Fancy a Bout to the Death? }{Silvarn and Talwyn

[Silvarn]

"And what an amiable companion you are turning out to be." Kaleidyn mocked as the blue-skinned man retreated into a rather loud corner. "Fear not, my young ones, we will not be singing, unless you so wish. But, the night is young yet and it is not yet time for sleep. Have you any tales to tell?"

The youth shifted uncomfortably, making a point of avoiding eye contact with Kaleidyn.

"None? How disappointing." Kaleidyn said, thinking desperately how to pass the time if storytelling was not an option. He cast a look at Talwyn, who appeared quite comfortable in his dark seclusion. He then looked back at the children, clearing his throat in an effort to push back the encroaching oppressive silence.

"Once, there was a maiden," he began, "Who fought, and loved, and saw the world. She settled down with a house and home, but then the world called upon her once again. She asked, 'Why must I always be the hero?' And the world replied, 'To know the world is to save it.'"

One of the children perked up, "You know Maiden poems? They're my favorites."

Kaleidyn smiled -- he had finally established a connection, "Not nearly as many as I would like, especially the more thought-provoking ones. Perhaps you could teach me the ones you know?"

The boy dropped his eyes, "I don't remember any. I just listen; I don't remember."

"A shame, to be sure." Kaleidyn said with a sigh, "Ah well, would you like to hear another?"

The children's faces lit up, their attention rapt -- and Kaleidyn smiled.

[Talwyn]

Still hiding underneath his cowl, not ever looking up, Talwyn joined in the conversation with a recitation of his own. "Once, there was a maiden, Whose mirror adored her visage." It seemed that despite appearances, Talwyn was no stranger to poetry and stories. He managed to put in just the right amount of emotion in each of the lines.

"A wicked woman stole her breath. And she lay as the dead, until her lover gave his life to restore her. 'Love is sacrifice', he said." With a short sigh, he raised his head and looked at his "companions". "What?" He asked, surprise in his voice. "Am I not allowed to know and enjoy poetry?"

"I can do riddles too you know." A hint of a challenge lay in his voice as he recited.

"It can be said:
To be gold is to be good;
To be glass is to be fragile;
To be cold is to be cruel.
Unmetaphored, what am I?"

though still hidden behind his cowl, it was obvious to all he was giving a smug grin to Kaleidyn. His eyes gazing from underneath the hood, he looked straight at the man, while awaiting his answer.

[Silvarn]

"A clever riddle, to be sure." Kaleidyn said, a congratulatory remark coming from him. He placed his fingers to his lips in contemplation. He wracked his mind for the answer, trying to find double meanings within the patterns. He thought and thought, until --

"A heart." the girl piped up, looking cautiously between Talwyn and Kaleidyn, "A person with a golden heart is good, a heart made from glass is easily broken, and a coldhearted person is mean."

Kaleidyn smiled at her, shaking his head in self-irritation. "Of course, how simple." he chastised himself. "Very well, I shall up the ante -- I shall attempt both at once.

"Once, there was a Maiden,
Who asked her friends a riddle:
'What is greater than the gods,
More wicked than devils,
Deadlier than venom,
And if you consume it,
You shall die?'"

[Talwyn]

Nodding when the girl gave the correct answer, he could not refusing a small barb aimed at Kaleidyn. "Imagine that, bested by a little girl..." While they could not see it, the smug grin was once again there. Rummaging through his pack, he pulled out some strips of jerky while listening to Kaleidyn's poetic riddle.

Seeing the kids eye his food with big, begging eyes, he sighed. With slight reluctance, he tossed his pack over to Kaleidyn. "Help yourselves..." He muttered as he took a bite and started to rack his brain for a possible answer.

Famished as they were, the kids nearly squealed with delight at the sight of food. One of the boys even managed the utter a thank you, though it was obvious they were a little scared of the hooded, brooding stranger and preferred to stay near Kaleidyn.

Muttering and cursing he shook his head as he realized yet another possibility was not the right answer to the riddle. Deciding to try and be brave, one of the boys moved closer to Talwyn. "Uhm..." Agitated at the interruption, Talwyn's head snapped up. "What?"

