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Silk Moon Lotus	The set of buildings in the distance glow with multi-hued ribbons of color rippling in the sky. They shift through the color spectrum at random intervals and crossing through each other creating beautiful colors. Currently, the buildings themselves appear to be made of stone. With the lights, it's hard to tell what kind of stone. Silk has been enjoying the ride in Elena's chariot. Her hair blwoing in the correct direction for once. She has brought an iron tipped staff along with her leather fighting gloves. The claws carefully hidden for now. She is wearing a green jacket and dark gray pants along with dark brown leather boots. She wears no armor. The backpack at her feet has provisions and a few empty sacks in hopes of treasures.
Nine Roads Alani	When not trying to drive her chariot at absolutely breakneck speeds, 'Elena' is a fairly knowledgeable and amusing companion. She's no master of the local lore, perhaps, but she knows enough to make a reasonable conversationalist, is friendly and engaging enough to not be a bore, and never loses her way. For all of that, though, there's still that minor feeling in the back of one's mind that there are things she's not telling. She never gives off the impression of being aggressive or scheming, perhaps, but she's certainly not as convincing as, say, Bright Journey or Black Pearl. 'Elena' is certainly at her ease in the driver's cupola, though. The chariot makes unquestionably good time her calculations of rations and water seem to be borne out as the chariot curns up the miles. Her horses, whom she'd introduced as Skere and Adrath (where did those names come from?), are impressive, powerful beasts.
Silk Moon Lotus	The buildings grow closer with the racing wheels of the chariot. They are slowly taking on a form that has not been seen in many years outside of Lookshy. The buildings appears to be in almost perfect condition from the distance. Silk yells over the racing of the wind "How much longer until we get there?" She has a big smile on her face "And where do I get one of these chariots?"
Nine Roads Alani	"You're the one with the map," 'Elena' shouts out over the strong wind, "but if I had to call it I'd guess those buildings over yonder are pretty close. Maybe someone beat us to it a couple centuries ago!" She laughs, clearly not really meaning it. At the mention of her chariot, though, 'Elena' gets a huge grin. The chariot is easily the most expensive thing she owns, most likely, and...yep, she's a sucker for compliments for it. "Hah! Oh, I wish I could, but ones this nice don't show up on every street corner in Great Forks, you know. There -is- one place I found that might have something decent, but nothing quite like this. And finding horses as good as mine would be even tougher! Guaranteed." She pauses speaking for a moment, brushing her flyaway blonde hair out of her eyes before guiding the horses around a tricky-looking patch of rocks. "Eh, if I had to guess, I think we have another quarter candle to get that far. Not long at all, if that grassy spot there is as even as it looks from here." Soon, the pair approach...
Silk Moon Lotus	As the chariot clears a last rise the ruins of a wall around the buildings is deatroyed. The wall is just outside the light ribbons. The ribbons appears to be coming up out fo the ground, arcing over the buildings then decending to the ground on the other side of the buildings. The trees stop about 30 feet from the wall. The trees that are close to the clearing have large patches of bark removed from them at about three meters off the ground. The buildings look to have been preserved by the passage of time. From a quick look, they date back to the late Shogunate era. Silk jumps off the back of the chariot and nods her head. "This place is amazing. Maybe you can introduce me to the chariot dealer when we get back to town. I'm hoping we find some books and some treasure. Hopefully anything living in there isn't too scary." She pulls her hair back in a high pony tail and start looking around.
Nine Roads Alani	As the chariot slows to a stop, 'Elena' hops out, grinning, and takes a few moments to stretch her legs before doing routine maintenance for her horses. She's quick about it, but not perfunctory, as she looks around in wonder. "Will you look at that? It's downright gorgeous here...and dangerous, I'm sure. Some kind of...I don't know. Time magic? Well, -something- preserving this, at the very least." As she finishes with her horses, she follows suit with her hair--leather strap, high pony tail--and looks around in a more careful, considered manner. In particular, at the tree. Her yellow eyes narrow as she leans forward slightly, trying to study it from a bit of distance. "I hope we find some nice things myself! But before that...do you see that tree? It doesn't look that fresh, I admit, but there might be something here..."
