A Representative | Page 2

Dempsey springs forward, still a little disoriented, but consumed with the idea of stopping the wight from reaching Lucia. she shook off the cobwebs and flinched as a stream of blood got in her eye. She lept toward it with a shout of pain and frustration balling both her fists together and bringing the mass of flesh and bone down savagely on the wights exposed neck. This would stun a normal person, and with enough force it could cripple and even kill. She had no idea how effective the attack would be against a wight, however.

She had to think quickly, as she was warned at how things would quickly things would escalate should Lucia intervene. She followed through, gripping the thing around it's chest and let out a fearsome cry, attempting to lift it and suplex the thing straight down onto it's head. this would be a devastating attack, and also serve to put herself between Lucia and the un-dead warrior once again.

 

Lucia grimaced seeing the blow coming down on Dempsey, blood and such was something that wasn't lost on her, though the smell always made her frown, she wouldn't shy away in the face of it any more after the first few times. Seeing Dempsey hurt though, she wasn't sure how many blows she could take, but with the Wight no longer fighting fairly, it was going to be much more difficult. The moment she swung towards the creature, her fist would connect with it's helmet but it's body would merely stagger, if one looked at it's condition, it was clear it didn't receive any damage from the blow. As Dempsey feared in the beginning, without a special weapon, harming it in an unfair fight like this was much harder.

Luckily the blow did seem to stun and stagger it though, it's movements uneven, as if suffering a concussion it didn't have the mind to retaliate as it tried to recover. Being suplexed only made it that much more stunned, it wasn't taking damage from normal blows any more, but these stuns and grappling techniques were clearly making some kind of difference. Dempsey who was clinging to it's body though would be able to feel it was getting tired, not from the stuns, but from Lucia's draining magics. As long as they could buy more time-- just a little more time, Lucia would drain the life right out of it.

 

Dempsey read the situation and was tempted to apply some kind of restraint hold like an arm bar or head lock, but she remembered Lucias warning about the things strength. Holds like those only worked if the person being restrained wasn't strong enough to lift their captor from the position they were in. She scrambled to her feet and regained her stance, her mind racing as to what she should do to stall for time. She couldn't risk being rushed and overpowered, and she knew now that should she simply choose to dodge, the Wight would simply attack Lucia instead of pursuing her. She could sense the wight sizing her up as well, and likely having the opposite conversation in it's own mind.

As if an unheard bell was rung, the two clashed once again, this time the pace was far more frantic, and it was difficult for Lucia to keep up with the fight, Time and time again, Dempsey escaped near death with flesh wounds, but Lucia could see that this fight had to end quickly. Dempsey seemed to be tiring gradually, and in her current state, the ill effects of blood loss were not out of the question either.

 

Lucia kept her drain active, trying her best to expedite the process with a second cast. Though it was inefficient, it would suck the energy from the Wight more fiercely. The once flowing stream being sucked into the ground from her first cast would strengthen as the single formation would suddenly grow more complicated as a second one was layered on top of it. Lucia's brow furrowed as she watched Dempsey clash with the creature. IT was strong but fortunately weakening both under the pressure of exchanging blows and having the energy that sustained it's undead life. The longer the clash continued the harder the wight would find lifting it's blade until it was finally thrust back during one of it's exchanges with Dempsey. It's armor largely shattered into dust, it's robe tattered from the clashes. Though the physical blows weren't causing damage, it was still cracking the creature's armor.

Finally it began to fade, struggling with a weak and futile death throe, it swing it's sword meekly towards Dempsey one last time before it buckled under it's own weight and merely hung in the air before slowly splitting and fading into ethereal lights. It was only when it no longer had a visible form that Lucia exhaled a relieved sigh. "Haa... Such a complicated enemy, it's only a gate keeper but it's such a high level danger." Lucia couldn't help a heavy groan knowing that while this was over her head, it was necessary for her growth.

 

Dempsey immediately dropped to a cross-legged squat, breathing heavily ans wide eyed. That had been the most intense fight she'd experienced yet, and for the first time in her brief new life, she'd faced the very real prospect of defeat. It was not something she cared to repeat. Suddenly tired, she slumped a bit as she reached for the buckle that secured her bag and undid it, , then un-slung the pack from her shoulders and dug through it's contents for a water skin, a bottle easily recognized as a common healing potion, a short fat jar of salve, and a small wooden box.

She drank deeply from the water skin, then held it out to Lucia.

"I'm going to need a hand getting bandaged up enough to travel, and I'll probably need a healer."

