ROLEPLAY


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#40 Multilingual 

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Eeri planta sa pioche dans une écorce qui dépassait de la sciure et se hissa vers le haut, une fois de plus. Depuis plusieurs heures, elle escaladait en perdant espoir d’arriver en haut de la falaise. Impossible de retrouver l'endroit où elle avait pu laisser pendre la corde qu’elle avait utilisé pour descendre une partie de la falaise. Il fallait faire sans aucun repère quant au chemin restant à parcourir. À chaque morceau d’écorce ou chaque anfractuosité dans la sciure, elle répétait le même procédé : planter la pioche, se hisser, caler l’un de ses pieds où elle pouvait, et tenter de repérer le prochain support, plus haut. Des heures durant. Jusqu’au moment où elle hésita, tant le morceau d’écorce semblait différent des autres, à cet endroit. C'était un bras de fyros.

— Attrape ma main !
— Aza !! Attrape plutôt ma pioche !

Le fyros hissa Eeri qui poussa un soupir de soulagement, et s’écroula à quelques mètres du bord. Elle lui demanda un temps de répit pour reprendre son souffle, avant de répondre à toutes ses questions. Oui, elle avait des choses à raconter sur ses quelques jours en bas. À commencer par l’endroit. Un ancien vaisseau karavan. Relativement grand, en tout cas plus grand que ceux qu’ils pouvaient habituellement voir sur les Nouvelles Terres. D'apparence assez différente, aussi. Abandonné depuis des années, peut-être des siècles. Une relique du premier essaim? Il s’était écrasé là de biais, dans la sciure. Ce groupe de maraudeurs s’y était établi pour une durée indéterminée, et leur plan était de repartir vers le nord, en laissant ici quelques homins en garnison. La livraison était un élément clef qu’ils attendaient afin de terminer leur travail.
Leur chef était Li-Yon, un Zoraï imposant au masque entièrement tatoué de noir, à l'allure inquiétante, bien qu'il fut relativement amical avec Eeri. Un chercheur, comme il se présenta, tout comme la plupart des homins ici. Il expliqua qu'il ne s'agissait pas vraiment d'un clan. Plusieurs homins de différent clans, plutôt, recrutés en fonction de leurs connaissances techniques. En fait, beaucoup de trykers et de zoraï, quelques matis qui semblaient plutôt affectés à des tâches de garde. Peu de fyros.

Eeri fut autorisée à séjourner deux nuits, avant de reprendre sa route. On lui donna une petite pièce dans le vaisseau, vétustement aménagée avec un petit lit calé par des pièces de bois. La structure étant entièrement de travers, il n'était pas si facile de se déplacer d'une pièce à l'autre, ailleurs que dans les parties que les maraudeurs avaient déjà réaménagées. Ici et là, les murs étaient couverts de protubérances de couleur, de petits poussoirs rouges ou verts, de surfaces faites d’une étrange matière lisse et verdâtre. Tout ceci devait avoir une fonction, mais semblait hors d’état depuis bien longtemps. Le zoraï lui accorda un tour de ce qui restait du vaisseau, en évitant la pièce centrale, sous le prétexte que les homins qui y travaillaient avaient besoin de beaucoup de concentration. Il resta relativement vague sur le contenu de leurs travaux.

— Et alors, ils t’ont donné à mangé? À boire?
— Hmmm, rien de bien terrible. Je leur ai proposé de faire cuire leur viande à notre façon, mais ils ont refusé.
— Ça vaut mieux, ils t’auraient gardée.
— Encore heureux que dey!! Amicaux, mais méfiants, et puis quasiment que des homins. Ils avaient l'air vraiment content de recevoir ces babioles, donc leur chef a été assez courtois pour me laisser une pièce avec une porte qui ferme. Aussi pour me surveiller, je pense.
— C'est vrai que tu as tendance à tomber enceinte aux mauvais moments, dit Azazor en hochant la tête.
— Et puis, ils sont pas méchants... mais pas très causants non plus, continua la fyrette sans relever la pique d'Azazor.
— Tu t’attendais à quoi?
— À rien de spécial. Livrer le truc, et repartir.
— Mais t’as bien dû leur poser des questions, non?

Azazor regarda Eeri avec une moue qu’il avait développée au fil du voyage, qu’il ressortait à chaque fois qu’il n’était pas convaincu par ce que lui disait la fyrette. Il la laissa continuer de parler, sans rien commenter. Eeri répondit en souriant :

— J’en ai posé, mais tu me connais. Je suis trop directe, j’arrive jamais à soudoyer des infos…
— Rien de rien?
— Je... pense qu'ils ont un Zinuaken quasi en état de fonctionner. Et puis, ce que je t'ai déjà dit. Ah, et si, ils m’ont donné quelques conseils pour la suite du voyage vers Sentinelle. Rien de bien difficile pour le chemin à suivre. Par là…

Eeri pointa vers l'est, vers la cordilière.

— Ça, on le savait déjà.
— Et autre chose aussi : à quelques heures de marche, il y a un chemin, sur une racine, vers le sud. Marqué par une balise.
— Pourquoi?
— Un accès vers la grande flaque. Il a pensé que ça pourrait nous intéresser de voir ça. C'est à un jour de marche de plus. Il y a une racine qui traverse la montagne.

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago)

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#41 Multilingual 

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Azazor's logbook
                                   
Eeri barely described the interior of the Marauder camp to me. Let's just say she wasn't very talkative. The important thing to remember is that the Marauders hide their Zinuakeen under construction inside. Impossible to know how it works, since Eeri has not been given access to it. However, the Marauders told her that there was a path leading to the Wide Puddle by the south. A slight detour. So, we went there.

After several days of walking through the southern cordillera, made of giant roots emerging from the ground and twisting like braids, we finally reached the Wide Puddle. It was a particularly trying vision. Imagine an expanse of water as far as the eye can see. Wherever you look, nothing but water up to the horizon. I tried to see the end of the range to the east, in vain. This one comes to die on the horizon, suggesting that it does not end before the mouth of the Munshia river and the hypothetical Reef of Baldos. Passed the amazement, we approached the water and we even bathed there. Not for long though, this soup being relatively cold in winter. There were some fish that I did not especially recognize. But well, I don't know nothing about fish. No predator on the horizon apparently. Maybe some come to drink in the Wide Puddle but not this place in any case. There are no paw prints on the shore. Oh yes, an interesting phenomenon to note: the presence of waves! Bigger than the ones you can sometimes observe in Trykoth. Even if I don't see what the root cause of this could be, I suspect that the size of the Wide Puddle has something to do with it, . Anyway, we had a lot of fun with Eeri jumping among the waves, some of them reaching us at the level of the head.

For the following of our journey, although according to the Ranger map, no access is listed there, we could perhaps avoid the passage through Sentinel by following the Wide Puddle and then climbing the plateau south of the Citadel. I'm curious to know if there are any homins living there. But given the help the Marauders have given us so far, we would be depriving ourselves of essential information for the rest of our journey in the ancestral desert. So, after some discussion, we decided to cross the cordillera again and follow the small trail described to Eeri by the Marauders, which leads to Sentinel through the northern part of the mountain range. This path is not marked except for the area called the "Scattered Desert" where beacons have been placed to indicate the safe places to walk. The area is indeed filled with crevasses and moving sawdust that can swallow a homin in a few minutes without him being able to do anything to escape. However, we will have to avoid crossing the varinx packs haunting these aeras. According to Eeri, the Marauders spend usually a good month to reach Sentinel. So we'll depart tomorrow morning, leaving the Wide Puddle and its fascinating waves behind us. As for whether they will let us pass, we'll see how we can be useful once we get there.

The next morning, Azazor and Eeri finish repacking their makeshift camp on the back of the two mektoubs. The waves have calmed down a bit this morning. During the night, they rocked them, making them live their most beautiful night for a long time. While Eeri picks up a few seashells as a souvenir on the shore, Azazor finishes harnessing the last mektoub. In a joyful mood, he gives her a smile. The Fyrossa gives it back to him without forcing herself. Behind her, the stretch of water brings a breeze coming from the sea which raises her red hair. The Fyros, in front of this vision, cannot help smiling even more. He had not felt this feeling for her since this torrid night in the Baths of Pyr.

Suddenly, behind Eeri, the water starts to swell and a titanic creature emerges. It opens wide a mouth filled with sharp teeth. This one closes on Eeri, whose superior part of body is soon completely swallowed in the mouth of the monster. Azazor rushes towards the Fyrossa and grabs her legs before the monster was able to take her to the bottom. Resisting as he can, he does not manage to retain it and is himself dragged in water, pulled by the superhuman strength of the creature. While he screams at the top of his lungs all the rage of despair, he manages in a last effort to pull Eeri's body from the beast's grip. He then falls backwards, slumping his buttocks in the water. The prakker, because such is the name of the beast, plunges back in the water in a whirlwind of wave. Completely distraught and still clinging to Eeri's legs, he pulls her hastily out of the water.
Only when he finds himself dry on the shore, he finally notices that the girl has been literally cut in two at the level of the waist, the monster having carried away the other half in its stomach. A trail of viscera is visible on the beach, where the upper half of Eeri's body has been taken. Looking with horror at the bloody legs of his friend, Azazor lets out a howl of terror. Eyes rolling back, not able to stop staring at the legs that are bleeding on the beach, he falls to his knees, while the prakker fades away on the horizon.
Death here is irrevocable, he knows it. He lets out another howl to the sky as Eeri's lower body lies there, dripping his guts and spurts of blood onto the knees of the now hopelessly alone Fyros.