Silk Moon Lotus	"Yeah, I saw it. Probably a bear marking its territory." As they approach the outer wall and the light barrier they both see a massive creature slink between buildings. It has a massive beak like an eagle with a boldly feather crest. The beast's body is that of a bear with scaly limbs. The paws end in long claws. It walks slowly dragging it forelimbs along the ground. It appears to be fixated on whatever is ahead of it. Silk stops just short of the wall. she whispers "Did you see that? I'm willing to bet that its what was scratching the bark off the trees." She watches the creature carefully. "Do you think it's a beastman?"
Nine Roads Alani	Leaning in close, 'Elena' whispers back. "Knowing my luck," she murmurs, "it's never just a bear. And that's a lot of...mix and match, don't you think, for it to be natural? Maybe it -was- a beastman once...before the Wyld got a hold of it." The blonde frowns thoughtfully for a moment. "I got a bad feeling about this. We should strike before it notices us. How do you want to handle it?" She crouches low, hunched over with arms high and forward, hands open and ready to grab.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head in agreement and tosses the staff aside for the moment. Her fighting gloves grow golden tiger claws and she turns to smoke in an instant.
Silk Moon Lotus	The smoke that is Silk dashs forward through the color barrier and moves like the blur that she is. Her claws slicing towards the beast's unsuspecting throat.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk's blades slices through the Eagle-Bear's throat and chest. The creature lets out a pain filled shrek from the attack. Silk vanishes back into the shadows while the beast is distracted from it's pain. The creature searching for the thing that caused it so much pain but failing to spot it. The feathers in it's mane now soaked purple with its own blood.
Nine Roads Alani	Yellow eyes widening, 'Elena' watches as Silk turns into a veritable whirlwind of motion, a black-shrouded icon of assassination. She gulps a little at the sheer speed of violence, but quickly shifts into a calm, determined look as she takes a moment to just...breathe. Nervousness out, calm in. Delicate cover story out...determined killing intent, in. From her crouch she springs skywards, her legs like veritable springs as she soars to the sky. She tucks and rolls gracefully, stretching out at the apex of her jump, leaning forward with a double-hand chop as she flies downwards as Falcon strikes its prey.
Nine Roads Alani	After Silk nearly cut its head off, 'Elena' takes advantage of the speedy distraction by flying through the air, diving downwards towards the creature's head with her arms crossed in a double flying chop. The strike blindsides the creature as she slams into it, tucking and rolling again to land beside the creature on her feet. Her grin is part feral, part genuine, untrammeled fierce joy. She turns to face the creature, ready for its inevitable retaliation.
Silk Moon Lotus	The Eagle-Bear shakes it;s head to clear it's vision after the powerful blow. It winds back with one of it's reptilian clawed paws and sweeps it down at the expectant Elena.
Silk Moon Lotus	the Eagle-Bear's claw slice through the air missing Elena as she leans away from the blow as through she knew exactly where the attack was going to land. The beast stumbles offbalance from the miss.
Nine Roads Alani	'Elena's twist to the side is smooth as ice, turning to present a narrow profile and avoiding its vicious claw with all the aplomb of waiting for the rickshaw service. As it stumbles past her, she ducks, then springs skyward again, leaping ten feet straight up in the air, climbing to a graceful apogee as she almost seems to float for a half second, completely upside down, feet towards the sky. It's an optical illusion, though, as soon gravity takes hold again and she descends downwards towards the thing's off-kilter spine, knees first, with bone-shattering force!
Nine Roads Alani	As Elena is coming down, she's downright casual about beating the snot out of this poor thing. She descends like an inevitable stone, knees plowing into its spine with a pair of sickening cracks as it's left paralyzed, shattered, slain. The beast howls in agony, and it spams with enough force to throw her several yards away, onto her back. She kippups with grace almost in the same motion, letting the backwards force propel her into a backwards roll and onto her feet. On her face is a mix of pride and satisfaction, with a touch of sadness. "I think we might have just did it a favor, to be honest," she says quietly, thoughtfully. She pauses and looks around, her expression evenm more thoughtful as she tries (in vain, to be honest) to find Silk.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk melts out of one of the nearby shadows dropping out of her form. "I see we have been keeping secrets from each other. I do respect someone that know Eagle Style. Never really got to see it in action." The tiger claws vanishing once more from her fighting gloves. She steps close to the Eagle-bear's corpse and sniffs it carefully. "This thing has been warped by the wyld. Do you have something to protect yourself from its effects?"
