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Dims Story Corner (updated 9.27) September 14, 2018 07:25 AM
The Lady of Fangorn   Posts: 2816 #229282 Give Award × Give a ribbon to an outstanding Forum Post! Give Award	<div align="center">~~~~The Serpent Tamer~~~~ <div align="center">An ongoing story, written by Dim of Fangorn <div align="center">~~~~~~~~~ <div align="left">As she walked resolutely towards certain death, her face, scarred and adorned by bloody cuts, was impassive. One of the guards gave her a sympathetic glance- the slight, scraggly girl he saw would surely be only a morsel to the great serpents. She was barely fifteen, and had already seen more than most would see in a lifetime. Her dark hair was shorn short, and lay in a complicated tangle, matted and covered in grime and heaven-only-knows-what. Her most prominent feature was a pair of startlingly black eyes, the color of wet onyx, flecked with gold near the center. They were currently staring straight ahead, fixated on the thick metal gratings that barred the way to the serpents' lair. ~~~~~~~~~ The guards that stood in front of the pair of gratings were huge, thick burly men made of pure muscle. Looking at them, you might think that what they guarded was a storehouse of treasure, protecting it from any who would try to break in and steal. But no, these men were guarding the gate with the sole purpose of keeping something-several somethings, in fact- in. One of them turned to the leviathan door and lifted the hand-and-a-half thick iron bar from its resting place, swinging the grate open just enough for the girl to fit in. He shoved her roughly in, slamming the door closed as soon as the back edge of the rough shift she wore had cleared the threshold. Setting the bar firmly back into its place, the guard resumed his position beside the door as if nothing had happened. Without looking back, the girl deliberately walked down the huge passageway, her footsteps barely echoing off the stone walls. She paid no mind to the deep marks upon those walls, some of them three inches deep and several feet long. Maela knew she was going to die, and she accepted it, even embraced it. There was no escape to be found this time, no friend in disguise, no secret solution. This was the end. As she walked, her sharp senses began to adjust, brain beginning to catalogue what she observed. The shift felt rough against her skin, barely covering enough of her to be considered modest. It left her back and arms completely exposed, perfectly showcasing the mottled webbing of scars that stretched across the pale skin. Several large, dark scars marked where she had been branded, and other marks left reminders of fights and skirmishes, far more than there should have been on a girl so young. There was a scent about the place, something musky that she couldn't identify. It was like some ancient creature had arisen from the dust and taken form once again...which, come to think of it, was true. She could hear the padding of her bare feet against the hard-packed earth, could hear the crowd outside in the stadium, the multitude of voices ebbing and flowing in a patternless cacophony that was not unlike the hum of a beehive. The hall emptied into the stadium some ten yards ahead, and she could see the rich light of late afternoon streaming in through the opening. It illuminated the passageway, sending sunrays scattering in all directions when it hit a polished piece of stone. Her mind divested itself of all thoughts as she neared the threshold. Maela paused before stepping into the open and looked out into the arena; it was an area large enough for at least two hundred horses to stand in military formation, with dusty, dry dirt forming the ground. The sides of the arena were cobblestone, extending twenty feet in the air. Iron rings were set into the topmost portion of the wall, spaced evenly with about three paces between. These rings held an elaborate webbing made of fat metal cables that spanned the entire arena. Edited at September 27, 2018 06:23 PM by Dimrill Dale
Dims Story Corner (updated 9.27) September 27, 2018 06:28 PM
The Lady of Fangorn   Posts: 2816 #235632 Give Award × Give a ribbon to an outstanding Forum Post! Give Award	<div align="center">~~~F&T~~~ <div align="center">An ongoing story, by Dim of Fangorn <div align="center">~~~~~~~~~<div align="left">Someone knocked at the door, and Sarah tore her gaze away from the papers strewn over the block of wood that served as a desk. "Yeah?" she said, rubbing her eyes. It had not been a good day- Kili wasn't there, as he was on his way to Erebor with Thorin- something about un-disowning and seeing Dis and probably getting to see all his kin again- and she was slogging through messages from the scouts on the western border of Fangorn. Peter pushed open the door warily, ready to retreat at the first sign of danger. "Are you going to come in sometime today?" Sarah asked, noting how reluctantly he entered. "Uhmm...well...Fox-and-Tootles-are-gone-and-I-can't-find-them" he blurted. Sighing, she pushed herself up and grabbed her longsword from the corner. "Have you looked in the usual haunts?" she asked her brother. "Yeah, no sign of either of them." "When did they come up missing?" she asked, shouldering past him and out the door. Grabbing her leather boots on the way out, she managed to put them on while striding out of the den. "We've been looking for them for a couple hours...." Peter trailed off, looking at the setting sun. "Right. So, about the time Idhron and Medwen engaged the orcs on the southern border" she said. "Let me tell Sherlock I'm leaving, then you go search the haunts again." Peter nodded, then flew off (she'd never get used to seeing her little brother floating mid-air) his dark curls blowing about his face like a halo. Whistling for Elessar, Sarah nipped back inside and got her tack and a cloak off the rack by the door. When she went back out, the stud was standing patiently in the clearing. Brushing him off absentmindedly, the slim elleth heaved the heavy saddle and blanket onto 'Less's wide back and cinched it up. Fastening the cloak around her neck, she swung onto the horse and trotted off towards her twin's den. The small den Sherlock, John, and Mrs. Hudson shared wasn't too far from the main one- but far enough for relative safety from whatever Sherlock's latest experiment was. Giving 'Less a firm command to stay put, Sarah ventured through the thick, well-oiled front door and down the hall, into the well-lit living room. "Sher?" she called out. Narrowing her eyes at the silence, she cautiously walked through the cluttered room and into the hallway that led to Sherlock and John's rooms. Sherlock's door was Tootles