As usual, his answer was gruff and brusque and he was not doing a very good job at allaying the youngsters fear of him. "Nothing." Stepping back a bit again, the boy started turning away. "Wait. What did you just say?" Carefully facing Talwyn again, the boy shook his head. "I said nothing mister. Really."

Nodding at that, Talwyn seemed to think something over. "Yes... nothing. There is nothing greater then the gods... or more wicked then devils, nor deadlier then venom. And if one eats nothing he will indeed die..." Smirking once again he looked at Kaleidyn. "That is the answer, is it not?"

After Kaleidyn confirmed his suspicion, he dismissed the gibe about the answer not being in the 'proper form' and instead eyed the kids once more. "While that does answer the riddle, I still have not heard any reason for your presence here... This is not a playground for little kids, why do you refuse to go back to Tamasha?"

This of all things, seemed to scare them once more. For a long time, they simply stared at each other until Talwyns, admittedly, little patience ran out. "W-well..." The oldest of them started with a slight stutter. "We ran away! And we're not going back there!" The girl spoke up before quickly turning to Kaleidyn, tears in her eyes. "We don't have to go back do we mister? Please don't make us go back."

[Silvarn]

At Talwyn's stinging remark, Kaleidyn thought to speak of the unappreciated brilliance of a child, but thought better of it. Odds being, Talwyn probably did not enjoy the company of children. Or anyone, for that matter.

Kaleidyn's own heart leaped at the sight of food, but then he remembered he carried along a small pouch just for that. Reaching into it, he took a small handful of what looked like birdseed and covertly tossed it into his mouth, swallowing stealthily. He waited for Talwyn to attempt an answer, taking satisfaction in how effortlessly the answer escaped him. Until one of the boys accidentally gave him the answer. The Maidens watch over children and fools, after all...

"That is the answer, indeed, but you did not give it in the proper form:

"They could not solve the riddle,
and they begged her for hints
until the Void consumed them.
Then they learned:
the answer is 'Nothing.'"

His attention perked when Talwyn made his inquiry to the children, and was shocked by their answer. They had mentioned their reluctance to return to Tamasha, but not with such vehemence. His heart instantly went to them, and he knelt beside the girl, "Truth be told, Talwyn and I created a bit of stir in Tamasha and we cannot return there for some time. Until then, we will protect you. But, for my part, I will return to Tamasha eventually. At that point, you can decide whether to remain here or accompany me.

"On that note, however, may I ask why you are so adverse to returning to Tamasha?"

[Talwyn]

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but her brother stopped her. "Sssh! Lizzy! We can't just tell them!" Huddling together, the four children started discussing something. Still brooding in his corner, Talwyn eyed them with growing impatience. Casting a glance at Kaleidyn, he decided that enough was enough.

"Look, you can either tell us right now or, tomorrow morning you can explain to the city guard how four little brats got out of the city. How does that sound?" Scared, the kids froze up. "W-we're n-not sure if we can trust you..." The oldest of them admitted with some reluctance. "You're scary and mean." The girl added while taking a step towards Kaleidyn, as if looking for protection.

This of all things, caused Talwyn to hesitate for the slightest of moments before bursting out in laughter. "That is supposed to make me feel bad?" Pulling back his hood, the young ones took a rather large, and obvious, step towards Kaleidyn.

"I am used to people being afraid of me little girl..." Gone was the sharpness and the blunt edge his voice had carried. Instead, he almost seemed saddened. One of the boys opened his mouth, but Tal interrupted him before he could speak. "I'm no monster boy, so do not even finish that thought. I am but an unfortunate soul that was blinded by desire."

Staring in awe at him, the kids finally nodded. "I'm Markus." The oldest introduced himself. "And these are my sister Lizzy and my friends Jimmy and Tomas. We... we ran away from the orphanage... It's not safe there mister. Late at night, we can hear screams coming from deep down. And whenever we hear them... the next morning one our friends is gone!"

Tears started running down their cheeks, even the mere thought at their lost friends made them fear they might be next. "After they took Audrey, we ran away. We're never going back. If we do, they might take us too!" Grabbing Kaleidyns sleeve, Lizzy started crying. "We were so scared sir. We didn't know what else to do!"