Nine Roads Alani	At this, 'Elena' chuckles and folds her hands together, one fist in the other open palm, with a short bow. Her eyes never leave Silk's. After, she gets her familiar grin. "Well, to be fair, my ruins forays would be...interesting...if I didn't have -some- way of defending myself. It's called Falcon Style where I come from, but you still obviously recognized it. And unless I miss my guess entirely, you study the Ebon Shadow very well indeed. That initial strike was downright terrifying." She pauses, looking down at the corpse, frowning. "Unfortunately, no I don't. I'm hoping we won't slip into a bordermarch here." She looks around curiously. "I didn't think we were -that- far east."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head in understanding. "I don't think we have strayed into a Bordermarch. I think it's a localized effect. Maybe what's protecting the buildings from decay." She points to the building next to them. "Lets take a look inside and see what we find." Silk starts to move towards the door of the building examining it while they approach. The building is modest sized boasting a front door made of rainbow wood with carvings in Old Realm in it. They run around the edge of the door about six inches from the edge all the way around. A windows protected by a shutters made of the same wood flank the door at equal distance. The building itself appears to be made of a dark gray stone. The roof does not appear to be sloped at all. No thatch can be seen poking over the edge.
Nine Roads Alani	'Elena' nods in agreement, absently responding to everything Silk is saying about the buildings. She's not failing to pay attention, per se, but is definitely focused on the writing around the door. After a long pause listening to Silk, she glances at the dark-haired woman sidelong. "Can you read this? Maybe there's something that says why this all is here." She looks unsure, but soon turns slowly around, taking in as much around her as she can. Eventually, though, 'Elena' gives Silk a sharp nod. "I'm curious, too, and we're never going to find any treasure just standing out in the street." She gets a cheeky grin. "Shall we?"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head and examines the text around the door without touching it. "The text is a ward against the wyld." Silk points to the shutters. "The same script is on here as well. I can see it chisled into the stone as well with tiny tools." She turns to Elena "Now, I know that you read it pretty quickly with the way you glanced at it and immediately knew what it said. If you couldn't read it, you would have spent more time looking at it to try and figure it out. I have also figured out that you are trying to figure who I am. What I don't know is why?" Silk raises an eyebrow questioningly. "I have a friend who has taught me well how to read people."
Nine Roads Alani	'Elena's' expression is as wry as it gets. "Eh. Suppose I deserve that. Yes, I read Old Realm fine. I was mainly wanting to see if you could. And, yeah, I'm trying to figure out who you are. Of course I am. I'd be a fool not to." She sighs and shuffles her feet a bit. "I guess it was stupid to try to lie to do that, though. I've been working on my 'glib merchant tongue', but it ain't there yet." She pauses to examine the tiny Old Realm script around the windows, but is in part clearly waiting for Silk to be ready to go inside.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk shakes her head. "Let's see what's behind the door, shall we." Silk grabs the handle and pulls. The door swings noiselessly. Inside is a room devoid of dust. It is clearly the main hall of whatever settlement this was. A large wooden table with numerous chairs around it. All tucked in as though someone had cleaned up the room once everyone was done. A bookcase on the right side holds several scrolls along with a dozen books bound in what can be assumed is some kind of leather. A weapon rack stands on the left side of the room devoid of weapons. An armor stand sits next to it. A door to the left and to the right are closed currently. "I learned Old Realm as a child, I'm a failure to my family because I did not exalt even with the strong blood in my line. This room looks like we walked back in time to a Shoguate war room, wouldn't you agree?"
