Knowledge and Power

[DragonSong]

"Are you crazy?!"

She knew he wasn't, that his plan seemed to be there only option, but she was terrified. She looked back up the tunnel, toward fresh air and moonlight and Kit.

Kit...

"Oh, fuck this!" With a sharp scream that was equal parts fury and fear, Kiara raced back across the cavern to Orcus's side and started herding him down the tunnel, blades crossed in front of her body again. She was muttering under her breath all the while, an ancient language that even she didn't know the name of, but had heard since the cradle in her father's voice.

With a final shout, a word that sounded like fire and falling stones, she thrust her blades out and sparked fire from their tips, twin balls of flame that imploded against the rocky walls, sending debris tumbling down around the golem.

She hoped that would be enough. Turning back to Orcus, she grabbed his good arm and hoisted him to his feet, dragging him after her down the tunnel. "Come on, run!"

[Razor-D-Belphe]

Orcus ran with her until they were deep into the caverns, the buried golem left behind. Whether it had perished or not was unknown.

Orcus broke away from Kiara and lined his bad arm up with a wall, then rammed it, slamming his shoulder back into place with a sickening pop. He grunted, then spoke.

"I don't sense its presence anymore. What was that?"

[DragonSong]

"Oi!" Kiara moved to stop him, but by then it was too late. She sighed and shook her head. "I could've don that, y'know."

With a shake of her hand and a glance back down the way they had come, she added irritably, "A golem. A construct made of stone. Pretty big sucker too." She looked back to Orcus, glowering. "What the hells were you thinking? I thought you could handle yourself down here!"

But clearly he couldn't, and now she was stuck with him. Perfect.

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"A golem? Fascinating. Under ordinary circumstances I can handle myself just fine. Most ruins, to my knowledge, don't have giant rock monsters in them. Perhaps it was defending the relic?"

Orcus mused over the implications. Until now, he had found only cleared out vaults in his search for the volumes of the Infernal Compendium, and all his leads went to dead ends. He had learned that one volume was in a ruin, and had cause to believe it was this very one. It was on that tip that he had descended. The presence of a guardian confirmed that, at the very least, something was down here. Had he finally made headway in his quest to rid the world of the cursed eldritch texts?

Orcus sighed. "Perhaps I'm not as able as I thought. It may be that the written words that blinded me are slowly sapping my strength. Once upon a time, I could shatter rock with my blade, with effort. Hmmm... Very well. After I leave this place, I will continue my studies of the magics to compensate for this loss. For now, there is no choice but to press on. My apologies for involving you."

[DragonSong]

"Whoa whoa, hang on." Kiara scurried around in front of him and held her hands up, hoping that would get him to stop. "It wasn't just your shoulder that got fucked up, right? Where else are you hurt? We need to take care of that before we can get any further."

She ignored his apology. Whatever his intention, they were stuck together now, and they'd just have to deal with it. At least until they could get out of this place.

She hoped Kit wasn't worrying too much...

[Razor-D-Belphe]

Orcus sighed. "My ribs are broken, and I'm bleeding internally." he said.

He let his guard down, sensing her genuine intent. He hated feeling weak like this, but she was right. They needed to address his injuries. What good was finding the relic if it got him killed?

[DragonSong]

Oh great. Fantastic. Frickin' perfect.

"Shit." Kiara sighed and dragged a hand down her face, then moved toward him again. She set her hands on his shoulders and tried to guide him to sit. "Alright, I'm not a healer, but I've broken my share of ribs in my time. Lemme see?"

[Razor-D-Belphe]

Orcus lifted his arm and exposed his injured side with another pained grunt.

"...gentle..." he muttered.

[DragonSong]

Kiara rolled her eyes. "I'm not a complete asshole," she muttered. "I know how to play nice."

Despite her harsh tone, her fingers were incredibly gentle as she moved them over his side, using just the slightest amount of pressure to find the breaks. "Alright. Looks like you've got two fractures and about three cracks. Not great, but we can work with that."

She sat back, looking him over, thinking. After a moment, she held her hand out to him-- then hesitated, changed direction, and instead placed her hand over his. It was clear by now that he could get around alright on his own, but was still...

"I didn't realize," she muttered, pursing her lips. "Er, before. That you're..."

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"Blind?" he asked. He laughed bitterly. "Have You ever heard the phrase, 'knowledge is power'?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he went on. "It's true. But there is some power not meant for mortals. I explored a ruin like this one in search of a book, a very dangerous book. I found it, and what I read blinded me and destroyed my sanity. I only regained the latter over time, but my sight is gone forever. Not only that, but the memory of those words, even a subconscious memory, is slowly killing me. I destroyed the book. And before the curse finishes me, I must destroy the rest."

[DragonSong]

Oh.

"Um...wow." Kiara blinked, sitting back on her heel. Her hand still rested over his; she'd been intending to pull him to his feet, but now found herself frozen. "I'm-- I'm so sorry."

She cleared her throat and glanced away awkwardly. "So...you think another piece of this book is here? In these ruins?"

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"Another volume, yes. I obtained the information from the knowledge broker, Madame Charlotte. She neglected to mention the possibility of golems. This woman is supposedly a powerful witch, and she gives nothing freely. I'm bound to return the favor through whatever means she deems fit. The longer this contract goes unfulfilled, the more bad karma I will accumulate. I fear it may hasten my curse, and I've already felt evidence of it."

Orcus shifted.

"In any case, I believe her. I must destroy the relic before I return. I will not allow these abominations to exist and destroy more lives."

[DragonSong]

"Well. Alright then." Kiara exhaled sharply and got to her feet. Her hand resting over Orcus's flexed slightly, and she wrapped her fingers around his, pulling him up after her.

"C'mon. The quicker we get moving, the quicker we can find this thing and-- and get out of here."

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"Alright." Orcus nodded. "I need to reserve energy to suppress my pain. While I'm doing that, my ability to sense the environment will be lessened. Can I rely on you to navigate?"

[DragonSong]

"Um...sure." She looked down at their linked hands, then sighed and shrugged before lifting his hand to rest on her shoulder. "Okay just...follow me, I guess."

She turned and started cautiously off back down the tunnel, clicking her fingers to summon another small fireball to light the path.

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"I suppose I'm in your debt for your assistance. Seems I owe a lot of people lately." Orcus said as he followed her. "Thank you. I... wish I knew what you looked like."

[DragonSong]

Kiara's steps faltered and she glanced back over her shoulder at him. She didn't really know what to say to that.

With a small sigh, she turned and moved his hand from her shoulder to hover his fingers against her cheeks. Carefully, she guided his touch over her face, over the sharp cheekbones, harsh blade of a nose, soft, full mouth... And she let her hand drop, allowing him to continue if he wished.

[Razor-D-Belphe]

Orcus was spellbound for a few moments.
"You're beautiful. I can see it in my mind's eye so clearly..."

Then he snapped his hand back suddenly.

"Uh, I'm sorry!" he apologized in an uncharacteristic break in composure. His bluish cheeks were blushing pink. "Well... shall we continue on?"

[DragonSong]

"O-oh!" It was more of a squeak than an exclamation, and Kiara felt her face heating. She tried to pretend it was just the fire she held in her free hand. "Um...thanks..."

Clearing her throat, she added brusquely, "C'mon, we should...keep moving." She took his hand in hers again and guided it to her shoulder before she started walking.

[Razor-D-Belphe]

"Right... before the golem attacked me, I felt a fork in the path ahead. Do you see it?" Orcus asked, regaining his composure.