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[rowan_narrators]

Midday on Sunday, the group reaches the Tombstones, long rows of naturally rounded rocks emerging from the desert sand. The shaman announces that they're clear of the siren's curse, and for the first time, the caravan forges on ahead, not bothering with the twists and turns of their prior route

Comments

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra walked quietly through the city, her dark eyes flitting from side to side, curiously taking in each and every sight. On the whole, she found much to like in this place. While it lacked the symmetry of Jhelbor (Trojans and Greeks alike had always adored symmetry), it had character, as if each rock and stone and plant had a story. That was a ridiculous cliche, one Cassandra had once scorned, but now, looking at Loiol, she understood it was true.

It was only a matter of time before she reached an abandoned building, one she immediately knew was a temple. There was no possible explanation for this instinct, but then, there had been little explanation for any of the other abilities and wisdoms Cassandra had attained. She simply knew. She knew. That had always been the most important word shared between Cassandra and Apollo. That had not gone away.

Quietly, she crept into the abandoned temple, marking the decor and decay. "Hello?" she whispered, wondering just who she expected to answer. There was a noise from somewhere deep inside, like the caw of a crow. Instinctual panic warmed up Cassandra's chest and she turned around, her fingers splayed like claws, a low hiss escaping her lips. In the next instant, however, she felt foolish. He wasn't here

[creaoi_ang_cor]

Cris had been perched up on one of the lower rooftops, having flown himself up there by use of his air magery, waiting to watch the sun set. The solitude wasn't ideal, but the beauty of this place, when compared to the harsh heat and emptiness of the desert, was undeniable.

He'd been lying back, looking up into the shifting purple of the sky directly overhead, when he'd heard the sound of footsteps padding by on the street below. He snuck to the edge of the roof and looked.

Cassandra. He watched her go by and then, with a mischievous grin, leaped off the side of the roof and landed, softly and silently, on the ground.

He followed her into the temple, and was preparing to sneak up behind her and tap her shoulder when she suddenly turned around, startled by something, which startled Cris in turn. He jumped, letting out a small noise- well, his cover was blown.

"Good evening to you, too, then," he said.

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra's head turned quickly in Cris' direction. Well, that was properly embarrassing. She lowered her hands, folding them behind her back. Best to dismiss that nonsense in the only way she knew how. Additionally nonsense.

"A little lamb's walked into the wolf's den," she whispered in a girlish, sing-songy voice. It was the one thing that had always managed to annoy Helen the most. Why she was doing something that was known to be annoying was just another mystery that she would have to break apart in time.

Dropping the pretense, she walked over to Cris. "What do you think of the temple here?" she asked in her own voice.

[creaoi_ang_cor]

His smile didn't change at her sing-song act. Cassandra's strange sense of humor was nothing new to him.

He glanced around the decaying temple, and shrugged. "Nice enough, I suppose. It's still so odd to me... the idea of gods being something so separate from people." Odd, of course, didn't mean bad... "I just hope the gods can actually hear people from places like this."

[cassie_of_troy]

"Mmmm. From what Rusoren tells me, the gods haven't been paying a lot of attention lately." Not that she could think of any reason why this was a bad thing. "And the people are probably better for it," she added with a shrug of one shoulder. The gods only caused trouble, in the end.

Cassandra ran her finger along a dusty ledge. "So what have you discovered around the city?" she asked. "No doubt, you have a slightly superior vantage to those of us who are bound by gravity."

[creaoi_ang_cor]

"There's surprisingly little you can discern about a place from its rooftops. Though it does offer a lovely view." His eyes followed her hand as it ran along the ledge.

"Would you like to see?"

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra blinked, turning to look at him. "Would I like to see what?" she repeated uncertainly.

Why was it that the simplest questions always turned out to be the ones with the most dangerous consequences? Cassandra would never know.