Nine Roads Alani	"Ah," 'Elena' replies as she looks around curiously. "Well, here's to hoping that as well preserved as this place is, we won't leave the building and find it's a century later. Nothing for it now, anyway, but to search." She starts off being drawn, not to the weapon racks, but the books and scrolls, studying them intently for a few minutes. She looks up when Silk speaks, though. "I'm not a historical scholar, mind you, but you might be right. Not all of these scrolls are in Old Realm. Not sure, though, and I'll hold off on taking some of these...yet, anyway. "As for the language..." She sighs and brushes her hood back, shaking her blonde hair loose. "I learned it later in life. My childhood was a lot of trading and caravanning...work, basically. My parents did teach us to read, but it was to keep the books, not scholarly pursuits. I admit, I wasn't the easiest kid for them to deal with, but..." She sighs. "...Damn."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk stares at 'Elena' for a moment "I don't think there is any further sorcery on this place other than preservation magic. I don't feel anything trying to warp us." She walks over to the table and touches it gently. "I like collecting books and scrolls too. We should take them all with us. Door on the right or door on the left?" She pulls out a silver coin and flips it onto the table landing on heads. "Right it is." Silk walks over to the door and tries to open it finding it shut tightly. "Got any tricks for a stuck door?"
Nine Roads Alani	'Elena' eyes Silk for a moment, then shrugs. "Honestly, I'm not sure whether I could tell." She grins. "Manipulating time requires someone far more skilled than I am! But yeah. I'm all for taking all the books and scrolls. It doesn't matter which door, we're sure to go in both at some point! But I don't think we should split up. And we have plenty of time. As for the door...hmm. Maybe." With a deft, sure motion, 'Elena' slips two fingers into her hair, behind one ear, and hidden in her hair are a few small metal tools that anyone versed in the trade (like, say, a Night caste Solar specializing in light-fingered lock wrangling) would recognize as a basic set of lockpicks. "You didn't see me do this," she says with a chuckle, "especially if I screw it up. I'm not bad, but there's plenty better. And it's not what I'm best at." And with that, she kneels at the lock and starts to give it a try.
Silk Moon Lotus	Elena's nimble fingers and tools are no match for the door's lock as it springs open. Silk watches Elena for the subtle hints that she might be a Lunar playing games with her or something far more dangerous that she doesn't even recognize. "My family disowned me when I was twenty-two. I had been out doing foolish things with my less than proper friends again. My grandfather kicked me out for what I had become. Chased me out of town without a penny to call my own. I hope your family didn't kick you out like mine did."
Nine Roads Alani	There's a long moment where 'Elena' looks at Silk, not answering, just studying her face. She then slowly nods. "I'm sorry you went through that, Silk. I..." She sighs, catching whatever she was going to say, thinking some more. Finally, she turns back to Silk and responds. "It wasn't quite that simple for me," she says. Clearly, she's choosing her words very carefully. "It's been...what? Five years or so? Maybe six. My family is still probably traveling across settlements in the North, carting goods and selling things. I could find them, but there's no point. They didn't kick me out, no, but they may as well have." She turns away, her voice quiet as she opens the door she'd just picked. "No amount of bribery, cajolery or torture will ever make them remember they had a third kid."
Silk Moon Lotus	"That's pretty harsh. I feel like I read something about that happening before but I cannot put my finger on it. I know you are omitting things on purpose and we don't know each other that well yet so that's only reasonable." Silk's eyes go wide for a moment and whispers "Are you a solar?"
Nine Roads Alani	'Elena' actually looks slightly worried when Silk mentions having read about something similar, but blinks in surprise when Silk asks her question. She looks like she'd been hit in the face with a wet fish for a moment, then chuckles quietly. "Not 'anathema'?" She shakes her head, smiling. "No, I'm not. Not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult, though." She shrugs helplessly. "Suppose it depends on who you ask." She pauses and eyes Silk curiously. "How about yourself? You certainly don't act like you believe the Immaculate stuff." She doesn't wait for an answer, though, as she pushes the door open and peers inside to the next room.