Her tone was even and unemotional, partially from shock and adrenaline, and partially because she knew this wasn't the time to start an argument over something it was too late to change. Her first order of business was to uncork and own the healing potion, then she set her attention to the small box. She opened it and produced a cloth with which she used to start wiping the blood away from the worst of her injuries. The scratches and flesh wounds were already beginning to close, but the gash on her head and another across the front of her forearm were deeper, and would require actual attention.

"So, What's in here that was worth all that?" she asked, still maintaining her even and unemotional tone.

 

Lucia grinned happily seeing Dempsey fall, not for her exhaustion but from being proud of her. She'd put in a lot of effort after all, there was no reason not to feel that way and give Dempsey praise. With a soft hand she tried to carefully rub the girl's back in reassurance. "You did very well~ We'll rest up here, no worries." Lucia murmured reaching down to begin wrapping Dempsey's injuries with her here and there. She didn't want to put a damper on the girl's mood, but with a gentle smile, she tried to continue in the same gentle tone. "You did very well as a white knight though~ It makes me feel a little bad-- I can heal myself, but I can't heal others." Lucia confessed. If she'd been the one to be hit, she could heal just from draining health, but poor Dempsey wasn't the same it seemed.

Trying not to dwell it though, she took a small sip from the water skin that she was offered, trying not to take too much; There was a reason Lucia didn't take provisions and the like, whenever she needed something, she would drain it from the local wild-life or plantlife when needed. The only exception was sleep, since she needed that in reality as well.

When asked about what was worth it all though, Lucia flashed a bright grin glancing towards the depths of the cave that opened up into a deeper cavern. "I wanted to be the first one here to see it. It's my chance to try to be something a bit more special then a simple 'human' in this game." Lucia explained with a bright grin gesturing towards the cavern as if welcoming Dempsey to take a peak through the opening into the larger zone herself. It was only after a faint bend in the tunnel that a dim light was cast through, it's eerie radiance wasn't the same color as Lucia's purple grimoire, but was a faint greenish blue like the Wight when it faded. Deeper within, in the distance of the large cavernous zone Dempsey would be able to make out a tall pyramid like structure half embedded in the rock and stone, as if it had been partially buried in various collapses. The dim glow was coming from flowing streams of ethereal light that flowed to and fro around and from the pyramid. From it's mid-section though three large bone spurs could be seen sticking out as if they'd grown out from the pyramid's structure.

"Isn't it neat?" She asked, though the eerie sight to her was something beautiful for it's special nature. "Somewhere here there's an item I need, or a tool maybe. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I know it's important for my growth." Lucia admitted.

 

As usual, Dempsey was quite passive as Lucia tended to her, and allowed it without question. Feeling her hands on her skin brought back certain memories that she would like to revisit sooner than later, but she was too tired for now, and simply nodded and stood slowly. The previous fight had taken it's toll, and she was afraid that she was done for the day unless it was a dire emergency. This wasn't the first time she'd suffered a few injuries, but This was somehow different. It was the first time she had to face the fact that she had no real idea if she'd be able to overcome the threat at hand. She leaned on Lucia a bit as she walked toward the cavern, curious to see what lie beyond, even if the implication here was that there was nothing that would truly be of interest to her.

"What is this?" she asked with a curious expression. She thought it odd that something so impressive would be in such a nondescript place, but more often than not, that was the way of these things, and she also had similar plans for her own ambitions. A nice, secluded place where she could open a school and teach the skills she'd learned to followers. She believed in the power and strength of her own path, and did not regret passing the temptation of magic by for the more long term goal that awaited her at the end of her struggles.

The temple looked absolutely evil, and she was disheartened that Lucia had sought it out and wished to gain it's power though. Why seek evil and darkness when all one had to do was remove their headset to rejoin a dying world already choking on the stuff?

She released Lucia and took a step forward under her own power, admittedly in awe of the structure that she had taken a strange resentment to. It was evil and she was not. She felt it represented some sort of divide, or distraction from what she envisioned Lucia to be. She knew she practiced fairly dark magic, and it was natural to want to grow more powerful, but she couldn't help envision her friend being tainted by it, and that made her distrust it all together.

"Are you sure it's safe in there? I don't know much about energy and magic and all that, but everyone knows that unrestrained power like what's flying around in that cavern is always dangerous. Do you have some kind of plan?"

