Eryn, Xera and the twelve year old Hawk-Eye were now falling
to the ground. They were still over fifty feet above the ground and a fall from
this could be fatal. Out of the three, Eryn was the one laughing. He had
managed to summon his flaming hand to assist him on the decent. Xera on the
other hand, panicked for a moment, waving his hands and arms in the air as if
he was drowning. After a brief moment of clarity, he realised he wasn't
actually falling but the gloves he was wearing allowed him to swim through the
air. He swiftly dive-bombed after the Hawk-Eye child and managed to catch her
in time before she passed into unconsciousness. Although they were now with no
guide, they were still left with a trail to follow in the form of the cable
that had now dropped to the floor.
Eryn found the little girl to be quite light and easy to
lift, so he offered to carry her with them. Eryn had yet to tell Xera about
Chloe's death but as he mulled it over on their travels, he decided against the
notion. There was no real reason per say, Eryn just thought that it was
reasonable to assume Xera didn't need any more bad news and he and Chloe were
not exactly close. Small talk peppered the two hour journey from where they had
landed to Darkperch, and all the while thankfully quiet. The little girl seemed
to be in worsening pain, although she did not fall onto anything. Xera blamed
himself a little, perhaps there was something he could have done, in the way he
caught her, or the speed, or the angle? He looked upon her, with her eyes
scrunching as she slept and guilt twanged within him.
Darkperch was not what Eryn had expected. In its heyday it
may have been considered a busy mining village but that had all changed. The
walk down towards the central road revealed the extent of the decline. The road they had been on was presumably the
road from Auspar as tracks for carts had been worn into the edges but they were
full of weeds and stone. The cable line from the city stopped at a small grey
and green tower, about three stories tall, although from behind the
discolouration it was originally white. The tower was nestled in-between
abandoned shacks and broken windows much like most of the town. There was the
sound of unseen farm animals and the bark of Seskii's from a ranch over to the
left. Doors had been left open and the wind whistled through the empty
rooms. From the far right they could
both hear a few men discussing about relocating. Eryn noticed as they got
closer, that they were part of the Purple Order and immediately turned around
and away from them as quick as he could.
Xera pointed out a
local tavern where the girl might be able to rest and be treated for whatever
affliction she had. The Drunken Talon reflected much of the village it was in.
Patrons inside were far and few between and the large ground floor only emphasised the
empty space. The villagers looked worn, gaunt and tired. Not a single person
was smiling or seemed to have any energy at all. This changed however when
Mavis, the tavern owner in her late forties, spotted the girl and shouted her
name, Lina. It was obvious that the
girl was a regular here as five patrons plus Mavis rushed to her side. They
quickly bundled her up in warm linen and a father and son team carried her
upstairs with a bag from behind the bar.
Across from where Eryn and Xera now sat, a young woman was with man of similar age in
the corner of the room at a dimly lit table. The only smile they offered to each
other were the quick glances down to a ring on their respective hands. They
only had eyes for one another and Xera wondered why they had not noticed them
or the young girl. Mavis soon came over with an ample tray of libations as a thank
you. The food had seen better days but the ale was crisp and overflowing.
Although she tried to remain positive, the cracks in her veneer were obvious to
Eryn. He asked her what was wrong and through a forced smile, she tried to
explain.
The evacuation of Auspar had happened a fair few hours ago.
Eryn complimented Silas on his speed but then remembered the man he was
praising was not an ally, at least not to Eryn. She told them that everything
had gone to plan, well the Purple Order's plan. They had somehow taken control
of the evacuation with no representation from the Hawk-Eyes. Jarvi, their town
guard and official Hawk-Eye representative of Darkperch, was already in the
city. In the confusion the Purple Order
managed to gain control of the situation, directing everyone into the mines.
One or two who had been part of the evacuation and also Purple Order members
had stayed behind to help but most were forced into helping within the mines.
Eventually nearly everyone had gone in, including some of the villagers to help
settle the evacuees down. This was all under the promise that the Order had found
a haven for them to stay in the caves, while the city was being rebuilt.
The problem now, according to Mavis was that when some of
the Order were questioned by the villagers about the sanctuary that they had
not heard of, the Order refused to give them a straightforward answer. In fact the Order was so against a reply that
they started to make plans to leave, regardless of their 'duty' to the evacuees.
They were slowly starting to pack
everything up from their Oraea in preparation and had completely refused to
speak to anyone. Mavis trailed off into
her own musing about what was down in the mines. She was worried, that was for sure, but the
order was known was its non-committal to
its own causes, and there was most likely enough people down there to look
after themselves. Both and Eryn and Xera agreed they needed time before they
would consider going into the caves, especially as nothing had actually
happened yet.
It was at that point a music box sprang into life on the bar
much to Mavis' delight. In response, everyone in the room stood up, apart from
Xera and Eryn. As the music played the furniture; the tables, the chairs, even
the paintings and the light fixtures all began to move with an almost
animalistic motion. Tables bucked and jumped, chairs were herded into a corner
by a service trolley. It would seem that anything that could have given a
semblance of comfort, also the capacity to live under the influence of the
music box. Mavis tried to calm down Eryn and Xera, who had been left on the
floor after being dumped by their chairs. Mavis smiled and giggled, the only
time she had done since the evacuation. Her concern for those in the caves paled for a
moment in comparison to the comedic pain her two new patrons were feeling.
Xera left as quick as he could, not being able to stand the
madness. He needed a place of solitude and in the hopeful absence of its
occupant, went around the village trying to find the perfect place to grow his
new lab. Eryn on the other hand was brought closer to Mavis. She asked him why
he was with Lina and he gave her as much of truth as she needed. She mentioned
she had no idea when Jarvi would be back but he, and Xera were welcome to stay
here for as long as Lina was resting. Eryn was allowed to for free as a
Hawk-Eye, although she pointed out he was not an official member until Lina had
vouched for him, and Xera was to stay at half the price, apparently because he
was 'easy on the eye'.
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