Edited 2 times | Last edited by Fyrenor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
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#42 Multilingual 

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Alone.

Alone!

Alone!!!

Thoughts fly in his head. With his mind muddled, he stands there, kneeling on the shore, his eyes bulging.

She is dead. Eeri is dead. DEAD! She will never come back. You don't rez here. You're all alone when death strikes. Still clutching Eeri's legs, he cannot bring himself to leave them there. Still warm, bloody, falling to dust...

To dust? Yes, Eeri's legs disintegrate before his eyes. Becoming dust again. Evaporating in the morning breeze...

Disappearing...

[...]

But then ?

[...]

BUT YES !

She is alive! She could rez! Probably near the Zinuakeen! SHE COULD REZ! HAHA...

???

What? She could rez? One needs to have a Marauder crystal to be rez'd at Zinuakeen. And Eeri never told him she had a...


"RAMECH! BITCH MATIS!!!" he yells all of a sudden.


This is why she wasn't afraid of death! "Yes, I fight like it's my last fight. Yes, I've been training. Yes, I'm such a badass and you fatty are a two week old yubo."

Bitch! Bloody degenerate Matissa! She's had a goddamn Maraud' crystal all this time! So yes, she can play the fearless warrior, my ass! Liar! Traitor!

He gets up with a leap, sweeping away the pile of dust that covered his legs with a wave of his hand. Then, talking to himself, he goes towards the mektoubs.

"Oh my dear Eeri, wait until I find you! You are going to know the Fyros fury. You'll see, now I'm going to strike as if it were my last fight. Don't worry about, Maraud': the fat Azazor's going to teach you to hide things like that from him!"

Pulling the two mektoubs without any care, the Fyros takes again the way crossing the cordillera, direction the Marauder campsite. A carnivorous smile to the lips, he is in a hurry, oh yes he is in a hurry to see again the dear red head of his "friend" Eeri. To discuss, exchange, knock and more if affinity.

Last edited by Azazor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
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#43 Multilingual 

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She was awakened by a bucket of water on her head.

"You're back? You were missing us?

Eeri vomited, then collapsed on her back. The light was burning her eyes, and it took her a moment to make out what was surrounding her and come to her senses.

"You had to take a bad fall," Li-Yon said. "You were lucky you had that crystal."


***


Ever since that talk with Azazor a few days earlier, the Fyrossa had been thinking about the secret she would take with her if she fell off that cliff. The truth? No. Her life was now a huge web of lies, driven by her clumsy attempts to fix her past mistakes. She walked along, fiddling in her pocket with the Marauders Zin crystal she was carrying since the New Lands. What if it worked? Ever since O'Teelo, at the Cloudy Cliff Outpost, had told them about the presence of a teleporter network in the Old Lands, the Fyrossa had felt slightly reassured. Perhaps that was why she had fought those bandits and risked so much. But that was still something she could not tell Azazor about. A stupid imprudence that she disguised under a facade of arrogance. And the luck of having fallen on untrained homins. And if only this crystal worked, she would have to synchronize it with a teleporter first. This was a detail that the homins of the New Lands, accustomed to wandering these regions, no longer thought about.

No more imprudence. Especially not now.

In the end, the descent proved to be less laborious than Eeri had imagined. She threw an "oren fyraï" to Azazor, her voice slightly distorted by her apprehension, which she tried to hide as best she could, then launched herself. The idea of keeping a pickaxe in her right hand, which she stuck into the sawdust to swing from root to root, worked. Without that, she clearly wouldn't have found enough holds. Azazor would have managed too, no doubt, but someone had to guard the mektoubs, who obviously wouldn't have succed in climbing down. However, the apprehension was there, the fear of going down alone, without any help in case something happened.

A flood of memories came back to her mind, as she lay there on the ground. That moment when she had been able to approach the Zinuakeen, while the Marauders had their backs turned. Then the climb back up to Azazor. They had resumed their road, and decided to make this detour, to go and see this legendary immensity of water. After these days spent in the desert, taking a bath was worth one or two more days of walking. The moving and agitated waters of the Wide Puddle, so unlike those of the lake of Fairhaven. Then that night of calm, as if the predators had decided to give them a moment's respite. The next day... Had she not woken up? No more memories, everything was blurred, except for an image that seemed to encrust in her memories, a shell. Was it really a shell? She had never seen one like it before.


***

Eeri vomited a second time, which earned her a second bucket of water on her head.

"Where am I?"
"Back at the Zinuakeen."

Eeri sat up and rubbed her eyes, still feeling groggy. Yes, she knew where she was, there was no doubt about it, but she had asked the question for comfort. Li-Yon, in front of her, was looking at her from behind his black mask, twirling the crystal between his fingers.

"You could have told us you were one of us," the Zorai said after a moment that seemed like an eternity.
"I didn't think it would make much difference," Eeri replied.
"Really?"
"I tought that many of you here hold the Marauders of the New Lands in low regard. And especially their adoration for Akilia."
"And if even that was true, we weren't going to kill you for that."
"But you could do it now because I lied to you?"

Eeri made out a smile behind the Zorai's mask. He gave her back her crystal:

"No. We are only scientists."
"This is the first time I've been brought back since I left. It's been years..."
"Maybe our Zinuakeen aren't as comfortable as the ones where you come from."
"It's probably because we're not used to those here..."

Yes, it had to be lack of practice, thought Eeri, who had never used this crystal before. To say that was no lie.

"You can spend one more night here. I imagine you're looking forward to seeing your companion if he's still of this world. But after what you've just been through, it's best to rest. I must also thank you. Thanks to you, we know that the Zinuakeen is functional. That's lucky for you. So, with everything you've brought back, we can already start looking for where we'll set up the next one. Further north from here.

Eeri didn't answer anything but a nod of thanks, so much she tried to control her nervousness and trembling. She had to face the fact that she had not come far from never coming back. She still didn't understand how all this could have happened. Azazor... Let's hope he's safe. If he had seen her die and her body dematerialize, chances were he would understand where to find her. And she could always tell him she'd picked up a crystal at the camp here. Considering the present state of the truth between them... If not, he had probably come to terms and had go on his way. It would take her days of walking before she could catch up with him, without mektoub.

If only he were still of this world.

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: Traduction en Anglais par Nilstilar / English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#44 Multilingual 

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Azazor was here, sitting. He was waiting, looking at a campfire he hadn't even bothered to light in front of him, a few meters from the two mektoubs. This time, he did not extend his arm to help her, as she came, panting, to the end of her escalation. At the top, she stretched, then went to sit down opposite him, silently. He didn't move, but Eeri knew that he was silently ranting.

"You will excuse me, I had a small hitch," she said.

The Fyros raised his blue eyes towards her. Icy eyes.

"I owe you some explanations. I know I screwed up again. And that I'm very lucky."

She expected him to explode at any moment. But she took advantage of the quiet to continue.

"I'm glad to see you. I didn't know if you were still alive. I didn't think I was coming back either…"

Azazor exploded. He abruptly grabbed his axe as he stood up and threw a blow toward Eeri. With vivacity, she got up to dodge it, and moved back a few steps.

"RAMÈCH MATIS! SCUM OF THE BARK! YOU SLUT!! WHEN DID YOU INTEND TO SAY ME ABOUT YOU HAD BECAME MARAUDER?"

Eeri dodged another blow from the axe. Hitting his chest with his fist, he continued:

"THEN, GO AHEAD, HIT ME ! ME, I DON'T HAVE ANY CRYSTAL. IF I FALL, I FALL. I DIE. AND YOU WILL BE ALONE HERE. TRAITOR!! LIAR!!"

Azazor, enraged, attacked the Fyrossa again, who jumped aside and grabbed his shield hanging on the back of one of the mektoubs.

"KILL ME, YOU WILL SEE THAT I DO NOT HAVE CRYSTAL, ME! I KNOW WHAT IT IS TO FEAR DEATH!"
"And then, what does it change? I have a Marauder crystal, ney, so what? You should be happy to see me.

"WHAT DOES IT CHANGE?" he belched. "WE HAD A DEAL!!! NO MORE LIES!!! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A MARAUDER OR IF YOU FOUND THAT CRYSTAL IN A MEKTOUB'S ASS, BUT YOU LIED TO ME!"

Azazor attacked several times, Eeri tried to dodge his blows as she could. He finally planted his axe in the shield, and the Fyrossa took the opportunity to take a side step and grab the handle of Azazor's axe, in order to immobilize him. She added, a few centimeters from the Fyros' face:

"I am not a Marauder. I just did what was necessary to be able to use their technology. That's all."

Azazor yanked his axe out of the way, using all the strength he could muster, and sent Eeri flying a few feet away.

"I AM A DRAKANI," she shouted, crashing into the sawdust.

Azazor planted his axe in the campfire, exploding it on several meters around.

"Yeah that's for sure, you don't have anything of a Fyrossa anymore ! Lying so much, you became the shame of our race!"

