presence of the guest she’d long awaited and expected.
Reine opened her eyes, their whites shifting to an unnatural jet black as she split her consciousness once again, the giant avian construct in whose talons she lounged springing to life, craning its long neck as matching crimson eyes appeared within the empty sockets of its hollow, skull-like face.
“So, you’ve finally come.” Reine’s voice rang throughout the cavern, spoken not by her own frail and fleeting form, but rather by every last wave that splashed in the spring, by every crumbling stone, by the very wind that blew into her unseen lair. “I, Reine, have been expecting you for quite some time now.”
“Yet I’ve been here all along, my dear.” He materialized slowly, grinning like a cat. “I do love what you’ve done with the place, though.”
“Ah, yes,” The silent mage’s projected voice replied with a hint of mirth. “I do suppose it was rather uncouth of me to simply move in without first requesting consent, but nevertheless, I’m much obliged to your charity.”
Shard tilted his head back in mirth. “You are the most entertaining intruder I’ve had in a while. Seldom am I called charitable.”
“Oh? I merely am stating the facts as I see them,” Reine observed with assumed innocence. “After all, that unnatural convergence of leylines earlier was your doing, was it not? I must thank you for that, incidentally. As all of this floor’s energy was gathered in one place, I found it quite simple to integrate my own soul into its workings. Thanks to that, and to you, I’ve managed to make a great deal of progress on the reconstruction of my army within just a few short days.” She raised a hand weakly for a fraction of a second before dropping it limply to her side once more, thus “patting” the clawed appendage upon which she sat by way of demonstration.
“How good to hear.” Shard’s voice was bland, mildly disinterested. “Does this mean you wish to continue our alliance?”
Reine’s head lowered slightly, before she raised it feebly once again, giving an almost imperceptible nod. “If your terms remain unchanged, then I, Reine, see no reason to refuse your assistance. After all, you hold in your hand the keys to my success: the power of the leylines, and their will. If you will grant those keys to me, then I will continue to share with you my eyes. Or perhaps is there some other task you wish for me to perform? In body, I may perhaps be weak. Yet here is my throne. So long as I sit atop it, as Queen my power shall not falter.” The proxy matching the magus’ own features appeared beside her once more as her name was spoken, giving an elegant curtsey.
“My terms.” He licked his lips, in a darting, inhuman motion. “I no longer need you as my eyes and ears; as you can see, I have no trouble standing on this floor.
“What I want is this, little queen: Bring your fellow travellers to the top. Don’t let them die here, or in a floor from now, when we’ve barely had any fun. Let them hold off going at each other’s throats until it’s far too late for them to go back to where they came from. Keep them focused, and keep them afraid. Deliver them to me, battered but still fighting for their lives.”
Reine’s unnatural eyes flashed, and a faint smile spread upon her face. “So you would ask me simply to preserve the lives of my erstwhile comrades until such time as they arrive within the highest reaches of this castle? A simple enough duty, and one which I have no objection in performing. Although perhaps I may not be able to save them from themselves, I will endeavor to fulfill this task to the best of my ability.”
“Preserve their lives?” He repeated the phrase with a curl of his lip. “A simplistic notion, my dear. I do not wish for you to protect them like the treasured sheep of your farm, perhaps set up a settlement on one of the lower, safer floors. I want you to drive them forward. If they flag, lash them until they move up. If you’ve ever tasted meat from a wild hunt, you’ll have no taste for old mutton that’s gone soft from disuse.”
“Ah. I see.” Reine’s expression changed ever so slightly, yet her faint smile remained. Indeed, she’d expected something of this sort. Her new employer was ever and always as capricious as her first had been. However, unlike that man, there was something about the Castle’s proclaimed lord that made him worth working with, no matter how detestable his ends might have seemed. Namely, unlike Malacoda, he never once had concealed what it was he desired, and had followed through on his promises to her. He was a ravenous wolf, or perhaps a gluttonous serpent. Of this much, Reine was sure. And yet, at least he was honest.
“Very well. If that is what you desire, then I shall be both the shield they bear and the sword at their throats. So long as I can accomplish my own goals, I care naught for else.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of standing in the way of your goals, queenling. Wreak your path of bloodshed with my blessing.”
“With your blessing, you say?” The magus cocked her head slightly to one side, her grin widening. “In that case, if I might trouble you for one thing, I would ask of you a simple question.” Reine’s projected voice suddenly grew quite cold, and the air within the cavern followed suit, matching itself to the temperament of its master. “Do you know anything of a man calling himself Malacoda? I believe he’s become a guest of yours, much as I myself have.”
“I know all my tenants.” Shard’s voice, too, was cold. “Perhaps I will speak with you another time.”
“Well, then. If you choose to do so, I’ll be looking forward to hearing what you have to say,” The queenly magus replied cordially, with naught but a hint of ice lurking beneath her words.
“Until we next meet, then, Shardreach. I hope our little arrangement is as fortuitous for you as it is for me.”