Frost 21, 122
The darkness which prevailed about Gel'Grandal was especially pervasive in certain places; near the Gash of course, but in the nights around many of the gothic state buildings it was kept back only by the constant aegis of the Kathar protectors. Even where the Sunstone lights blazed and patrols roamed the streets, the city seemed bleak, and the Imperium's citizens slept soundly only because they believed in their ever-watchful overseers' powers to protect them from the umbral horrors.
That same watchfulness had driven the two Zaichaeri witches outside the city limits. The same powers which protected the city drew the monsters, so the undefended countryside was, paradoxically, less prone to the things. As they traveled the roads (though Carina could have brought them through slipspace, they wanted to avoid any trace of that magic for the night) the two girls saw virtually none of the accursed creatures.
Not that they were worried about them. It was the Inquisition and Kathar guard they sought to avoid this night.
"I'd love to see one fight someday." Imogen commented, apropos of nothing as they turned another road, following well-traveled paths to a place which would not, just now, be terribly busy. "A Kathar, I mean. I've seen the Synnekar fight, and the disciples of Raxen on the mountain, and they were okay, but the Kathar are supposed to have some kind of super-secret training regimen that makes them unbeatable, right?"
There was a genuine eagerness in Imogen's voice. As far as Carina knew, one of Imogen's only real personal vices was a love of blood sport- something her Ork friend did not participate in herself, as Imogen had confessed to her that she found it "just a bit tricky" to hit someone without killing them. Still, she'd regularly watched the brawls in Zaichaer, and had spent a surprising amount of their trip to Kalzasi observing practice rounds.
Perhaps it was merely chance that these musings on fighting came right as the pair came upon the first gate to the graveyard just beyond the city. Again it was a gloomy sort of place, plots of sod and dead grass as far as the eye could see, broken up only by the larger mausoleums and cryptway entries. But the shadow-beasts found no sustenance among the dead, and the Kathar had better things to do than stand guard over musty tombs, which meant that it was relatively perfect for the spell which the two witches had come here to cast today.
The lychyard gates were closed and chained together, but although that would have been little challenge for Carina, Imogen simply jumped up the gate, landing lightly on the chains and the top of the bars, then dropping down onto the ground on the other side. She'd gotten a lot better at moving like a sneak thief should, since her introduction to Animus.
"There's an empty display mausoleum just ahead." Imogen confirmed, her eyes peering easily through the darkness. "We can close the doors, light up the sunstone, and set a warning glyph. Should stop us from being surprised halfway through."
There was a nervous tint to Imogen's voice now, though she tried to hide it. The rune she had asked Carina to bestow was not meant to be as dangerous as Reaving, but there was no such thing as a safe initiation. Even Animus, the one Cardinal Rune which could not kill the recipient, had left her stranded between dreams and waking, abed for days thereafter. Still, she had survived two initiations and much other strange magic besides, and the power she sought was worthy of the risk.
That same watchfulness had driven the two Zaichaeri witches outside the city limits. The same powers which protected the city drew the monsters, so the undefended countryside was, paradoxically, less prone to the things. As they traveled the roads (though Carina could have brought them through slipspace, they wanted to avoid any trace of that magic for the night) the two girls saw virtually none of the accursed creatures.
Not that they were worried about them. It was the Inquisition and Kathar guard they sought to avoid this night.
"I'd love to see one fight someday." Imogen commented, apropos of nothing as they turned another road, following well-traveled paths to a place which would not, just now, be terribly busy. "A Kathar, I mean. I've seen the Synnekar fight, and the disciples of Raxen on the mountain, and they were okay, but the Kathar are supposed to have some kind of super-secret training regimen that makes them unbeatable, right?"
There was a genuine eagerness in Imogen's voice. As far as Carina knew, one of Imogen's only real personal vices was a love of blood sport- something her Ork friend did not participate in herself, as Imogen had confessed to her that she found it "just a bit tricky" to hit someone without killing them. Still, she'd regularly watched the brawls in Zaichaer, and had spent a surprising amount of their trip to Kalzasi observing practice rounds.
Perhaps it was merely chance that these musings on fighting came right as the pair came upon the first gate to the graveyard just beyond the city. Again it was a gloomy sort of place, plots of sod and dead grass as far as the eye could see, broken up only by the larger mausoleums and cryptway entries. But the shadow-beasts found no sustenance among the dead, and the Kathar had better things to do than stand guard over musty tombs, which meant that it was relatively perfect for the spell which the two witches had come here to cast today.
The lychyard gates were closed and chained together, but although that would have been little challenge for Carina, Imogen simply jumped up the gate, landing lightly on the chains and the top of the bars, then dropping down onto the ground on the other side. She'd gotten a lot better at moving like a sneak thief should, since her introduction to Animus.
"There's an empty display mausoleum just ahead." Imogen confirmed, her eyes peering easily through the darkness. "We can close the doors, light up the sunstone, and set a warning glyph. Should stop us from being surprised halfway through."
There was a nervous tint to Imogen's voice now, though she tried to hide it. The rune she had asked Carina to bestow was not meant to be as dangerous as Reaving, but there was no such thing as a safe initiation. Even Animus, the one Cardinal Rune which could not kill the recipient, had left her stranded between dreams and waking, abed for days thereafter. Still, she had survived two initiations and much other strange magic besides, and the power she sought was worthy of the risk.
