Tales of Cadence

[Zandra]

[KK Twain]

Great skit! I should really post comments for skits more. I've enjoyed all of them, I just don't normally comment. The majority of them make me laugh, like this one.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Dede]

[Roadie]

@KlugFire: STOP PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN, we love your voice acting!

@K.K.: Thanks for the comment, I'm glad the skits make you laugh. Most of them I sort of make up on the spot, so...

@Lady Max: I hope you enjoyed it ;D

Chimoari removed the image for the Stephen Rosner Club so I'm making the assumption that it's dead. :,)

New chapter...HORRIBLY WRITTEN FIGHT SCENE AHEAD, please proceed with caution.


Chapter XVIII

Ophelia put a hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes from the late evening sunlight; she absolutely hated being outside during the daytime. She only left the safety and comfort of the shadows when she was required to because she had always felt that the sun emphasized how unnaturally pale her skin looked. She did not want to stand out in a crowd.

She easily would have taken Arngon’s job, if necessary, but it was out of the question. It was too risky for her to get too close to her intended targets—they would recognize her easily if she messed up. And there was that other risk...

Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Arngon round the corner. It was nearly sunset, and although many of the sailors around the pier had returned to the taverns and inns, he still kept the hood of his cloak over his head, obscuring his dragonling-symbols from curious eyes. His expression was emotionless and veiled; in the years since she created him using forbidden black magic techniques, Ophelia had only seen him smile once.

“Arngon! You certainly took your time, didn’t you?” she demanded, placing a hand on her hip as she glared up at him.

The dragonling bowed his head respectfully, but did not speak.

“Well? Did you find them?”

He nodded in response.

“Ah...repairing the boat, correct? The boy and that other man?”

Again, he nodded.

“I see.” She leaned back against the wood rails of the dock, running one hand absentmindedly through her thin, wiry hair. She barely noticed the cool, briny breeze and the light mist rolling in from the vast ocean behind her. She was too deep in thought, considering her next move.

“It’s obvious that the Heir plans on going back to her homeland. She wants to wrap this up quickly now that she knows she has some form of opposition,” Ophelia said, closing her eyes thoughtfully, “So we’ll either intercept them or follow them. I’m not sure which would be beneficial to us...”

Arngon stood in silence, watching Ophelia with a careful, calculated gaze. She turned and stared at him for a moment before speaking. “What do you think? Follow or intercept?”

He shook his head at the word “intercept”. Ophelia nodded in agreement. “Yes, stopping them would put us at their mercy, and there are more of them than there are of us. Of course, Ilia wouldn’t dare go against Lukas’s wishes and fight us, even if we are acting independently...but she doesn’t know that, does she? She might still think we’re under Lukas’s orders.”

He shook his head again, his expression still unreadable.

“Yes...we’ll get to Lavinia ahead of them and follow them from there. When the time is right, we can confront them. We don’t need to eliminate anyone except for the Heir. Raven, however, must stay alive. Not because it’s the royal family’s wish, but because it is Baldur’s wish. Besides, I already have several others following Raven’s group—they’ll arrive with their report when Raven himself returns to this town. After that, those dragonlings will be useless to me... Don’t worry, you and your sister are still highly valuable to me. I won’t be disposing of you.”

Arngon inclined his head. Ophelia suppressed an exasperated sigh; he was loyal to her, but she hated his lack of speech. Sometimes she felt as if she were talking to a wall.

‘It’s my fault he can’t talk...not all of us can be great inventors, can we?’ she thought, allowing herself a small, sad smile. Arngon noticed this and tilted his head to the side questioningly.

“There’s one more thing I’d like your opinion on,” she said uneasily, tightening her fingers around her arms. “Do you think that...we can use him later? I’m not referring to Raven, but...”

He furrowed his brow, obviously confused, and mouthed the words, “Who?”

Ophelia sighed and lowered her head. “Never mind, it’s unimportant. Please let Cymbeline know that she needs to ready our ship,” she said, turning her gaze away from the mute dragonling. “We’re setting out for Lavinia tonight since she finally sold that old boat we found. I know she has a tenancy to forget these things, so don’t come back to me until we’re ready to go. Do you understand?”

Arngon nodded obediently and turned away, walking in the direction of a smaller ship at the end of the pier. It looked different from the other boats; it was made primarily of metal, unlike the wooden crafts around them.

A young dragonling woman was sitting on the edge of the boat, staring dreamily at the sky. Unlike Arngon, she made no attempt to disguise the dark purple symbols visible on the tanned skin of her cheeks, arms, and exposed stomach. She appeared to be counting the stars appearing on the horizon, paying no attention to her shabby surroundings.

