Tora – Page 15 – Tora Steals Things

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by Griffin North on August 29, 2019 at 12:00 am

Characters: Tora

Fire and Mask

Warning: Contains violence and death

There was a fire in the Unseen Ruins. Tora smelled it before he saw it, making his way from Mabon Market through the rocky climb overlooking the ruins. He’d meant to just pass by – the ruins were a hot bed for bitter skritt and nosy asuran researchers. Even if it was the middle of the night, the researchers safely home, and the skritt likely asleep, it wasn’t worth it. It was too open, too easy to be seen. He’d walk around it, that was the plan.

Then he smelled burning wood and sap, saw hints of red in the ruins below, and plans changed. Cautiously, he climbed down into the ruins, clinging to a nearby pillar of rock on his way. As he rounded the pillar at its base, he finally saw it: a blazing bonfire amidst the rubble of the ruins and the scattered research equipment. There was no one around so he moved in closer, sap pounding louder in his ears with every step. Something was in the fire, tied to a long pole jutting out of the ground. No, not something, someone. His heart beat faster, but curiosity kept him moving. Step after step, he made his way until he was only a foot away. Sparks danced near his feet as he gazed into the fire.

It was Meritt. His guild mate.

Despite the heat he felt suddenly quite cold.

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by Griffin North on August 29, 2019 at 12:02 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

Fire and Mask

Warning: Contains violence and death

Who would do this? Why-?

He got his answer quicker than he was ready for as the gaunt form of Sheridan emerged from the rubble carrying a bundle of twigs, presumably to keep the fire going. They dropped the sticks at the sight of him.

“HE’S HERE!”

Tora didn’t wait to hear the shouted responses in the distance before rushing Sheridan, grabbing a nearby piece of equipment – some sort of glass orb? And chucking it at their head. They yelped and fumbled backwards as Tora swept past them and bolted towards the wooded pathway going north. He could hear the thundering of footsteps behind him: two pairs… No, three. They didn’t shoot but he made sure to take cover anyway, dipping behind broken pillars and archways as he scrambled across the rubble.

A bullet zipped past his right ear as he entered the wooded path and snagged a branch off a nearby tree.

“DON’T SHOOT, YA ASS! I WANT ‘IM ALIVE!” Birr, of course it was Birr.

The path was too linear, surrounded on all sides by rock walls. He couldn’t lose them here. Damn it! Why didn’t I just stick to the plan?! But he knew why, and the image of Meritt’s burning corpse stayed firmly in his mind. He wasn’t even really registering what was around him anymore – it was just trees and rocks rushing by him. Why did they kill Meritt? He’d known he’d be a target after Baya disappeared but, Meritt? Meritt was plain to say the least, unnoticeable, quiet. Some of the rowdier bandits picked on him now and again, but this? Why? Why did they-?

Tora’s foot caught on something small and slimy and he fell, hitting the ground hard. Sap dripped from a fresh cut on his lip, and he winced as he tried to get up. Then a slithery creature, hamster-like in shape and made of rotting flesh, skittered up to his face. He froze.

No.

No not now.

No no no no no!

Delicate hands reached down and plucked the ugly critter from the ground. Tora’s eyes followed them helplessly upwards. The figure of a sylvari stood before him, small in stature, and frankly unimposing. They wore a long dark coat that draped to their ankles, a hood, and a striking misshapen wooden mask.

The Mute.

Tora’s breathe caught in his throat. If the guild didn’t kill him, The Mute certainly would. That was what she did after all, kill bandits, and that was all he really knew

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by Griffin North on August 29, 2019 at 12:04 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

Fire and Mask

Warning: Contains violence and death

about her. He’d been there when they first rescued her from Nightmare Court, seen her through her first few raids. Tora only really spoke with her once, that itself was a fluke, but he couldn’t get a grasp on her. It wasn’t just the mask, she just never revealed much of what she was thinking. It was unnerving.

Then she’d turned on the guild, made it very clear what she was thinking.

“You’re just another Court by a different name.”

He could still hear her words, even now.

A branch cracked under Tora’s foot and he snapped back to reality. He hastened backwards, trying hopelessly to get away from her, but stopped just as quickly at the sounds of yelling from behind him. His old guild mates were catching up. This did not look good.

The air around him grew dense, cold, and pungent with the smell of death. A swarm of shadows closed in on him -an assortment of mangled rotting creatures. Among them he saw the corpses of his guild mates: Ebril and Zed, shambling about like broken puppets. It was hard to breathe. He tried to will himself to move but couldn’t. The Mute moved closer. The shouting behind him seemed to be drowned out by her presence alone, dark and looming above him.

“TRAITORS!!”

Like a knife, Birr’s voice cut through the thick air and set off what felt like a chemical reaction. The lumbering undead around them sprung to action, lashing out at the oncoming bandits. The bandits in turn, drew their weapons and charged. The Mute didn’t even look at Tora as she casually stepped over him and into the fray. She took the suffocating cold with her, and Tora crumbled, gasping and shaking.

He didn’t have time to recover though, as he too, got quickly swallowed into the fight. An unnatural shadow consumed the area, blanketing everything in a heavy darkness. He couldn’t see the path anymore, and he fumbled about desperately trying to get out. Swords swung out from the dark, daggers and bullets shot at every direction; eery spectral hands sprung forth from nowhere and clawed at unseen screaming thieves. He eventually found a rock wall and clung to it, praying not to get hit as he listened to the ongoing assault.

