In the Shadows (Discontinued)

[Arclightning]

When Lorins scream pierced his sleep he jolted up and took it all in in a second. The man at knife point, Lorin holding the knife, and Maleth with his drawn sword. He ran up to the man and swept his legs out from under him, scraping the knife point in a shallow cut on his neck. Talin moved in a blur, breaking his wrist, nose, and punching him in the stomach so that he ended up on his knees bleeding, and emptying his stomach.
"Who is he?" He asked gently, to ease them out of shock, if they were in shock anyway.

[Icepop213]

Maleth looked at Talin and said, "This man's from a rival clan of mercenaries. See that symbol?" Maleth pointed to a small logo on the man's hand. "That's the sign of the clan, the Shining Shadows. I once fought them." Maleth stopped to take a breath, and put away his sword. He walked up to him and told Talin to back away. Maleth kneeled and looked right into the man's face. "What are you doing here?" He waited for an answer. "Uh-I-uh..." The man was too scared to answer. He looked around at each of their faces. Maleth asked again. "Who sent you here, and what for?!" He shouted this time, disturbing a few sleeping birds off in the distance. He reached for his sword. The man, fearing for his life, answered with, "I-I was ordered by our leader to collect resources. I saw your camp, and decided that it would be easier to kill you and take your supplies." He stopped and wimpered. Maleth was content with his answer, and let him go. "Tell your master to stay away from us." Maleth knew that they wouldn't cause any more trouble for them. Not for a while, at least. He looked at Talin, then at Lorin.

[JackieCat]

Lorin's eyes widened as Talin jumped up and knocked the man down and injuring him.  The elf glared at Talin.

"What the hell was that for?" she said angrily, stepping up to Talin, and even though he was nearly a foot taller than she was, she was not backing down.  "I had it completely under control!  We could have got answered from him without breaking his wrist, nose, and punching him in the stomach.  Sometimes, intimidation works just as well, if not better, than force!"

When Maleth allowed it, the man started to get to his feet, and Lorin grabbed his upper arm, helping the man up, still glaring at Talin, but very aware of the mercenary, in case he tried any tricks.

"Get than wrist taken care of," Lorin told the man, patting him on the shoulder, and with that, the man turned and fled into the woods.  Lorin looked back to Talin, her expression still one of irritation.

[Arclightning]

Talin was very annoyed at Lorin. Intimidation? The man was a professional mercenary. And he had a knife. He had to ensure that he was incapacitated enough to pose no threat. And the man was cognizant enough to talk, so what harm was done? He grounded his teeth in irritation. Goddamnit! How can she make him lose control of his emotions so easily? Goddamn you Lorin!

He exploded in anger.
"Maybe I should have let you been stabbed and just taken my money off your corpse! It would have saved me a lot of trouble and I won't have to be shouted at by you! I know my buisness lady! How 'bout you keep to your nose in your own! Understand!?"

He took deep breath and calmed himself, then after a while he noticed the profesion was red hot under his skin. That could only mean one thing. Steel wanted the child. She wanted the survivor. Talins time was up. He only has one thing left to do.

He stood up, turned on his heel and followed the rather obvious trail the mercenary left. Eventually he reached a semicircle of tents, where maybe two hundred men where spread out around a dozen fires. The men closest to him looked up in surprise. He smiled a sad, resigned smile. He drew a greatsword as tall as him off his back. He swung. Over and over. Until men had died and he lived, he kicked a tent over and moved on to the next fire. He killed and killed and hoped he died. He didn't. She wouldn't let him. He survived and killed with the power of Steel. after the seventh fire he started chanting "let me die. Let me die. Let me die! He didn't. Two hundred men, dead after merely an hour. All because a man with a deathwish couldn't die.
Talin fell to his knees and screamed until he spat blood.

[JackieCat]

Lorin's eyes widened in anger as Talin yeleld at her.  "Oh, okay," she said, her anger barely restrained in her voice.  "If that's how you see it, fine!  But first of all, I knew exactly where that dagger was th whole time, I wasn't about to get stabbed."

Lorin was still ranting when Talin took off.  She stood there for a second, surprised, but then took off after the man.  Soon they reached the mercenaries camp, and then Talin started killing them.

"Stop!" Lorin screamed, and she rushed to stop Talin, but more mercenaries came, and she had to fight them to stay alive herself.  "Stop!" Her tears were falling.  She fought as hard as she could, cutting them down to try to get to Talin.  She did not want to kill them, any of them, but she knew that if she were to get to Talin, she would have to kill some to save the rest.

But she wasn't fast enough.

She couldn't get to Talin, and within the hour they were all dead.

Lorin dry heaved from the horror of it all, tears streaming down her face.  Not the blood, not the gore, but the fact that two hundred men had just been murdered, and she could have done nothing to stop it.

The elf ran over to Talin, who had fallen to his knees, and she grabbed his sword, wrenching it from his grasp and throwing it away.