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia only chuckled a little at Dempsey's awe, though she didn't really understand just how deeply she was thinking of it. While Lucia was invested in this world as a person, she still kept a realistic assessment that it was a game. Her pursuit of dark powers wouldn't endanger people's lives if she didn't click the command or cast the spell to make it do so, it was for that reason she wasn't bothered by deepening herself into that dark tainted place. In a game a person had a lot more control over what happened, and fate would swing wildly less and less often.

"It's a Tal'darim Ziggurat. Isn't it interesting? It looks really scary, but deep down at it's core, it's no different from a farm for the undead if you think about it. It looks really grand and fascinating, but it's supposed to feed them, nothing more or less." Lucia admitted without hesitating with a small smile. The structure itself looked intimidating and awing, but the light show flowing overhead was merely the collective 'food source' for the undead to survive on. It was like a wireless charger that kept the undead moving without them having to do anything themselves. It was for that reason something as strong as Wights could live in such an out of the way and anonymous area. "I'd been looking far and wide for neat things like this that would help me understand how they tick." Lucia spoke unconcerned about the dangers, at least, from where they stood.

When asked about how safe it was though she shook her head vehemently. "Oh no, it's not safe at all, we'll probably get destroyed; that Wight gate keeper was just one, there's probably dozens-- Hundreds down there in the cavern somewhere." She answered with a sweet chuckle despite the horror of what she confessed to. "I didn't come here for something like that though, I just wanted to try and reach one of the stray lights." She explained gesturing to the streams of eerie glows casually flowing towards and away from the structure. Her goal in this adventure had been merely to try and acquire some of that magical light for the moment. For study to try and truly understand the undead as a species down to their core. Unaware what Dempsey's vision for her own future was, Lucia let out a sweet and longing sigh as she watched the structure from afar.

"One step at a time though, I need to understand them to walk among them. Maybe in time, they'll come to accept me and we can come to an understanding. Ever since I started playing I wanted to try something bizarre like this."

 

Dempsey made a little face and pulled Lucias arm around her waist as she listened pensively to the other womans explanation. Of course she was thrilled to learn that there were hundreds more of the thing that almost killed them both down there, but as long as they were safe for the time being, and that's what was important. She doubted she'd ever be able to entirely get her head around the allure of dark magic and stinking corpses, and even the aesthetic of it all was dissuasive to her. She decided that now was as good a time as any to ask.

"why are you so fascinated by all of this? to me it all just seems kind of... gross and... evil. I mean, do what you want, but I like things that are pretty and colorful, like you!"

She concluded her statement with an impish wink and playfully puckered lips. Her outward demeanor did well to conceal the growing disapproval of Lucias fascination with the un-dead, but it was not her place to judge the actions of others. If things got too far out of hand, she's have to speak up about it, but for now she was simply content to have emerged victorious, and almost-kind-of rescue the damsel in distress.

For now, that was all the happy ending she needed, and decided to worry about tomorrows problems tomorrow. with the exception of the promise of a terrible and hopefully quick death in the cavern below, she couldn't help but see some of what Lucia saw in this place. Ignoring for a moment the clearly dark and evil forces at work, it was in fact a sight to behold. she relinquished Lucas self imposed grasp on her and simply strode off to the far wall to sit and watch the woman do whatever it is she was going to do.

While part of her wanted to leave, get stitched up, and get back to whatever adventures awaited her in Acedus, she knew she wasn't going anywhere until her friend and occasional lover was safely on her way home.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia's smile didn't fade, she watched the sight with increasing amounts of appreciation for the scene. As if it were truly beautiful and spectacular to her, she seemed as if she could stare forever. Dempsey's question perked her back up to reality though, making her turn towards her with a musing expression. "Why wouldn't I be fascinated? This is something that could never happen in reality, throwing fire balls, curing wounds and swinging weapons around are things anyone could do with time and money... but this... Undead are something we couldn't make so easily. It's special." She murmured a little, clearly happy and excited.

Though hearing 'gross' and 'evil' Lucia was a little surprised to find something like prejudice from someone who experienced the modern world. Wasn't being politically correct a particularly important concept in reality? Though Lucia's somewhat skewed views are probably also part of the reason she felt that way. "Gross maybe-- the low tier ones are nasty aren't they? Rotting zombies and skeletons? It's around middle tier though they aren't that bad, Graveguards, Death Knights and Wraiths. Even higher then that, they're even pretty close to human; Vampires, Wight Kings, Liches." Lucia tried to explain, though she didn't know the depths of this game's creatures, she at least had a grasp of undead from researching other source material. Even if some things were a little different, the relative comparisons should be similar right?