Silk Moon Lotus	The next room appears to be a study. A wooden desk dominates the room with a high backed wooded chair behind it. The desk has a closed book centered on it in front of the chair. A side table rests against the left wall with a silver ewer and a set of four silver goblets. The goblets and the ewer show no signs of corrosion just like everything else in the building. To the right of the desk is the window with the shutters closed. Behind the desk is a fireplace with wood laid out to start the fire. "Well, the fact that you miss your family and they will not acknowledge your existance kind of pointed to you having exalted as a solar. With my failure to exalt as one of the dragon blooded, I had a lot of time to think about what the Order teaches." A hint of anger and resentment can be clearly heard in Silk's normally friendly tone. "I realized that the Order is human and therefore they could be wrong about the solars and the lunars since they were wrong about me becoming one of the dragon blooded."
Nine Roads Alani	"Eh, well, I'm not the expert, but becoming one of the Dragon-Blooded is at least part luck. It doesn't make sense to blame someone for...ohhhhhh," 'Elena' says, interrupting herself. "I see it now. The teachings, and I guess your family, weren't saying it was luck. I think I understand. As for Solars and Lunars?" She quietly chuckles again. "You have no idea how vehement some of the people I know get about -that- topic, but I kind of lean towards judging everyone for themselves, you know? I think you have to, at least a little, if you intend to settle in a place like Great Forks, as I have. I guess I'm lucky--never really had to deal with the Realm growing up, outside paying taxes and such. And I haven't really run into any Solars or Lunars myself, so you can relax." As she speaks, 'Elena' looks around the room. "I'm not sure what's less natural...that everything is new looking, or that everything is -clean-. It's like looking at a dollhouse., with nothing to be picked up and put away." She begins looking through the furniture as she speaks, most of her attention on the task at hand.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk joins in looking around the room. "I agree, it's very disturbing that the place is so clean and tidy." She picks up the silver ewer and goblets. Then carefully puts them into one of the sacks she brought with for carrying treasure. "I feel like whomever lived here should be come back at any moment." Silk looks around quickly. "Good, I didn't summon them somehow by saying it." Outside can be heard a loud crack and shortly afterwards a crash that reverberates through the building. The crash is followed by a great bellowing roar. "OK, maybe I did summon them. I promise it wasn't on purpose." Silk turns and starts for the front door to see what showed up.
Nine Roads Alani	The wry bemusement in 'Elena's' voice is matched only by the expression on her face. "Oh, heh. Had to know -that- was going to happen. I should be so lucky," she replies, chuckling as she opens the door again, ready to move it on out. As the pair head for the front door, she adds, "Y'know, for a place that's not in the Wyld, why do they have protection against it? And are -they- the chimerae? You have to wonder..."
Silk Moon Lotus	looking out the front door stands a Hellboar eating the corpse of the eagle-bear. It appears to not be currently interested in anything but it's current meal. Silk sizes it up for a moment. "I think I'm going to try out something new." Silk flashes with golden light for a moment and is now wearing silken robes with traces of oricalcum running through them. She is now holding a massive Oricalcum grand daiklaive with veins of white and red jade. She smiles at Eleni and rushes out to attack the unsuspecting beast.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk rushes up to the flank of the boar and swings the grand daiklaive as though it were weightless in a arc from low to high so as to pass through the beast's shoulder and ribs. The light from the blade blazing like the noonday sun.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk's blade catches the beast offguard and rips a into the side of the creature blood spraying from the wound and shoving it away from it's food. The Hellboar bellows in anger at being disturbed.
Nine Roads Alani	Well. THAT certainly let the cat out of the bag. Clearly, Silk was long done with being coy after a display like that, and 'Elena's' yellow eyes widen at the realization, followed quickly by a look of satisfaction. As long as the creature still lives, though, it's probably a satisfaction not yet earned. She sprints forward at breakneck speed, leaning so far forward she'd fall on her face if she weren't running. She charges right up to the stunned hellboar, and without hesitation plants a foot in its side, springing off the beast's body into a high, graceful skyward arc, only to lash out at its snout in a wide spinning kick on the way down.
Silk Moon Lotus	The Hellboar's head bounces off the ground. It uses what little momentum it can get to lash out at Elena with it's razor sharp teeth. The hellboar's teeth close on nothing but air as Elena moves gracefully out of the reach of it's attack.