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn moved forward as Talwyn stood and threw back his cowl, not comfortable with the blue-skinned man moving so suddenly. As the children moved toward him, he put his arms around them protect and comfort them. Lizzy's plea for help nearly broke his heart and he knelt beside her, taking her into his arms. He gave Talwyn a concerned look, almost pleading him to help him help the children.

When Lizzy's little body stopped shaking with sobs, he placed her in front of him, and looked up at her with serious but kind eyes, "My dear one, I solemnly vow that you will not return to the orphanage. However," he looked up at Talwyn again, "my stay away from Tamasha may have to be cut short."

He rose and placed a hand non-threateningly on the hilt of Edin, a faraway mist forming over his eyes, "Athena would not have hesitated helping these children, and neither shall I. Children, if you wish, I can give you a safer place to stay than here, but you will have to return to Tamasha with me. Otherwise, you will have to stay here with Talwyn. Regardless, I will discover what is haunting the orphanage and exorcise it." He looked at Talwyn again, his face honest and friendly, "You are free to join me, of course -- I have a feeling I could use the assistance."

[Talwyn]

“Stay here? With me? What are you babbling about?” Looking at his “companion” Talwyn gave an incredulous look. “I don’t have time to baby sit a bunch of brats.” Always the gruff one, he pulled his cowl back over his head and leaned back against the wall once more as he started muttering to himself. It was too soft to hear just what he was saying, but it was obvious that it wasn’t flattering.

Upon some prodding by Kaleidyn the kids, well mostly Markus, told him about the orphanage. “At first, everything seemed fine. I mean… we had been living on the street until we got caught by the guards. They brought us to Madame Kima who runs the orphanage.” Though he remained silent, Talwyn gave a slight reaction to the name.

However, he made no effort to interrupt the boy. Whatever it was, it was something he would not reveal easily, if at all. The kids never even noticed and Markus continued his story. He told them how at first they hadn’t noticed anything at all. But eventually, Lizzy became scared.

She in turn told her brother, who told the other two boys. They thought it was nothing but, since the girl was obviously too afraid to sleep, they all decided to humor her and stay awake. Nothing happened and they almost decided the girl had been imagining things. Almost, as the screaming started right at that moment. The next morning, they noticed one of the kids had vanished.

This kept going for weeks. When all but five of the children that had arrived there before them had vanished, they ran away. After finishing the story the kids were rubbing their eyes and yawning, causing Kaleidyn to tell them to sleep. Talwyn seemed to have dozed off as well.

Several hours later, one of the kids tried to wake Kaleidyn, but Talwyn stopped him and beckoned him over. After a slight hesitation, the boy did so and Tal gruffly asked why he wasn’t sleeping. “W-well… it’s a little scary mister…” Shaking his head with some slight disdain Tal told him to leave Kaleidyn alone.

“I’m awake, that’s more than enough…” He didn’t say he preferred it this way. He still did not trust Kaleidyn enough to have him wide awake while he himself wasn’t fully conscious. The boy sat down next to him, eyeing him cautiously.

“So mister… what happened to you?” The boy chanced after having stared at him for a while. The look Talwyn gave him could probably scare just about anyone. Still, the boys curiosity seemed to be greater than his fear and Tal merely sighed. “I told you… I thought I could fulfill my deepest desire and did something stupid. And no, I am not saying anything else about this matter. If it were something I’d want to talk about, I’d have told you already.”

As the kid refused to sleep and kept trying to stir up conversation, Tal steered it into a topic that interested him. Before long, he had a complete description of Madame Kima. Giving a satisfied nod, the kid’s description had confirmed his earlier suspicion, he fall into silence once again.

By the time the others woke, Tal was already fully ignoring the boy. He paid just enough attention to know when the kid wanted to hear him agree and was relieved when Kaleidyn woke up. “Go bother him would you? He actually seems to like that incessant chattering.” Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drowse a bit. It seemed the boy trusted him now, somehow. That slight amount of protection would just have to do…

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn woke with a start -- he had not meant to fall asleep. Especially not when he had secretly vowed to protect these young ones. An especially not when a man he had tried to kill earlier that day occupied the same room. But, slumbered he had, and then he woke, proving he was still alive. He saw Talwyn in his corner, appearing to be asleep. The children had already woken up and milled around the room, but one of them made a swift beeline for him.