"As for Evil... well, Evil can be a matter of perspective. Those that commit evil deeds are evil, so if they aren't used for evil, would they be good?" Lucia asked with a small smile glancing back to Dempsey with a happy smile. "I want to use this power to change things-- to make the 'dark' a safe place for people to go when the light gets too harsh and the sights get to be too tragic. It might seem frightening and evil, but the dark is a nice place, where you don't have to see the things you don't want to, and where you can be whatever you want." Lucia spoke with a sweet tone and a soft sense of pride for her feelings and choices. While others might not agree with her, she saw the evil power of dark malefimancy as something that can obscure and provide a comfort that light and illumancy couldn't.

 

She stopped to genuinely consider Lucias words for a moment. A good deal was just semantic nonsense to her, but she couldn't disagree with the core concept that the ideas of good and evil were relative to the human condition. This did little to sway her overall opinion on the matter, but at the core of it all she felt that this was something that someday she could learn to agree to disagree on. She sought her solace in other ways, and couldn't consolidate the act of hiding from ones fears as any form of real solace. Hearing Lucia speak so excitedly about it quieted her though. She was happy for now, and that was enough. Maybe someday when the time came, she would be able to pierce through her friends false ideals.

It was then that she became resolute in her decision. She felt that no option remained but to bide her time until they both had reached the height of their power, and then she would show Lucia the error of her ways, likely through force. It was absolutely true that the good and evil of this world were incomparable to that of their own, but here in this world where one could manifest as anyone and strive to be anything, she felt that choosing a path that lead to more darkness and isolation spoke of self delusion and defeatism.

she would drag her friend into the light, and show her how this world could offer true freedom reborn in new flesh and awash in wonders and vibrancy, instead of cowering in gloom and decay; bound by shackles of a life that did not have to hold sway over a person here in this place. that time was indeed far away, and she resigned herself to wait patiently for the day when there would be no excuses for the fallen, and no doubt for the victor.

She snapped back to reality after her deep introspection, startled with the conclusion that she'd reached, and saddend by the knowledge that the two of them had been set on this trajectory since the moment they'd crossed paths in an alley in Stokbon. For once she simply fell silent and watched Lucia go about her business, with the haunting and unnatural glow of the other-worldly well of power below giving her already striking beauty a cold, inhuman, and somehow even more exotic and desirable glow. She smiled to herself. Someday they would have to meet as enemies and rivals, but that day was far and away, and she had a great deal of time to pretend that it may never come after all.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia admired the scene for only a while longer, for her the darkness was not an isolated place, instead it was a place where she could become exactly what she wanted; where attention wouldn't matter because no one could be judged by their appeal. It was a place where people would listen to those that speak, no matter how quiet, where reaching out to others was all the more important. If the darkness ever got to be too much-- there was no reason they couldn't rely on the moon for a brief glimpse to remember before retreating back to that safe space. Truly it was a peaceful place these creatures resided. Whether or not Lucia would lose herself in that space, even she herself didn't know, but she had no reason to find darkness to crawl into while she had the attention and love of people close to her-- That darkness was a last resort, the last bastion of safety she had from her reality.

When left to her own devices, she'd pull the bound book from her hip, opening it up and with a soft wave, she tried casting a spell to drain some of the streams in the sky. While it seemed to cause a small disturbance down by the ziggurat, the creatures didn't seem to have any intentions of chasing Lucia for what she'd done. Rather they were merely cautious as if observing in case she tried to take too much. Lucia only took a small tiny thread of that stream of lights though, waiting for it to connect down to her grimoire for safe keeping. She was true to her words, only wanting to take a little to better understand. Satisfied, she looked down at the pages of the book, she had a warm gentle gaze as she traced the page with her fingertips before turning back to Dempsey. Giving the book a soft clap of a close, she'd begin binding it once more at her hip as she spoke in soft tone. "I think that's all I needed here. Someday I'd like to come back and get closer, but I'm not strong enough to fight the Tal'darim for supremacy." She confessed glancing back to Dempsey oblivious to the girl's internal struggle. Lucia'd never suspected that hr undead wouldn't be able to co-exist with the living, she'd always though that as long as it was her behind the wheel, there'd be no need since she could direct and guide their hands.

 

Dempsey forced her previous train of thoughts from her mind completely for the time being. Here and now she wanted no part of those kinds of thoughts, and instead simply soaked up this surreal moment that had become part of the gift that was her new life. She rose carefully, not wanting to reopen her injuries for something as simple as a flashy leap to her feet, and offered Lucia a kindly smile.