She crouched in front of Talin and took his shoulders, shaking him.  "I don't care what state you're in," she said, her eyes flashing with all kids of different emotions, from anger to confusion to fear, "but you are going to tell me, right now, what the hell just happened and why."

Her voice was shaking with barely suppressed emotions, but she stared Talin in the eyes, not looking away as her own eyes burned with anger.

[Arclightning]

Talin looked up at Lorin. How could he explain that he was trying to save the life of one and the soul another? He looked up at her with pleading in his eyes.
"Maleth is in danger from me, Steel wants him and if I die in a fury of blood and pain, she will be lost to oblivion. Hear that you controlling bitch? I'm gonna be free! Free from endless blood and murder! Peace at last!" He was so hysterical that he didn't notice when the profesion flared up and started to burn.

[Icepop213]

Maleth ran up to Talin and grabbed him by the shoulders, Beijing him up until he met his eyes. Maleth's eyes glowed with rage and hatred. "What did you do?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He threw him back down and started walking off. He looked at the endless bodies lying on the floor. "Why..." He looked back at Talin, and saw that he was still acting hysterical. "What the heck is wrong with you?" He ran over to him and punched him in the face.

[JackieCat]

Lorin did not react to Talin's outburst, but when Maleth ran to them and grabbed Talin, punching him and sending the man falling to the ground, Lorin leaped to her feet.

"Stop!" the elf woman screamed. "Both of you!"

She pushed Maleth away and rushed to Talin, kneeling next to him and pulling him into a sitting position.

"There will be no more fighting," she said, her voice now strong. "There already has been enough violence today, there need be no more!"

She looked over to Maleth, then back to Talin, her expression firm. "We will go back to our camp, calmly, and then Talin will explain everything, who Steel is, what is happening, and we will do it all calmly and without violence."

[Arclightning]

Talin was in deep shock. He had wanted to die. Actually wanted to. Why? He knew the answer. To save a life. Maleth was a prodigy. He needed to be free, and use that skill to help others. He had been hurt by the evil power of Steel. He was the survivor. The untouched. He will stay that way, Talin thought with determination. He stood up and said in a voice full of confidence.
"Come back to camp and I will explain everything, as I have said before but this time nothing will be held back." He looked sadly at Maleth. "You deserve to know what happened to your parents." With that he took his sword from Loirn and headed back to camp, where he sat, preparing his speech.

When everyone was ready he cleared his throat and spoke. "There is an evil that has blighted this world since the dawn of time, and her name is Steel. She latches onto men and calls them her 'Beloveds' and she grants them many powers, turning them into something more, and less than men. This is because her power comes at a price. She feeds on blood and she can read your thoughts and force you to do certain things. Like this." Talin removed his shirt and showed them the profession of faith, a monstrosity of gleaming metal. He continued speaking. "When a beloved dies peacefully Steel is free to roam and find a new, suitable host. But when they die a death of violence, she must stay in his profession or weapon. So the next person to touch them becomes the next beloved. But the last beloved was an evil and brutal man who killed with glee. Steel has told me of when he slaughtered an entire family, except a child." He looked meaningfully at Maleth. "She is obsessed with finding the one who escaped her. In Her mind he is the perfect beloved. I was trying to die and save you, Maleth. You are wanted by Steel, and she is nigh-inescapable."

As he spoke this last part the steel on his body had started glowing red with heat. Talin had grown used to it. He was not the obedient type. Once he had told them he felt a great weight come off his shoulders. A secret being who killed with his hand and hid behind his mind. Now she is out in the open, exposed as the putrid thing that she is. He smiled, and then grew even more ecstatic and threw his head back and laughed long and hard, with his voice bouncing through the trees. He looked his two companions in the eyes and said simply "Thank you." Before laughing again.

[JackieCat]

Lorin followed Talin back to the camp, and listened silently as he told his story.  When he was finished she nodded.

"Right then," she said, crossing her arms and standing near the fire.  "We're obviously not going to let you die, or kill anyone else.  If Steel lives on blood, then those two hindered mercenaries you killed should hold her off for a while, so you won't need to kill anyone soon.  So," she said, looking between Maleth and Talin, "how are we going to kill this Steel without hurting either of you?"

Lorin said it as thought it had been the plan all along, to kill Steel.  Lorin wasn't about to let Talin die, or let Steel go into Maleth.  They were going to save both of them and get rid of this Steel.

[Icepop213]

Maleth listened to Talin's story intently, and then stared at him in surprise. He started shaking and feeling dizzy. Them he hallucinated. He saw the man who had ended the lives of his parents. In his hand he held a dagger, the fresh blood of his parents dripping off the end. He started swaying back and forth, then fell to the ground. He looked around, trying to get up. He couldn't budge a muscle. His heart started racing. The man approached him, chanting, "Steel, steel, steel, steel, STEEL, STEEL, STEEL!!!" He raised his dagger, the blood dripped down and hit Maleth's cheek. It burned. The man thrust the blade down, and Maleth blacked out.