ajar, and she pushed it open carefully. It was almost too late when Sarah noticed the clear, fine string that ran from the door handle up the wall to some other location. A trap, obviously. Lunging forward, she dropped to the ground and rolled as an arrow whistled through the space she had just occupied, before landing in Sherlock's bedroom wall with a solid thunk. "Shit, Sherlock!" she exclaimed, looking up at her brother, who looked quite smug in his ancient blue dressing gown, ratty pyjamas and a pair of mismatched socks. "You just enjoy using me for experiments?" she queried, getting up off the floor and praying she hadn't landed in or on a petri dish of acid. Or worse. "Hm. Yes, since your reflexes and so-called instinct make you a fascinating study" he replied. Rolling her eyes, Sarah turned to leave, calling over her shoulder "I've got to go see if I can find Fox and Tootles. Should be back by nightfall; just thought someone should know I'm leaving. Don't burn the forest down, don't piss Luthien off again, and please don't set fire to Jack's beard." The detective rolled his eyes before stalking into the living room and flopping onto the tattered sofa. "Boring!" he muttered. "Dinna care 'f it's boring, just do it!" she retorted from the kitchen. "Where's John?" "Library. Should be back soon." "Right" she said, returning from the kitchen and picking her way through the living room and out the front door. Sarah had left a note for John in the kitchen, telling him the same thing she had told Sherlock, just in case something went awry. It always paid to have one or two people know where you are when you go running off. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Sherlock, did you see this note?" John called from the kitchen. He had gone to fix a cup of tea to go with the book he was reading, when he found the scrap of paper telling him that Sarah had gone off looking for two of Peter's friends. Sherlock waved a hand absentmindedly "Yes; when I got the sulfuric acid out of the sink. Unimportant. " "Hm" John responded, reading the flowing script again. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fox shivered breathlessly; he and Tootles had been forced by their captors to run for hours through the forest. Orcs could sometimes travel for days on end, but these had been traveling in the daytime, which tired them out faster. So they had stopped for a few minutes to allow the foul creatures time to rest. They'd put the boys at the edge of the camp, guarded by two rather thick-skulled Kull that were currently arguing. Fox stifled a squeak as a hand clamped over his mouth. "Quiet- no time to explain. Look scared" were the words that were hissed in his ear. Tootles received the same treatment, and Fox watched the wiry, black-skinned orc that had a familiar voice, one that belonged to someone he was sure could disguise themselves as an orc. Their new captor (or savior) pulled them to their feet and growled something in Urug-lam to the other guards. Nodding in the direction of the wood, it roughly pulled the boys to their feet. Pushing them in front, it marched them off into the trees. They hadn't gone twenty yards before it unsheathed a dagger and cut the ropes that bound their hands. Fox turned to face the 'orc', and his suspicions were confirmed- it was Sarah, underneath two or three layers of black blood. "How-" he started to ask, then stopped as she grabbed both of their hands and set off at a fast pace, fairly dragging the boys along. "I told them there was fresh deer meat not too far away, and that I was sent to relieve them" she said, referring to the Kull. "That breed of orcs are so dumb; they'll believe anything if you dangle food in front of them." "Actually, I was going to ask how you managed to turn black" he retorted. Tootles hadn't spoken yet, focusing on not tripping over roots as they strode quickly through the forest. "Killed an orc by snapping its neck, drained the blood and then spread it on my skin. Works like a charm" she replied, before falling silent again. They walked for what seemed to be an eternity; the elleth allowed only a few short breaks before picking up the pace again. Soon, it grew dark. Finally, she stopped by the base of a large birch. "We're almost back" she said, leaning against the tree. "You two had better go straight to the Den; last thing I need is to have to track you down again. Understood?" Both boys nodded wordlessly. Tootles felt a bit sheepish- he had been the one who wanted to explore in the forest some more, and Fox had followed him. "Good then. Let's go- it's right through there." Sarah said, pointing past the trees and walking in that direction, at a slower pace this time. Fox squinted, and as he walked, he thought he could make out the flicker of lights in the windows of the caves they called home. It didn't take more than ten minutes before they emerged into the clearing, and Sarah sent the boys to the Den to clean up and go to bed. She headed for "the boys'" cave, as they called it, where Sherlock, John and Mrs. Hudson lived. The front door was locked, but it was easy enough to pick it- she wasn't Sher's twin for nothing. Picking her way over the various bits of stuff that was haphazardly strewn over the floor, Sarah made her way past the front hall and into the living room. "Hallo! Sher? John? Anybody home?" she shouted. Thumping could be heard from the stairway, and she turned around to find herself nose-to-nose with John. A very surprised, confused John. Ah! The black skin was throwing him off, she realized. "'S me, John" she said, giving him a grin. The man visibly relaxed, and said "Right, sorry about that. You just look a bit like those orc things that everyone's always goin' on about, and...." "You're fine...I do look a bit odd. Just wanted to let you know that we're back- the silly boys got caught by Kull. Got out without even a scuffle, thankfully." "Alright, thanks for the heads-up. I don't know where Sherlock got to- think he's over in the main hall. Someone mentioned having extra pieces of a carcass, and he perked up." John shook his head over his best friend's morbid fascination with corpses. Sarah chuckled, then turned to leave. "Well, have a good night" she said. Halfway to the door, tiny sparks of color danced across her field of vision in dizzying patterns. Placing a hand against the wall for support, she cursed. "Dammit! I knew I should've washed this off sooner." Muttering darkly, she reached for the doorknob, only to have her path blocked by a certain (former) army doctor. "Washed what off?" John asked. "This orc blood- the black stuff. It's poisonous; usually I can go for a few hours before I start losing my vision. Didn't time it right this go-r