"Morning, mister!" he called happily.

Kaleidyn rubbed at his eyes and smiled weakly, "It is far too early in the morning to be so pleasant. How do you manage it?"

"Do you know any more Maiden Poems?" he asked, the hope in his face irresistible.

Kaleidyn sighed and explained, "None that will suit the current situation. When I find something to inspire me, I will recite one to you."

The boy seemed quite disappointed and quietly pouted off. Before he could get too far, Kaleidyn caught him by the shoulder, stopping him. "Besides, we should be leaving soon. I want to walk the streets of Tamasha with as few people on them as possible."

"Where are you taking us, mister? Not back to the orphanage, right?" the boy asked, instilling fear in himself and the other children.

"No." Kaleidyn said firmly, to dispel their anxiety, "I am taking you to my home, and you will be safe there. But first --" He drew out writing utensils from his hip satchel, and proceeded to write a note:

"Talwyn,
The children are safe with me. You need not fear for them. I have taken them to my home. Once I have ensured their safety, I will continue to the orphanage to sort this matter out. You are still free to join me when you wake.

May the Maidens have smiled on our meeting,
Kaleidyn"

He paused a moment to see if a postscript presented itself, but when none did, he folded the note and placed it in the center of the room, in the most obvious location he could. He gathered the children around him, made sure everyone had everything they needed, and slipped out as quietly as he could with the children surrounding him.

[Talwyn]

Tal was awake enough to be silently grateful for the departure of his “companions”. The sudden silence was relaxing and he soon found himself slipping into a light sleep. The nap was refreshing and had been most welcome. Getting up, he gave an audible yawn as he stretched himself. Noticing the paper he took and read it.

Crumbling the note, he gave a short, derisive snort. It wasn’t his problem. Why should he get involved? It’s not like he cared. Right? With a slight sigh, he slipped the note in his pocket. Truth be told, he cared more then he should. Plus… there was something else.

An opportunity. Even if he was heartless enough to ignore the brats…. This was something he could not leave unchecked. Still… it stung a little that he wasn’t sure just who he was trying to help. The brats, or himself?

But… he was getting ahead of himself. First things first. After all the commotion from the other day, walking through the front gates would probably not be the smartest idea. And thus, he decided to use the same way he got out yesterday.

Which turned out to be quite a bit more challenging then he had anticipated. The number of guards had increased, which caused him to waste a good deal of time waiting for the right moment to jump over the walls.

Once he had managed that, he made his way into the sewer passages again and navigated his way to the secret entrance of Baden’s inn. Calling his friend, the two of them sat in the wine cellar as Tal explained the situation.

Baden nodded. “Can’t say I’m surprised Tal… this isn’t the first time I heard rumors about that place.” Eying the burly man intently, he listened with great interest. Especially the part where Baden started describing how Tal could reach it was interesting. Thanking his friend, he once more set foot in the sewer passages and set off for the orphanage.

[Silvarn]

"And just where do you think you're headed off to, troublemaker?" a guard said as he caught Kaleidyn by his shoulder. The children gasped and huddled together, while Kaleidyn pushed the man's hand off.

"I am on important business, Sir Guard." he said, "And it would behoove you not to interrupt the business of a member of the Noble Houses."

The guard snorted contemptuously, "A noble, you? Not in those clothes, no. Besides, even if you were, I would still arrest you for all the trouble you caused yesterday, what with all that brandishing of your blade. Your friend didn't help matters, either."

"My friend, so called," he retorted with a little harsh emphasis, "is not present with me. And, as I recall, no one was hurt or injured. Save for a guard or two, but that is in the line of duty, is it not?"

"You caused a disruption of commerce!" the guard growled back, snatching one of Kaleidyn's hands. He made a motion to the guardhouse, and a few of his fellows filed out to assist him.

"Release me, guard, or suffer the wrath of a Noble House!" Kaleidyn threatened through clenched teeth.

The guard ignored him and began groping for his other hand, which Kaleidyn kept high and out of the way. A guard came up from behind and grabbed it, and another put him in a headlock.