[creaoi_ang_cor]

"The view from the rooftops." He'd thought he was being fairly obvious. "I haven't tried to lift anyone but myself so far, but I imagine it could be done."

[cassie_of_troy]

Klaxons went off in Cassandra's brain. This was a dangerous, dangerous idea that would doubtlessly lead to all kinds of disaster. She silenced those klaxons.

"Worth a try," she said, walking away from the wall and smoothing down the front of her dress. "Don't drop me."

[creaoi_ang_cor]

"I'll be gentle." He led the way out into the open air and then, with practiced smoothness, flew himself up onto the temple roof.

"Here goes nothing," He called down, and began to concentrate. It took a good deal more effort and was a slower process, but Cassandra was hovering a few inches above the roof's surface in under a minute- and then Cris started to let go of the magic and she dropped rather unceremoniously. Cris cringed at that. "Sorry."

At least she hadn't fallen far.

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra stumbled, catching her footing on the roof. It was an incredible experience, hovering like that. Nothing like her visions of flight. Those had been rushed and thrilling. This was gentle somehow, at least until the unceremonious conclusion. It was like floating in the sea, on currents of air instead of water.

She had to admit, she liked it.

Delicately, she picked her way over the rooftop to Cris. "My brother used to call me Gadfly. I think he'd laugh to see that."

She turned to look out at the village around her. If anything, it was even more mysterious than before. "Something must have happened here," she murmured. "Not all at once, or else there would be more left behind. But something."

[creaoi_ang_cor]

"War?" Cris guessed with a shrug. Most things in this world could probably be explained that way.

Still, he looked along with her, studying the creeping ivy and the half-fallen ruins. "Have you heard we're heading right back in the direction of that... that girl?" It seemed an odd way to describe her, given how powerful she was.

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra pursed her lips, looking out across the city. "It's not surprising," she said. "She's so powerful, why would she be content to simply conquer Jhelbor? A dead, abandoned city? What's that compared to the entire world? I only find myself wondering how much she's destroyed already."

Frederick had a unique opportunity before him, she thought. Similar only to what Agamemnon once had. With a great, convenient common enemy present, he could easily unite several factions, stand against her, and become a conquering hero. Or else a beloved martyr, she supposed, but that was another matter. Was that his interest in the worldwalkers? Marching against the mermaid woman with a small army of magiks? Or was she giving him too much credit. After all, he didn't seem too trusting with magik. Her fingers trailed along the sash tied around her chest.

"Othryoneus would tell me that fighting a war on one powerful front is just as bad as fighting multiple wars on multiple fronts. But we never saw a power that could match her. I think she might even trump whatever animosity is felt between the elves, humans, and demons."

[creaoi_ang_cor]

"Yes." She could also kill us all. Cris thought of himself in the wake of the attack on Jhelbor, weak and utterly exhausted and terrified, his shoulder popped from its socket and who knew how many bruises from getting tossed around in the water. And that was even before she'd become... whatever she was now.

Whenever he thought about what was to come, he either felt paralyzed with fear or like running away. Anything but having to fight again.

So he was going to think about something else. Something not quite as frightening to say out loud. Also something he'd been meaning to say for a long time.

He looked toward the sunset, which had started in earnest now, painting the sky in brilliant swaths of color.

"Cassandra- there's something I've been meaning to say to you. For a while now."

[cassie_of_troy]

For a moment, she continued to look out at the town arrayed before her. His tone of voice was most curious. Certainly, not the sort of tone that Paris would use, and she often found herself drawing comparisons between the two of them. It sounded quite serious.

"Cris," she said quietly, "are you afraid that we're all going to die?" She wasn't sure what led her to that conclusion. She supposed that often, when facing death, people were prone to confession.

[creaoi_ang_cor]

Damn it all, that's what he was trying to avoid.

"That's- that's not the point," he said, his voice and posture getting suddenly tense. But she probably wasn't going to let him go on until he'd given her an answer. "Though honestly? ...Yes. A little."