"You want the truth, but you are not able to hear it," added Eeri. "Yes, I have a Marauder crystal. And I synchronized it down there, without even knowing it was functional. Do you think I'm proud? I was just lucky we were still in range of the Zinuakeen. I don't even remember what happened at the Wide Puddle…"

Azazor ranted, still clutching the handle of his axe, ruminating that she had lied. She added:

"And then, why did you come back here? Did you come back to whine because I lied to you? To prove to me once again that only your way is right? To blame me for the people I've been with? SO WHAT? IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY TO SEE ME, GO ON ALONE!

The Fyros didn't answer anything, just looked coldly at the Fyrossa.

"But you have to be completely crazy… What did you think? That I was going to make such a trip without preparing anything? We were going to the Marauders! Do you really think there was any other option?"
"You just don't get it, do you? I don't care about your methods. You prefer manipulation, that's your choice. I'm even willing to admit that having a Maraud crystal was a good idea."

Eeri raised an eyebrow, taken aback.

"But you lied to me. Once again. One lies to enemies, not to friends."
"It's an obsession with you, right?" she said, sarcastically.

The Fyros did not raise and, after a deep breath, said in a surprisingly cold and calm voice:

"You can continue with me if you want. But know one thing, Eeri: I will never trust you again. You are no longer one of us and I no longer owe you the Truth."

Searching for words, he added:

"You are now… only a homina."
"Well… It doesn't change anything, you already didn't trust me. And I wasn't planning on coming back within the Empire, don't worry.

Azazor walked over to the mektoubs and began to pull them eastward. They didn't say another word until nightfall.

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#45 Multilingual 

Multilingual | [English] | Français
                
On the way to Sentinel, a few days after their altercation, they came across a group of three varinxes intent on making them their next meal. Azazor stopped but did not even take out his axe. He just stood there, placid. Until now, he had said almost nothing, only grunting when he had to communicate with Eeri. But this time, to the astonishment of the Fyrossa, he opened his mouth and said:

"Take care of them, immortal."

Eeri grumbled something in protest, but had no choice but to take out her axe as the varinxes were coming towards her, and managed to get rid of them. Fortunately, they were young males, probably expelled from their pack by the dominant male. Without much hunting experience, they only managed to bite Eeri's armor without hurting her. Once two of them were killed, the last one didn't have to be persuaded to skedaddle.

"You could have helped me," said Eeri.

The Fyros didn't answer and went back on the path to Sentinel, shooting the mektoubs without care.

***

Two days later, one morning, a new dramatic event occurred. Eeri had to go in search of a mektoub that during the night had managed to untie its harness to to go grazing a hundred meters away. Nonchalantly chewing the liketim that was growing thickly that winter, it was looking with a torpid eye at the homina coming towards it. When Eeri started sinking into what was obviously some shifting sawdust, he gave a slight moo and took up his meal where he had left it.

"ramèch!" said the homina, trying as best she could to get out of the sawdust's grip. But the harder she tried, the deeper she sank. The shifting sawdust was up to her waist when she decided to call for help to the fat Fyros who was eating his dried meat as a morning meal in the distance.

"Azaaa! Bloody mek... I'm sinking in shifting sawdust! Come and help me!"

The Fyros got up and approached Eeri, without haste.

"Wait, take the other mektoub with you and give me its tether. He will pull me out."

But the Fyros continued to advance towards the Fyrossa, watching where he put his feet. When he got as close as he could to her without having to put his feet in the shifting sawdust, he ducked down to her level. Eeri was then sunken up to the chest. She had stopped moving not to sink more, having understood that the more she would move, the more she would sink.

"What the hell are you doing? You think you can pull me out without the mektoub?"

He looked at her gravely but did not stretch out his hands towards her. His gaze was fixed on the Fyrossa trapped in the sawdust.

"Oh, okay, we get here? Is it the time you let me snuff it? What do you want? For me to apologize?"

The Fyros didn't move, still staring gravely at the Fyrossa.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have any apologies to offer you. So let me die here if it makes you happy, but don't count on me to beg."

Azazor then took out a Marauder crystal from his armor pocket and showed it to the Fyrossa.

"What... Is it mine? When did you take this from me?"

"Last night. I've always slept with one eye open. And today you'll understand something."

Eeri looked at him defiantly.

"What makes us different is that I know what it is to be afraid of dying. And in that, I know true courage."

"You are crazy! Definitely crazy!"

"oren fyraï, Eeri."

He got back up and turned his back to her. Then he picked up the first mektoub and went to the camp to pick up the second. He took his time to harness them and when he had finished, he took a quick look at the Fyrossa still stuck in the sawdust and went back on the path to Sentinel.

- You're completely crazy!! DETAL!!!

Realizing that she would have to fend for herself, Eeri tried to slowly move her chest closer to the more solid edge. But while her upper body could still move, her legs remained frozen, as if embedded in the wood. Even though her bust movements were as light as possible, they had the effect that she sank a little further. The sawdust now reached almost to the base of her neck and she kept her arms raised above her. She screamed, with difficulty, hoping that some homin would pass by. But this path was not very frequented. She might as well hope that a varinx would come to her aid.

An hour passed without her sinking any deeper, but without managing to get even an inch out of that sawdust. That's it, she was going to end up like that. A head and arms sticking out of the sawdust, waiting to die of thirst or to be eaten by who knows what beastie. Death. The inevitable death was waiting for her. And this time, no more crystal to resurrect her. Anyway, even with one, she wasn't sure being close enough to a Zinuakeen for that.
She didn't think Azazor would do such a thing to her. He was resentful, sure, but enough to want to kill her? Even when he had attacked her with an axe, she had felt it was more an explosion of rage than a real attempt to kill her. But here, using trickery to kill her? He must have been really angry with her. You're not one of us anymore, he'd said. You're just a homina. She should have known better. If she was now nothing more than a homina, he could get rid of her. He had the crystal, he could pretend to be a Marauder. He didn't need her anymore. ramèch, yes, she had screwed up. And she was going to snuff it there, alone, and she didn't even know when...

Suddenly, a rope fell before her eyes and she grabbed it. Looking up at her benefactor, she saw a fat Fyros in Marauder armor and a weathered face. Azazor. He had tied the rope to the two mektoubs and was busy moving them forward to pull her out of the shifting sawdust. Eeri felt as if they were breaking her legs when they pull her along, but finally she managed to get out and found herself gasping for air outside the sawdust. Azazor didn't help her up, didn't ask her how she was doing, or even check to see if she could stand up on her own.
He simply took the mektub's reins and told her docently:

"The moving sawdust obeys, like any fluid, a simple principle. The vertical force directed upwards is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid displaced. You couldn't sink down enturely." 

Then, after a short pause, he added:

"Now you know what it is to be afraid to die.

Before the Fyrossa could say a word, he continued:

"And yes, I am crazy. So beware of me. Because one day I will let you die."

He dropped the Marauder crystal to the ground and pulled the mektoubs towards the east.

Edited 3 times | Last edited by Azazor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
élucubrations
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#46 Multilingual 

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Eeri's logbook

Sentinel is within our reach. We see the lights of a camp a day's walk away. It is a relief and just as terrifying. The situation is tense between Azazor and me. I have a premonition that something is going turn out badly, for one or the other of us.

If I disappear and by chance someone comes to read this journal, it is not the image I want to leave of me and our trip. But I have to admit, I screwed up, big time. Azazor now only talks to me to give me orders, and we've lost trust in each other. He tried to kill me a few days ago. Or to scare me. It worked. He treats me like I'm an orskos. Me!

It's my fault. ney. But I didn't lie, dey! I hid things. Is it a lie not to say anything? He didn't ask me any questions. When he asked me if I was a Trytonist, I said yes. If you ask me, I answer. I don't lie. Yes, let it be known. Give this to the Kuilde and let them come to me, if they dare.
But toub, Azazor, you are as stubborn as I am... Yes, I should have said everything, revealed everything from the beginning. But could you have heard what I had to say? Even before we left, you wanted to do your own thing, you criticized my positions, my friendships. You didn't even bother to listen or to be interested in what I could have given you. And now you have to tell yourself that you bet on the wrong mektoub. But if I disappear and you read this, know that my respect for you is still alive. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you, and you wouldn't have gotten this far without me.
If you had asked the question, "Eeri, do you have a Marauder crystal?" I would have answered yes... Yes, I got a Marauder crystal from Mazé'yum. Without compromising my real name. No, I don't want to join them, especially not those from the New Lands. Even if some of them here have my respect.
Another question you could have asked me, and never did: "Am I the father of Uzykos?" I think the answer is clear enough, and that deep down you already know it. But it's not enough to want the truth, you must be able to accept it. One day you will know it, and you will explode, as you do every time you are interested in something other than your own plans
And dey, I'm not immortal. You forgot, for a crystal to work, you have to be able to activate it. And after ten days of walking, we're just too far away for it to work. If I fall, I die. Just like you. If the distance had nothing to do with it, I could have simply returned to Fairhaven, as if nothing had happened. But this is another truth you don't want to hear. By the time you read this, it will be too late to realize it.

Besides, if the little you told me about what happened at the Wide Puddle is true, so far this crystal has only served to keep me from being totally gobbled up by a big fish. Eeri, dead, guzzled and digested by a prakker. I hope my true ending will be a bit more glorious, I still have that Fyros trait at least.