[Arclightning]

When Maleth fainted he almost faceplante do into the fire. Almost, but Talin jumped in and caught him, then rolled him up in his cloak and let him sleep it off. While he was waiting he turned to Lorin.
"The easy answer is you don't. But that won't be enough for you will it?" He added a barb on the end of this last statement. After all it wasn't her buisness to drag him out from the abyss. What was she? His guardian angel? Honestly she might be, with the whole thing of getting the entire story out of him after only a few hours. Oh and also sweeping his emotions into a storm of turmoil. "The long answer is Ill travel to the end of the world where the demon who banished Steel from her form waits. But until then we need to keep me and her from Maleth. Give him this to use as a weapon in the meantime." He handed Lorin a semi-small sword that practically smelled of iron. "Anyway, personal problems aside, tomorrow we do your job. Deal?" He raised an eyebrow.

[JackieCat]

Lorin helped Talin lower Maleth to the ground, and looked at him in concern, he had just blacked out, and for reasons she didn't know why.

As Talin spoke, she felt Maleth's pulse and breathing, and they seemed normal to her, but she looked sharply at Talin as she snapped at her.

When he was finished talking she bit her lip in thought and stood.

"You need to travel to the end of her world?" she asked. "Where's that?  And what will that sword do against you and Steel?  Because it's iron it will weaken her?" Lorin guessed.

[Arclightning]

He took some small amount of pleasure from her confusion. He noticed that when she was confused she got dimples on the sides of her mouth. They looked nice. He was staring again. Damn. But in his bye art he couldn't bring himself to care. She looked nice and he enjoyed looking and talking with her. And so he did. He said
"The end of the world is exactly where you think it is. And if I die Maleth can't have any steel on his body or she will take him." He trailed off but his eyes never left her face. She had a stray strand of hair in front of her face and he had to resist the urge to tuck it behind her ear.

[JackieCat]

If Lorin noticed his staring she didn't acknowledge it, but her eyes twinkled slightly and she stepped forwards, crossing her arms and looking Talin in the eyes.

"Sooo," she said, cocking her head to one side. "Do you know how to get to the end of the world?  'Cause this seems like something that we should do, and soon.  My mission is important, but not as important as people's lives.  My mission can wait, we need to get this Steel out of you."

[Arclightning]

Ahh the age old question. Where can you go when you can go no more? Talin went there once, pass by a road all have traveled but none know the name of, to a broken bridge over nothing. He saw the misty edges of the distant shore, and the tall horned figure waiting on the other side. Well, time to show her. Without words he grabbed her hand and took her in tow, not ungently, but with a firm and strong grip. As they stepped through the trees and burst onto an old cobblestone road his profesion started to burn. Again.bAnd he walked a dozen steps to the ragged edge over the black of the abyss, where there once was a lifeline to hell, a trade route with devils. But Fell had stolen the magic of the stones and it had fallen out of the world, never to return. He turned to Lorin.
"That is the end of the world, over a bridge none can build. Does that answer your question? Can we leave?" The burning was almost uncomfortable by now.

[Icepop213]

Maleth awoke on the ground, staring up at the terribly bright sun. He squinted, then tried to get up. He was still weak, and he saw that a small sword had found its way into his hand. He grasped it then swung it around a few times, then put it in his belt. He looked around and saw that there was no sign of either Lorin or Talin. He got up and started calling them by name. He started running in a direction. He then smelt the stench of burning steel. He started in the direction of the smell. "What happened?" He only remembered listening to Talin's story, then passing out. 'Probably of shock,' he thought. After all, he didn't really feel like having hot metal welded to him.

[Arclightning]

The burning hurt. Badly. Talin pulled Lorin away from the edge and the figure on the other side and started running to the grove of trees they had passed through to get here. He Burst  through it to find Maleth walking away from the camp.
"Where are you going!?" Talin shouted with a hint of amusement in his voice.

[Icepop213]

"Huh?" Maleth looked around and saw Talin behind him. He walked up to him and stopped about a foot from him. "So. What are you gonna do about this?" He pointed at the burning metal on Talin. "It's either you die, or the steel comes to me." He thought about the options. Maleth decided that he wasn't gonna let someone else die because of him. "It can have me." Maleth didn't know what he was saying. After all, he has just passed out for fear of being taken by it. He looked at Talin with a serious look on his face. "I'm not gonna let someone else die because of me. Not again..." He looked down. 'My parents...'

[JackieCat]

Lorin looked into the black abyss, her eyes wide, and she didn't say anything until they were back at camp.  Then she looked over at Maleth.

"No one's going to die," she said, then she looked over at Talin. "Ho did we get to that abyss?  It wasn't there before!  And how exactly can Steel be destroyed?"  Lorin sighed. "I'm really sorry for all of the questions, but I need to know everything if we're going to save both of you."