Re: Music to Run With

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil gave a small shrug. His neck was stinging quite a bit from the garrote, and his lungs and throat were burning with each breath. It was quite painful overall, and he didn't trust his voice to keep cooperating. He'd settle for gestures for now, even though it wasn't the best way of communicating.

He didn't like the idea of the bard going off on his own, so he shook his head. With some difficulty he got up to his feet, his left leg just about giving out under his weight. He was quite obviously in pain, but he did what he could to ignore it. It wasn't like he wasn't already accustomed to ignoring his leg.

"I am going, too," he managed to force out, even though it hurt. After what those two acolytes tried to pull, Kreil needed to stay with the bard. Not that he thought anyone else would try anything--in fact, he was quite sure they'd be apologetic--but he wasn't taking any chances with that.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren was unsure what to do. Kreil did not look as if he could walk three steps - let alone all the way out of the room and into the large hall. On the other hand, he was unsure about leaving Kreil alone in the room with the two acolytes when he was barely able to keep standing up. After a moment of hesitation he pushed his shoulder under the Eladrin's arm again and tried to take most of his weight.

"Alright, let's go"

Carefullt manoeuvring he moved them around the prone body of one of the attackers on the floor and out the door. They had barely made it 3 steps down the hallway when a shocked gasp reached Ephren's ear from the right. Before he could take any defensive position three acolytes and the High Priest descended on them.

"What happened here?" The HIgh Priest snapped at Ephren as he indicated to the three acolytes to take Kreil.

"I got attacked and Kreil came to rescue me." Ephren said between clenched teeth. He was not sure if he should be happy about having Kreil's weight taken from him. On the one hand he was aware that he would not have made it much further - no the other he had enjoyed the warm body resting against him.

The look the HIgh Priest bestowed on him was a cold shower on that thought. Without saying a word he made sure Ephren knew that he was scum and to be blamed for all that happened. And Ephren knew that the High Priest was right. Without Ephren, Kreil would not have gotten hurt.

Ephren stood as if rooted in space as he saw the acolytes help Kreil down the hallway. He was not wanted there, he was not needed to help Kreil. He also could not go back to the room with the acolytes. So he turned and started walking. Anywhere. Just walking in order not to think

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil looked over his shoulder at the bard as the acolytes helped him walk away. He didn't want to leave the man alone, but he didn't have much of a choice right now. The acolytes were taking him to a small room used for medical purposes, and one of them--clearly training as a cleric--tended to his neck. It felt rather nice for the power of his god to be directly channeled into healing him, and he relaxed in the care of those acolytes. Hopefully nothing bad would happen to the bard while he was being healed.

The acolytes insisted that he stay and rest, but Kreil was unwilling to let the bard be alone for longer than was absolutely necessary. He left the acolytes as soon as they had finished tending to his neck and hand, making his way through the hallways of the temple in search of the bard. His heart was hammering away in his chest from his fear that the human was in some sort of trouble again. He wouldn't know for sure until he found him, though.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren mechanically put one foot in front of the other not paying attention to anything but the feeling of desolation in his chest. Alright, he knew this was called self-pity and that it was weak and stupid to engage in it. But he could not help it. He had worked very hard on losing any feeling - happiness, loneliness, fear or comfort - over the last three years. It was self-protection and something had destroyed this detachment over the last two days. Not something. Kreil. And that was stupid. He did not even know the guy and even though the last 24 hours had developed a strange intimacy between them they had not changed the fact that Kreil had barely spoken three sentences in that time. And who said that Kreil himself would not be angry when he was better and realised that the only reason why he got hurt was because of Ephren.

The hallways had gotten darker and dirtier without Ephren really noticing and he could now hear the scuffles of little animals just out of sight. The shadow moving in the darkness on the other hand was not little but looked like a huge rat. Ephren turned to the side and hurried down a hallway that seemed slightly lighter. As he looked over his shoulder he realised that this was a stupid thing to do one second to late. The solid floor under his feet disappeared suddenly and he found himself flying through the air. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of his head hitting stone.

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil hurried back to their room to see if that's where the bard had gone, but it was empty. The two unconscious acolytes were gone, too. Kreil at least took this opportunity to put on his shirt and get his sword, then he hurried from the room to go find the bard. All the while, he asked Zehir to guide him to his quarry, and as Zehir had done for him in the past, the god showed him the way. It was like a pulling feeling in his head, telling him which direction to go and how far away the human was. From what Kreil could tell, the bard wasn't moving. That didn't seem like a good sign at the moment, and he limped along more quickly than before despite his leg's protests.

He jogged at his limping gait down dark corridors, grabbing one of the everburning torches as he passed one by. He might have very sharp vision, but even he couldn't see in the dark. The torch lit his way, and soon enough he encountered the very same drop in the floor that caught the bard. Kreil's reflexes were just a bit quicker, though, and he managed to grab the edge of the floor before he could be allowed to drop down into the pit. His torched fell, however, and it landed at the bottom where it illuminated the bard's prone form.

"Oh gods," Kreil breathed before letting go of the edge. He had a controlled drop to the ground, but his leg gave out on the landing. A short shout of pain tore itself from him as he collapsed, gasping. Oh that hurt. That hurt a lot. But his concern for the bard was a little more pressing than his own pain, and he checked the human's vitals before giving a sigh of relief. He was alive. Just unconscious. And with that established, Kreil started to tend to the cut on his head as best he could in the current situation. At least he had the light of that torch to see by.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren felt careful fingers moving over his scalp. The fingers came closer to the source of the pain that seemed to be his life. A whole marching bad had taken residence in his head and no matter how carefully the fingers were they resulted in a polka being played inside his head. The maching band really overused its drums! With a heartfelt groan he tried to push onto his elbows and realised then that the pain was not limited to his head. With a cry he fell back cradeling his injured left hand.

His movement had dislodged Kreil's fingers that had so carefully tried to stem the bleeding in his right temple. The Eladrin looked down on him with concern displayed on his face. Ephren managed a smile, or it might have been a grimace. This did nothing to alleviate the concern on Kreil's face.

"I messed up again, didn't I?" Ephren was impressed how calm and collected his voice sounded in his own ears. He gave the sitting up undertaking another try and managed it this time with a little help.

Unconnectedly, innappropriately and entirely without input from his brain he said "I could eat an ox?" Yep, it was official now. He had gone nuts.

[Consulting Detective]

"I will not fault you for failing to realize these corridors might have traps," Kreil returned with a shrug, continuing to tend to the bard's head. "I did not anticipate a pitfall, either." He'd just been quick enough to keep himself from falling into it before he was ready to do so. The same could not be said for the bard, clearly. Some people were just better at dealing with traps than others, and Kreil had made quite the point of learning to watch out for these kinds of things--and react swiftly to them--since his disasterous accident.

He chuckled when the bard mentioned eating an ox. "I doubt there are any of those down here," he said, giving the man a small smile. "We will eat once you are out of this pit. Speaking of which, this may feel a little strange." Climbing out of the pit wasn't an option, and Kreil could only fey step himself out of there. There was another technique he knew, however, that would get them both out. It was usually a combat technique, but it could apply here easily enough.

After giving the bard a moment to prepare himself, he tapped the man on the shoulder. The bard immediately vanished, reappearing back up in the corridoe. Kreil materialized up there a moment later, and he slung the man's arm over his shoulder to help him walk.

"Back to the temple, then?" he said lightly, quite pleased with himself for making that work.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren mechanically allowed Kreil to pull his good arm over his shoulders. Somewhere, sometime between one blink of the eye and the other his location in space/time had altered from the bottom of the pit to a place halfway down the hallway. By the time his mind had caught up with his new physical location it seemed surly to make an issue of it. So he just said:

"Neat trick!"

As they limped down the hallway towards light - and most importantly, food, Ephren had to grin to himself. Alright, he might be a fugitive and a coward and a spoiled, useless piece of nerves but Kreil had come for him. He had come for him. Life was not as bad as he thought it to be half an hour ago. Unfortunately, he also realised something else and that gave him a moment of shock. His had was swelling. He was a Bard! His livelihood depended on his hands more than anything else. Panic swamped over him and he could barely breathe.

[Consulting Detective]

"Thank you," Kreil stated with a small smile. It was a surprise that he found it so easy to smile when around the bard. That wasn't normal for him, to say the least. He'd be far more serious than ever before after his leg got maimed. Being in near-constant pain tended to rob the happiness from a person.

He noticed the swelling, and he frowned at the sight of it. "Your hand is likely broken," he stated, stopping a moment to examine it. "I will have a cleric take a look at it. That should be healed sooner rather than later." Not just for pain management, but for functionality. He didn't want the bard's hand to have any sort of permanent injury from that fall.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren searched Kreil's eyes and relaxed. The Eladrin clearly believed what he said and Ephren trusted him. Nevertheless, he tensed when they entered teh great hall and Kreil called for a healer. The healer wore the clothes as all the other acolytes, just as the his erstwhile attackers had. However, the healer was gentle and polite in his dealings with Ephren. Most importantly, Ephren never lost sight of Kreil.

After the healer wrapped his hand into gauze and admonished him not to use it for any purpose for at least a day or two, and after that only sparingly for a while, he followed Kreil to one of the tables ladden with food. For a moment the sheer amount of edibles left him speechless - he had not seen that much food in three years. Tentatively he stretched out his hand and tried to, one-handed, fill his plate with some potatoes. At teh third try he spilled three potatoes on teh table without managing to put any on his plate. A hot blush rose in his cheeks and he wanted to disappear into the floor from embarassment.

[Consulting Detective]

"You remind me of when I was trying to walk freshly after my own injury," Kreil remarked, observing how the bard was epically failing at putting food on his plate. "Fumbling, unsure of how to move... It does complicate matters when a limb on one's dominant side is rendered useless." This was one of those very rare occasions when Kreil would willingly talk about his leg. Every other time, he'd change the subject or otherwise seek to avoid talking about it. He was trying to make the bard feel a little better about what Kreil was about to do, and without another word he assisted the man in getting potatoes on his plate.

He placed some fruit and potatoes on his own plate, completely ignoring the meats. Not that he was really a vegetarian, but he'd never enjoyed the flavor or texture of meat. It simply didn't appeal to him, though he'd eat it if he had no other option. If it was a choice between questionable berries or game out in the woods, he'd opt for the latter. No need to make himself sick out of stubbornness.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren accepted Kreil's assurances knowing full well that the Eladrin revealed this vulnerability purely for the purpose to make it easier for Ephren to accept this help in loading the plate in front of him. And Ephren was grateful. Grateful for the help with the food and also for the kindness to his pride. He felt his face break into a wide smile. He had almost forgotten how this felt. His smile dimmed when he saw the High Priest heading towards their table and disappeared entirely when the illustrious man sat across from them. Ephren's happiness withered and he hunched his over his plate under the disdainful glare of the Priest.

He kept his eyes concentrated on the peas and potatoes on his plate whilst his ears could not stop from concentrating on the conversation besides him. The HIgh Priest's tone was polite bordering on referential as he addressed Kreil, assuring him of the hospitality and aid of the temple. But there was something in the tone of the priest that set Ephren's warning bells off. It niggles something in the back of his mind. As he allowed his mind to follow his suspicion his hand slipped and he showered the High Priest in peas. To make things worse his brain bypassed his intellect again and he spurted:

"Peas in a pod. Teyn is a Maren. He is a member of the family Kreil is supposed to have robbed"

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil had been curt with the High Priest, but not impolite. He hadn't liked how the man was glowering at the bard, so that was the main reason for his behavior. Oddly enough, he felt rather protective of the human. It wasn't just because the bard had helped him escape from that tavern. He could have gotten out on his own. There had to be another reason for it, but Kreil just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Oh well. The answers would come in time, he hoped.

He blinked when suddenly there were peas flying across the table, hitting the High Priest. That was unexpected, and Kreil actually had to put a bit of effort into keeping a straight face. Honestly, he wanted to laugh at the look on the High Priest's face. It was quite amusing. His amusement died rather quickly, though, when the bard made that little slip of the tongue. At least Kreil managed not to press the matter, but the High Priest did not.

"And just how did you come by that information about Teyn's lineage?" the man asked, fixing the bard with a piercing stare.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren gave both of them a baleful look.

" I am a bard. I go everywhere and wherever I go I am invisible. No one watches their words in front of a bard. We are like servants but without the loyalty."

He allowed the cynicism to come through in his voice before he continued with his explanation.

"three weeks ago there was a group of young nobles in the tavern I worked at. They were a roady bunch, and I just realised that both Teyn and the victim were part of it. They were teased as cousins but their interactions were off. Something was off."

In his excitement Ephren forgot to be shy or frightened and sat straight in his chair. This was how he had felt before - before everything had gone wrong. His eyes were trained on the High Priest whose opinion of Ephren did not seem to improve. His next question would not improve that:

" So, what does Teyn have to say about Kreil being framed?"

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil listened in silence to the bard's tale, a light frown pulling at his thin lips. This certainly was something to ponder, and he looked over at the High Priest after the bard had posed that last question. It certainly seemed like Teyn had been responsible for this, though if his suspicions were right, then Teyn likely hadn't intended to have Kreil be framed. Kreil wasn't exactly a well-known individual. Back in the Feywild, yes, but not in this plane. Not even among his fellow followers of Zehir. They respected his rank, not his name.

"Did Teyn receive a contract for that, or was he acting on his own?" he asked the High Priest, who was giving the bard a very irritated look. In the eyes of the High Priest, the bard was little more than an annoying insect. Kreil understood that, but he wasn't going to condone it or treat the bard in a similar manner.

"Teyn has not taken a contract in months," the High Priest replied. "Not one sanctioned by Zehir." It was entirely possible that Teyn had been given the contract through means other than the temple, but it seemed like Teyn was acting on his own. Now, to settle the matter of how an eladrin had been seen fleeing the scene of the crime...

"Teyn's expertise is largely in disguises, I assume?" Kreil posed. He could rule out the possibility that Teyn was a changeling. He was a member of a noble family, and changelings were born, not made. Unless the real Teyn was dead and a changeling had taken his place, there was no chance that Teyn was that particular brand of creature.

"You assume correctly," came the confirmation. "He is the best in this temple at disguises." A pause. "You believe he disguised himself as an eladrin and inadvertently framed you." It wasn't a question.

"I do," Kreil returned with a nod. "It hardly matters at this point, however. I know you will not turn him in to clear my name. We do protect each other. My request for safe passage from the city remains unchanged."

"Very well," the High Priest stated with a short nod of his own. "I will have one of our more trusted associates lead you from the city. There is a subterranean path which will take you to the mountains. I trust you will find that sufficiently hidden."

"You have my thanks." Kreil had nothing else to say to the High Priest right now, and the man seemed to sense that. He began to eat his own meal in silence from that point. It was quite an honor to be allowed to dine with the High Priest of any of these temples. Becoming a High Priest was a long and difficult process. It involved many years of service to the temple, and in the case of Zehir, many fulfilled contracts. This High Priest had probably killed hundred of people before "retiring" to this more administrative role in the temple.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren stared at both of them, Kreil and the High Priest, unbelieving. How could they be so calm about this? Kreil simply accepted that he had been framed, that no one would be punished for it and that the High Priest KNEW about it. And the High Priest showed no sign of remorse for the danger Kreil had been put into, for the "inconvenience", the "trouble". His rage was almost choking him and theere was no outlet. Because Kreil did not see it as an affront he had no right to see it one. He wanted to scream!

He was sure that it was obvious during the end of the meal and as he followed the acolytes through the dark hallways that his rage was almost choking him. He was unable to show his appreciation with more than a nod as he took the pack from the acolyte. He was unable to even look at Kreil as he scrambled up the ravine to leave the dark confines of the underground temple. It was impossible for him to turn to Kreil as he found himself in the calm surroundings of the peaceful woods south of the city. He stood there shaking - not entirely sure why this affront to his traveling companien had become of such momentous importance.

"Why? Why did you let him do this to you? Why did you not fight for yourself? Why did you not let me?"

And whilst he sad this he hadd an epiphany. This was it. He had been robbed of the chance to defend the Eladrin by the fact that Kreil himself had treated teh situation with such disregard. This only added to his fury. Now he had to be furious with himself, his conceitedness, his arrogance as well. But it would have been nnice to be able to proof his worth to teh Eladrin. To make the other man look at him as anything else but a burden. Eveery muscle in his body was shaking and he did not seem to beable to control his breathing so filled was he with rage.

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil could see that the bard was upset with him. Very upset with him, at that. He could understand why, but it didn't change his mind about all of this. He was indeed going to let Teyn get away with framing him. It hadn't been intentional, so why should he seek any sort of revenge against Teyn? He'd prefer to just focus on getting out of this city.

"I question your sanity if you think it is a good idea to pick a fight with a temple full of highly-trained assassins," he stated. "I may have some sway within such temples, but I cannot afford to do anything that might upset my god. He gives me a great deal of sway in personal matters, yes, though I really think he would be displeased if I happened to cause trouble in one of his temples."

x

[Nicola Christine]

"You doubt MY sanity? You insufferable, arrgogant ......" he could not find the right terrm to finish this sentence properly expressing his feelings. The best he could come up with as he turned to Kreil was "...fish!"

Kreil's calm demeanor and cool fasade only aded to the burning irritation in his chest. "They are treating you like shit and you did not even tell them that it wass not ok. Worst of all, you did not give me the right to do so. But why would I be allowed to say anything. I am nothing."

This overwhelming rage in him did not find any way out and he hammered his open palms on Kreils chest. He dimly was aware that his slpas did not even shift Kreil's balance, which made him even more angry. The stinging pain in his had brought him back to himself and he suddeenly realised that he hat hit, no matter how inefffecctually and lightly, a man who could kill him, let alone hurt him, without any effort at all. He froze. The next second he found himmself cowering in a misreable bundle at Kreil's feet. A tight protective curl. He had survivved many beatings like this - he would surive this one as well.

[Consulting Detective]

"Fish?" Kreil echoed, very confused by what was supposed to have been an insult. Obviously it hadn't ended up as one, seeing as Kreil was just confusing and decidedly not insulted. The arrogant part was a bit irritating, though. And insufferable? Was the bard really this angry over such a small matter? He didn't see why the man was acting this way. The bard just didn't understand the position Kreil was in when dealing with other followers of his god.

He stood there and let the human hammer away at his chest, the strikes not really hurting all that much. They were open-palm strikes, which stung more than anything else. His pale chest was probably reddened slightly from the hits, but there wouldn't be any bruising. It seemed like the bard panicked a bit when he realized what he'd been doing, though, and Kreil just gave him an utterly perplexed look when the human curled up in a ball at his feet. Did the bard expect him to hit him in return?

"What are you doing?" he asked, just looking down at the tight bundle of quivering limbs. The bundle didn't seem like it wanted to unfurl, so he sighed and knelt down. Carefully. His leg didn't like that movement, and he winced before stopping down on the bard's level. Or, at least, more on his level than he had been when standing up. The man's behavior was really concerning, and he felt the need to clarify, "I am not going to hurt you."

[Nicola Christine]

This was so outside his realm of experience, he did not know how to react at all. Rationally, he understood the words. Rationally, he knew that Kreil would not hurt him. But his emotional and mental capacity could simply not square this information with experience or muscle memory. He was able to unclench his teeth and stop shivering but there was no way that he would be able to convince his body to uncurl.

His voice was surprisingly acid when he snapped "Why would you not? I slapped you? I disrespected you? And I would not be able to hit you back. You could live out all your rage, make sure that you defend yourself against someone at least" He was not sure why he was so bitter. He somehow just burnt with the rage. Somehow he felt that Kreil had failed in his high opinion, as if his understandable realism regarding the situation, diminished Kreil's glamour somehow. Ephren had seen Kreil as morally, ethically and characteristically standing above all and everything. As invulnerable and indomitable. His realistic assessment of the situation had diminished this impression and that scared Ephren - for of Kreil was simply normal then he would betray Ephren as well, as everyone else had.

[Consulting Detective]

"I defend myself when it is worth it to do so," Kreil stated, staring down at the bitter bard. "I would not risk my current standing with my god to seek revenge against someone who inadvertently framed me for a crime. Those two acolytes will be punished for what they attempted to do to you and for attacking me. I already spoke with the High Priest when my neck was being tended to." He was going to let the High Priest deal with his own insubordinate underlings.

Considering the matter a moment, he knelt down and flicked the bard's head. It wouldn't hurt, really. Just sting for a moment. He was just doing it in the hopes that it would get the bard to get up so they could keep moving. They had a lot of ground to cover.

"There," he said. "Consider us even. I am not angry, so there is not point in beating you." The very idea sounded utterly disagreeable to him. "Shall we move along? We are not safe yet." The guards were probably looking for them, and they wouldn't just be looking inside the city. These woods could be crawling with people searching for them. It wouldn't surprise him if the guards had mercenaries that they could hire for tracking down fugitives. This was a large city, after all, and plenty of able-bodies individuals would hunt people down for coin.

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren felt the flick to his head and it stopped him in his tracks. It smarted and with the sting all his fear and terror and hate left him. He let himself fall back and laughed. He was laying on his back looking into the blue sky and laughed. The dark green of the trees contrasted against the bright day and he say a bird soaring free and high. The grass ticked his arms and neck and he rolled his head to take in its scent.

As he rolled his head he saw a very puzzled Kreil standing over him. The sun glistened on his whiteblond hair. Ephren's laughter died away slowly and only a happy grin remained. "You are pretty, you know" With these words he rolled on his back and used the momentum to jump to his feet. He turned to Kreil, clapped him on the shoulder and strode past him into the trees.

"You coming? I assume we are on the run here?"

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil looked down at the laughing bard as though the young man had lost his mind. What could he possibly find that funny? The laughter was infectious, however, and Kreil found himself giving a little chuckle of his own. That ended along with the bard's laughter, though. Then he just looked confused. Such an odd human, this bard was.

The compliment caught Kreil completely by surprise. He'd never been called "pretty" before. The fact that he'd be called as such wasn't all that strange, now that he thought about it. Humans did tend to consider eladrin "pretty," regardless of their gender. Both male and female eladrin were beautiful by human standards, usually in a feminine way. So "pretty" did fit.

"Yes, we are," he agreed awkwardly after the pat on his shoulder. They were indeed on the run now, and Kreil hoped his leg would hold up if they traveled at a faster pace than he was used to. That thought was unpleasant. He really didn't want to be in agony because of that blasted injury...

[Nicola Christine]

Ephren shook his head over the obstruseness of the Eladrin. Yes, he, as most of their world, found the Eladrin race pleasing to the eye. But that was not the reason for his comment. Kreil was pretty even for an Eladrin. Beautiful even. Partially, because of his unawareness of his own charms and the little boy 'perception he often displayed regarding emotions and emotional situations. He grinned.

He knew that this situation was dangerous, perilous and that he should be scared. But at this moment he could not remember a second in whhich he had been happier, freer. Striding through teh woods, breathing fresh scented air. And he was not alone. Finally, not alone. He did not know how long this would be holding. But he would be enjoying it as long as it held. He strode on happily, adjusting his step to the Eladrins.

They had gone barely an hour when a strange smell reached his nose. And a noise...

[Consulting Detective]

Kreil limped along in relative silence, thankful that the bard seemed content to go at his pace. There was little need to make haste right now. They were not being actively chased, and for that Kreil was very thankful. He didn't wish to deal with any city guards right now. It would appear that they didn't keep this area outside the city under any watch, which really wasn't all that surprising. It was a wooded area, and the trees ended before the walls of the city began. They likely just had guards watching that bare portion of land, rather than the trees beyond. Then again, they had a supposed murderer to find. Surely they'd be searching around the woods, since Kreil was quite plainly no longer in the city.

He'd been deep within his own thoughts as they walked, but he rather quickly was back to the here and now when a putrid smell filled his nose. It smelled like decaying flesh left out in the sun, which was an absolutely horrible smell. Nothing was quite like it, and he slowed his pace out of a desire to get nowhere near it. His ears twitched, however, when a noise caught his attention. A few brief flashes of movement caught the corner of his eyes, but he wasn't able to spot the source of the movement. Still, they were clearly not alone in the woods.

"There is someone out there," he cautioned the bard, drawing his sword in the process. He could see the source of that awful smell up ahead, in the form of a dead body left lying in a clearing. It looked like some manner of animal had gotten into it, and oh the flies... Absolutely sickening.

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