Tomorrow we'll go to the Marauders, to Sentinel. Hopefully they already know we're coming. I have a feeling that these homins are much more ingenious than we might think, and that they have a quicker means of communication than sending a simple messenger. I will let Azazor speak. Anyway, if I open my mouth he'll find something to pick at. And I promised, a few months ago, when we arrived at the Cloudy Cliff Outpost, to let him what he wants. If it goes wrong, I'll try to make it right by taking out my crystal. However, I have the impression that the dice are cast already and that Azazor knows exactly what he is going to do. And that he won't hesitate to abandon me, as soon as he doesn't need me anymore, or as soon as he feels that will save his ass.

We set up our camp high up on a root. It reduces the access in case of a predator attack. There are few of them, but they are much bigger and more tenacious. There is also less game here than in our country, maybe it's related. From here, we have a view of the desert to the north. To the east, we could already make out, in the daytime, the presence of this mountain range that separates us from the desert of the Old Lands. We are so close to our goal and yet nothing has ever been so uncertain. I never expected that we would want to kill each other. Maybe that's the strength of the homins here. The fact that we don't go crazy knowing that whatever one does, it might be the last time. Although, now that they're expanding their Zinuakeen network here too, it must totally change their their view of things.. This fear must probably only be valid for us, who have just never been used to this feeling. It makes us lose our minds.

After writing these lines, in the light of dusk, Eeri closed her journal and put it in her bag. Then she approached one of the mektoubs, and poked around for a while. Azazor paid her no attention, but his head moved, by reflex, when a light "plop" was heard.
He stood there for a few seconds, listening. Eeri swallowed, then approached him with quiet steps. She planted herself in front of him, a vial of essence of ocyx held out towards the Fyros. When he finally looked up at her, she said in an insecure voice:

"Here, take a sip. This is the last one. And it's now or never, maybe."
"It's to poison me, right?"
"It's to make us up. Between the two of us, we have a chance."

The Fyros winced, but took the vial and swallowed a sip, not without a grunt of satisfaction. Then he took a deep breath, as if preparing to announce something, but sighed loudly as he looked away from Eeri, while he gave her back the vial.

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#47 Multilingual 

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Azazor's logbook

I'll keep it short. As soon as we arrived at Sentinel, the Marauders confiscated all our belongings. I am writing this text with a piece of coal on the single leather I managed to hide before arriving here.

We arrived in sight of a kind of giant tower built in a tree also gigantic. It is not like the tower of Fort Beacon in the sense that it is not built in a root but in a real tree of phenomenal dimensions. It's more than a tower in fact, almost a circular city with several floors, with a few dead branches at the top reminding us that we are dealing with, basically, a tree. I have never seen so thick and high a tree. Yet, it seems to be only a part of the original tree. The tree is now probably a dead one because there is no foliage and it looks like it was burned by some ancient fire. Scarce bare branches only remain in addition to the trunk.
So it is inside this huge tree that Sentinel is built. There is a main entrance covered by a canopy and various secondary stairs outside. Halfway up, we can see balconies where homins are stationed, apparently armed with firearms. Above, there are some more floors in what reminded me of the Imperial Palace, a kind of pseudo-dome, there where the top of the tree must have been. 

As we came within sight of the tree, Marauders came up from behind us and made us lower our weapons. They asked us what clan we were from. I told them the truth. That I was a patriot of the Empire in the New Lands, that I had come as a researcher to study the Road of Oflovak and the land of our ancestors, that I owed this Marauder armor to O'Tello, the head of the Cloudy Cliff Diplomatic Outpost, and that we had just returned from a delivery mission to build a Zinuakeen, mission to make us up for the misappropriation of some jerky. In short, the truth, raw and unvarnished. I didn't say anything about Eeri. She didn't even say anything, leaving me to speak all along.

They then separated us and I was questioned by two homins. I repeated what I had said. When they asked me who Eeri was, I told them that she was a Tryker citizen who was accompanying me. They then explicitly asked me if she was a Marauder. I told them I didn't think so. They told me about the Marauder crystal found in her belongings. I explained that I didn't know about this crystal until a month ago and that Eeri had lied to me. She had sworn that the crystal did not mean that she was a Maraud'. I told them that she had probably stolen it from someone or that one of her contacts had given it to her. At their insistence, I gave them the name Mayé'zum or Mazé'yum. I don't remember exactly. A shady guy from the New Lands an I don't know which Maraud' clan. They then took me to a kind of cell where I waited for several hours.

A homin came for me and I was questioned again. This time there was a Fyros of obviously higher rank. I was asked about my intentions. I had to repeat what I was doing here, that I wanted to go to the other side of the ridge. Thinking that I was dealing with the real leader of the Sentinel this time, I added that my goal was also to establish a first contact with the Marauders so that when I returned to the New Lands, we could exchange knowledge. To make my request credible, I had to tell them that I was an akenakos and a student at the Imperial Academy. I also offered them my services as a butcher in order to pay for my stay here, that if they could contact the Diplomatic Outpost, they would learn that I excelled in this art and that they would not regret it. The Fyros noted all this and had me escorted back to the cell where I am waiting without food for a while now. So I take the opportunity to write this. And I don't know where Eeri is. Let her deal with her lies. 

Way covered since Fort Beacon

Last edited by Azazor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
élucubrations
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#48 Multilingual 

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Azazor's logbook
Day after my arrival D+1

I finally was allowed to get my stuff back. They went through all my writings and those of Eeri. According to the Fyros, whose name I still don't have, I seem to them quite honest about my intentions. What is not the case of the homina who accompanies me. He wouldn't tell me more and I don't care. They can hang her, it's not my concern anymore.
So the Marauders agree to host me for a week in exchange for a job in the kitchen. I have had my Marauder armor confiscated and my weapons will be returned to me when I leave. So I put back on my Fyros armor. It's not so bad after all, even if I would have liked to bring back a Maraud' armor in the New Lands. The Fyros is waiting for the orders of his superiors to know if he should make me turn back or if they agree to let me continue my way to the Old Lands. 

D+2
I was able to talk to a Maraud' who works in the kitchen with me. He explained to me that The Citadel is not really a city such as one imagines it. It is in fact more of a fractured part of the great root ridge that surrounds the desert of the Old Lands and that forms a kind of maze. There are crevices everywhere that the Marauders travel on a regular basis. You should rather imagine an agglomeration of small temporary camps built and dismantled in response to the kitins moves. The Old Lands are literally teeming with kitins. The strategy for containing them is to let part of them enter the maze and get lost in it, for then kill them or get them out again. Forget about the idea of a big wall that the kitins would crash into. The constant battle of the Marauders against the kitins is mostly hide-and-seek. The Maraud' who told me this can't tell me much more than that, alas. The cult of secrecy is quite prevalent here, and people are suspicious of me. I understand them. We are also very suspicious of them in our land. It's only as a fair return. 

D+5
The Marauders agreed to accompany me to a first Citadel encampment in three days. From there, I will receive further instructions on how to move around The Citadel until I get out. They would not tell me more at this time. I was asked with a smile if I like climbing. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it...

D+6
One of the Marauds who had taken me into the cell on the first day came up to me today and threw a batch of papers on my bunk. He said that I should be interested, that these were Eeri's writings and that I could keep them because they had already made a copy. When I asked him about her fate, he couldn't answer me. But it seems that she won't be coming out any time soon. Too bad for her. All she had to do was listen to me and play it fair.
I started to read, and I have to admit, at least in writing, that I feel a little guilty for having been so tyrannical. The toub is secretive and has a major issue with trust, but her intentions were good. I should finish reading tonight.

D+8 

I joined a small convoy towards The Citadel and we left early this morning. The further we go, the more gigantic the ridge seems. Next to it, the cliffs of Scorched Corridor seem ridiculous. Will I really have to climb all this...? And... I saw Eeri. From a distance. Chained to a toub and well guarded. She is part of our convoy, in the back. Of course, I am forbidden to approach her. According to a Maraud', she is going to meet an important person of The Citadel and I don't have to know where. "Akilia?" I asked. He growled in answer. So not Akilia. And clearly, this one is not in odor of sanctity here either. We are told on and on in the New Lands of Akilia being the leader of the Marauders, but after what O'Tello said, and that growl, I begin to believe that here exist power struggles too, between the pro-Akilia and the others...


D+9
That's it, we arrived. During the last hours of walking, I did not dare to look at the top of the ridge, for fear of being nauseous. There, the winds were particularly violent, but we finally managed to sneak in a small notch to finally reach a first rough camp inside the cliff. The Marauders seemed to be used to this trip. According to one of them, most of the camps are troglodyte and temporary. There are a few permanent camps here and there that are extremely well hidden and defended, but almost all of them are shifting, depending on the movement of kitins and the tactics adopted to neutralize them. Again, these cliffs remind me of those of Scorched Corridor. A real maze of caves, canyons and crevasses. But so much bigger... We leave in one hour. The time to write this. 

As a result I know how I'm going to get to the Old Lands. By the top. I was told about climbing, this will be the case. From a place in the Citadel, I will be able to use a set of ropes, ladders and other footbridges to climb up the ridge. Once at the top, I was advised, if I want to join Coriolis, to follow more or less the edge of the cliff, depending on the presence of kitins. They are less numerous at the top, but still present. So, it will probably be necessary to make some detours. But I will have not to go down under any circumstances. They told me that anyway, once I'm up there, I'll understand why. 