Ophelia looked up at the warehouse in the small port town, visible from the harbor where she stood. “I didn’t think we’d meet again this way...” she murmured, unable to restrain the solemn note lingering in her voice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time they finally reached the port town the sun was beginning to set; even Raven could not help but admire the stunning red glow against the calm ocean.

“Finally! Traveling with you guys is boring,” Ilia complained, breathing a sigh of relief. “When you’re not arguing about something stupid, you’re completely quiet.”

“Actually, this was probably one of our more civil journeys,” Skylar said thoughtfully. “Until recently Raven was much more irritable and prone to outbursts.”

“So maybe his fit about the whole Messenger thing was like a form of stress relief or something?”

“If it was, he needs to have those more often. I can tolerate him easier when he’s agreeable like this.”

Skylar paused for a moment and waited for Raven’s harsh retort. He was surprised when the mercenary continued walking, obviously focused on something else.

Ilia noticed as well. “Is he trying to ignore us?” she asked in undertone.

Skylar looked over Raven’s shoulder. His sharp elven eyes caught sight of three forms on the horizon, barely visible against the glare of the setting sun.

Ilia followed his gaze. “Who are those people?”

“You can’t tell? I thought you were part elven.”

“My eyes aren’t that good,” she said, sulking. “Don’t rub it in.”

“They’re dragonlings.”

This time Raven responded to his words. “Those might be the same three Elsynne and I ran into after we met,” he said. His hand instinctively wandered to the sword at his waist.

The dragonlings seemed to have already seen them and were approaching, running in their graceful, leaping gait. Raven heard the others withdrawing their weapons and Elsynne was murmuring some sort of chant under her breath. He turned and saw that a glyph was materializing beneath her feet.

“Don’t overdo it! We’ll need you incase someone gets hurt,” Raven said urgently.

Elsynne nodded absently, keeping her eyes closed.

Ilia pulled out her baton and brandished it. “Three dragonlings should be no problem!”

“Have you ever fought a dragonling before?” Raven asked incredulously.

Ilia smiled and nodded eagerly. “Yup! This isn’t my first time. I know what I’m up against!”

“If things get to be too troublesome, I’d be happy to call Glacier in,” Skylar offered, twisting an arrow in his fingers before loading it into his bow with a flourish.

“The four of us should be more than enough to take these guys on. Besides, we almost had them last time,” Raven said confidently, watching the approaching dragonlings as he unsheathed his sword.

Skylar smiled and shook his head. “You mean when they almost slaughtered you?”

“You came into the battle late! All you did was show off!”

Elsynne suddenly threw up her hand. “Photon!” she called, swinging her staff in the dragonlings’ direction. A sphere of light exploded around them, sending the two males and female flying to the side.

“Go!” Skylar commanded, readying his bow. Ilia began casting a spell and Raven charged towards the nearest dragonling, hoping to attack before they could get to their feet. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in his hands, preparing to strike one of the fallen males.

The female dragonling suddenly pushed him aside and threw him to the ground. She turned to the others. “We have to hurry! Ophelia-“

“So you are connected with Ophelia! Is she using you to track us?!” Raven demanded, pushing himself easily to his feet. He swung his sword, but the female caught his blade with her hand. Dragonling skin was tough, and only a few droplets of scarlet blood fell to the ground and stained the steel of the sword.

“That’s none of your business,” she replied, tossing him aside. She turned back to her companions. “We don’t have time for this. She may have already left!”

“Eruption!” Ilia called, her spell finally having been completed. The female dragonling hissed a curse under her breath and threw her hands over her face as blisteringly hot lava exploded from the ground, scalding even their strong, scalene bodies.

A torrent of arrows rained down as Skylar shot one after another, loading each as fast as he could. Elsynne was already chanting another light spell.

One of the males stood up shakily. “We have no choice but to fight them! We’ll be killed if we don’t.”

“Ophelia will probably kill us anyway,” the other spat back.

Raven circled around the female, quickly debating on which skill would be most effective against her. Ilia cast another strong magic spell, keeping the two males from interrupting their skirmish.

Raven suddenly rushed forward and feinted to the right before bringing it down on her exposed shoulder. The female grimaced but struck his arm with her sharp claws; the tips grazed his skin, leaving five raw, burning marks.

“Augh!” Elsynne’s pained call shook his focus and he turned. She was using her staff to shield herself against one of the other dragonlings; blood was dripping from a wound on her upper arm.