Just then, a frail old man with a an exquisite goatee came running up to the gates, shouldering through the growing crowd. "Unhand him!" he cried in a voice deep in age and wisdom, "Unhand him, I say!"

The guards were taken aback and gawked at the old man, who shooed them away with irate flicks of his hand. He helped Kaleidyn stay steady, then adjusted his servant's uniform. "Are you unharmed, my Lord?" he asked.

"Yes, I am, Alfred, thank you." Kaleidyn said, shaking hands with the old man, who fired a lingering glare at the guards.

"I would hope the next time you cross paths with Kaleidyn, Lord Rae'Vin, you will show him the proper reverence." Alfred said at the guards, who bowed their heads sheepishly.

"Come along, children." Kaleidyn ordered, gathering them up and, with Alfred's assistance, making their way through the crowd.

In roughly ten minutes, Alfred shut the doors to Rae'Vin Hall behind them. "I am correct in assuming your hunting mission took a turn for the worse, sir?"

Kaleidyn had to fairly push the children farther into the mansion, as they had been struck dumb by the sheer grandeur of the place. "On the contrary. I found one of the Scriptures." before Alfred could exclaim congratulations, Kaleidyn continued, "But, I had to use Edin to get it."

"Ah. Valor? Got into a fight?"

"Precisely. Luckily, my target was of a temperate demeanor, and I emulated him. When the guards showed up to break up the duel, I was level-headed enough to accept his proposed escape method and stayed the night in a hideout with him. That is where I found them." he indicated the children. "They told me a curious and frightening tale of the orphanage they ran away from. I intend to go there personally and sort things out as soon as possible."

"Before you get quite carried away, sir," Alfred interrupted, "you have a visitor."

Kaleidyn stopped immediately. "Whom?"

Alfred motioned to the top of a nearby staircase, and there stood a dark-skinned man in the same servant's uniform as Alfred. "Greetings, esteemed Lord Rae'Vin." he said in a quiet, firm voice as he descended the stairs. "My name is Francis." he came level with Kaleidyn and smiled in a friendly manner, "I served your father."

[Talwyn]

Cursing his luck, he turned yet another corner. He had only gone up to street level moments ago, and already the guards were on his tail. No doubt they wished to discus what had happened the other day on the market square. Being quite certain that things would not proceed without yet another incident, he decided to make sure it was an incident in which he had the advantage and ran.

One of the guards that had spotted him had worn a bandage around his nose, so it was reasonable to assume it was the poor sod that had been punched in the face by both him and the pretentious snob. Which only heightened his belief that running away was the right thing to do at this point.

Making another turn, he ducked just in time to dodge a sword swing. Noticing the uniform, he cursed once again. They had circled around to catch him in between two groups. "Surrender now and we can keep things civil you hoodlum!" One of the guards shouted from behind. "Afraid I can't do that. For some reason, people can't keep things civil around me. Ask the guy with the knitting needle. He's the one that started that fight."

"I don't care who started it! Witnesses said you're the one that destroyed the market place with magic." A small, sardonic grin tugged at the edge of Tal's lips. "I was just doing my civic duty by trying to keep the innocent bystanders out of harms way. It just so happened that was the most efficient way to go about it I'm afraid."

"You punched one of the guards out cold!" One of the shouted. "Yeah! The poor sod broke his nose!" Another joined in. "And you're blaming me for that? The pretentious snob did it!" Already though, he knew his arguments would fall onto deaf ears. Not only was it not entirely true, he did punch the guy after all, but of the two of them, he just looked the most suspicious. And, as always, that was enough to condemn him.

"Look, I don't want to harm you guys, but I have something I must do. And I will do what I must to achieve that goal." Several of the guards snickered with derision. "Harm us? You and what army? You're just one guy." Raising a hand, Tal's voice resonated with power. "Lumina keeper of light!"

Several guards ducked out of the way. "Watch out! He's casting a spell!" Charging him as he chanted, the soldiers hoped to overwhelm him before he had the chance to finish the chant. "I pray to thee! Let they power gather in my hand and let it illuminate my path!"

He finished just in time. Barely, but in time. One of the guards was already close enough to clearly notice the smell of whatever it was he had eaten for breakfast. With a flash, the bright light erupted from his hand as he closed his eyes, while the guards squirmed, crying out in pain as their senses were overloaded.