Last edited by Azazor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
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#49 Multilingual 

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Time also seemed to be hanging. Regularly, like a clock that came ostensibly to remind her of the passing of time, a drop of sweat detached itself from her forehead to come to crash a few centimeters lower in the sawdust. The half-light of the place could almost have made the atmosphere bearable, but in addition to the heat that reigned there, the sawdust dust forced the homina to keep her breathing as light and as slow as possible.

So far, they hadn't hit her. At Sentinel, they had left her for several days in a room, deprived of everything but a bowl of water and a kind of unspiced bread that made her bitterly miss Eolinius'. A homin (was he always the same one?) would come and ask her questions. She usually didn't answer, except with a yes or no. She had asked to speak to the leader of the Horizon Surveyors. Sometimes he spoke to her in Marund, a language she didn't know at all, to test her reactions, without much success. "Where does this crystal come from? What Clan are you from?". She had lost track of time. But no matter.

So Azazor had done nothing to help her case. He must have said that Eeri had stolen the crystal, that she was working for some clan… He must have said that she had lied to him. That was enough to make the Marauders suspicious of her.

Then they'd made her walk from Sentinel to The Citadel, tied behind a mektoub, hands and feet chained, not far from a free-handed Azazor who didn't even deny her a glance. It was a much crueler torment. Two days of walking in silence. One of the Marauders had made it clear: "You try to talk to your Fyros, I'll feed you to the varinxes."
She was taken there, in that cell, and they tied her by the feet. The head downwards. To test her nerves, one of the guards had said with a sneer. Eeri let them do it, without struggling. They left her there, in the heat and dust, for several hours, or days, which seemed like an eternity. Everything was already so confused in her mind, and hanging upside down did not help her to think. She now doubted why she was there. Where she came from. Who she was fighting for. The Federation? The Empire? The Trytonists? The Rangers? The Marauders? Or a little of everything? Or just for herself? She didn't know what to answer.

***

"She must be ready."
"If she has not sniff it yet…"

Two guards arrived, and cut the tie that bound her feet. She fell limply on the ground, head first. Then the two homins grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her out of the cell. They were clad in heavy Maraudeur armor relatively similar to that of the New Lands, except for a few details.

"She's still alive."
"Bring her to me," said a third.

Then, approaching Eeri's ear, he whispered with a thick accent:

"And you'd better answer the questions we're going to ask you, if you don't want to end your trip here… Definitely. Be reasonable."

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#50 Multilingual 

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Eeri, still groggy after hours of being suspended, had no choice but to follow the two guards without reacting. She was then dragged through a labyrinth of small, narrow corridors carved into the wood. After about ten minutes of walking, she finally saw daylight at the end of a corridor. An exit to the outside. Just before entering the passageway, one of the guards glanced outside and then beckoned his companion to stop. A few seconds later, a buzzing sound rose up from the canyon. It consisted of a strange, shrill sound that Eeri had never heard before, along with a multitude of clanking and galloping noises, which she knew very well this time were from kitins. The shrill noise increased in intensity and a spindly form passed at full speed in front of the recess in which the three homins were waiting, raising a cloud of dust in the process. A Marauders' craft? Probably. Or from the Karavan? And on its heels, about thirty kitins, each bigger than the next... The two guards waited a good minute for the canyon to to recover its quietness, then pushed the prisoner forward. Eeri could then glimpse some carcasses of kitins, abandoned here and there all along the gigantic canyon. The guards ordered her to move on, while they themselves headed for another recess, on the opposite cliff of the canyon. She followed them without delay: it was definitely not necessary to linger in this place.

The two homins and their prisoner had to walk for another twenty minutes, passing through a few labyrinths of corridors and small rooms, before arriving in a larger and brighter room, lit by a few torches. If up to this point, all the rooms they had passed through seemed to be mere crossing points, this one was slightly decorated. The two guards made her sit on her knees, and positioned themselves behind her. Eeri had barely had time to observe the few pieces of furniture in the room when she noticed a small group of homins on the other side of the room.

"Here is the spy," said one of the guards.
"Has she spoken so far?"
"No, she hasn't."
"Then what do you want me to do with her?"
"Let's interrogate her," said a third voice. "If she persists in saying nothing, then we'll see."

The few homins, all dressed in light, medium and heavy Maraudeur armors, approached Eeri, and positioned themselves in an arc, facing her. The homine who started speaking, in the center, was clad with a large black cloak that hid her face and covered an armor also black. From the muffled sound of her voice and her accent, Eeri could not distinguish if she was a Fyrossa, a Matissa or a Zoraia. But she was definitely too tall to be a Trykera.

"We're listening," she said.
"I am not a spy," Eeri said curtly.
"What else?"
"No matter what I say, Azazor sold me out. He used me to gain your trust. He wants to go on alone. He doesn't need me anymore."
"We listened to him, and his reasons are respectable. But he didn't speak against you. Do you have anything different to tell us about him?"

Eeri shook his head no.

"He spoke the truth. His truth."
"Good. For now, we believe him."
"You can. I'm the one who has been wrong about you Marauders."
"What do you mean, you were wrong?"
"I thought this crystal could help me."

A homin stepped forward to speak, but the homina in black stopped him with an authoritative wave of her hand and went on:

"Here, stealing a crystal is a crime. If you have get it regularly, you must belong to a clan. Which clan?"
"None."
"Then how?"

In front of the silence of Eeri, she says in a threatening tone:

"Lying to us more won't help you. The truth will be much more useful, to avoid we condemn you."
"I am from the Federation. Before that, I fought and learned with the Rangers, and spent my youth in the Desert serving the Fyros Empire. Before undertaking this journey, I joined the Marauders in the New Lands, undercover, to obtain a crystal. But I have never been a Marauder."
"We read your journal, we know all that."
"Then you also know that I am a Seeker of Elias, and that my purpose here is not to infiltrate or harm you."

The homina laughed:

"A Trytonist... Can't you think of something better?"
"Talking like that would cost me my life in the New Lands. I have spent my life hiding my beliefs, even from those closest to me. In here too? You disappoint me."
"Let's admit it. And this Mazé'yum? We've heard a lot about him."
"He gave me the job of delivering some notebooks to his former clan, The Horizon Surveyors."
"We know that."

The homina turned, and a Tryker spoke:

"Yes, we were given these notebooks. A bunch of obscene stories without any interest..."
"Can't you read between the lines," cut off the Fyrossa, snarling? "Years of research..."

The tryker smiled, a bit surprised.

"Of course we can. We're working on it. So you know what these books contain?"
"I did some research with Mazé'Yum. That's gotten me into a lot of trouble already. Yes, I've read and studied these notebooks."
"This Mazé'yum is not one I'm too fond of," continued the Tryker, this time addressing the black Marauder. But he has got talked about recently in the New Lands, and his researches seems all in all noteworthy. Just like the goo bomb we found in his stuff.

At these words, the group became chaotically agitated, each one began to whisper to his neighbor. After a few seconds, the hominid stopped them with a wave of her hand.

"So here we have a scientist in search of the truth. Do you buy that?"
"I don't think Maze'Yum would be foolish enough to entrust her notebooks to just anyone. Especially to a spy from the Ash," said the tryker.
"So your'e not Akilia Ash Storm?" asked Eeri.
"Shut up!" she shouted before making a sign to the group around her to move back a few steps to exchange some whisperings.

"And take her back to her cell. I don't need her anymore."

Edited 2 times | Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#51 Multilingual 

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"Freedom," said the man in a low voice.

Eeri opened his eyes wide in the direction of the helmeted figure who had just slipped into the doorway. It was night. The guards had left her tied hand and foot, in a sitting position.

"I am Rapid Arma. You can call me Arid."
"Rebel Ocyx," the fyrette replied, emerging from her half-sleep without much thought.
"We know."
"Freedom," she repeated, incredulous.

The homin undertook to untie Eeri, while she recovered her spirits, still drowsy.

"They want to kill me, right?"
"No, but they're planning to keep you here a long time. It's the same thing. Sometimes we change places in a hurry, and some prisoners may be forgotten."
"And it's that easy to escape?"
"No. But we think there are no other spies in The Citadel at the moment. The guard has relaxed a bit, luckily."
"Spies from whom?"
"Of those who seek to harm Marauders of The Citadel."

The homin, who in the meantime had untied the Fyrossa's bonds, beckoned her to silence and follow him. As he closed the door of the cell, he picked up a bag lying there.

"What's left of your stuff… I'll give you another armor, this one will be too flashy."
" … akep."
"Your companion is free, certainly much more carefully watched than you. He leaves tomorrow for a climb up the ridge."
"I must join him…"
"First, follow me. You need a meal, and sleep."

Eeri followed the homin through a multitude of labyrinthine tunnels, and sometimes paths in the open air. When they heard Marauders nearby, they stopped and waited, wanting to avoid running into them and having to converse. After a good hour of walking, the homin announced that they had arrived. He pushed open a slightly hidden door at the end of a tunnel and the two of them entered a dimly lit room furnished with a table and a bed. The homin laid down the bag containing Eeri's belongings.

"Here you are in one of the lairs of the Seekers of Elias of The Citadel."
"So here too, one must hide?"

The homin took off his helmet and smiled.

"When one has secretly freed a prisoner, one avoids taking her to the tavern."