“Elsy-“ Raven’s response was cut off as the female brought her fist down against his back. Raven let himself fall but quickly rolled to the side, throwing up his sword to parry her next attack. She jumped away as he tried to strike her again, repeatedly dodging his attacks before she came to a stop.

“What the hell-“ The words barely left her mouth before Reo jumped over Raven’s shoulder, fully transformed, and pinned her to the ground. Raven turned and saw that Skylar and Ilia had successfully incapacitated one of the males while Elsynne brought down the other with a well-aimed light spell.

“Should we let them go, or finish them off?” Ilia asked, tensing her fingers around her baton.

“If we let them go, they’ll only run back to Ophelia,” Skylar said casually, kicking one of the male’s comatose bodies with the foot of his boot. “Didn’t they say something about her leaving without them...?”

“Some leader she is,” Raven commented, keeping a careful eye on Reo. She kept the dragonling against the ground, sharp teeth bared menacingly. A single, fierce growl escaped her throat as the female tried to push away.

“...Let them go for now. If Ophelia left without them, then they’re probably stuck in Austror anyway,” Elsynne said, unable to disguise the weariness in her voice.

Skylar considered her carefully before nodding reluctantly. “All right.”

Reo stepped away from the female, but not before biting her injured shoulder hard enough to draw more blood. The dragonling stood shakily and motioned to her conscious companion. He took the limp body of the other male and threw him over his shoulder.

“I’ll call Glacier now—she’ll see to it that they stay away from us until we’ve left the continent,” Skylar said, putting his fingers to his lips. He whistled twice, grinning cruelly as he saw the fearful expressions on the dragonlings’ faces.

“Honestly, Elsynne, that probably wasn’t the smartest decision,” Raven said, watching the dragonlings escape. “If we finished them off now-“

“What would we gain, Raven? Three more bodies?” she asked tiredly.

Raven turned, ready to protest, but stopped when he saw Elsynne kneeling on the ground, painfully gripping her bleeding shoulder.

Without another thought, he walked cautiously to her side. “Elsynne...?”

She gripped the wound with one hand, grimacing. “I’m fine...” she insisted.

“Why can’t you just use your healing magic? That’ll take away the pain,” Ilia said, reaching for her small bag of medicinal supplies.

“I can’t...”

“You can’t?”

“Just let it go, Ilia,” Raven interrupted, glaring at her over his shoulder, “Elsynne needs a gel.”

Ilia frowned and tossed him a red gummy. “Fine, fine...jeez, you don’t need to be so pushy.”

Raven ignored her and handed Elsynne the gel. She took it gratefully, wincing inwardly at the strange, sweet apple flavor of the medicine; she was still used to the bitter herbs she had been given before she left home.

“Are you better?” Skylar questioned. He sounded unusually serious and concerned.

“Yes, thank you,” Elsynne replied, pushing herself shakily to her feet. She stumbled slightly before steadying herself.

“That’s weird...it’s just a cut on your shoulder, but you’re acting like it’s something big,” Ilia said, although her tone was more questioning than condescending.

Elsynne smiled sheepishly, “It’s a sort of...condition I have. I don’t do well with injuries, even minor ones like this. You see...”

She held out her arm. A healing, pale pink wound was visible against her skin. “Remember when I got this, Raven?”

His eyes narrowed carefully. He could easily remember their initial fight against the dragonlings after they had met, when the male she was fighting clawed her arm. “Yes, I remember. But that fight was so long ago...”

She pulled her arm away and clasped her hands behind her back. “My body isn’t fully adapted to using light magic because I never had to summon it until now. When I do use it, the magic taxes normal energy that my body uses to heal wounds. That’s why I get tired easily and my injuries don’t heal as fast.”

For once, even Skylar seemed surprised. “But shouldn’t the Heir’s genes be evolved enough...?”

“My mother and grandmother—and probably the other Heirs before me—have never had to use light magic so much because they remained in Lavinia. Because of that, our bodies aren’t used to the strain. I consider it a miracle that we can still use the magic at all.”

“I’d think a useless gene like that would eventually die off,” Raven said.

“No, don’t get me wrong—they would still use the light magic, but only in moderation. It was never used in battle, like I’ve been doing recently.”

“Then maybe you should stop using it.”

Elsynne shook her head. “If I can use light magic, I will. I can’t defend myself with healing arts alone. If I use the light magic enough, I’m sure my body will get used to it. It’ll take time, but it’ll be worth it in the end. I’ll...have to use it for the unsealing, anyway.”