"Not that it's any of your business," He said as he walked past the captain. "But I'll be out of your city before you know it captain. Next time your people corner me like this, a simple trick might not be enough..." He never finished the thought, he didn't need to. Besides, he had already wasted enough time. It'd be best to be long gone before they could see again.

As the moon started rising over the city wall, it's light slowly creeping over the now sleeping city, Talwyn checked around the final corner before moving towards his destination. It had taken the better part of the day, but he had managed to get here without any further interference. Staying within the shadows, he observed the building from all possible sides before inching closer.

It soon became obvious that the building was much larger then it appeared. There had to be some sort of basement, which meant that with some luck, he could avoid the front door. Checking every nook and cranny however, yielded no results and soon he was back in the shadows, eying the front door with visible frustration as he decided on what to do now.

All the window shutters were closed, and with no way of knowing what sort of room was behind them, it did not seem like a very attractive idea to open them. If he opened one leading to a bed room full of sleeping kids, he might scare the living daylights out of them. Which in and of it self wasn't the problem. The fact that their terrified screams would most likely notify everyone in this residential block of his presence was however.

Still hiding, he noticed a familiar figure head up to the building and he had to suppress a chuckle. Of course the pretentious snob would be here. He wanted to make sure the brats would be saved after all. Well... that was just fine with him. The man would serve as a fine distraction for him. Grinning once more, he crept closer and waited for a chance to enter the building without anyone noticing him.

[Silvarn]

"When I mentioned I had served your father, this was hardly the reaction I had in mind." said Francis in a choked tone.

"You mentioned my father. This is the reaction I usually give." said Kaleidyn, his face contorted in ire.

"Sir, please," said Alfred, "you're frightening the children."

Kaleidyn closed his eyes and took several long, slow, steady, calming breaths, but his lips were pursed and his brow furrowed. "I apologize." he said slowly.

"No apologies are necessary;" said Francis, "I had no idea --"

"Not to you!" snarled Kaleidyn, then continuing in a softer tone, "To them." he regarded Francis for another moment, then removed the lethal edge of Edin from his throat, "If you want to fall back into my good graces again, answer me one question: If you served my father, why in Blue Blazes would you want to serve me?"

"Because, Lord Rae'Vin, I have sworn to serve your family, not just your father." said Francis.

"You have obviously neglected to recall my father was a conniving, manipulative, noble," he said the word with great disgust, "and I am nothing like him. He may have wanted your service and your assistance in his games of intrigue, but I will have none of it."

"If I might, my Lord, I see the same irrepressible spark of individuality your father had, in you. You are both free spirits and cannot be caged." said Francis.

Kaleidyn's mind went blank. He could feel utter rage prickling at the edges of his consciousness. When he spoke, he said his words slowly, precisely, "I am leaving now. Alfred, take care of the children. You," he said to Francis, "remove yourself from my Hall before I return. And children, mind Alfred." His temper began creeping into his face as he sheathed Edin and stormed out of Rae'Vin Hall.

Before he could get too far, a man and a young woman hurried forward to meet him.

"You! You there!" the man called. Kaleidyn ignored him and continued to stride forward, forcing them to walk quickly to keep up, "You promised you'd meet my daughter today, remember? This is --"

"I have not the time." said Kaleidyn, harshly, "And, if I did, I would not care. Good day." he said, despite the sun having just set.

He crossed the city and arrived at his destination some time after nightfall. He approached the orphanage door and was about to rap upon the entrance when he thought better of it and retracted his hand. He walked back out onto the street to get a full view of the building.

He saw a window on the second story only slightly ajar, but knew it would be enough. He drew Edin, taking great care to not let the blade flash in the moonlight. He made a slow, smooth gesture with it, channeling his temperance into the blade. It resonated, and sent a cool, calm confidence through his body. With slow grace, he positioned himself between the orphanage and the adjacent building, shimmying up with ease. He then crawled across the slanted roof to the slightly open window. Despite its poor condition, his boundless patience allowed him to open it slowly enough to not protest with a shriek. Once he opened it enough, he slipped inside, quiet as a moonbeam, hidden as a shadow.