A Matis. Not very tall, in the prime of life, hair a deep black, piercing gaze. He indicated the table a little further, on which were already some dishes, and invited him to sit down.

"I'll be right back," he said. "I'll get you a drink."

A few minutes later, he returned, a mug of shookie in hand. The incredulous expression of the Fyrossa, when he put the tankard in front of her, provoked a satisfied smile from the Matis.

"I well recall that Ocyx Rebel was a great lover of shookie."
"You… know me?"

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English translation by Nilstilar !

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#52 Multilingual 

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The Matis took a seat on the other side of the table, pouring himself a glass of something that looked, from a distance, like wine. He took a mouthful and clicked his tongue on the palate.

"Eat, first."

Eeri did not need persuading. She took a large handful of dried meat, which she swallowed as dry as a gulp of shookie. The Matis' gaze rested for a moment on the vault of the cave, then he spoke again.

"I know you, without knowing you. And I owe you some explaining. Trytonists are tolerated here. It all depends on the Clans, we'll say. In any case, we are first and foremost Marauders, but we don't forget our convictions. Many of us come from the New Lands, some of us have always lived here. I knew you when you were just a young recruit. I remember the meeting we had, before we recruited you. You know how it is, the old guys always know who they're recruiting, and the young guys don't know the old guys who recruit them. But I've been gone for about twenty Jena years already."

Eeri listens to the Matis, gaping.

"... after the death of our leader. Scarlet Ocyx."
"Lopy..."
"Lopy, yes... It looked very bad for us then. The Fyros Empire had been chopping off heads, while before the Desert was still a safe place... His death was a sign that the Karavan had found his trail, and dared to act in the Empire's territory."
"Many thought that came from the Kingdom.
"The Kingdom and the Matis subjects are crazy, but not that crazy. They wouldn't have gone to such lengths out of simple revenge. Such a sudden death can only come from one of the Powers. A few of us elders decided to leave the New Lands after joining the Marauders. We thought we would find more answers."

Eeri puts down her tankard and the food she held in hand.

"I'm sorry," continues Arid. You probably didn't expect to hear about this here. I know you knew him well."
"I had a child by him... born after he disappeared... I was afraid, so I hid her. Well... I entrusted her, but the homina who was supposed to take care of her disappeared. I was afraid."
"It has been a major upheval for many of us."

After a few minutes of talking, Arid stood up and put down his glass of wine.

"Now try to eat and rest."
"Is this place safe?" Eeri asked.
"Yes. We have taken up our old habit of making hiding places here. It's also convenient, because of the kitins. There are many caves in The Citadel. If the Regent sends her goon to search for us, it will take them two days to rummage through it all."
"Who is?"
"The Regent. She runs The Citadel and helps the clans organize against the kitins."
"So she's the leader of the Marauders?"
"No, the Marauders have no leaders."
"I thought so, yes. Maybe she's the one who questioned me... Anyway. akep. Really."
"Don't thank me too quickly. I had to knock out and tie up one of the guards to free you. That means they'll be looking for you, as soon as they figure it out. Hopefully once your companion has departed."
"So they're letting him take the road to Coriolis?"
"Yes. Through the top of the ridge."
"They'll no doubt think I won't follow him. We are in angry at each other. But I will follow him."
"If that's what you want, you'll probably have little respite after he leaves. Anyway, in your case, staying at The Citadel would be suicide. Tomorrow morning I'll bring you another suit of armor, so you'll be more inconspicuous. Now I'm to leave you and join my clan, before my absence looks suspicious. Be ready at dawn."

Edited 2 times | Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago)

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"

#53 Multilingual 

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Azazor finishes crossing the rope bridge that connects two cliffs of the great ridge. A very rudimentary bridge. A rope at the top to hold on to and a rope at the bottom to put his feet on. Obviously, impossible to cross with a mektoub.

Carrying all his stuff on his back since his departure from The Citadel, the climb was a hell. Between stairs carved in the bark, ladders most of them extremely worn, ropes to pull oneself up with the strength of arms and legs, and now this izam bridge as they call it, because many izams like to perch there. Yes, he knew it was going to be hard, but not that hard. He hadn't had this much trouble since crossing the Verdant Continent, when he had to climb big roots with the mektoubs. Such a crossing would be for him so easy today… That time seems to him so distant. He was still with Eeri then, he was still trusting her...

He sits down for a moment to catch his breath. No kitins on the horizon, unlike yesterday when he had to wait several hours because a group of kirosta were blocking the road. He had taken the opportunity to study them in the distance. They didn't seem to be very different from those that one can meet in the desert, except by their size: all of them were at least as big as Nymton. So he had not tried to confront them as he could have done in the New Lands. Who knows how fast they could run and especially how much damage their blows could make. And maybe their poison was more powerful. He should have asked the Marauders before leaving them. In any case, they didn't fit the description of the Flamboyants he had been given. They must have been classic kitins, just a little bigger and more dangerous, like almost all the animals here...

Opening his bag to take out something to eat—some dried varinx meat—he finds Eeri's notebook that he had brought with him. He flips through it mechanically while chewing his meat without pleasure. Then he puts the book down, picks up his own journal and begins to write.

Azazor's logbook
I've been climbing for hours. Now that I can finally settle down, I have to go back to that evening spent with the Marauders, the last one before my climb. It was a shock, one can say so. The group I had accompanied until then had to settle in one of these semi-permanent camps I had been told about. I was invited to share a meal and to sleep there before my departure the next day.

We had gathered in a kind of particularly gigantic cave to which one reached after having followed many tunnels dug in the cliff. The entry in the cave was through a narrow tunnel after the climbing of a tumulus blocking the entry. It was explained to me that the entrance was once much larger, but a landslide had been deliberately set off to block the entrance during an epic battle against the kitins. It was while telling me about this battle that I heard for the second time, after Barmie Dingle, about the Flamings. Contrary to what I had believed, not all Flamings were kitins of the kipesta species. In fact, this name "Flamings" is given to the whole new generation of red kitins that appeared in the desert, and it is the term "red dragons" that specifically designates the kipestas among Flamings, for their fire is particularly destructive and their abdomen bristled with spines. During the said battle, many Marauders had perished trying to defend the entrance to the cave where many of them had taken refuge. Since then, the cave has become a symbol for many. The Flamings had continued to multiply, making access to the desert almost inaccessible. The Marauders said that the Karavan was hunting them down and targeting them first.

Inside the cave was a huge camp, visibly less rustic than the previous ones. There was a sort of infirmary in a tent, a kitchen area stocked with enough food to feed an entire regiment, a stable full of mektoubs, hundreds of beds dug into the walls and even some sort of tubs filled with water for washing. Here and there, a few devices and tools reminded me that the Marauders had mastered a rather advanced technology, linked in some way to the Powers.

High on the walls, one could see several holes connected by walkways. There must have been other rooms behind the walls and on several floors. It was a real miniature city, lit by the glowing of gigantic braziers. One of the Marauds of the company, probably a little too talkative, explained to me that there was also an armory, laboratories and a library somewhere, hidden in this maze of tunnels connecting them to the cave, which served as the main reception hall.

But what surprised me the most were the children. Until then I had imagined The Citadel as a huge battlefield, and yet here I found children, old people, a whole bunch of homins that I had not expected to find here.

Finally, I understood that this cave was used as a resting place, but also as a research area and a place to fall back in case of massive attacks, as it happened sometimes. These few spaces were in fact the only stable areas of The Citadel. The nerve centers of this movable city, reconfigured with defeats and victories. However, there was no guarantee that the kitins would not succeed in taking these places, as had already occurred a few times. Everything was designed to be easily moved, as evidenced by the shape of the furniture and the many mektoubs equipped as if they were on departure.

The evening was enriching, especially on a cultural level. As I watched them laughing with their loved ones, talking about their last day, helping each other with daily duties, playing music and dancing, I realized that these Marauders did not fit our idea of them. Their ability to create moments of life for themselves, while a few dozen kilometers to the east, a gigantic swarm of kitins threatened to swoop on the Oflovak Road, generated in me confused emotions. Respect, but also a strange sense of pride. As I watched these Marauders, I remembered that the first of them were Fyros. Fyros who decided not to flee from the kitins, but to fight to keep their homes, and who were still fighting today. I even felt some anger at the Empire of the time of Cerakos II, which had abandoned its people to flee from the kitins.

To my surprise, that evening, many of them shared moments with me. Their friendliness surprised me. Of course, they considered me as a stranger, and kindly told me not to insist, when I asked them about their links with the Powers and if I could consult the books in the library... For the rest, they seemed happy to share this evening with someone coming from so far away, and asked me a number of questions. Especially since this time the stranger was not a Ranger! I was a stranger among strangers. I also believe that they respected me very much for undertaking such a dangerous journey to carry out my research. As in Fyros society, Courage, Honor and Truth were strong concepts in Marauder society.

Yet, several hundred kilometers to the west, Akilia was waging a dirty war against the nations of the New Lands, not hesitating to recruit criminals and commit terrorist acts. Why such a difference? I dared to ask the question to one of my hosts who expressly ordered me, in a low voice, to change the subject. A Fyros who was passing by our group at that moment heard my question and launched into a violent monologue defending Akilia's policy. Then, raising his head towards a footbridge above him, he turned around and walked away while mumbling. I raised my head and saw that some guards had stopped up there to watch us. So, from what I could see, at The Citadel pro- and anti-Akilia people stand alongside. Though, probably, many don't take sides. Like my hosts who, visibly uncomfortable, hastened to change subject.

