The wooden box buzzed a couple more times, replaying the same message. Eryn had ignored it again and again, not wanting to get involved with Dehart and the Whisper Network. Valma on the other hand, had other ideas. It had woken up from Eryn's belt, much to the amazement of Raneaux, and was now projecting her regular aura of a deep fiery red. As Raneaux tapped Valma, it span on the spot dancing, before it demanded a secret. Raneaux, not fully understanding what the creature was, or what it would mean to divulge a secret to, had been about to speak before she stopped herself. An almost indescribable hunger gnawed at her. It was as if she had been jolted by a spark of electricity. Her fingertips started to burn and where she felt pain, she noticed her golden veins had darkened into an almost black blue.
She screamed out in terror not realising if it was Valma who had turned her fingers, or something larger at work. Valma explained over and over that it couldn't withstand Raneaux's behaviour and soon was silenced by a secret told by Eryn. In exchange, he tasked Valma to look into the flower transport network under the suspicion that Dehart was up to something. Valma was connected in some way to everything that was going on, and hopefully her records would give him even a little piece of information. Now placated, Valma accepted it’s task before changing back into her more portable form away from Raneaux.
Eryn turned his full concern now, over to Raneaux, who was already being cared for by both Jarvan and Danton. Eryn asked her about her connections to the Guldspar. Even the mention of the name seemed to cause her pain, as she outright refused to go back to them, or even be called one. The only Guldspar Eryn had known were either under the employment of Dehart, or the unconfirmed leader, Braxx. The latter he had been to suspicious about contacting due to, who he assumed to be a man, their close proximity with the Neaves. He started to think long and hard about how to find the nearest Guldspar without alerting suspicion, when another thought popped into his head. The Neave he had known personally had told him a keyword that would allow direct communication to another Guldspar via the Guldspar themselves. He broached the subject with Raneaux, who needed quite a lot of calming down as well as a reluctantly given shot from the hipflask by Danton. She had never heard of of this ability but her lack of experience around them may be the only reason why she hadn’t heard of it. The word antethykera soon rang in her mind, echoing and reverberating till she could hear and speak no more.
Eryn called out the name of the Guldspar he knew by name, Braxx. There was an uncomfortable silence as the girl stood with her head tilted back and her mouth open but unable to do anything. A voice soon spluttered out of her mouth of an old man, seemingly hard of hearing and a little bit more than just eccentric. Eryn cautiously introduced himself and was immediately interrupted by Braxx's fears for Neave's children. Eryn lied to him without any thought and to his luck, Braxx had bought it. Eryn quickly moved the conversation over to Raneaux before Braxx could start asking questions. He asked about the blue veins infecting Raneaux. Braxx's voice suddenly became calmer and tinged with sadness and bitterness. He told Eryn to take her to a Guldspar, and to make sure she doesn't eat, otherwise she will die. I no uncertain terms, that was all Eryn needed to do. Braxx explained further that had requested the assistance of an unsavoury character to find specialists. Their field of expertise were to do with what Braxx believed to be the cause, the Blue Famine. He explained to Eryn that his contact had already sent out requests and so situation already in hand and there was nothing more to be done. With that, Braxx cut himself off from Raneaux, in turn she collapsed to the floor, trying to scrape his voice off her tongue with her fingers.
Danton turned to Xera, who turned to Eryn, all bar Danton were obviously uncomfortable. Danton pressed both Xera and Eryn for any information they knew but both were apparently clueless to the existence of the Blue Famine although their body language said otherwise. From the other side of the room, Raneaux shouted at Jarvan. The group turned sharply around to notice that Jarvan had plucked a chunk of bread out of Raneaux hand and was now holding it above her head out of reach. Within moments Xera pulled out a cord from the spider trapped in his ring and bound her hands behind her for her own good. Her struggling and protesting made two things clear. She was starting to become ever more hungry, and the idea of visiting another Guldspar was worse than death. This made the walk back to the Undercroft a little more ‘interesting’, as at every opportunity she was either trying to eat, or escape.
Dehart by now was wandering the market with two guards when he was spotted by Eryn. There was a brief moment of humility from Eryn, while Dehart took pleasure in the opportunity. That was until he noticed the fingertips of Raneaux and he suddenly became concerned for her welfare, offering the help of his own Guldspar if necessary. This confirmed to Eryn that Dehart was the unsavoury character that Braxx had employed and the letter he had sent requesting his help, was concerning Black Sunshine. Eryn mentioned that he needed to see Braxx in person and put Dehart on the back foot. He stammered over his words for a second or two before explaining the situation although still unsure how Eryn would know of his plans. As soon as Dehart started to repeat what Braxx had told them, Eryn interrupted and asked for the quickest way to find him.
Dehart, now a little sour; explained that after the unfortunate incidents in the city, some of the more valuable pieces and trinkets from well guarded families had been acquired. In a thin metal box, Dehart brought out a flower with its roots wrapped around an almost imperceptible light. He explained that the plant was called Nostradidium and it was taken from a plant nursery from house Lyathra; along with a few wooden boxes that somehow allowed the user to move between flowers. With the little time he had, he had gained an infantile understanding of the flower network. To this extend Braxx had told Dehart that if needed, he could be accessed by the network, specifically the Nostradidium as it was favoured by the family he was staying with. He handed Danton and Jarvan over a wooden box and carefully considered giving Raneaux one before looking down at her fingertips and giving in. He tried to give a brief explanation but Eryn soon overshadowed him with his own, are far more detailed instructions. In the end Xera, Eryn and Raneaux all eventually connected to the flower network but both Danton and Jarvan were hesitant and apprehensive. They looked at each other, neither wanted to go. If it hadn't been for Dehart coercing them, they perhaps would never have gone. Danton's apprehension and suspicions about the family Braxx was staying with was soon confirmed. The group had found themselves in a luxurious bedroom, filled with opulent fabrics, multiple flower arrangements, the sweet scent of perfume and detailed portraiture of one woman; a woman Danton wished he would never see again, at least not alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment