Solo Closed An Order

[Vicissitude]

Winter 80, year 125 of the third age​

As the final month of Winter marched on in Ælheim, one Kage fyn'Fadir Frjor of the Fjælle Kniver would receive a message from his superiors. Clandestine as they tended to be, the messenger would slink into his home through Plantmeld whether he was there or not. Of course, being his Grove, Kage would inherently get the premonition that somebody was there, but he'd also perceive they were a fellow Draoidh, and a powerful Ælven one at that. He'd have no reason to feel concerned, that is, unless the presence of his superiors concerned him.

Nevertheless, a note would be left behind, tucked somewhere only he would be able to access and not any of his pets– the vellum it was written on of the highest quality. And beneath the note, he would spot a small, artisanally crafted charm– about the size of a walnut. Veins of Aetherite pulsed through the wood from which it was crafted. As soon as Kage would to pick it up, it would impart the knowledge contained therein into his mind via an enchantment sourced from Fathom and then promptly dissolve. The missive would contain the following, and the Imprint would ensure he could not forget:

“Æsir fyn'Fadir,

A charm was left behind along with this missive. It may be activated with the keyphrase “trjálundur” and activates a portal to an isolated, secure Grove. It may be both opened and closed using the same keyphrase with intent. You are to send incapacitated bodies– preferably alive, but dead flesh may suffice. Any living person must be paralyzed or rendered unconscious for an extended period of time before being deposited. These bodies may be sourced from any sentient race aside from our own, though, as always, Fælnir owned by your peers are also off limits. Those with Arcane talent are preferred, but not necessary.

You are to do this until you receive another missive telling you to stop, and please submit at bare minimum ten per week until then.”

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[Luke]

Winter 82, 124

[A few days ago: Fluffy was glad to be back in her homeland, but it was a shame she couldn't enjoy it yet. As soon as they arrived, her Master ordered her to retransfigure him into a more appropriate form. Little changed aside from the skin tone being made a mix of purple, green, and white making Kage look like an aeld'norai female.]

Kage didn't always check the area that the message had been left. It was a weekly thing, like checking one's mail. He had only just recently arrived back in the area after his trip and was busy getting caught up with work and all the other things that required his attention.

He paid little notice to the feeling that someone was around. He had multiple decently powerful people living with him, including Fluffy and Engill. He tended to lose a bit of his paranoia when he was in his own home. That was, perhaps, an exploitable weakness of his. He was so on guard everywhere else that he needed one place he could feel completely at peace. If he got killed in his own home despite its location and protections… well, he supposed he couldn't pick a better place to die.

In any case, he discovered the notice a day or so after it had arrived, which made his stomach sink a little. It looked urgent, though he knew that anything that needed immediate attention would have been handed right to him. He opened it and skimmed it. It made little sense to him. He needed to collect bodies, for a purpose that wasn't explained to him. Ten bodies per week. That sounded pretty doable.

He folded up the note and tossed it into the fireplace, watching to make sure that the entire note was incinerated before he turned his eyes away from it. He tried not to think about why he was being given this task. It really wasn't any of his business. He was the tool, the spy… it was often better if he didn't know. Knowing was a curse that could impact his performance and even shake his resolve. There'd been multiple times where he'd gone to have his memory altered just to erase parts that were troublesome.

In any case he had a job to do. He turned the charm over in his hand and threaded some tough string through it before tying it to his waist and tucking it into one of his inner pockets. Best to keep something like this hidden. He frowned as he looked over at Fluffy who was passing by the room. She had no idea that there was anything special about it.

"Oh, Master, I didn't notice you were here."

Kage nodded to her then walked out of the room. He passed by Abraia's room and paused. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and paper then scribbled down a note and placed it on a nightstand. He said, "later, give this note to Vaelfara's faelnir in exchange for some alkahest. Then you are to get to work on an exalt. You may add it to my grimoire. As for its function… impress me. But for now, come with me."


[Fluffy: -1 ascended tier to retransfigure Kage]

 

[Raya]

Abraia was reading a book. She quite enjoyed this book. She would have never been allowed to read it if she hadn't been living with Kage. She had taken it from a bookshelf and though it was in a different language, she was slowly starting to learn it.

She nearly jumped out of her seat when Kage came in. She tossed the book aside and put her hands on her lap. She was nervous because she could never tell what he wanted. He was so strong and she knew he could end her even though he seemed to like her. She smiled at him when he gave her a task and then she got up when he said to follow.

 

[Luke]

Kage didn't wait for Abraia's response. He had other people to talk to. He passed by White on his way out and told her that she needed to come too. He was bringing so many people along on this little task of theirs. He was still wearing the form of a woman, though he'd had Fluffy re-transfigure him such that the skin color adjusted a little to fit more with an aesthetic that matched what other aelves looked like. He would be fairly short, but wouldn't otherwise stand out appearance wise.

"Let's get going," he told Fluffy who had kept pace with him as he made his way down the hall, ultimately turning and heading out of the house. He heard Fluffy run off to wrap up whatever she had been doing and sprint to catch up with him.

"We're going to go hunt some humans," he thought to himself, "this will be entertaining."

Fluffy hadn't recovered from using up her energy a few days ago, so she wasn't too thrilled about having to go and do work… but Kage seemed to think she would be good to go and that was all that mattered. She whistled and her tiger jumped from a large branch where he slept and landed right beside her, though nobody mounted him. They walked on foot for a good half hour until they came to a portal mage.

 

[Raya]

Abraia followed patiently even though she didn't know what was going on. She was a little worried that she might be part of something dangerous. It would be a cruel joke to die like this. She was wearing her wreath today so she was unable to feel extreme sadness or worry.

She couldn't be marching to her death she knew she must be going somewhere fun.

She still did not talk because there was no reason to. She was a pawn doing what the king told her to do. She let her mind wander to the other task she had been given. She would need to think about something creative. What did you give someone who had everything? She thought of a fireball spell that she could put into his book.

 

[Luke]

Kage was also lost in his thoughts as he led the procession of women to the exodus mage. He nodded and asked to be transported to Graentun. He walked through the portal and glanced at Fluffy and White. He didn't really need them to come along, but he thought that he might not return home for a while and then he would regret not bringing them along.

He walked all the way to the center of town then turned to Abraia. "You grew up here, yes? And over the years you surely came to dislike a number of people. Take me to your least favorite one."

He had a serious look about him as he spoke and looked at her with a piercing gaze. In that moment he didn't really see Abraia as a person at all, but a tool to meet his ends. He was glad she had remembered to wear her calming wreath so she wouldn't be tempted to disobey.

 

[Raya]

Abraia had to hide her surprise. This was unexpected, strange, weird. But it was not so bad. She was happy to be back in her hometown. She smiled obliviously and pointed.

"Over there. There's a woman and man who were mean to me when we were little. She always put me down and told me I would never amount to anything. They probably still live there."

She guessed she was supposed to lead the way so she walked to the modest house a few miles away. She stopped when they got to the log cabin.

"Can I ask why you brought me here and why it matters why I dislike them?"

 

[Luke]

"Because," Kage said, finally turning his eyes to the front door, "you have done well to serve Engill and me these past months. It is fitting that you see a reward that is different from the usual arrangements. Also, rewarding you coincides with my own goals." Every word he said was true, technically.

"Fluffy requires livers to survive, now that I think about it. This should keep her happy for a while." He looked over to Fluffy who hadn't had a proper feasting in days. They'd been so busy getting back home that eating was secondary. She wasn't like Kage who could go without food for quite a while before starving. At times it seemed like all Kage needed to survive was sunlight and a nice drink of water.

He reached out a finger and lifted the wreath off of Abraia's head and put it on White instead. He then walked up to the door and knocked. The home wasn't that impressive, then again most human homes gave him that impression.

 

[Raya]

Abraia put on a frown and put her hands on her hips. This still wasn't making sense but she did not object. The door opened.

"Who is it?" Asked a woman who immediately froze when she saw that it was an elf at her door.

