To travel from Darkperch to Auspar; it would usually take a couple of hours through the woods and into the open plains and fields around the caldera. Along this road, heavy cart tracks have gullied the sides between the mines and the city; but for its distance and the mines importance, the route was normally unguarded. That was until Chancellor Pheylor became Chancellor Regent. With the uncertainty of the princess' existence and disappearance of the King following The Great Descent, Pheylor had taken control of the royal court and in essence crowned himself King. With his new power, he had increased what most citizens of Thaemor protested against with the old king, the Shadow Tax.
Holva the First had created this tax under the proviso to the people that it was for their benefit. His subjects on the other hand, had other ideas. His infamous insanity left no quarter for chances, and every action was left full of doubt and suspicion by his people. They believed that his madness had caused innumerable and unforgiving laws and so nearly all his proclamations were ignored. The first and foremost example of that was the Shadow Tax. Under Pheylor, the people had no choice but to accept the Chancellor regent's laws, as they perceived Pheylor to be sound of mind. Along with the money, there needed to be a guarantee that the wealth would not only be collected but also returned to the crown in safety. The Grapnel Guard, like the citizens of Thaemor, had ignored the old king however but had no objection to Pheylor and became his loyal guard. Although nobody any real idea what the Shadow Tax was really for it seemed in part go to towards Pheylor's newly coined Shadow Guard. The old Grapnel Guard had never left the city and had left most of the jurisdiction to Ferral Hawkson purpose but they were now venturing out in the Steadfast, requisitioning supplies for outposts along the road towards Jyrek. The first of these was now between Eryn, Xera, Danton and his butler. Chance was nowhere to be seen. In fact he had received a mysterious letter some days ago calling him back to Qi. WHatever was in that letter he had taken up the opportunity without delay although he did not notice the penmanship similar to that of Eryn.
The outpost was nothing more than a shack at appearances, made out of refuse wood and metal. The construction was sturdy enough for the shack to stand up adorned with bladed or powered defences. There was no sign of anyone around and the open plains around the building were to deserted. From the tree line Eryn noticed that darkening clouds were heading his way, but luckily it wasn't the Iron Wind, at least from appearances he hoped. He turned around to the group to consult on their best course of action, when a branch gave way under the dark canopy of leaves a small distance away. A slight figure fell to the ground before scurrying behind a tree.
He told the group to stand back while he went over to investigate, with Danton ignoring him completely. Eryn called out to behind the tree. Eyes with a faint golden glow, peered out from the shadows before darting back. His constant reassurance, crossed with Danton's interventions, slowly brought the figure out. Eryn ignited his halo as to illuminate who was approaching him. She, was a young girl, not much older than sixteen. She meekly stepped into the light with shuffling feet. She seemed utterly taken by the fire and by the same token, did not answer any questions. It was plain for all to see, that the girl was malnourished and also and more importantly a Guldspar. This fact was barely noticeable on her marred skin. Her clothes were torn and muddied and her hair was in a similar, knotted and dry. The group had encountered the golden veins before but not how she had in some part embodied the golden colour. Not only did her eyes have it’s tint, so too did her skin and the tips of her dark brown hair.
She had had refused not only to speak, but now to move as she was transfixed on Eryn's flames. Danton had tried to lure her with food but without saying a word, she opened up her satchel and showed a set of rations while still maintaining eye contact with the flames. As Eryn tried to take the bread Danton was offering, the girl crawled forward from where she sat, following him. In the shadow cast by Eryn’s halo, the veins had extended beyond her flesh and now gilded her shadow. The new fact allowed him to bring her back to Jarvan and Xera, who were now more concerned about the looming storm. They both told Eryn and Danton they could taste iron in the air, and the hairs on their arms were now standing on end. Even the young girl nodded along showing off her tongue and arms, inadvertently showing her forearm blade.
The sensations intensified as lightning struck the ground in the distance. The wind was now picking up and the shack beyond the tree line was on the edge of being shaken apart. As the clouds gathered overhead,lhe strikes of lightning increased in number. Metal objects, such as Danton's karambit and Jarvan's letter opening started to curl on their person. In a blink, the small metal objects from the shack that had been shaken free by the wind; were now floating upwards towards the sky, in what looked like a vortex.
From out of nowhere the young girl cried out in pain as her forearm blade had twisted and lodged itself in a deep cut that it had slashed into her arm. Although she was not bleeding she was crying in pain for a minute or two with both Danton and Jarvan rushing to help her. She, in turn, bit her lip and rebuked them. She scrunched her eyes while feeling around her satchel for a glove. It was made from rings and finger tip coverings along with a back plate and a central gemstone setting in the palm connecting the separate pieces by chains and wires. The material looked like synth while the gemstone was unidentifiable, even to Danton. She placed her glove on the opposite hand to the wound, breathed in deeply and clenched her teeth.
A small red light emanated from the jewel that bathed her forearm blade and her skin. She moved her hand into a more claw like position over the metal, as if going to grab it. Slowly but surely, alongside screams and watery bloodshot eyes, the metal was slowly pulled out of her flesh. The light continued to bathe her skin with the metal removed, closing the wound. She tossed the glove to the ground after the jewel shattered and looked up to the sky. It was dark and bubbling with electricity, that was now striking more and more often. A bolt struck the shack sending a shockwave out along with debris. The trees behind them were slowly being felled by bolts from the storm. There was nothing left to do but run.
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