“What about that Scale thing Felix mentioned before we left?” Ilia suddenly asked.

“I’ve decided to ask about it when I get back to my homeland. The person who gave me the information was very vague.”

“You asked that priest about it, anyway, and he didn’t know what you were talking about,” Raven pointed out.

Elsynne nodded again. “That’s why I want to speak to the person who told me about it again. If we still need the Scale for the unsealing, we can always come back to get it. There’s no rush.”

“There isn’t a threat now that we have the Messenger, anyway,” Skylar said teasingly.

Raven glared at him dangerously. “Would you let it go?”

“Er, let’s go back to Felix. We left him with Stephen and the repairs, remember?” Elsynne said, hoping to stop a potential argument.

“Oh, yeah!” Ilia suddenly said, putting her hand to her forehead. “I wonder how they’re doing, anyway?”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors of the warehouse creaked ominously as Raven forced them open, silently cursing Skylar under his breath. The elf stood patiently, smiling heartlessly as he watched Raven struggle to open the heavy metal doors.

“Thanks for your help, you selfish basta-“

“Raven!” Felix flung himself out of the shadows and latched onto Raven’s arm. “You’re back! And everyone’s all right!”

“And we got the Spirit, too!” Elsynne said excitedly, joining Raven and Felix. “Leander formed a pact with Skylar.”

“Yay!”

“Get...off...of...me...!” Raven hissed, willing himself not to throw the boy aside. Felix ignored his thinly veiled irritation and dragged him inside.

“Come on! We’re all finished!”

Ilia bounced ahead of them, admiring the ship with wide eyes. “Whoa! Great job!”

Raven tilted his head to the side, trying to examine the craft from a different angle. “Looks the same to me,” he announced after a brief pause.

The smile fell from Felix’s face. “B-But we worked so hard on it...”

“Speaking of which, where’s Stephen?” Skylar asked casually, glancing around the otherwise lifeless room.

A strange laugh echoed from somewhere in the warehouse and Stephen stepped out from the shadows of the newly built ship. Despite looking haggard and half-asleep, he still had his usual smile.

“Er...Stephen...” Raven greeted him nervously, wary of the wrench the inventor was still clutching tightly in one hand. “You don’t look like you’re feeling too well.”

“Really?” Stephen asked, tapping the side of the boat with his free hand. “I feel just fine...”

“You finished the ship, though?”

The almost-maniacal grin returned. “I did! And it’s probably my best work yet...I’ve never built anything this big before! Everything turned out well, too, and there weren’t that many breakdowns or explosions during the process-“

As he continued to gush over the condition of the ship, Raven and Elsynne turned nervously to Felix, who was smiling sheepishly. “What the hell’s wrong with him?” Raven asked, although, he was not sure that he wanted the answer.

“He’s been refusing to sleep since he started working...about a week ago since you guys left.”

“Wh-What about food?” Elsynne asked, casting another glance at Stephen.

“He said coffee keeps him awake because it’s strong...”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Skylar said, folding his arms over his chest. “I think it would be in all of our best interests if he got some actual rest and calmed down.”

“Don’t worry,” Felix said confidently. “I slipped some sleeping drugs into the coffee I gave him a while ago.”

“I thought you said-“

“He’s so tired, he probably didn’t notice a thing,” Raven interrupted, still ignoring Stephen’s incessant background chatter. “How long ago did you give him the drugs?”

“Oh...an hour or so ago,” Felix replied uneasily. “It should start working any minute now.”

Skylar shrugged. “Well, now that the ship’s done, we’re able to sail to Lavinia, aren’t we?”

“Yeah! We’re going home!” Felix said excitedly, finally releasing Raven’s arm. “I can’t wait! I wonder how everyone’s doing?”

Ilia looked slightly apprehensive. “Are there any...er, racial laws?”

Elsynne shook her head. “Of course not. The Penna have really been the only race on Lavinia for hundreds of years—although, there are mixed-breeds,” she nodded apologetically to Felix, who only smiled in response, “and occasionally a Penna who travels to the mainland will return with a human or elf. But it happens very, very rarely.”

“I suppose the Penna don’t see the other races as a threat?” Skylar asked.

Elsynne shook her head. “Not exactly. I suppose they would seem to be a threat if there was a massive influx, but...”

“Two humans, an elf, and a half-elf shouldn’t be a problem at all!” Felix interrupted, still grinning enthusiastically. “You’ll get to meet my family and Elsynne’s family when we get there!”