"You know I don't have the mind for things as complicated as all that, and even if I do become a great scholar or philosopher, I'll still never understand the un-dead in quite the same way as you do. I look down there and see a writhing mass of horrors that need to be crushed if only because they're dangerous, and it seemed to be the right thing to do. Are we ready to go then?"

Even in her current less than incredible state Dempsey seemed to be unfazed by the injuries and weariness, her seemingly bottomless endurance and stamina being a key benefit of her constant training. Even after what she had endured earlier, she was as ready as she could be to disembark, albeit at a slightly slower than usual pace.

"I was wondering if we could go somewhere a little less dangerous and have you stitch me back up into one piece. I'm assuming you've done it before, even if it was a cadaver? I have all the salves and bandages and whatnot we'll need, I just hate doing it myself... that feeling of the thread being pulled through my skin always makes me sick if I have to watch at the same time... Have you ever had that, or have you not needed stitches so far? I hate to admit it but traveling alone means I almost never have a proper healer handy to take care of stuff like the slice on my head, and the one on my side and all that... and besides, i know exactly how good you are with your hands"

She punctuated the end of her final statement with a flirtatious hip-on-hip bump and a smile that was both warm and lascivious at the same time.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia couldn't help a mellow, even melodious laugh at Dempsey's words, whether it was a great scholar or philosopher, Lucia wasn't those things either. Instead, she found a common point with undead, being the forgotten, the discarded, the unnecessary-- A blight. They were the same as her, yet they stood out so much when they appeared, they were so noticable and even propagated such fear and attention that Dempsey would feel reservations just from being near them. This was definitely what made her different from undead, slowly but surely, she would try to change both herself and undead that way.

"It's no different from the way every genocidal maniac thinks. 'Those people are disgusting horrors and need to be killed, we would be doing the world a favor' though not in so many words probably. Wiping out a species just because it doesn't appeal to you? How tragic-- how cruel~" She teased with a warm smile knowing that Dempsey probably didn't think that far ahead or that way in general. Lucia as someone who lived in the modern era understood people's desires to protect even vicious species from harm. She saw the undead as something the same, majestic creatures that can be changed and should be protected.

The talk about getting stitches made Lucia laugh a little though, outside of self-inflicted injury she hadn't really needed any serious medical treatments in reality, stitches were rare, something she got maybe once, it was nothing special. "I did, it wasn't so bad though, I was a little curious about it but, it seems most people are just a little in their own way." Lucia confessed knowing that she was cursed to a life of 'mediocrity' there was no chance she had any unique feature in reality. Being bumped on the hip though made her chuckle, nodding back in understanding, had she not chosen to specialize in undead malefimancy she probably would have been the same. "Fortunately I have drain skills to help me, so I've never had to worry about a healer or anything of the like, it must be tough~" She teased back with a soft hip bump of her own before trying to help Dempsey back through the cave if she needed it.

 

Dempsey winced through her smile as Lucia returned her bump, but turned her head to offer a smile and wink despite her discomfort and replying with verbal challenge. "So it's fine to indiscriminately suck the life from whatever is nearby and handy, but those things that have taken your fancy so strongly should be sheltered and cherished. You have an interesting way of rationalizing things, I'll give you that."

Knowing that if given a chance Lucia would launch into a speech about how her ideals were justified , and in all fairness she would probably make a strong point or two along the way. right now she wasn't in the mood for debate, especially given her earlier chain of thought which still clung in the back of her mind, trying to force it's way to the front. Logically, she knew that sooner or later she was going to have to be honest with herself, and more than likely with Lucia as well, but for now she was content to force her doubts back where they came from and make more idle chatter.

It wasn't that she felt Lucia was wrong from a technical stand point, and even the morality of her attitude was more an a little defensible, she just had that gut feeling that it was the wrong way. She admitted to herself that she was being a little narrow minded, and that her own path was paved with just as much violence and conflict as Lucias would likely be. She had no intention of using her martial skills to write a great book or open a fancy restaurant. Stripped of dogma and preconception, their individual means to their own ends were more similar than Dempsey cared to admit to herself.

"I'm learning alchemy, making potions and what not, but I'm not quite 'there' yet, so sometimes some good ol'fashioned trauma surgery is called for. Not to say that I won't get that good someday, just that I'm a ways off from making 'close a five inch long sword wound in a bottle' yet."

She strolled along in the near-darkness for some time before chiming in:

"So, what's the next step on your nefarious plan for world domination?"

@Lucia Mierz