Silk Moon Lotus	Seeing her moment, Silk leaps high into the air and dives at the Boar's Skull swinging the blade for maximum impact.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk's blade bites deep into the boars skull and neck. A large chunk of the beast has been sliced off. It has massive bleeding from the wound and has developed a limp.
Nine Roads Alani	There's a change that has overtaken 'Elena'...something is different. It's not obvious at first, but the first sign is how she's moving. She's always been skilled and evasive, and at some points had the gods' own luck, but this time her calm, contemptuous ease in avoiding the boar's movement seems slightlky odd...and after a moment, Silk might realize why. It's that 'Elena' sprung out of the way a split second -before- the boar broke in one direction or another. She -knew-, without fail, which way it was going to go. Now, as Silk comes out of the follow through of her massive strike against the creature, she catches a glimpse of 'Elena's' face, and aside from the sheer pleasure of battle she'd shown before, there's something new. A slightly darker yellow than her blonde hair, perfectly matching her eyes, a sigil rests on her brow. It doesn't shine brilliantly like a Solar caste mark, but it is there nonetheless. Instead of charging the beast down again, 'Elena' slips a hand inside her traveler's robe and comes back out with a fan of leaf-shaped throwing blades. She whips one towards the boar, her hand a blur of motion.
Silk Moon Lotus	The beast turns towards the woman that wounded it so and attempts to bite her with it's massive teeth.
Silk Moon Lotus	the hellboar once again missing Silk this time with it bite. Its' teeth bouncing off her blade.
Nine Roads Alani	As the boar thrashes, it flails uselessly, trying to strike at Silk. Both women are clearly too fast for it, the pair of them dodging around it with the greatest of ease. As it turns away from 'Elena', though, she's not about to let its tactical blunder go unexploited. The world almost seems to slow as another of her throwing knives slides free, the tip caught between two of her fingers. As she rears back, a single bright red teardrop falls onto the blade. The moment she weeps blood onto her blade everything seems to move at full speed again and she spins, releasing the blade in a glittering line right for the beast's head.
Nine Roads Alani	Maybe it's the bloody teardrop on the blade, but it seeks out the hellboar's eye with unerring, perfect accuracy. The moment the blade sinks home is almost anticlimactic, as the boar almost instantly collapses. 'Elena' finishes her follow through, and then stands. She's a bit more solemn, now, not quite as feral, but still the sense of pride and satisfaction is there. Her emotions are controlled, but by no means lessened. "Well!" She allows herself a grin as she starts to collect her throwing blades. "Not my best work, but not bad. Not bad at all. We make a good team." She looks at Silk with her new accouterments appraisingly. "I'm surprised at how quickly you went from coy to covered in orichalcum."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk closes her eyes and the giant sword vanishes from her hands. "I've learned some new tricks recently so I don't have to be obvious all the time." The golden open circle upon her brow proclaiming her one of the solar exalted. "The sword is new, I got it fighting a fey touched sea king in the dreaming sea. I see that you are an exalt so I wasn't wrong but I'm also not right." Silk stares at Elena's brow for a moment and connects the final piece of the puzzle. "You're a Sidereal?!?"
Nine Roads Alani	A tiny smile touches 'Elena's' lips, and she nods, in a 'yeah, it figures' sort of way. "I gotta admit, you're a -lot- better read than I thought. I'm really, -really- not supposed to have this conversation, mind you, but you'll see soon enough anyway. It's all right. Just..." She chuckles. "Let me slip into something more comfortable." At the word 'comfortable'...something changes. There's no visible change, she looks exactly the same. Or does she? In fact...where did Elena go? "Not the first time I've had to do this, which feels weird, but I think you'll at least partially understand soon enough. Please...call me Nine Roads Alani."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk watches in disbelief. "So you wear disguises to run around Creation? Nine Roads Alani, got it." Silk stares for a couple of moments. "Are you going to report me to the Immaculates or the Realm? I'm very good at disappearing too. Maybe we should continue this conversation inside?"