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by Griffin North on August 29, 2019 at 12:08 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

Fire and Mask

Warning: Contains violence and death

Screams of anger, pain, clanging metal, gunshots, and then… a thunk of wood. The darkness subsided, and Tora saw it: a mask a foot away from him. He made a quick glance to The Mute who was cautiously feeling the empty space where her mask had been. Her back was to him, and the thieves were busy staring at her, shaking where they stood. Sheridan had been the one to shoot off the mask, their gun still held in position. The Mute took a step towards them and they flinched as the unnatural shadow started to seep from her again.

Tora took one last look at the Daggers and the Mute. No one was watching him -they were too busy fighting each other. He looked once more at the mask at his feet. Don’t do it. The Mute’s darkness started to creep towards him, slower this time. He needed to move. The mask was at his feet. This is a bad idea. She’ll kill you. The darkness was inches away now. Tora swallowed hard.

He reached down, grasped his fingers over the rough wood of the mask, felt its grain against his palm.

And he ran.

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by Griffin North on August 31, 2019 at 12:00 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

The Mute

Warning: Contains talk of abuse

“I would like my mask back, Tora Zollun.”

The voice came from all around Tora, sputtered out in uneven gasps from every shadow lurking among the tall trees of the Rowanwoods. He froze on the spot, quivering and staring helplessly at his feet. Panic slowly strangled him from within as the shadows moved closer, and the smell of rot filled his lungs. This was it. The gig was up.

I was so close! And he had been. He’d almost made it to the road leading out of Caledon Forest towards Kessex Hills. It was the last step to getting out alive – getting out of the forest. He’d done everything he could to get this far: stealing the mask, faking his death, staying out of sight as much as possible… of course it wasn’t enough. He should have known.

“My mask, please.”

He snapped out of it with a start, only to find himself face to face with The Mute. Bright eyes stared back at him from a petite face with yellow skin like the petals of a dandelion. Thorns like a cactus ribbed the edges of her cheeks and brows, yet her hair was more a mix of broad leaves and cattails. She was a peculiar mix of cacti, broad-leaf, and water plant, as if the Pale Tree had been confused in her creation.

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by Griffin North on August 31, 2019 at 12:02 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

The Mute

Warning: Contains talk of abuse

He’d not seen anything like it, and it was the first time he’d ever seen her face at all. He noticed the thin white scar stretching across her left cheek.

She stretched out her hand expectantly, the sudden gesture scaring him into motion. With ramping anxiety, he fumbled with the strings holding the mask to his face. It eventually came loose and dropped to the earth. He scrambled to get it, but The Mute beat him to it, gently lifting it off the ground.

“Thank you,” Her minions said in unison, a sea of rotting flesh and plant matter surrounding them on all sides.

Tora closed his eyes and waited. Surely this was it. Hopefully, it would be swift.

But nothing happened.

Tora opened his eyes to see The Mute quietly dusting off her mask. The sea of minions had dispersed, leaving only a few, including a particularly small rodent like one on her shoulder.

“Aren’t you… going to, um…”

The Mute looked at him.

“K-Kill me?” He swallowed.

“No.”

Her answer was immediate and without hesitation.

“What?”

“Why would I?”

“B-Because I’m a thief?”

The Mute gave him a considered look before responding.

“Tell me Tora Zollun, how does one deal with Nightmare Court?”

“U-Um…”

“Eradicate them, and…” The Mute pointed directly at him. “Free the prisoners.”

This caught him off guard, and he scoffed, “I -what? I’m not a prisoner!”

She kept pointing.

“I-I’m not! I-why would you?” He wasn’t sure why he was arguing this. If this is what was keeping her from killing him, he should just play along until he was safely away from her. That’s what he should do, but it bothered him. It bothered him a lot, and he could feel heat rushing to his cheeks.

“I chose to be with the Daggers, Mute!” He protested.

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by Griffin North on August 31, 2019 at 12:04 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest

The Mute

Warning: Contains talk of abuse

The Mute dropped her arm but didn’t respond. She just kept looking at him. It was unnerving, he hated it. She wouldn’t stop staring at him. What was that look for?!

“Stop looking at me like that.” He’d meant for the words to come out more assertive, demanding. Instead they came out weak and trembling. Pathetic.

Surprisingly she obliged and averted her gaze, staring outwards into the woods while Tora hastily wiped tears from his face in embarrassment. He didn’t like what she was insinuating. He didn’t like talking to her. He didn’t like this at all.

“You weren’t the only one.” The Mute said finally, still looking away from him. “Many were abused in that guild. Though I suppose… you were a special case.”

“Oh really?” He snapped. “In what way?”

“I…” She paused, seemingly thinking through her next words carefully. “I saw the basement, Tora Zollun.”

The color from Tora’s usually teal coloured face drained. Baya’s basement – he could still see it though he tried not to. He remembered the stench, the damp cold air, the feel of metal against his wrists, the hungry rats –those awful fuckin’ things!– nipping at his skin…

“No one’s seen the basement. It’s locked.” Tora lied.

“It was open the day you emerged from it.”

“…Don’t.”

“You went missing for four days, and then you appeared from the basement. I went then.”

“So what?! So what if I was there?! You don’t even know why!”

“Do I have to?”

“I- Of course you-! You know what? Forget this. You have your mask. I’m sorry I took it. I’m leaving.” Tora strode past her, fuming.

“Baya wasn’t a good person, Tora Zollun.”

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HER!” In an instant Tora was back and in The Mute’s face, snarling. “You act like ya jus’ fuckin’ know everythin’ bout everyone, huh? This person was abused and that person’s bad, and ‘Oh! You’re a special case!’ But what about Baya?! What about her, huh?! Ya couldn’t tell she was hurtin’?!”

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by Griffin North on August 31, 2019 at 12:06 am

Chapter: Escape From Caledon

Characters: Mute, Tora

Location: Caledon Forest