A Tryker told me later, under the tone of confidence, that if the pro Akilia were present in minority in The Citadel, and frawned upon by many—because suspected of fomenting conspiracies—they were nevertheless admitted in these places. First, because many of them were members of the oldest clans, from the Melkiar era, and were among the most powerful and feared Marauders. Second, because conflicts between the various clans had always been commonplace, and it was implicitly understood that no dissension should ever endanger Marauder society. Thirdly, because The Citadel was the home of all Marauders, and to be permanently banished from it was the heaviest punishment of all... The Tryker added, however, that what was most important, and what everyone agreed on, was the fight for survival and against the kitins. To imagine that the Marauder society owes its cohesion, and thus its existence, to the presence of a monstrous swarm at the gates of The Citadel, seemed sadly ironic...

Finally, I ended my evening by telling some children the History of the Cult of the Great Dragon. It was a real delight to see their eyes both amazed and terrified at the adventures of Liriope. I never thought I would find children here, so close to danger. I thought they would all be in Sentinel, but that was a mistake. The Citadel was the heart of the Marauder people, the place where life was beating. And when I saw these Marauders children, I thought of my own...

Uzykos...

He drops his arma thorn and puts down his logbook, suddenly worried.

So he has a son. A Fyros. A redhead. A real one. And there he is, thousands of miles away from him. This time, he can't blame Eeri for keeping that from him. What would he have done if he had known before leaving? He couldn't have brought himself to abandon him, and yet... Yet... At least the lack of thatinformation had come in handy. Eeri was right on this point. Not every Truth is right to be told.. At least at the moment, she could have added.

Of course, he has qualms about having left her in the hands of the Marauders. But what could he do? She had lied to them, she hadn't play fair. There was nothing he could do about it. And it wasn't for lack of him warning her.

His mind escapes towards the horizon. From where he is, he cannot perceive the desert of his ancestors. He still has many cliffs to cross before he finds himself at the top of the ridge and hopes to see what lies beyond. But already, he begins to feel something. Like a sort of nagging call, Fyros voices flying in the wind... voices that are more and more real. Which call to him, Azazor!

Turning around, he sees Eeri at the izam bridge, closely followed by three Marauders obviously in pursuit.

- Aza, pass me your axe!
- My axe ? Wh…

His gaze rests on his axe, his faithful "Courtesy", the only weapon with his hatchet "Politeness" that he has brought on this insane journey. In a daze, he takes the big axe with both hands and approaches the izam bridge while Eeri is still halfway. One of the guards starts to step on the bridge while the others yell at Eeri to stop if she wants to live. Azazor raises his axe above him, ready to strike as soon as Eeri is within reach. He's so close to his goal that there's no way she's going to ruin all up. Eeri gives him a frightened look but continues to advance on the bridge, swinging at the same time to make fall the guard who clings on and shouts even more to the homina. Arrived near Azazor, she throws herself behind him in a roll. This one then crushes his axe... on the ropes of the bridge which breaks, making fall the guard still hung in front of the exorbitant eyes of the two others who waited on the other end of the bridge. The two adventurers don't take the time to translate the insults shouted in Marund. Azazor hurriedly picks up his stuff before leaving on a fast walk towards the next part of the itinerary while Eeri stands up incredulous and follows the Fyros without a word.

After one hour of walking with no word exchanged it is Eeri who decides to break the silence.

"akep! I thought you were going to..."
"I was going to do it. Don't you dare believe otherwise."
"But you didn't."
"dey."
"And you cut the ropes of the bridge! Why?"
"I need you still," he says with a growl.

He then throws one of his two bags to the ground. Eeri picks up the bag, smiling. Azazor's grunt bodes well. She has gotten to know him over the years. It's when he doesn't growl that you have to worry. They will need a few more days to finish their climb and reach the plateau of the ridge. From there, they will head east to reach the edge and follow it.

Last edited by Azazor (2 years ago)

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fyros pure sève
akash i orak, talen i rechten!
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#54 Multilingual 

Multilingual | English | [Français]
Journal de bord d'Eeri

Azazor m’a rendu mon journal. Et m’a sauvée.
Ce n’est pas la première fois que j’écris ça, mais j’avais de nouveau perdu espoir de réécrire ici. Et une fois de plus, on s’en est sortis. Il faut croire que quelque chose veille sur ma vieille peau. Une puissance? Ou la chance, simplement. Comme à la roue de ce bon vieux gubani toujours plus fortuné.

Les maraudeurs lui ont donc rendu mes écrits. C’est dire qu’ils lui faisaient confiance. Pas comme à moi. Et par ma faute, on se retrouve comme des fugitifs, en haut de cette montagne.

Il a sans doute lu.

Mais je vais réécrire depuis le début, depuis notre arrivée à Sentinelle.
Nous avons été arrêtés par les maraudeurs, nombreux et lourdement armés. Séparés, privés de nos affaires. Il me semble qu’ils aient très vite mieux traité Azazor que moi… Et ils m’ont posé des questions idiotes. De quel clan je fais partie. Là, j'ai compris que mon cristal posait problème. Ce que je fais là. J’ai cru que je pouvais jouer à la plus fine avec eux. Mais pas moyen d’entendre parler du clan des Arpenteurs d’horizons. Résultat, ils m’ont transférée à Citadelle, attachée, avec le convoi qui emmenait Azazor. Détaché et libre, lui. Arrivée là-bas, ils m’ont pendue par les pieds dans un placard à balais. Si j’avais eu une hache à portée de main, je t’aurais fait une bouillie de maraudeurs… La tête en bas, je ne sais combien de temps. Quelques heures, quelques jours? Ils m'ont finalement emmenée pour être interrogée par plusieurs maraudeurs. Sans doute haut-placés, peut-être même celle qui administre la Citadelle, la régente, comme ils l’appellent. Mais je me demandais pourquoi mon cas les intéressaient plus que ça. Il semble que les maraudeurs s’espionnent entre eux, et que les clans se tirent dans les jambes pour récupérer un peu de pouvoir, faire valoir leurs opinions. Ils m’ont peut-être prise pour l’une de ces espionnes. Là, avec eux, j’ai joué franc-jeu, et dit toute la vérité. Je ne saurai jamais si ça à marché, s’ils m’auraient libérée ou tuée. D’après ce que j’ai compris plus tard, j’aurai sans doute été oubliée dans une cellule jusqu’à ce que je meure de faim, les maraudeurs ayant d’autres kitins à fouetter.

Et il s'est réellement passé ce à quoi je ne m'attendais pas, mais alors pas du tout...
Je pensais peut-être qu'Azazor, ayant arrangé les choses pour moi, allait arriver avec des gardes pour me faire libérer avant de reprendre la route. Enchaînée comme j'étais, je ne voyais pas d'autre échappatoire possible. Mais c’est Aride qui est arrivé. Un homin casqué, seul. Je compris après qu’il n’avait pas agit seul, mais je ne fus en contact avec nul autre. Il a assommé un garde, ouvert la porte, m’a délivrée. J’aurais pu tomber amoureuse, s’il ne s’agissait pas d’un matis, et plus tout jeune. Mais je n’étais pas au bout de mes surprises. Il m’a dit connaitre mon nom, mon goût pour la liqueur de shooki - il m'en a même offert une. Je n’ai même pas eu la présence d’esprit de m’intéresser à sa provenance, mais j'ai cru comprendre que c'était plutôt quelque chose de rare à Citadelle. Il est tout à fait pensable que ce savoir-faire soit revenu des Nouvelles Terres, et qu'ils en produisent un peu, quelque part dans un camp du désert morcelé.

Aride, Arma Rapide, Maraudeur et Chercheur d’Elias, exilé dans les Anciennes Terres depuis une vingtaine d’années de Jena. Il m’a montré son visage, chose que les Trytonistes ne font normalement pas, chez nous. Il ne m’a pas donné son vrai nom, et je ne l’aurais de toute façon pas demandé. Il m’a donc connue alors que j’étais une jeune légionnaire qui se posait des questions et venait de tourner le dos aux kamis. Il a surtout connu Lopyrèch… Icus, mon mentor, mon ami. Celui qui a fait de moi une chercheuse de vérité, celui qui m’a fait ouvrir les yeux sur tant de mystères, sur tout ce que les puissances nous cachent… Le seul autre fyros, avec Azazor, auquel je me suis abandonnée... Une fois, l'alcool aidant. Encore une chose que je n'ai dite à quasiment personne, tiens... Et ramèch, voilà le résultat. Une fyros qui abandonne ses mioches et qui ment comme elle respire. Lopy... Si tu étais encore de ce monde, tu me mettrais une paire de baffes bien pires que celles qu’Azazor a envie de me coller tous les jours. Et tu aurais bien raison. Ou tu me dirais simplement de cacher la vérité plus intelligemment... Je me rends compte que si c’était utile sur les Nouvelles Terres, là ou les Puissances nous traquent, là ou nous faisons tant de cas des jeux de pouvoirs insipides entre les nations, c’est quelque chose de totalement stupide et inutile ici, en l’absence des Puissances et des pouvoirs politiques. Mais lorsque je réfléchis à ce que je peux répondre à une question, ne sort de ma bouche que l’option la plus improbable et mensongère… Je dois changer ça.