Her voice rose into a squeak. "Husband there's an elf here to see us! Come quick! What can I do for you? I apologize we didn't know you were coming." She glimpsed abraia which only made her more confused.

They would be invited in and the door closed.

"Can I get you anything? Cheeses or bread?"

She probably had never had an elf in her house in her life so this was all a bit much to take in. She couldn't think of a reason why they were there which only added to her confusion.

 

[Luke]

Kage didn't take a seat. He stood and waited for the woman to stop being so flustered. When she caught her breath, Kage said, "it has come to my attention that you and your husband were none too kind to Abraia here. I am here to ensure that apologies are made." He glanced at the husband who had just entered from the back yard.

Their faces sank but they had an easy out. They began apologizing profusely as if their immortal souls depended on it. They did not want to disappoint a saiyan. They even knelt and begged for forgiveness for whatever it was that they'd done. When they'd finished, Kage walked up to them and none too gently wrapped cloth around their throats. He was quite efficient at doing it and they had only a moment to react.

"That's enough talking," he said calmly. "Fluffy, take his liver."

Fluffy pounced without a second thought. She wasn't a beautiful woman anymore, she was a ravenous beast who sunk her teeth into his stomach and started tearing through it to get to the good stuff. Kage held them both still by the necks while she ate her fill. It was not a quick process, though she acted ferverently. They would all get to watch for several minutes as she ate and then sat back on her hind legs like a dog, waiting for permission to move onto the second course.

"Abraia, go ahead, take a swing at her."

 

[Raya]

Abraia had seen a lot in the last couple years. This was not any more disgusting than the flesh beast she had seen. It was much more tame but she had been at a distance at that time. Seeing it happen right in front of her made her very queasy.

It also made her happy.

"Yes of course"

She walked up to the woman and punched her in the face while Kage held her. She punched her again and again as she remembered all the bad times she had. She stopped punching when the woman became limp.

Then she stepped back.

 

[Luke]

Kage smiled as he watched the human take punishment befitting of her race. There was a part of him that had gone crazy over the years. He hid it very well, treated it well too. But he had a deep desire to see people suffer that came out in situations like this. When he saw humans in pain, it made him want to see more of it. He allowed himself a small smile then he nodded to Fluffy.

She leaped onto the woman and tore her liver out as well. It was a lot more precise and slow than the last one because she wasn't so hungry. She didn't really need that many livers to stay alive, but she wouldn't say no to extras.

When she was done, Kage would tilt his head towards the door. "You three go outside, I need to wrap up here."

When they left, Kage pulled out the charm he'd been given. He examined it again as he walked throughout the house to make sure that nobody else was inside. There were no children, as far as he could tell. When he came back to the main room, he held out the charm and said the activation word, then used a hand to toss the bodies through the portal. The two bodies were still alive, though they would probably not be for long. They had been incapacitated, as requested.

Kage didn't intend for every killing to be this messy or deadly, but using this opportunity to let his pet eat seemed like too good to pass up. As the portal closed he wondered whether he ought to have healed them up first, to ensure they would live longer. He shrugged, thinking that if his performance was unideal over the next couple weeks his boss would let him know somehow.

Finally, he left the home, paying little attention to his companions. He made his way to the nearest guard and told him that a couple had been abducted by fae and that he was going to personally take care of exacting revenge on them. That would probably tie up that loose end. Kage shook his head, thinking about how he was going to get ten bodies a week without raising suspicion.

 

[Luke]

Thread Title: An Order

Thread Summary: Kage is assigned to go collect bodies. He takes Abraia & some npcs to go bully a couple faelnir and then kills them and portals them away.

Expected Rewards:
Kage: an item that opens a portal to a secure grove, +18xp
Abraia: +6xp
Vic: +3xp

Thread Link: https://antarok.net/threads/an-order.489/
​

 

[Vicissitude]

꧁══════════• ༺༉ { Reviewed/Canon } ༉༻•══════════꧂​

❀ Rewards ❀

Kage

+18 XP

Abraia

+6 XP

Vicissitude

+3 XP

❀ Comments ❀

Contribution received!

If you're curious about where exactly the corpses are going, click here.

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