“Hopefully they’ll be far more cordial than Raven’s parents,” Skylar said jokingly.

“This is the first and last time I’ll agree with you,” Raven responded, nodding approvingly.

“...Will you finally believe me when we get there, Raven?” Elsynne asked quietly.

He gazed at her from the corner of his eye. She looked at him imploringly, anxiously awaiting his answer.

He sighed. “I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s all I’m saying.”

Despite his response, Elsynne managed a smile. “I’ll look forward to it!”

“Yeah, keep dreaming.”

As they fell silent, Ilia suddenly stiffened and looked around. “Hey, notice it’s suddenly really quiet?” she asked.

Felix nodded. “Wasn’t Stephen talking a while ago...?”

Raven looked over his shoulder and gestured towards Stephen’s motionless form draped over a desk littered with notes and blueprints. “Looks like your medications really did work.”

Felix’s eyes widened as he rushed over to inspect the body. “He’s still alive!” he announced after taking a pulse.

“Damn, got my hopes up too soon...” Raven muttered sarcastically.

“I’m getting hungry for dinner. You two take him to our rooms at the inn and meet us for food,” Skylar commanded, motioning to Raven and Felix.

“Why us?! I’m hungry, too!” Raven demanded, clenching his fists.

“Well, it’s Felix’s fault he’s dead on his feet, and it’s about time you learned the values of responsibility,” Skylar replied, smirking guardedly. He paused at the doorway to the warehouse and turned around. “Besides, you might benefit from the experience.”

Elsynne smiled sympathetically as she and Ilia followed Skylar out of the warehouse. Raven and Felix were left alone in the dimly lit, cold room with Stephen, who was still sound asleep.

“Remind me to poison Skylar’s food at dinner,” Raven said, trying in vain to hide the growing frustration in his voice. “Do you have any of those pills left over? Maybe we can make it look like he overdosed.”

Felix nervously scratched the back of his head. “I kind of used a lot on Stephen...”

“Er...how much?”

“Enough to get him to sleep for a long time?”

Raven shrugged noncommittally. “Meh, sounds good to me. Maybe he’ll pass on in his sleep...”

“N-No! If he dies, it’ll be my fau-“

“Calm down, I was just kidding. He’s probably immune to everything because he’s put his body through all these crazy explosions.”

Raven and Felix stood beside Stephen’s comatose form, quietly debating on how they were going to move him to the inn on the other side of the port town.

“So, what do you want to carry? The head or the feet?”

“Huh...aren’t head injuries supposed to be potentially fatal? That means if I drop him and he dies, it’ll look like an accident,” Raven concluded, thinking aloud. “Head, I guess.”

“Then I’ll carry the feet!” Felix said, suddenly determined. “Let’s go!”
_________________

[Swordmaster69]

Great chap Midna, and I think everyone who reads your stories will agree with me when I say that your fighting scenes do not suck. In fact, they are pretty good. Next stop, Lavania!
_________________


Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[KK Twain]

Exactly, your fighting scenes aren't that bad at all! My personal opinion on fighting scenes is that action filled fights are better left with visuals, because both writing and reading them can be difficult. But yours was pretty good.

I'm predicting that Ophelia was talking about Skylar or Felix.

[Kevvie]

Yeah, you're fighting scenes and skits are great, Midna! 8D

[Sediea]

[Zandra]

[Sediea]

[Roadie]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. The last scene in that chapter was...fun to write. *also resisting urge to shoot self* KLUUUUUUG D:

And Klug, that recording goes on the first page NAO. <3

Oh, and Chimoari sent in questions for the questionnaire last night so I thought "What the hell, let's start it up :,)" This is in no way a ploy for me to procrastinate from writing. *shot*

Those of you who came from Tales of the Bane (which is probably about 99% of the people reading) then you're familiar with the questionnaire already, but for those of you who aren't, I copy-pasted the rules:

[Vayle Skyl]

lol very long absense. Sorry about that. I get distracted easily

[Zandra]

Now I have the mental image of Raven and Felix as maids. Time to draw it. >D

Raven and Felix: D:

XD Seriously, though, that thing made ma laugh so hard. I loved it. Chi, good questions.
_________________

[Kevvie]

[Sediea]

Midna! I love you so much! <3

And the Bane Rangers should be invited in the next one, just to spite Raven. ...Oh, and speaking of the Bane Rangers, notice how after Raven clearly stated NOT to ask them about it, people do anyway. :,D

I wonder if I should tell them about my fandom... <333