Je dois donc ma liberté à ce matis. Il a même pris le temps de récupérer mes affaires, et de me fournir une autre armure de maraudeur, bleue. Celle que j’avais en arrivant aurait trop attiré l’attention. Il m’a donnée une pique et un bouclier, en plus de ma hachette et de mes amplificateurs qu'il avait pu récupérer. Une pique ! La seule arme efficace contre certains kitins. J'avais cassé la dernière dans je ne sais plus quel combat. Des vivres, de quoi tenir quelques jours. Il n’a rien demandé en échange, je n’aurais pas pu lui offrir grand chose. Si ce n’est de faire vivre la croyance d’une hominité libérée. Nous sommes partis au petit matin de la cache ou il m’avait amenée et avons repris ce jeu de cache-cache avec les kitins et les patrouilles de maraudeurs. Je ne m’attendais pas à ça de Citadelle. Ce n’est pas une ville, c’est un champ de bataille, ou se déroule une guerre permanente avec les kitins. Les Maraudeurs ici sont presque les Rangers de chez nous, le coté j’aime tout le monde en moins. Ici, c'est marche ou crève, c’est la porte qui retient l’enfer du prochain essaim derrière les montagnes. Bon, je ne dois pas exagérer non plus. Il m'a aussi dit que Citadelle regorge de lieux de vie : des auberges, des écoles, des lieux d'entrainement, des armureries... Ils habitent ici, mais tout a été conçu, au fil du temps, pour être déplacé facilement et rester à l'abris des Kitins. Ils ne m'ont pas proposé de visiter, je lui ai répondu, en riant.

Avant de partir, il me raconta aussi son voyage pour arriver ici. À peu près le même que nous avons fait, mais avec un groupe plus large aux origines assez disparates. Ce qui ne l'empêcha pas de voir plusieurs de ses compagnons tomber, notamment pendant la traversée de la Mer de Bois. Lorsqu'il arriva, l'ancien Sujet du Royaume qu'il était du servir plusieurs années à l'Avant-Poste de la Falaise Nuageuse, avant de pouvoir être considéré comme digne de confiance et d'être autorisé à rejoindre leurs rangs. Après ça, finalement, il a pu rejoindre la Citadelle. Certains de ses compagnons sont toujours ici, quelques-uns, surtout les plus agés à l'époque, étaient restés sur l'île d'Oflovak.

J’ai aussi appris une chose très intéressante. J'avais compris que les maraudeurs utilisent des objets de la Karavan, pillés sur les croiseurs abandonnés par exemple, pour faire fonctionner leur propre technologie. Comment, ça reste à découvrir, mais le contact que j'ai eu avec eux ne va pas m'aider à en savoir plus. En revanche, ce que je ne savais pas, est que la Karavan est encore présente dans la zone, d’une certaine façon. Peu au sol, mais surtout depuis le ciel. Aride m’a expliqué que parfois les vaisseaux de la Karavan attaquent les Kitins. Ils appellent ça une "frappe" ici. De puissants sorts, envoyés depuis leurs vaisseaux situés vraisemblablement au dessus de la canopée. Sans doute quand les kitins sont trop concentrés à un endroit, parfois juste devant les portes de Citadelle. Ou, le plus souvent, dirigé contre certains spécimens en particulier, ces fameux flamboyants dont nous avions entendu parler.

Aucun kami dans la zone, en revanche, m’a dit Aride. En tout cas, pas qu’il sache. Il se raconte que du temps de Melkiar, certains chefs de clans avaient eu des contacts avec eux, mais c'est devenu presque une légende, de nos jours. Non pas que cela me surprenne, ça vient même confirmer pas mal de vieilles théories. Mais que la Karavan essaie encore et toujours de contenir les kitins, avec les maraudeurs, est une information étonnante. Parfois, m'a t-il dit, des agents Karavan sont aperçus à Citadelle, lors de certaines réunions importantes le plus souvent réservées chefs de clans. Nul ne sait, à part sans doute ces derniers, si ces ambassadeurs demeurent en permanence à Citadelle. Il me laissa aussi entendre, sans vouloir en dire plus, que la technologie des Maraudeurs était en partie liée à celle de la Karavan.

Alors, j'ai demandé... S’il n’étaient pas là, les maraudeurs arriveraient-ils à retenir les Kitins? Travaillent-ils vraiment ensemble? Il me semble que sa vision de la Karavan n'était plus celle que nous, Chercheurs d'Elias pouvions avoir dans les Nouvelles Terres. Mais Aride n’a pas vraiment pu m’en dire plus, nous étions déjà en retard pour assister au départ d'Azazor.

Puis quelque chose a sans doute mal tourné. Son plan était de suivre le convoi d’Azazor, et lui laisser quelques heures d’avance. Comme il l’avait prévu, les gardes qui l’avaient accompagné jusqu’à ce chemin escarpé étaient restés là un moment après le départ du fyros, et lorsque celui-ci ne fut plus en vue, ils se dispersèrent dans les anfractuosités du canyon. Après quelques secondes, du point d’observation où Aride et moi étions positionnés, il nous fut impossible détecter la présence d’un seul homin. Le matis semblait tendu. Nous avons encore patienté, puis il m’a indiqué le chemin à prendre, me disant qu’il allait me suivre à distance. En faisant attention à ne pas me faire voir. "Si quelque chose tourne mal pour moi, cache-toi, et laisse moi gérer. Nous ne nous en sortirons que si l'on ne me voit pas avec toi. Si tu es repérée... cours. Je verrai ce que je peux faire". Je lui ai demandé de partir dès maintenant, de se téléporter s’il pouvait. Il avait assez pris de risques. Il m’a fait oui de la tête sans vraiment répondre ce qu’il allait faire. J’espère qu’il n’a pas eu de problèmes. Puis après l'avoir remercié une dernière fois, je suis partie dans la direction qu’il m’avait indiquée.

Après quelques minutes, alors que j'allais traverser une zone relativement découverte, un brouhaha a commencé à se faire sentir, semblable aux nuées de kitins que j’avais pu voir quelques jours plus tôt. Je me suis cachée comme j’ai pu dans une anfractuosité de sciure, et j'ai attendu un bon moment, essayant de ne pas paniquer, que le brouhaha passe. Ça a duré, et je me suis perdue dans mes penséses... Et si ma libération compromettait la sécurité des Trytonistes de Citadelle? Et si, par ma faute, l'attention se portait sur eux, au point qu'ils soient incriminés? Lorsque je suis sortie de mes pensées, le bruit avait cessé.

En ressortant de ma cachette, malgré mes précautions, je suis tombée nez à nez avec un maraudeur, seul, et armé d'une lance. Mon clan, ce que je fais ici ? Je n’ai pas menti, et lui ai dit que je me cachais des Kitins, en ramassant ma pique pour feindre de la remettre sur mon dos. D'un mouvement vif, je la lui ai alors plantée en dessous du casque, droit dans le cou. Un coup sec, fatal, pour un homin qui ne s’y attend pas. "Avec les amitiés d’Akilia" j’ai dit en frappant, sans vraiment réfléchir. Son corps s’est dématérialisé. Toub de toub… Sur le moment, je n'avais rien trouvé de mieux pour détourner leur attention. S’ils pensent que je suis une espionne du clan des cendres, ils en oublieront peut-être les Trytonistes.

Il m'a fallu plusieurs heures d'escalade avant que je ne puisse voir Azazor, de loin. Le bougre s'en sort pas mal, je dois dire. Il est bien plus en forme qu'au début de notre voyage. Je suis restée à distance, pour qu’il ne me voit pas. Pas encore. Je devais lui laisser un jour ou deux d’avance. Par chance, il semblait ne pas regarder en arrière. Lorsqu'il a établi un camp pour la nuit, j'ai essayé de dormir à même la sciure dans une crevasse de la falaise, réfléchissant à comment arriver devant lui. Que pouvais-je lui dire... Pour dédramatiser, maintenant que Citadelle était derrière nous, je pensais à... "Aza ! 'ren pyr, ça marche la grimpette?" "C'est vivifiant ici, tiens. On se fout des avoines maintenant ou on garde ça pour plus tard?".

Il faut croire que je réussis toujours mes arrivées. Le lendemain, il prit une pause après sa traversée hasardeuse d'un pont de corde. J'attendais de l'autre coté qu'il veuille bien re-démarrer, toujours pour lui laisser de l'avance. C'est alors que j’ai réalisé, par chance car j'essayais de me cacher de lui, que quelques maraudeurs escaladaient plus bas, après moi. Ils m'avaient vue, et espéraient m'atteindre sans bruit. Je n'avais aucune chance de me cacher ni des uns, ni de l'autre. Le combat n'était pas une bonne idée, je me suis donc élancée pour traverser le pont avec mon barda sur le dos. Azazor était surpris, j'ai cru qu'il allait m'envoyer par le gouffre. C'était eux, ou moi. Mais il a attendu que je traverse, avant de donner un grand coup de hache dans les cordes du pont pour le couper.

Il a sans doute lu.

Last edited by Eeri (2 years ago) | Reason: English Translation by Nilstilar

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Eeri
"Quand on a le nez trop près de la bouteille, on ne voit plus le bar"
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