[Talwyn]

Watching the snob climb up to a window on the second floor, Talwyn followed behind. Though, of course, he stayed in the shadows, keeping his presence hidden. After seeing Kaleidyn enter, he waited a bit longer before he too scaled the walls. A smug grin appeared on his face, the window was still open.

Peeking inside, he noticed the room was empty and entered.Now, the kids had never seen anything strange, so he made his way downstairs in search of the basement. The second floor looked like it usually saw a lot of people trafficking through it's hallways, as such, the most obvious conclusion was that what he was looking for was not located there.

After reaching his destination, he scoured every inch several times before finally locating a hidden door. Someone had gone through great lengths to hide this entrance, which meant that whatever was behind it would be something they did not want others to find.

Seeing the many books and remnants of experiments caused a small smile to flit across his face. Grabbing one of the books, he scanned through the pages. The more he saw though, the more he was filled with disgust. This... this "research" was appalling.

Plus, it didn't seem like it held the answers he needed. Putting it back, he looked around some more and noticed several large pods made of glass, filled with some sort of liquid. Taking a closer look at the nearest one, he startled back. There was someone... or something inside.

A second look revealed it must have once been human. But now... "What the... are they trying to repeat the experiment they used to create me?" Mumbling quietly, he placed a hand on the glass. "I'm sorry..." His heart felt heavy as he choked on the words. "I wish I could help you... but I can't even turn myself back... let alone someone else."

With a heavy sigh, he turned away. There was nothing useful here, only failed or in progress experiments. Which would be better off dead as they were even more disfigured then he was. There would be no way they could ever hope to live a normal life. Still... he couldn't just destroy the place...

After all, there were children still inside. As well as the monkey-like snob. He'd have to get them out first. Or well, at least the kids. The snob would have to take care of himself. Stalking back up the stairs, he heard a familiar voice give a speech.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Lord Rae'Vin himself strolling through my orphanage. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave however. This is private property after all." Peeking around the corner, he saw a woman a top a set stairs, looking down at Kaleidyn. "What? You refuse to leave? Very well, don't say I didn't warn you! Come, my children!"

Behind her, several...creatures appeared. It was impossible to describe them in any other word then monstrous, but Talwyn immediately recognized them as failed experiments. He wondered if they too had been tricked as he had been. But, right now there was no time to ponder it at length. "Efreet, source of all fire," He whispered softly as he chanted his spell. "Give into my hands, a crimson arrow burning bright, and let it incinerate those who stand in my way."

Finishing the incantation, he stepped out in the open and launched his fiery arrow towards the closest of the beasts. "Well if it isn't Abbera. Still doing Anexar's dirty work I assume?" A look of utter hate appeared in the womans eyes. "You! How dare you show your face to me, you traitor!"

Grabbing his blade, Talwyn moved closer to Kaleidyn. "Traitor? Me? In my eyes, I am the one that was betrayed. But," Looking at her, his eyes were dead serious. "this is not really the time to discuss that. We are here to end your devilish research Abbera." Dropping his voice to a whisper, he glanced at Kaleidyn. "Be careful, she might look frail, but her magic runs far deeper then mine."

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn nodded in understanding as his mind worked slowly, but steadily through it, committing the information totally. Talwyn's arrow took care of one of the fiends, but the others barreled through, still heeding their mistress' command. One leaped at Kaleidyn, whose body waited until the last moment to sway cleanly out of the way, his eyes ever fixed on the woman at the top of the stairs. When the beast tried for a second attempt, Edin placed itself between the assailant and its master. Had the beast been made of flesh, the lethal point of Edin would have pierced clean through to the brain. Reality being, however, Edin skittered off of the fiend's hardened skin.

A flash of panic swept through Kaleidyn, driving his channeled temperance away. As his temperance died away, Kaleidyn channeled his conviction into Edin, to see this fiend destroyed. Edin responded, blue sparks trickling from its now-invisible tip down to the basket hilt. The fiend lunged again. Kaleidyn swayed beneath it, but the beast fell on him anyway. Then it gurgled and put its full weight on Kaleidyn.

Through labored breath, he choked out, "Assistance, if you would not mind."