Recent Scene: Nightmare 4
First Scene: Terin and the 3 Saplings 01

Caledon Forest

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by on August 27, 2019 at 12:00 am
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Vanished

Warning: Contains talk of physical abuse

“This was all we found of her,” Pepper said as he gently placed Baya’s daggers in Tora’s open hands. “You made em, so… figured you should have em.”

It was the first Pepper had spoken to Tora since they’d met, but Tora was too distracted to understand the significance of that. He stared, wide-eyed at the set of silver daggers clasped under his shaking fingers. The cold metal jangled in his palms as he counted them out: six total. There used to be seven. He’d know, he’d crafted each one, sculpted every intricate rose found on their hilts. They weren’t supposed to be his though, they were a gift. Yet here they were: dirtied, bloodied, and cradled awkwardly in his unfit hands. He felt tears threatening to burst.

Pepper, seeing the look on Tora’s face, gave him a nervous nod before hastily retreating back to the doorway he’d entered. He’d come in with two others: Claws and Onora, who stood as two solemn lumbering giants near the doorway to Claws’ workshop. They’d lost their headquarters, Baya’s home, to The Mute when she turned on the guild. Out of seemingly nowhere she’d emerged with a horde of undead rats and went right after Baya. The guild tried to fight her back, but… things went wrong? Tora could barely remember, he’d been fighting starvation and struggling to stay awake

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by on August 27, 2019 at 12:02 am
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Vanished

Warning: Contains talk of physical abuse

at the time. He’d just managed to escape the basement before it happened, and was too weak to do much beyond slowly nurse a loaf of bread. They’d had to carry him out when the guild fled – had it been Onora who carried him? Claws?

What little he did remember were the unnatural shrieks of those awful rats, the sounds of swords and pistols, heavy footsteps, the pealing laughter of Baya who had to be dragged away when they ran. He could hear The Mute’s words as they fled.

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

They lost Zed in the fight.

Now they were here, using Claws’ workshop as a temporary headquarters -a large hollowed tree stump filled to the brim with odd tools and bits of metal. Apparently he’d been an engineer before the guild, and happened to still have the space. Baya always complained about it though -she hated the smell and the clutter. She wanted to fight to get back the headquarters, but no one would let her.

So they stayed here, trying to go about business as usual, but having to deal with constant attacks from The Mute on every raid they did. She killed Ebril, and made it very clear she was going to kill more of them. Then Baya and Darach went missing. It couldn’t have been The Mute but…

The rest of the guild rushed the trio at the doorway, bombarding them with questions.

“Is she-?”

“Dunno. S’all we found.”

“Did The Mute get ‘er?!”

“S’all we found.”

“And Darach? Didja find Darach?”

Tora’s stomach made an ugly twist at the name. It was one thing for Baya to vanish – she came and went as she pleased, but for her and Darach to disappear? For a week? It was suspicious to say the least, but to Tora it was much worse than that. He knew things the rest of the guild didn’t, horrible things Baya entrusted to him and no one else. The Mute wasn’t strong enough to harm Baya, there was no way, but Darach? He knew how dangerous Darach was, how possessive and cruel he could be. Baya told him everything. If they’d both disappeared, she was in danger. She might not even… Tora gripped the daggers in his hands till sap trickled from his fingers. He was too busy trying to breathe to notice the pain.

“THAT’S! ALL! WE! FOUND!!” Claws slammed his fist on the door to emphasize each word, the studded gauntlet he wore protesting with each strike. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?! WE LOOKED FOR THREE DAYS! THEY’RE GONE!”

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by on August 27, 2019 at 12:04 am
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Vanished

Warning: Contains talk of physical abuse

The room fell silent as Claws shook from head to toe with raged frustration. Pepper, a mere twig next to the muscular husks of Claws and Onora, shrunk behind Onora till her bushy hair nearly swallowed him. She sighed and gave him a pitiful look.

“Ya gave him the knives, ya?”

Pepper swallowed and scratched nervously at the scars over his missing right eye, “Y-yeah.”

“Then that’s it then.”

“Wha-? That’s it?! C’mon now!” An incredulous voice boomed from the small gathering, and a large portly plant, with impossibly greasy vines for hair, made his way to the front. He shoved a few people aside to get there. “We don’t get nuthin’ more than that?! This is BAYA we’re talkin’ bout! She don’t jus’ make to disappear!”

Claws turned on the plant with a glare, “I already told you, Birr! THAT’S ALL WE FOUND!”

“So ya jus’ gave up?!”

The two began bickering while Onora sighed and played absentmindedly with her hair. The rest of the guild shrunk back, letting the two argue for what felt like ages. And Tora?

“Well, did YOU want his shitty knives?” Claws snarled.

“No one wants his stupid fuckin’ knives!” Birr spat back. “We want answers, ya fuck!”

“Where is he anyway?” Onora offered casually.

They stopped and looked back in unison to Tora’s usual corner near the back of the room.

Tora was gone.

He’d left shortly after Claws first started shouting, climbing his way out the back window with whatever he could grab unnoticed on his way out. A few pocketed coins from Needles and Sheridan, a vial of poison off Blaine, a loaf of bread off one of the worktables and he was gone. He was done mourning, or rather he didn’t have time to. Claws’ angry cries had snapped Tora back to reality, and reality didn’t look good. Baya didn’t go anywhere without her daggers. If there was any clearer a sign she wasn’t coming back, it was the fact that they now stood in Tora’s hands instead of hers. She wasn’t coming back, and that meant Tora had to leave. Now.

He made his way back to his pod home back on the Weeping Isle, hoping it’d be awhile before his guild realized he was gone. Not that he could stay there long, he had to pack what he could run with and go.

While he scrambled about the pod, shovelling clothes and trinkets into a leather

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by on August 27, 2019 at 12:06 am
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Vanished

Warning: Contains talk of physical abuse

bag, it struck him for a moment just what he was doing and he paused. It was a long ugly pause as he finally admitted something he’d known for awhile but wouldn’t let himself think.

I don’t trust my guild.

And he didn’t, he really didn’t. Without Baya around he didn’t even feel safe around most of them. Why would he? Many were pretty open about their scorn towards him, snarling at him when Baya didn’t see, and threatening him when she couldn’t hear. He knew full well the things they wanted to do to him, saw the hungry looks in their eyes when he passed by. He’d skipped the gruesome rites of passage most had to do to join the guild by Baya’s graces, and many resented him for it. They resented him more for not talking even though he… he couldn’t.

If he was honest with himself, he’d known for awhile how ready they were to hurt him, and Baya’s absence made that all the clearer. She’d been missing only a week but it was enough. At first they’d kept their distance, wary of what Baya would do if they laid a finger on him. As the days dragged on however, he found them searching for him, making grabs and sneers when they found him. Birr especially got more and more brazen, to the point where he’d once pinned Tora to a wall, spouting off a long list of horrid things he wanted to do to him. If Pepper hadn’t interrupted him… Tora shuddered, and closed up his bag.

If he stayed they’d torture him in every way they could think of.

He wasn’t going to let them.

Tora exited out the back of the pod, leaving the indoor flowers blooming bright to make it seem like he was still home. It would be a short distraction, but hopefully enough. He dusted off his coat, gave a quick glance at his surroundings, then vanished into the night with barely a sound.

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by on August 29, 2019 at 12:00 am
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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 on August 29, 2019 at 12:02 am
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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 on August 29, 2019 at 12:04 am
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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 on August 29, 2019 at 12:08 am
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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 on August 31, 2019 at 12:00 am
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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 on August 31, 2019 at 12:02 am
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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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